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–––The pope’s viewpoint

“So you remember me. I’m glad.”

I did not know how to respond to that. Meria… Freya’s sister. We had been working hard for a long time to rescue orphans living in the streets like her and Freya, and while we could not give them a lavish life, we tried to provide shelter and food to them in orphanages, raising them until they were old enough to be independent. They would learn all sorts of skills in their stay at the orphanages too, some becoming merchants or soldiers, though the majority went off to become adventurers in an attempt to become rich quickly, or they would just stay to become future priests.

There had been two orphans with outstanding skills. One of them was our hero, Freya, and her twin sister Meria. From a young age they learned quickly, their minds soaking up knowledge like a towel, and quickly became recognized for it even though they were still children.

Their future prospects were bright, and it was easy to imagine they would garner important positions in the country once they matured. Everyone thought so too. That future never came to be though… More than a decade had passed since then, but I would never be able to forget it. I knew they were skilled, so I would constantly take them to meet various people, securing them a future spot. The way they happily enjoyed their trip in the carriage was always a joy to watch, a wonderful sight I could not forget so easily. Even at the time I felt like one of them would eventually become my successor, though I would support them even if they chose a different path in life. I was old, but had never married so I did not have children of my own, but I thought of them as my daughters, or more like my granddaughters.

In the end, those happy times would not last forever.

Lumielle is a religious country, but that does not mean everyone is a good person, some even opposing my authority and rule. The people who attacked us probably also did not like me.

A sudden storm surprised us during one of my travels with the girls. It was already night and I did not want to overwork our guards, so we decided to set up camp in a forest nearby. Some time later a group of a few dozen thieves attacked us. They wore ragged clothes and crude weapons, making them look like bandits, but their movements were too coordinated, they had clearly received proper training. They had likely been sent here to take my life, and the guards with us were only half in number compared to them. Rather than waiting things out inside the carriage, I felt like it was better if I went out and helped the guards.

“Pope!”
“Are you really going out there?”

The two girls were afraid, sensing such bloodlust for the first time in their lives. I gently patted their heads and smiled at them, trying to reassure them.

“Everything is going to be alright. I’ll just go discipline some bad people. You two stay here, don’t get out of the carriage no matter what.”

The moment I stepped out I was assaulted by a shower of kicks. We were so outnumbered that a harsh fight was unavoidable.

“The pope?!”
“There’s the pope! Kill him!”

Both my guards and the enemy were surprised to see me outside, but it only made the fight fiercer, as one side tried to take my head while the other defended me.

“Die!”
“Not so fast!”

I deflected the incoming sword with my staff, and then counterattacked by thrusting my staff into my assailant’s stomach. When I was younger I had worked as a holy knight, so this was not a new experience for me. And I would not fall so easily!

“Stay strong everyone!”

Everyone stood back up, their wounds healed by my magic, and hit back against the enemy with renewed vigor. Having healing magic could easily decide the winning side in long fights like this. I was outside now, but I still took a more supportive approach, avoiding fighting the enemy directly. The enemy fell one after another, and when they realized they could not win, they decided to group up and try attacking me all at once.

“Come!”

I held my staff pointed at them, ready to fend off their attack, but halfway here they changed their target. One of them took out a dagger, and for some reason threw it at the carriage horse. Due to the frantic situation, the dagger missed its mark, merely grazing the horse, but that only made things worse. The fight had already caused the horses to get nervous, and being wounded was the last straw, sending the horse into a mad dash while neighing loudly.

“No!”

The horse was pulling the carriage straight to a ravine! I tried to chase after it, but the attackers stood in my way.

“Out of the way! Don’t stop me!”

Those girls would die if I did not do anything! I no longer cared about getting hurt here, rushing into the enemy and making a path by hitting them with my staff.

§　§　§

“Huff…huff…”
“Pope! Are you hurt?!”
“Don’t worry about me! Chase after the carriage!”

I was hoping that as it was a well-trained horse, it would not jump down a ravine of its own will… But that hope was quickly dashed. The edge of the ravine showed a horrifying scene, there were deep tracks on the edge, the signs of a carriage passing by. The horse had likely been running at a fast speed when it plunged down into the ravine, the carriage falling apart as it rolled down.

“No… Freya… Meria..!”

The girls had been completely innocent, but my presence had dragged them into this. I fell on my knees, completely exhausted and distraught. My guards tried to help me on my feet, but I pushed them away. This was all my fault, I should have tried to protect the carriage with my life back there. The ones who needed to survive were those young girls full of promise, not a creaking old man! I gritted my teeth frustrated, punching the ground so hard my nails broke. But then…

“Guh…”
“?! Did you hear that?! Find her!”
“Huh? Oh, right away!!”

As soon as I heard that faint voice I ordered a guard to go search for her, and he found Freya caught halfway down the ravine. We had no ropes to pull her up, so we had to improvise and tie multiple clothes together to make one, and after many hours we finally managed to pull Freya up.

“Uh…”
“You’re safe now.”

I used healing magic and let Freya rest, while the rest of the guards desperately searched for Meria… but it was futile, and we could not find her. I tried going down the ravine myself, but the guards stopped me. There was a chance we would get attacked again, and everyone including Freya were exhausted. I still wanted to continue searching on my own, but I also could not allow myself to leave all those innocent people exposed, so I had to give up.

As soon as we returned to the city a search team was organized and sent, but after months of searching Meria was never found. Freya was heavily depressed after that, barely eating and her health declining both physically and mentally. But after some time it was like she became someone completely different, dedicating herself to training and studying without resting. It was like she was punishing herself, feeling guilty for not being strong enough to protect her sister. The ironic thing was that she became the hero thanks to that. But now the person who motivated that change and everyone thought dead was standing in the same room as me.

“Meria… I’m-”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear your apologies now.”

Her cold voice stops me, and I remain silent. I had never intended to abandon her, but that was merely my viewpoint, in her eyes I had left her to die. Maybe if I had searched more, just a few more days, she could have been found, and now the two sisters would be living happily together. Thinking of that made me realize I had no right to say anything now.

“…”
“Say, pope. If you really regret what you did to me, how about you do me a favor?”

She looked at me with a sparkle in her eyes, and I swallowed hard in anticipation.