Chapter 18
Reina is fifteen years old.
Clael is twenty-three.
Some things remain unchanged no matter how much time passes, while others change as if it were only natural.
The environment surrounding Clael and Reina is no exception.
"Lady Reina! Please, marry me!"
"I'm sorry, excuse me."
"Ahhh...!"
Smiling sweetly, Reina rejected him with a single stroke, and the young man who had come from some town collapsed.
The man fell to his hands and knees on the shrine floor, weeping bitter tears.
Reina left the man with a smile and quickly returned to cleaning the shrine.
"As popular as ever, Reina-chan. That makes five this month, doesn't it?"
"Yes... suitors keep coming from other towns, and it's quite exhausting."
Clael responded with a wry smile to Oratorio, the clothing shop owner.
The two were chatting in a corner of the shrine. Mrs. Lottel was also there and joined the conversation.
"With looks like that, it's no wonder. Great figure too—you wouldn't think she's only fifteen."
"No wonder the suitors keep coming. If the Priest weren't here, people from our town would be proposing too."
"Why is my name coming up? If Reina likes someone, I wouldn't get in the way."
"Haaah..."
The two let out a synchronized sigh.
Not understanding their coordinated behavior, Clael tilted his head.
"The Priest is really dense, isn't he? I wonder if he truly hasn't noticed?"
"Well, it can't be helped. He's been looking after her since she was a child."
"But still... Reina-chan's feelings have always been obvious, right? Lately, she's been even more blatant... If he doesn't notice, maybe she'll just have to push him down already?"
"...Could you two stop talking like I'm not here? If you want to gossip, do it outside the shrine."
When Clael glared at them with half-lidded eyes, Oratorio raised both hands in surrender.
"Just kidding. But still... with how popular she is, aren't you worried? What if something bad happens?"
Lately, Reina had been getting constant proposals, with someone trying to woo or marry her every few days.
Among those men were some aggressive types, and others who wouldn't give up even after being rejected.
"I think she'll be fine... look."
"M-Miss Reina! I knew it, I really...!"
The man who had been slumped over in a near-dogeza pose suddenly sprang up like a spring and leapt high into the air.
Just like that, he tried to hug Reina from behind while she was sweeping.
"Reina-chan!"
"Watch out!"
Seeing the man leap at her like a thief diving into bed, Mrs. Lottel and Oratorio shouted.
'Nyan!'
"Gwah...!?"
But... a cat plushie flew in from somewhere and delivered a flying kick to the man's face.
Just where in that small body was such power hidden?
The man spun vertically several times and was blown out through the shrine's doors.
"Was that...?"
"A bodyguard... for Reina."
Just like when it had previously repelled an assassin sent by abusive parents, a Holy Spirit resided inside the plushie to protect Reina.
The Holy Spirit's combat ability far surpassed that of an average soldier, making it impossible for a thug to even lay a finger on her.
'Nyan!'
'Bow-wow!'
'Hi-ya!'
And... there wasn't just one plushie anymore.
After the cat plushie completed its mission, other plushies emerged from the shadows and saluted.
The ones that appeared were a dog, a bear, a mouse, a panda... all of them had been bought by Clael for Reina over the past five years.
Each of those plushies housed a Holy Spirit and protected Reina both in the shadows and in the light.
"I'm starting to feel like I no longer need to protect Reina myself... it might be time for her to leave the nest."
"...Priest, excuse me."
"...Um, I think you're misunderstanding something."
Mrs. Lottel and Oratorio tried to say something to Clael... but before they could, the shrine's wide-open doors were knocked on with a tap-tap.
"Pardon me. Is the priest of this shrine present?"
Looking toward the door, there stood an elderly gentleman dressed in a black coat.
The old gentleman paid no mind to the would-be suitor's corpse (?) lying outside the door and called into the shrine.
"...It seems we have a new suitor."
"Huh?"
"That elderly man?"
At Clael's murmur, Mrs. Lottel and Oratorio tilted their heads.
"Yes... this time, it's a suitor we can't refuse."
Clael quickly walked over to the elderly gentleman, placed a hand over his chest, and bowed deeply.
"I am Clael Byrne, the priest... Thank you for coming all this way. I never imagined you would come in person, Your Excellency."
"Given the circumstances, I would come even from the ends of the earth."
The old gentleman removed his black hat and responded to Clael's greeting.
"I suppose introductions are unnecessary, but just in case... I am Dilet Horst, a cardinal serving at the Grand Shrine in the royal capital. I came upon hearing that the Saint has been found here."
A cardinal.
The man who stood at the pinnacle of the Grand Shrine had come in person.
His purpose, of course... was to take in Reina, the Saint.
(So... the time to say goodbye is finally here...)
Clael lowered his gaze slightly and led the cardinal to the reception room in the back of the shrine.