Chapter 17: Finia’s Past
It was two hours of training before everyone disbanded. It seems short, but it’s not good for children to be trained more than this as it will just become dangerous, because at this point, both their concentration and physical strength would start to rapidly decrease. Although it’s just meant for training, it is still a weapon that should be carefully handled. If they lose concentration and begin playing around, an accident might just occur.
After the training, I was told to take a bath to wash off the sweat and am now being washed by Finia. Although I’m starting to get used to it, it is still embarrassing for me to be washed by a beautiful girl at her age. With that being the case, they still consider that it would be dangerous for children my age to be left alone to take a bath. Until recently, it was Maria who actually takes care of me, but at those times, I really insisted that I wanted to go alone.
No, you see, about that… I was being crushed by feelings of guilt, that’s why I insisted so much to do so. As a result, it was decided that Maria wouldn’t bath with me anymore, but it was dangerous to leave a child taking a bath alone. And then, it was unanimously decided I will be taken care of by Finia, and that’s how the current situation has come to be. Well, I might probably get used to something like this someday.
I immediately fixed my hair up, then gently rubbed soap on a towel and rubbed it on my hands and feet. My arms that kept on swinging the sword for two hours were so tired that they were starting to painfully convulse.
「Nicole-ojousama, isn’t it a little too early for you to start practicing swordsmanship?」 「But they said it was fine for me to start at five, Lye—Daddy said so」
Is what I replied to her while saying it in a childish tone. Mastering the sword was one of my ambitions. In the end, what the image of a Hero should be is one who wields a sword just like Lyell, I wonder if it really is impossible. But the training to attain that won’t really become a waste.
「From my point of view, I think Nicole-ojousama is more suited to magic than swordsmanship though? Didn’t you have gifts suited for magic? 」
Certainly, judging based on aptitude, my attribute is certainly more compatible with magic. I do understand that but I don’t want to admit it, and so I diverted the conversation to something else. First of all, let’s see if there are things she would like to ask. This might just be the right opportunity to do so.
「I understand that but I would like to give it a try and do my best rather than giving up, but more than that, I would like to know why Finia ended up working here though?」 「Why I ended up working here, huh?」
She has been working in this place since she was young, and yet I’ve never really seen her receiving any form of salary. Maria and Lyell wouldn’t also be shameless enough to hire someone without giving them a proper salary. Her existence here is still a mystery to me.
「Well, you see. I have an obligation towards the two of them」 「Obligation?」 「Yes. I was the reason that one of their comrades died in battle」
That story is a first for me to hear. No, with those lines, I could recall something. That comrade, wouldn’t that be me.
15 years ago, Lyell retired from being an adventurer and applied as a village guard, and Maria who was a priestess had only done the job of an educator, teaching children how to read and write while helping at the church. After that dissolution of the party, they wouldn’t be able to be called comrades in arms anymore.
「Right, it was from that day 15 years ago…」
Listening to her words as she continues to speak, I was definitely convinced. It was exactly 15 years ago that I died.
「The orphanage I was at was managed by the state. However, the priest managing that orphanage used his position in order to prepare for a Devil summoning」 「E, Eh…」
The confirmation was then transformed into an unpleasant premonition. I am very sure now that it was the exact time when I died. In other words, Finia was one of the children that got tangled up in that case.
She still currently looks like she’s around early to late teen, but this is due to her characteristics as an elf. Elves would grow at the same time as humans would until they reach 15, then from that point, they would slowly age and grow until they look like in their 20’s and then stop aging in looks from that point on. And normally, they have a lifespan of over 500 years. In other words, Finia who currently looks like a young teen was probably aged at around 5-10 years old at that time.
「The plan of that evil priest was initialized, and they were able to successfully summon a Devil. Everyone was so scared at that time and wasn’t able to move due to fear, some attempted to escape only to be slaughtered by the Devil that appeared from the summoning」 「No, that is……」 「It’s fine, you don’t have to be afraid about it anymore. The Devil was successfully defeated」
Well, what I want to say was different… but Finia probably assumed that I was scared. The children were so afraid and couldn’t move because they were too intimidated by the Devil’s ability. The only ones who were able to move in that situation were me and my companion Cortina, who were both heroes.
Or rather, that girl who got beside me when the battle was over was more abnormal.
「Nn……?」
At a moment, memories from my past made a flashback. There was a wounded girl crying, and the face of that girl that I saw at that moment overlapped with Finia. Then Finia hugged me from behind.
「But then… although it was merely a coincidence, Reid-sama came」 「Reid–」
It was definitely me from my previous life. And that crying girl I found was actually Finia.
「He told us that he would be facing that Devil alone, then instructed the other to flee while they can」 「I- is that so…」 「He should have been able to flee and left us behind, but instead he stood up against the Devil all by himself. That figure… is one that’s befitting of the hero who slew the Evil Dragon.」
Well, all I could say is that, at that time, I had no other choice than to do that. So for her to praise me so much was just misplaced worship. Actually, I only had about 30% chances to defeat that guy even if I include Cortina and the others who were there. At the same time, if we lose that match, then all of the children would be killed. On the other hand, even if Lyell or Gadius came, they could be overwhelmed by a surprise attack from the Devil. That’s why someone needs to be left behind in order to hold it off.
「But, even with a huge disadvantage, Reid-sama still tried his best to hold it off in order to protect us who were escaping. And our lives have been spared in that fight in exchange for Reid-sama’s live.」
I wanted to argue with her biased opinion, but well I couldn’t really do so. No to mention, to this girl who was hugging me naked from behind, how would she react if I suddenly say that 『In truth, I am Reid and was reincarnated in this body. Yo』
「If only we have immediately escaped that place, then Reid-sama might have survived. It was our fault that Reid-sama died, so as atonement for that, I approached Lyell-sama who was a friend of Reid-sama.」 「No, you see, about that……」 「This is my atonement towards Lyell-sama. That’s why I’m currently here serving in this house and those people. But I haven’t really done anything much for them in comparison」
Her background that she spoke of was really heavy, but she only showed me a gleeful face to wash it all off. Despite being an inexperienced babysitter, she was definitely doing her best in ways that she can do with great tension, but all of that was definitely not her fault. And that determination of hers was caused by me. Somehow, it was quite heart-wrenching for me.
「But, but still—I didn’t think that something like that should be a reason not to receive salary」 「Nicole-ojousama sure is kind. But that is something I imposed on my own. Not getting a salary is for my own atonement. Maria-sama would also sometimes try and give me some allowance though, or more like forces me to…… 」
I would really like to apologize, that would have been quite awful for Finia. Ah, this is no good. Any more than this and my character might actually pop out, and it’s a fact that I can’t disclose my current being yet. Right now, I could only bear all the shame making my face turn red.
「Bu, but……the other children should have been living normally right?」 「……Certainly, I also cannot deny that I’m the only one thinking that much of Reid-sama」 「Maybe, just maybe, were you actually attracted to him?」
I asked that in order to flush away this heavy air. There was also the intention of joking around. But……
「Um……That, that might probably be the case」
What came back was actually quite a positive answer.