phase (2)
I couldn’t understand what the situation was, and fortunately the princess and the princess were looking at the people lined up as if they couldn’t understand.
Both of them are pinnacles of a class society that have lived up to their lives from birth, and if they are embarrassed, it means that it is not a normal situation either.
While I came to that conclusion and took a breather, the princess was looking at me again with subtle eyes.
Now, whenever something happens, they suspect me first. We’re back together. How could I do something!
When our group stood still and stopped moving, suspicious of such a sudden crowd of mysterious welcomes, especially those gathered in an area where people were not likely to be, the people nearby cheered as if they noticed this subtle atmosphere. He stopped shouting and started looking at us.
As the shouts began to subside from those close to the party, the atmosphere gradually became contagious and everyone who had been shouting shut their mouths and began to look at us with awkward faces.
It’s as burdensome as this.
“What’s going on?” “The saint…” “Isn’t it wrong?”
As the people in the line gradually became confused and even began to show signs of uneasiness, I got off my horse and approached the people close to me.
From nob le mt l. com
Looking at these people right now, they don’t seem to have any other plans, and they really seem to be here to celebrate me, but I’ll have to find out what’s going on.
“hello.”
At my greeting, the people standing close to me were at a loss for what to do, averting their gaze and lowering their heads, preventing proper communication.
Are they the people who were shouting my name until just now? How could they do that while being so restlessly timid? Is this the power of a group?
“I have a question for you. Could you answer me?”
The people who still bowed their heads at my question looked at each other, and then one person slowly walked forward.
“I wonder if someone like me can properly answer the Holy Son’s question…”
“Don’t be too nervous. I just want to hear about you guys.”
I patted his shoulders in order to relieve tension and instilled some divine power into him.
As I watched the color return to my pale face, I pondered over what questions to ask.
It’s better to start off easy at first.
“What’s your name?”
Of course, I know the other person’s name even if I don’t ask, but asking for the other person’s name in the first meeting is the basic of the basics.
“My name is Tobin, saint.”
“I see. Nice to meet you Mr. Tobin. My name is Ronan.”
“Holy Son, how do you use honorifics for someone like me? Please refer to me comfortably.”
“I’m comfortable with this, so don’t worry about it.”
Surprisingly, this was not just empty talk, but the truth.
In this world, using honorifics goes beyond simply respecting the other person and includes the meaning of acknowledging the other person as an equal to oneself.
It is common here that superiority and inferiority are divided by occupation and status, so in order to distinguish between an opponent who uses honorific and informal speech, it is necessary to comprehensively determine whether the opponent is above or below me.
Even if I became an ordinary aristocrat, I would be able to figure out who the other person was anyway, so there would be little chance of making a mistake, but since I have a very unique job as a saint, it is often ambiguous whether to use polite or informal speech to the other person.
On the other hand, there is also the option of speaking plainly to everyone, but that is too easy to make enemies.
As mentioned earlier, since using honorifics and informal speeches to appropriate opponents is used as an element of revealing superiority and inferiority, people in this world are more likely to be wary of those who speak informally rather than those who use honorifics.
The former bows down on its own, so there is no reason to be wary, but the latter claims that the opponent is equal to or superior to itself, so there is no big problem if you admit that the opponent is superior to you in your heart, but when you don’t understand that, this guy dares to ? and become hostile.
However, it is impossible for a normal person to use only honorifics to avoid unnecessary boundaries like me, and distinguishing between these honorifics and short speeches is an element that indicates the discernment of the speaker, so if you use only honorifics, your discernment and ability will improve. It was easy to be perceived as a lacking person.
What is this complicated world all about?
At first, it was obviously simply used to lay the foundation for the ideal saint setting, but after experiencing this world, it was more practical than I thought that it was possible to use only honorifics regardless of the opponent, and that it was not devalued thanks to the name of God.
The man who only nodded slightly at my words was still looking at my feet with his back still unable to straighten up.
For a moment, I wondered if I could help the man in front of me behave more confidently, but I decided to solve my curiosity because I thought that forcing a man in front of me to straighten his back and make eye contact would have the opposite effect.
“Does Tobin live around here?”
“No. I live in the city. It’s all thanks to the Holy Son’s merciful grace.”
When I asked that question, the man shook his head in denial and raised me up.
Why is it because of me that I live in the city? Is this person an Orion fanatic?
I tried to figure out the identity of these people while avoiding direct mention as much as possible from earlier, but it became more and more unknown.
Judging by their names, they were all commoners, and judging from the scars and calluses on their hands and bodies, they didn’t lead such a peaceful life. So, if you want to check whether you belong to a specific group of the church, it is still blank.
If the people who live in the city are correct, they say they were preparing here to welcome me just in time for my arrival. Does it make sense that not just one or two, but so many people gather in unity without any special affiliation?
Above all, it is much more difficult than expected for ordinary people to obtain information in real time in this world.
The story that I finished everything and entered the imperial palace. It was already a long time ago, so it wouldn’t be strange if you knew it, but it didn’t take long for me to finish everything and leave the imperial palace and return to the academy. Preparing for such a welcome event at the same time is absolutely not something that can be led by the common people.
What is it?
After all, is there no choice but to ask directly and check the reaction?
I wanted to avoid direct questions as much as possible in case something else was hidden. Even if it was a pure welcome with no other intentions, it would not feel good if I asked questions as if I suspected it after carefully preparing it.
That’s why you have to be suspicious enough.
At least I stopped by the city, and if people had come out and welcomed me, I wouldn’t have been so suspicious.
“The people here, including Tobin-sama, are you…”
“I’m sorry!”
Just before I could ask a specific question, a loud voice of apology began to be heard in the distance.
Reflexively, I raised my head to look at the source of the sound, and saw two children who hadn’t fully grown yet hurriedly running toward me.
Surprisingly, the two kids were familiar.
Robin and Ray.
One of them was almost like a companion when solving the devil worshiper case, and the other was living proof that I had performed a miracle, so it was a face I couldn’t forget even if I tried to forget it.
The two guys deftly ran this way without falling, even while wearing uncomfortable clothes that dragged on the floor.
“Heh…heh…sorry…sorry.”
The two of them ran up to me and continued to apologize while catching their breath.
It was a sudden apology in the first place, but for me, the information about the two people that caught my eye was quite shocking, so I missed the timing to ask what I was sorry for.
Guys, is it okay to wear those clothes? Did you wear them on purpose so that I wouldn’t find out the truth? You wouldn’t be able to go far anyway.
Maybe they thought that I was angry, but the two crying children started to speak out restlessly.
“I didn’t expect Saint Ronan to be so displeased. I’m really sorry for being presumptuous.”
“I think we went too far in our desire to be recognized. This will never happen again. Please don’t hate us.”
I came to my senses belatedly after seeing the two little children who looked like they were about to cry.
Shocking is shocking, and judging from the words of the two kids, it seems likely that it was these kids, or at least they were deeply involved, that planned this welcome event.
Besides, when I see what I can see and these guys are making excuses for something because my feet are numb, they must be stabbed too.
what the hell happened in the meantime
Anxiety about the current situation that I couldn’t even guess at all rose up slowly, but for now, it was urgent to appease the two.
These two were kids who had a high affinity for me to the point of going around exaggerating advertisements about me in the first place. It seemed clear that there was a relationship.
It would only hurt me if rumors circulated that the two of them would cry and that the favorability of people, including the children, would be diminished, and that the saint would reprimand those who had worked so hard to prepare a welcome event for him.
Of course, there were many holes to get out of such crude rumors, such as just showing embarrassment at the excessive welcome, but the best way is to block the possibility of rumors close to aggro in the first place.
I bent my knees to the children’s eye level, holding each other’s hands, and said with a smile.
“Robin-sama, Ray-sama. Calm down. I don’t know how things are going right now. Why the hell are you asking me for forgiveness? If you do, I will pray for you and defend you. Could you please tell me step by step?”
Calming the two kids down, I quietly provided a hole to slip through.
Because I can roughly guess that it’s a mistake you’ve committed? When you say something nice, hurry up and explain the situation.
“Are you really not mad…?”
“sure.”
I’m not mad at you guys because I don’t know if the church has been fooling around yet or if you’ve done something wrong. Not yet.
“Aren’t you mad that we imitate what the higher ups do?”
…What kind of nonsense is this?
When I heard a sound that had nothing to do with what I was expecting, my head turned on its own.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I wonder if it’s unpleasant for a lowly people like us to follow the ceremony like this…”
It took me a very long time to interpret the words that came out of the little boy’s mouth.
And while still looking at the people lined up in a row, he turned his gaze to the princess with a feeling of unbelief.
“Does commoners need permission from nobles to gather in groups like this to welcome someone?”
At my question, the expression of the princess, who had been standing still behind me, also changed to ambiguous.
“In the first place, it is almost impossible for commoners to take the lead and prepare for such a huge welcome crowd and ceremony.”
That’s true, but…
I looked at the countless people gathered in front of us.
Here’s a great counterexample.
As if the princess noticed the meaning in my gaze, she continued to speak further.
“However, there are always exceptional cases, so basically, permission is required.”
really…?
I couldn’t help but be surprised by the princess’s unexpected reply. Does that really require permission?
So why are these people so restless because they secretly came out without permission?
What is all that? Where has all the freedom of expression gone!
“If commoners, even non-commoners, come together to prepare something, it’s hard to tell if it’s really to celebrate someone or if it’s for some other purpose.”
Hmm… Come to think of it, it’s only natural to get permission in advance for large-scale demonstrations.
After hearing it, I had no choice but to accept it because it was more reasonable than I thought. I also thought that the nobles went crazy as a group because of the electoral consciousness that had reached the extreme, and that the common people had no right to do such a thing.
“Besides, the real welcome ceremony, the highest ceremony that Saint Ronan received when he entered the imperial palace, is an important ceremony performed by at least a few knights, so it is not considered very nice for commoners to follow it without knowing it.”
…They were more than enough to discriminate against them…The above reason is just a bonus.
Thanks to the princess’ detailed explanation, I was able to get a sense of what these kids were apologizing for.
So maybe this is an illegal event that only wants to do something for me, and what these people are doing here can feel like a challenge to authority.
If you did this even though you knew there was a chance you could get caught in the law, there’s nothing strange about it.
Besides, I’ve sold drugs in front of God saying that people are equal, but that doesn’t mean I’m trying to change something by actually trying to make people equal, so you might think that I might feel similar displeasure to a nobleman in this area.
In fact, I don’t particularly want all people in this world to be equal. I’m a person nominally at the top of the authority, so I wonder if that’s what I want.
But if you know all that, why the hell did you arrange such a welcome event? If you rob the bank and buy me a gift, would you be able to receive it with pure joy?
Of course, it was a bit extreme allegory, but from the point of view of these people, it could be that they actually risked their lives, but I didn’t understand.
Besides… it wasn’t the one I wanted to hear.
Now that I know why this group is here, I don’t wonder about it any more, and I don’t want to fight about it, saying that it’s against the law or something like this to undermine authority. I’m not really interested.
No matter how much, these people did this for me.
However, that did not mean that all my doubts were resolved. No, it could be said that it increased.
“I don’t think so at all. I was just surprised that so many people came out of nowhere so unexpectedly, but I didn’t feel anything unpleasant.”
“really?”
“Sure. Rather, I’m just grateful that you went this far for me.”
I could confirm that the feeling of relief spread to the children and the people around me at my words.
No, I don’t know about the others, but are you two really relieved by this? Anything else you want to say to me?
“By the way, Robin-sama, Ray-sama, do you have anything else you want to say to me?”
“…?” “…?”
The two looked at each other as if they had no idea what question I was asking.
“It doesn’t seem… I don’t think so?”
“Have we made any other mistakes?”
You really have no guesses at all? Can you do that in front of me and not anyone else?
“I’m glad if you don’t have it. Are you still going to church?”
I ended up asking direct questions to get the answers I was looking for.
“Yes!” “Of course.”
And the answer to that was an exhilarating affirmation without any hesitation.
uh…?
My head, which was eagerly grasping the situation at the answer of the two kids, declared a strike as it was.
You say you still go to church? Then you can’t…? What is this?
I couldn’t even hide my embarrassing feelings and once again carefully read the state of the two children’s bedside, but that didn’t change the writing that only my eyes could see.
Still, there was only a blank space instead of the word ‘Cult of Orion’ in the space indicating the two children’s affiliations. Just like many people here do.
Are your eyes really broken?
