I received a review from Teacher “Kusanagi Blade”! I never imagined the day would come when the author of a work I’m reading would review mine… Thank you so much!
It’s been ten months since I was summoned.
Some time has passed since the subjugation in the western forest. Since then, my surroundings have gotten a little noisier. It’s unavoidable, I suppose. After all, I ended up fully demonstrating my abilities as a 【Saint】.
The mysterious magic I activated seems, based on the subjugation’s outcome, to have been a technique used by the 【Saint】 as passed down from ancient times. That technique completely wiped out both the magical beasts and the eerie marsh. I recalled on the spot that there were tales of the 【Saint】’s techniques annihilating magical beasts, so I activated it but I never expected it would take the marsh with it too.
As for the marsh, the details still aren’t clear. I talked with the division commander about various things in the carriage back to the royal palace, and the marsh came up then too. It’s just a theory, but given that magical beasts were spawning from it and my magic erased it without a trace, it’s highly likely the marsh was made of miasma.
As far as the division commander knows, there’s never been any mention of a marsh like that before. It seems the conversation between the captain and the division commander when we discovered it was about the marsh too, they both said it was their first time seeing it. The captain apparently agrees it might be made of miasma.
So, I ended up erasing a mass of miasma like that, which probably counts as the purification of a place is an effect of the 【Saint】’s technique recorded in history. That’s what the division commander said.
We didn’t just talk about the marsh in the carriage, of course, we also discussed the 【Saint】’s techniques. The division commander’s excitement at that moment was beyond words. Her eyes practically changed color, and honestly, it freaked me out a little.
But it was the excitement of seeing a rare magic, not because she was convinced I’m the 【Saint】. In other words, she was her usual self. The captain was the same way. So I stayed a bit optimistic. I thought even after returning to the palace, nothing would change, and things would go on as before.
That illusion was shattered about a week after we returned from the subjugation.
It happened when I went from the institute to the library to return a borrowed book and I suddenly noticed something off about my surroundings.
For example, when someone walked toward me from the opposite direction. The palace corridors are wide enough that even if someone’s coming your way, there’s no need to step aside. The only time you’d need to dodge is if you’re taking the shortest path around a corner and nearly bump into someone head-on. And yet, I realized that everyone passing by was stepping aside and bowing their heads. It was like when some important person walks through. I tend to get lost in thought while walking and don’t pay much attention to my surroundings, but I’m pretty sure this never happened before.
Once I noticed, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I started paying more attention to see if anything else had changed. And there were changes, subtle ones but they were there. For instance, when I returned a book to the library, it used to be handled by whichever librarian was on duty, but now someone important deliberately comes out from the librarians’ back room to assist me. The room where I take lectures has changed too, it’s a bit more luxurious than before. The civil servant who notifies me about lectures is still the same person, but they seem awfully tense when dealing with me now. It’s not just them, people from the knight order and the court mage division act that way too.
Oh, but the people from the Second Knight Order I run into on the way to the library haven’t changed much. They’ve always had this air of reverence toward me. The folks at the institute are the same. Maybe it’s because most of them are only interested in research. Either they don’t know about the subjugation rumors, or they do but don’t care since it’s unrelated to their studies. I hope it’s the latter. If it’s the former, they might stop treating me the same as before.
“What’s wrong? You’re spacing out.”
“Oh, Director.”
I must’ve zoned out a bit while thinking about these recent changes. The director noticed my hands had stopped working on potion-making and called out to me. What should I say? I haven’t told the director that I activated the 【Saint】’s technique during the subjugation. When I got back, he was just relieved I was safe and didn’t ask about the mission details. Judging by the atmosphere in the palace, it feels like word of the subjugation has spread pretty widely. There’s no way the director doesn’t know.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking my surroundings have changed a bit.”
“Your surroundings?”
“Yeah. It’s like I’ve suddenly become some big shot. People at the palace are treating me oddly respectfully.”
“Ahh…”
He seemed to catch my drift at that point. The director’s expression shifted from a normal smile to a wry one.
“Well, right now, the palace is buzzing with talk about how amazing the 【Saint】’s technique was.”
“And that comes with who used it, right?”
“Of course.”
“I figured…”
“I heard about the subjugation from Al. Given your achievements, it’s only natural.”
I think the director’s right, but I’d really prefer if people kept treating me the way they used to. They were already polite enough before, and that was fine with me.
“If it weren’t for you, everyone who went on that subjugation might’ve been wiped out.”
“Maybe, but…”
“It’s not just this time either. The closer someone was to the action, the more grateful they probably feel toward you.”
“No, it’s not like that. I just did what I could, and I was in danger myself this time too.”
“You say that, but…”
“Honestly, if they’re grateful, I’d rather they just treat me normally. I’m not used to this…”
“You’ll get used to it eventually.”
“I don’t want to get used to it.”
Even when I pouted, the director just gave a troubled smile. After a pause, he muttered, “Sorry about that.” I glanced at him and saw a rare serious look on his face. What was he apologizing for? For this situation, maybe? I don’t think he needs to apologize for that. I’m the one who didn’t choose to refuse when they requested my support, after all. When I tilted my head, he explained.
“I’m grateful to you, you know. So I want to fulfill your wishes as much as I can.”
“Director…”
“But it might get a little tricky from now on. I probably won’t be able to grant everything. You might not be able to imagine it, but to us, the 【Saint】 is that special an existence.”
I’d heard bits and pieces before and had a vague sense of it, but it seems the 【Saint】 really is a special figure to the people of this country. I didn’t feel it much since the institute and Third Knight Order treat me normally, but ever since I started interacting with the Second Knight Order, I’ve noticed it more. Especially with how drastically everyone’s attitude has changed lately, it’s even more obvious now. Hearing it straight from the director’s mouth just drives it home.
“Tricky, as in I might have to leave the institute?”
“I don’t plan on making you leave, but if you keep joining subjugations, you’ll spend less time here.”
“Yeah. Even this last one kept me away for a few days.”
“The western forest is still relatively close. If you’re called to subjugations in the provinces, it’ll take even longer.”
“The provinces?”
“Yeah. The provinces are pretty worn out from the massive beast outbreaks. There’ve been a lot of pleas for the knight order to be dispatched.”
“So it’s not just around the capital.”
“Right. We’ll need to monitor things for a while, but if beast outbreaks calm down around the capital after this subjugation, they’re saying you’ll head to the provinces next.”
The provinces, huh. I’d heard before that it takes a week one way to the neighboring country. That’s probably the shortest route, so some places might take even longer. Subjugations don’t wrap up in a day either. It probably won’t be just one spot in the province either. Considering travel time both ways plus the subjugation itself, it might take a month.
“If I go to the provinces, would I be away from the capital for over a month?”
“Probably.”
“A month… I don’t know how often I’d be sent out, but I might barely be at the institute, right?”
“Well, you’d likely get some rest in the capital, but until the provinces settle down, that might be how it goes.”
Yeah, that makes sense. I’d hardly be at the institute, and who knows how long that’d last. It’s unclear when the provinces will calm down. In that situation, I can’t imagine staying a researcher forever. It’d feel wrong to stay on as a researcher when I’m barely doing any work here. If I only think about work, transferring to the court mage division might be better. Over there, subjugations could be my job. But I’d rather work here at the institute. Researching potions is fun. I must’ve let that show on my face, because the director called out to me with a worried look.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just… I want to stay a researcher, but I’ll barely be able to do any work here…”
“You feel bad about it?”
“Yeah. I should probably transfer to the court mage division or something, right?”
“Why not stay?”
“Huh?”
“The provinces have their own unique herbs and potions. If you think of it as a job to study those while you’re out there, there’s no problem with staying at the institute.”
“Is that okay?”
“I’m saying it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
As he squinted and smiled, I could almost see a halo glowing behind him. It seems my wish to stay a researcher is something he can handle with his authority. He even said he’d figure something out if higher-ups pushed for a transfer. Thank you, Director! So then, what’s the wish he said might be hard to grant?
“Well, that’s, uh…”
When I asked, the director hesitated, like it was hard to say. I’m curious, tell me already!
“You said before you wanted to live as a normal person, right?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s probably impossible from now on.”
Oh right, I did talk to him about that once, I recall. He said it flat-out impossible, and I agree. At this point, insisting on that would be unreasonable.
“I guess there’s no helping it. I’m half-resigned to it.”
“Half, huh?”
“Yeah. I’d still like to live quietly if I could.”
“I see. I’ll do my best to make your wishes come true as much as possible.”
He gave a wry smile and teased me lightly. Then he said he’d try to help, but… Director, are you really serious about making it happen? Your tone feels half-serious, half-joking, but I’m trusting you to pull through!