Chapter 2

After leaving the temple, Reina stayed at an inn in the Royal Capital for the night and departed early the next morning. Using magic to conceal her presence, she slipped past the guards standing watch at the city gates.

 

Having successfully cleared the checkpoint, Reina undid her magic and headed south, walking alone. She strolled leisurely along the well-maintained highway. Although there wasn’t much foot traffic, people tended to gather on the main roads where dangerous beasts were less likely to appear. Occasionally, passersby would recognize Reina as the Saintess and call out to her.

 

She responded to them while firmly reminding them not to tell anyone, as she was traveling incognito. Eventually, Reina entered a certain small village.

 

Perhaps because it was harvest time, the villagers were all hard at work in the fields. A few noticed Reina, but she waved them off, indicating they didn’t need to fuss over her. She had no intention of disturbing people who were working so desperately, so she quickly made her way alone to her destination at the edge of the village. There, a single withered tree stood.

 

The ground beneath Reina’s feet was gravel, and grass and flowers grew along the roadside. However, for a radius of about five meters around that tree, the earth was cracked, brown, and completely parched. Not a blade of grass grew there.

 

Reina approached the tree and gently placed her hand on its trunk.

 

She remembered. She remembered that time.

 

This was the place where Reina had cleared miasma for the very first time.

 

 

***

 

 

“Hey, this village is awfully lifeless, isn’t it? Everyone looks so gloomy; it’s almost like a ghost town.”

 

Reina’s impression upon first entering the village was no exaggeration.

 

The air in the village felt stagnant, sticky, and heavy. Although many residents were outside, they all lacked vitality, staring blankly into nothingness. some couldn’t even stand, lying sloppily by the roadside. If they were elderly, one might think they were simply unwell, but those lying down were men in the prime of their lives.

 

There were traces of crops in the fields, but everything had withered and died.

 

It was a world of brown. Even the weeds growing by the road had shriveled up. There were hardly any sounds; despite the presence of people, it felt like an abandoned village.

 

Just before entering the village, the weather had been fine with a blue sky spreading overhead, but now it was overcast, as if a layer of smoke hung over everything.

 

Such scenes were commonplace throughout the village.

 

It’s creepy. Reina wanted to say it, but she endured. She knew better than to voice that thought.

 

Looking around, she saw something resembling black smoke rising from what appeared to be the edge of the village, staining the surrounding area black. That was likely the source of the miasma. Reina had sensed it vaguely even before being told.

 

‘So miasma is pitch black like that…’

 

The first miasma she ever saw was completely different from what she had imagined.

 

The miasma Reina had to eliminate was appearing all over the country.

 

The cause of this miasma, which withered vegetation and stole people’s vitality, had not yet been elucidated. All that was known was that it would inevitably occur somewhere in Mardias every few decades or centuries.

 

Once generated, miasma would spread to other locations as if it were contagious. If it covered one country, it would naturally turn its spear toward the next. If measures weren’t taken quickly, the entire world would eventually be enveloped in it.

 

The trouble was, nothing could erase the miasma. The only effective means was to summon a Saintess from another world and have her touch the source.

 

Reina had once pressed Chris and the others about the logic behind this, but she never received a satisfactory answer. The people of Mardias simply accepted it as the way things were. Their perception of miasma was akin to a natural disaster. If asked the reason for a natural disaster, they would be at a loss to answer.

 

Their view of the Saintess was similar—she was recognized as an envoy of the Goddess they worshipped. The idea that a Saintess sent by the Goddess could erase miasma was treated as a matter of course.

 

‘Well, that certainly explains the monotheism.’

 

Specifically because Saintesses like Reina had been summoned repeatedly and had historically produced results. It wasn’t just folklore, legend, or myth. As a matter of fact, Saintesses had saved the country many times in the past.

 

It might be natural that their faith in the Goddess of the Moon was so strong.

 

“To think a village so close to the Royal Capital is in such a terrible state…”

 

As Reina was pained by her first sight of the miasma and the condition of the village, a very somber voice came from beside her. Turning her gaze, she saw Chris clenching his fist as if he couldn’t bear it, his handsome face twisted in anguish.

 

“Chris…?”

 

Reina was bewildered by this side of Chris she had never seen before. Until now, Chris had only shown Reina a consistently sweet and gentle facade.

 

‘He makes expressions like this, too?’ Reina blinked in surprise.

 

Realizing Reina was staring at him, Chris laughed self-deprecatingly.

 

“I’m sorry, Reina. Showing you such a pathetic sight… I was just a little disgusted with myself.”

 

“Disgusted? Why…?”

 

Reina couldn’t understand the meaning behind Chris’s words.

 

However, as Chris looked at the village, his eyes seemed to be suffering from remorse.

 

“I believed that I had been fulfilling my duties as Crown Prince perfectly until now. I thought I was putting in the effort, and I had actually produced results. But surely, there was conceit somewhere. I didn’t know a village so close to the capital was in such a disastrous state. I didn’t even notice… What on earth have I been looking at? I truly hate myself.”

 

“Chris…”

 

“I… did nothing but that…”

 

Seto, standing behind the devastated Chris, spoke up in his defense.

 

“Miasma sickens people’s hearts and withers food. I hear this village was affected only recently. Therefore, it is unavoidable that Your Highness did not know.”

 

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

 

Seto was right. Chris wasn’t to blame. Reina thought so, but Chris would not forgive himself.

 

“Seto. That is wrong. This is my responsibility. I should have noticed sooner and taken appropriate measures.”

 

“Appropriate measures?”

 

Reina asked Chris, who was biting his lip in frustration. She wanted to know what exactly he intended to do. In response to her question, Chris began, “First…”

 

“Evacuation of the residents and isolation from the miasma source. Since only the Saintess can erase miasma, we need to evacuate the residents to a safe place so they don’t fall ill before the Saintess is summoned. Then, guarantee their livelihood at the evacuation site. The summoning of the Saintess is only performed after the High Priest receives an Oracle from the Goddess. We don’t know when the Oracle will be given. Sufficient guarantees are necessary.”

 

Reina simply stared in admiration as Chris listed off the things he believed he should have done.

 

Chris was genuinely regretting his lack of awareness. He was lamenting that he hadn’t fulfilled his responsibility, that he could have done so much more.

 

Come to think of it, Chris had been the same when he said he would accompany Reina.

 

The trigger might have been Reina’s words, but he had pushed past the opposition of those around him, saying it was unacceptable to simply rely on the kindness of a Saintess embarking on a journey, and declared he would go with her.

 

‘He really is… a Crown Prince, huh.’

 

Chris, who would soon carry the country on his shoulders alone. Many burdens would likely weigh heavily on his back. But Reina vaguely thought that he would probably laugh and handle it all as if it were nothing.

 

Chris’s mature demeanor was so different from the men of the same generation Reina had seen in Japan.

 

It made Reina’s heart flutter in a strange way.

 

She wouldn’t say everyone was like that, but the guys her age she saw in Japan were more short-sighted than Chris, weak to pleasure for better or worse, and mostly children who pushed responsibility onto others. It couldn’t just be the four-year age gap. Surely, they wouldn’t change much even after four years.

 

The position of Crown Prince that Chris held. And because he had acted with a strong awareness of that position, he could speak the words he did now.

 

Feeling overwhelmed, Reina gently reached out to Chris, who was looking down dejectedly over his failure to fulfill his duty. She touched his beautiful platinum blonde hair. It was a completely unconscious action.

 

“…It’s okay, Chris. No problem. I’m here now. If I erase the miasma, everyone will go back to normal, right?”

 

“Reina?”

 

As Chris looked at her in surprise, Reina smiled, feeling a little shy.

 

It was true that she had reluctantly accepted the task of clearing the miasma just so she could go home, but now she felt that if she could help, she wanted to.

 

Hearing Chris’s words was one reason, but seeing the villagers and the disastrous state of the village firsthand played a big part in Reina’s willingness to actively clear the miasma.

 

Being told about it in words didn’t really click. It felt like she was being used as a human sacrifice. But seeing people actually suffering from the miasma, Reina couldn’t pretend not to see.

 

‘Especially when I’m told I’m the only one who can erase it…’

 

For Reina to refuse to clear the miasma would be synonymous with abandoning the people right in front of her. Reina felt she couldn’t do that.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll do it properly. Sure, I accepted reluctantly at first, but I can’t ignore people who are suffering when I see them. What should I do? How can I touch the miasma?”

 

When Reina appealed with a sincere attitude, Chris made a face that looked like he was laughing and crying at the same time.

 

“…You really are a Saintess, aren’t you? Reina. Your nobility is so blinding to me… My Saintess. I promise that once you have cleared the miasma, I will rebuild this village.”

 

“…Okay. I believe you, Chris.”

 

When Reina nodded, Chris narrowed his eyes happily.

 

“…Truly, Reina ensnares me and won’t let go. You are the only one who makes my heart tremble.”

 

“Chris?”

 

He muttered it so quietly that she didn’t hear it clearly.

 

“Once more?” Reina looked at Chris, but he smiled and pointed to the edge of the village.

 

“Reina, as you may have noticed, the source of the miasma is over there. I will take you to the source now. Places where thick miasma gushes out are prone to spawning monsters. We will clear the way, so I want you to touch the source during that opening… It’s alright. The Saintess will never be defiled by the miasma. You just go without worrying about anything. We will protect your back.”

 

“…”

 

At the word ‘monster’, Reina shivered.

 

She felt she understood why obviously combat-skilled people like a mercenary and a mage were brought along as escorts. While it was partly for safety on the road, they were likely accompanying Reina to fight the monsters born from the miasma.

 

While they drew the monsters’ attention, she was to get close to the source and touch it. That was the role required of Reina as the Saintess.

 

“…Understood. Everyone, please… take care of me…”

 

Since they were called monsters, they wouldn’t be easy opponents. She had heard that Ortega, who was accompanying her, was the best mercenary in the country, and Seto was the First Seat Court Mage… meaning the top mage.

 

Lending her the best talent in the country for both sword and magic meant the enemy was that strong.

 

Ortega, who had been silent until then, patted Reina on the back.

 

“It’s fine, little lady. Hah, monsters are nothing. The reason we were chosen is just that half-baked fighters would only get in the Saintess’s way. We’ll clean them up so fast you won’t even have time to worry, so don’t sweat it. You just do your job.”

 

Seto also nodded, saying, “Exactly.”

 

“There is nothing my magic and Ortega’s sword cannot handle. His Highness is also with us, so there is no need for concern.”

 

“…Is Chris strong?”

 

It was a bit late to ask, but originally, nominating Chris had been something of a harassment. She only knew he held the rank of a priest.

 

So she asked, but Seto looked at Reina in surprise.

 

“You nominated His Highness without knowing? His Highness is a user of healing magic. Not only that, but he possesses sword skills capable of going toe-to-toe with the Knight Commander.”

 

“Oh, is that so…”

 

Apparently, Reina had unknowingly assembled a very well-balanced team.

 

Sword, magic, and a healer. And the healer could use a sword too. Perfect.

 

Chris said with a wry smile.

 

“Am I not trusted very much? In that case, I’d certainly like to show Reina where I can be of use.”

 

“N-No, it’s not that I don’t trust you… I was just a little surprised.”

 

But if Chris was a priest, it made sense that he could use healing magic.

 

After being reassured by the three of them again, Reina renewed her determination to go to the source of the miasma.

 

Using the black smoke as a guide, they headed to the outskirts of the village. The place they arrived at was like a plaza, a space large enough for children to play or to hold a small market under normal circumstances.

 

But now, in the center, there was a single tree spewing out thick black smoke.

 

Something like a black stain was spreading from the roots of the tree, looking as if it were eroding the ground.

 

Chris pointed at the tree.

 

“That tree is the source of the miasma. Reina, I’m sorry, but I’m counting on you. We cannot cross that black stain. Only you, the Saintess, can go to the source.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Fortunately, there were no monsters to be seen. Thinking ‘now is the chance’, Reina approached the tree. The sole of the loafer Reina was wearing touched the black stain. She thought something might happen, but felt nothing unusual, so she continued to approach and touched the pitch-black tree trunk.

 

“Ah.”

 

The place Reina touched glowed white. That radiance spread in a circle from the point of contact, instantly covering the entire tree. She couldn’t take her eyes off the sight, which looked like white invading black.

 

The white light spread as if chasing away the fleeing darkness, swallowing it up in the blink of an eye.

 

Once the light had covered all the black parts, it disappeared, sparkling as if satisfied.

 

All that remained were Reina, standing dumbfounded with her hand still on the trunk, and a single withered tree.

 

“It’s… finished?”

 

The conclusion was so anticlimactic that Reina blinked.

 

She had heard she only needed to touch it, but to think it was really that simple.

 

“Reina, that was magnificent. As expected of the renowned Saintess.”

 

Chris and the others approached Reina, looking relieved.

 

Hearing his words, Reina understood it was really over and let out a sigh of relief.

 

“…I’m surprised it was so quick. Is it really something only I can do?”

 

She couldn’t quite believe it and asked instinctively, but Chris nodded with a wry smile.

 

“That’s right. After all, we can’t even get close to such thick miasma. Touching the source of the miasma is something we couldn’t possibly do. The only one who can touch that is the Saintess sent by the Goddess. To me, you look positively divine right now.”

 

“Chris, you’re exaggerating.”

 

“I am not exaggerating. I think everyone feels the same.”

 

Chris glanced behind him, and Ortega and Seto agreed.

 

“…Well, yeah. I listened to the Saintess talk with half a ear, honestly. But seeing you touch that thick miasma and be fine, I realized you’re the real deal.”

 

“Me too. The Saintess is a noble existence worthy of reverence, equal to a King. I had heard that, but I have realized it is undoubtedly true.”

 

“See?”

 

Chris turned back to her and smiled brightly. Reina herself didn’t intend to have done anything so grand, but it seemed otherwise to them.

 

‘If that’s the case, then maybe that’s fine?’

 

She looked at the standing tree. The black smoke was completely gone, and it stood quietly as if nothing had happened.

 

Looking toward the village, the heavy atmosphere from before had vanished, and blue had returned to the sky.

 

“…The tree that became the source is beyond saving, but everything else was purified by Reina’s power just now. Reina, thank you. Thanks to you, a village has been saved.”

 

Smiling happily, Chris continued.

 

“I will fulfill my promise to you as well. The miasma has been cleared. It should be safe for others to approach now… Seto, contact my father in the Royal Capital immediately. Request the dispatch of a medical team. Also, tell him to provide immediate food and support until the village gets back on its feet.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Receiving Chris’s order, Seto left the spot to contact the capital.

 

 

***

 

 

To everyone’s surprise, the medical team arrived at the village that very day, and food was delivered as well.

 

With the miasma gone, the villagers were gradually recovering. Those who had recovered were taking care of those still weak or discussing how to manage the fields right away.

 

As Reina walked alone outside the village watching the villagers, she heard voices.

 

Behind a large manor, two men seemed to be talking.

 

“—We should probably give up on the harvest this year…”

 

The ones talking were the Village Chief and his advisor. The two had their heads together, discussing with serious faces.

 

“The Saintess purified the land contamination. We should be able to harvest as usual next year. Since the Royal Family is providing financial support, well, we can survive the winter… I suppose.”

 

“Yes. This is also thanks to His Highness. He spoke of support immediately. The other villagers were all relieved too.”

 

“Our village doesn’t particularly have any specialty products. Income from the fields is almost everything. Even if we’re saved now, without funds, we’ll just starve to death. We truly must be grateful to His Highness.”

 

“Chief!”

 

Another man ran up to the two who were talking. His face was shining brightly.

 

“J-Just now, there was word from the Royal Palace… They’re going to provide vegetable seeds and saplings for free… and this year’s taxes will be exempted…”

 

“R-Really!?”

 

The Chief and the advisor widened their eyes and stared at the man who had arrived. Though out of breath from running, the man looked up and nodded forcefully.

 

“It-It’s true. They said that’s also His Highness’s intention… and they want to discuss the details, so they asked me to call the Chief and everyone…”

 

“U-Understood. Let’s go immediately.”

 

The Chief nodded and went into the manor with the other two men.

 

Watching this from a distance, Reina felt as if she had been vividly shown exactly what a man with the status of Crown Prince could do.

 

‘…With just Chris’s power alone, he can save so many people.’

 

It was completely different from democracy.

 

If Chris, the Crown Prince, gave a single order, it would be executed immediately regardless of the content.

 

Because of that, if a foolish person stood at the top, it would be a disaster. The people of this country were lucky that Chris was the Crown Prince, Reina thought.

 

Once the matters of guarantees and taxes were mostly settled, Chris called out to Reina, who was dazing off alone a short distance away.

 

“Reina.”

 

“Ah, Chris. Good work.”

 

Chris had been giving instructions and working the whole time. Her words referred to that, but Chris smiled softly and corrected her.

 

“I didn’t really do anything. I just gave orders.”

 

“No. Because you made all the decisions alone and gave the orders, everyone was saved, right? That is an amazing thing.”

 

Immediate decision, immediate action. It was an ideal, but not something easily done even if one wanted to.

 

When she looked at Chris with respect, he made a face as if he were ticklish.

 

“…You’re the only one who would say such things to me, Reina.”

 

“Really?”

 

I don’t understand, Reina tilted her head, and Chris chuckled softly, saying she didn’t need to understand.

 

Then, looking a little embarrassed, he said, “…Actually, I came to thank you.”

 

“Thank me?”

 

That made even less sense. As she looked blank, Chris stared at her intently, saying she was truly unaware. His eyes were terribly hot.

 

“Because you wished for me to come with you that day, I was able to see the misery of this village with my own eyes. I was able to learn of my own inadequacy. I am very grateful.”

 

“O-Oh, no.”

 

Reina waved both hands in a panic.

 

That was really just taking her anger out on him, something like harassment. She didn’t deserve to be thanked.

 

But Chris looked at Reina with a serious face and shook his head in denial.

 

“…You see, until that moment, I had given up on everything. I have duties as the Crown Prince. Duties that take priority over everything else. I knew that, and I had no intention of abandoning them, but without realizing it, it was eating away at my spirit. A decided fiancé. Decided actions. Decided daily work. There was no will of my own in any of it; I felt like a puppet or something. Being at your summoning that day was also because it was the Crown Prince’s job. There was no meaning beyond that.”

 

“…Chris.”

 

‘So that’s why he had such emotionless eyes.’ Reina couldn’t hide her surprise at the story being confided to her. Chris continued.

 

“Even the talk of being an escort. When I was first nominated, I didn’t take it seriously. Because it is ‘decided’ that the Crown Prince does not become an escort. My will does not intervene there. I had resigned myself to that being the way things were. Amidst that, you stood before me. You asked me, me of all people, whether I was coming or not. …I felt like I woke up.”

 

Chris gazed somewhere far away as if recalling that moment.

 

“I definitely heard the sound of the gentle restraining threads binding me snapping at that time. I felt as if the door to the golden cage confining me was opened by your hand. …You reached out to me. That I have been able to regain myself like this now is entirely thanks to you.”

 

“I-I didn’t do anything. …I was just angry at Chris for looking so uninterested, so I did it to harass you.”

 

“Even if that was the motive. You were the only one who asked me to choose. That is everything.”

 

So, thank you, Chris smiled.

 

But for Reina, being thanked only troubled her.

 

“Really, I didn’t do anything…”

 

She muttered, turning her attention back to the village.

 

Because Reina had shifted her consciousness away from Chris, she failed to notice the words he muttered at the very end.

 

She missed hearing the overly disturbing words Chris whispered: “…That is why I can absolutely never let you escape.”

 

 

***

 

 

“I wonder what Lady Reina is doing…”

 

Seto spoke as he observed Reina, who appeared to be lost in thought with her hand resting on the trunk of the tree.

 

It was the second day of following Reina, acting under Chris’s orders. Reina did not seem to have noticed their movements.

 

‘She probably never imagined that she is being stalked by His Highness… Aaaah, Lady Reina. I truly pity you…’

 

It was almost as if his initial support for their relationship had been a lie; Seto was now completely sympathetic toward Reina.

 

This was because, having traveled with them, Seto had witnessed the various schemes Chris had employed to obtain Reina. Chris was closing in on her carefully, yet with absolute certainty, just like a spider trapping a butterfly. These were likely skills he had acquired in his efforts to become the Crown Prince everyone expected him to be, but Seto secretly lamented that there was no need to use them on the woman he loved.

 

It was, for lack of a better word, too unscrupulous. Chris had indeed said he would stop at nothing, but Seto couldn’t help but think that Reina, the target of all this, was pitiable.

 

‘Well, I suppose it’s fine since the feelings are mutual in the end.’

 

The feelings Reina held for Chris were not fabricated. Reina had seen the real Chris—the one who wasn’t constantly self-conscious about his role—and she had fallen in love with him. Although they hadn’t seemingly conveyed their feelings to one another, anyone seeing how happily they talked and how rapidly the distance between them closed could understand it immediately.

 

Sigh. Seto looked at Chris, who was sending a heated gaze toward Reina next to him, and let out his sigh for the umpteenth time that day.

 

Chris furrowed his brow at Seto.

 

“Seto, that is the twenty-fifth sigh today. It is getting annoying. If you don’t stop right about now, I will sew your mouth shut.”

 

“I-I am terribly sorry!”

 

Eek! Seto actually jumped. Chris was the type of person who did exactly what he said he would. Sadly, through his journey with the Saintess, Seto knew that fact sickeningly well.

 

He desperately stifled another urge to sigh. Keeping his eyes fixed on Reina, Chris muttered, looking as though he was overcome with emotion.

 

“Reina. Are you immersing yourself in memories of me? …There is no need to worry; you should simply jump into my arms…”

 

‘You split-personality freak!’ Seto cursed internally.

 

First, he was expressionless, and now he was two-faced. Chris likely didn’t intend it that way, but the difference between his attitude toward Reina and his attitude toward everyone else was simply too extreme.

 

Reina really should have noticed it by now, but for some reason, she was under the mistaken impression that Chris treated everyone the way he treated her. That was likely why she hadn’t realized Chris’s almost blatantly aggressive romantic pursuit.

 

‘If he showed the expressions and spoke the words he directs at Lady Reina to any other woman, he’d be badmouthed as a total womanizer. You need to realize that isn’t normal, Lady Reina.’

 

Only on that single point did Seto feel a little sorry for Chris, so he opened his mouth to speak.

 

“Lady Reina has been saying for a long time that she wants to see her family… Is it not unavoidable that she would wish to go home? …Hic!”

 

He had only stated his opinion, but Chris shot him a look that seemed genuinely ready to kill, causing Seto to shrink back in terror.

 

“Reina is not going home. It is already decided that she will be my wife. …I will not let her go back.”

 

“…I-I apologize for my thoughtless remark.”

 

“I will not forgive a second time.”

 

“Y-Yes, sir.”

 

“Tch! Reina is moving. Let us follow.”

 

At Chris’s words, Seto looked toward Reina and saw that she had stepped away from the tree and begun walking toward the village exit.

 

As he moved alongside Chris, Seto unconsciously pressed a hand to his stomach.

 

It was aching with a dull, gnawing pain.

Feeling that familiar stomach ache he had grown all too accustomed to during their travels, Seto felt like crying.

 

“Your Highness… how long do you intend to keep following Lady Reina?”

 

Seto asked Chris as he took out his trusty staff and recast the perception-blocking magic. A journey with no end in sight was sheer torture. Chris shot a glance at Seto and spoke coldly.

 

“I told you at the start. On the day of the full moon, Reina likely intends to return home without saying a word to us. There is no point in bringing her back now. She would just try to escape again anyway. In that case, it is better to let her have her freedom until the very last moment. We will make our move the day before the full moon.”

 

“…Understood.”

 

In other words, Chris was saying they would continue tailing her just like this until the full moon.

 

Until then, Seto would be stuck like this, too.

 

Seto slumped his shoulders and hung his head.

 

Seto, the First Seat of the Court Mages, was someone everyone respected. A bright future had been promised to him; he had thought that once his duty escorting the Saintess was over, he would be given a massive research grant as a reward and could devote himself to his beloved magical research.

 

Ever since the day Reina nominated Chris, Seto felt as though his fate had been irrevocably altered.

 

‘I resent you for this, Lady Reina!’

 

Thinking the exact opposite of what he had felt just moments ago, Seto—who really didn’t want to get yelled at again—let out a sigh in his heart.