Stories from Hasse

「Guys, that’s as far as Rozemyne-sama’s money goes! From here on out, you drink on your own dime!」

「Huh? Captain Gunther, you’re not treating us any more?」

「I’ve already had enough, so I’m heading home.」

After delivering the gray priests and priestesses from Hasse to the temple, I also had the responsibility as leader to take the soldiers on guard duty to our usual tavern. I can’t leave until I treat the soldiers, proving that I wasn’t hogging the reward money to myself. Now that they’ve had plenty, I quickly prepared to leave while glancing at the grumbling soldiers.

「Ugh. If the captain is leaving, I guess I’ll go too. It’s almost the seventh bell, and I don’t really feel like drinking more if it’ll cost me.」

「True. Ebb, thank you for the drinks.」

Those who had been drinking for free without reservation reluctantly began preparing to return home one by one. I thanked Ebb, the tavern owner, and headed outside.

The nights toward the end of autumn were getting cold, but they felt refreshing after a drink.

…Phew, I’m finally free.

My family is excitedly waiting to hear what happened during my trip. More precisely, they want to know about my meeting with Myne in the small temple. I hurried my way home.


「I’m home.」

「Welcome back, Dad. But it’s late! Your carriage came back around the fifth bell, right? We’ve been waiting the entire time.」

As expected, Tuuli was waiting for me in her nightwear. She seemed to know the exact time the carriage returned, so maybe she went to check at the orphanage.

「I had to fulfill certain responsibilities as the leader. I’d have come back earlier if I could.」

I closed the front door and placed my luggage.

「Tuuli, isn’t it about time for you to sleep? We can always talk tomorrow.」

「No way. I can’t trust your promises when you’ve been drinking. Tell me before you forget. How was the trip to Hasse? Did you get to see Myne?」

Tuuli leaned forward, begging for the story. Effa came out of the bedroom, probably after putting Kamil to sleep.

「Welcome back, Gunther. I’ll make some tea.」

Kamil, who was about six months old, started sleeping more during the day. Effa gave a relieved smile, calling this “a brief moment of peace”. Once he’s around one and a half or two years old, he’ll probably start crying at night again.

「So, how was it? This time you carefully selected the soldiers, right?」

I made a slightly bitter face while taking a sip of tea from the cup placed in front of me. After Rozemyne-sama’s special reward got distributed last time, there was a flood of applicants for this trip, and we had to be selective.

「I made sure to choose them carefully.」

「You picked them yourself?」

「Of course. I was personally appointed as the head of the guards by the archduke’s adopted daughter, and I regularly visit the temple and orphanage, earning the trust of the gray priests and priestesses. I know what they want.」

The selection criteria were simple: show no contempt for the temple and orphans, or at least don’t speak it out loud.

「You should have picked them carefully last time too.」

Tuuli’s sharp comment momentarily left me at a loss for words.

「Ugh… It was my first guard mission, so I didn’t know what to expect.」

I had been excited about the escort request from Myne, and was familiar with the priests and priestesses, since I accompanied them to the forest and assisted with winter preparations. I didn’t pay much attention to who was coming with me. As a result, one of the soldiers touring the small temple commented, “Why do the orphans get to live so good?”

「We were the same way before Myne entered the temple, in terms of not knowing anything about the orphanage. Honestly, there are many people who look down on orphans.」

「I know, the soldiers simply saw the orphans living peacefully under the protection of the archduke’s adopted daughter, and wanted to vent a bit of frustration. They didn’t have any intention to harass or upset anyone.」

But Myne angrily retorted the complaints, saying that “life in the temple is never easy”. As someone who worked hard to improve their conditions, Myne could not simply ignore the soldier’s statement.

「Of course she was angry. Myne worked hard so that dying orphans could live on their own. She even had me teach them cooking and sewing, and I got to learn how to read and do calculations in return. I’d get mad too if I heard someone belittling them like that. But Dad, didn’t you get angry too?」

At that time, I saw the gray priests and priestesses expressing their gratitude, saying, “Things have changed thanks to Rozemyne-sama”. The only feelings I remember were delight at how amazing my daughter was and pride in her accomplishments.

「Come on, Dad. The captains keep telling you off because you can only think about Myne.」

Tuuli scolded me with her hand on her hip, and Effa chuckled in agreement.

When I returned from Hasse and reported the incident to the gate commanders, they were trembling at the archduke’s adopted daughter’s supposed anger.

「We know that Myne wouldn’t punish the soldiers for something like that, but they don’t, and it’s something we can’t explain. To avoid upsetting her again, you need to take measures that everyone can understand.」

「Mom is right, Dad.」

Overwhelmed by my wife and daughter’s arguments, I sighed. I know their concerns about not causing any blunders related to Myne, but I still feel a bit embarrassed.

「That’s why I made changes for the second time. I chose soldiers who wouldn’t speak out of line, and told them to stay silent if they wanted the reward. We’ve managed to close the gap… I think.」

Due to the soldier who had made inappropriate comments, the gray priests and priestesses became cautious around anyone other than me, since I accompanied them to the forest and assisted with winter preparations. They remained polite, but they kept their distance as much as possible. I think relations improved slightly due to Myne’s return trip and the few conversations we exchanged.

「Myne didn’t say anything this time, did she? So, everything should be fine, right?」

「As Tuuli said, there weren’t any reprimands from the other captains about the soldiers’ behavior. I’m a little worried about the temple side, though…」

「What happened?」

Effa leaned forward with concern as she asked the question.

「I heard this from Gil. Four orphans in Hasse have been taken into the small temple, two pairs of siblings. It must be tough for them in the temple, where they don’t know what a real family is.」

「Yeah… The temple is full of people who don’t know their real moms and dads. I was surprised when I went to the forest for the first time, and the people from the orphanage imitated me by calling you “Dad”. Those kids will probably be surprised too.」

Now they simply refer to me as “Gunther-san” or “Uncle Gunther”, but the initial exchange was a bit complicated. I had to explain why Lutz and Tuuli addressed me differently, and why they couldn’t call me “Dad”.

「It seems there’s various complications surrounding those four.」

The rumors around town say the mayor of Hasse caused a big mess, and Myne is trying to lighten their punishment as much as possible. Based on the conversation I heard from merchants at the gate, there seem to be a lot of things happening behind the scenes. Gil said there was much he couldn’t say, but he did tell me a little.

「It all started when they took in those four, but Myne and the Gilberta Company are doing their best to resolve things as peacefully as possible.」

「So Lutz is involved…? I haven’t heard anything from him.」

「It’s probably not easy to explain, given the sensitive nature of temple and noble matters. Even what we’re discussing now isn’t something we can say in public.」

As I said that, Tuuli’s expression stiffened, and she nodded slightly. Effa fidgeted a bit before sitting up straight and took a sip of her tea.

「Um, regarding the things they’re doing, is Myne in any danger?」

「I heard she’s not in danger of any bodily harm. I’m sure the archduke’s adopted daughter is well defended by her guard knights, and the high priest will keep a close eye on her too. Gil said she’s much safer than when she was an apprentice blue priestess.」

「…In other words, there’s other kinds of danger?」

Effa looked at me with eyes that seemed to say she wouldn’t overlook any threat approaching her children.

「Apparently, saving the troubled children was only the beginning… and she’s losing sleep over some sort of failure. However, she’s determined to keep working hard with Lutz and the others.」

「I see…」

「Effa, don’t worry too much. Myne is looking ahead with determination. The gray priests and priestesses are grateful for the improved living conditions and the orphans in Hasse are happy that they won’t get separated from their families. She’s well respected by the soldiers too.」

「Because they’re getting paid, right?」

Tuuli teased, and Effa chuckled, saying, “Money is important too.”

「Gil called Myne a real saint. Apparently the difference between her and the archduke’s biological child was as clear as day and night.」

Even the archduke’s child was stunned at how amazing our daughter is. When I conveyed the story I heard from Gil, Tuuli furrowed her brow.

「That’s a lot different than what I heard from Lutz. Did he lie to me?」

「Maybe that’s just because Myne’s behavior was just so different between her workshop and her room?」

「Workshop heads and managers often show different attitudes towards their craftsmen compared to guests. They seem harsh to the workers, but polite and friendly to the guests. Neither side is necessarily lying.」

Tuuli let out a thoughtful sigh. The impression Lutz got after giving Myne a book at the workshop might differ from Gil’s impression of Myne spending a day in the High Bishop’s chamber, but that doesn’t necessarily mean one of them is lying. Both accounts are likely true.

「Dad, you spent the night at the small temple, right? What was it like? Lutz said it felt similar to the temple’s orphanage, but I can’t really picture it.」

Tuuli has only visited the orphanage workshop for delivering materials from the forest, as well as the kitchen on the girl’s side for teaching sewing and learning how to write. She has never seen the actual rooms where they sleep.

「It’s a white room with beds and wooden boxes for personal belongings, which was pretty clean since it’s new. They keep it tidy, but it’s not as luxurious as the orphanage manager’s room.」

I described the large room where the soldiers stayed. Like the soldiers muttered, it’s better than I expected for orphans, but it’s not all that lavish.

「My only complaint about the trip is that I couldn’t bring any alcohol.」

「You’re still complaining? Even though you drank with Myne’s money as soon as you got back?」

「You’ll survive a day without drinking. It’s actually good for your health, so maybe you should’ve stayed in Hasse a bit longer.」

After getting teased by Tuuli and Effa, I changed the topic.

「Oh, and the food was delicious. The Gilberta Company brought in the ingredients, which was cooked by Ella and the other chefs.」

「I’m sure it was, since it’s the food nobles eat. Must be like dining at that fancy restaurant run by Benno-san.」

Tuuli says that with a knowing look and fixes her gaze on me, asking, “So, what did you eat?”

「There were many dishes, but the most memorable one was the wine-steamed chicken that Myne came up with.」

「I see. That’s nice.」

「Myne came over when I was eating, and we had a brief conversation. Really brief, but I was happy to talk to her directly.」

However, our conversation took place in the presence of the guard knights and was conducted very formally. I can’t even confirm if I managed to express my nostalgia at the steamed chicken.

「She’s been working hard as the High Bishop and as the archduke’s adopted daughter. That’s for sure.」

I conveyed my happiness at Myne’s growth with a slightly exaggerated laugh. However, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about the tinge of loneliness I felt. Myne kept distancing herself from the behavior and conversations of commoners the more she grew.

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