Konny felt frustrated looking at Valentine, she hit her chest with her fist and said.
“He said thank you for saving him!”
“Huh?”
“He said thank you for saving him from his mean master! He has never properly thanked you. He also said thank you for taking care of him.”
“Yes, yes!”
Konny spoke and Valentine nodded. Even though it was Demian who saved him and Konny who took care of him, Lara still decided to accept his thanks anyway.
“How can you be so grateful for something so little? Valentine, you will become the best alchemist on the continent.”
“…Pardon?”
“Did I not tell you? I will become your sponsor. Tell me if there’s anything you want to learn. And if you need anything, tell me about it too.”
“C, can I do that?”
“Of course. I should at least invest that much for someone who will become the best alchemist on the continent.”
Lara also joked that she might have inherited the tendency to be a merchant from her mother.
“You made an ice grinder for Konny and a long-distance magic receiver for me. At this rate, maybe someday you will be able to create a long-distance travel magic device, the ones that only appear in legends.”
“That’s a little, that’s almost close to impossible… I mean, even the elemental sorcerers of old kept failing in magic that transcends space.”
“It’s just something I blurted out.”
When Lara smiled and took out her wallet, Konny raised her arms and shouted hurrah.
“Let’s have some fun.”
“Oh yeah!”
Lara’s wallet was filled with cheques as Isadora did not want her to be demoralized wherever she went.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The streets were filled with snow but there were still many people out and about. Since carriages could not be properly operated, it seemed that there were more passers-by.
Even Lara, Konny, and Valentine had to give up moving in a carriage. If they kept moving using a carriage, they would end up spending a longer time in the carriage than sightseeing outside. They agreed to walk all the way to the nearby shopping district before going back. In just a day, snow had piled up above their ankles. Every time they walked, a crunching sound could be heard.
“Valentine, walk carefully. If you slip, you are going to break your head.”
“Yeah.”
“Why are you staggering like that? You're making me nervous!”
Lara took the lead, followed by Konny and Valentine. The bored mercenary wolves followed them as escorts.
“Now that I think about it, the sabbatical month in Dandelion lasts for a month from today.”
The wolf who was guiding the way in front of them said, pointing his finger somewhere.
When Lara looked at the place that the wolf pointed to, several stores with their signs covered with black cloth caught her eyes.
“What do people do during the sabbatical month?”
“They stop doing their jobs to pray to God and take care of their families who have worked hard throughout the year. In the past, the Temple of Glory announced the monthly period, but now, it’s customary to rest on your own.
“Then, will this big city stop for a month?”
Lara asked. She had heard of the sabbatical month in the Empire, but she did not know how the people actually put it into practice.
“Not really.”
The wolf laughed and pointed to another store that was still working hard.
“Only those who want to do it. Merchants rarely close their stores, so usually, it’s only the soldiers or knights… People like us who don’t have work in winter use the sabbatical month as an excuse to rest.
It was an interesting custom. The people of Hautean also believed in God but there was no tradition like a sabbatical month.
“It’s because of the war.”
The wolves took turns explaining to the curious Lara.
“Tarragon is a country that is always at war so they regard the time spent for family as important. They have a mindset that, once they go out, they would either die or news about them would be cut off.”
“It’s a sad tradition.”
“Well, it’s about to die off.”
With the occasional house with black cloth covering their entrances appearing just as she was about to forget about it, Lara let out white steam of breath.
“Who started it first?”
Who could it be? The son of a father who could not return from the battlefield? Or is it the wife who had to send his husband away to the battlefield?
The wolves told Lara, who was walking while she was deep in thought.
“It was God.”
“What?”
“I heard you went to the sanctum last night, that’s the house where God used to live. It is said that God saw the humans he saw every day leave for the battlefield, only to never return. And so, he created the sabbatical month.”
Somehow it sounded plausible. Because the God of Fate who chose Lara had a humane charm.
‘Do you even resemble that aspect of humans as you lived with them?’
Lara lifted her head and looked at the cliff where the sanctum was at.
‘Were you sad that humans kept dying? Is that why you’re trying to prevent the end of the world? Even though the humans had forgotten about you?’
The sanctum was hidden by a tall building and thus could not be seen. But, somehow, she felt like God was staring at her.
Fate, Life and Death—one of his many names. He said that was just a modifier that disappeared without value, so he asked her to find his real name.
‘Just wait and see. Once I find your name, no matter how almighty you are, I’m going to make a lot of wishes that are too burdensome to grant.’
Lara pledged so.
A cold wind blew and ruffled her hair once. It was a cold but gentle wind. Lara brushed her hair with her hand and moved on.
<ol start="20">
<ol start="20"> Demon Slayer
While Demian was away to meet his comrades, Lara was contacted by Crown Prince Acerus. He asked Lara to make some time for him so they could meet. He tried to maintain security by sending his most trusted aide to relay his message, even though he could have just sent a waxed letter.
Lara said that it would be much better for the Crown Prince to come to the hotel than for her to go to the Imperial Palace.
“Milady, you have a guest.”
“Who?”
“The, the, the…”
“Konny, why are you stuttering so much? You learn something weird after only hanging out with Valentine every day.”
Konny was surprised to see the Crown Prince of the Empire, but on the contrary, Acerus was the one who was more nervous. He stood in front of the door, wiping off his sweat with a handkerchief.
Lara came out herself and opened the door.
“Hello, Crown Prince.”
“Saintess, hello.”
Acerus politely greeted Lara. The aide who was standing with him also quickly bowed his head.
“Come on in.”
There were two drawing-rooms where Lara had stayed. She guided them to the smaller drawing room which was located on the inner part of her hotel room, where the sound could never leak out.
“Where’s Demian?”
“He went to see his comrades. He left when I fell asleep so I couldn’t ask when he’d be back.”
Lara thought that it was a matter of course. Even in her previous life, Demian’s comrades waited for him in the Empire for a long time. After finding out that Demian was acting as Lara’s great warrior, they came out of the border to persuade him and even helped in the war against the demon worshippers.
They followed Demian like a King. So Lara believed that they would still gather somewhere to wait for his return.
“But saintess, they’re not in the capital…”
“Pardon?”
However, Acerus said that was not the case.
“The war slaves-I mean the barbarians, they cannot adapt here. It’s disgraceful but Tarragon has a culture that despises them for a very long time.”
“What do you mean by that? I’m sure they’re all heroes of the war.”
“Since they greatly contributed to the war, all slave documentation about them was destroyed. But… I can’t control the people’s perception of them.”
“They fought for Tarragon but they can’t even enter the capital?”
Lara did not blame him. She did not ask him in bad faith, she was just surprised and asked back. But after listening to her, Acerus’ eyebrows drooped and he mumbled his lips like a child that was being scolded by an adult.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you don’t have to apologize to me.”
“Saintess, excuse me, but may I say something to you?”
It was the aide to the Crown Prince. Until then, he had only been calmly sitting and listening to their conversations. But then, he carefully raised his hand to say something.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“First of all, of course, they have the freedom to live in the capital.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and they don’t even have slave marks on their foreheads. If they just feign ignorance and live here, no one will know.”
“So then why can’t they come into the capital?”
“Because they call themselves Barbarians.”
“What?”
“When they are asked about their hometown, origin, or parents, they always answer like that. They’re Barbarians. Even if they are asked what their job was, they would say they’re Barbarians. I know it’s their identity, but Tarragon’s people think the Barbarians are low and ignorant war slaves.”
The aide also seemed frustrated. He said that if Demian and his comrades had a little flexibility, things would not have happened like this.
“It’s not that they can’t lie because they’re too nice. Rather, they will tell the truth and see their opponent’s reaction. After that, if they don’t like their reactions, they will fight.”
They were Barbarians, a warrior that was worth a hundred. They could not have lost.
“It was worse on the battlefield. They would hit a commander because they don’t like him being lazy. And when a superior siphoned off military expenses and frequented the entertainment district, they just killed him.”
“I’m sure that was also the case for Demian.”
“Yes.”
No matter how bad the general was, he was a general of the Empire. But status or power did not mean anything to Demian. So he killed him. As they watched him, the knights got scared of him, and eventually, they became jealous of him. They hated him but they still envied him.
Lara slightly cast her eyes down. Whenever she didn't smile, her face looked angry, and she looked colder with her eyes pointed downwards.
“Why are you talking such nonsense?”
Complained Acerus to his aide. Lara said to him after thinking.
“Crown Prince.”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe in me?”
“Of course.”
“Then, I will make a prediction.”
Lara said.
“Without the Barbarians, you will not win the war against the demons.”
