Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

“No, I don’t think so. Why are you looking down on yourself?”

“Because it’s the truth. I’m quite impartial to myself, Soricks. I’m short and, well, my cheeks are in this state. Because of many things, I’m not the popular type.

“That doesn’t matter.”

Soricks lifted his hand before interlocking our fingers together. He then smiled refreshingly like a leaf.

“Because I want to go together with pipio.”

Staring at Sorick’s face, it did not seem like I heard him wrongly. I was right to think of all the men here to be honest and caring.

‘They remind me of casanovas sometimes.’

Compared to other nations, Kaltanias was said to be overflowing with men skilled in the art of seduction. If this had all been arranged by the author’s sensible worldview, then the author of the <Light of Rusbella> did a great job. I was benefitting from that as well.

‘They’re saying they wanted to come with me because I did not think I was good enough.’

Suddenly, I wanted to cover my face.

As much as they made my heart flutter, I did not want to receive clothes that were already dirty. (1) I mean, this was the first time I applied it properly.

“Ack! Soricks is flirting with pipio!”

But the sweet atmosphere immediately dissipated the moment Meta stormed in.

“What?”

“What kind of insane bastard is he?”

“Was Soricks always that perverted?”

“She’s your daughter!”

“Who’s my daughter?!”

Soricks exclaimed in protest. He felt discriminated against. But he did not feel that different from me. Rather, it felt more like Granius was our father. But that did not seem to matter to them right now.

“How old is Soricks now, 26? Wow, isn’t he a pervert then?”

“How shameless!”

“Pervert!”

“Pedophile!”

“To that small pipio…”

“Can you stop? Why are you making me look like a piece of garbage? Pipio’s of age!”

Meta stared at him in disgust.

“Are you really being serious? You’re not trash?”

At the contempt of his Vice-Commander, Meta, Soricks sank in disaster. He was dragged away by the men. Naturally, since I was still holding hands with Soricks, I was dragged along as well. Meta took his chance before cutting the two of us apart.

“Did I do well?”

He placed his hand on my shoulder before tapping his fingers and smirking.

Soricks whined before crying, “Wasn’t that joke too much?”

I shrugged my shoulders before he giggled.

“It’s alright. He deserved it.”

I knew that he had been a colleague of Soricks for years but he was pretty harsh to him. I felt a little sorry for Soricks.

“That’s not it, I was just thinking about helping pipio! No, Vice-Commander, hold on, that’s cheating!”

I was staring at Soricks who was standing in the middle of the guys. Soricks bent his back backwards to avoid his Vice-Commander’s sword before retreating with a somersault.

“You know those missing cases. I just wanted to look around the festival with pipio! Ack!”

At the space he just avoided dozens of swords appeared and sliced through the air. As a skilled knight, he managed to avoid many of the swords directed towards him. I was left astonished.

“What do you mean missing?”

I asked once more.

“Hey. Wait, stop.”

When Chosone raised his hand, the weapons directed towards Soricks stopped for a moment.

“What are you talking about, Soricks?”

I shot a curious look before asking for an explanation.

“Ah! It’s already been two years since the mysterious disappearances started. First it was a child, then a prostitute and then an adult woman. Now, even female templars have started to go missing. The capital patrols are working hard to find clues but it’s hard to find. They disappeared like ghosts.”

“What does that have to do with me?’

Soricks raised his head.

“Well, I have skills when it comes to investigating. I have no doubt that another incident will occur in the midst of all the Foundation Festival chaos. So I was planning on going around the festival on that day and follow anyone suspicious.”

I read into what Soricks was trying to say.

“That means you have a suspect.”

“That’s right. To be more precise, I know what kind of organisation they are.”

He spoke innocently as if he had no intentions of hiding it in the first place.

“Anyways, they’re the bad guys. I think they have something to do with the Empire’s underground. If we work with the guys from Solata, it’ll make things a little easier but they don’t like us very much. Because of that, I’ve been having a hard time.”

“Can I help you? Though I don’t have any skills.”

Just then, a gust of wind blew before dust scattered throughout the training grounds. The dust was made even worse as the ground was roughed up after all their training. The moment I let out a cough, Lord Chosone clicked his tongue before swinging his sword widely.

As if I was watching a scene straight out of a martial arts novel, all the dust flew to the other side of the training grounds just by the swing of his sword.

Was all that wind created merely from this man wielding a sword? Often, when I become a spectator to such phenomenal scenes, I was distinctly reminded of how different they were from me as human beings. The feelings were similar to the bizarre and inhumane aura Castor gave out whenever I stared at him.

All of those in the patrol squad Ceres were templars. Though they adored me, that did not mean they were gentle.

In the midst of my admiration, I made eye contact with Lord Chosone. The knight who was now about 40 years old stared at Soricks before hardening his expression. He opened his mouth as if he was about to sigh.

“You should say something that makes sense. Are you trying to place this little lady in danger right now?”

“Yeah. You sound like you need help but pipio is a no go.”

Along with Meta, the rest of men agreed one by one. It was just like what Lord Ray said. I was like their mascot.

“I just happened to see it but they looked like some cult worshipping the princess. You’re not some templar of music but they kept going on about how pretty you are, you know?”

He was right. I wondered too.

“I have a reason for that. And it’s a very important reason, Vice-Commander. When I’m next to pipio, it’s easier to use my powers.”

“What does that mean?”

“If I have pipio, I become stronger.”

Soricks rarely smiled but he flashed a smile before letting out a fairly low chuckle.

“I mean it literally. I can’t explain it well but pipio has what it takes to be a templar.”

Lord Chosone stepped in.

“Are you saying she’s a templar candidate?”

“I mean, it’s a little different from that… It’s not to the extent to which she can be considered a templar but she has some level of divinity. She’s like an unexpressed child. But no matter how many times I see her, I don’t think she can be a templar. It’s strange. Her powers are weak and unexpressed…”

Soricks stared at me with his freckled face filled with questions before tilting his head.

“It’s the feeling I get from holy water.”

He soon wiped the prickly expression from his face before laughing like a young boy.

“That’s…”

“Yes. She has the ability to enhance the powers of other templars. The power of the 16th God, Disemina. (2) The powers had disappeared a long time ago, right? I think these are pipio’s powers.”

“But that god had already disappeared.”

“Isn’t that why pipio’s powers are so weak?”

He spoke very seriously.

“Pipio might have inherited powers that have long disappeared. But all their blessed lands and artifacts are now lost so she might not have been able to maintain her powers.”

It sounded all like guesses which made Soricks chuckle but I could not take his words lightly.

I was a templar? I had divinity like Castor’s which could make him manipulate minds and like the patrols which could make them pull out whole trees and create great gusts of wind with a mere swing of the sword.

It felt amazing. It felt like I just received a letter of invitation to the school of magic?

“So you’re saying your powers only grow stronger with my presence, Soricks?”

“Yes. When I hold your hands like this, I can see how thin you are more clearly.”

The divinity of an Imperial family member was usually expressed shortly after birth or at their latest, expressed before they reached adulthood. In other words, those who failed to express their divinity before their coming-of-age ceremonies would usually not become templars in the future.

In fact, none of the Imperial family members expressed their divinity after the age of 18.

All the Imperial family members expressed their divinities during their childhood. I too was appraised after returning to the Imperial palace when I returned from escaping the plague.

“The Princess is a normal human being.”

There was not even a feeble response from the sacred stone that appraised divinity. I was even told that I had no chance of being a templar in the future.

“That’s strange. I was told I was not a templar when I was a child.”

I quickly made up a story before any doubts could be casted.

“A templar who happened to pass by the village I was living in appraised me.”

Soricks nodded coolly before continuing my explanation at the same time.

“Well, since then, pipio might have met some conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“I can’t really say because the conditions vary from god to god.”

Soricks shook his head.

“But I think I have a feeling. People usually get a feeling when they come into contact with artifacts. Have you ever been in contact with an artifact before?”

“An artifact? I don’t know. What does it look like?”

“Well, they could look like normal items. But you would know the moment you touch it. Like some light would dazzle around or a strange scene would appear in your mind. It’s usually something you don’t expect.”

“Even if you say it like that… I don’t know.”

“Think about it harder.”

He spoke carefully.

“You would have felt very dreamy as if you had met something as sacred as a god.”

Talking about light, the stele was the first thing that came to mind. Whenever I teleported, the winds from the powers of the God of Wind would glow in bright green and white colours around me. Then was I a templar of the God of Wind?”

But did Soricks not mention another god’s name just now?

“Well, don’t dwell on it for too long. I’m not sure. It’s just what I think.”

Lord Chosone added modestly.

“The problem is that your gut feeling fits the situation too well.”

The surrounding troops nodded their heads before adding on as well.

“The Vice-Commander is right.”

“No one knows more about templars than that guy.”

Everything they said only affirmed his abilities. Sorick’s powers seemed to be widely used around here.

“Well, I’ll continue thinking about it.”

It felt a little encouraging to have a little more information about my situation. I had been certainly using the stele without questioning it much.

I could not get specific facts about my situation right away but at least I found the direction I should be going towards.

I was talking about gods – that guy’s god, that damned god. I guessed I could not get my buff from elsewhere.

“Vice-Commander, do you understand now? I’m taking pipio with me. I’ll protect her no matter what.”

“However.”

“And pipio has never been to the center of the city. This would be your first time visiting the Foundation Festival too, right?”

“What? Yes…”

I nodded my head.

Then the shouting men turned silent.

“Seriously?”

“Yes. That’s how it is.”

Even the Vice-Commander, Chosone, who always told me I could not leave was now staring at me with pity.

‘I mean, you did not have to be that sympathetic and considerate.’

I blinked my eyes before placing an awkward expression on my face.

I thought about it before recalling an important fact.

‘Hold on, Rusbella’s meeting happened outside right?’

T/N:

(1): Something like she did not want them to offer just because they pitied her? HAHA wanted to keep the essence of the author’s imagery!

(2): I’m not sure what god this is either. Either the god