I Was Summoned to Be a Miko, but the Guy With Me was So High-Spec that They Didn’t Need Me
Translator: P411
Editor: PalenMisha
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 32 – To the Duchy of Lenos! – Part 1
While I was still spending my time in the capital without any particular incidents occurring, I received a message from the castle just as I was thinking about going back to Miriel. As expected, the Duchy of Lenos had requested that the Miko be dispatched.
“Of course, if Itou-dono isn’t willing, I don’t mind declining their request, but as far as Lenos is concerned, I don’t think this’ll be a bad idea for Itou-dono.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lenos has been a Duchy since the founding of its nation. It’s a religious nation which was founded on their faith in Lenova and the Pope serves as the king. Are you familiar with the Lenova religion?”
Sachez-san began to speak. I had at least heard of the name in Kiel’s lecture, but apart from its name, no information about it was mentioned further…
“..well, I guess a little bit…?”
“I’m sure Akira must have seen the Lenos church before. You have seen a church with a symbol of the goddess, right? There’s also one in Miriel and even one in the capital.”
“Now that you say that, I’ve seen them before.”
I thought it looked similar to the logo of a certain famous coffee shop.
“Lenova is the largest religion on the continent, and it’s also famous for the unity between all believers. Lenos’s Pope is the head of Lenova so if someone were to oppose the Duchy of Lenos, they would become enemies of Lenova’s believers. Therefore, it’s an unspoken rule between countries that they won’t make a move on the Duchy of Lenos. If Itou-sama were to perform purification in Lenos….”
“I might be able to have a strong backing?”
Sachez-san nodded at my words.
“With Itou-dono’s strength and effort, you might be able to get away from this, but won’t it be troublesome to keep an eye on things at the level of the entire nation? Of course, Dynas will be your strength, but if you can also establish a connection with Lenos, they will surely be a powerful ally for you.”
“The current Pope is a trustworthy person and all the high-ranking priests learn under the strict rules of Lenova’s teachings so there’s no need to worry about them trying to take advantage of you.”
“I see….”
….Eh, perhaps, should I have escaped to Lenos from the beginning…? Ah, but would they have accept me if I suddenly asked for protection on my own?
Although I hesitated, in the end, I decided to take their request. Aside from gaining a strong ally, I had already come this far so I felt like I wanted to do as much as I could as long as I was asked to.
I was sure Kagaya-kun was doing his best on the Argyle side.
And also, even if I didn’t go to Lenos, sooner or later my existence would be known to the Argyle Empire. If it was going to be like that, it would be better to have more allies on my side.
Lenos had always been a neutral nation so that didn’t mean it was an ally of Dynas.
However, as a neighbour, they still had close interactions with other nations. For example, one of the princes came to study abroad around two years ago. 1
I told Sachez-san that I didn’t want to make my visit a grand event and that we would be visiting them with a minimum number of people.
I first thought that if I would eventually be protected by Lenos, wouldn’t it be better to make a grand entrance, but in the end, I simply didn’t want to stand out. Anyhow, there shouldn’t be any problem meeting with the Pope and then with the other high-ranking people.
The members of the party who would be visiting Lenos were me, Jill as my escort, and two other knights. I heard that Eric-kun and Jade-kun would accompany us by Claude-san’s order.
Even though Eric-kun was easygoing, strangely enough, he was trusted by Claude-san.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Your Highness Jillvias and Miko-sama. We will escort you from now on. I’m Eric Clive and he’s Jade Kilgale….eh?!” 2
As if he saw us for the first time, he greeted us with a serious face and saluted in front of the carriage, but as soon as he focused on Jill’s face, he stared at him and stiffened up.
“Is His Highness Jillvias, Jill-san? Is Jill-san from the royal family? Even though you’re an S-rank adventurer?! …..What’s all this? It’s unfair…”
“Hey!”
In the blink of an eye, as if Eric-kun was at a loss, his voice sounded quite shaken and he spoke in a very frank manner. It seemed like he was a little upset about Jill.
“I’m glad. I couldn’t relax at all and thought this would be dangerous because it was an escort mission for royalty. But if it’s Jill-san, I won’t have to worry about being disrespectful and you’re far stronger than both of us. I’m relieved.”
After saying that immediately, Eric-kun, smiling cheerfully next to Jade-kun who still had a bitter face, must be a man with a big heart.
On the way to Lenos, as we sat together in the carriage, I stole a glance at Jill’s face, thinking about his confession from a few days ago.
Jill seemed more like he might say something to impress me but instead he was so straightforward…
No—, he was really a good man. His looks were of course so perfect that there was no room for improvement and as long as I had known him, I knew that I could trust him.
He would definitely be popular but why me…?
As I was absent-mindedly staring at him, our eyes met. 3
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
…Just why was I this nervous?!…
It was evening when we arrived at the castle of Lenos. This was a country ruled by priests so the castle with the white walls in front of me was magnificent, but it was not ostentatious.
The Pope who greeted us in the audience chamber was a person with a calm and peaceful aura. He was more like a messenger of god than me.
“Miko-sama and Your Highness Jillvias, thank you very much for acquiescing to our request and seeing fit to come to our aid in this, our time of need. Your Highness, it’s been a while since we met after you vacated your commander position.” 4
“Your Holiness, it’s been some time since we’ve last been in touch.”
“I was curious about how you were doing. I’m glad to see that you’re well.”
The Pope’s amber-coloured eyes turned towards me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miko-sama. I’m Ignacia Lenos. I’m glad to meet with a person like you. Just as the oracle of Lenos stated, you have a mysterious appearance.”
“Haha… Nice to meet you. I’m Akira Itou.”
“You must have had a hard time in this unfamiliar world. I’ve been worried about you, but now that I’m able to see your face, I’m a little bit relieved. Have you already found a place where you can feel at ease in this world?”
“…Eh?…Yes…maybe…”
*****