Ch.360Chapter 360 – Rosary (3)

Tension filled the warehouse.

Kara looked at me cautiously and spoke.

“…I’ll introduce the remaining four members in order.”

Soon, Kara called out each of their names to me.

And their leader, a man named Kurs, was staring at me.

‘He’s tense.’

Perhaps he thought I wouldn’t like him much.

His eyes were clearly wary of me.

I had no intention of harming them, as I told Kara, but this atmosphere would make conversation uncomfortable.

During the brief time Kara introduced the others, the wary gazes toward me gradually increased, and even after the introduction of the last person was finished, there was no sign of this tension easing.

‘What should I do?’

Should I take a threatening attitude, or should I pretend to have forgotten previous matters?

While I was deciding on my approach mentally, Chris stepped forward, stuttering slightly.

“Um, it’s been a while, everyone.”

“I’m glad to see you all seem well. Is there anything you’re uncomfortable with?”

“Ah… not particularly, Goddess.”

The man named Kurs replied respectfully.

“Despite appearances, we’re all former holy knights, so we’re quite sturdy. Please don’t worry about us.”

“But isn’t seafaring difficult? A sailor’s work can’t be easy…”

“…Carrying heavy things all day isn’t exactly easy, I admit.”

Kurs said with a smile.

“Still, it was nice to focus solely on physical work without thinking too much. It’s good for mental discipline. Reminds me of the old days too.”

“Old days?”

“The holy knights here are all from port towns.”

“From port towns? All of you?”

“Everyone here, yes. Actually, there were two more, but due to personnel issues, they were excluded and are being supervised by Lady Diana’s soldiers like the others.”

Kurs said quietly.

“Anyway, since we all grew up in ports, we were fine. It brought back childhood memories.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. …Though our bodies are tired, our minds have found peace.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

When Chris smiled as she spoke, Kurs stepped back slightly, appearing embarrassed.

“…It’s all thanks to the Goddess and the Saint. We’re grateful.”

“Yes.”

‘They seem to follow Chris and Kara more than I expected.’

Though Chris apparently didn’t know these people were on the ship.

From their conversation, they were being extremely respectful to Chris and Kara, and continuously expressing gratitude.

I watched carefully in case they harbored different thoughts privately, but sincerity seemed to permeate their every word.

While I shouldn’t completely let my guard down, it doesn’t seem necessary to remain constantly tense about them plotting something.

‘It was good that I brought Chris along.’

The atmosphere had been stiff at first, but it had somehow relaxed now.

If I had been alone, the conversation would have remained tense throughout.

‘I should state my requirements now.’

I gently placed my hand on Chris’s shoulder and quietly looked at the others.

“So, should I call you Captain Kurs?”

“Please call me Kurs.”

Kurs looked at me, slightly tense.

Still, his face was less tense than before.

“First, let me ask. Do you still have the rosary you used in the Emiris Order?”

“The rosary, you say.”

Kurs’s expression darkened slightly.

“Did you dispose of it?”

“No. I’m sorry. Actually, I meant to dispose of it earlier.”

Kurs said quietly.

“After deciding to convert, we discussed gathering the Order’s rosaries and burning them all at once. But then we heard you were leaving by ship, so we hurriedly tried to get people who could help the Saint on board. We managed to board with the Saint’s help, but it was so rushed that we haven’t disposed of them yet.”

Kurs spoke urgently and bowed his head.

“I’ll destroy them right away. So…”

“No, stop.”

It would be problematic if he destroyed them now.

Moreover, his immediate willingness to destroy them suggested he misunderstood my intentions, thinking I was reproaching him for still possessing the rosaries.

Sure enough, Kurs looked at me with surprise.

“I… I heard from the Saint that you dislike the Emiris Order…”

“I do dislike it. But I need their items for something.”

I looked at Kurs and said.

“I need rosaries used by the Emiris Order. Preferably from someone who held a significant position within.”

“I see.”

Kurs nodded.

And he nodded willingly.

“If you need them, then the Goddess and Saint must need them too, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes.”

Kurs had looked at me when asking, but somehow both Kara and Chris answered.

Seeing Kurs’s eyes widen slightly, I quietly said.

“…Actually, it’s more for my sake than theirs.”

“Kay.”

Chris was looking at me with a more serious expression than before.

“What?”

“Please stop talking as if your business isn’t my business.”

Chris said quietly.

“If it’s for you, then it’s for me too. If you keep treating me like an outsider… honestly, I’ll feel hurt.”

“But strictly speaking, it’s my issue.”

“Even so.”

In truth, going to that research facility was about finding information on my body and a way to return home, so it was indeed more my problem.

“From now on, please don’t speak as if your matters don’t concern others. If you do it again…”

“If I do it again?”

Chris looked at me with serious eyes and said.

“I’ll tell on you to Eve and Sera.”

“……”

“Understood?”

I just nodded silently.

The others were staring blankly at our conversation.

Then Kara quietly looked at Kurs and said.

“What do you think?”

“They’re quite sweet.”

I looked back at Kurs.

And Kurs bowed deeply as he spoke.

“For the Goddess. We’ll gladly provide any rosaries we have.”

“…Good.”

“Then I’ll tell them to bring—”

Kurs was about to turn to his subordinate but then looked back at me as if remembering something.

“May I ask one thing? Could you tell me exactly why you need the rosaries?”

Diana, who had been quietly watching, spoke softly.

“Haven’t you heard about the ship’s destination?”

“I deliberately didn’t ask. To focus on the ship work.”

Kurs said this, but judging by Kara’s expression, it seemed she had intentionally not told him.

Diana looked at me.

“What do you want to do?”

“I’ll tell him.”

After saying this to Diana, I looked at Kurs.

“About the destination I just mentioned, this ship is heading to Port Gema.”

“Port Gema?”

“There’s something I need to find there. I’ll finish as quickly as possible, but I need the rosaries to keep the ship safe.”

I gave just enough information without revealing too much.

And Kurs spoke with slight surprise.

“…Port Gema.”

“Have you been there before?”

“It’s my hometown.”

Kurs said quietly.

“Though I say hometown, I no longer have any living relatives there.”

“…Oh my…”

Chris was slightly startled.

Kurs quickly bowed to Chris and said.

“It’s alright, Goddess. It happened years ago, so I’m fine.”

“Please tell me if it’s difficult for you.”

“…Thank you. But I’m truly fine.”

Seeing Chris’s face, Kurs seemed to think he needed to reassure her and quickly added more.

Then he looked at me.

“Anyway, I understand what you want to do. You want to dock at the port, complete your business, and prevent the Order or port authorities from taking interest in the ship until you return, correct?”

“Yes.”

“…Then I have an earnest request.”

Kurs looked at me.

“Could you entrust us with guarding the ship until the Goddess and you finish your business?”

Kurs took a moment to catch his breath before continuing.

“Fortunately, because we boarded in a hurry, our weapons are also on this ship. If we arm ourselves and prevent people from approaching, there might be complaints, but we can block most who try to approach the ship.”

“…You must have held quite a position?”

To my question, Kurs nodded.

“Not extremely high, but enough to intimidate ordinary priests.”

“I see.”

“Will you entrust this to us?”

To be honest, I was still a bit uneasy.

If I were to leave them behind, I’d need to leave someone who could handle them if they betrayed us.

‘What should I do?’

As I pondered silently, I noticed Kara and Chris looking at me.

I looked at them quietly, then turned to Kurs and asked.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

“Ask anything.”

“What do Chris and Kara mean to you?”

Kurs looked at me as if my question was unexpected.

Then, soon he smiled and said.

“They are the ones who showed us the way forward, for which we are grateful.”

Clasping his hands together, he spoke.

“When we were lost, having lost our faith, the Goddess continuously tried to lift us up, and the Saint showed us the direction to move forward.”

Kurs said quietly.

“…They reminded us of what we had long forgotten. We wish to serve them as long as possible.”

He was sincere.

Those weren’t the eyes of someone lying.

Hearing his words delivered without hesitation or wavering gaze, I nodded.

“Alright.”

It seemed unnecessary to be overly cautious anymore.

I quietly extended my hand.

“I’ll entrust the next task to you, Captain Kurs.”

“Please leave it to us. We will wield our swords for the Goddess.”

With a light handshake, the tension in the surroundings eased once more.

“I’m so relieved…”

Though there didn’t seem to be anything particularly tense about the situation, Chris leaned against me as if relieved.

With a wry smile, I moved closer to let her lean on me more comfortably, and quietly asked something that came to mind.

“By the way, I heard from Kara before coming that you converted.”

“Ah, actually, the Saint…”

“That’s enough.”

Kara suddenly intervened.

“…Chris is tired, and honestly, I’m tired too. Aren’t you tired as well, Kay?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not.”

Just as I was about to ask something, Kara quietly said.

“You can ask what religion they converted to anytime. For now, go back and rest.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll stay a bit longer to talk with them. Didn’t the guild master and the busty alchemist tell you to go back and rest early? They’ll be waiting, so hurry along.”

Kara waved her hand as if urging me to go, and I quietly nodded at her words.

Setting aside myself, seeing Chris who had started to doze off as the tension eased, it seemed better to let her rest quickly.

I should put my curiosity aside for now.

“Since Chris is tired, I’ll ask another time.”

“Understood. Rest well with the Goddess.”

Thanking Kurs for his courteous words, I carefully lifted Chris into my arms.

“Kay, I can manage…”

“That’s not something someone who’s already falling asleep should say, little goddess.”

Holding Chris like a princess, I bid farewell to Kurs and looked at Diana.

“Then, I’ll excuse myself first.”

“Let’s do that. I should go too.”

Diana also rose from her seat.

“Rest well.”

“We will.”

Receiving Kurs’s farewell, I stepped out of the warehouse.

After everything was done, I felt strange.

‘So living longer means experiencing things like this too.’

It was my first time properly conversing with someone who until recently had been a holy knight of the Order.

I had been wary, thinking the conversation might not go well or they might be plotting something, but in a way, it was anticlimactic.

‘It’s fortunate if it ends with just me feeling let down.’

Anyway, I felt a bit happy that things seemed to have worked out well as I walked.

Then, Chris twisted her body slightly.

“Mmm…”

“This should come first now.”

She must have been very tired to fall asleep so quickly.

I continued toward the cabin while carrying her.

‘Sleep well.’

Her face, with eyes closed after falling asleep so suddenly, was cute.

I considered pinching her cheek lightly but immediately decided against it.

‘I’d feel bad if she woke up.’

Focusing my attention on the surroundings to avoid bumping into anything, I carefully headed to the cabin so as not to wake Chris.

+

‘That was close.’

Just now, feeling a slight sense of crisis when Kay asked Kurs what religion they had converted to, Kara let out a small sigh.

And perhaps because Kara looked as if she had just caught her breath, Kurs quietly called out to her.

“Saint?”

“…You almost gave us away.”

Seeing Kara glaring slightly, Kurs trembled a little.

However, Kurs soon quietly said.

“But is there a need to hide it from him?”

“He’s actually the most dangerous one. If he finds out that Chris wouldn’t approve, he’ll definitely try to ruin everything.”

Kara said with a small sigh.

“Chris would probably try to stop him… but if we become the cause of tension between Chris and that guy, I’ll probably cry.”

“From what I can see, those two don’t seem like they would fight over minor issues.”

Kurs said softly.

Kara silently nodded, inwardly agreeing with his statement.

“But recklessness is still recklessness. Be more careful in the future.”

“Understood.”

“But since we’re gathered here, before dismissing, we should revisit the principles of our order.”

Kara said quietly.

“Let’s recite the three principles of the Christiana Order.”

Kara raised one finger and said.

“First, Goddess Christiana.”

“Though not omnipotent, she listens to our voices and walks with us.”

“She says that gods exist for humans and always watches over us to save people’s hearts.”

“Pray for yourself. Love yourself. She is with you.”

Kara raised another finger.

“Second, under no circumstances.”

“Must we reveal our existence to Christiana.”

“She would surely be extremely embarrassed if she knew about us. In that case, the guy from earlier might try to disband us, so always be careful.”

Kara spoke as if boasting about herself.

Then she raised her final finger.

“Lastly. Goddess Christiana is.”

“Cute.”

“Any objections?”

To Kara’s words, Kurs shook his head.

“I have no objections, but…”

“What is it?”

“Is the third principle really necessary?”

“It is.”

Kara said seriously.

“Why is that?”

“Because cuteness is truth.”

Kara was resolute.

The former holy knights of the Emiris Order quietly nodded their heads.