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I did consider telling August, but the priest was too suspicious and was bound to try and make me spit out answers. What I needed was someone who would bear my words at heart without shooting questions. Although, of course, this would only hold meaning if Sevi stayed with us until the battle against the demon lord…

In the end, Sevi nodded slowly. He didn’t seem very happy about it and I could see he had many things to ask, but he kept his little lips closed.

Act 7: A Time of Harvest

Not long after the end of the memorial service, I submitted a dungeon raid application for the special units as I had reported earlier to Mayer. The target dungeon wasn’t that high in level. But, due to the matter of the Green Spirits being so recent, Mayer couldn’t hide his unease about me setting off on a raid. Don’t they say, “When in search of honey, expect to be stung,”? It was something I had to do eventually, anyway… The man was so confident when it came to his business yet he was restless about mine. Even a parent watching over their child running an errand for the first time would show more composure. Or a hamster owner letting a hamster go out of the house…

Only after several chaotic arguments did I barely manage to persuade Mayer. Thus, a week later, the first dungeon raid of the special unit was confirmed. The Dark Knights buzzed at the news of our upcoming expedition. The louder-voiced ones were vocal about the matter.

“Well you know, it’s about time for them to go on a raid. The special unit’s been established for a while now.”

“A support-type mage being the unit leader… It wouldn’t be strange to be holding a memorial for them next.”

“I doubt that, not with Reverend August accompanying them.”

“It’s not like the reverend will clear the dungeon for them. No matter how much he heals them, it’s all done for if the special unit can’t defeat the monsters, don’t you think? Makes me wonder if they’ll end up starving to death in there.”

“Starving to death in a dungeon? Now that would be the shame of us all.”

But not everyone was making a laugh out of us. The moderate faction thought that whatever the case may be, I was appointed as vice-captain of the Dark Knights. They frowned, finding their mockery inappropriate. One of them spoke up in my defense. “Still, the most promising lad among the recruits joined them, and Sevi Ventus awakened as a wind mage.”

“Hmph. What help would a runt be when he can’t even cast a proper spell? And it’s not like it’s certain whether he even became a real mage, nor do we know how high his mana efficiency is. Besides, who knows if that woman had the boy’s hair dyed to blow some hot air?”

“What would they gain from such deception? The cat would come right out of the bag after a couple of raids.”

“She used it as hard propaganda that you can become a mage by joining the special unit, no? Since she’s appealed her resourcefulness to His Excellency, you never know if she’ll kill Sevi later in some dungeon.”

“Ridiculous!”

The men were loud and noisy. They were so absorbed in their talk that they didn’t notice me listening in on the floor just above them, chin cupped on my hands. “Hmm… So this is the kind of rumor going around.”

“You do not seem to mind it much, Sister,” August commented, lips twisted in displeasure. The priest wasn’t like how he was in the past: wary of me, thinking that the rumors weren’t circulating for nothing. I glanced at him with a grin.

“You’ve finally realized that all that gossiping is nonsense? Seeing how you’ve become disgusted with rumors with a single scandal between us, I wouldn’t mind another one or two popping up.”

“Cease that horrible thought!” August cried, shuddering. I cackled at his reaction that differed from his usual lofty and dignified air.

“Whatever the rumors… Everyone will find out soon enough that those fellows down there are talking rubbish.” The dungeon raid would be a success and Sevi’s mana would grow at a tremendous rate. So much so that the naysayers wouldn’t be able to deny it as a lie, even if they wanted to. “And when that happens, people will be talking about how I awakened someone’s mana. How would they react then? I can’t wait to see.”

“The look on your face says that you are bent on spreading rumors.” He said and I returned a quiet smile. Reading the answer from the shady mirth on my lips, August clicked his tongue with a groan. “I ask that you will not rumormonger excessively.”

“I’ll keep it to a fair level, just enough to not sully Saint Marianne’s name. And it’s not like I’ll be spinning total lies, you know?”

“I do not know your definition of ‘fair’, Sister, but well…” August trailed off. I didn’t make any unnecessary remarks about that.