Chapter 19: Strange Things Keep Piling Up (Patreon)

At that point, Pandora turned to the guards. "Excuse me — can you get in touch with Archbishop Capella?"

(Geuse: Lady Pandora's gone serious again...)

"Uh..." Hearing her address Archbishop Capella so casually, without any honorific at all, the cultists felt a bit uneasy. "I'm sorry, but only Lady Archbishop Capella herself can reach us, and..."

The rest went unsaid, but the meaning was clear enough.

"I see. Understood," Pandora said with a nod. "Well then, Geuse, go on inside first. Archbishop Regulus and the others might be arriving before long."

"Yes..." Geuse hesitated for a moment, then nodded and led the cultists inside.

"What?!" At the mention of Regulus's name, shock flashed openly across the guards' faces. "That... that lord is coming too?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Pandora simply smiled.

"Uh..." Looking at the gently smiling girl before him, the guard sighed. "So that was his handiwork, then..."

He followed the guard's pointing hand and looked out.

"Oh?" Looking at the mountain peak in the distance that had been "shaved off," she nodded. "Archbishop Regulus really is capable."

"..." Hearing Pandora address even Archbishop Regulus so casually only deepened the guards' unease.

Surely no one would stand in a place like this and lie about being "your bishop's superior," right?

Unless... they had a death wish.

"Miss, you said..." the guard was growing anxious now. "What exactly is Lord Archbishop Regulus coming here for?"

Last time he'd shown up, the fallout had left this whole stretch of land "renovated." This time...

"Hmm..." Pandora held up a finger. "He's coming for a meeting!"

"A... a meeting?!" One of the guards shook his head. "If something like that were planned, Lady Archbishop Capella would have given us advance notice."

Though it was entirely possible she'd have them use the worst ingredients on hand to whip up a few of the most spectacularly inedible "dishes" imaginable to serve their guest...

"Fair enough," Pandora said, nodding. "Then, would it be all right if I just wait here?"

"Uh..." The two guards exchanged a glance. "Of course."

After all... this girl clearly had confidence to spare.

With that, Pandora wandered off to the side and took in the scenery.

"Whew..." Honestly, this was the first time she'd ever stood atop a mountain looking down like this — the kind of view that made her think of standing at the very summit with all the lesser peaks spread below... ahem... well, all right, this mountain wasn't exactly tall...

Still, to her, it was absolutely a beautiful view.

And so, about half an hour passed.

"Um..." A strange bird flew out from the estate. "The Archbishop says she has other matters to attend to today, so she won't be joining the meeting."

In reality —

[Aside from Lady Pandora, what could there possibly be to discuss with that pack of blathering fools making spectacles of themselves?] That was closer to the truth...

"Mm..." The guards, not quite processing it yet, nodded along automatically — then their eyes went wide. "What?!"

What had they just heard?!

"Did you just say... a 'meeting'?" The guards, snapping back to their senses, turned to stare at the strange bird.

"Ah — yeah... what's the matter with you two?" the strange bird sighed impatiently. "Take my advice and don't space out like that. Wouldn't want you ending up like me."

"Uh..." That left the guards speechless. They turned to look at Pandora, standing not far off.

"Oh, right." The strange bird paused just as it was about to fly back. "One more thing — the Archbishop says that unless Lady Pandora has some pressing need, she'd rather Lady Pandora not spend too much time talking with... that lot."

It was plain that Capella genuinely disliked — or rather, was thoroughly sick of — the other bishops.

"Lady... Pandora...?" This had to be a joke!

The superior whom even Lady Archbishop Capella addressed with honorifics turned out to be a girl who looked, for all the world, like an ordinary girl — aside from her looks and bearing, of course!

They were done for! They'd actually turned away their own superior's superior!

"Um... Lady Pandora..." They both turned to look at Pandora as she approached. "Please, punish us for our transgression!"

They were sure to be severely punished for this! If it didn't kill them outright, it would at least skin them alive... no, wait — this was definitely a death sentence!

Only now did the strange bird notice Pandora, and then... it simply couldn't tear its head away.

[What a beautiful girl...]

"Mm..." Pandora simply shook her head. She took the short blades they held out with both hands and slid them back into the sheaths at their waists. "Why would I punish you?"

"Eh...?"

"Stopping anyone whose identity is unclear — that's a guard's duty. Since you were simply doing your job, what reason would I have to punish you?"

"Lady Pandora..."

[This is...] Watching the two of them "weep into their hands" before her, Pandora couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

So Geuse wouldn't be "alone" in this anymore?

"Lady Pandora..." The strange bird, having come back to its senses, landed on the ground. "It was utterly discourteous of me not to have shown you the proper respect."

[So this is Lady Pandora... Just as Lady Archbishop Capella said, then...]

Though, reality did seem a good deal more convincing than words...

"You are...?"

"I'm the communications officer here."

"So, Archbishop Capella isn't coming, then..."

"That's right."

...

Through their conversation, it came out that after receiving word about Regulus, Capella had planned to simply ignore the whole thing entirely — but the words "Lady Pandora" had made her decide to hear the rest out.

Even so, once she'd learned the purpose of the visit, she'd cut off communication right away — she simply had no interest whatsoever in someone like Regulus.

As it turned out, this strange bird had once been an ordinary cultist, transformed by Capella herself — her reasoning being something along the lines of, turning you into a bird would make passing along messages more convenient, wouldn't it.

"All right. If the chance comes up, I'll have Archbishop Capella turn you back," Pandora said, unbothered by the bird's strange appearance.

"Re-really?!" The strange bird's eyes went wide.

"Mm-hm."

"Lady Pandora... you..."

And so —

— the Geuse School of Being Moved to Tears gained yet another member, raising the odds that its ranks would keep swelling in the future...

[Author's Note: Thank you to all the readers for your generous support with flowers! \^O^/]