༺ No One Knows What This Is! (1) ༻
A few days since the night that a giant snake burned up.
The Grandmaster of the Ascending Sun Sect was declared missing.
It would definitely throw the world into chaos if it was revealed that her real identity was a giant man-eating snake.
“Not all of my master’s teachings were false. It is only that she traveled the wrong path. We must all bear in mind that anyone can lose their way.”
The place where the Grand Abbot died.
The giant snake carcass had already been removed, but the burnt mark and odor lingered heavily like a stain.
It was due to Brigitte’s intense flames.
Enkidus placed a single flower upon the blackened spot.
“Farewell, all of you.”
“…….”
I watched him silently.
Because it wouldn’t be cool to disrupt his moment when he had just killed his parent and master.
The wound on his chest was fixed by the miraculous relic, but the wound in his heart wouldn’t heal as easily.
But as long as he remembered that he was still alive, it was fine.
Even if the timeline of events got messed up.
“It’s the Priestess’, right?”
I looked at the 7-colored pearl held in Enkidus’ hand.
A relic that performed the miracle of saving a dying person.
Hina would have given that to me because she knew Enkidus would sustain a wound to his chest.
Even in the future, the Priestess of Yahbach’s order revived Enkidus using that treasure.
“Will she be coming here, that Priestess?”
The 3rd choice for the cleric position in the Demon King Subjugation party.
I was curious as to what kind of person she was.
I always wanted to meet her.
What I was most curious about though, was that in the future, the Priestess and Enkidus got along really well, apparently.
According to Hina, though they hadn’t been in a relationship, there definitely had been something between them, at least.
Which was why he killed his master, in order to save the Priestess.
No, maybe they became close after that event.
“Hard to say.”
When I asked for details, Hina said, “You can’t know…. Too much…. Even just knowing about things will change the future…. A lot…!” and scared me.
Well, the Priestess seemed to be heading here to Freesia.
It was to retrieve the Order’s treasure, the 7-colored pearl.
Of course, that was the official reason.
In reality, Elle Cladeco invited the Priestess to this principality.
From what I know, she would be arriving in Freesia today from the headquarters of the Order, Antielk.
And because of that, Freesia was abuzz with excitement.
“Hang it high! Higher! So that it can be seen clearly!”
「Welcome to Freesia, Priestess Iris.」
Placards were hung up.
Yellow balloons and flags decorated the streets everywhere like they were preparing for a party.
“Open the city’s gates!”
“The divine messengers from Antielk have arrived!”
Tantara—!!!
At last, with the sound of trumpets, the gates of Freesia opened wide.
Templars in shining silver armor marched in at the front like victors of war, and following them was a long procession of abbots in white robes.
Of course, our eyes were drawn to the carriage in the center of the procession.
It was a pumpkin-colored carriage pulled by two white horses, antiquated in a way that made it apparent that there was someone important riding inside.
Scree—
Soon, the carriage stopped and a red carpet was rolled out in front of it.
Now the door will open and someone will step out elegantly onto the carpet.
“I wonder what she’s like?”
“It’s the Priestess. Someone beautiful, I’d expect.”
“Actually, I heard that she has a big flaw in her appearance….”
The people’s excited chatter reached my ears.
Whoosh—
Right then, I sensed someone next to me and turned my head to see Cariote with her arms crossed, glaring at the carriage.
“This will be the second time I’m seeing the Priestess. We’ve joined forces before when fighting the Beast King in the Ancient City.”
Ah, true.
Cariote has met the Priestess before.
She saw the healing ‘miracle’, used to heal the wounded.
“She may be able to do something about my sister.”
That’s right.
Cariote’s demon sister was locked in the basement of the mansion, starring in her own exorcism film.
Her arms and legs were tied down but she still levitated and twisted her head 360 degrees!
━This Sifnoi commands you, be gone, you nymphobic demon…!
━Get this noisy nymph away from me! Right now! Please! I’d rather be with a cleric!
Anyway.
All eyes were focused in anticipation for about 5 minutes.
“Why isn’t she coming out?”
“I don’t know. She might need some time to prepare, being a lady.”
“Or….”
It was when everyone started talking nervously.
A rather strong-looking templar approached the carriage, his armor clattering noisily.
Then he knocked on the door and spoke.
“Priestess. You must come out now.”
It was a tiny voice.
But Cariote clicked her tongue at those words.
“The carriage is empty.”
Empty?
What is she talking about?
I tilted my head as the templar said, “Excuse me,” and opened the carriage door.
Which revealed the inside of the carriage to be actually bare!
“The Priestess isn’t here?”
“My goodness, what is happening?”
“Did she get kidnapped!?”
Everyone started to stir.
Soon, Cariote questioned me.
“Judas, what did you do with the Priestess?”
What.
I don’t even know her face.
It really wasn’t me this time, I swear!
* * *
Ding— Dong— Deng— Dong—
The bell rang in the classroom and hallway, marking the end of the school day for the first graders.
“Naru, let’s go.”
Cecily called Naru who was packing her bag.
Naru was struggling with packing due to Molumolu occupying the space.
“Molumolu, go into Naru’s shadow, not the bag…!”
Molumolu’s spot was usually inside Naru’s shadow.
Molumolu preferred dark and quiet places, so it would be within Naru’s shadow, or hidden under the teacher’s desk or the basement.
But today, it seemed to enjoy the inside of Naru’s bag.
It was curled up inside and no matter how much Naru pulled, it didn’t think to come out.
━Meoooww.
“Uuu, I have so many things to put inside my bag. Molumolu is not coming out for some reason.”
“Naru, are you done yet? The Priestess is coming to the city today. We might still be able to see the procession. It’s probably a noble and elegant procession.”
Cecily absolutely wanted to see the Priestess’ entry that was taking place this afternoon.
If they take the magic-engineered train to the city’s main gates, they’ll be able to watch.
But time kept passing with Naru unable to pack.
They were going to miss a big spectacle if it stayed this way.
“…Naru, you’re slow.”
Just then, Hina picked up Naru’s things.
She then placed them into her own bag which grew to twice its original size, but Hina carried it like it was no big deal.
“Like this, we can go home quickly.”
Hina made a ‘See?’ kind of expression.
She thought herself definitely smarter than Naru.
Of course, Naru didn’t care about that.
“Oh, holy shh…! Hina saved me…! It’s good to have sisters…!”
Family was a good thing.
Reflecting on the importance of family, Naru left the class with everyone else.
Hina, Naru, and Cecily.
The three were now waiting at the school entrance for Sifnoi.
Sifnoi as their sitter was usually responsible for the sisters’ return home.
But today, Sifnoi was later than usual.
“Sifnoi, is she lost?”
Naru tilted her head and looked around.
Sifnoi, who always arrived beforehand and waited for them, wasn’t showing up.
Then Cecily spoke as if she just remembered something.
“Come to think of it, she said there was some kind of exorcism happening in the basement, so she’ll be late. And I think it’s too late to go watch the Priestess’ parade. Should we just go home on our own, then?”
“Oh, holy shh…! Let’s go…!”
Naru lifted her hands energetically.
Hina spoke up from next to her.
“…Candy store…. Newly opened….”
Hina’s mind brought up the new candy store that opened on the street in front of the school.
She had never been to one so she was curious.
“Okay! Then let’s all go to the candy store!”
Like that, the candy store expedition began.
「Bizarre Candy Shop」
Its name was enough to give it a weird vibe.
There were no customers.
Of course, Naru and her sisters didn’t care about that.
Naru opened the door and asked the bald, heavily bearded owner.
“Are you the owner, mister?”
“Yes. I’m Candyman.”
“Oh, holy shh…! You look like a thief, not a candy store owner!”
“…….”
At the arrival of the unusual Naru, the store owner braced himself.
Soon, the other girls also came in and they were all quite cute.
They weren’t intimidated by the owner’s harsh face and looked around, which Candyman greatly appreciated.
‘I like kids. But because of my appearance, I don’t get customers even though I opened a candy shop. If I treat these girls well and they spread the news….’
Then this candy store business might flourish.
It was a new beginning in a new city with the money he had saved from stealing in another city far away.
Believing this to be the first step, Candyman asked the black-haired girl.
“Miss, what would you like?”
“No strawberries?”
“…This is a candy store. There’s strawberry-flavored candy, but no actual strawberries.”
“Actually, Naru already knew!”
“…….”
Not an easy one, Candyman thought as his bald head broke into a sweat.
Are all kids like this? No, compared to the black-haired one, the other two were tame.
Naru soon had a bag of candy in her hand.
Cecily, Naru, and Hina each grabbed a bag of their preferred flavor and placed it on the counter.
Naru liked strawberry, Cecily orange, and Hina chose peach.
Candyman thought they all chose ones that suited them.
Then a moment of silence.
Soon, Candyman realized he had forgotten something important.
“Do you guys have money…?”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The children all stared at each other.
For about 10 seconds.
Then, the pink-haired girl acted first.
Rustle— Rustle—
After a while of squirming, the child took out something from her pocket that was wrapped in foil, which was seeds.
Cherry-stones.
“…Here….”
Tododok—
Candyman Wigden received the seeds dropped into his palm. 1The whole Candyman section is an exact parody of/tribute to Paul Villiard’s autobiographical story “The Gift of Understanding” aka ‘Mr. Wigden’s Candy Shop’ in which the author used ‘cherry-stones’ to pay for the candy, received money change, then extended that same kindness as an adult to other kids. Read here.
He peered meticulously at the seeds and then at the children’s faces.
Soon, the pink-haired one asked very carefully.
“…Is it not enough…?”
Hearing the anxious voice, Candyman was reminded of his past from long ago.
His childhood before he became a thief.
When he was young, Candyman took a bunch of candy and paid with shiny pebbles instead of money; the candy store owner at the time didn’t chase him off and even gave him change.
A good memory, the only one from his childhood.
It was the reason he washed his hands of crime and opened a candy store.
As the warmth of that one and only memory bloomed within his heart, Candyman slowly replied with a tight throat.
“…Oh dear, I need to get you change.”
Saying that, Candyman gave them 500 arc coins each.
Jingle— Jingle—
“Come again soon.”
When they finally exited the store with a lollipop in each of their hands, Hina spoke up first.
“…That went over well….”
Naru also nodded seriously.
“I think Mister Owner is bad at math like Naru! Selling candy for cherry seeds and even giving change…! But he was nice so let’s tell the others!”
With that, they all started on their lollipops.
The way home tasted sweet.
As they were observing the hole in the wall and chasing after cats, Hina first discovered a ‘strange person’.
“That person….”
Tak— Tak— Tak— Tak— Tak— Tak—
There was someone who was swishing a stick around.
They were wearing white clothes and roaming around the alleys, appearing rather suspicious.
Cecily cautiously called to them.
“Ma’am, are you unable to see? What are you doing over there?”
The way they were holding and using the stick was indicative of someone blind.
As if that was indeed the case, the woman exclaimed, “Ah,” and nodded.
“That’s right, I cannot see. I’ve come from out of town and lost my way. Are you students of Graham Academy, by any chance?”
It was a beautiful voice.
Though her face was covered with a white veil, Cecily could tell that this woman was a most dignified and elegant lady.
Even if her eyes couldn’t see.
“To help those in need is a noble’s duty. If you are lost, this Cecily Von Ragdoll will guide you. Where would you like to go?”
Cecily offered.
At that, the lady with the white veil hummed in thought, then reached out to Cecily. Then she sniffed here and there before speaking.
“I thought you to be a kitten, but upon further inspection, you smell of gunpowder, the forest, and dirt. Are you a hunter’s daughter?”
“…I, I Cecily Von Ragdoll am a noble!”
“Is that so? I see. Someone I knew had the exact same smell as you. A fearsome hunter. But more importantly, do you know of the Junk Mansion?”
Junk Mansion.
Hina started at the words.
“Hina’s house….”
“Wow, holy shh…! A guest! Naru can take you!”
Naru was happy about a potential guest.
Furthermore, this ‘guest’ seemed familiar.
Nothing specific came to mind, but she knew that this person was good.
“Naru…. That’s an interesting name. What does it mean?”
“Naru doesn’t know!”
“Aha.”
The lady stranger sounded like she was smiling behind the veil.
Then with an ‘Ah,’ she spoke as if she remembered something.
“My name is Iris. Normally I’m addressed as ‘Miss Iris’, but call me however you like.”
“Oh, holy shh…! Okay, Iris!”
“…….”
She did say, however, but wasn’t this a little too casual, Iris thought. But soon it didn’t matter.
Children were such simple beings, after all.
The important thing was that she will be able to go to the Junk Mansion.
‘It’s impossible that another of the Order’s relics, the 7-colored jewel, exists. I must see for myself.’
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