Chapter 94: Failed Recruitment and the Crying Saint
Narrator POV
Mizusawa Kazue is running around the city looking for information about the saint who was under her protection.
While the saint is being kept safe within the Azurearozi Mansion, Kazue, and her friends go out to do things that might help them to safely protect the saint.
Meanwhile, Kazue's friends...
Yuma and Coco went out to see if they could contact Coco's father earlier so they could ask him to help them with this problem.
Nikko and Matsuo go around the residential area of the city to hear some rumors about the things happening in the city.
Rio went to the Assassin's Order meeting without telling anyone not even Kazue.
Lastly.
The otaku boys stayed in the mansion to protect the saint together with Kazue's familiars and the people of the mansion.
After leaving the mansion she did not waste her time and went straight to the heart of the city, the city plaza.
Kazue was visiting the Adventurer's Guild and the Church of Life's temple that was in the plaza.
Only a few people were walking around the plaza making the place feel dark and gloomy.
As usual, Kazue was unable to find out anything helpful.
Kazue has been visiting this place ever since she arrived with Calm to look for useful information.
Despite not finding anything so far, she still insists on coming here as she does not want to miss a thing.
She was doing this to ease her doubts and assure herself that she had not missed anything vital to ensure Calm's safety.
Today, she felt like coming here again.
She was not expecting to find much but she decided to stay here.
No, the main reason she wanted to visit this place was because of a certain feeling.
Kazue had been feeling something eerie since last night.
It was as if all of the hairs on her back were standing up.
She could feel that something was wrong.
She keeps having this feeling of unease as if she is being watched.
Thus, despite knowing that she would not find anything in this place she still came.
Kazue did not want to miss anything.
"Just to be sure" is the reason why she came.
While walking to the plaza, Kazue stayed vigilant and walked on full alert.
She surveyed her surroundings double and even triple checking her back for people who might be following her.
She was sure that no one was there but she kept on having that feeling.
Maybe, this was just her being too paranoid.
-sigh-
Kazue sighed seeing that she had arrived in front of the Adventurer's guild.
She pretended to look at the request form posted in front of the guild.
Kazue tried to shake it off by letting out a big sigh.
"This is not good, I think I am getting paranoid..." <Kazue>
She silently told herself with a whisper.
Kazue has never been this stressed all her life.
She usually doesn't stress about things happening around her but this time around, her and Calm's lives were at stake.
She can't just say that this does not concern her.
Well, this is not a situation any normal person living in their old world would have to think about.
Kazue started scratching her head with an annoyed face.
"It's so not me..." <Kazue>
She said, to herself this time to mock herself for acting like that.
She knew that she needed to put herself together or else she will just drag everyone down.
She wanted to boost her morale so what she did was to slap her face in between her two hands like a sandwich to encourage herself just like what she saw in Anime and manga.
-slap- -slap-
"Alright!" <Kazue>
It was early in the morning.
Many adventurers had been gathering in front of the guild to take on quests for their daily living.
Those adventurers notice Kazue who just slapped her face so loudly that it almost left a red welt on her face.
"What is that person doing."
"What's her problem?"
Said some adventurers present in the guild.
These adventurers were looking at Kazue with weird expressions on their faces.
It was as if they were looking at a crazy person.
Kazue's face turned red, not because of the slap but it turned red because of the embarrassment.
Kazue pretended to not notice the troubled gazes of the adventurers who looked at her.
"Okay, what quest should I take today!" <Kazue>
She said in a loud voice to divert the attention of the adventurers.
Kazue pretended to look at the quest request posted on the guild bulletin board.
It did not take long for the adventurer to separate their gaze from Kazue and go on with their usual lives.
When Kazue confirmed that no one was paying attention to her she stopped pretending to look for a quest.
-sigh-
"Am I stupid?" <Kazue>
Kazue turned around to enter the guild and spy on the adventurers' gossip as she usually does.
As she turned around...
"Oh." <Girl>
"Ah..." <Kazue>
Her face was painted with a surprised look.
A person was standing opposite her.
"Shino-san." <Kazue>
"Kazue-san?" <Girl/Shino>
The person standing opposite her was Uesaka Shino, another one of Kazue's former classmates.
"Oh my, it's been days. How are you doing Kazue-san?" <Kazue>
At that moment Kazue was reminded once again.
She forgot that Uesaka Shino was also in Vestir.
She met Shino a few days ago when she was shopping for Calm's disguise.
In fact, one of the reasons why Kazue picked the outfit of a thief-class adventurer was because of Shino who was wearing such kind of clothes.
At that time she thought that it would be funny if she saw Calm in such clothes.
After all, the clothes made for the people who have the thief class are often very revealing.
"Oh... I've been doing well, how about you?" <Kazue>
"Me? Well as you can see I am doing well as well!" <Shino>
"I see..." <Kazue>
[Should I also ask her to help us to protect the saint?]
Kazue thought looking at her.
Last time, she also thought of asking Shino to help her protect the saint but she ended up not doing so.
At that time, Kazue was still taking things lightly.
Kazue was only able to grasp the real intensity of the situation when she faced some of the assassins who wanted to kill Calm.
At that time, she realized that she needed help to protect Calm.
As she is now, she will not hesitate to ask Shino for help.
"What are you doing right now Shino-san?" <Kazue>
"Hmnn? Well, I was going to report the completion of the quest I finished yesterday and claim my rewards. I was just wondering if there was some interesting quest posted today." <Shino>
"I see... does that mean you have time after this?" <Kazue>
"Hmnn... I have some time... I guess?" <Shino>
Shino made a troubled look.
"Oh... perhaps are you busy after this?" <Kazue>
"Well, I have things to do for my employer but I guess I can make some time to talk with you at least. Do you need something?" <Shino>
"Oh..." <Kazue>
[Oh, I guess she's busy? Hmnn... should I tell her about the saint...]
Kazue decided to tell her about Calm after talking with her.
"Well then... Can I have some of your time then Shino-san?" <Kazue>
"Sure, fufufu." <Shino>
"Hmnn? Is something wrong?" <Kazue>
"No, I was not expecting Kazue of all people to ask me out to talk." <Shino>
By then, Kazue knew why would Shino say such things.
It was true that Kazue was not somebody to initiate a conversation with others.
Kazue was completely aware that it was out of her character to ask Shino to talk.
"Hahaha... yeah, I understand what you mean." <Kazue>
"Right? Well, it's not so often for a pedestrian like me to talk with Kazue-san." <Shino>
"Pedestrian? ... what does that mean Shino-san?" <Kazue>
Kazue unable to understand Shino's joke asked.
Back in their world, Kazue is actually quite popular.
Although her popularity pales compared to the people around her, she is still very famous.
"The sharp-eyed girl who is Chiho's best friend".
Everyone knew that.
She was also popular amongst a minority of the guys who liked anime and games.
Compared to Shino herself, Kazue was more the "popular" person in the school.
Well, Kazue herself did not know about this herself.
Kazue let out an awkward laugh.
"This is perfect, I still haven't had my breakfast, how about finding a place to eat after I report my quest completion? How about we talk while we eat?" <Shino>
"Okay... I'll wait for you here then." <Kazue>
"Kay." <Shino>
Kazue stayed outside near the guild's bulletin and waited for Shino who went inside the guild to report her quest completion.
While Shino was doing that Kazue was thinking of how to tell her about her problems.
A few minutes later.
"I made you wait. Sorry." <Shino>
"No it's okay, it's me who wants to talk anyway." <Kazue>
"I know a good place to talk and eat, how about we go there?" <Shino>
Shino points in some direction.
Kazue nodded at Shino's suggestion and the two proceeded to go to the place Shino recommended.
They walked away from the guild and went to the business area of the city.
The two entered a nice place to eat.
The place does not look nice but it was not high-class in any way.
It was a simple and nice place to eat, it looked more like a house than it was a restaurant.
From the looks of it, it seems that the place was originally a house renovated to become a place to eat.
[There are not many people here.]
Kazue thought.
She looked around and saw a few people eating there.
From the looks of it, it seems that the people eating here was normally citizen of the city.
The only adventurer-looking people eating there were Kazue and Shino.
It was not as if adventurers were not welcome here, it was just that adventurers would often eat in the guild's eatery instead of a normal eatery such as this place.
It was normal for Kazue to eat in a place like this back in their world.
After becoming an adventurer she would often eat in the guild eatery or in a famous place to eat.
It was nice to eat in such a place after a while.
Kazue was even surprised to see such a place in this world.
She thought that it was a very refreshing experience.
Kazue and Shino sat at a small table and ordered food to eat.
Kazue already had her breakfast at the Mansion served by the people there.
She ordered minimalistic having a cup of tea and a sandwich.
"I already ate before leaving the place I stay in so don't mind me." <Kazue>
"Oh, I see, then..." <Shino>
Looking at the menu, Shino ordered a heavy breakfast meal for herself.
While waiting for the food the two had small talk to kill time waiting for the food to arrive.
The two exchanged words talking about many things.
Kazue asked about the things that happened on Shino's side after they met a few days ago.
Shino explained the quests she did after they met that day.
Then she talked about her time here in Vestir.
Shino has been staying at the manor of the Viscount who employed her in the escort mission from Artesia to Riles.
Shino then talked about the employer who employed a lot of adventurers to escort him to this city.
It seems that the Viscount stayed in contact with Shino after taking a liking to how she worked with him in the previous escort mission.
He personally asked Shino to do a lot of things for him while she was here in Vestir.
The two talked leisurely while eating.
[She's working with a Viscount...]
[A noble... nobles...]
[I can't trust nobles very much.]
Kazue thought while listening to Shino.
Kazue knew that the people helping the Empire of Ecclesia were the nobles from Artesia.
She did not know the reason why nobles from Artesia were helping Ecclesia.
Out of all the people here in Riles, the nobles from Artesia are the most suspicious.
She already discovered that the person she killed to protect Calm from a few days ago was also a noble.
She knew this from listening to the gossip of the people around the area.
It seemed that the man she beheaded was a noble from Artesia.
Hearing that the person who tried to kill Calm was a noble, she became more careful dealing with them.
Aside from the house of Azurearozi, Kazue did not know much about other nobles.
By just hearing about the fact the person Shino was working with was a noble.
Kazue could not help but doubt his motive to be here in Vestir.
[Is he one of the people targeting Calm?]
[Could it be that that viscount is involved with Calm's matters?]
[Can we trust that noble?]
[What is his motive for coming here to Riles.]
[What is the chance that the viscount is working with Ecclesia.]
[Is it okay to trust that noble?]
Many questions popped out of Kazue's mind all at once.
Her face became twisted thinking about these things.
Despite not showing it on her face, Shino was able to notice that Kazue was bothered by something she said.
As Kazue was deep in her thoughts, Shino spoke.
"So? What is the reason you wanted to talk to me Kazue-san." <Shino>
Shino asked.
There was a tone of seriousness behind this question as Shino noticed that Kazue might want to ask her a serious thing.
[I can trust Shino but the Viscount... not very much.]
Kazue thought before speaking.
"If you promise to tell anyone, not even the viscount, I will tell you." <Kazue>
"I can at least listen..." <Shino>
"Okay... the thing is..." <Kazue>
Kazue explains the situation in the least details possible.
She decided not to tell specific matters such as where and who was guarding Calm.
Kazue only told Shino about the fact that she was protecting the saint who was being targeted by assassins.
Assassins that she suspects the nobles hired to kill Calm Eastertale.
Shino nodded after hearing about this and understood why Kazue was reluctant to reveal all the details about the saint.
Shino opened her mouth to convey what she thought.
"I think that the viscount can be trusted, but well... I will have to look deeper into it if I am to tell him about this matter. Don't worry Kazue-san I will not tell the viscount for now unless I am 100% sure that he is on your side. And also, sorry, I can't go with you. As you can see I have lots of things to do for the viscount at the moment. I really want to help but I can't leave my job all of a sudden." <Shino>
"I see, I understand. I am glad to talk to you about this anyway." <Kazue>
"I am sorry to waste your time Kazue-san." <Shino>
"No, it's okay. Those guys had been helping me a lot, so it's fine." <Kazue>
"Those guys?" <Shino>
"Oh... actually..." <Kazue>
The conversation transitioned toward the time when Kazue met their former classmates and how they ended up helping her.
The two continued to talk for a little while before separating as they left the place.
In the end, The two separated at the doorway of the cafe.
"I wish you luck with your problems Kazue-san, See you later." <Shino>
"Same here, see you later, and good luck with your job, bye Shino-san." <Kazue>
They waved goodbyes and walked in separate ways.
The two walked in different directions.
"Aa~ I failed to recruit somebody. Well... at least I tried." <Kazue>
Kazue thought it was a shame but it could not be helped.
Shino was doing lots of things, plus Kazue was unsure of the Viscounts' intentions.
Kazue did not want to force others to help her with her problems anyway.
She did not feel bad about Shino despite refusing her in any way.
By the time the two separated, it was about noon.
She walked around the town soon after the two separated.
Since Kazue plans to return to the mansion by the mid-afternoon, she still has time to investigate some other places.
Kazue visited the temple only to find nothing.
She stayed there for about an hour but nothing.
In a way, she was not expecting to see anything there anyway so she was not very disappointed.
After not finding anything she decided to return earlier than she planned.
[I wonder what the others are doing.]
She thought as she walked back to the mansion.
As Kazue was walking to the Azurearozi mansion.
"Ah, Miss Kazue..." <Male Voice>
A voice called out to her as she was walking by the streets all of a sudden.
She was in full vigilance of her surroundings.
Despite being vigilant, she did not notice him until he called out her name.
Thankfully, Kazue was prepared and was carrying her sword in her waist.
She already took the sword out from the Guild Ring's inventory before she went out of the mansion.
She pulled out her sword and swung it in the direction of the voice.
Without much effort, the person who talked caught her sword between his thumb and index finger.
It was as if he was picking up something in the air with no effort.
By no means Kazue's swing was slow.
No, she swung her sword intending to harm someone.
But it was stopped easily by this person.
!!!
"whoa~ whoa~ easy..." <Male Voice>
"Ah..." <Kazue>
"Don't Ah me, you don't just point your sword to the people calling you out you know." <Male Voice>
"Sorry, I was just surprised since you suddenly appeared all of a sudden." <Kazue>
Kazue realized her mistake after it and made a sorry look on her face.
But, after seeing the person who just appeared she relaxed and dropped her guard.
"Don't appear so suddenly like that Argent-sempai." <Kazue>
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry." <Male Voice/Argent>
He shook his hands playfully at Kazue.
"Seeing you here, I guess you are returning to the mansion?" <Argent>
Kazue sheath her sword and continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.
Argent walked beside Kazue.
Walking beside Argent, Kazue felt safe.
[I don't know why... walking with Argent-sempai like this is so reassuring... I feel relaxed.]
Kazue thought as she walked next to Argent.
Maybe... this was because she knew that Argent was someone who could deal with dangers easily because of how strong he was.
After all, he was someone who could easily fend off her attack without putting any effort.
What happened just now, when he caught her sword in the way he did was proof that he was that powerful.
Kazue felt safe walking beside him.
Kazue placed her sword back into the guild ring's storage feature.
Feeling at ease.
Kazue remembers something and asks about it right away.
"Oh right... I thought you were with Miss Alicia? <Kazue>
"We were but she has things to do." <Argent>
"Hmnn that so?... are you also returning to the mansion Argent-sempai." <Kazue>
"Yeah, she told me to wait for her there." <Argent>
"I see... well that is great..." <Kazue>
Kazue's hopes went up.
Just hearing that Argent was going back to the mansion means that the place will be safer than ever.
With Argent being present in the mansion it will be harder for assassins to attack the place.
"Where is Miss Alicia?" <Kazue>
"She said she has to talk with Guildmaster Svencity for whatever reason." <Argent>
"Guildmaster Svencity?" <Kazue>
Kazue asked with an oblivious face.
From how she looked, it was obvious that Kazue was unaware of who Guildmaster Svencity was.
"Oi, oi? Don't tell me you don't know him?" <Argent>
Argent asked as he noticed Kazue's reaction upon hearing the name.
Kazue shook her head as she replied.
"I think I heard of his name somewhere..." <Kazue>
-sigh-
"This girl...--" <Argent>
Argent sighed and said something to himself.
"???, is there a problem if I don't know him?" <Kazue>
"Problem? Well... It's not a problem but as an adventurer, you should at least know who is Guildmaster Svencity. These things are common sense that every adventurer should know." <Argent>
"Oh... sorry, people do say that I lack... common sense." <Kazue>
Argent sighed before he answered.
"I can see that..." <Argent>
"So? Who is he?" <Kazue>
"Guildmaster Svencity, well to put it simply... he is the strongest adventurer." <Argent>
"Oh... I see... I'll remember that." <Kazue>
"Your reaction is a bit lacking but yeah... You should know about that..." <Argent>
"I'm sorry if I lack the reaction you were expecting but this is just how I am." <Kazue>
"I get it, I get it..." <Argent>
There was silence after that.
It seems that the conversation just ended.
The two did not talk much after that, they walked without a word heading to the mansion.
Normally this would have been an awkward walk to the mansion but to Kazue it felt natural to not say a word.
She did not feel awkward, rather she felt at ease walking with Argent side by side without a word.
It felt very nostalgic to her, and she could not explain why.
It was so natural that she did not even ask herself why she felt at ease with this masked guy.
Soon they arrived at the front gate of the mansion.
"We're here." <Argent>
"Yeah..." <Kazue>
The guards opened the gates without us asking.
They seemed to have memorized our faces that they were no need for us to announce ourselves to enter the mansion's premises.
They bowed to us with respect as we entered the mansion.
Kazue finds this very amusing.
She felt as if she was such a VIP being treated like this by the guards and the servants of the mansion.
As Kazue entered the mansion she heard a cry.
This cry was from a familiar voice.
"CALM!" <Kazue>
She rushed as she heard Calm's voice crying and wailing.
As Kazue rushed to the mansion she saw that her room's door was open and the butler was standing at the door.
She entered the room and saw the situation.
She saw the awkward faces of her former classmates looking at the same scene she was looking at the moment.
"What is happening?" <Kazue>
"We wanted to ask the same thing...." <Naonobu>
What she saw was Calm crying.
She was burying her face over a man's chest.
A man whom Kazue has never seen before.
"Dafuq?" <Kazue>
"Excuse me, If I may answer, Kazue-sama." <Condrad>
The butler, mister Condrad answered her question instead.
Kazue nods at the butler allowing him to answer.
"That person right there is Mr. Aaron Van Zelle. He is the leader of the guards protecting the saint." <Condrad>
"Oh... that person is THAT Aaron Van Zelle." <Kazue>
Upon hearing the unknown man in her sight, Kazue immediately had an idea of what was happening.
"Uwah..." <Kazue>
To put it simply...
She saw the honey-filled scene of a maiden crying on the chest of the man she liked.
As the two were hugging each other, Calm did not notice Kazue arriving.
She was too focused on the fact that she was hugging the man who she wanted to see after getting separated 8 days ago.
Kazue did not know how to react seeing the sweet atmosphere between the two.
Kazue showed them a conflicted look.
-cough-
"Umm..." <Aaron>
Aaron noticed Kazue after making a sound to call their attention.
He looked at Calm who buried her face in his chest.
He seemed to have realized the situation.
From the way the two was hugging it would not be a surprise if other would think that the two were in that kind of a relationship.
His face turned red.
"Uh... this is... It's not what you think..." <Aaron>
He quickly tapped Calm to call her attention too.
"Calm-sama!" <Aaron>
Aaron came to his senses.
As one of Calm's guard Knights, Aaron's action from earlier was unacceptable.
In his mind, the act of hugging each other passionately such as what they were doing earlier was an act that only lovers would do.
Of course, people may think that this much is normal.
But...
This place is the capital city of the Nation that is also called the "Nation of Boundless Love".
Being exposed to the culture of a country that is known for all kinds of romantic meetings, Aaron's mind could not think otherwise.
It was no surprise that Aaron had a mind filled with Rainbows and Roses.
It would be a lie if he said that he never secretly fantasized about having a romantic relationship with the saint.
Having these thoughts in his mind, his face became even redder.
He knew he was more attracted to Calm than a knight would see his master.
He was well aware of his feelings, but still, he could not think of realizing this feeling.
He was a knight, Calm is the saint.
There is a line that he must not cross.
Meanwhile
Without changing her expression, the side of Kazue who wanted to tease the two who clearly liked each other was trying to get out.
She could not help but be amused by their situation.
Aaron's reaction made Kazue think that he was cute.
She thought that these two suited each other well.
Seeing how Aaron reacted Kazue thought that he was not that bad of a man.
Rather Kazue found that Aaron was a cute guy.
Author Note:
Hi! It's been a while again.
I have not updated this story for a surprising 8 months already?! Really?
Well, I was being depressed all that time.
I wrote up to chapter 112 (Arc end), I just need to edit them.
anyway, I will be updating the story till I finish the current Arc 2x a week. (Release on Sunday and Wednesdays)
Once we catch up to the latest chapter I've written in advance then I will go back to once a week.
Sorry for my old readers who might have forgotten what is happening in the story.
Anyway, here we go again.