The moment the jet-black curse-serpent disappears, the hands of divine light, their purpose fulfilled, dissolve into mist.
“……Wh-what just happened……?”
The instant Wendy murmurs in a daze——
“Mmn, mmmh……”
Taylor, lying on her back, begins to stir.
“M-Mom……!?”
Wendy rushes to the bedside and checks her mother’s condition.
(That’s impossible, the bruising……it’s gone……!)
The purple bruising that had spread across Taylor’s face has vanished without a trace, and her skin, which had been cold and earth-colored, has recovered a healthy warmth.
“Mom, can you hear me!? It’s me, it’s Wendy……!”
As if responding to her daughter’s voice, the mother’s eyelids slowly open.
“……Wen……dy……?”
“M……om……!”
A tear that had fallen from Wendy’s eye dropped onto Taylor’s cheek.
“Even in the dark depths, I could always hear your voice……thank you. And——I’m sorry. I caused you so much trouble.”
“No, not at all……! I’m the one who’s sorry……back then, I ran……I was scared, I couldn’t help you……!”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You’ve grown up so wonderfully.”
“——!“
Wendy cried.
The tears of joy would not stop.
She is normally composed, but in this moment, she could not keep her emotions in check.
Mother and daughter held each other close, celebrating a ‘reunion’ ten years in the making.
“——Wendy, I’m fine now, so you can stop crying. Your pretty face is going to waste. Come on——introduce me to your lovely friends.”
“……Okay……”
Wendy wiped her tears with her sleeve and nodded.
“This is Luna-san, Ro-san, and Sarko-san——dear friends I made at the Kingdom’s Saint Academy.”
Luna and the others, having been introduced, each bow properly in turn.
“I’m Luna Spedio.”
“Ro Steinclaw.”
“Sarl Ko Layton.”
“I’m Taylor Triard. My daughter is in your care.”
Taylor gives a small bow and looks Luna directly in the eye.
“While I was sleeping, I could hear your conversations in a haze……. It was your potion that broke the magic beast’s curse, wasn’t it?”
“Well……technically, yes.”
“I thought so. ——Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart. The fact that I’m here and safe is entirely thanks to you. I will not forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
“Please, think nothing of it. I only did what was natural.”
Luna says this with a compassionate smile.
She is usually so hopelessly scatterbrained it would bring tears to your eyes——but in this moment, for just this instant, she looked exactly like a true Saint.
“——Well, I can’t just keep lying in bed forever. Time to get moving.”
As Taylor makes to stand up from the bed——
“Hey, what are you doing!?”
Wendy panics and calls her to stop.
“What? I’m just trying to stand up.”
“Mom, you’ve been bedridden for ten years. Your muscles, your bones——everything must have weakened. Please stay resting for a while.”
“Well, the thing is……strangely enough, I can feel strength welling up from deep inside. If anything, I feel like I’ve gotten younger.”
Taylor says this with a somewhat joking laugh.
But this is no illusion.
She has, in fact, gotten younger.
The Saint’s magical energy purifies all things and draws out their maximum potential.
The highest-grade Elixir that Luna created was not satisfied merely with crushing the magic beast’s curse——it brought the muscles and bones withered from ten years of bedrest back to perfect condition.
As a result, Taylor’s physical age has been reduced by roughly fifteen years.
“Anyway, I’m fine. Just watch, alright? ——Up we go.”
As she reaches for the handrail beside the bed to help herself up, a spectacular CRACK rings out.
“……My, has it gotten brittle?”
In Taylor’s left hand was the handrail——or what remained of it, crushed into a pitiful wreck.
This was not because the railing had weakened, nor because it was defective.
She had ripped it off with her own hand and her own strength.
Luna herself has absolutely no way of knowing this——but the Elixir she makes carries a significant ‘side effect.’
To begin with, the basic premise: ‘the Saint’s magical energy purifies all things and draws out their maximum potential.’
When a person takes the Saint’s magical energy into their body, the cells throughout their entire body activate to an abnormal degree, dramatically boosting their capabilities.
Just as Tama the ordinary Moon Wolf became the ‘Moon Wolf King,’ Taylor has similarly come into a fragment of power that exceeds the human range.
“Look, Wendy. Mom is completely healthy now, isn’t she?”
Taylor walks briskly and energetically around her own room.
“S-so it seems……”
“Heh, maybe the Saint’s blessing was with me.”
At Taylor’s little joke——
(Ah, uh, uh, uh, uh……!)
——Luna nearly chokes.
“We have friends of Wendy’s visiting today, so maybe I’ll make an extra special dinner! ——Oh, that’s right, I need to let my husband know too! Luna-san, Ro-san, Sarl-san——let’s meet again at dinner.”
Taylor says this and pitter-patters out of her room——and immediately after——
“O-oh, Madam……!?”
“Wh-what are you doing, hurry! Send word to the Master right away!”
“A miracle……praise the Saint……!”
The servants’ voices, wild with jubilation, could be heard outside.
As the Triard household fills with joy——Wendy turns to face Luna properly once more.
“Luna-san, thank you for breaking the curse on my mother……truly, truly, thank you……”
Wendy pulls Luna into a tight hug and repeats her thanks again and again.
“Oh, please don’t worry about it. (……I should be alright, right? She hasn’t realized I’m the Saint……has she……? Sarko-san covered for me, so I should definitely be fine……probably.)
Luna’s insides are in a panic, but she gently pats Wendy on the back.
After expressing her gratitude fully to Luna, Wendy turns around.
“Sarko-san and Ro-san too——thank you so very much.”
“Heh, we didn’t do anything.”
“Right, it’s just that Luna’s potion is amazing.”
Sarko and Ro smile softly, and in the warm and gentle atmosphere——Wendy claps her hand as if something just came back to her.
“——Oh, right. I need to show everyone to their rooms.”
Just as Luna and the others are about to leave Taylor’s room——Sarko’s face goes pale at the sight of a certain ‘object.’
“Wen……dy……. Where on earth did you get this……!?”
Where her gaze falls——on top of a cabinet, there is a small sculpture, about palm-sized, in the shape of a black snake.
“That’s a curse-dispelling magic tool. The doctor said it was ‘for Taylor-san’s recovery prayers’ when they left it here……hm? Why is it broken?”
The snake sculpture, for some reason, had its head pulverized to fragments.
“Wendy……please listen calmly. This ornament is not a curse-dispelling magic tool. It is a ‘curse-effigy sculpture’ used by a minority ethnic group in the western Holy Nation when they wish to curse someone to death.”
“……What……?”
For a moment, she couldn’t process what she had just been told.
“The head of a curse-effigy sculpture has a large quantity of hair soaked in deadly poison embedded inside it, used as a medium for the curse……but this curse-serpent’s head has been reduced to powder for some reason, so in all likelihood it poses no further danger.”
The curse placed on Taylor having been crushed by the Saint’s Elixir——the curse-effigy that had been the point of origin received such a violent backlash that it shattered.
“In any case, this thing does nothing but harm. Please dispose of it immediately.”
“I-I understand……!”
Wendy immediately called a servant and had the curse-effigy sculpture disposed of.
Having seen to the aftermath, Wendy leads Luna and the others to their respective guest rooms.
Naturally, through all of this, her inner state was anything but calm.
(The Emperor……the physician arranged by the Emperor……had cursed my mother……?)
There were, admittedly, things that had seemed strange.
Despite being seen by a renowned doctor, her mother’s condition never improved——if anything, it had been deteriorating steadily.
A world-renowned specialist in magic beast ailments had explained ‘that is the nature of such curses,’ which had forced her to accept it, though something like unease had lingered.
And now, a curse-effigy sculpture——clear and unmistakable physical evidence——had appeared.
(……N-no, that can’t be……. His Majesty the Emperor is a wonderful, compassionate man, who went out of his way to come to our manor and check on Mom’s condition——)
At that point, a certain possibility flashes through her mind.
Ten years ago, Adrinus had visited the Triard home, coming to look in on the bedridden Taylor.
[——Do not worry. Your mother will surely recover. I will guarantee it personally.]
[……Yes……. Thank you so much, Your Majesty……!]
Adrinus had said this and gently stroked young Wendy’s head.
Those words had felt, to her, tremendously reassuring and deeply appreciated.
But now, for the first time, she begins to see a ‘different side’ to that memory.
(Could it be that back then……he had come to check whether the curse was taking effect properly……?)
Having arrived at that thought, Wendy shakes her head vigorously.
(No, I can’t go thinking like that, there’s no end to it. ……Right now I’m on a mission. Forget everything and surveil the Saint——Ro Steinclaw.)
With her formidable willpower, Wendy suppresses the turmoil in her heart——but the seed of suspicion has taken deep root in her.
The Great Reincarnation Festival opens tomorrow at noon.
Given the travel fatigue from coming all the way from the Kingdom to the Empire, Luna and the others decide to spend the day leisurely at the Triard manor.
The time is six o’clock in the evening.
While Luna, Ro, Sarko, and Wendy are cheerfully chatting together in the great hall——knock, knock, knock, a knock sounds and a female servant enters.
“Excuse me. Dinner is prepared. The Madam is waiting in the dining room.”
“Oh, is it that time already?”
Wendy quickly checks the wall clock and opens her mouth in a small surprised expression.
“Haha, fun time passes in the blink of an eye.”
“It always feels like such a loss, doesn’t it. School classes feel like they take forever.”
“Don’t worry, we’re staying the night, so there’s still plenty of evening ahead.”
After that, the servants escort Luna and the others to the dining room.
And there, spread before them: steak, roast beef, stuffed cabbage rolls, grilled salmon, pescatora, a fresh vegetable platter, an assortment of various soups and more——a remarkably lavish spread, presented in full abundance.
“Wow, what an incredible feast……!”
Luna’s eyes sparkle as her stomach rumbles.
“Heh, I hope it suits your tastes.”
Taylor removes her apron with a soft smile.
Every dish laid out here was made by her own hand——a passion that had developed into an actual culinary license.
“M-Mom, throwing yourself into something like this right away……is your body really alright?”
“You really are such a worrywart, Wendy.”
It wasn’t only Wendy who was concerned for Taylor; the servants of the Triard household felt the same.
“For guests’ meals, we will prepare the finest——please!”
“Just for today, please do rest……!”
“You’ve only just recovered, Madam!”
The servants said so one after another, desperately trying to hold her back——but Taylor’s resolve to ‘serve Wendy’s dear friends with her own cooking’ was firm, and she refused to yield an inch.
Incidentally——the reason Wendy’s specialty is cooking is entirely because of her mother’s strong influence.
“Everyone, please sit wherever you like.”
Luna, Ro, Sarko, and Wendy each settle into a seat of their choosing——
“[Everyone]: ——Thank you for the meal.”
Hands together, the pre-meal greeting.
Luna picks up a stuffed cabbage roll from right in front of her and bites in.
“Mmm, so goob……!”
The sweetness of the cabbage and the savoriness of the meat come together in perfect harmony, filling her mouth with happiness.
“Come now, don’t talk with food in your mouth. That’s not very ladylike.”
Ro, as the lady’s maid, immediately corrects her mistress’s table manners.
“Heh. You don’t have to rush, you know? There’s plenty more where that came from, so eat as much as you like.”
“Yeph……gulp, thank you!”
After delighting in the imperial cuisine, they are treated to the manor’s natural hot spring bath.
Having washed her hair and body faster than anyone, Luna sinks up to her shoulders in the hot spring water.
“Ahhhhh, this is living……”
Melting into the water like a slime creature, she is joined a moment later by Ro, Sarko, and Wendy slipping into the bath.
“Wait, Wendy——you’re quite, uh, substantial……!”
“My, that really is something!”
“E-even among girls, this is a little embarrassing……!”
Ro and Sarko cry out in delight, and Wendy flushes red with embarrassment.
(I see, she’s the ‘looks smaller with clothes on’ type……. As expected of the Main Heroine, quite the impressive……)
Luna herself is by no means small, but Wendy’s is exceptionally abundant.
After that——rock bath, barrel bath, recline bath——they wash away the day’s fatigue in the natural hot spring, then change into their nightclothes and gather in the great hall.
Once they’ve all laid out their futons together, the classic pillow fight breaks out.
“Here it comes! Haaah!“
“Sarko, you’re going too hard……!?”
“Ohhh-hohohoho! The house motto of House Layton is ‘full effort in any contest’!”
“Oh, if that’s how it’s going to be——take this!”
Ro and Sarko frolic like children, exchanging pillow throws in rapid succession.
Despite appearances, these two are wonderfully compatible, and are always enjoying themselves together.
“Ahaha, Ro and Sarko-san are so energetic.”
Luna smiles peacefully——and then a pillow strikes her square in the face.
“There!”
“Bwah!?”
“Heh, your guard was wide open.”
“Oh, you asked for it, Wendy-san!”
After the physical exertion, they settle in for the world-popular card game ‘UNO.’
“——Heh heh heh, this makes me the winner!”
“Luna, you didn’t say Uno.”
“U——NO!?”
After a good round of cards, they blow out the candelabra and all pile under one blanket together to start talking about romance.
“When it comes to romance, none other than myself——Sarl Ko Layton, ‘Empress of the Evening Party’——is your host! I shall be conducting tonight’s proceedings!”
Sarko, who claims she loves romance more than three meals a day, is in her most animated state of the day.
“Now then, everyone——as a light opener, let’s go around and share: what is your type in a man!”
Sarko, grinning ear to ear, kicks things off with a relatively mild topic——
“Uwwwh……”
“Somehow, this is a little embarrassing……”
“One’s type in a man, is it……”
——and the three with zero romantic experience blush self-consciously.
“Then, I’ll go first since I brought it up, and we’ll go clockwise! My type is——a man of high social standing, wealthy, sincere, kind, and sharp-witted!”
“Yeah, that tracks.”
“Sarko is true to her desires, as always.”
“Aim high.”
Sarko finishes, and it is Wendy’s turn next, to her right.
“Mine would be……let me see. Someone kind, I suppose.”
Her answer was every inch the Main Heroine.
“Kgh, what a very ‘fitting’ answer……!”
“Kindness is important, really.”
“The answer of someone walking the righteous path!”
Now it is Ro’s turn.
“Hmm, mine……”
She is thinking about it with genuine consideration when Luna happens to drift into the corner of her vision——and the answer arrives.
“……Yeah, someone who doesn’t need looking after.”
A very fitting answer for a put-upon lady’s maid who is frequently swept up in her mistress’s antics.
“S-somehow I’m really feeling eyes on me right now……”
“My, what a practical answer.”
“Very Ro-san.”
And finally——our beloved Saint.
“Hmm……I haven’t really thought about what I want in someone……”
Three hundred years ago, Luna’s daily life was saturated with blood and death.
Wake in the morning, go to the battlefield and wipe out demons.
Eat lunch, then exterminate magic beasts somewhere else.
At night, run the front lines until just before midnight.
On the rare day off or in spare moments, she would shut herself in her room alone and mass-produce dark history——personal fiction, doujinshi, poetry collections.
She had never had time to indulge in romance, let alone a proper opportunity to interact with men, and had barely given the question of what kind of man she preferred a single thought.
“If you haven’t thought about it, now is the perfect opportunity! To avoid a mismatched future, let’s put your type into words properly!”
“Y-yeah, alright. ……But, my type in a man, hm……”
Luna furrows her brows and thinks for a good long while——then arrives at a certain ‘answer.’
“If I had to say……someone stronger than me.”
No such man exists.
If her values stay as they are, Luna is on a straight and unobstructed path to lifelong singlehood.
“Hmm, someone strong. (I’d better keep a close eye as her lady’s maid, to make sure this child doesn’t get tangled up with any strange men……)”
“I see, so Luna has a desire to be protected!”
“That’s very girlish, I think it’s lovely.”
Once all four have finished sharing their types, Sarko leaps to her feet.
“Heh heh heh, we’re nicely warmed up now! The next topic is: ‘Tell us——what is a gesture from a man that makes your heart skip a beat!?’ This time we go in the opposite order, starting from Luna!”
“Huh!? Starting from me……!?”
In the end, the girls’ night continued well into the small hours——and Luna enjoyed her long-overdue ‘blue spring,’ three hundred years late.