Reboot Sienna

“They were not just orphans, they were precious children of the Holy Empire. Even now, there are children in the Goddess of the Earth temple in the Leipsden Empire. Our temple will do its best not to let anything like this happen again.”

“They’re called the children of the Holy Empire, but they’re technically children of our Leipsden Empire. They were born and raised here. Just because they’re on your list, you shouldn’t claim them to be from your country.”

“On that point, there was already an agreement that our Holy Father had made with the 16th Emperor of the Leipsden Empire in the past. Of course, it exists in documents. I’m sure you have the Leipsden Empire, too.”

Carl knew the agreement, too. The agreement was made in return for the treatment of Pope Faello when he was ill.

The clause states that if the people of Leipsden wants to become citizens of the Holy Empire, they would have duties and rights as the people of Leipsden, but at the same time, the Holy Empire was responsible for protection when needed. In other words, it was the same as allowing dual nationality.

However, only a small number of people had dual citizenship in the Leipsden Empire because not many people have religion. Moreover, no one among the nobles had a nationality of the Holy Empire, as Emperor Wiesdam had the condition that the authority of a nobleman with dual nationality would be restricted. Sienna was a very unusual case.

“So you’re going to keep the Knights of the Holy Empire in the capital?”

“Until I’m sure that we don’t need protection. And the Holy Father said he would not hold the Leipsden Empire responsible for this.”

“…”

Carl’s face was badly distorted. They were pretending to show generosity.

But there were no actions without reasoning in international relations. They were also a country and a group that puts their interests first, even though they were said to be doing god’s will.

“But…”

As Carl expected, Roy set out on the condition.

“His Holiness wants to invite the First Empress to the Holy Empire.”

Lieutenants started murmuring. Carl’s face was horribly distorted.

After the meeting with the Emperor, Roy visited the palace where Sienna was.

“I had to stop by the castle again today, so…”

Roy was embarrassed to see Sienna so often that as soon as he saw her face, he made this excuse without saying hello. With his childlike innocence, Sienna burst into laughter and said.

“You’re not here to see me, but you are here for something else? I’m sad. I’m a side business, but I’m still glad to see Priest Roy.”

“No, it’s actually because of you, and the other business was secondary Lady Sienna…”

“Are you really here for me and working on the side? Anyway, I’m glad you came. Come and see me more often.”

“Yes.”

Facing Roy, Sienna was reminded of the children of the temple again. The children she would never forget. She was yet to overcome the sadness of seeing the deaths of the children.

As Sienna, who was smiling, became depressed, Roy took her hand. Something warm came through his hands, though not shining. It was a great consolation to Sienna.

“Is this a form of healing power?”

“It’s just comforting. Close to camaraderie, affectionate consolation.”

She thought he was showing his power, but he was just consoling her. Whatever the source of that warmth, Sienna was more relaxed.

“How are the kids doing? Is Kevin all right?”

On the day of the invasion of the temple, Carl and Sienna’s visit was done in secret, so Sienna had to return to the castle quickly. She heard through Carl or Aunt Kelly that Kevin had recovered safely, but Sienna still felt uneasy as she watched the boy dying slowly in her arms.

“Now he’s fully recovered. But I think we’ll need more time to get it all back to the way we used to be.”

Sienna nodded.

“I wish I had the power to heal children’s minds. It’s all because of my lack.”

“No, because you were there, Kevin could live. Thank you very much, Roy.”

Recalling what happened that day again, Sienna felt guilty at the thought that the children had been attacked because of her battle with Empress Arya. Roy also wondered if it was because he had left the temple that day, or if he had returned a little earlier, he could have prevented the deaths of the children. The air in the room became as heavy as their two faces.

“What kind of knights are here from the Holy Empire?”

Sienna asked to change the mood.

“Very nice people. They’re really cool too. Actually, I’ve never seen them as close as this time, but after meeting them in person, I realized that they were amazing. The shiny armor and smooth fluttering cape, especially the eyes that don’t waver in anything, are really reliable. I thought they were the swordsmen of goddesses.”

Roy was speaking of the knights and was filled with awe.

“Did Priest Roy want to become a knight, too?”

“Haha, did you notice? Seriously, I thought I’d be a knight when I grew up, wearing that shiny armor and protecting the person I liked. Why, the kind of hero that would appear in a song sung by minstrels.”

Roy said with his eyes glistening like a boy dreaming of becoming a knight, not a priest.

“Ah-ha, did you try to become a knight but became a priest by the power of god?”

At Sienna’s words, Roy stretched his shoulders and sighed.

“Ha- It’s a long story, but… in fact, while growing up in the Holy Empire with the help of Priest Dijein, I dreamed of becoming a knight. But everyone said no. Even the Holy Father, who cares about me, told me to give up.”

“How come?”

“I’m a little short of athletic ability. It’s so hard to run just one lap around the playground that I stick to the ground. And my reflexes were so dull that I took all the sandbags thrown at me with my face. For the next month, I walked around with a swollen blue face and everyone told me to give up. That I’m worse than a child at athletic abilities.”

Sienna was shocked to hear the story. That sounded like not just a lack of athleticism, but a complete absence of it.

“So I was going to give up being a knight and just work as a layman, but I ended up receiving a prophecy. But I’m glad to be able to come back to the Empire and see Lady Sienna.”

“That’s a good thing for me, too. But I’ve always wondered, how do you know that you’ve received that ability? Is there a thunderbolt from the sky, or is there a halo behind your head?”

“No, it’s not that fancy. I just found out.”

“You get it?”

“Just suddenly, I think I can cure that person.”

“That’s what you just think about? I’d suspect that something’s wrong with myself.”

“Well, I didn’t even have that suspicion back then. As soon as I saw a believer who came to pray in the temple because he was sick, I thought, ‘Oh, I can cure him by the goddess’s will.'”

“As soon as you thought of it, were you really able to heal?”

“Yes. I approached him, held his hand, and prayed. That his sore spot will heal. And it cured him.”

He said with a shrug. He said it was nothing.

“You weren’t surprised when he was really cured?”

“No, I didn’t have time to be surprised. And then I passed out, haha. I was so weak back then that I was asleep for a month after doing a very small healing.”

Sienna looked at Roy with surprised eyes. He had to sleep for a month!

Well, she was lying down for almost a month when she treated Aunt Kelly. By comparison, Roy looked tired and exhausted when he healed Kevin, but he didn’t lose his mind.