THE combined magic unleashed by the Spirit Priestess and the fake Holy Maiden manifested tremendous power that succeeded in repelling the dodongagas. Nichika felt bad for using the monsters in their plan, but not too bad since she hoped it might make them think twice about ruining the fields again since she heard that the pesky creatures made a habit of tearing up their harvests. Once things settled down outside, the captured Wolfie burst out of the mansion.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah! MASTER! I knew you would come for me!”
KLONK!
“Owwie!” he yelped.
The elated wolf leapt onto his master and was met by a fist bonking him on the head.
“A squirrel has more intelligence than you! Who in their right mind blindly follows a stranger offering them treats?!” Oswald scolded, removing the cover on the back of the detonator. He tore off the small magic crystal powering it, and the yellow loop around Wolfie’s neck fell off with a hiss.
Butler Will admired his handiwork from the side. “Ooh! Spectacular. Leave it to a witch to figure out how the detonator works at a glance. Did that disarm the explosives?”
“Y-Yeah. Almost all of these things have the same mechanism.” Unwilling to fess up that this was his invention, Oswald dubiously averted his eyes. He bent the circuitry until it was rendered useless and threw it away. Then he turned to watch the unusual scene unfolding in the noisy klehna field.
“What in Arcanshiel is the meaning of all this, Holy Maiden—no, you’re no maiden. Who are you?”
The mayor mourned in front of the burnt klehna field, but his anger was being completely ignored. For Angelica, the one at fault, was sticking to Nichika like glue and didn’t register anything anyone else said to her. She spoke to the hero who rescued her in a charmed, sickeningly sweet voice.
“Aaah, Lady Nichika… the moment you landed dashingly in front of me has been forever burnt into my memory.”
“Er…” Nichika forced a smile. She was at a loss with how to handle this situation. The fancy priss was gazing ardently at her face from a distance that entirely disregarded personal space.
“The electrical current that surged through me when our hands touched snatched my heart!” Angelica continued, ignoring that she was making her hero uncomfortable. “This is a first that I, Angelica Rubens, have felt this way…”
“How are you going to repay us?!” The mayor finally exploded when he saw her cheeks turning pink. “You were never the Holy Maiden, were you?!”
“Eesh! Silence, outsider! It’s extremely rude of you to interrupt my love talk with Lady Nichika! Go away!”
Her boundless arrogance managed to finally push the mayor over the edge. Turning dark red, he started swinging his arms around. “How can you act like that after devastating the village’s fields?! I’ve had enough! I’ll do whatever it takes to find your parents and have them take responsibility!”
“Go right ahead.” With a snap of her fingers, butler Will rushed over.
“You summoned, my lady?”
“Will, contact Daddy and tell him to pay this mayor whatever price he asks. I’ll buy it all, as is.”
“Excuse me?” The mayor’s mouth fell open.
“I think it would benefit us both if we built one of our family inns on this burnt field,” she continued with a fearless smile.
“Excuse me?”
Ignoring the mayor who could only parrot his own words, Angelica laid out her “Brownie Village Inn Town Plan” at length.
“I’ve had my eye on this village as the perfect stopover point for travelers heading to the bustling Windy Village. I’m happy to hire the villagers as staff, and travelers staying at the inn will spend money in the village during their stay… Why, we could rake in an even greater profit if we come up with a local specialty. I know! Mayor, you have excellent quality klehna leaves here. Why not expand from selling just the leaves to producing your own dyed products locally?”
“M-Manufacturing would require significant capital—”
Angelica’s face lit up and she heavily promoted herself as a merchant’s daughter. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll go to my father and have the Rubens family provide total backing for this project. Let’s start with a small dye factory. We can expand once we see how well it’s received.”
“R-Rubens?! Y-You mean the multibillionaires?!”
At last, the mayor realized that this arrogant princess wasn’t a Holy Maiden, but, in some senses, a more valuable person than a saint. The news nearly knocked his feet out from under him. But then he narrowed his eyes on her and pointed at her face.
“Are you trying to con me again?”
“How rude!”
Oswald stepped up to Nichika, who was zoning out during their negotiations. The newly freed Wolfie was with him. Relieved to be reunited at last, Nichika crouched and hugged his fluffy chest.
“Wolfie! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you feeling? Did they hurt you?”
“Nichika! I’ve been dying to see you.”
He seemed well enough because they made sure to feed him three meals a day. Actually, he seemed a little fatter since the last time she hugged him.
Turning a suspicious eye on him, she asked, “…Did you gain weight?”
“Dehehe! I could eat my fill of rib and yam-filled omelets and steak as long as I didn’t disobey them!”
Did Wolfie willingly follow them for the food? Nichika suspected.
Meanwhile, Angelica and the mayor seemed to have come to an agreement. Apparently, the construction of the inn would begin in a month’s time.
“She’s got some mad business skills…” Oswald commented, both impressed and staggered by the news.
“Not interested in this kind of money making?” Nichika asked the man who, though he didn’t show it much lately, was quite money hungry.
“Don’t even joke about it,” he replied, his face souring. “You can only make this kind of deal once you have plenty of capital and connections. Oh! Hold on. I can get just that if someone marries into that fancy lady’s family…”
“Whaaat?!”
“Okay, go get her!”
“Me?!”
Oswald threw Nichika in front of Angelica.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed, her face glowing as she cupped her hands around Nichika’s. “Lady Nichika, please wait just a little longer. I can get ready to go soon as I finish handing this project over to someone from my family.”
“Ready to go…where?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the reckless princess responded with a smile. “I shall accompany you on your journey. I will look after your every little need and care for your body and soul. And then someday…dehe…hehehe…guhehehehe.”
A chill scraped down Nichika’s spine before the drooling, enraptured princess. She frantically came up with a reason to stop her. “W-Wait! Wait! Who will run the inn?”
“I am merely suggesting the idea to Daddy. I plan to leave the rest to the professionals.”
“It’s too dangerous for you to come!”
“Please leave the danger to me. I shall burn everything in your way with my passionate flames! Also,” Angelica switched tactics and began listing off the benefits of taking her along, “if you so desire it, my family will pull all our resources to support you in every way. We will prepare the finest carriages for comfortable travel, arrange all the accommodations in each area, and set up bodyguard units when necessary.”
“Ugh…” Nichika’s resolve wavered a little at how nice Angelica’s offer sounded. But she dissuaded herself and put her hand on the shoulder of the girl who wouldn’t stop selling herself. “Thank you, Angelica. Your support means a lot to me. But I believe this journey is one that I have to walk with my own two feet, see with my eyes, and hear with my ears. I mustn’t overlook even the tiniest of oddities. That’s why I can’t accept your offer.”
Angelica looked like she was about to cry after her gentle yet firm rejection. After a few moments, she answered with a torn smile.
“You are awe inspiring… And that is exactly what it means to be the Spirit Priestess, isn’t it?”
“Aha…ahahaha. I don’t think I inspire all that much.”
“With that said, you will allow me to accompany you, won’t you?!”
“ARGH!”
Nichika felt like banging her head against the wall. Conversations with this girl always went in circles. Pulling herself together, she went with a different proposal.
“I have an idea! How about we do this?”