The Power of the Saint is All Around (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 2

Act 2:

Hot Springs

A SHORT WHILE after Albert and I went to the market, we had a debriefing about the monster situation. According to the scouts who had returned from a survey, significantly fewer monsters were manifesting around the mining settlement where we had found the black swamps. The miners said that they would be able to deal with them without the aid of the knights.

Although I was relieved to hear this good news, it was too soon to relax. The Hawke Borderlands were much larger than I had thought, so they weren’t done surveying the whole region. The knight commander finished the meeting by reminding everyone to keep up their guard as they continued their investigations.

Thus we wound up staying in Hawke’s Domain a bit longer.

While the knights were out surveying the territory, I spent my time relaxing in Lord Hawke’s manor. As for what I did with my time, I went out to the nearby forest to gather herbs and made potions for the knights. I still felt like I wasn’t doing much, and I started to feel guilty for going about my days without a care in the world.

That was when the vegetable we had ordered from the market arrived: savoy cabbages, with those delicious, detailed veins on their leaves. Albert’s desire to eat stuffed cabbages were still fresh in my mind.

Propelled by my feelings of guilt, I ran to ask Lord Hawke for permission to use his kitchens. He instantly said yes. Thanks to the help of the manor’s chefs, the stuffed cabbages turned out wonderfully.

I was a bit stymied because they expected me to use herbs, as I was the leading figure in the popular field of herb-seasoned dishes back in the royal capital. I barely remembered the recipe from my world, so I wound up relying heavily on the one the manor chefs used. As a last resort, I threw some bay laurel—also known as bay leaf—into the pot while the cabbages were simmering. I hoped that would meet their expectations. Based on their shouts of joy when they tasted the end product, that seemed to do the trick.

“You made these stuffed cabbages, Lady Takanashi?”

“Yes. Although I don’t think they’ll taste too different from what you’re used to.”

The stuffed cabbages were being served during dinner with the family members of House Hawke, as was custom. Whenever I went somewhere and cooked, it was nearly guaranteed that the members of the house who ruled that domain would partake. That proved to be the case here as well.

Lord Hawke looked deeply moved as he tasted my cooking, but I knew that savoy cabbages were commonly eaten throughout Hawke’s Domain. Moreover, stuffed cabbages was already a traditional dish in this region, so I doubted it looked any different either.

Maybe it tastes a little new with that bay leaf? Will Lord and Lady Hawke like it anyway? I watched them anxiously as they chewed.

“The fragrance is a bit sweeter,” Claudia—Lady Hawke—commented after she tried the soup.

“Yes, though this scent does seem familiar,” her husband agreed.

“I added bay leaf while it was boiling, so it might be that.”

“Bay leaf? They say that’s good for joint pain, right?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s also an herb that promotes digestion and absorption of food.”

Just as Lord Hawke said, bay laurel helped to suppress inflammation and pain. Because of that, the leaves were also boiled to make a medicinal tea. Perhaps he recognized the smell because he had drunk that tea before.

“If it promotes digestion, then perhaps we can eat more than we usually do,” Albert said, just as I had expected.

“You shouldn’t overeat just because of that!” I said offhandedly, using the same tone I would have at home. 

That made the other people at the table chuckle. It was then that I remembered that Albert’s parents were with us. I glanced around and saw not only Albert’s mother but his father trying to contain their laughter. Eep! That left me feeling a bit embarrassed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Albert’s brows knit together. His ears were red, so he was probably a bit flustered too. Albert noticed me looking at him and returned my gaze. As our eyes met, his expression relaxed, and he laughed sheepishly. I wound up smiling wider in turn.

“Come to think of it, Lady Takanashi, you’ll be staying with us for a little while longer, yes?” Lady Hawke asked as we finished the main course and moved on to dessert.

“Indeed. I heard as much from Sir Hawke.” According to Albert, we would remain in the domain until the knights finished their survey of the entire region.

Lady Hawke smiled. “Then perhaps you would like to visit our villa?”

“Your villa?”

“Yes. It’s located in a village a bit far from here, but it’s near a lake, so it has the loveliest view.”

A villa by a lake? I feel like they mentioned that before. Why did that come up again? I wondered.

Lady Hawke’s next words jogged my memory: “We also have a hot spring there.”

“A hot spring?!” Despite myself, my voice came out a bit louder than was acceptable at a dinner table. It was a faux pas, but those words were just so unbelievably wonderful to my ears. A hot spring! “Is this the same hot spring at the lake shore that you told me about before?”

“Yes, that’s right! You remember.” Lady Hawke nodded, a smile still gracing her face.

If I correctly recalled that prior conversation, the villa was located in a village on the shore of a lake in the northern stretch of the domain. There were several hot springs in that area, one of which was at the Hawke villa.

The one Lady Hawke was describing now was the same one we had discussed before. I believed she had recommended that we visit it during that conversation too. Albert had said we could go after we took care of all the monsters.

I had completely forgotten it after everything that had happened, but Lady Hawke had done the remembering for us.

“I heard you faced many difficulties in the mine. If you have the time, you should soak in the hot spring to ­recover from your fatigue.” Lady Hawke told me this with a smile on her face, and I could practically see the halo shining around her.

“Thank you!”

I was exceedingly grateful for the offer. It had been some time since our return from the expedition, but I absolutely wanted to take her up on it.

Lady Hawke grinned happily at my eager response.

And so, thanks to Lady Hawke’s enthusiasm, we got ready to go straightaway and left for the villa a mere three days later.

***

The Hawke villa was located about an hour or two north of the borderlands capital by carriage. Our group consisted of me, Albert, and some knights acting as our guards. It was about one-third of the company who had come with us from the Salutanian capital. Since the knights needed to recuperate too, they were going to take turns on guard duty while we stayed at the villa.

The villagers lived in a settlement a little ways off from the villa. This was the location of the hot spring for knights and soldiers employed by House Hawke. Lord Hawke had told the knights accompanying us to make use of it. Consequently, a fierce battle had broken out to determine who our escort would be. I wouldn’t say we had only a handful of knights, but neither was it a very large group. It was overall fewer than I had expected.

I’d thought that perhaps Lord Hawke and his wife would join us, but unfortunately, they had a prior engagement that they couldn’t afford to abandon. Albert had been thinking the same thing, but when I watched his mother tell him why they couldn’t go, she had the strangest look on her face.

Speaking of people who were in absentia, the grand magus had also bowed out. I’d invited him along because I knew he was on break as well, but he declined. Apparently he had heard that there was a location near the villa where even stronger monsters roamed, so he’d headed there instead. I had no idea what he was thinking, going out to slay more monsters even though he had time off, but I supposed it was in line with his character.

“I’m still really surprised. I had no idea that Lord Drewes knew how to ride a horse.”

We were chatting about Yuri while we rode in the carriage toward the villa. Our company had gathered in the same spot before we left, and it just so happened that people going out to hunt monsters had gathered there as well. Yuri had been among them, wearing his usual smile as he said hello, though he had been in an unusual spot: on horseback. He’d just been right up there in the saddle, easy as you please.

He normally rode in a carriage with me whenever we went anywhere, so I’d never guessed he knew how to travel any other way. So of course I was surprised to see him sitting astride an actual, factual horse.

“Everyone in the military divisions—such as the Orders or the Royal Magi Assembly—learns how to ride at the academy,” Albert explained when I idly expressed my surprise. He was beside me in the carriage this time around, though it wasn’t just because Yuri’s seat had gone vacant.

“Lord Drewes did mention that. Is it a requirement?”

“Indeed. You can’t join the military if you don’t know how to ride. Although most people who want to work at the palace take the horseback riding courses as well.”

“I see.”

Yuri had said as much when I blurted out, “You know how to ride?” without thinking. He told me he had learned at the Royal Academy. I thought it odd that Yuri would bother, seeing as the only thing he cared about even a little was magic, but it made sense if it was required. In other words, he’d had to learn horsemanship in order to join the Royal Magi Assembly.

“Wait…” I murmured.

“What?”

“Um, so, does this mean that everyone who works at the palace knows how to ride?”

“Well, pretty much.”

If Albert said that everyone who wanted to work at the palace learned, then did that mean that Johan, Jude, and even Aira knew how to ride?

The thing was…I didn’t.

As I thought about it, a cold sweat ran down my back. This was amounting to an even bigger shock than Yuri’s horse-related expertise. I wasn’t currently taking any such class, but given everything else I was learning at the ­palace—should I?

Besides, on top of being a researcher at the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora, which was located on palace grounds, as the Saint I was kind of, sort of also part of the military.

“Sei?” Albert looked at me with concern after I sank into silence.

The guilt was overwhelming, and I confessed. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking that maybe I should take the horseback riding class as well. I do work at the palace, after all.”

Albert put a thoughtful hand on his chin. “It would certainly be handy if you knew how to ride, but I doubt many occasions would call for you to do so.”

“Well, it might be convenient to be able to ride back and forth between the palace and the institute.”

“I see. But if you did, then I’d have fewer opportunities to bring you home.”

“Uh, I suppose.”

Albert’s sidelong glance and crooked smile made my heart skip a beat.

I mean, side glances from any gorgeous guy are always a powerful move, but they’re especially powerful coming from someone I know and like. If he asked me for anything with that look on his face, then…I had a feeling I would hand it over no matter what. No, wait a minute, calm down, me! You can’t just go around agreeing to everything someone asks of you!

As I wrestled with my feelings, Albert chuckled and turned his face away. I couldn’t hear him, but I saw his shoulders trembling, so I could tell he was stifling his laughter.

Ugh… He was just teasing me. Sigh! I wish he’d stop doing that every chance he got.

I groaned loudly, and soon he was able to suppress his chuckles.

“I was also thinking that, you know, I’m kind of in the military myself. So that would be another reason to know how to ride,” I said to change the subject.

Albert furrowed his brow. “It’s true that horsemanship matters for ordinary soldiers.”

If the keyword here was “ordinary” soldiers, I could infer his point. I see. So the Saint is an exception.

“Moreover, I doubt you’ll be going on many expeditions from here on out,” he said.

“I suppose.”

The situation in Salutania was improving. While everyone was keeping a watchful eye out, the palace had determined that the threat of the black swamps was nearing its end. They hardly ever received reports of new swamps in regions where such things were easily spotted, like the plains. Lately, they had only needed to send me to mines and so forth—the sort of places where swamps were more difficult to locate. However, even before we ­arrived in Hawke’s Domain, fewer and fewer black swamps had been discovered, so the problem was regarded as largely subdued.

That being the case, Albert was right in that I wouldn’t need to go on expeditions for much longer. The knights and mages could handle taking care of the remaining monsters on their own, so there was no reason to ­dispatch the Saint as well. That meant that my work as the Saint would soon be over. 

I also wouldn’t be able to leave the royal capital again, not like this.

Oh. That means I’ll have fewer chances to see Albert as well.

The majority of the time we spent together consisted of monster slaying. For some reason, the moment I realized that those opportunities would disappear, my heart ached. It felt like an enormous rift had ripped open between us.

Huh?

“Although the thought of being able to go out on long rides together does have merit,” Albert said.

“Long rides?”

“Yes. What do you think?”

Albert’s suggestion brought to mind galloping on horses through meadows. I had ridden on horseback while sitting in front of Albert at the palace, so we’d traveled at a relatively slow speed. If we did it one person per horse, I bet we could ride much faster. The wind would feel lovely too.

This wonderful suggestion made me forget the ache in my heart.

“I think that’s a good idea,” I said. After imagining this scene, I didn’t try to hide my feelings.

“Then it’s decided. We’ll practice together when you have time,” he casually declared.

Could I really take him up on that offer? I was sure that I personally would have free time, but wouldn’t Albert still be really busy?

“You’ll teach me?” I asked, just in case.

“If you’d like,” he replied politely.

My heart felt like it was floating. “Of course I would! Thank you!”

With that, the ache that had run through me vanished completely.

***

As we discussed what we would do when we arrived at the villa—and when we got back to the royal capital—time passed in the blink of an eye. Soon we had gone far enough to actually see the villa.

A forest of fir trees surrounded the structure. The villagers clearly took good care of them, because sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees, lending the location a peaceful air.

The villa itself didn’t look like I had expected. I had imagined it would be a log house, or built of wood with plastered walls, but it was constructed from something entirely different—it was a mansion made of stone. While that wasn’t what I had seen in my mind’s eye, the surrounding area was idyllic, so I was impressed all the same.

The carriage stopped in front of the villa. Albert helped me step down, at which point I saw that all the people who took care of the villa had already assembled at the entrance. They greeted us, as was customary, then ushered us inside.

I was taken to guest chambers on the second floor that consisted of a bedroom and parlor. The parlor had a large window leading out to a terrace. From there, I could see the sparkling surface of the lake.

The great big lake lay to the west, and the villa had a splendid view, as it stood at a slight elevation. Needless to say, I also had a wonderful view from my chambers on the second floor.

While I gazed out the window, the butler who had shown me to my room explained the villa’s amenities. “There’s a large bath on the first floor. It draws water from the hot spring, so please feel free to enjoy it.” 

“I’ve been looking forward to enjoying the hot spring, so I definitely will later,” I said.

“Understood, my lady. Please inform us whenever you desire to do so.”

Just as Lady Hawke said, the villa was furnished with a large bath connected to the hot spring.

This place has a great view and quiet scenery, and on top of that, it has a hot spring. What an amazing place to relax. I’ll dive right in after I catch my breath, I decided. “Thank you very much.”

“Now please feel free to find your ease.”

After I took a short break, I headed to the baths. They were way bigger than I had imagined. The room was probably as large as a lecture hall. The ceiling was high, but you couldn’t see much because of the steam rising from the tub, which was more of a pool. Based on what I could make out, it seemed that the walls, floor, and even the pool itself were made of marble. I let out an “ooh” of admiration at the sheer extravagance.

Whenever I took a bath at the palace or someone’s manor, the maids always made a big fuss and did all kinds of things for me, but today I was alone. It was like a dream. I had asked to be left alone precisely because I didn’t want anyone fussing over me so I could enjoy it privately. I had thankfully received permission to go solo.

It felt like an incredible gift, getting to luxuriate in such a giant bath all by myself. Moreover, I couldn’t exactly have asked my maids to join me if they were around—they would have said no—so I just had to accept that and get over the guilt.

“Oh, it circulates!”

I moved to the back to see what the whole pool looked like, as I couldn’t see it through the steam. The pool was built along the back wall and water flowed swiftly down from tap in the wall and into the pool. The bath water that overflowed from the pool drained back out. I was filled with delight at the sight of this hot spring pool that I had heard so much about—and that the water was constantly pumped in, out, and back again.

I washed my body, then excitedly went to go soak in the pool, where I let out a reflexive sigh. The temperature was a bit low, so I figured I could enjoy it for a long time.

The pool’s overall structure didn’t seem all that different from those back in my original world. The only thing that differed was the unusual shape of the tap. It ­resembled the silhouette of the undead dragon’s head, so I assumed it was meant to be an ordinary dragon. It was kind of funny, though, since it reminded me of the lion-headed taps from my old world.

Once I had observed the room, all I had to do was revel in the hot water. I leaned against the wall and let myself space out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my mind clear of thoughts for long. I wound up ruminating over all kinds of things.

“It’s going to be over.”

I was thinking about the future. I had been summoned to this world to purify the miasma after it grew too thick, and now that job was almost at its end. I was moved by the thought of closing this chapter in my life. It was probably the kind of feeling everyone got after finishing a big project.

It wasn’t like this was going to be the end of my life in this world. I was probably feeling so oddly calm because I still hadn’t figured out a way to return to my own world. Once I was done purifying the miasma, my day-to-day existence wouldn’t change in any significant way. As such, I simply thought of this as a particular job coming to a close.

These thoughts were kind of calculating on my end, but I was pretty sure that the reason I felt so calm was the conversation I’d had with Albert in the carriage.

I hadn’t thought I would be so happy to hear Albert promise to help me learn how to ride. It didn’t make me so elated that I was going to shout for joy, but it definitely filled me with light and fluff. 

Is this what love feels like? I didn’t know. I’d never been in love before. I certainly didn’t dislike whatever this sensation was.

Then there was the research I still had to do for my job at the Research Institute of Medicinal Flora. For the time being, I had no plans to stop working there. So things would remain the same on that front as well.

“Oh…”

Then I remembered something that I didn’t really want to remember. I sighed deeply, slowly adjusting my posture to slide farther underneath the water.

Although I would be done with my purifications, I would still likely have to continue to participate in high society. Numerous people wanted to marry the Saint, so I was definitely going to be invited to all kinds of tea parties and evening parties as well. Up until now, I had declined these invitations with the excuse that I needed to go monster-slaying, but soon I would no longer be able to whip that out.

To be honest, I still didn’t feel anything when it came to marriage as an idea. I’d always vaguely assumed that I would get married someday, but I was happy with my current situation. A big part of me wanted to continue clinging to the floaty feeling I got when I thought about Albert. I was actually kind of enjoying its presence.

I squirmed again and rested my head on the edge of the pool, then closed my eyes.

Okay! I’ll forget about high society for now! I came here to relax, so I’m only going to think about pleasurable things. Albert was going to write the report on the events that had transpired in Hawke’s Domain so I could get back to business as soon as I returned to the royal capital. I had a bunch of things to do for the herbs I meant to grow during the winter, such as transplanting them into pots and some pruning to go with it.

Oh, and then there were the dried sausages we’d found. Those would keep for a while, so it would be fun to bring them home and have a banquet with the researchers. I just knew that Johan would want to try them, though maybe he already had, seeing as he was friends with Albert.

I also wanted to have tea with Liz and Aira. I doubted I could bring back any borderlands sweets, but I supposed I could ask someone for some recipes. Or would they be reluctant to share them with me? In that case, my friends would just have to make do with some kind of souvenir. I’d be happy just to see them again.

Oh, and when Albert had free time, he would be teaching me how to ride. I wasn’t sure if I’d really get the hang of it, but if I did, we could take long rides together. By the time we were doing that, the weather would probably be warm again, so I could make sandwiches and we could go have a picnic somewhere.

I bet Albert will be happy if I make sandwiches packed with herb-seasoned chicken. We could do more than just go on a picnic too. There was something else on my mind…but what? 

I suddenly came back to myself and noticed a mist around my chest. I was feeling a certain familiar emotion again.

I gazed around at the top of the pool, which was covered with a golden mist. It seemed that I had become so relaxed in the hot spring that my magic had poured out of me by accident.

Huh?! What in the world is going on? I was overcome with shock, if only for a moment. Then, since I was the only one in the room, I unleashed the Saint’s magic. The whole bathtub glittered.

Once the light subsided, I scooped up some of the water and saw that flecks of gold now floated within it.

My wish in that moment had been hot spring keywords: recovery from exhaustion, easing lower back pain and stiff shoulders, smooth skin, etc., etc.

I had only cast the spell for a moment, so I didn’t know the extent of the changes I had bestowed on the water, but I suspected that some kind of miraculous effect had been added.

Fortunately, this hot spring circulated. The water would inevitably be replaced, so soon no trace of my magic would remain.

That was close. The hot spring was warm, but I felt myself break into a slight cold sweat. I decided to get out of the tub before I made some other mistake.

***

Hot springs, collecting plants, walking around trying different foods for market research… I fully enjoyed getting to pursue nothing but fun, to the point that I began to wonder if it was entirely acceptable for me to be enjoying myself by the time the assessment of the monster situation in Hawke’s Domain finally came to a close.

The knights had conclusively determined that fewer monsters were spawning. Everyone was excited by the good news, and we held another celebratory banquet.

A few days after the banquet, it was time for us to return to the royal capital. We stood in front of the carriage, where I said my final goodbye to Lord Hawke.

“Thank you for hosting us on this occasion.”

“Don’t mention it. It is we who should be thanking you for improving our lands in more ways than one.”

Lord Hawke had already thanked me multiple times for my services. Maybe it was because of my nature as a Japanese person, but I felt kind of awful having him bow to me so much. I just couldn’t get used to it.

I somehow managed to return Lord Hawke’s gentle smile, but I worried that it looked forced.

“We shall head to the royal capital when the social ­season begins,” Lady Hawke said. “I do so hope you’ll come and visit us at our manor there.”

“I believe that by then, we will have completed the draft plan for turning our hot springs into a tourist attraction, so hopefully I can call upon you to seek your opinion,” Lord Hawke added.

After I returned from the hot spring, I had taken tea with Lady Hawke and we had discussed beauty treatments. We had spoken in excited detail when I mentioned that cosmetics could be made from hot spring waters, but I’d realized that it unfortunately wouldn’t be possible to make them from the springs in Hawke’s Domain. The ones here just didn’t do anything for skin conditions.

Instead, I suggested developing the village where the hot springs were located. Lady Hawke remembered our previous conversation during our first banquet and asked how hot spring villages operated back in my birthplace. I told her about the deluxe public bath houses and spas they had in Japan, which got Lady Hawke incredibly pumped up. I tried to change the subject to calm her down a bit by suggesting that the hot springs could be made available to the public instead of just the soldiers. The soldiers could use them for free as a professional perk while they could have commoners pay a fee to use the facilities.

While the hot springs in the village weren’t beneficial for skin conditions, they did remedy inflammation of muscles, joints, and lungs. I believed there would be a demand for these benefits even among the general populace.

Once I mentioned this, I had not only Lady Hawke’s but Lord Hawke’s interest. He started asking me questions too, and after telling him about all the different kinds of hot spring facilities in Japan, he quickly decided to develop the village as a tourist attraction. It probably came as no surprise, but he made up his mind lightning fast.

As I debated how to respond to Lord and Lady Hawke’s invitations, Lady Hawke turned to her son. “Al, I hope you’ll come to visit every so often as well.”

“Of course. Let me know when you arrive in the capital.”

It was kind of heartwarming to see this exchange ­between mother and child. As I looked on, full of warm and fluffy feelings, Albert told his parents to send their invitations to me through the palace.

All of my invitations to tea parties and the like were sent there. This measure had been put in place when I still knew nothing about the noble factions and the ­relationships between the houses; they’d wanted to ­ensure that I didn’t accidentally accept an invitation from someone with untoward intentions.

However, after my lessons at the palace, I was pretty sure that I knew who to be on the lookout for. It was a pain to properly word rejection letters, though, so I continued having the palace decline on my behalf.

A son of House Hawke had previously married a princess, so they had close ties to the royal family. As such, the palace would probably send an invitation from House Hawke straight to me, just as they had when Marchioness Ashley reached out.

Even so, I was unsure if it would be all right to accept their invitation without initially routing it through the palace, so I didn’t quite know how to respond. I was therefore incredibly grateful that Albert spoke up on my behalf. All noble houses had been informed that invitations addressed to me had to be sent in this manner, so his parents were understanding.

“Well, we should get on our way,” I said.

“Indeed. I hope we see one another soon,” Lord Hawke said.

“Lady Takanashi, thank you again. I shall look forward to visiting you in the capital,” Lady Hawke said.

“Thank you. I shall look forward to visiting you both again as well.”

With that, we departed. Albert helped me into the carriage, and a moment later, the vehicle started to move. I waved out the window to Lord and Lady Hawke.

And so, I finished purifying the black swamps and my work as the Saint came to an end, at least for the time being.