CH 93

Chapter 93

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Fairy And Great Beasts Of The Prairie, Part 4 — Messenger

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「It’s rude of you to suddenly invite me inside the wards. Show yourself.」

「Sister Anorn, who is on Arnelian pilgrimage assignment, are you sure that your pilgrimage number is 0001?」

「Do you think I’m going to say『yes, I do』to someone who doesn’t even show up?」

「I apologize for this… I was about to be hit with the mace hidden in your sleeve the moment it appeared. I’ll show myself now.」

With these words, the two people in robes and hoods appear. One of them removes its robe.

「What are you! …Is what I would say, but from the looks of you, you seem to be in the same business.」

「Yes, I am Sister Elsa, I am also on pilgrimage duty. I look forward to your continued patronage.」

「I don’t know if you’ve seen me since, but I’m surprised you noticed my work-up. I’ll give you credit for that.」

「Thank you for that, ma’am.」

The sister responds to Miranda’s somewhat sarcastic line with a smile. This Sister has blonde hair and blue eyes like Miranda and is similar in height, but the only difference between her and Miranda is that she has longer hair and looks more demure, although she is not a showy beauty. But the sparkle in Elsa’s eyes was bright enough to let Miranda know that she wasn’t just another Sister. But at the stage of going on a pilgrimage mission, she couldn’t have been just a Sister.

Then Miranda shifts her attention to the other person.

「So can you introduce me to that shady someone over there?」

「Another harsh word… Eliza, introduce yourself.」

The person called Eliza takes off her hood and removes her cloak. Out of the cloak came a beautiful, fair-skinned girl. She is dressed as a knight herself, and she is also dressed in gold armor, the formal attire of the Templar Knights of the Church of Arnelia. She has gold hair and green eyes, and her hair is cut short around her neck. Miranda inwardly wondered what it would be like to grow her hair long and wear a dress, but judging from this toned expression, the average soft-looking man would probably run away from her if he met her at the ball.

「Nice to meet you Sister Anorn. My name is Eliza Fidelity Lazaar.」

「By Lazaar, you mean… but I heard Albert has three brothers?」

「I am a cousin of Albert. To be exact, the brother of Albert’s father, Mordaëd, is my father, Brantz.」

「Hmmm. So, how old are you?」

「I turned 16 this year and have successfully reached adulthood.」

「At the tender age of 16, you’re on a solo pilgrimage escort mission. You’ve got some serious chops.」

Miranda was genuinely complimentary, but Eliza only silently returned the compliment with a bow. Seeing this, Miranda, who saw that she was the same type as Albert and didn’t talk about anything useless or unnecessary, immediately decided to focus on Elsa as the person to talk to.

「So, what do you want from me? You’re not just a passing pilgrim, are you?」

「Yes. I have a message for you from the Master Bishop Miliazar.」

「From Master?」

The fact that Elsa is entrusted with a message directly from the Master Bishop of the Church indicates that she is one of the most powerful of those on pilgrimage duty. Also, Miliazar’s trust on her must be very high. It is not difficult to imagine that the Lazaar’s are at her side.

「So what did Master Bishop say?」

「『If you ever stop by Arnelia, be sure to show up,』she said. She added that she wanted you to head this way immediately, if possible.」

「I don’t have anything special to do once I finish my current request, which is fine, but… what happened at Church Headquarters?」

「What makes you think that?」

「Why would she send a busy pilgrim sister to the Prairie to tell such a story? Well, most people can’t eavesdrop here, so it’s a great place for secret talks. Conversely, Master’s surroundings are so tense that she has to hold secret talks on the Prairie with few people she can trust. That’s why she want me to show up at Arnelia as soon as possible, as confidentially as possible, because she want a reliable hand in the matter, is that it?」

Elsa was inwardly very surprised. She had been there when Miranda gave a speech at the church headquarters on『Drinking and How to Treat a Man,』and her impression of her was that she was a dynamic and stylish woman. Of course, Elsa could see that she was an excellent person, but she thought she was more of a generalist. She had heard that she had not been back to the church for years, but she had no idea that she was also that perceptive about the inner workings of the Church.

But such an upset of Elsa’s should have been momentary, but Miranda did not even miss it.

「You don’t have to be so surprised. As you might expect, I’m a slow learner who doesn’t like to be detailed. But I know from numerous experiences that it isn’t the only way to live. The fact that I’m called upon to do something that I’m usually left out of is just proof that I’m in dire need of help. I think it’s more likely that you are the one who has been summoned.」

「…My apologies for this. As you may have guessed.」

「So. What happened at headquarters?」

「What is…」

「You don’t have to play dumb. I think Master is in a hurry because something unforeseen has happened at headquarters. Of course, if you can’t talk, that’s fine.」

「No…… Let’s talk about it.」

Elsa responds in a time that is somewhat long enough for a conversation, but short enough to be called silence. Eliza, who was waiting behind her for a moment, was about to say something, but Eliza stopped her with her eyes and began to tell Miranda about the attack on the Arnelia church. Miranda was silently listening to the conversation, but after Elsa finished speaking, she pondered something for a while. But when Miranda opened her mouth, Elsa was even more surprised.

「Well, that must have been played.」

「! What does that mean?」

「Well, from the point of view of those who were attacked, they may not want to admit it. If we tried to apply the raids more efficiently, there would be no night raids, and the last two people out would come at the same time, right? If they had come to us, the church might not be here today.」

「You’ve got to be kidding…」

「I’m not joking or anything. I don’t know if Elsa know the Master’s character, but that person isn’t so naive as to show mercy to those who pick a fight with her. The fact that Master had overlooked it means that she had decided that the odds of winning were less than 50% after going through with it at that stage. From this point of view, our church is a good plaything for them… or a laboratory for them.」

「Experiment. What experiment is that?」

「The first boy’s experiment and the Archfiend’s experiment? In fact, all the Archfiends that appeared at the headquarters were in different forms, weren’t they?」

「Yes.」

「Then I might be right with a high probability. Actually, we have fought something that looked like an Archfiend twice since we left Albert, but their figure was completely different. And if I think about it, that Archfiend seems to be a combination of many different creatures. I would guess from that that they are probably the ones who are making the Archfiends that have been popping up in various places lately. And they are up to something. But I don’t know what its purpose is.」

「What should we do then?」

Elsa asks a question with a serious expression on her face. Elsa hadn’t planned to ask such a question, but Miranda’s insight made her mouth water and the words just fell out of her mouth.

Miranda hates to answer questions like this, but this was the only time her tongue was honestly moving.

「First we have to stop the production of Archfiends. Once we have a certain number of them, there will be a big move, even if we don’t like it. That’s why we have to find their base. And I don’t think there’s going to be any more surprise attacks, but I think we can use this experience to create a knighthood of… wait a minute.」

「?」

Miranda crossed her arms and began to think, but her face grew pale. Then she shook her head from side to side as if shaking off a nightmare.

「Sister Anorn, what can I do for you?」

「No, no way. I just had an idea that came to me that wasn’t too far-fetched, but as expected…」

「May I ask you for the sake of posterity?」

「…What if their goal was to make us stronger?」

「I’m not sure there is any benefit to them in doing that.」

「I know… it seems to make sense, but is it too ridiculous indeed? Well, it would be quicker to find out the rest, I’m sure Master would have taken some steps anyway. 」

「The odds are slim, but we’ll call you if we get something.」

「All right, I’ll let them know that.」

「Do you have any more business to do? If not, I hope you’ll let me go soon, because people will be worried if I don’t come back.」

「No, I have done what I came for. Then may the blessings of Saint Arnelia be upon you, Anorn-sama.」

「For both of us.」

Anorn leaves as if nothing had happened after Sister Elsa removes the soundproofing and people-avoiding wards.

After witnessing this, Elsa and Eliza start walking to their original destination. Not long after they were alone, Eliza spoke to Elsa.

「Are you finished, Elsa-sama?」

「Yeah, I’m still glad I forced myself to come see her. We had our harvest.」

Elsa turns her smile to Eliza. Eliza’s expression remains calm.

「But she asked that what happened at headquarters be kept confidential.」

「Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure the saints will give you a break on that one.」

「…」

「By the way, Eliza, how did you see Sister Anorn?」

「How do I see her…?」

「It’s about whether or not she’s fit to be our future boss. After all, Sister Anorn is a candidate for Archbishop in place of Mynar-sama.」

After all, Elsa does not break her smile. Eliza ponders somewhat silently before replying.

「…From what I had heard about the family, I honestly thought she was more gruff. I know she’s sharp and experienced, but if I have a boss like that, she’s worth working for.」

「Oh, I thought the Lazaars were blindly loyal to the Arnelian religion?」

「That is the story of the main family. As a branch family with different responsibilities and duties, I want to find out for myself who my master is.」

「Is it also chivalry? Or is it that you are dissatisfied with your current master, Miliazar-sama?」

「No way. Sometimes I think that she is just too good at everything and I can’t do anything to help her. And the people in the main family, who are her direct assistants, are more than good enough.」

「Am I the only one who thinks that if she didn’t trust us, this order wouldn’t have come around?」

Elsa smiles gently at Eliza. Eliza, however, kept her eyes down.

「Oh well. Let’s meet up with the『dog』as soon as possible.」

「At your will.」

「Good grief, you are absolutely reckless, Miliazar-sama. She asked us to go and do a preliminary survey of the enemy’s headquarters by ourselves.」

「…」

「Well, if it’s called work, I’ll do it. I hope your home base isn’t some strange place, because your skin is going to get rough.」

「At your will.」

「Fufu, you take care of your skin too, don’t you? Do you have a boyfriend?」

「You’re toying with me…」

Eliza’s expression remains calm, but her cheeks are slightly flushed and her voice is a little hoarse. She is still a young girl, Elsa realized, as her emotions easily come out.

「So let’s get this over with and return to the church. Grab hold of me as I fly.」

「At your will.」

As soon as Eliza grabbed Erza, a magic circle of transition was drawn on the ground and light enveloped them. After the light disappeared, the two were already gone.