The Power of the Saint is All Around (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 4.5

Behind the Scenes II

IN A ROOM at an inn in Morgenhaven, Ceyran drank a glass of wine as he gazed at the empty vial on his desk. His mind was on the events that had transpired over the past few days.

Zaidera had been exporting crafts and food to the Kingdom of Salutania for a few years now. The same ship always carried the goods they sent, and Ceyran had been named its captain. The sea routes that connected Zaidera and the Kingdom of Salutania were relatively safe. He had crossed them many times now, and on this voyage, they had arrived in the Kingdom of Salutania without running into any more problems than usual.

Perhaps that was why he had been careless. An accident had occurred while they were unloading their cargo in their storeroom. By some error, a cargo tower collapsed, and the crew who had been handling the goods were pinned underneath.

The second he heard the collapse, Ceyran ran to check on his crew. Thankfully, no one had died, and there was minimal damage to the cargo itself. But just as he had feared, the people who were pinned beneath the collapse were injured, one of them gravely. Although every crew member was in theory replaceable, Ceyran’s crew had been with him for many years now. A lesser man might have abandoned them or told them to seek treatment on their own, but Ceyran didn’t have it in his heart to do so.

He ordered his crew to use all the potions they had to heal the injured, but one crew member was beyond help. This boy had been trapped beneath the heaviest crates, and his legs were in danger of needing to be amputated.

Ceyran’s crew only carried low-grade HP potions, and these proved useless against such grievous injuries. If the injured crewman had been elderly, near retirement, Ceyran might have let it go. However, the victim was a boy in his teens. He was too young to be forced to live without his legs.

Moved by pity, Ceyran and his crew ran to every corner of Morgenhaven looking for potions. They tracked down the best alchemist in the city and purchased the strongest potion they could make. Even this had not been enough to heal the boy.

Ceyran knew Healing Magic could repair serious injuries that potions couldn’t touch. However, he also knew that before long, neither magic nor potions would be able to heal the boy.

This understanding pushed Ceyran back into the city. He asked anyone he could find to direct him to a mage. Because of his urgency, he kept falling back into his native Zaideran, and people stared at him, uncomprehending.

Driven by fear, he found himself growing impatient—then a woman spoke out. A woman who wished to help him. She introduced herself as Sei, and she spoke Zaideran so fluently that for a moment, Ceyran saw the bright light of hope. However, in the next moment, it was extinguished.

There were no mages in Morgenhaven. Ceyran’s shoulders dropped in resignation. 

Then Sei gave him a potion. She seemed for all the world like an ordinary city girl handing over an ordinary potion that could be found anywhere. However, the liquid’s color seemed the slightest bit darker than that of the low-grade HP potions with which Ceyran was familiar.

Maybe it’s a mid-grade potion, he thought. He paused for a moment before saying, “Thank you.”

His crew had already tried a mid-grade HP potion on their injured comrade. It hadn’t done much. Maybe if they had two or three more, the boy might be able to move his legs once again, but a single potion likely wouldn’t make a difference. Nevertheless, Ceyran took it, grateful for Sei’s compassion.

After parting ways with Sei, he went to give the potion to the boy. Sei had given it to him for that purpose, after all. 

The crew was astonished by the outcome: the boy’s bones, which had been crushed by heavy crates, reknit into their natural shape, and within moments, he made a complete recovery.

As the crewmen cried out in joy, Ceyran picked up the empty potion vial and stared at it in shock. As he arrived at a conclusion, a chill ran down his spine. It was highly likely that Sei had given him a potion stronger than mid-grade—it had to be high-grade, nothing less. In Zaidera, high-grade potions could only be acquired by royalty, titled nobility, and other such powerful people.

Who in the world is Sei that she could so casually hand over something as valuable as this—and to a stranger, no less? Ceyran asked himself. 

More importantly, he now had an even more critical concern. To receive something of such value and to pay nothing for it would be to shame the name of his country. He owed her.

Ceyran told his crew of the woman who had inadvertently saved their comrade, and they began their search at once. Fortunately, Ceyran found her without much trouble, and she accepted his efforts to repay her.

Now, Ceyran found himself staring at the empty vial of the potion Sei had given him. According to Oscar, Sei’s father, who was the owner of a company or something like that, had commissioned the potion for Sei.

Just how large was Sei’s family business? As the captain of a ship known for its foreign trade, Ceyran thought he knew all the major companies in the Kingdom of Salutania. One of the main merchant families had a daughter about Sei’s age. Ceyran was acquainted with the patriarch, who was the chairman of a major company, as well as with the man’s most powerful subordinates. He barely knew the fellow’s daughter, though he was aware she was considered the heir to the company. He could recall no other young women in similar positions. He also remembered what the chairman looked like, but he didn’t believe the man resembled Sei.

Maybe she was associated with a different company then?

In truth, Oscar had concealed Sei’s identity most cleverly, and thus even as Ceyran tried to sort out Sei’s connections, he remained at a loss. He still wanted to thank Sei’s father. In addition, if possible, he wanted to learn the source of the high-grade potion.

Normally, Ceyran would have respected Sei’s right to privacy, but the truth was that Ceyran’s employer was searching for a uniquely talented alchemist. Ceyran didn’t know the details of his employer’s needs, but given the search, he thought it would be best to inform them of these events.

Those who could make high-grade potions were recognized as skilled alchemists in Zaidera as well. Ceyran knew with certainty that when he told his employer this tale, they would be dearly interested in the potion’s provenance. Therefore, it was in his interest to gather as much information as he could in advance.

As the night wore on, Ceyran thought through all the things he needed to do before his ship departed for Zaidera.

However, Ceyran had misunderstood one key thing. His mistake was rooted in the fact that Sei had been wearing the clothes of a commoner despite apparently being the daughter of a wealthy merchant family.

In Zaidera, alchemists capable of making high-grade potions could only be found in the imperial palace. As a result, only the emperor and powerful nobles could procure high-grade potions. However, in the Kingdom of Salutania, even commoners could technically obtain them if they tried hard enough.

Because of this difference, Ceyran assumed that people capable of making high-grade potions could be found in Salutanian towns. However, the truth was that, like in Zaidera, high-grade potions were only truly available to Salutania’s royalty and high-ranking nobles. Not to mention, the potion that had cured his crewman had been made by the Saint. No one outside the palace would ever be able to obtain one of her potions. Ceyran had no way of knowing this, which made his information gathering rather difficult.

In the end, he was unable to ascertain any further information about the supposed alchemist or Sei’s family company. Thus, a disappointed Ceyran left the Kingdom of Salutania.

***

It was about time for the midday bell to ring when someone knocked on the door to the head researcher’s office at the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora. Johan told them to come in, and the door opened to reveal Knight Commander Albert of the Knights of the Third Order.

“It’s not often you stop by.”

“I needed a break. And there’s this.” Albert held a document up to Johan, who looked at him with his eyes wide in surprise. Albert placed the document in Johan’s outstretched hand.

As Johan shifted his gaze to the document, Albert took a seat on one of the sofas. Not long after, there was another knock at the door. Johan gave them permission to enter, and a servant did so, pushing a cart with a tea set on it.

“You asked for tea in advance?” asked Johan, looking surprised again.

“I happened to pass your attendant on the way, so I asked him to bring us some tea,” Albert explained.

Johan chuckled, then signed the document before walking over to the sofa facing the one Albert was sitting in. The servant set a cup of tea in front of both men and then left the room at Johan’s signal.

“So? What are you here for?” Johan asked.

“Nothing in particular. I just wanted to pass the time.”

“Oh? Even though Sei’s not here?” Johan grinned at Albert, who choked on his tea.

Albert glared at Johan as he stifled his laughter, but Johan blithely brushed off the look.

“Speaking of, how’s the company doing?” Albert asked.

“Things have calmed down considerably. Thanks for asking.”

“That’s good then.”

“Indeed. I thought things might get rough, since our sales would drop, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Because you let go of those cosmetics, you mean?”

“Precisely. In fact, letting those go ended up leading to an overall profit.”

“The sabotage from your rivals was bad enough that this was the more desirable outcome, eh?”

“More or less.”

Albert was also aware of the palace’s efforts to put Sei in charge of her own company. As a knight commander, he was a member of the highest order of government. In addition, Sei was on the best of terms with the Third Order knights, and as a result, Albert always heard about anything related to her.

Albert also knew that House Valdec had been having a difficult time with their company. However, he couldn’t thoughtlessly poke his nose into the problems of other houses. On top of that, he couldn’t ask his own family—House Hawke—to intervene either, lest they kick up an even larger mess. The only thing he could do was listen to Johan’s complaints and try to help him come up with a solution. The fact was that this helplessness frustrated him to no end. Therefore, Albert was relieved to hear that things had calmed down.

The palace had also had some concerns about Sei’s company. Specifically, they had feared her old business partners wouldn’t agree to relinquish the rights to her products. Sei’s high-grade cosmetics were popular and profitable. It was easy to imagine that losing them as a source of income would be a blow for any business, no matter what else they might have for sale. The palace had been ready for a long negotiation at best and open resistance at worst. However, the company surprised everyone by throwing up their hands the first chance they got.

They gave in so easily in part because the palace offered to reimburse them for any outstanding investments. Between that and the promise of no longer having to deal with the underhanded tactics of rival companies, Sei’s old business partners were relieved to let someone else take over.

However, they were further motivated by another, even more significant factor: the company understood that they owed a debt not only to the palace and House Valdec but to the Saint for the profits they had enjoyed. You could say they had made this decision while thinking about their future relationships.

“Well, things may be better business-wise, but I bet things are going to get more trying for Sei from now on,” Johan said.

“Why’s that?”

“She’s had to travel all over the kingdom to exterminate monsters, and she’s now widely recognized. You know what’s going to happen next, right?”

“You mean…”

“Having high social status means economic power. And she has a great deal of social clout. Plenty of men will set their sights on her.”

Albert furrowed his brows, understanding all too well what Johan was getting at. He was talking about Sei getting married.

Marriageable age in the Kingdom of Salutania was younger than in Japan, so Johan and Albert were well within this bracket. For nobles, adulthood began at fifteen, and from then on they might get married at any time. As a result, it was typical for noblewomen to be married by twenty years of age.

That being said, Sei was considered rather old for an unmarried woman. However, as she was the Saint, had considerable income from her newly founded company, and was a fashionable trendsetter, no one saw her age as a problem. Even if she was a bit older than the average bride, her advantages more than made up for that. She was an incredibly attractive prospect, especially for sons who would not be named heir to their family.

Johan predicted that, in the near future, a deluge of portraits and personal statements would arrive at the palace, all addressed to Sei.

“Well, I doubt Sei’s the type to consider marriage,” Albert deflected. “She’s already married to her work.”

“That’s true. I bet she’ll either panic at the sight of the mountain of proposals or have the same look of distaste we’re wearing right now.”

“Ah… She’s more likely to panic, isn’t she?”

“Too true.”

Sei was a late bloomer par excellence when it came to romance. As a result, she was incredibly slow at picking up on people’s feelings for her. That much could be inferred based on how she hadn’t even realized she had gone on a date with Albert until Johan pointed it out after the fact. Moreover, Sei didn’t notice when men other than Albert made advances on her. The only people who did notice were those around her.

Both Johan and Albert knew Sei well. Therefore, they could easily imagine Sei blushing and becoming completely flustered by a flood of proposals. They burst out laughing at the thought.

“What about you?” Johan asked after a bit.

“Me?”

“You might be the son of a marquis, but if you take too long, someone might just steal her away from right under your nose.”

“I know.” Albert made a face. He didn’t like having this pointed out. 

It wasn’t that Johan was trying to tease Albert, more that Johan was genuinely worried about his old friend. Albert understood this, which was why he bothered to reply, even though he made a face.

Albert knew his own feelings. He had only failed to make his intentions completely clear because he was trying to go at Sei’s pace. She was a beginner when it came to romance. Albert’s family seemed to have realized that, as they hadn’t said a word about it.

However, Albert was probably going to have to take decisive action soon. Because Sei now controlled her own company, those who wished to take her profits for themselves would want to go after Sei herself. It went without saying that the quickest way to do this would be to marry Sei. Johan was right—it was clear that sooner or later, other houses would attempt to acquire the woman who was the Saint.

Albert really did have to summon his courage to make his move, and with all haste.

“If you don’t pursue her,” Johan mused, “then perhaps I will.”

“What?!”

“I was just thinking I ought to offer myself as a prospective match before other weirdos try to claim the same.”

Albert’s face was fixed in a fearsome expression at his close friend’s treacherous suggestion. Johan burst out laughing, and Albert slumped, drained of energy. What a terrible joke!

In truth, this was likely Johan’s attempt to light a fire under his friend.

What transpired next was known only to them.