Chapter 3: The Church III (Climbing Up with All My Might)
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The figure approached Ryuguin with a friendly smile, immediately grasping his hands tightly.
“I’ve been eager to meet you at the earliest opportunity, Hero-sama! How have you been?”
Seeing this exchange, Ryuguin couldn’t help but smile back, his cheeks relaxing into a grin.
“Hilbert! I’m glad you came! Just in time! I was about to drop by your place!”
“Oh! Then it seems that you and I are destined for each other, Hero-sama! We must be bound by the threads of fate!”
From Siesta’s perspective, the man named Hilbert was not quite a kindly old man, but he appeared to be in his fifties and had a knack for getting close to people. Her assumption was correct; it seemed Ryuguin had opened up to Hilbert to some extent.
“Please, spare me. The thought of being tied to a balding, overweight old man like you is disgusting, even if it’s a joke. I don’t want to catch your baldness and old man smell.”
However, his words were harsh. Those who observed could see it clearly. This relationship was built on Hilbert’s patience.
“Oh, Hero-sama, you’re just being shy!” Siesta thought, feeling a headache coming on as she watched.
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Siesta hurriedly finished exchanging the vase and carpet before leaving the room. She bowed her head to Balen, the master of the Lemone Guild, and Leopald, the leader of the Tycoon, apologizing for the Hero’s rudeness.
Balen understood the Hero’s personality and chuckled lightly, “I expected this would happen.” However, Leopald, perhaps due to his youth, was not easily appeased, even as Siesta repeatedly bowed and apologized. It was only thanks to Balen’s intervention that he finally relented, but Siesta was filled with a sense of guilt and helplessness.
Taking a deep breath, she returned to the room to continue her duty of guarding the Hero. The thought of having to deal with him again was disheartening, but fortunately, the Hero had already lost interest in Siesta and was engrossed in cheerful conversation with Hilbert.
“Hero-sama, how did you find the young ladies I brought last time?”
Hilbert seized the opportunity to ask.
“They were all wonderful. I was truly amazed! I never expected to bring over more than ten without a single disappointment!”
With a flourish, Ryuguin began to recount his experience, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“Noblewomen are truly the best! I could feel from their service that they were wholeheartedly seeking me. If I were to put it into words, I would say I sensed the spirit of ‘Omotenashi’ from them.”
Recalling his encounters with the women, Ryuguin’s face relaxed into a lewd grin.
“And they possess a grace that common streetwalkers lack. Grace—this is something that someone like me, who appears to be in a glorious position but is actually burdened with endless worries, truly needs.”
Their conversation was filled with crude remarks that were unbearable to listen to. Moreover, they continued even with Siesta, a woman, present in the room. There was not a shred of grace in him.
“Also, it was great that none of them were experienced or had little experience. Unlike those useless fellows, you really understand that kind of demand.”
In response to Ryuguin’s praise, Hilbert eagerly returned the compliment.
“No, Hero-sama. While I did gather beautiful and talented women, it was because you recognized their quality and treated them as such that they were able to shine in their true light!”
The flattery was so excessive that the conversation became nonsensical. However, for Ryuguin, that was more than enough. What he needed was simply to feel good about himself. Stripping away the vulgar parts of their discussion, it was clear that Hilbert was buttering up Ryuguin, who was affirming it, boasting about how capable he was.
As their conversation reached a peak, Ryuguin, with a filthy grin, prepared to leave the room after Hilbert mentioned he had arranged for even more new women.
“What? You’re still here?”
At that moment, he remembered Siesta, who had been tidying up against the wall.
“I have a duty to protect you, which I inherited from Saintess Mika, even if just for a moment…”
In response to Siesta’s statement, Ryuguin lightly murmured, “Ah,” and said, “That’s enough for today. For your protection, I’ll leave it to the ones Hilbert brought,” emphasizing the part about “the ones Hilbert brought.”
Siesta lowered her gaze, filled with sarcasm, and replied, “As you wish.”
However, Ryuguin was oblivious to her sarcasm.
“That’s right, just like that. Keep it up!”
He beamed at her, gently, gently patting her head.
“If only you had that much modesty all the time, even someone as unappealing as you might get a little attention from me. Well, by the next time we meet, make sure to study how to be a ‘charming lady.'”
With those parting words, Ryuguin left with Hilbert.
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Alone in a room within the church’s annex, Siesta was lost in thought. She had plans to contact the Cardinal that day, but there was still some time before that.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel humiliated by the Hero’s treatment. After all, she had been subjected to unreasonable, rude, and disrespectful behavior, so it was only natural.
Siesta’s fellow Sisters had never seen her angry. She was the type to laugh and forgive, no matter what happened, but it was exceptionally rare for her to be filled with unexpressed feelings.
Of course, she felt anger and shame, but above all, Siesta felt sadness.
She closed her eyes and reflected.
The earlier exchange with him.
The past week since arriving in Lemone.
And the month he had spent in the Royal Capital.
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The Prime Minister and Princess Puffy had opposed the summoning from the start. Siesta felt the same way. Just thinking about the weight of the sin she would have to bear due to the summoning filled her with dread and pain. There was no way she could say that summoning him was a good idea.
At the time of the summoning, the feelings Siesta held for him were guilt.
To summon a boy who had never killed even a single monster to a completely unfamiliar land and then demand that he save this world, which he had no obligation to, was truly a cruel act. Being a human in this world meant that she was automatically complicit in that crime.
Church personnel were present at the summoning. Saintess Mika, the Pope, and several influential Cardinals among the senior clergy were there. Siesta had offered to attend out of a sense of responsibility, but her request was denied.
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The first meeting with the summoned boy was on the first day of his training.
Siesta recalled the vivid memory she had hidden within her heart from that time.