A Luxurious Bodyguard
“… You’ve grown so much, haven’t you…? L-Lily?”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Phew. Looks like I got the name right.
Lily—she was the very first “product” I ever shipped out.
I vaguely remember her appearance, but it’s been over ten years. No way I could recall it clearly. Though, now that I look at her… yeah, I guess she did look kind of like this?
Sitting proudly on my lap, the girl gives off a faint, sweet scent.
Long, silvery-platinum hair that turns golden at the tips. Big, jade-green eyes. Petite, girlish frame.
Beautiful enough to be called an angel—her presence feels far beyond that of any ordinary human.
And to think she just, uh, erased a man right before my eyes, yet now she’s smiling as if nothing happened.
“S–So, that guy just now…?”
“That man? Oh, you mean the one from earlier? He tried to attack you, Teacher, so I purified him! Oh—was he a guest, perhaps!?”
“N–No! Not at all! You saved me, really, haha…”
As I said that, she rubbed her head against me like she wanted to be praised.
Purified him!? What the hell does purify do when it’s a living person!?
Though my mind was screaming, I forced a calm smile and changed the subject.
Best not to poke that particular nest of snakes. Forget it. Just… forget it.
“Anyway, what brings you here? A home visit? I thought saintesses didn’t exactly have free time for that sort of thing.”
“Oh, yes! I actually came to deliver this.”
[To Master Ale,The many saintesses you have sent into the world have each performed miracles and saved countless lives.
Your work is truly guided by divine will, and your contribution is a priceless blessing to our Holy Nation.
However, now that your identity has become known, there is great danger that malicious forces will target you.
Given your rare ability to bring forth saintesses, such people will undoubtedly try to capture or exploit you.
Therefore, to ensure your safety, the Holy Nation has decided to assign you a constant bodyguard.
For your comfort and trust, the assigned guard shall be a saintess you are personally acquainted with—namely, Saint Lily of Holy Light.
As she also carries out her usual duties, other saintesses will rotate in to relieve her periodically.
This measure is taken solely to preserve your safety and to safeguard the environment that nurtures future saintesses.
We ask for your full understanding and cooperation.
Ernst Faldia.]
Quite a long, pompous letter, but if I sum it up…
“So basically, I’m so valuable for producing saintesses that they’re sending one to protect me—and it just happens to be someone I know, huh?”
Seems they’re really overestimating me here.
Ernst… that name sounds familiar somehow, but I can’t quite place it. Eh, whatever.
So she’s here as a bodyguard. A bodyguard, huh…
“Well, I get the idea. But still…”
I set the letter down and looked at Lily, still smiling sweetly.
A bodyguard means she’ll be around me all the time, to protect me.
Hmm… honestly, I’m not sure whether that’s a blessing or a nuisance.
Sure, I’ll be safer. But a saintess—she’s the kind of person who stands out wherever she goes.
Having her constantly at my side means I’ll draw attention everywhere, and worse, it’ll make business harder.
And with her being a saintess, I can’t exactly have her helping with chores or bookkeeping, even if she could.
So realistically, she’s just going to follow me around and look pretty.
Still, I can’t just tell a saintess to go home.
Well… judging by how attached she seems, maybe I could—but that’d probably make the church hate me.
On the other hand, having a saintess as a “guard” makes me look important. That alone could be useful in negotiations.
If I play this right, it might even work to my advantage.
“… Guess I’ll just see how it goes for now.”
“Hmm?”
I leaned back in my chair, concluding as much—when I heard footsteps coming up from downstairs.
“Director, all the kids are finally asleep… You didn’t come to help at all, so it was—huh…?”
Click.
The door opened.
Standing there was Himari—a stunning woman with waist-length white hair, dressed in a sister’s robe.
One of the orphans I’d picked up long ago, now the oldest in the orphanage. Every time I tried to sell her, she’d somehow run away right before the deal, the troublesome brat.
She’s eighteen now. Since there’s no selling her anymore, I’ve been teaching her to handle chores around the place.
But the moment she walked in and saw Lily sitting primly on my lap, she froze.
Then, after a brief silence—
“… This looks like a concern.”
“It ain’t!!”
I shot back immediately, but she just gave me that flat, judging stare.
“Normally, Director, if a kid so much as clings to you, you push them off with a ‘yeah, that’s enough.’
But tonight, here you are—with a strange pretty girl on your lap in the middle of the night…”
“N–No, see, this girl’s—”
“I’m Teacher’s bodyguard!”
Lily cut in brightly.
“See? She said it herself.”
“Oh, sure, and I’m supposed to believe that? You’re really gonna tell me you didn’t put your hands on that poor innocent girl? So what, was I just a fling?”
“I didn’t touch her! And I sure as hell never had anything with you to begin with!”
“Teacher? How could you betray me for this woman? Have you forgotten our promise!?”
“What promise!? And stop wriggling on me, ow—my ribs!”
As Himari stormed up to us, Lily started flailing, and I lost balance, tumbling off the chair.
The commotion drew the attention of the kids, who should’ve been asleep. One by one, they peeked in.
“Teacher~? What’s going on~?”
“Too noisy~”
“Wow! Who’s that? A princess!?”
“Hey! You lot, get outta here—ugh!? Ow, not the stomach! Don’t jump on me!”
“Get off Teacher! Muhh~!”
“What, so you’re acting like his partner already, newbie? Not that I care about the Director or anything, but if you want him, you’ll have to get through me first—”
And so, crushed beneath the two of them, Ale silently wept in his heart, wishing for nothing more than mercy.
What do you think about this chapter?
