Chapter 89
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The figure approaches Ryūgūin with a friendly smile and immediately grasps both his hands.
「Hero~! How have you been~?」
Ryūgūin, not entirely displeased by this interaction, smiles and raises the corners of his mouth.
「Hilbert! Good to see you! Perfect timing! I was just about to come visit you!」
「Oh my~! Then it must be that the Hero and I are bound by the threads of fate~!」
From what Siesta can see, Hilbert is a man in his early fifties—not quite an old geezer, but someone who seems adept at worming his way into people’s hearts.
Her assumption appears correct, as Ryūgūin seems to trust Hilbert to some extent.
「Being bound to a balding, fat old man like you is gross, even as a joke. Stop it. I might catch your old man smell.」
However, his words are harsh.
Anyone observing can tell.
This relationship is built entirely on Hilbert’s patience.
「Oh, you~! The Hero is just being shy!」
Siesta feels a headache coming on as she watches this exchange.
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Siesta exchanges the vase and carpet, then apologizes to Balen, the master of the Lemone Guild, and Leopard, the leader of the Tycoon, whom she had kept waiting.
Understanding the Hero’s personality, Balen lightly laughs and says to Siesta, 「I figured this would happen.」
However, Leopard of the Tycoon, perhaps due to his youth, refuses to back down even after Siesta’s repeated apologies and deep bows.
Siesta sighs and returns to the room to continue guarding the Hero. Though anxious about being bothered again, fortunately, Ryūgūin has lost interest in her and is engrossed in pleasant chatter with Hilbert, avoiding any troublesome situations.
「Hero, how were the young ladies I brought last time?」
Hilbert asks, seizing an opportunity.
「They were all great.
I can’t believe you brought more than ten, and not a single dud among them!
As expected of noble women!
That’s it! Maybe it’s because they come begging to be embraced by me? I felt their spirit of ‘hospitality.’
Plus, they have a refinement that you don’t find in cheap prostitutes. Refinement—surprisingly, this might be what I, the Hero, need in this glorious but stressful job.」
Refinement? Where on earth is that buried?
Their conversation is unbearably vulgar.
Moreover, they continue without regard for Siesta, a woman present in the room.
「And it was good that they all had little experience.
Unlike other useless guys, you really understand the demand in this area.」
Hilbert, not to be outdone by Ryūgūin’s praise, lavishes compliments on him in return.
「No, no, Hero. While it’s true that I gathered beautiful and excellent women, it’s because you were able to discern their quality!」
It’s transparent flattery.
What does it mean to discern a woman’s quality?
Siesta asks herself this question.
The conversation between the two in the room is consistently something she wants to cover her ears to avoid hearing.
And the content is thoroughly Hilbert praising Ryūgūin, and Ryūgūin affirming it and boasting about how capable he is.
As their conversation heats up and Hilbert mentions that he has prepared new women this time, Ryūgūin, with a nasty smile, is about to leave the room.
「What, you’re still here?」
Just then, he remembers Siesta, who has finished cleaning up and is standing by the wall.
「I have the duty, even if temporary, to ‘protect the Hero,’ which I inherited from Saint Mika.」
In response to Siesta’s answer, Ryūgūin mutters 「Ah」 and says, 「That’s enough for today. I’ll leave the guarding to the people Hilbert brought.」
Siesta responds with 「As you wish,」 lowering her eyes with as much sarcasm as she can muster.
However, Ryūgūin, oblivious to the sarcasm, breaks into a smile and says, 「Yes, yes! That’s the spirit!」
And then,
「If you had that much modesty usually, I might even consider entertaining you, despite your complete lack of charm.
Well, by the next time we meet, you should study up on how to be an attractive lady,」 he says as he leaves with Hilbert.
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Alone in a room attached to the church, she ponders various thoughts.
She has plans to contact the cardinal today, but there’s still some time before that appointment.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel humiliated by the Hero’s treatment this time.
It was very unusual for Siesta, who normally laughed off and forgave anything done to her, but it was natural given the rude and inconsiderate treatment she received.
But more than anything, Siesta feels sad.
She reflects on her recent interaction with him and the events of the past week.
And she thinks about the month he spent in the royal capital.
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The Chancellor and Princess Puffy, with whom she had numerous conversations at the royal castle, were opposed to the summoning from the beginning. Even for Siesta, just thinking about the weight of the sin incurred by the summoning made her tremble with fear, and she couldn’t bring herself to say that summoning was the right thing to do, no matter what.
The emotion she initially felt towards him when the summoning took place was guilt.
To summon a boy who had never even killed an animal to a completely unfamiliar land, and moreover, to tell him to save this world to which he owed nothing.
Wasn’t it truly a fiendish act?
Being a person of this world automatically meant being complicit in this deed.
At the summoning site, Saint Mika, the Archbishop, and several of the most influential senior cardinals from the church were present.
In the end, Siesta’s request to be present, born out of a sense of responsibility, was not granted.
The first meeting with the summoned boy turned out to be on the first day of training at the training ground.
Siesta once again recalls the vivid memory of that moment hidden within her.
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