The Regressor and the Blind Saintess - Chapter 79

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈

Chapter 79: the Empire - 2

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That evening, the day Rene’s attendance at the banquet had been decided.

After dinner, Vera returned to their lodgings and let out a long sigh, steadying himself.

‘...Right. This was bound to happen.’

There was something he had forgotten in his shock at the time.

In his previous life, Rene had attended the Empire’s Founding Day banquet as an official guest.

It was this year’s banquet.

Back then, word had spread that the Saintess would appear in public, drawing an unprecedented crowd to the Founding Day festival. Vera himself had taken advantage of the chaos to make a decent profit.

He did not like it, but considering what lay ahead, this was undeniably the better course. After all, she would be meeting someone who would fight alongside her in the war against the Demon King.

Tsk.

Vera accepted it calmly. The matter had already been decided, so was it not right to plan accordingly? Vera was not someone who wasted time on unproductive worries.

‘If it cannot be avoided...’

It would be best to prepare in advance for any mishaps that might arise from the changed circumstances.

Vera rose from his chair. He headed for Rene’s room.

He was going to discuss what came next.

* * *

“Come in.”

A voice came from within after he knocked.

Vera slowly turned the doorknob and entered.

The first thing he saw was Rene sitting on the sofa, with Aisha purring in her lap.

For a moment, Aisha and Vera met each other’s eyes. In that brief exchange, Aisha wore a crooked smile.

It was clearly a sneer.

For some reason, Vera felt his temper rise at the sight. He lowered his head.

“Have you been resting well?”

“Ah, yes. The servants have been taking very good care of me. What about you, Vera?”

“Not badly. I have received much help as well.”

They exchanged ordinary formalities, then Vera got to the point. He sat across from Rene and spoke again.

“I have requested Rohan from the Holy Kingdom. There is no particular reason to refuse, so I expect a favorable answer. The Saintess’s attendance at the banquet will likely be announced publicly around the time Rohan leaves the Holy Kingdom.”

“Publicly?”

“Yes. It would be best for rumors to spread that the Saintess is leaving the Holy Kingdom.”

“Ah...”

Rene immediately understood what Vera meant.

If it became known that she was traveling incognito, even more people would target her than before. Creating confusion like this would be safer.

“I feel bad that Rohan is the only one being put through so much.”

“...He is someone who can afford to suffer, so please do not worry. Besides, Rohan is an Apostle. Ordinary threats will not trouble him, so you may wait at ease.”

At Vera’s casual words, an awkward smile appeared on Rene’s face.

“Um, all right. Then what will we do until then?”

“There are no plans as of yet. Is there something you would like to do?”

“Um...”

Something she wanted to do.

Rene continued to think as she gently stroked Aisha’s hair.

Something she wanted to do as Rene, rather than as the Saintess...

‘...A date.’

Naturally, she wanted to spend time with Vera. Yet another thought came to her.

The resolution she had made when she and Vera had spoken alone before leaving the mountain range.

She wanted to become someone wonderful, someone worthy of Vera.

Her answer naturally turned toward something related to that.

“...How about volunteer work? We could run a free clinic for a short while.”

“That would be excellent. Then I will prepare a cover identity for you as a priest dispatched from the Holy Kingdom.”

“Ah, yes.”

Their conversation had nearly come to an end when Rene belatedly asked another question.

“Ah, but is there anything you want to do in the Empire, Vera? Since you have returned to your hometown.”

She asked because she wondered if she had not considered him enough.

She did not ask about his family. From the feeling surrounding him alone, she could tell that he either had no family or had a family worse than none at all.

Vera considered Rene’s words for a moment, then nodded.

“I would like to visit the library once. However, I can go on my own after Rohan arrives, so please do not concern yourself. Thank you for your consideration.”

The library.

Surprise appeared on Rene’s face at the unexpected place Vera had mentioned.

“You like books?”

“Rather than liking them, there is something I would like to look into.”

“Ah...”

So he was going there for work.

Rene was about to nod in understanding when a thought suddenly came to her, freezing her in place.

Aisha lifted her head at Rene’s stillness, though Rene naturally could not see it.

Rene thought,

‘Wait, this...’

Was this not the perfect timing for a date?

A library date! Spending time reading books together in a quiet place! Then, perhaps, she would fall asleep and lean her head on his shoulder!

Her fantasies began to spin wildly. Her face started to flush again.

Rene did not hesitate.

“Th-then shall we go together tomorrow?”

Rene was not a fool who could not seize an opportunity handed to her.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes! We have time right now, so surely we can spare a day...!”

She answered brightly.

At that, hesitation settled on Vera’s face.

“Well...”

The words that followed did not come.

Even someone as insensitive as Vera knew it would be rude to ask, ‘But Saintess, you cannot read, can you?’

The conversation suddenly stopped.

Only then did Rene realize that she was hardly someone suited to a library.

‘Oh no!’

That had been careless.

Cold sweat began to form on her brow. Still, unwilling to let the opportunity slip away, Rene blurted out the words.

“V-Vera, read to me!”

“...It will not be an entertaining subject.”

“That is all right! What matters is that you are reading it to me!”

What exactly did that mean?

Vera wanted to ask, but did not.

“...All right.”

He simply concluded that Rene must be curious about what a library was like.

Rene’s face brightened at his answer.

Aisha, who had been listening to their conversation, tilted her head.

“You’re going to the library?”

“Hm? Ah.”

Only then did Rene realize that Aisha had been listening.

‘Should I take her too?’

A small sense of disappointment arose in her.

“Have fun.”

Aisha answered like that.

“Huh? Aisha, you’re not coming?”

“I don’t know how to read.”

“Ah.”

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Aisha declined with those words.

Rene once again stroked Aisha’s head.

“Then would you like to look around the capital with Sir Norn tomorrow?”

“Yes!”

Aisha’s face immediately brightened.

With that, a plan that satisfied everyone had been made.

As the conversation began to wind down, Aisha turned to Vera and spoke.

“By the way.”

“What?”

“Are you not going home? You said this is your hometown.”

A forbidden topic had been raised.

Rene’s body gave a jolt.

‘Aisha!’

Not that!

As she screamed inwardly, Vera answered.

“I am an orphan.”

“Oh...”

‘What do you mean, “oh”?!’

As Rene’s face grew even more flustered,

“You do not have parents either?”

Aisha said that.

It was Aisha’s way of expressing a sense of kinship.

At those words, Rene’s face turned white as a sheet, while Vera’s expression twisted strangely.

Vera thought,

Was she picking a fight with him...?

* * *

In the end, the gathering ended awkwardly.

Aisha never realized that she had said something wrong, and Rene had become so flustered that Vera could not find anything to say either.

On his way from Rene’s room back to his own, Vera stopped in the corridor when he saw two figures approaching in the distance.

His eyes naturally narrowed.

‘Count Vaischur.’

Mari and Count Vaischur were walking toward him, arm in arm.

He was a solidly built man with short black hair neatly combed back and a haggard face. He was the head of the Imperial Inspectorate, notorious throughout the Empire as an incurable workaholic.

The moment Vera spotted him, he caught himself trying to flee without thinking. He clenched his teeth and lowered his head.

“...It is a pleasure to meet you.”

He was no longer Vera of the underworld. He was Vera, an Apostle of the Holy Kingdom. There was no reason for him to avoid Count Vaischur.

It was Mari who answered Vera’s greeting.

“My, where have you been at this hour?”

“I went to see the Saintess. It seemed we should discuss what comes next.”

“Ah! Dear, this is the Vera I told you about. Vera, say hello. This is my husband.”

After Mari introduced them, Vera raised his head and saw Count Vaischur looking at him with curious eyes.

“A pleasure. I am Vaischur, of the Empire’s Inspectorate.”

“I am Vera.”

“Indeed...”

Vaischur nodded, making Vera tilt his head.

What did that “indeed” mean?

It was the reaction of someone who had heard something about him. The only possible source that came to mind was Mari.

Vera looked toward Mari. Mari only chuckled in response to his gaze. Meanwhile, Count Vaischur spoke again.

“I have been busy with work, so I am only now able to greet you. Please rest comfortably while you are here.”

“...Yes.”

“Then I shall take my leave.”

“Sleep well, Vera! And make sure you eat breakfast before you go out tomorrow!”

Mari and Count Vaischur left only those words behind as they passed Vera.

Vera turned his head and watched Count Vaischur walk away.

He felt both awkwardness and puzzlement.

The awkwardness came from Count Vaischur’s favorable attitude toward him. The puzzlement came from the way he seemed to regard Vera as something to observe.

Unease gradually rose within him.

What had Mari, who loved to chatter, told him about Vera?

He was her husband, after all. She must have told him even personal stories...

‘...No.’

Vera dismissed those worries.

Even if Mari had spoken badly of him, there was no reason it would work against him. More importantly, he had more urgent concerns for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he would go to the capital’s National Library.

Vera went over everything he needed to find there.

‘...Orgus.’

Information about that ancient race.

He needed information about the enigmatic ancient race that had shown him Aisha from another time in the mountain range.

[Sa.]