by Funa
“Hold on...”
Ed was completely taken aback. While they may have been the proud horses of royalty, they both paid their due respects to Ed. Not only was he older than them, but he was the horse of a goddess, and they respected him as the head of his family...though they may have just been after Ed’s daughter.
This was their chance to take on the honor of being one of the goddess’s mounts and to earn the title of a “Sacred Horse” who was tasked with leading her war chariot. They weren’t about to let it pass them by.
“Hmm, what to do, what to do... If Ed doesn’t want to, I guess I might take you up on that. Roland, Francette, are you guys okay with that?”
“All I heard was a bunch of neighing from you and the horses, so I have no idea what in the world you’re asking us for...” came Roland’s weary reply.
He had a point there. I was the only one who could speak horse, after all.
“W-Wait wait wait! Hold on just a second here!”
Ed seemed to be getting desperate now, but I still continued the conversation.
“Then either of you would be fine, really...”
“I said hold your dang horses!!!” Ed shouted as loud as he could.
Yup, that should do it.
Kaoru retracted the blades on the war chariot—actually, let’s just call it a wagon when it’s in normal mode. It’d be a pain to explain why it could do all this if anyone found out about it.
Ed was in high spirits as he pulled the wagon along. I’d already told the horses about how I was a goddess (or was pretending to be one, at least). Everyone else already saw me that way, so I wanted to make sure the horses knew as well. I mean, they are horses, so I shouldn’t have to worry about them leaking information to anyone.
Still, Ed didn’t really see himself as a “Sacred Horse” or the “horse of a goddess” or anything like that. He worked hard and was grateful to me for saving his life and buying him the mare he had his eye on. That had been enough for me. It was only in that moment when he saw how the other horses were chomping at the bit to take the job that he came to realize the honor of the position. He was so desperate to not let them take it away from him.
“This is a so much lighter than I thought it’d be. Is this actually made out of some sturdy stuff, missy? It’s not going to break apart if we suddenly come under attack and I have to gallop away at full speed, right?”
“Don’t worry, it’s made of something lighter than iron but stronger than wood, so it should be able to take a bit of extra stress without breaking. Just think of it as some sort of divine metal from the gods. That said, it will fall apart if we put too much pressure on it.”
“Understood. I guess I’ll try to keep the galloping to a minimum, then.”
Even if it was light, that was only compared to other lightweight wagons. Who knew how fast this thing could go with only one horse pulling it.
Ah, Layette looked kinda overwhelmed by how much I’d been talking with Ed. I guess I would be too if the person who adopted me was whinnying back and forth with their horse this much. No one wanted to leave their future in the hands of someone who seemed like they had a few screws loose...
Wait, is she starting to regret coming with me now? Oh crap, I have to explain this away somehow!
“U-Um, just so you know, this is...uh...”
“Y-You can talk to horses?! That’s so amazing!”
Oh, would you look at that. She wasn’t freaked out, just plain surprised. She was going to find out that I was (pretending to be) a goddess sooner or later, so it may be a good idea to just tell her now and get it over with. I don’t want her to freak out about it if she found out when there were other people around.
Right, now how should I explain this...
“Huh?!”
Yup, looked like that came as a shock to her, too.
“Y-Y-You’re a goddess?! I-I mean, you were already a goddess to me when you said you would take me in, b-but I never thought you’d be a real goddess!”
Layette’s eyes were practically shining.
...Uh-oh. I knew what these were. These were the same eyes Emile and Belle had when they looked at me. They were the eyes of a fanatic.
Those two were enough for me as is! I didn’t want another fanatic. I just wanted healing! Yes, that’s right! Healing! In the form of little girls!
“Th-This is a big secret, okay, Layette? I told you because I think you’re a good girl who can keep them well, so you can’t tell anyone about this. Everyone here already knows, but we don’t know who’s listening, so you can’t talk about it when there’s other people around. I’m just pretending to be Roland’s little sister, so let’s keep it that way, okay?”
“B-But this is so cool...”
I guess it’s no use trying to convince a little girl to consider the big picture, huh...
That’s when Francette stepped in. “Let’s pretend you were a goddess, Layette. If everyone tried to serve and worship you all the time, and you didn’t have anyone you could talk normally with, do you think you would be having fun?”
“No...”
“Would it be fun to have aristocrats and other rich people coming to you every day, fighting with each other to have you make their wishes come true?”
“...No.”
“Then you know what you have to do, right?”
“Yeah!”
All right, way to go Francette and your sagely wisdom! You aren’t in your thirties for nothing! Even though your body is about twenty years old thanks to me!
But thinking about it, I should technically be twenty-seven (at least mentally) while my physical age was around nineteen... Well, it should be that way, but here I was, still stuck in my fifteen-year-old body. You know what, I wasn’t going to think too hard about that anymore.
Anyway, I should be able to talk with Layette normally now. Let’s get started with that healing time I’ve been waiting for...
“Please feel free to order me to do anything you want, Lady Kaoru.”
Eh?
“Wh-Why are you talking like that? I thought you weren’t going to treat me like a goddess or anything...”
“I thought this would be the right way to talk with you since you’re an aristocrat.”
Ahhhhhh, that’s right! Crap, I totally forgot about that! Layette’s a commoner and I’m supposed to be the daughter of an aristocrat. There’s no way she would talk normally with me!
Wh-What do I do... My precious healing time is slipping through my fingers...
“All right, then you’re my sister! From now on, you’re my little sister, Layette!”
“Huh?!”
I know she didn’t look like an aristocrat at all, but I was just going to do the same thing I did with Emile and say she was another child our father had with a servant, but we still got along great! It’s all I had left!
“That takes care of that!” I shouted to the others gathered around the wagon.
Roland and Francette weren’t surprised in the slightest, as if they’d been expecting it to come to this. Emile and Belle also had nothing to add, since they’d never go against anything I said in the first place.
With that, Layette became my little sister—without her getting a say in the matter at all.
After spending a night in a small village and another night roughing out in the wild, we finally made it to a decently large town. I hadn’t planned on staying that long in a town so close to the border, but I shouldn’t have to worry about Brancott anymore now that we were this far away.
Instead of rushing along, I was going to have us stay a bit longer in towns so I could work on finding some guys who were suitable marriage material. That was why I was going on this journey in the first place, so I didn’t really have a reason to rush.
“We’ll go ahead and stay here for a while.” I decided to have everyone stop so I could talk with them before we went into town.
“Do we have something to do here, Big Sis?” Layette asked, tilting her he
ad to the side.
Sh-She’s so cute!!!
We’d decided that “Big Sis” was Layette’s official nickname for me, and everyone else could call me by name if they needed to. When we were alone or didn’t have to worry about getting our stories mixed up, she would just call me her “Big Sis,” and she’d call Belle and Francette her sisters as well. I couldn’t help but wonder why I was the only one she called her “big” sister, though...not that it really mattered.
“Well, you see, the whole point of this trip is for me to find someone to marry, and—”
“Huh?”
Layette’s expression of disbelief cut me off before I could finish, probably because it came as a shock that a goddess would be looking for someone to get hitched to.
“You have a bunch of scary big brothers and sisters who seem like they’d chase away any boy who gets close to you... Is there any guy who would try and see an aristocrat’s daughter when she’s staying at an inn? Do you even have a chance to talk with other boys and stuff?”
...
...
...
...
“GAHHH! HOW DID I NOT REALIZE THAAAAAAT?!”
“That’s why it’s time for a change of strategy.” I had to make sure to tell everyone of my new plan.
“I’ve come to realize that there’s a slight problem with me trying to pass myself off as an aristocrat’s daughter. I can’t just go dating any normal boys right off the bat as a noble and, even if I do find another aristocrat boy, there’s going to be problems once they realize I’m only pretending to be high class. Even if Earl Adan is letting us say we’re with his family, I don’t have any proof that I’m a bona fide aristocrat or anything...”
Roland cut in. “Not only I am royalty, but I hold the title of duke as well. Francette earned the status of viscount due to her efforts from the war, so it’s not a lie to say that we’re at least nobility. So long as you don’t claim to be part of the aristocracy yourself and I say you’re my little sister, no one should be able to accuse you of lying. If it comes down to it, we can just say we’re siblings-in-law, so it should all work out fine. And like I’ve said before, just say the word and I’ll tell Balmore to give you an official title. How does being an earl—no, a marchioness sound?”
It was a pretty normal thing for royalty to have a bunch of different titles. It came in handy if they ever needed to blend in with the nobility, if they ever needed to make an alias for themselves, or if they wanted to distance themselves from their royal heritage.
Francette had already been given the title of viscount, too. I bet they wanted to make her look better status-wise if she was going to marry the brother of the king. But even without doing so, Francette was a hero of the war who’d received not only a holy blade but the official title of Protector of the Goddess. There wasn’t anyone who could object against her engagement with Roland.
“...I’ll pass, thanks.”
Despite that, I promptly turned down Roland’s proposition. He’d asked me over and over again throughout the years following the war and after Celes had descended, but I refused him every time. Roland was the type of guy who would sulk over every little thing like this, too.
If I became a noble of Balmore, it’d mean the king and his ministers could come to me with their demands and stuff, so I could definitely see why he’d want that to happen. I bet they weren’t actually thinking of doing so, but I’d at least have to show my face before the king. That, and I’d become a pretty powerful asset they could lord over other countries.
“Grah... Well, if you ever feel like having a title, just let me know. It should only take about three extra minutes to finalize the paperwork on top of the round trip by horse to get it signed.”
So he’s already prepared for it to happen anytime?! Good lord, man! I don’t wanna be saddled with anything as annoying as being an aristocrat. I ain’t about to get tied down by status and start governing people in my land and any other junk that would be pushed on me. Actually, I bet that’s why they want me to go through with it. I just want to enjoy living my life free to do whatever I want, thank you very much!
Putting all that aside, I went ahead and got to the point: “That’s why I want us to split up from here on out.”
“““WHAAAAAAT?!”””
Yeah, I guess they’d be kinda shocked to hear that all of a sudden.
“But if that happens, I won’t be able to get in the way of you marrying someone from another coun—” Roland let slip before he could catch himself. “N-Nevermind...”
“...What did you... WHAT DID YOU JUST SAAAAAAY?!”
I never thought there’d be a filthy TRAITOR in my party, damn it!!!
My words were met with fierce opposition from the group. But of course they’d be opposed. Layette was even bonking me on the chest with her fists, tears in her eyes.
I don’t have much cushioning there, so that kinda hurts... Argh, shut up, me!
“Don’t worry, you and I are still sticking together, Layette.”
“Okay, then I agree! Let’s all split up!” she beamed, the complete opposite of how she was mere seconds ago.
Frickin’ kids, I tell ya...
“Of course we’re not going to let you do that! You just got yourself kidnapped the other day, remember?! And easily, at that!” Roland fired back.
“I let myself get captured so I could save all those girls and take down the kidnapping ring in one fell swoop! Did you guys even come save me when that happened? Did you do anything for me then? Hmm?”
“Ngh...”
It was a cinch to shoot down his argument. If it came down to it, I could just say I was a goddess so I’d never really be in danger and he wouldn’t be able to say anything back.
Francette, Emile, and Belle, on the other hand, all looked like they didn’t know how to handle this. They probably didn’t know what to say because they were torn between wanting to stay with me and following my orders because they’d sworn their loyalty to me.
...Sorry about that, guys.
“Wouldn’t it be fine if we all just acted like commoners, then?” Roland suggested.
“There’s no way you’d ever pass off as a commoner! All it’d take is, like, two seconds of talking with you and anyone would figure it out. You only know what it’s like to be royalty, after all, so it’s not like you could follow the conversation or anything... And if you were pretending to be a commoner, they wouldn’t be carrying around a sword if they weren’t soldiers or hired guards or something. It’d be weird to have a commoner like me be surrounded by my own entourage of bodyguards. Just having you around is going to mess with my soul searching, Roland. Way more than you know...”
It’s true, Roland was a hunk. That didn’t just mean he had a good face or anything, though. He was someone who gave off an overflowing aura of charm and sex appeal as a guy. No boy would dare getting close to me with him around...
“I’m not telling you to go back home or anything. Though I wouldn’t really mind if you did...”
“But what are you going to do...?”
“I’m thinking it’s time we drop the sibling act so I can think up a new background story.”
“““Leave it to us!””” Emile, Belle, and Fran all responded in unison.
“We’re commoners, so there shouldn’t be any problems with us coming with you,” Emile said, with Belle nodding in agreement.
“Sir Roland would stick out like a sore thumb, but I should be fine since I was born and raised a commoner as well!”
“Huh...?”
“F-Fran... That’s, uh, you know...” Roland couldn’t hide his shock over Francette’s sudden betrayal.
“I already swore my loyalty to you, Mi—Kaoru! Of course I’d be coming with you!”
Roland fell to his knees in utter disbelief.
Fran, I know you stopped yourself from trying to be extra formal to me there, but that doesn’t matter if you’re just gonna come out and say you swore loyalty to me!
That basically gives it away!
With Roland white as ash and at a loss for words, the rest of our group launched into a heated argument over what was going to happen next.
“It’s dangerous for a group of children to be alone together. I absolutely must come along with you since I’m an adult!”
“You say you’re an adult, but you only look like you’re about fifteen or sixteen at best. I already look older than you, so it shouldn’t really make a difference if you’re there or not. I’m already sixteen, so I’m an adult too. If we need an adult with wisdom, just having Kaoru around is plenty. Oh, and I’m not saying that it’s better to not have you around, Fran. You know, just to make that clear.”
“Mgh...” Fran’s face screwed up in frustration as she found herself unable to refute Emile’s words.
“We’re coming with you, Kaoru. We’ll be there to take care of you, and, if the time calls for it, we’ll even become your shield.”
Oof, laying it on a bit heavy there, Belle...
“Hm... I guess I am a little worried about it being just Layette and me...”
It wouldn’t be a problem if it were just me, but it wasn’t like I could stick around Layette the whole time. I guess I only had one choice here...
“Then leave her to us!” Belle cried out.
“I’ll be counting on you guys, then.”
“““Okay!””” came three separate replies.
“You’re not coming with us, Fran.”
“What?!” she shouted in disbelief.
“I mean, don’t you feel kinda bad just leaving the poor guy alone?” I said, pointing to Roland as he stayed slumped on the ground in defeat. Fran sent a withering glance his way, looking annoyed.
Hey, Fran...he’s still the brother of a king, y’know? And you totally looked up to him, remember?! You were acting like a high school girl who just had some boy band idol propose to her when you came to tell me! This is a pretty big about-face you’re pulling...