Chapter 23 – Liste

Liste

—–

“Priest. This child…”
“…Impossible. To have such immense holy power at such a young age…”
.
.
“Grand Bishop. This child has clearly been chosen by Goddess Kael.”
“Hoho. For such a small child to possess such immense holy power, it must undoubtedly be Goddess Kael’s arrangement in preparation for the great evil to come.”

.
.
“Saint. The Demon King has declared war on humanity. As the representative of Goddess Kael, please defeat the evil together with the hero chosen by the goddess.”
“…Yes.”
Even until the day I was elevated as a saint and became a member of the hero’s party,
I had never once heard the voice of the goddess.

The immense holy power I was born with.
People called it the blessing of Goddess Kael and elevated me as a saint.
…Even though I couldn’t even hear the goddess’s voice.

Surely the goddess exists. The existence of the hero proves that.
However, such a goddess did not respond to me.
The anxiety about a goddess who doesn’t respond even to my desperate wishes.
The immense holy power I possessed was a means to prove my worth,
and people’s expectations of me, the responsibilities I should carry out as one chosen by the goddess, were weighing down and constricting me,

As a result, I was slowly sinking into an endless swamp.
“Please take care of me…”
Then one day, Ariel became a member of the hero’s party.
The girl who single-handedly collapsed an institution that was conducting unethical magic experiments disguised as a magic tower. Ariel.

‘…She’s like a frightened cat.’
That was my first thought when I saw her.
A cat afraid of people. A completely curled up body, uncertain eyes, and a personality that doesn’t trust people.
She would startle easily if there was someone behind her back.

She also tensed up greatly when seeing blades, and suffered from nightmares all night.
She was wary of people more than necessary, and also feared them.
…Although she didn’t say it directly, all the party members who observed her knew that she was harboring wounds in her heart.

When did she, who seemed like a glass window that might shatter if touched slightly, start to occupy a large place in my heart?
Around the time when I was gradually fading away, crushed by people’s expectations and the responsibility as the goddess’s representative…
“Liste. Are you okay..?”

…Was it from when she, who was like a timid cat, saw through my inner self and offered comfort?
“I’ve come to save you. Liste.”
Or was it when she approached like a beam of light when I was isolated in enemy territory, falling for the Demon King army’s trap?

Because her appearance, suffering from nightmares every night but pretending to be fine, looked similar to me?
I don’t know the trigger. It might be all of them.
But when I noticed, Ariel had settled deep in my heart.

——–

“Ariel. You found Ariel?! Wh-where.. where is she?! Is she hurt anywhere?!”
“Ca-calm down for a moment.”
“Do I look like I can calm down right now?!”

Unlike my urgent feelings, Marian just smiled as if the situation was amusing.
For the first time since meeting Marian, I felt a bit annoyed at her.
“Huhu. You’ll be surprised when you see her. I’ll tell you the location. Go check for yourself.”

Was she originally this kind of person? Has her personality changed after being crushed by too much work?
“Tch… really… Anyway, where is Ariel? Did you meet Ariel?”
“Yes. We even ate together. Are you jealous? You must be disappointed.”

Seeing Marian’s smug expression, I feel indignation rising. Why has this person changed like this?
Just how much did the empire’s higher-ups work her for the rigid and inflexible Marian to become like this?

“The location is in the mountains not far from Helen village… If you ask the villagers there, they’ll probably answer kindly. It’s a bit difficult to explain the exact location in words.”
“Helen village… That’s quite far away.”
If it’s Helen village, as I remember, it’s the name of a remote village a bit far from Lonzville.
A rural village that even I, who has memorized all place names in the empire, took some time to recall.

“She even uses disguise magic usually. She rarely goes out of the house too.”
“…That’s like Ariel, avoiding people.”
Is that why we couldn’t find her? If someone as skilled as Ariel is determined to hide her identity, it’s almost impossible to find her.
By the way, there was something worrying in what Marian said.

“What do you mean I’ll be surprised when I see Ariel?”
“Huhu. About that…”
Now not even trying to hide her smile, Marian continued speaking with a bright smile like a child.
“…Ariel is raising children.”

Eh.
“Wh-what did you say…?”
What did Marian just say…?
I asked her again as I couldn’t understand what she said at all. But Marian still spoke to me with a bright smile.
“Two of them, at that.”

Bang!
Right after hearing Marian’s words, I immediately rushed out of the room.
“Tred! Get permission to use the warp gate right now! The destination is Lonzville!”
“Bu-but today’s meeting with the Grand Bishop…”
“Hurry!!!!”

After ordering Tred, who was waiting outside, to get permission to use the warp gate, I quickly put on a large hood and went out of the temple.
No matter how much Marian’s personality has changed, she’s not someone who would lie.
Which means…

‘Co-could it be…. The reason Ariel left us was…….’

Anxious thoughts start to fill my mind.
The reason Ariel left us without saying anything was….

“Be-because of children? Ariel!!!!”

.
.
.

“Oh my, did I go too far with the joke? I did something mischievous.”
Marian was having a time of reflection in the room after Liste left.
Anyone who knows the usual Marian would find it hard to believe that she would play a joke.
…Because the subject of the joke was Liste, a trusted comrade and party member whom Marian considers family.

Marian, who had accumulated quite a bit of stress due to the heavy workload lately,
unconsciously felt playful upon seeing Liste’s face and ended up conveying the news about Ariel in a tone that would deliberately cause misunderstanding.
Seeing cute Liste’s reaction made Marian feel like all the stress from that time had flown away.

‘This is cute… It’s a shame to eat it.’
Thinking that it wasn’t a lie that she’s raising two children─ Marian started to contemplate whether to eat the rabbit-shaped cookie placed in front of her.

——–

“Kids. Do you like the clothes?”
“…They’re so pretty.”
“Yes! I like them!”

Seeing Saya and Puel happy in their new clothes makes me think it was good to come out today.
Why does it seem brighter even though the sun is setting? Ah. It’s because there are angels on both my sides.
‘I should bring them out often from now on…’

Although the pouch containing money has become a bit lighter, I didn’t mind at all. Money can be earned anyway.
“Oh? Sister May!”

While walking on the well-paved stone street with Saya and Puel, a familiar voice reached my ears.
‘If it’s May…. That’s the alias I used at the Adventurer’s Guild…’
The owner of the voice was, as expected, Airi.

It must be her day off today as well, as she was wearing casual clothes instead of the leather armor she usually wore. She’s approaching me.
“Did you come out to rest today too, siste… Oh? What cute kids… Are they your siblings?”

Airi greeted me cheerfully as if she knew me.
She soon saw Saya and Puel holding my hands and asked me if they were my siblings.
“Um…. That’s right.”

Although we’re not blood-related, if I had to say, they’re closer to siblings than children.
There’s no need to explain it complicatedly, so I vaguely told Airi they were my siblings.
“Hello, little ladies. I’m… um… Sister May’s friend? Or a junior she knows? Anyway. Nice to meet you.”

“Sister May..? Our sister’s name is Ariel though..?”
“That’s right. Not May. It’s Ariel.”
“Huh..? Ariel..?”

…This has become troublesome.
When Airi called me Sister May, Saya and Puel revealed that my name is Ariel.
‘What should I do if she realizes I’m the real Ariel…?’

Although the name Ariel is somewhat common, the problem is that I happened to use an alias.
“If it’s Ariel… Isn’t that the name of the great magician from the hero’s party?”
“….”
“Sister….”

A tense moment where even the sound of swallowing could be heard. Airi smiled meaningfully as if she had noticed something.
Did she realize that I’m the person herself? While I was contemplating how to explain to Airi, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Th-that’s Airi..”

“…You’ve been misunderstood a lot because of the name Ariel, right? I understand. It’s troublesome to have the same name as a famous person.”
“Th-that’s right! It’s annoying because people keep asking!”
“Hehe. I understand.”

Airi nodded as if she understood everything.
Phew. I felt like I aged ten years. Fortunately, it seems she didn’t realize that I’m Ariel herself.
“Then… Can I call you Sister Ariel instead of Sister May from now on? Only when we’re alone!”
“O-of course.”
“Hehe. Great! You came out with your siblings… They’re so cute… Both of them!”

Then she turned her gaze to Saya and Puel beside me.
“Ariel. Who is… that person..?”
“Her eyes.. are scary..”

Grip.
Saya and Puel peeking out from behind me while holding onto my sleeve.
…They look like small puppies wary of a stranger.
“Hehe.. I’m Airi. Call me Sister Airi!”

Airi chuckled while looking at Saya and Puel, seeming to have a similar thought to mine.
Then, as if she suddenly remembered something she had to do, she abruptly bid farewell to me.
“Oh right! I was supposed to eat with Sister Camilla today! Ugh… See you next time! Sister!”
“O-okay..”

Then she started running off somewhere.
“She was a bright person… Sister Ariel.”
“She’s like Ariel. That person.”

Like me? I’m not that bright of a personality though. Does she mean we look alike?
I slowly watched her disappearing figure, then realized that the surroundings were getting darker. It was because the sun was starting to set.
‘It’s already gotten this late…’

“Shall we head back, kids?”
“Yes. That’s good.”
“Okay. I’m.. tired..”

I originally thought of riding a carriage back, but the kids seemed tired, and because it was later than expected, I decided to return home using teleportation magic.
It’s not like today is the only day anyway.
…It might not be bad to go on a carriage trip with the children later.

“Kids. Did you have fun today?”
“…Yes. It was so nice.”
“Hehe. Me too.”

I held the hands of Saya and Puel who were wearing happy expressions, looked around, and then cast teleportation magic to home.

For a moment my vision wavered, and then our familiar house started to appear before my eyes.
“Ariel! There. Someone is sleeping!”
“…Sister. That person..”

Just as we were about to enter the house, Saya and Puel pointed towards the front door at the same time.
‘Who could it be….?’

Looking closely, someone wearing a hood was crouched quietly in front of the front door.
‘Is it someone from the village..? Oh? It’s that person who bumped into me at the warp gate.’

At first I thought it was someone from the village, but the figure looked familiar.
…It was that person who bumped shoulders with me coming out of the warp gate.
‘Why is that person here?’

Just as I was starting to think—could they have followed us?—the stranger slowly raised their head as if sensing our presence.
At the same time, the stranger’s face, which had been hidden due to the deeply pulled hood, slowly started to be revealed.

“Lis..te…?”
Eventually, the fully revealed face of the stranger was a very familiar one.
Silver hair as if moonlight had settled on it, black eyes as if containing the night sky.
White skin that looked slightly flushed due to the sunset light, and lips reminiscent of light pink flower petals.

A woman with a beautiful face reminiscent of a goddess.
The stranger who had been crouched in front of our house was Liste, the saint from the same hero party as me.
“Liste. How did you come here….”

“Who… did you marry…?”
She spoke with an expression as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
“Who did you marry and have children with?!!!! Two of them at that!!!!”

…What?