Chapter 67

A few minutes later.

...I kind of had a feeling this would happen.

But I also thought it would be troublesome if it did.

In the courtyard of the lord's mansion.

A single match with wooden swords, stopping just short of the final blow.

--And there, with the tip of the wooden sword pressed against the neck of the fallen Astel, was Yuell.

"Ugh, ughhh..."

Astel, sitting on her bottom, glared at Yuell with gritted teeth.

...You won, Yuell.

You won against the secret agent of the holy maiden, who was trained in close combat techniques that even a knight couldn't match. You won, Yuell.

"Master! I won!"

Yuell approached me happily.

Then, as if wanting to be petted, she brought her head to a position where it was easy to pet and started to shake it slightly.

I was a bit concerned about Astel's reaction, but I petted her head anyway.

"Unbelievable..."

Astel, who was looking at Yuell with an expression that no child should have, with tears welling up in her eyes and her lower lip tightly clenched, was glaring at Yuell.

...I knew this would happen.

I wanted Yuell to win, but I also knew that if she did, this would be the result.

After all, she seemed to have a high level of professionalism as the holy maiden's bodyguard.

...But I can't really blame Astel.

Astel was probably a bit better than Yuell in terms of combat skills.

However, the match was completely dominated by Yuell's physical abilities.

Astel's clever feints and attacks were easily dodged by Yuell's reflexes.

Even when Astel moved quickly to Yuell's blind spots, Yuell would twitch her ears and continue to point her wooden sword accurately at Astel's position.

Yuell compensated for the skill gap with her physical abilities.

While I was impressed by Yuell's potential for the future, considering how much she could improve if she polished her combat skills, this was a harsh result for Astel.

Moreover, I doubt Astel would be willing to teach Yuell combat skills, given how upset she is.

She already seemed to dislike Yuell.

I'm worried about Astel's mental state.

From the perspective of the holy maiden, who ordered Astel, this result was probably unexpected.

If Yuell could defeat the holy maiden's secret agent, she could probably overpower most enemies with brute force.

Unless it was an enemy with skin so hard that a knife couldn't penetrate it, or one of the few individuals stronger than Astel, Yuell would be unbeatable.

But that probably doesn't matter to Astel.

Regardless of how strong Yuell is, she lost to someone her age, who hadn't even undergone much combat training.

This must be incredibly humiliating for Astel.

She was glaring at Yuell, tears welling up in her eyes, and trembling.

"Hey, Astel, this is..."

I started to feel a bit sorry for her.

I was wondering if I should say something to comfort her when,

"It was just a match, so I lost. But if this were a real fight, and I had coated my weapon with poison, I would have won. In a real fight, I would have won!"

Astel, almost crying, asserted this to Yuell.

It seems she wanted to say that while she lost the match, she wouldn't have lost in a real fight.

Well, if she can convince herself, I don't really care about the outcome.

Both Yuell and Astel are young girls, and it would be troublesome if they started crying over something like this.

It all depends on Yuell's reaction... but Yuell nodded deeply in response to Astel's words.

"Yes, if it had been coated with poison, I might have lost."

Yuell echoed Astel's assertion.

Did she read the room?

Actually, upon closer inspection, there was a small scratch on Yuell's right shoulder.

I hadn't noticed it before, but perhaps Astel's attack had grazed her.

While it wouldn't have been a fatal blow, if the weapon had been coated with poison, Yuell would have been incapacitated in a real fight.

"I am the holy maiden's secret agent! I track down the holy maiden's enemies, gather information, and sometimes incapacitate them with poisons or drugs. That's my job. Of course, combat skills are important, but there are more important things for a secret agent!"

Yuell listened to Astel's words with a nod.

Then, Astel began to place several bottles in front of Yuell.

"I was wondering what to teach you, but let's start with this. These are all poisons I have concocted myself."

"All of these...? That's amazing!"

The bottles of poison lined up in front of her, Yuell exclaimed in amazement and praised Astel.

Astel's dog ears, which had been hanging limply, twitched.

"I use all of these poisons according to the situation."

"According to the situation... with so many? That's amazing!"

Yuell praised her again.

Astel's dog ears twitched again and began to perk up slightly.

"It's not just poisons; I can also concoct all the antidotes!"

"That's amazing! I've never used poisons before. To be able to use all of them and even concoct the antidotes, that's incredible!"

Yuell looked at the bottles of poison with wide eyes and exclaimed in admiration.

Astel's ears perked up straight and began to wiggle.

"Good, I'm glad you understand!"

Before long, the tears had dried from Astel's eyes, and she had stopped trembling.

Her gaze, when looking at Yuell, was much calmer.

I was wondering if I should say something to comfort her, but it seemed she had already recovered.

...She's pretty easy to please.

Yuell, on the other hand, seems to be the type who can be easily flattered.

"First, this is a nerve paralyzing poison. And this is a lethal bleeding poison. These two are mainly used on weapons."

Feeling better, Astel began to explain the poisons to Yuell.

...But poisons.

While they're not scary to me with my healing magic, they can be fatal to normal people with just a scratch.

They might be perfect for someone like Yuell, who is weak but has many tricks up her sleeve.

"...And this is a sleeping powder. It's inhaled through the respiratory system. It's fast-acting and has few side effects, making it ideal when you don't want to kill the target."

Astel continued her explanation.

As I listened, something caught my attention.

"Hmm... sleeping powder. That's a good one. Can you give me a little of it?"

Sleeping powder.

It seems relatively safe and easy for me to handle.

I think it would be a good fit for me.

I decided to negotiate with Astel.

"Saint! Even if you are a saint, I can't have you putting women to sleep and taking advantage of them!"

"Wait, no! I mean, look, if I use the sleeping powder to fill a room and then keep myself awake, I can incapacitate anyone completely. I thought it would be useful if I ever had to fight someone, so I wouldn't have to engage in hand-to-hand combat."

Just by asking for the sleeping powder, I was accused of something I didn't do.

I wonder what kind of person Astel thinks I am.

Actually, I think I've been getting a pretty bad reputation from the knights guarding the gate too.

...Maybe it's because I was easily tempted by the succubus in front of everyone.

I'm very curious about how my image is perceived by the people in this mansion.

"Yes, but Saint, please don't misuse it, okay?"

"Of course."

I'm not that kind of person.

"The holy maiden is in a very delicate position. Depending on Shiki's actions, her position could be at risk. Please, I'm asking you."

But Astel pressed the point further.

...How much does she not trust me?

I'm supposed to be a saint, a great person.

Or rather,

"Hmm... the holy maiden is in a delicate position? What do you mean?"

I hadn't heard that the holy maiden's position was precarious.

She seemed busy, but I hadn't been told anything specific.

"...The holy maiden was unable to stop the succubus's revival when she was present. While the attack was successfully defended, the succubus itself escaped. ...This is a significant weakness that can be exploited. The holy maiden has many enemies."

Astel explained, seemingly not hiding anything.

"Many enemies?"

"Yes. The holy maiden, as a descendant of the saint, has a strong sense of responsibility. ...In recent years, corruption in the church has been very common. The holy maiden has purged many corrupt priests and church officials in the past. Therefore, there are many people who view her as an enemy, especially within the church."

As I listened to Astel, I remembered.

...Right, the holy maiden had come to the capital to purge Darno.

While this time it was because Darno had stolen the gemstone that sealed the succubus, if she had been purging corrupt officials regularly, it makes sense that she would have enemies within the church.

If I were to become the archbishop and act as I pleased, I would probably be purged too.

I need to be careful.

"The holy maiden is working tirelessly to correct the corruption within the church and help the weak. ...Just like when she helped me, a former slave."

Astel said this, puffing out her chest and looking at me.

Her eyes were very pure, with no trace of cloudiness or shadow.

It was clear that Astel deeply admired and respected the holy maiden.

To be so well-liked by a close aide is no small feat.

...I remember the holy maiden giving a ring to a blind girl in an orphanage.

I had thought she was a bit devious because of the Sakura incident, but thinking calmly, she might be a person with a lot of empathy.

"Ah, yes. I won't misuse it. I promise."

"Okay. If that's the case, there's no problem. Here you go."

"Um, Astel, can I have some too?"

As I put away the bottle of sleeping powder, Yuell approached Astel eagerly.

Her ears were wiggling.

It seems she was interested in using poisons.

Personally, I would prefer if she got excited about more girly things, but Yuell was clearly fascinated by poisons.

"The Saint is an expert in healing magic, so it's not a problem. I'll start by teaching you how to use the antidotes. We'll get to the poisons later."

"...Okay."

Yuell's ears drooped in disappointment.

Well, Yuell can't use healing magic yet.

But the initial tension between Astel and Yuell seems to have dissipated.

The two young girls, with their strong pride and straightforward nature, seem to have a good chemistry.

It's heartwarming to see them getting along, even if they're handling poisons.

Then, as I watched them,

"Shiki, there you are!"

A voice called out from the direction of the mansion.

I turned to see Ruruka waving at me.

The next update will be in about 3 days.