26.Looks like I’m being dragged away

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

How did it come to this?

In my arms, a little baby was smiling happily.

… Ah, but it’s cute though.

Nonono, that’s not what I want to say here.

The problem was that for some reason, I was surrounded by many mothers who lived in the town, and they were waiting for me to carry their babies in my arms. The babies themselves were light, but my arms were getting tired.

“Thank you so much, I’m sure this child will grow up wonderfully with your blessing!”

“E-Erm… You’re welcome?”

A smile of my own was pasted on my face. Is this what it feels like to be a celebrity or a popular politician visiting the countryside?

“Thank you, thank you…”

In addition to the long line, there were also housewives and elderly people who had finished preparing for lunch and had some free time, some of whom were praying with their hands together.

“Ah, ahaha…”

“Da~”

The baby’s hand tapped me on the shoulder as if to comfort me.

… Seriously, I wondered how things came to this.

It’s been three days since the night of that fatal battle.

I took the next day off… mainly because Reiji-san, who was the most fatigued, could not get out of bed.

At that time, I was dressed in various clothes and took care of him in that way. While I’d always appreciated taking care of others for once instead of receiving it, the… cosplay was a little embarrassing to me, and I’d rather not do it again.

Well, I put the lid on that at the bottom of my memory, took a good night’s rest, went to the hideout the next day, and repaired the “wound” that had occurred as expected without incident. In the process, I discovered the badly damaged remains… I’m not sure if it’s fair to call it that, of the missing townspeople, and reported to the mayor, who said he would send someone to collect their belongings and hold a funeral service in a few days. As for the building itself, it was decided that it would be burned down it was no longer usable, or rather, no one could find any use for it.

And thus, I was able to confirm with my own hands that the place of nightmare that had plagued me for so long was now a thing of the past.

I could now show my face with no problem around people of the same sex as me… in other words, the women.

Our equipment had been severely damaged from the battle, so we had to leave all of it at the mayor’s place. Since we couldn’t leave the town or train while it was being repaired, we decided what to do and offered to help with the reconstruction of the damaged areas of the town this morning.

… Actually, only Reiji-san and Saul-niisama were helping with the reconstruction works. They both had physical abilities that set them apart from their surroundings, and they were very dependable.

Milly-san, on the other hand, hadn’t come out of her assigned room after taking various body measurements of mine on that abominable cosplay day. I felt rather concerned whether she was eating properly.

What about me? I was actually really enthusiastic about it… sorry that was a lie. I went to the site basically trembling with fear, and everyone just gently declined my offer to help. To be fair, I couldn’t lift even a small piece of debris… no, I did manage to lift it a little bit, it just took all of my strength to do so.

The warm gaze of people toward me was very painful.

And just like that, I was evacuated to a corner… or should I say I was moved out of the way. Then I happened to be caught to a housewife passing by.

Before I knew it, I was brought here in front of the church by her in no time at all. Perhaps because it was a small town, the church looked more like a simple meeting place than a private house.

As a side note, this region, the northern continent, was home to the faith of Ailene, the goddess of wisdom and purity.It was also said that my current race, Lightwing, was her messenger sent to this world long ago, during the Age of Gods. On the other hand, the major faith in the Eastern Island Union was the faith of spirits and nature, while the people of the south were believers of Ares, the god of war.

…So, were my race to be discovered here on the northern continent, it’s likely that I’d be made an object of faith…?

Yeah, I’d like to avoid being exposed as much as possible…

In the church, there was a gathering of the mothers in this town, along with their children. At the request of the mothers who wanted to take advantage of this precious opportunity, this place of worship was now open.

The cause of this must be what I did the other day. According to the mayor, my light at that time had healed the wounds of all the people who were watching from afar, and it seemed that the fact that I was a healer had spread to the extent of a rumor, so by process of elimination, it must have been me, and so it came to this.

The mayor had been told by my guardians to keep quiet about it, but he just laughed apologetically and left when he saw what had happened.

…Truth be told, I don’t want to be worshipped, nor do I want to be here, I just want them to give me a break. I used to be a mere citizen, so this situation was unbearable for me. I wish I could run away right now. But that’s not possible when I had someone’s child in my arms. Ugh……

“I’ve already heard about you, but you’re really beautiful in person. How about you marrying my brother?”

“Stop it. A beautiful girl like her doesn’t belong with that country bumpkin!”

Everyone around me laughed in agreement. When a stranger told me I am beautiful or cute, I was, well, embarrassed. My face was getting hot from the blood rushing to it.

“I mean, just look at the two accompanying her. They’re way above our league. I’m sure she doesn’t have an eye for any of the men in this town.”

“I know right?! A cool-looking beautiful boy and a wild-looking beautiful man, both of them are also strong, isn’t that nice? Hey, by any chance, which one of them are you dating?”

“Uegh!”

I shouldn’t have done that. But I was already in a daze, and the question pointed straight at me was too sudden, so couldn’t help but let out a strange yelp.

“Which one, you ask…?”

““Mhm, mhm…””

The pressure from the surrounding intensified all at once. Everyone’s gaze was drawn toward me with great interest.

Saul-niisama… was out of the question. We’re siblings. But I wondered what the blood relation between my body and his is. I’d like to check it out when I get a chance.

Then how about Reiji-san…?

Imagine myself falling in love with him, confessing my love to him, getting his OK, dating him here and there, making love with him, marrying him. Someday, a new life would be born in this belly, and while patting that growing belly, I would say welcome home to Reiji-san when he returned home from work…

………What?

“………I can’t give an answer.”

After long consideration, I gave a wry smile in response and received a tremendous sigh from everyone around me immediately. Why was everyone looking so dismayed? For some reason, I felt sorry for them.

“What a shame…”

“Maybe when she gets older…”

They started whispering to each other. I’m not even sure what’s going on anymore.

“By the way, which one would you rather be in a relationship with?”

“Saul-sama of course. I want him to smile at me with his handsome face while gently calling out to me!”

“I can see what you mean. But he only smiles like that to this girl.”

“I think I prefer Reiji-sama. Even though he is usually blunt, I think he would be very kind to me if we became lovers.”

They started talking about love. The conversation flowed at a very fast pace, and before I knew it, I was left alone in the flow of the conversation.

Feeling completely neglected and bored, I gazed around the bustling surrounding in a daze. By the way, Saul-niisama was slightly more popular than me, if you ask me.

“… The mothers are all in high spirits, don’t you think?”

“Daah!”

The baby in my arms flapped at the bulge in my modest chest. Oh, come on, my chest wouldn’t grow if it kept being hit like this (sighs).

“I’m sure she’ll get bored and come here soon enough to feed you.”

The baby was a little limp, and I wondered if it’s hungry. Its mother seemed to be engrossed in talking, so I picked it up and tried to comfort it. I heard something about just putting my breast in its mouth to reassure it even if nothing came out.

…That’s not going to happen, okay?

““Hot spring?”” 

It was not long after noon, when the sun was still high and bright that the mayor of the town, Rudolph-san, who had returned with Reiji-san and Nii-sama, suddenly asked us “Do you like hot spring?”.

“There is a hot spring in this neighborhood. The facilities are adequate for the countryside, and usually the townspeople rarely go there for a hot-spring cure, but I doubt that everyone here is in the mood for that right now. I’ll leave it available for your exclusive use until the evening, how about that?”

It was a proposal that came from a person who wanted to thank us for all the hard work we had done the other day. It’s a very kind offer, to be honest.

“Then Reiji-san and Saul-niisama should go. You must be tired from all the physical work today. Just go ahead without me, okay?”

I put on my perfect princess smile, then gracefully turned on your heel and head back to the house. Yes, I shall take my graceful leave.

“Wait a moment, Iris.”

A hand slipped under my armpit, and in an instant, I was in Nii-sama’s arms, hugging me. The women around us started cheering… Huh?

“Sorry, Nii-sama, even though we are siblings, this is a bit gentlemanly in a public place, don’t you think?”

“Then how about a young girl who runs away because she hates taking a bath?”

“…”

With a bitter face, he whispered to me In such a low voice that no one else could hear.

“… Don’t worry about me. I can use magic to purify myself.”

“That won’t do. Isn’t it time you learn how to take a bath properly?”

“Eeep!?”

Oh no, Nii-sama went straight to the highest tier of the “how to be a girl” class. Even if I tried to escape, I wouldn’t be able to match his physical abilities… I was being locked in a light princess embrace while completely unable to do anything about it. He even used restraint magic on me before I knew it, what a demon!

“Besides, you said you’d do anything for me, right?”

“Have I not told you before how much I hate that whole process, Nii-sama?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Just how much do you want me to take a bath, Saul-niisama?

I turned to Reiji-san, who was right by, for help…

“Ah… Well, if you did say that, I’m going to take your words for it…”

It was no use.

I screamed inwardly as I was being carried away.