I hadn’t expected to run into this guy here.
He was a fellow with a surprisingly enjoyable knack for teasing people, and from atop his perch, he looked down at us and shouted.
“It’s a barbarian! A barbarian! A barbarian who plans to eat every errand runner that comes his way!”
“Aizen, what is that supposed to mean?”
“Common sense says that if a fairly large bird walks up on its own two feet, who wouldn’t catch it?”
Professor Reina tilted her head for a moment.
But soon she muttered softly.
“Well… if you didn’t know, I suppose you might think that… Aizen, you’d do well to remember that crow meat isn’t worth eating. It may not be true for all of them, but it smells gamey and it’s tough.”
“How do you know that, Professor?”
“H-hey, they’re barbarians!”
The white crow cried out, but to be honest, I was more curious about Professor Reina’s review right now.
However, the atmosphere didn’t seem like she would tell me much, so I gave up and asked the crow again.
“Anyway, the smell really is awful. Is the place where they keep the chimeras nearby?”
“Humans smell terrible too, so don’t act like you’re clean!”
“How rude. Shall I just catch you?”
Professor Reina began to glare slightly.
As long as he didn’t cross the line here, he should be able to get through this safely.
This crow needed to understand that he was only being given a chance because it was Professor Reina.
If it had been Mina, she would have grabbed him and eaten him on the spot.
In any case, while the crow had drawn Professor Reina’s aggro with his unnecessary words, I slipped inside and, sure enough, saw several cages.
I hadn’t had a chance to examine the chimeras safely, so I figured I might as well take a look now.
“…But wow, the chimeras really are full of personality.”
I examined them one by one amid the foul stench.
They were enormous, big enough to contend with a Cyclops in a contest of strength.
Those creatures were trapped in huge cages, sitting quietly.
To be precise, they showed interest and smacked their lips, but they didn’t act beyond that.
“By the way, if they’re this big, what do they feed them?”
Honestly, even with something as small as a cat, you had to pay attention to what it ate, so I found myself wondering how much these huge things had to eat in a day.
Looking closely, I saw something like an IV stuck into them and immediately understood the method.
“Pitiful.”
Looking at the IV solution, it was a kind of mana water.
In other words, much like golems, these guys could be considered to gain energy from mana water as well.
However, it didn’t look efficient.
Judging by the ones smacking their lips, it likely didn’t solve their hunger at the source.
To begin with, when I looked carefully in the corner, there were what appeared to be meat bones in a bucket, so it seemed there was a limit to obtaining energy from mana water alone.
Their cost-effectiveness must be truly awful.
“And this is a mess if you look closely.”
Among the chimeras, there were some sturdy ones, but on closer inspection, there were also absurd ones.
I had spent a period long ago researching animal bones for the sake of bipedal walking, so I had a fair amount of confidence in reading skeletal structures.
That was why I could say this with certainty.
It was the same with golems, but living creatures, too, had no truly useless parts, and because they were smaller and more intricate than machines, there were parts that had to be handled even more delicately.
“You can’t solve things by forcibly attaching whatever you want.”
Looking at one chimera, I quietly declared as much.
Whether it was imitating a griffon or that had been its base, it had an eagle’s head, a lion’s body, and a scorpion’s tail and pincers attached, but those pincers probably couldn’t be used.
They had been attached where wings should be, so they could likely move up and down, left and right, but they wouldn’t be able to grasp with those pincers. Maybe stabbing would be possible.
Since they said it was made with life magic, it could be different, but my impression was clear.
“The ones who claim to handle the magic of life are the ones insulting life the most.”
It was a mess.
That was my personal opinion.
Honestly, I felt I had seen everything I needed to see, so I turned around.
And when I came outside, I saw the crow caught by Professor Reina.
“S-save me, sir! This barbarian professor is trying to—!”
“What did he say?”
“He provoked me by talking about my skin and my hair, saying I was hopeless when it came to getting married.”
Come to think of it, Professor Reina was looking for a marriage partner… at least publicly.
She had bought the Cyclops with the money she had saved for her own dowry, too.
But considering her physical abilities, would there be anyone brave enough to go to her…?
Still, I ought to wish Professor Reina a bright future.
“You have it hard, Professor.”
“…You, I should hear what you just said in your head.”
If I got caught, I would be beaten with a club.
I ran immediately.
I ran quickly while creating obstacles.
And then.
“Kieeeaaak! A human is running along the wall!”
Since the crow’s scream came from the wall, I looked back and saw Professor Reina running along the wall toward me.
“Mm, this is over.”
Looking at Professor Reina rapidly closing the distance, I decided to obediently accept my fate.
****
Having changed into the attire of a saintess, Mina quietly sighed.
“I don’t want to go.”
By now, about six people from the Golem Faction’s lodgings had probably been launched into the sky, and Erika and the others were likely running around busily retrieving them.
She didn’t want to experience it herself, but it was a sight worth watching.
Unfortunately, Mina had work to do as well, so she could not keep watching.
After putting on pure white ceremonial robes and even a veil,
she went out into the city under the escort of holy knights dispatched by the Saras Order.
As the standard-bearer raised the flag symbolizing the Fifth Saintess and people moved aside, Mina walked demurely and let out a very small sigh.
‘Uncomfortable.’
When she was beside a certain someone, she could walk comfortably, but he wasn’t here now.
She couldn’t have brought him along anyway, but in her absence, the Duke of Nexia’s house or the Count of Phoenix’s house would surely try to extend black hands toward Aizen.
She couldn’t just leave that alone.
The reason was simply that she didn’t want to.
Grumbling inwardly as she walked, and then walking through the faint sandstorm, at some point she saw white marble.
Stepping on marble imbued with a faint light, unbroken even amid the sandstorm, Mina entered the church of the Saras Order.
“The Fifth Saintess enters!”
“Open the way! Welcome one of the Twelve Saintesses who serve the goddess Saras!”
Monks and knights moved busily.
And Mina walked quickly without giving them a glance.
To begin with, she had no intention of staying long or being entertained.
She planned to show her face briefly and return at once.
“This is why the title of saintess is annoying.”
There were many places that acknowledged it, and it was far better than the title of a baron’s daughter, but there were also many troublesome restrictions.
Still, because she benefited from it in many ways as well, she did nothing more than grumble.
Soon, Mina was able to arrive at the center of the church, where a large table stood.
At this place, where a total of twelve chairs were set, eight women were already seated.
Finding her seat and sitting down, Mina clasped her hands and quietly formed a hand seal.
“The Fifth Handmaiden serving the Goddess has just arrived.”
“The First Handmaiden of the Goddess welcomes you. God is merciful, so be at ease.”
Whether she was actually merciful or not was something only the goddess herself would know.
Without showing any sign of that thought to the smiling silver-haired woman, Mina straightened her posture.
Now that three chairs remained empty, the woman who had called herself the First Handmaiden clapped her hands.
“The Third, Ninth, and Twelfth Handmaidens have said they cannot come due to circumstances in their respective countries, so we will begin our discussion among ourselves.”
“The Second Handmaiden has no objection.”
“The Fourth Handmaiden has no objection.”
They used the word handmaiden, but that was only in relation to the goddess.
The women called saintesses by others formed hand seals and expressed their agreement.
Soon, the First Saintess opened her mouth with a smile.
“Let us speak comfortably now. As you sisters know, the Vespia Royal Academy has come on a pilgrimage to the headquarters of the Saras Order for the first time in several years. Please, each from your own position, help the Academy’s students receive the blessing of God and return safely.”
“As the Second Saintess, I, too, will take care, teach, and guide the Academy’s students so they do not commit disrespect before God.”
At the words of the Second Saintess who had come with them, Mina nodded.
Saintess was a position no different from that of a highest-ranking executive of the Saras Order.
Therefore, they had to voluntarily take on such administrative duties themselves.
“And as for another matter, at present, a large-scale movement of monsters is expected in the Kingdom of Gandharva. Since they may move in the direction of the holy land, we are keeping a close watch.”
“According to our information, after two hundred years, that monster…”
“At present, that information is unconfirmed. Seventh Saintess. Please be careful with your remarks.”
The First Saintess said that, but her face was full of worry.
Thanks to that, Mina’s thoughts also began to move quickly.
‘Two hundred years, that monster?’
Had there been a monster that attacked this country long ago?
Stories of a country being nearly destroyed by monsters and barely managing to recover were common enough.
However….
‘…That prince wasn’t simply trying to hold something like a tournament….’
Had he arranged for the Academy to come at this timing, intending to add the golems and chimeras prepared for the competition to the defensive line as well?
Various agreements would have to go back and forth, but there was a big difference between having something right nearby that could be deployed immediately and not having it there until all the discussions were finished.
Mina was impressed, thinking that he was making very thrifty use of them.
Because of that, she reacted slightly late to the voice calling her.
“Fifth Saintess. I hear that you personally manage the distribution of the Cyclops.”
“…That is correct. Baron Aizen Arclight, the developer, is an old acquaintance of mine, and I manage its distribution.”
Mina grew slightly tense.
After the talk of monsters earlier, now came talk of the golem.
It was not difficult to predict what came next.
“I understand that the golem called Cyclops is an extremely powerful weapon. Why did you not donate it to the Order?”
“Sixth Saintess. I did not give you permission to speak. I would appreciate it if you waited until I finished.”
The First Saintess immediately moved to stop her, but Mina wanted to tell her not to.
After all, what she had just said was no different from throwing a tantrum and demanding goods for free.
For Mina, who was also a merchant, it was something she ought to snap back at immediately.
However, because the First Saintess was smiling with a somewhat forceful expression, she endured it once and decided to answer appropriately.
“I judged that an Order that spreads peace and love has no need for excessive military force.”
It was not wrong.
The reason the Saras Order could spread across the continent was precisely because it did not possess excessively strong military power.
The Sixth Saintess immediately attempted a counterattack.
“But to look at it only that way, the golem is far too powerful.”
“I will quietly state that it must be powerful for it to have meaning.”
Mina could see that the Sixth Saintess was openly trying to look down on her.
She could have gotten angry and asked how she dared treat a senior as high as the sky that way, but right now, the First Saintess was watching.
She had to hold back once more.
And the First Saintess began to stop them again.
“Enough. We did not gather here to beg for a golem. That is solely the domain of the Fifth Saintess, who acts as an agent for its sales, and we must neither interfere excessively nor coerce her in that regard.”
“I understand.”
“However, I, too, have doubts for the Fifth Saintess. If you hold the office of saintess, I believe you should at least have considered naming the golems in connection with the Order. At the same time, I believe you should have discussed an agenda such as prioritizing the sale of golems to our Order.”
It seemed the First Saintess had something up her sleeve after all.
Now that there was no need to hold back, Mina decided to take a slightly stronger stance.
“Countless people’s efforts went into making it. If it were the Goddess, she would not insist that their efforts should go unrewarded. I will state that far more of the strength poured into it came from people who do not follow the will of the Order, so it would be inappropriate to color it with the Order’s name. Please, it is about time you told me what you truly wish to say.”
Beating around the bush was a privilege of saintesses.
It was now time to make the request directly.
And the First Saintess smiled gently and spoke.
“Then I shall tell you.”
After a slight pause,
the saintess said with a quiet smile,
“I wish to employ Baron Aizen Arclight and those golems under my name.”
“Ha.”
She needed a saintess blackjack.
Lightly touching the heavy pouch of gold coins at her waist, Mina steadied her heart.