Ossan Saikyō Chapter 13 Part 08
“This fool! After making such a big show of yourself, what a disgrace! Even though you are my own daughter, you are so pathetic that I cannot even shed tears for you!”
“Mother, please, not in front of other people! Ouch, ouch, eek!”
We were inside the Grand Spirit Shrine, in a room with a sign that read Reception Room.
It was a tatami-floored room that already felt nostalgic to me as a Japanese person, and we were sitting on zabuton cushions.
On the other side of the table sat High Shrine Maiden Miona and Shizuna. However, after I handed over His Majesty’s letter and finished explaining everything, Miona’s expression suddenly changed, and she began beating Shizuna with the mithril folding fan she was holding.
“What do you mean, ‘please forgive me’?! Being taken in by Mekalinan’s schemes and putting the country in danger is such a foolish act that it cannot even be excused as the mistake of a shrine maiden, let alone as that of a citizen of this country!”
“I am truly sorry! I am truly sorry! Please forgive me for now! I will accept as much scolding as you wish later!”
The scolding continued like that for a while, but Shizuna’s eyes were beginning to fill with tears, so I decided it was time to intervene.
“Miona-sama, Shizuna-dono seemed to have reflected on her actions during our journey. Please, calm your anger for now.”
“Hmm... If our great benefactor, Soushi-dono, says so, then we shall end things here. I apologize for showing you such an unpleasant spectacle.”
“Not at all. I am sure your anger comes from your concern for your daughter, Miona-sama. I understand how you feel.”
“Thank you. I give thanks to the Spirit Queen that my foolish daughter was able to meet a fine adventurer such as yourself, Soushi-dono.”
Lady Miona put the fan back into her sleeve and bowed. Shizuna, who had been sprawled out on her cushion, somehow managed to recover and sit upright again, though her expression was thoroughly dejected.
“However, the more I hear of this, the more I find myself inadequate to express my gratitude to you, Soushi-dono. Not only did you save my daughter, you even saved a『Spirit Beast』. Our country can no longer simply leave such a debt of gratitude unpaid.”
“Regarding that, it really only happened because circumstances led us to it, so please do not make too much of it.”
“That will not do. Many people have already seen you riding here upon the『Spirit Beast』. In fact, if you did not receive an appropriate reward for your deeds, it could reflect poorly on the『Spirit Beast’s』divine prestige as well.
…
Therefore, I sincerely ask that you accept our reward.”
“I see... If there are such circumstances behind it, then I will accept.”
“I am grateful. However, we must consult with the High Priests regarding how we should repay you. I would like to ask you to give us some time. Would you be willing to remain in Orz for a while?”
“Of course. We are adventurers, so we would like to clear the various dungeons around Garouz. If there are any extermination requests or the like, we would also consider taking them.
…
And, naturally, if possible, we would like to do some sightseeing around Orz as well.”
“That would be most welcome. We shall arrange lodging for you. I will also arrange for one of our attendants to assist you, so if there is anything you require, please ask them and they will see to it.”
“Thank you. We will gratefully accept your kindness.”
I gave her a slight bow, and Miona smiled behind her fan.
“Soushi-dono, your manner of speaking and your consideration for others truly resemble those who live in this country. Are you perhaps originally someone with ties to Orz?”
“No, nothing like that. It is just that I feel the culture of this country is quite similar to that of the country where I grew up.”
“Is that so? Then I hope you will take your time and enjoy seeing more of this country. And I hope your companions will enjoy a leisurely stay as well.”
I had only brought Shizuna here at the request of the Royal Family, yet it seemed I was going to receive a reward from this country as well.
What surprised me even more was that Shizuna was the daughter of the High Shrine Maiden. In the Kingdom, that would be equivalent to being a Princess. I had known that Shizuna came from a high-ranking background, but I had never imagined she was at that level.
In any case, it looked like we would be spending our time here doing what we usually did, clearing dungeons. But whether things would really end there...
Well, I certainly hope they would.
◇◆◇
The inn we were shown to was naturally one of the finest in Garouz. That said, its atmosphere was more like a traditional Japanese luxury inn, and I found it more relaxing than the inn in the Royal Capital.
A Japanese-style garden stretched out in front of the tatami-floored sitting room.
As I sat cross-legged on a zabuton and drank the tea the attendant had prepared for me, which, unsurprisingly, was not green tea but something more like black tea, I found myself feeling unusually relaxed for the first time in a while.
“I think this is the first time I have seen you make such an expression, Soushi-sama.”
Freynil, sitting beside me, stared at my face with a curious expression.
“What kind of expression am I making right now?”
“You look very relaxed, or rather, as though you have finally let your guard down.”
“I see. This inn is like that, too, but the buildings and clothing in Orz resemble those of the country I came from. Maybe that is why.”
“I see. Is this style of removing your shoes and sitting directly on the floor the same as well?”
“Yeah. I seem to find this much more relaxing.”
“Actually, High Elves use the same style, so I find it relaxing as well. But this tatami? This is my first time seeing it. It is very comfortable. And the garden spread out before us seems to have a unique sense of beauty.”
As Sphenia said that, Rani was already trying to climb down into the garden from the veranda. There was a small pond in the garden, and she seemed interested in the fish swimming in it.
However, it was clearly the sort of garden one was not supposed to enter.
“Rani, don't go down into the garden. You don't even have any shoes, do you?”
“But I want to see the fish. Isn't it a waste to have such an interesting garden and only look at it from inside the room?”
“Even so, this garden was designed to be most beautiful when viewed from the room, so it's fine.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Probably.”
I had the feeling I was being somewhat careless with my explanation, but judging from the garden as seen from here, it was not entirely off the mark.
The mountains along the border could be seen in the distance, and it even seemed that the garden incorporated the technique of borrowed scenery.
Rani came back inside and began sipping her tea. Just as she reached for the tea cakes, Mariane spoke up.
“I will go to the Guild tomorrow. Garouz should have dungeons of every class from F through A, but how far do you intend to go, Soushi-san?”
“If possible, I'd like to get through the B-Rank dungeons. I also want to find out whether there are any dungeons farther away from Garouz.”
“Understood. Since we rarely get the opportunity to come here, let us proceed with clearing as many as possible.”
“Sounds good. Also, if there are any worthwhile requests, pick them out for us. I'd like everyone to reach B-Rank as soon as possible.”
“Understood. This Royal assignment will count as quite a significant achievement, so I think completing one or two more requests should be enough for promotion. Sphenia might even be promoted based on this assignment alone.”
“If that is the case, I would be very happy. I have been C-Rank for a long time, but I truly feel that I have become more than twice as strong as I was before.”
Sphenia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. It seemed this meant a great deal to her. She normally did not show her emotions much, but she looked genuinely happy right now.
“Tomorrow, let's all go to the Guild first, then take a look around the city. There are probably things we can only buy here.”
“Soushi-sama, I would like to look at accessories and clothing. I am very interested in Orzian clothing.”
“Sure. I might as well buy something for myself, too.”
When I answered Freynil, everyone seemed to take an interest, and before long they were all excitedly talking about buying clothes.
After we had spent some time relaxing, I sensed someone's presence approaching along the corridor.
“It's Shizuna. May I come in?”
The person approaching was Shizuna. She opened the door and peeked into the room with only her face showing.
“Yes, of course. Did something happen?”
“Excuse me.”
Shizuna entered the room with a solemn expression, then sat in seiza in front of everyone and suddenly bowed deeply.
“Soushi-dono, you have truly helped and looked after me in so many ways during this time. I would like to express my gratitude once again.”
“Uh... yeah...”
I was not entirely sure what this was about, but I assumed that High Shrine Maiden Miona had probably told her to come and properly thank us. I went over and sat down in front of Shizuna before speaking to her.
“Um... all right. I gratefully accept your feelings. So please raise your head. If you don't behave as you normally do, Shizuna-dono, I'll feel uncomfortable too.”
“Soushi-dono, you are so kind.”
Shizuna raised her head as she said this. Her expression was her usual carefree one, but the moment she looked at my face, it suddenly turned into a crying expression.
“Soushi-dono! I have a favor to ask!”
As she cried out, the shrine-maiden girl suddenly threw her arms around me. One of her horns pressed into my chest and hurt a little, but I think this was the first time I realized that my skills did not activate in situations like this.
No, that was beside the point right now. The others behind me seemed to have become slightly murderous, however...
Or perhaps that was just my imagination.
“Wait a moment. What exactly happened?”
“Please let me join your party. Please, please let me join your party.”
“Um, calm down and explain what happened. Why are you asking this?”
“My mother told me not to come back until I was at least B-Rank. She told me that if I had become an adventurer, I should travel around the world and at the very least become capable of assisting my younger sister.
…
I was the one who left the country after making such a bold declaration, so I cannot simply ignore her words...”
“I see... And what do you mean by assisting your sister?”
“Yes. Since I ran away, my younger sister Seina became the next High Shrine Maiden. Seina was more suited to becoming the High Shrine Maiden in the first place, and I never really intended to become one myself.”
“I understand. I don't have any problem with you joining the party, Shizuna-dono, but...”
I had already realized from our previous dungeon expeditions that Shizuna could become quite a force to be reckoned with once she grew stronger.
She might be a person of noble standing, but for〈Saul's Guidance〉, that was hardly an issue at this point. So I did not think there would be any particular problem.
When I turned around to confirm, I expected Freynil, Rani, and Sphenia to immediately nod in agreement. Instead, all three were looking at me with somewhat stern expressions.
Could it be that they were opposed to Shizuna joining the party? It did not exactly look that way, though.
“Hey, Soushi, don't you think you should get away from Shizuna first?”
At Rani's words, I realized that Shizuna was still clinging to me.
Could they have mistaken me for some old man enjoying being hugged by a young girl?
Well, it was true that I hadn't exactly minded it... but it was unavoidable, so I hoped they could at least forgive me for that.
—————————————
E/N:
🤣 These normies!!! Explode healthily or something, idk!
Stay tuned!
—————————————
————————————————————
————————————————————
Comments