Chapter 143: Shara in a Pinch 2
*
The day the Maiden of Light’s party was due to arrive in the City of Hecate.
Shara Lansra fled from the church.
Apparently, His Holiness the Pope had business with the church rather than the Longdagger couple, and was planning to come here directly.
The church had been bustling since morning with preparations to welcome him.
They weren’t preparing a banquet or anything. It was cleaning.
The church was always kept clean, but now they were cleaning it even more thoroughly.
Shara slipped away from the church, leaving behind her colleagues who were sweeping and polishing the floors as if chasing invisible dust.
She just couldn’t muster the motivation to go that far for the Pope.
The Church of Faltar, where the Pope resided, had played a part in Erika’s exile. For Shara, that alone was more than enough reason to run away.
Also, apparently, Margrave Makikomarkrow was coming too.
Given the matter with the report, it was a bit awkward to face him.
Besides, it’s better than those folks from the Research and Development Faction.
Shara thought as she walked along the cobblestone street.
Those perverts from the Research and Development Faction had even built barricades and holed themselves up in their labs.
Compared to that, the Monster Subjugation Faction, ditching the cleaning to visit the home of friends who formed an adventurer party, had to be the more conscientious group.
Making such excuses to herself, Shara knocked on the door, a smile naturally forming as the scent of baking bread tickled her nose.
For the second day in a row, she exchanged morning greetings with Erika.
Erika invited her in with a “Please, come in.”
In contrast to Erika’s welcome, Shin-san’s annoyed gaze prompted an excuse to tumble from Shara’s lips.
“You know, I’m one of your companions too, Shin-san.”
At those words, Shin-san made a truly bothered face.
But Shara wasn’t intimidated by that face.
This is that. He’s just embarrassed. He’s just shy about being called a companion to his face.
Shin-san doesn’t seem to have many friends, after all.
Shara stepped forward, undaunted by his gaze.
“I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“You, two days in a row? What about your duties as a Sister of the Church?”
Shara replied to the exasperated Shin-san.
“If we’re friends, visiting two days in a row is perfectly normal.”
Erika smiled at her words, and Shara beamed as Shin-san grunted with a “Ngh,” but started cutting bread for her.
See, Shin-san really doesn’t have many friends. Well, neither do I, though.
“Brew your own tea.”
Shara replied cheerfully to his excessively blunt words.
*
A little past noon.
Uwooooh!
Shara let out a mental war cry at the state of the battle on the board.
I might actually win for the first time.
It was a tabletop game Erika had invited her to play, but it had been defeat after defeat.
Could I possibly be a massive idiot?
Losing repeatedly at a simple game, not just to Erika but even to Shin-san, had made Shara seriously worry.
And then she got serious.
She refused Erika’s offer of a handicap (“Shall I remove some pieces?”), plugged her ears to Shin-san’s advice, and kept fighting, slightly teary-eyed.
After piling loss upon loss, Shara was finally convinced she had victory within her grasp.
I can win in five more moves.
Certain of victory, yet still suppressing any hint of carelessness from her expression, Shara Lansra made her winning move.
“By the way, around what time is Lady Maiden of Light’s party scheduled to arrive?”
She didn’t neglect off-board tactics either.
“According to what Merseja told me this morning, probably around noon.”
Shin-san answered, munching disinterestedly on a sandwich.
Perhaps uninterested in the state of the board, his gaze was fixed on Erika’s fingertips as she fiddled with a piece.
Pervert.
Shara waited for Erika’s turn to end.
Knowing how smart Erika is, she might have already realized her own defeat.
Her unusual long thinking must be her final struggle.
Come now, utter the words cleanly from your lips.
The words declaring your resignation: “I resign.”
“Oh.”
But what came back was Erika looking as if she saw something in the distance.
“They’ve arrived.”
With the sudden signal that time was up, her first victory vanished like mist.
She couldn’t help but cast a resentful gaze at the board being cleared away by Erika’s hands.
“Erika would have won in ten more moves, you know?”
She pretended not to see Shin-san pointing this out while washing down his lunchtime sandwich with Tea.
A Shin-san who could read ten moves ahead had to be an illusion.
*
“Longdagger Residence?”
A knock accompanied a deep male voice calling out.
To be honest, at that moment, Shara Lansra had a bad feeling.
The reason being that the voice sounded vaguely arrogant.
It was almost strange that Shin-san only showed a fleeting look of annoyance before opening the door.
“I am the herald.”
Herald or not, a carriage was visible beyond the fence.
“Be grateful for the fortune of being graced by the visit of His Highness Prince Daryl of the Faltar Kingdom and the Maiden of Light.”
The man in full Fluted Armor, unseen in Hecate, declared.
Although he had thankfully removed his helmet, Shara’s bad feeling instantly turned into certainty.
So this is nobility…
Shara was impressed, forgetting that the people she usually spent time with were precisely the daughter of a great noble and the son of an Impoverished Viscount household.
He’s truly acting high and mighty.
Shara worried that Shin-san might punch the man and send him flying at any second.
“We are grateful for the fortune of receiving this visit.”
I see, so this is nobility…
Shara was impressed by Erika’s conduct as she responded gracefully to the herald.
Even Shin-san was putting on a noble-like face.
Shara felt ashamed for worrying he might punch the man.
Remembering her two friends were a noble and a former noble, Shara wondered if she should bow too, but in the end, she did nothing.
The man was an associate of those who had driven her two friends from their homeland; she had no intention of lowering her head to him.
As she was thinking how her friends really were nobles after all, she felt the man’s gaze on her for an instant but ignored it.
Perhaps he was wondering why someone from the church was here, but she felt no obligation to explain.
According to Shin-san, church personnel are apparently ignored during noble affairs, so Shara hoped he would just ignore her.
“We heard from Margrave-sama that this was an incognito visit, so please forgive us for not having prepared anything.”