The high bishop, Xenous, placed a hand on his forehead after reading the letter he received. The moment he knew who it came from, the stress already came to strike, even more so when he opened and read it. It was a letter from the Holy Kingdom’s envoy coming to Wisteria.

He expected something like this, however, the envoy was already on the move before he knew it. There would be no surprise if they were already close to Wisteria’s borders, and they didn’t even wait for a permission from Wisteria. They were allies, yes, but there were etiquettes for a reason. Could it be because they knew Wisteria couldn’t deny an ally from coming through?

The topic of the discussion was regarding the incident in the capital. They didn’t even try to inquire through letters. Still, that was not the root of the trouble as he had already talked beforehand with the king on how to handle matters like this. The trouble lay with the person that was coming here.

That man was… not easy to deal with. A stubborn man. Xenous imagined that he wouldn’t take their words for granted, no matter what they would say to that man. Even more so when he sees the damage caused to the city. Even now, a lot of the buildings were still under repair.

Old as Xenous may be, even he had someone he preferred not to encounter, especially now. The Holy Kingdom should never know that the enemies’ target was Estelia, the child of Wisteria’s gods.

The Holy Kingdom does not worship the couple gods. Who knows what would happen if they discovered the objects of worship of another nation had a child among royalty. Furthermore, the Wisterian monarchs would like to keep it a secret. For the Princess’s sake.

He picked up the letter again.

Is the king even aware of this? Or does the holy kingdom expect me to notify him myself?

“Tina…” he called the young priestess, who was reading a book.

Tina rose from her seat and set aside the book before approaching the high bishop.

“Get this letter to the palace, have it sent to the king directly. And tell him I need to consult with him as soon as possible.”

“... Yes.”

She received the letter, but she didn’t leave right away. Xenous slightly raised an eyebrow.

“You may go, Tina.”

“Um, high bishop. When you brought me back here… it’s… I was told that I was only back because the kingdom requires it.”

“... Yes…?”

“That battle… isn’t the enemy already dealt with? So that means I can come back to being an adventurer, right? I have been doing nothing much here, and I want to go back.”

“Tina…”

“Please high bishop.”

“Why do you want to leave again? You can be helpful here.”

“It does not feel that way… but that’s beside the point…” she lowered her head. “I want to see my friends…”

“Your family is here.”

“I-I know… but please, the threat is gone, let me go back.”

Xenous closed his eyes. Was she that lonely here? Doesn't she have friends here in the church? Why were those adventurers more important for her than the others here? Tina was a difficult one, Xenous was concerned that if he allowed her again, the others might start asking for the same thing. Still, thinking about it, despite knowing about Tina, the others didn’t try to ask to become an adventurer or something. Perhaps Tina was the only deviant here.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“And if I refuse to allow you?”

“I… I’ll be mad… what’s the big deal if I leave for some time, anyway? I’ll just be with my friends, I won’t go far.”

“Tina…”

“You can just call for me again if you need me.”

She sounded more eager and determined. She truly wanted to leave.

Xenous sighed. “I will think about it. For now, go to the palace.”

“Think about it? Please, high bishop, make up your mind now.”

Impatient are we?

He resisted the urge to shake his head.

“If you don’t go now, I won’t even try to deliberate what to do with you. Go.”

Tina hesitated for a moment before leaving the room with a disappointed and frustrated face.

Xenous shook his head when the door closed and leaned back.

What will I do…

***

Leodoule heaved a tired sigh the moment he read the letter in his office.

They really messaged the bishop first.

He knew that those from the Holy Kingdom were a religious bunch, but he still couldn’t deal with the fact that they would first notify the religious leader of a country, like what happened here. And the envoy, the name was a little familiar, but he was not well acquainted with that man.

In any case, it should be a couple or more days before the envoy arrives in the capital city. They need to prepare as early as possible.

He faced the priestess that arrived to deliver the letter.

“Thank you for this. Tell the high bishop that I would like to meet with him this afternoon, if possible.”

“Understood.”

“You are free to go.”

One of the servants led her out of the room, then the king turned to face one scribe with him. “Call Estevan. Tell him we have an envoy from another nation coming.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, the servant left.

Now then, when the envoy arrives, we have to hide what is really happening.

It was hard to keep something from an allied nation, but this was an internal affair. Even more so, it was about his daughter. He couldn’t let outsiders know about this. The secret knowledge and what’s at stake was just too great for Leodoule. The family’s secret must remain a secret.

I could at least prevent the envoy from meeting Estelia…

That would at least keep him from making an interest. And that was the most important.

Still, explaining those non-humans would not be easy. It would have been easier to explain if they were demons. But unfortunately, they were not. Or perhaps it was fortunate that they were not demons? Thinking about it, he was no longer certain which one was better.

***

I entered my father’s office three days after hearing that an envoy from the Holy Kingdom was coming. And today was the day I heard that it was happening. I was not too stressed about it. Truth be told, this was just a small hassle, nothing to be so frightened about.

At least, that’s what I think…

However, taking politics, national or international, into consideration, this could turn into a larger problem. Even more so if I become the center of it all again. I don’t want the spotlight, especially not one that was lighting from the Holy Kingdom’s side.

My father was wearing his formal outfit in preparation to receive the upcoming guest. I took this small time to have a little chat with him.

“Father… will you be alright?”

He grinned. “What sort of question is that, my daughter? I can handle an envoy just fine.”

“Of course… I wish you luck with at least luring his nose away. Whoever he may be.”

“Indeed, we must prevent the Holy Kingdom from interfering with our own personal matters.”

Now that I think about it, this could potentially be a family matter in its entirety. True that it essentially centers around me, but it's my family’s business too. Huh.

“I’m sure everything will go well.” It’s nothing compared to what we were just facing recently. “So, what do you suggest I do now?”

“Stay low, daughter.”

“Hm… That will be difficult.”

He narrowed his eyes. “And why is that?”

“Mother and the others are about to finish compiling all the data. We should have a visual representation this afternoon.”

They have been working very hard. In fact, they have been sleeping late and working early. My poor mother, I even had to convince her to sleep early and not to overdo it. But she would just say something along the lines of it’s still early, or something like that. I mean, that was the entire point — to sleep early…

I was thinking of stopping work around before sunset or something, but they just kept working until it was time for dinner.

But oh well…

“So what if they’re about done?”

“If I find something strange, I have to do something about it as soon as possible.”

“You have no intention of lying low?”

“I will lie low. However, there might be a need for me to act.”

“Daughter. I told you to rest when everything is done.”

“And so I will. Please, father…”

He massaged his forehead before sighing. “I’ll see to it. I’m sure we can manage to hide you while you act.”

“Thank you. When this is done, I’ll go straight for the vacation.”

“And after some time, we prepare for your debut. Because of that, we cannot afford to pause your lessons any longer.”

“... Now you made me nervous.” I lowered my head adorably, face so vulnerable.

He chuckled. “Now then, I need to go. I still need to prepare physically… and mentally.”

“.... Alright… I will go to the library. Good luck, father.”