Anyway, I wasn’t enough of a gambler to leave my life in the hands of something that may or may not exist. Should I confirm with Celes? Probably not. It was best to use my own safety measures, and if some lifeline happened to save me, I’d consider it a bonus. It was like that one person who died letting their friend shoot them from close range because they were wearing a bulletproof vest. Wearing a bulletproof vest didn’t protect you from a close-range shot, teflon-coated bullets, magnums, armor-piercing bullets, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, or large-caliber anti-materiel rifles. And even against a small pistol with .22 ammo, a headshot would mean instant death. Something like that could easily happen to me too. Even the Arkonide ship that made an emergency landing on the moon got blown up with a pure hydrogen bomb because they didn’t take humans seriously and used only a minimal defensive barrier. Fools learned from experience, the wise learned from history, and I learned from novels.
Indeed, pretty much everything important in life could be learned from novels.
Something felt off.
It’d be boring just sitting around and waiting for an enemy that may or may not show up, so I’d been visiting the Hunter’s Guild and Commerce Guild to gather information and stay connected, as well as going to orphanages to donate and serve food...but something was definitely off.
Everyone was unusually friendly toward me. The orphanage always welcomed me with open arms, and there was nothing odd about that, considering I’d been donating money and supplies. The issue was the Hunter’s Guild and Commerce Guild. Everyone in both guilds had been acting unusually friendly—not just the staff, but the hunters and merchants too. I mean, sure, I’d played the part of a good client with deep pockets, so they naturally wanted me as an ally, but they’d been acting downright bizarre.
“Welcome, Miss Edith!”
“Would you like some tea and snacks, Miss Edith?”
“Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Edith?”
“You need help with anything, missy? I can give ya a hand!”
I’d meant to show people that it would be beneficial to help me, but it seemed more like they wanted to help unconditionally without expecting anything in return.
Yeah, there’s definitely something weird going on! Hunters and merchants should be greedier about their own interests!
People who were motivated by profit were easy to read and wouldn’t betray me as long as I seemed useful to them...unless someone offered them even bigger profits, that is. When people approached me without expecting anything in return, I had no idea what their motives were, so it just creeped me out and made me uneasy.
“Miss Edith, the lord would like to invite you to a dinner party.”
Gaaah! What’s with you people? The enemy could be here any day now, so I should be on high alert...
“I’m glad you’ve decided to attend. Come now, take a seat!” the lord said with a smile.
He was completely treating me like a young noblewoman now. Well, at the very least, he wasn’t treating me like a commoner. The Blazing Valkyries had been offered a light meal and nonalcoholic drinks in the other room, but they’d refused, of course. They’d said that not only was there a chance of poison or sleeping drugs being put in the food, but no bodyguard would risk having to step away from their client to go to the restroom when they were on an important mission that would only take a few hours. That was why they’d already had some food and water and finished taking care of business before we’d come here. There was no way my personal bodyguards could attend a dinner party with the lord’s family, so they had to wait in a separate room, and that was to be expected. In fact, I was worried it would’ve been considered rude for them to come with me when the lord had sent his own bodyguards in the carriage that’d picked me up. When I’d apologized, he’d said, “No, that’s fine. Your bodyguards must carry out the duty they were paid for. Besides, the Goddess—I mean, goodness, everyone knows that’s what hunters are expected to do!” and waved his hands in a fluster for some reason.
Anyway, this guy was very kind, for an aristocrat. I’d been acting like I was a noble myself, so it was one thing to treat me with respect, but he’d been considerate of my commoner hunter bodyguards too. Last time, I’d spoken with the lord and some of his senior servants in a reception room before the dinner party...probably because he’d been concerned about introducing some strange girl to his wife and kids all of a sudden. I mean, I would’ve done the same. Why would I needlessly expose my family to danger? I’d definitely screen people to make sure they were harmless first. So, since I’d already passed the safety check, I was allowed to skip the reception room and go straight to the dining room. Though, we’d had to talk about some troubling subjects last time, like a priestess getting attacked by unknown men, so the reception room meeting was partially to get that out the way where the children weren’t present. But since we weren’t talking business this time...why had I been invited here in the first place?
I invited the Angel. I’ve done it now...and this is the second time too. I mean, what choice did I have?!
The guildmasters of the Hunter’s Guild and Commerce Guild had barged in without an appointment, which never happened unless there was a stampede of monsters or a large caravan was getting attacked by a group of bandits or something. Not to mention, Darsen of the Oris Trade Company, one of the more influential merchants of this town, was there too. As soon as I saw the looks on their faces, I knew this was going to be bad...and I was right.
A few days ago, the guild staff I’d been bribing for information had contacted me—and they’d come from both the Hunter’s Guild and Commerce Guild, at almost the exact same time. It was about an ordinary commoner girl who’d been passing herself off as someone who’d been granted minor blessings from the Goddess Celestine. She’d be useful for publicity, of course, but also had the potential to bring complete ruin, so the risk far outweighed the potential benefits. Supposedly, some aristocrat or rich person had tried to take her by force, but she’d been saved by hunters and a merchant from this town, and she’d been taking shelter here since then.
Ever since the incident seventy-three years ago, the Goddess Celestine hadn’t shown herself or bestowed any sort of visitation upon the people—so what were these so-called “minor blessings,” then? They had to be some sort of coincidence or false assumption on this girl’s part. She probably didn’t even mean any harm. It was just that her faith was so strong that if she tripped over a rock without falling, she’d think the Goddess had protected her from harm, just like how hunters and a merchant just happened to have helped her when she was in danger. It was no surprise that a young girl who thought that way would think she’d been blessed by the Goddess just because she’d had a few strokes of good luck. And of course, no one dared deny this young priestess’s claims. Anyone with a modicum of tact and decency would simply play along, as it made them look good in return.
On the other hand, it hadn’t hurt anything to invite her to dinner and meet her, so she’d think the lord here was kind to a commoner like her and a faithful servant of the Goddess, just in case she was the real deal. The only cost out of my pocket would be the price of whatever small amount of food would fit in a little girl’s stomach. That was why I’d invited her to my home as soon as I’d heard about her. I’d been expecting a poor commoner priestess unaffiliated with the Temple to show up, but the girl who’d arrived had been wearing a custom-made priestess robe made with fabric so lavish that the daughter of a viscount—or even a count—might only have one or two pieces of clothing in its price range. She’d also been wearing religious accessories that weren’t flashy, but obviously expensive; by the looks of it, she had to have been the daughter of a middle-class or or higher aristocratic or wealthy family.
That was not what I’d been promised! I’d done my best to hide my surprise as I’d talked to her in my reception room, then had her meet my family. I’d told my wife and children, “She’s a poor commoner priestess, so don’t mock or laugh at her because she doesn’t know proper manners. Don’t treat her as a poor commoner, but a young lady in service of the Goddess.” They’d surely intended to follow my instructions, but the girl who’d appeared before them was clearly of a higher class than they. Not to mention, the graceful manner with which she conducted herself and ate her meal was slightly different from the manners of this country, but could only be considered to be in accordance with a high degree of etiquette. My family must have been somewhat intimidated by her presence, as they’d had difficulty keeping up the conversation with her. My hopes of winning this girl over through my wife and children had thus fallen flat.