Translator: P411

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 177 – So the Belief is Called Adlera… First Time I Heard It 

“I’m sorry, but I’m a bit prone to carriage sickness, so I’ll walk instead. I’m really sorry that you took the trouble of coming all the way here to pick me up, but please inform the prime minister of what I said.”

I bowed my head and took Vidello-san’s arm. I had an inkling that I wouldn’t arrive at the palace if I rode the carriage. I wondered if any information had been leaked along the way. I felt that the safest way there was to walk on foot.

“Please reconsider; I will be reprimanded by my lord.”

“But if you let me ride on it and I become sick, that will make His Excellency the Prime Minister wait. It doesn’t seem like the distance is that far, so please prioritize your own work over me.”

I moved away from the carriage, and Vidello-san stood in front of me, hiding me behind him.

“I beg your pardon. Has His Excellency the Prime Minister been waiting for him that long?”

When Vidello-san asked him this, the butler nodded.

“I’ve been instructed to bring him right away.”

“I understand. Thank you. Come here, Mac.”

Vidello-san also bowed to the butler, then he turned his back to him and started walking towards the gate that we had passed through, hugging my shoulder. I was confused as to why we were heading in the opposite direction, since we were told to quickly meet the prime minister, but I followed him. The butler behind raised his voice in a hurry.

“Please wait! Where are you…!”

“Since we’re told to make haste, I would like to take him to the royal palace on horseback. Now, please excuse us, as we’re in a hurry.”

He pulled me towards the gate we had entered before. The butler watched us go into the station and the gatekeeper from yesterday greeted us.

“Did something happen again? How troublesome… Don’t cause too much trouble.”

“I know. If you don’t want to see us in trouble, let me borrow one of your horses. You’ve probably received the notice.”

Vidello-san shrugged his shoulders while making this request of the man with cold eyes and a beard. The man stared at Vidello-san for a while and shifted his gaze to me.

“What happened?”

“The carriage from the prime minister came to pick me up, but I got a really bad feeling from that carriage, so I turned down the ride.”

“A bad feeling? What sort of? The other party is His Excellency the Prime Minister. You’ll be charged for defamation against royalty if you refuse with a half-hearted reason.”

I felt a little intimidated by the cold stare of the bearded man, but I stared back at him, tightly clenching my fists. I only had my senses to rely on, but the only thing I could say now was that if I got on that carriage, I knew I wouldn’t get to the prime minister in one piece.

“It’s the same unpleasant feeling that I felt in the back room when I went to Quattro’s church, that feeling of forcing goodwill onto another.”

“Oh, in the church… care to elaborate about that room?”

“I was led to a room in the back, where they told me they would lift the curse. In that room, there was a strange feeling of warmth, telling my senses that this was a safe haven, but it was just a cover, and what I truly felt in my heart was a sense of discomfort… I can’t find the right words to explain that feeling, but it felt like something was crawling up me when I was in that room.”

“Hmm… I see.”

The bearded man nodded. I wasn’t sure if he got what I meant, but I waited for his reaction, hoping that he could now picture that someone with bad intentions was interfering in this meeting.

“I’ll lend you one of the horses. Vidello, you know my horse, right? Go to the palace with him. I’ll check up on that so-called unpleasant carriage.”

He turned on his heel, his gaze still cold, and called us to follow him, so we followed his lead. Vidello-san had his usual expression, but he gently squeezed my hand when I stood beside him. I guessed it looked obvious to him that I was nervous.

When we left from the back door, we found the stable. My tension was relieved a bit when I saw the horses being cared for.

“Make sure you return him, Vidello. He’s been to the palace several times, so he knows the way. If something happens to you and that kid is alone, as long as that kid can ride on him, he can definitely escape back here. You understand, kid? If anything goes wrong, you can count on him. He’s my trusted partner. Ruu, can I count on you?” 

That cold look of his melted away as he stroked the chestnut horse in front of him. The horse, called Ruu, also happily rubbed his face against the bearded man. Even an amateur like me could see the solid bond between the bearded man and the horse. Was it okay for me to borrow a horse like this?

When the saddle was put on, Ruu pressed his body against the bearded man, but the man stroked his beautiful mane and smiled bitterly.

“Sorry Ruu, it’s not me this time, but it’s this kid and Vidello. You remember Vidello. He’s the guy who took care of you a while ago. Take care of him.”

“Nnneeigh.” 

Ruu replied as if he understood his words. That’s right. All the horses here understood what we’re saying very well. Maybe the horses in my world were like this, too. But I didn’t know because I wasn’t familiar with them.

Vidello-san stroked Ruu’s nose with a gentle expression on his face.

“Take care of us. If something happens, please look after Mac. He’s very important to me.”

“Your important person?”

“My one and only irreplaceable other half.”

“You mean this foreigner kid?”

The bearded man’s eyes widened in surprise. Was he surprised by the fact that I was a ‘foreigner’? Or was he surprised by the words ‘one and only irreplaceable’? I was also a bit surprised. My heart was pounding fast.

When I looked up, he had a serious look on his face, so I never thought he told this as a joke.

“If a serious guy like you said it, then I guess it is what it is. Hey, kid, you won’t be able to carry his burden with half-hearted determination.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already made up my mind.”

I replied back with a smile to his warning, delivered still with that cold look in his eyes.

I had long since made up my mind, as Vidello-san also was my one and only irreplaceable other half. I tried to look cool, but I felt a little embarrassed after all this, so I looked up at Vidello-san, trying to brush it off with a laugh. When I looked at him, he looked back at me with eyes filled with love and affection. I love you!

“Then, I’ll borrow him. Ruu, let’s go.”

“Fuuuunhhh.” 

When Ruu replied with a snort, Vidello-san jumped onto his back. I could only admire his graceful and light movements. When he held his hand out from above and I grabbed his hand, I was instantly brought up into his embrace. It was so skillful that I couldn’t comprehend how I fit in perfectly every time. 

Anyway, please take care of me, Ruu. While stroking the mane in front of me, I looked down at the bearded man.

“I’ll be borrowing Ruu. Thank you for listening to my vague statements.”

When I bowed my head, the bearded man’s cold eyes softened.

“Recently, church supporters began to emerge among the guards. Adlera’s beliefs seem to have pretty much died out in the cities from here onwards, but the Adlera Pope settled here. It’s not surprising to find their hands everywhere. Therefore, I can’t dismiss what you’ve said. Now go. Return Ruu safely.”

“Understood.”

Vidello saluted the bearded man, and we raced out with Ruu. There was quite a distance to the carriage, probably because we went out from the back. To stay away from the carriage, Vidello-san whispered in my ears to be patient for a bit and then increased Ruu’s speed even more.

Oh, and the Church was called Adlera. I wondered if they believed in a god called Adlera. I had heard from a shrine or somewhere before that when you believed in a god, there shouldn’t be greed involved. God wasn’t an entity that humans could control, so if humans’ greed got involved, punishment would follow. The Church was full of greedy humans, so they would surely be punished.

We rode to the royal palace in silence because if we opened our mouths, we would bite our tongues from the bouncing motions of the horse. 

We rode through the royal palace’s gate and proceeded further in. Was it okay to not get down?

“You there, refrain from riding.”

A knight on patrol duty called out to us.

Vidello-san turned in that direction and grinned. He whispered in my ear, “Show him the prime minister’s seal,” and I quickly took out the envelope from my bag and showed him the seal. When he saw it, his eyes opened wide in surprise.

“His Excellency the Prime Minister has summoned this person on short notice, so excuse us while we ride.”

“I see, His Excellency the Prime Minister. I understand. Call the knights next to the castle, and leave the horse with them, and enter the castle.”

“Understood.”

We saluted the knight from horseback and proceeded onward. The speed was just about a quick run, but soon we approached the royal palace, which rose tall in the distance.

Just as the guard said earlier, we approached a building that looked like it belonged to the knights’ order, and we both dismounted from Ruu. When we approached the nearby guard and showed him the envelope, he received the horse without suspicion. So if anything went wrong, I could just run here and ride Ruu. After all, I couldn’t take Ruu inside the palace.

When we stood side by side in front of the luxurious castle, spears quickly crossed in front of us.

“What brought you here?”

“We have an appointment with the prime minister.”

“Proof.”

I showed the letter and the card from the prime minister to the knight, who stared at me with sharp eyes from the slits of his helmet, and in an instant he withdrew his spear.

“My apology. Please pass through.”

With a salute from the guards in full armor from both sides, we stepped into the castle. I felt a bit overwhelmed. The sound of armored knights walking could be heard from the distance, so I could tell that the knights were patrolling from the entrance.

Anyway, it’s really spacious. If it was this big at the entrance, I could get lost easily inside if I wasn’t careful.

While I was admiring the sight, looking up at the chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, a man in full armor approached us and stopped in front of us.

“Excuse me. I’ll guide you around. Mac will definitely get lost in the castle.”

I was quite surprised by his frank approach to me. As I was thinking that there was such a friendly person at the castle, the person took off his helmet and revealed his face.

“…Yukihira?”

“Hey. Long time no see, Mac, and such a great fortune to see you today. You guys are still as close as ever.”

It was Yukihira, a [ Paladin ] I had met before in Sei’s general store.