“This...this has to be the ‘Drop of the Cristallo Sacro,’” Eric sighed at the drop-shaped golden stone.
The key item Miss Maria needed to go home that we hadn’t had any idea how to get. Appearing as soon as all three Cristallo Sacro were cleansed, it was almost as if it was telling us that her duty had been fulfilled.
“And the thing in Lucia’s hand is...” Eric gave a pained look as he stared into my palm. He touched the golden-glowing white crystal with his fingers lightly, tears filling his amber eyes. “Shiro...”
My heart hurt as he whispered his name. The little dragon was gone. Though he was much bigger than he was when I was born, he still hadn’t been anywhere near an adult. We should have had more time with him.
“Thank you for helping the Sacred Maiden and Lucia, Shiro. Thank you for protecting our world.” Eric gently ran his fingers over the stone, just like he used to pet Shiro, before he looked up at me with a smile. “Don’t cry, Lucia. It’s not your fault. If you want to do something, you should thank him instead. It’d make him much happier than an apology.”
Eric straightened up, giving another teary smile.
Sir Agliardi came up behind him, as Lord Reynard and Sir Gaius followed. “Lady Maria, Lady Lucia.”
Stopping in front of Miss Maria and I, Sir Agliardi knelt, lowering his head deeply. Behind him, both the Canalis brothers, and even Sir Celes, followed suit. Eric also imitated the four knights.
Afterwards, Sir Agliardi started speaking once again, “Thank you so much for saving our world. I’m terribly sorry that we had to take you from your own world, Lady Maria. Though our swords may already be sworn to our country, from now on, wherever you may be, our hearts are devoted to the both of you.”
“Eh?”
“What!?”
Though Miss Maria had been nestled up close to His Highness as she cried, her jaw dropped at the Commander’s words. I must have been making the exact same face. But how was I supposed to act when they suddenly humbled themselves like that!
“Wait, what are you guys doing!?” Miss Maria screeched, flustered. “Seriously, stop bowing, it’s gross!”
The prince burst out laughing at her words. “Gross? That’s awful, Maria!”
“But...!”
“You made the knights at the castle kneel before you, didn’t you?”
“Stop! Don’t bring that up! I just got carried away!”
Giving the flustered Miss Maria another glance, His Highness kneeled before her, holding back a laugh. He kissed the hem of her skirt, narrowing his emerald eyes as he held it.
“Sacred Maiden Maria, our world was saved thanks to you. Allow me to express my gratitude once again. Thank you.”
“Not you too, Ed!”
After giving Miss Maria another beautiful smile, the prince turned to me. Oh, wait! Don’t do it to me, too! But my prayers went unanswered, as the Crown Prince of Banfield knelt before me of all people.
“Sacred Maiden Lucia.”
“No, Your Highness, please! Raise your head! I’m not a Sacred Maiden! You shouldn’t—”
Raising a hand to stop me from kneeling in front of him, the prince continued, “We’ve troubled you as well. I apologize for forcing the both of you into this, but thank you so much for saving our world.”
“No, I didn’t do anything!”
“I’ll tell my father too. Do you have any requests? I’ll make sure your wedding to Celestino goes off without a hitch. No one should have any reason to complain about a Sacred Maiden marrying our hero. Is there anything else?”
My mind went blank at his unexpected offer.
“I’m, I’m not a Sacred Maiden,” I bumbled. “As long as I’ll be allowed to marry Sir Celes, that’s all I need.”
“Wait, Lucia!”
“Miss Maria was the one summoned and sent off as the ‘Sacred Maiden.’ Returning with a second Sacred Maiden would only confuse everyone,” I said. “And Sir Gaius and I were sent off in secret. Only a few of the people at the castle saw us leave, so no one else knows. Since Miss Maria has been the only Sacred Maiden for our entire journey, there would be chaos if I was suddenly added!”
Miss Maria may have been pouting; things would get complicated if we turned up as-is. I was surprised already. No one would accept being told some random woman was a Sacred Maiden as well.
“And I’m going to get a monetary reward when we return as it is. As long as I can pay off my debt with that, I don’t need anything else.”
“Debt...”
“Eh, Lucia’s in debt, at her age!?”
The moment I said “debt,” everyone was up in arms. I guess I had never mentioned it before. Then again, since I hadn’t told them my life story, Sir Celes was the only one who would know.
“Um, I’d borrowed money to pay for my mother’s medication and our living expenses. I’ve paid more than half of it back after selling our house and using my wages from the castle, but...”
“Just how big is it!?”
“Oh, our house was old, so it didn’t sell for much at all. I managed to save some money by picking medicinal herbs on my own, but the doctor’s fees were quite high. I nearly had to resort to selling my own body.”
“You what!?”
Ah— I hadn’t mentioned that part to Sir Celes.
I rushed to correct myself as he went pale. “Since I got a job at the castle, I didn’t have to go to a brothel.”
“...You’ve lived a really hard life, huh.”
“Anyway, I’ll be able to pay off my debt, and, um...I already got what I wanted, so I don’t need anything else. The only thing I could request is for my existence to be swept under the rug, if at all possible.”
His Highness sighed, lamenting my lack of desires. It wasn’t that I had everything I wanted, but since Sir Celes had already given me most of them, I couldn’t think of anything else.