The winter holiday started, and the ever-tumultuous school quieted down overnight. A few students still visited the sports ground daily to hone their skills, but it was nothing compared to the usual hustle and bustle.
I was currently hosting a guest in this quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Actually, that was kind of misleading—I wasn't really entertaining one guest, since he hadn't come alone. The person I was meeting had been accompanied by nine bodyguards.
My guest was currently sitting across from me, in the area I used as a parlor in my room on the fifth floor.
"Thank you for seeing me, King Aiz. Still, I wish you would have let me come to you instead. There was no need for you to go through the trouble of traveling."
"Please, don't mention it," he answered politely. "I'll rush to you whenever you need me. It will never be enough to atone for my sins, but it's the least I can do..."
The man sitting in front of me was Aiz, the king of the Bilberry Kingdom, and the main culprit behind the confinement incident. His attitude toward me had done a total 180, and he was now oddly friendly.
I guess he always was friendly... It's just that it used to be an act.I hadn't held him accountable for anything after the incident had come to an end. He hadn't pressed charges against Verner and the others either, so I hadn't seen a point in making a fuss. It would've been tactless.
By the way, I'd told Aiz that his concerns—the whole "me turning into the witch" thing, I mean—would never happen. I hadn't gone over the details because I didn't want Eterna to be in danger, but surprisingly enough, he'd believed me just like that.
Are you sure you're okay, old man? Aren't you supposed to be a super skeptical character? What happened?
Anyway, I'd sent him a letter saying I wanted to have a chat, and he'd come running without even sending a reply. Is meeting with a king supposed to be that easy?
"Your letter said you wanted to ask me something. How can this old fool assist you, Lady Ellize?"
"I'd like to learn more about the prophets," I said.
Aiz raised an eyebrow when the word "prophets" left my lips. Considering his reaction, he definitely knew something about them.
"For generations, prophets have predicted the saints' births. They've told the kings and queens where to find them," I continued. "However, I can't help but wonder why I know so little about them. Who are they? Where do they dwell? I'm afraid I know nothing...and I also fail to understand how they can predict such things. I'd like to think that I'm somewhat versed in magic, but as far as I know, no spell can foresee the future. Please...tell me what you know."
Aiz laughed. "You're somewhat versed in magic, you say? Everyone else must be a novice, then," he jested.
Oh dear. I guess I really am a genius, huh? To be fair, Ellize's body is where all the talent stems from. I haven't done much myself. I obviously knew I was one of the most skilled magicians in this world, but I couldn't just say it outright, could I? Modesty's really important to Japanese people!
"You're right, Lady Ellize, no spell can foresee the future. The prophet does not foresee anything using magic. They simply listen to God's words and share His will with us. If the saints are God's proxy, then you could say the prophets are God's messenger. Their identity and residence is a well-kept secret, passed down only to future kings by their predecessors."
I nodded, letting out little hums as I listened to the old man's explanation. I hadn't thought of things like that at all. As it turned out, prophets didn't predict the future—they shared God's will. I'm gonna assume that this "God" is the same entity that births the saints—the world itself.
This explanation made more sense than the idea that some people could somehow see the future. Since "God" was responsible for giving birth to the saints and whispering in the prophets' ears, it was only natural they'd know where to find the saints. The only thing that bugged me was that they were kept under wraps.
"Why do they live hidden?" I asked. "If they're so important, shouldn't the royal families shelter and protect them?"
"You'll understand when you meet them," Aiz answered. "I can still remember how shocked I was when I first did."
I'd get it when I met them, huh? Well, I was definitely down to—if I could, that was.
"You'll tell me where they are, right?" I asked.
"I can take you to them, but only you. You won't be allowed to bring anyone else along. To be honest, taking you to them is already a breach of contract..."
Just me, huh? I didn't really mind—it wasn't like I actually needed bodyguards anyway.
Still, to think the prophet had a contract with a king and had the means to force the king to respect his end of the bargain...
Don't they have a higher status than the saint?
The saint was supposed to be the most important person in this world, but at the end of the day, she was nothing but a sacrifice.
Layla, who'd been standing by my side quietly until now, suddenly spoke up. "P-Please wait... The two of you traveling alone would be far too dangerous. Please allow me to protect you, at the very least."
Scotterbrain! Did you even listen to what the old man just said?!
Aiz looked up at her and coldly said, "No. Only the heir to the throne is meant to know where the prophet dwells. I shouldn't even bring Lady Ellize, and I will not compromise further."
Layla refused to give up. "But—"
"Layla," I cut her off. "I'll be fine on my own. I need you to believe in me and wait."
There was no point in throwing a tantrum. What if the old man suddenly changed his mind and refused to take me because Layla annoyed him? I needed her to shut up and accept this.
I'd pulled the "believe in me" card, so Layla had no choice but to nod and stop arguing. Pushing the issue would be akin to saying she didn't trust me—her master. As the head of my guard, she couldn't do that. Especially not in front of other people.
"I understand, Lady Ellize..." she finally relented.
She didn't seem convinced, but she'd stopped arguing. That was good enough for me.
Shall we head to the prophet's place, then?
The winter holiday had barely started, and nothing important would happen until it ended. Verner would probably have to deal with a few events related to the heroines he was close to, but no matter how poorly he handled them, no one would die.
That means I don't need to interfere, right?
◇
To visit the prophet, we had to take the train! I knew that steam trains were a thing in this world, but I hadn't ridden one yet. I usually flew around or rode a carriage, so it was a nice change of pace.
Aiz and I were sitting on opposite sides. Since I didn't have much to do, I looked out the window to kill time. I eventually got bored of staring at the scenery and decided to start a conversation.
"I never would have imagined a train could take us straight to a place that's supposed to remain secret," I said.
"This track can only be used by the royal family," Aiz answered. "Commoners aren't allowed on this train."
I see...
I was starting to get why they'd decided to build a train track. If you stopped and thought about it for five minutes, it was the obvious choice. The royals were the only ones allowed to visit the prophet, so they couldn't use a carriage to head there. However, you couldn't expect royals to simply walk there on their own. Although the world had gotten much safer in recent years, and you could walk alongside the main roads without running into monsters, that obviously hadn't always been the case. There was no way a king or his successor could be allowed to wander alone under such conditions.
That said, trains didn't completely eliminate the danger. Monsters attacking a train wasn't completely unheard of, and they could also destroy the tracks.
"Isn't it dangerous to let the king board a train alone?" I asked. "You could die."
"Someone who's too scared to travel alone once in a while isn't fit to become king," Aiz answered. "Visiting the prophet alone is one of the trials a prince must clear before they're allowed to ascend the throne. It's almost...a rite of passage, I suppose. I myself took on this trial a long time ago... Back when I wanted to become king as fast as possible so I could save Lilia. I passed on this duty to my son, who also rode this train years ago..."
A lonely expression crossed his face. I didn't know what to say.
What's up, Aiz? Why're you suddenly trauma dumping?
I remembered him mentioning it before. He'd done his best to ascend the throne as quickly as possible, but he hadn't been able to help Lilia at all. She'd launched a suicide attack right after learning the truth and had died a brutal death, hadn't she?
He'd also mentioned that his son had boarded the train... But you're still king, aren't you? If his son had undergone the rite of passage to become king, but hadn't ascended the throne, it could only mean one thing: he was dead. He'd either died during the trial, or he'd lost his life soon after clearing it.
It's kinda hard to follow up after this sort of statement, though, so I really wish you'd stop trauma dumping on me.
I finally spoke up after a long pause. "By the way... This train has a conductor, right? Why is he allowed to be here?"
"Because the people who operate this train all come from a family that serves the prophet. We call them the 'guardians.'"
So the train crew doesn't work for the king, but for the prophet...
The guardians, huh? I couldn't help but imagine a bunch of half-naked people wearing straw skirts and armed with spears. They probably bore strange patterns on their bodies and wouldn't get our language...or something. Then again, they were operating a modern train, so I probably had the wrong idea...but still.
"The guardians... I wonder what kind of people they are. I can't wait to meet them," I said.
I most likely wouldn't run into the forest people I'd imagined at first. I couldn't guess what they'd look like. Maybe their appearance would exceed my imagination... Hell, maybe they'd look like time travelers from a distant future, and they'd be super smart!
The door of the car suddenly opened, jolting me from my reveries.
"Yks eht morf gnimoc si retsnom a!"
Huh?!
"Tnias, ytsejam ruoy, uoy tcetorp ll'ew."
What?!
Some, uh... Hmm... You know what? I didn't even know how to describe the beings that had just opened the door. They looked like monkeys with thick fur. No, they're not monkeys...or are they? They looked closer to humans than regular monkeys, but still... They're monkeys, right?Either way, I had absolutely no idea what they'd just said.
I looked at the old geezer, hoping for an explanation.
"They're guardians," he calmly stated.
What the—?! No matter how you spin it, these...people...are primitive men!
Talk about exceeding my imagination! I'd managed to picture the complete opposite! I would've accepted forest people, but this totally paled in comparison!
What the hell are they holding?! Is that a stick with a stone attached to it?!
"Hmm... What are they saying?" I asked.
"I don't know. All I can say is that they seem distressed," Aiz said.
It seemed like he didn't speak their language either.
The guardians surrounded us, their weapons in hand. Are they trying to...protect us?
"Wodniw eht morf yawa evom! Suoregnad s'ti!"
It sounded like they wanted us to do something, but I had absolutely no idea what. The guardians grabbed our hands and started pulling us away from the window.
What is it? What do you want?!
I was starting to get annoyed, but the next second, the guardian that had taken our place next to the window was seized by a large bird.
Oh. They were trying to tell us that sitting too close to the window was dangerous, weren't they?
"It looks like a monster found the train," I commented. Right outside the window, a large bird monster with a wing span of over three meters flapped about. It was a pretty attractive bird with a cute little face, black wings, and a white body.
The bird looked at us and cried, "Eeeediot!"
Oh boy, its cries are irritating. Ah! I remember now! That's an eediot bird!
These weaklings showed up in the game as well.
"Em dnim t'nod! Eelf! Ti tcartsid ll'i!"
The guardian it had caught was shouting something, but I still didn't get squat. I assumed it was along the lines of "Help me! Quick! It caught me because of you!"
I didn't usually go around helping monkeys, but... I guess I could make an exception today. I'd feel bad if he died because of me. Let's deal with this in a jiffy.
I stepped on the window frame and jumped out. The next second I was looming over the eediot bird. I brought my light blade down, killing it in one swing, before catching the guardian and returning to the train.
The other guardians started making a racket as I landed inside the train.
"Gnizama! Gnorts os er'uoy!"
"Tnias suoirolg, edarmoc ruo gnivas rof uoy knaht!"
I assumed they were happy I'd saved their friend.
The one I'd just helped grabbed my hands and started crying as it blubbered something unintelligible. "Roivas ym er'uoy! Uoy knaht! Uoy knaht!"
It was probably thanking me...or so I assumed.
Being thanked by a monkey doesn't exactly make me happy, though...
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