Chapter 49

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The king still had his hand extended towards me.

I didn’t understand what was going on, but I couldn’t just leave it as it was, so I hesitantly took his extended hand.

“!”

The moment I gripped it, the king’s body trembled, but I held on for a few seconds before slowly letting go.

The king finally straightened his back, but his eyes were filled with joy like a child’s, and he was staring at his own hand.

“Um, why are you doing this…?”

I asked, as the king showed no signs of returning to his normal state.

In response, the king slowly turned to look at me.

“T-that earring…?”

…Oh, right, I got this earring when I treated the servant’s child. Could it be that the king knew about that child?

If that’s the case, the earring that the ‘Black Saviour’ who sneaked in at night should have had, and if I had it, then I must be the ‘Black Saviour’.

“…It’s my daughter’s.”

“Eh—?”

W-What did he just say? D-Does that mean the king’s daughter, the Holy Maiden…?

“A-are you the ‘Black Saviour’…?”

…Should I honestly answer, or should I pretend?

Honestly, if it was just an earring from a servant’s child, I could have said I bought it from a store nearby, but if it’s the Holy Maiden’s, there’s no way I could have bought it from a store.

“No, I know!! The romance of a man is to help people without revealing his true identity!! I’m sorry this time!! But I won’t tell anyone my true identity, so please rest assured!!”

However, while I was struggling with whether to say it or not, the king started to speak passionately.

“C-Calm down!!”

It was the middle of the night, and his voice was so loud that I had to stop him.

“Ah!! I’m sorry, I seem to have lost my composure…”

Well, if someone you’ve always admired suddenly appears in front of you, anyone would react like this…

“Ah, well, you know. I am called the ‘Black Saviour’ and all, but I’m really just an ordinary guy. And please don’t use honorifics.”

“W-What!? How can a lowly insect like me not use honorifics with the ‘Black Saviour’…!!”

No, you’re the king, right!?

“Um, as you said earlier, I don’t want to stand out. If a mere healer like me gets honorifics from the king, I’ll stand out no matter what. So, think of it as doing it for me, okay?”

“B-But…!”

However, it seemed that the ‘Black Saviour’ was so deified in the king’s mind that he wouldn’t agree no matter how long I waited.

I couldn’t just leave it like this…

“So, if you stop using honorifics, I’ll do one thing for you.”

“!”

The king reacted even more strongly than when we shook hands.

“Is that true!?”

“Yeah, it’s true. But only if you stop using honorifics.”

“I-I’ll stop!! I’ll stop using honorifics!!”

“Stop using…?”

Finally, the king agreed, but I pushed him further.

“I-I’ll stop!! I won’t use honorifics!!”

Finally, I succeeded in getting him to completely stop using honorifics with me.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

And now, I’m about to do one thing for the king as promised, but his face is beaming with a smile.

…Oh, this is going to be bad.

“P-Please make me your disciple, ‘Black Saviour’!!”

“Sorry, no can do.”

Immediately, the king’s face was filled with despair.

“W-Why!?”

No, it’s not that I don’t want to, but you’re the king, right? Who would take the king as a disciple…?

“W-Well, at least think about it a little!! We’ve already stopped using honorifics, right!?”

“Hmm, you have a point…”

“P-Please think about it until tomorrow morning!! I’ll ask again tomorrow morning!!”

Due to the king’s strong desire, I agreed to think about it until tomorrow.

But if I refuse and the king reveals the ‘Black Saviour’s’ true identity, it could be a big problem. Ah, I’ll think about it before I go to bed… it’s too much to think about now.

After our conversation, we headed to my house.

I didn’t feel like going back to the guild, so I chose my house, which was relatively close.

“Ah, by the way…?”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Should I take off this earring?”

Until now, I hadn’t really thought about it, but it led to my true identity being revealed…

“Hmm. Only a few people in the country know about the earring.

If you live a normal life, there’s little chance of it being discovered, but there’s no guarantee that there won’t be any exceptions like me.

If you’re worried, I think it’s a good idea to keep it as a precaution.”

“Got it. I’ll take it off, then.”

Following the king’s advice, I took off the earring from my ear and put it in my pocket.

“Welcome back, Toru.”

When we got home, Toru was there to greet us at the door.

“Welcome back, Master… and, who is that…?”

It seems that Toru, who had never seen the king before, didn’t know who he was and was tilting his head in confusion.

“Oh, just an acquaintance from town.”

I lied, thinking it might be revealed later anyway, but it’s not like it has to be at night.

The king didn’t say anything, so it seemed he didn’t mind.

“By the way, are you and the Master hungry…?”

Toru asked us, but fortunately, I had already eaten, so I wasn’t hungry.

It’s just the king now…

“I haven’t eaten anything, so I would be grateful if you could give me something.”

…Of course. After all, he didn’t attend the banquet.

But, my condolences. You’ll have to eat Toru’s cooking.

…Toru has been attending cooking classes, and he has indeed been improving.

The taste of his cooking has—

“I’ll go to my room first, then…”

“Ah, Master!!”

Toru stopped me as I was about to head to my room.

…What is it?

“Actually, a guest came earlier, and since they looked tired and I thought you wouldn’t be back tonight, I showed them to your room, the largest one. Is that okay…?”

“Ah, it’s fine. Thanks for your help.”

As a reward, I patted his head.

Lately, I’ve been doing this as a reward for Lily and Toru, and it seems they like it, as he closed his eyes in pleasure.

…Still, it’s a relief. I’m glad I didn’t get asked to eat.

Thinking about the screams that would probably be heard later, I opened the door to my room to change out of my dirty clothes.

“—Eh?”

“Huh?”

I had heard from Toru that there was a guest, but I had forgotten to ask if it was a man or a woman.

Inside, a girl was changing clothes.

Moreover, I recognized her.

“Ah, you…?”

The girl was the one I had treated in a room at the castle while running around.

In other words, she was the ‘Holy Maiden’—

—.