Mirach’s younger twin sisters led us to the house’s parlor. We’d heard that his father, the village chief, was home today, and we were set to meet with him.
“Greetings. I am Mintaka Quark, chief of this village. Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us. I truly appreciate it.” I was surprised by how formally Chief Mintaka seemed to be speaking to a group of his son’s friends, but I soon realized why. Not one moment later, Chief Mintaka gave Sirius a deep bow.
“It’s a great honor to meet the esteemed vice-commander of the Náv Horned Beast Knights.”
Mirach looked panicked and tried to stop his father, but his efforts were no match for Chief Mintaka.
“F-Father, what are you talking about?! This isn’t the vice-commander; he’s a vice-captain!”
“His Excellency’s face is known throughout the continent. Did you really think no one would notice? I know I wasn’t present when you last visited, but as soon as I returned home, the first thing I heard was, ‘Vice-Commander Sirius came to our village!’”
Mirach’s mouth gaped open as soon as he heard that.
“How could that be? No one explicitly said or even hinted that they knew I was with the vice-commander, and yet, everyone was aware of his presence?”
“Precisely. Excuse me for saying this, but he has a flawlessly beautiful face, and his unusual silver hair is quite renowned. Not to mention, it’s obvious that the sword he carries is incredibly expensive.”
I glanced over at Sirius when he said that, and it was true—his sword was elaborately decorated, clearly a cut above the ones that normal knights carried.
“I…I see.” Mirach stammered. “So we should’ve done something about the vice-commander’s appearance and his sword…”
But Chief Mintaka paid no mind to his still-reeling son and turned to face Sirius.
“Vice-Commander Sirius, or perhaps…should I call you ‘vice-captain’ for now? Thank you for always looking after my foolish son. Additionally, I’d like to express my gratitude for all the hard work you’ve done and for visiting our village—not once, but twice.”
Chief Mintaka’s explanation made us belatedly realize that all the villagers had known who Sirius was during our previous visit, even though they hadn’t let on at all. I could tell from Sirius’s grim expression that he wasn’t too pleased that he’d been discovered. Still, he immediately masked his emotions and remained composed.
He really is impressive in situations like this, I mused.
“I never imagined the villagers would figure out who Sirius was,” I mumbled, feeling a bit regretful. “But it makes sense. Sirius is so famous that maybe trying to conceal his identity with just a new name and title was a mistake.”
Chief Mintaka nodded understandingly, “His Excellency is one of our kingdom’s heroes. And every man, be he young or old, aspires to be like him. And the women, well, they’re all captivated by his looks.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I agreed. “Since his face and name are so well known, there’s no way he could go incognito.”
Oh dear. We were putting so much effort into hiding Sirius’s true identity, but they must have thought, “We already know he’s the vice-commander, but they’re going through all this trouble to conceal it. How amusing.” It was honestly humiliating when I thought about it.
Realizing how pitiful I must have looked with my furrowed brow, I quickly thrust the handful of leaves I was carrying forward in an attempt to change the subject.
“Here you go, Chief Mintaka. This is some Galle Gold Leaf.”
“…What did you just say?”
My plan worked like a charm. The chief froze in surprise as his eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“Mirach gave me some Galle Red Leaf seedlings, and I was able to grow Galle Gold Leaf from them,” I explained.
After about ten seconds of silence, Chief Mintaka reached out and stroked the herbs with trembling hands.
“Th-they’re real? I never imagined in my wildest dreams that the Galle Gold Leaf would come back to our village after more than twenty years.”
Chief Mintaka appeared deeply moved as he rested his hand on the golden leaves and gazed at me through eyes that were starting to cloud with tears.
“…Sorry. I don’t know exactly what to call you, but you referred to the vice-commander without his title, so you must be of considerably high rank. Not to mention, the fact that you were able to cultivate Galle Gold Leaf in just a month’s time suggests that you must hold a position of considerable power, capable of influencing many saints. Perhaps allow me to address you as ‘Your Highness.’”
“Eeep!” I squealed in shock, my eyes wide as I stared at Chief Mintaka.
“Y-you were able to see through me too?! There’s no point in trying to hide my identity now! I should’ve known Mirach’s father would be just as clever as him!”
Chief Mintaka shook his head. He looked around the room, confirming that it was only the five us: me, Sirius, Mirach, Lukbar, and himself, before he gathered his resolve and started to speak.
“I’m not clever at all. I’m a complete fool, and I’ll tell you exactly why. To be honest…there’s something I’ve been keeping from the villagers for a long time.”
“Huh?”
“Ch-Chief, what are you saying?!”
Mirach and Lukbar both immediately reacted to Chief Mintaka’s sudden confession, their voices thick with shock. Seeing their reaction, Chief Mintaka sounded anguished as he continued.
“You probably already know this, but in this village, we’ve always lived in harmony with nature, avoiding any reliance on saints in our daily lives. As a result, we do not accept the use of healing magic, the only exception being when a saint imbues medicinal herbs with magic while preparing them for use as medicine. So, I must confess…a saint’s magic is required for the growth cycle of Galle herbs!”
Well, that wasn’t news to me. I’d told Mirach and Lukbar as much at the tea party the other day too. Since it was something we were already aware of, the three of us nodded quietly.
Seeing that we weren’t fazed by his confession, Chief Mintaka seemed to find some new resolve. With a look of determination, he shakily inhaled and continued to speak. “The three Galle herbs are actually all the same plant! If Galle Blue Leaf is imbued with magic and left to grow, it becomes Galle Red Leaf. If Galle Red Leaf is imbued with magic and left to grow, it becomes Galle Gold Leaf. And finally, if Galle Gold Leaf is imbued with magic and left to grow, it becomes Galle Blue Leaf once more!!”
Ah, that must’ve been hard for him to admit, I thought. Good job, Chief Mintaka.