Episode 5
When we returned to the inn we’d been staying at — the Scarlet Frog — an unexpected figure was waiting for us.
A woman with black hair and silver eyes, wearing a smile with a permanent undercurrent of sarcasm.
I knew her, but she was the last person I’d have chosen to run into.
She was the Sage affiliated with the Kingdom of Grandol — the one who had sent us off on our journey to defeat the demon lord.
Her name was Monica.
Normally she was holed up in the royal library. So why on earth was she here…?
“Well, well. Back already, the saint’s little retinue?”
“…Monica-san. What are you doing here?”
Teresia clearly hadn’t known she was coming either — her mood dropped noticeably the moment she saw her.
I wasn’t quite as bothered myself, but Teresia got a sardonic remark out of Monica every single time they met, so her opinion of the woman was probably in the negatives.
For what it’s worth, Monica didn’t actually dislike Teresia — she just teased her.
Which, if anything, made it worse.
“As for why I’m here — yes, well. For a very, very personal reason.”
“Please get to the point.”
“I came to see you.”
“…Could you be slightly more specific.”
“My, you said ‘get to the point,’ so I explained myself as concisely as I was able. You seem to make a habit of conducting yourself in ways befitting a saint at face value, but it seems that slips a little when you let your guard down. Charming of you, though, in its own way. Very well, I’ll elaborate.”
I thought: she really does have a gift for talking.
“Word reached me that the demon lord had been successfully defeated. I had no particular interest in the matter myself, but the royal family kept pestering me — ‘go and verify it’ — on and on, you know how they are. Going out is a nuisance, but I did want to see your faces again after so long. So here I am.”
“From the royal family themselves?”
Teresia frowned, though her expression gave little away.
She was clearly annoyed by Monica’s presence — that much was certain — but what was running underneath it I couldn’t quite read, probably because Monica was standing right in front of us.
“My, is something the matter? I agree the royals are tiresome, but I’d have thought you were better at managing them than this.”
“Reporting to one’s superiors is complicated, in various ways. And the fact that you’ve been sent here naturally leads me to think there was something lacking in my report.”
“Or perhaps they weren’t satisfied with the report. Something along those lines?”
“It amounts to the same thing. So — what am I supposed to do now? Write you a new report and submit it?”
“Before that, might I have a word with her?”
And without warning, Monica glanced over at me with a sharp little smile.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it — My Lady, Knight of the Saint?”
“I think that title might need some revision.”
“Oh? I thought it was the most fitting description for someone who, as far as anyone knows, possesses no particular abilities whatsoever.”
“On that point, I’d have to agree.”
Unlike the saint or the sage, I had no special power of any kind.
Well — strictly speaking, the demon lord’s mantle might count as my special quality.
But there was no need to tell Monica that right now.
“…Excuse me. Monica-san.”
Before our conversation could properly begin, Teresia stepped between us, her voice conspicuously flat.
“As I believe I reported — Yurina sustained serious injuries during the battle with the demon lord. She’s only just recovered enough to move around, and there is still damage to her body.”
“Of course, I’m aware of that. But she is also a key witness to the confrontation between the saint and the demon lord. Hearing her account directly is surely important.”
Teresia’s expression soured — then, reluctantly: “At the very least, please wait for another day.”
“That would be rather too blunt, even for me.”
“…Yurina and I both need time to talk things through.”
“A little more.”
“…Please. Work with us.”
“Very well. I’ll yield on that.”
Monica smiled pleasantly.
“We go back far enough, the three of us. If you’re going to ask me directly — I suppose I have no choice.”
“You really do have a remarkable personality.”
“And — should you find yourself in need of a mind to consult? I am called the Sage, after all, and I do flatter myself that I have a reasonably capable head on my shoulders.”
“…I’ll keep that as an option of last resort.”
“As you like.”
She didn’t press any further. Instead she said simply, “Well then, I’ll leave you to it,” and genuinely turned to go.
“I’m staying at an inn called the Blue-Winged Crow. Come find me if you need anything.”
Click, click, click, click — and just like that, she was gone.