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“………H-huh?”
Leo was surprised–no, not just surprised, but scared as well. He did his best to hide his real name, but Chris found out his true identity… and she probably wouldn’t forgive him for what he did.
However, contrary to his master, Kai wasn’t scared. He was ready to attack Chris if she showed any signs of hostility. But instead of getting offended by the actions of the young butler, the person in question, Chris, just chuckled gently, and said–
“–You don’t have to be so wary of me, Kai. I don’t want to hurt her. Besides, there’s no way I would mistake those purple eyes. Also, her clothes and her fake name didn’t really help in disguising her real identity, in the first place.”
“Well, you’re right about her disguise… haaah∼, sorry… if you really wanted to harm her, you probably wouldn’t have waited for me to get better, right?”
“Fufu, it’s okay, don’t worry about that.”
Chris then reached to the side and grabbed three loaves of bread wrapped in a piece of cloth. Apparently, they were the leftovers of the last batch. She then split one of them in two and handed one half to Kai… and the other to Leo.
“Here, a snack.” – Said Chris, with a warm smile.
“E-eh…? Oh, uh, t-thanks… . “
Leo wasn’t expecting to be forgiven that easily. He thought that Chris would, at least, give him a sermon, or admonish him in some way… but she didn’t do anything. She just kept staring at him with that warm smile.
“Like I said before, I don’t blame you, Leonora-sama. Sure, those things only happened because you exposed Harlet, but it wasn’t your fault. The citizens are now reaping what they sowed. Because of what they did, the streets are all dirty and no one’s going to take care of that for them.”
“Ugh…!”
Indeed. Some of the streets were really filthy. It was like the citizens were living in a pigsty. And Leo was the one responsible for this–
(T-that’s right, isn’t it!? Those guys from the church used to clean the streets every week, but because of me, they lost their jobs, which means, I doomed the citizens as well!)
–However, Kai, who saw his master writhing in agony because of what Chris said, had a different opinion on the matter.
“Oi, Chris! You don’t have to throw that on my master’s face, you know!? She is aware of what’s happening here in Richard, so could you please, stop repeating the same thing over and over again!? Can’t you see that she’s writhing in agony over here–!?”
(H-huh!? What are you talking about, Kai!?)
If it weren’t for Chris, Leo would still be in the dark, after all, he didn’t know what happened after the incident… no one wanted to tell him anything. So, he was a bit surprised when Kai said: “She is aware of what’s happening here in Richard.”
“–My master already knew that the citizens were suffering because of the poor public maintenance of this city! So she came here, by herself, even though this matter wasn’t even her responsibility in the first place, just to see what she could do for them!”
(Wha-!? I-I’m not that altruistic, you know!? I-I just came here to make a lot of money, not to help other people!)
“T-that wasn’t my intention, sorry! I-in fact, I agree with you, Kai. I was just trying to say that, even if she blames herself, it won’t change the fact that Harlet started a conspiracy to overthrow the High Noble Society, and that the citizens burned down a lot of churches. So you should be proud of yourself, Leonora-sama… after all, you saved a lot of people.”
“Chris… . “
(So… this is an Ex-High Priestess… . As expected, Chris is such a nice person…)
Chris then grabbed the other loaf of bread, but this time, she split it in half for herself.
“Well, to be honest, when I realize that Leo-chan was actually Leonora-sama, I started wondering why she did all of those things… maybe she wanted to destroy the Spirit Faith, or maybe she just wanted to act like a hero and be prais–“
“–M-my master would never–!”
“–Fufu, yes, I know… she would never do something like that just for the praises. After all, Leonora-sama is always helping everyone, regardless of who they are.” – Said Chris, as she stared at Leo with an affectionate gaze.
In fact, Leo just helped Chris because he wanted to make a lot of money. Nothing more. So it was a bit embarrassing to be praised like that. However, Chris didn’t know that. She mistook Leo’s embarrassed and downcast gaze, as he being sad. So she grabbed his right hand, and said–
“–It’s okay, Leonora-sama, you’re still a child… a student. Even if you make some mistakes, there’s still room for growth… you can do better the next time. And if you’re ever in need of some help, you can always count on me, okay?”
“…Un… . “
Every time Chris mentioned something that happened after the incident, Leo would receive some damage. But instead of condemning him, she was trying to comfort him. Yes, she was the complete opposite of a certain wild Head Priest, who treated him like garbage. ( Tl/n: Ch-26.3)
(I should introduce Chris to Gustav-sensei. Maybe she’ll be able to teach him a thing or two about being a Priest.) – Thought Leo, as he bit into the bread that Chris gave him.
Gustav was in his early thirties and Chris was in her forties, but she had an Onee-san aura, so even if the two of them had a big age gap, they would probably hit it off. Besides, they were both from the Spirit Faith, so that was one more reason for Leo to introduce them to each-other.
And if Gustav played his cards right, he’d probably get rid of his V-card in a month, after all, they complemented each-other.
(Humph, you should be grateful, Gustav-sensei. Even though you treated me like that, I’m still your friend…*Nom*…and friends help each-other…*Nom*…as expected, Chris’s bread is really good, huh?) ( Tl/n: *Nom* ⇒ The sound of a loli eating bread.)
Chris’s bread was really good, but Leo didn’t know if he’d ever have another opportunity to eat it again, so he stored a small piece in his pocket to eat it later. But while he was doing that, Kai, who was normally eating his bread until now, sighed, and said–
“–I’m sorry for saying this, but I think you should continue working for the Spirit Faith, Chris.” – Said Kai, in a sad tone.
“…Huh?”
“You said you contracted a water spirit when you were young, right Chris? But that’s just a half truth. If I remember correctly, there was a Child Loved by the Spirits living here in Richard. Her name was Christine and she also loved baking bread… just like you Chris. You also said that the streets are filthy, but your contracted spirit, the Great Spirit of Water, was the one who took care of cleaning everything. Which means, you were responsible for cleaning the streets, baking the bread… and filling the wells of the city. But with you gone, the livelihood of the citizens now plummeted.”
Chris was surprised. She didn’t expect to have all of her secrets revealed at once.
“Wow, I’m really surprised… for you to notice why Richard is like this… I didn’t know you were this cunning, Kai. How did you figure it out?”
“No, it wasn’t me… Leonora-sama was the first one to noticed the current state of this city.” – Said Kai, as he turned to look at his master.
(Eh? M-me? But I don’t know anything about that!? Ah! No, wait, they were talking about water right!? So maybe–)
“–Hmm, that… maybe the, water shortage, and the, recent raise, in prices, I guess?”
“Haaah∼, I see… so you saw through my disguise as well, huh? …Yes, I am a Child Loved by the Spirits, and yes, I used to take care of the whole city. However, Richard’s citizens aren’t praying to the spirits like they used to, so my contracted spirit, the Lady of the Lake, was weakened. But even though they weren’t praying to the spirits, she still wanted to help everyone, so I got a bit angry at her… and we had a fight. That’s why I’m not doing anything to help this city… if they wanted my help, they should’ve treated me better.”
It was understandable that Chris didn’t want to help Richard and it’s citizens, after all, they did a lot of mean things to her. But because of that, there was a raise in prices for nearly everything. And to Leo, that was a bit too much, so he asked–
“–Then, are you, going to, make up with, the Lady, of the Lake, Chris?”
“At this point? No… and I doubt that we’ll ever will. I abandoned her. I even said that she could make a contract with another person… because I don’t want to be contracted with her anymore.”
However, he wasn’t expecting to get that answer from Chris.
“She’s going, to make, a contract with, another person? Is that, even possible?”
“Yes, it’s possible. But first, you have to find the spirit and say it’s real name, and if it likes you, then you gain it’s power.”
(So that means, anyone can contract the Lady of the Lake if they know her real name!?)
With this new piece of information, Leo could advance their* plans on the water business, so he stood up and grabbed Chris’s shoulders, then he asked–
( *Tl/n: Their here, is Albert-tachi, which means Albert and the others, so I changed it to Their, which makes more sense in my opinion.)
“–The Lady, of the Lake! Do you, know her, real name, Chris!?”
“Y-yes, I know her real name.”
(Yeaaaah!!!)
“T-then! Can you, tell me, her name!?”
In his heart, Leo thought Chris would reject that idea—
“Okay.”
“I won’t, give up, that easily! So–eh? You will—!?”
—So it took him a moment to realize that she had said “ Yes .”
“—R-really!?”
“Yes. I can trust you, Leonora-sama, so I’ll tell you her real name. Besides, it’s not like something will happen just because I told you her name. After all, she’ll only make a contract if she likes you, so you don’t have to worry.”
“I see… so she’ll, judge me, before making, a contract.”
Chris then got closer to his ear and told him the spirit’s real name.
Surprisingly, Leo managed to remember her name on his first try. Chris didn’t have to repeat herself. And it was all thanks to his childhood friend, Bruno, for teaching him Elandic.
(I see… so her name is Carnelian, the Lady of the Lake…) ( Tl/n: Carnelian is a orange stone related to healing.)
That was a name that Leo would never forget. After all, the “ Car ” in her name, sounded like the “ Kar ” from his gold coin.
But then, out of nowhere–
“What? This place is already closed?”
–Leo heard the voice of a displeased man.