I Picked Up a Saintess from the Ruins

37 – 7. Recapture the City

A strange combination of a knight wandering the battlefield and a cute girl who does not suit the battlefield the most.

This unfamiliar duo, which seemed to cause cognitive dissonance, was a good material to stimulate imagination.

If you look at the listeners, they are adults who have already graduated from romantic chivalric literature and have lost their innocence after being hit by reality.

When I was bored and needed something to eat, these ingredients rolled in and became a good story.

The simple fact that such a young girl was brought to what would soon become a battlefield is something that cannot be understood, regardless of the era. Even if it’s the wild Middle Ages.

If the driver was carrying a child, he would be either a servant or an errand boy, but as I quietly watched the girl’s daily routine from the side, it didn’t seem like that at all.

If the driver is not a human being who does not care about the child’s well-being in the first place, there must be some kind of story.

Could it be a kidnapping? No, then he would have brought it all the way to the camp where Count Ganbig was staying. Then, is it for any other purpose?

The thoughts of adults contaminated by reality eventually reached the point of obscenity, and a soldier stepped forward to confirm the facts.

God told us not to pass by this injustice. Each of these actions will come together and lead to salvation later.

The soldier could not bear to remain still due to his faithful and just nature. And if injustice really occurred, I intended to report it to my superiors.

He asked the girl who was petting the horse while feeding it an apple.

“This is not the place for you. “Why are you here?”

“My guardian is here!”

“Guardian. Still, wouldn’t it be safer to be looked after by another family member or relative for a while? If you are being forced to do something…….”

“Other family… “I don’t have any.”

The soldier could not continue his words and sank. As much as he had woken up with a sense of justice in the first place, the guilt that was sinking deep into his heart made him quietly withdraw from the girl.

Friends who were nearby watching the situation unfold soon surrounded him and criticized him.

“Oooh, you bastard.”

“Die.”

“How could I have known that?”

“You trampled on the child’s heart.”

When a soldier whose righteousness has been betrayed and whose heart is broken is in a state of confusion.

Licia, who remained behind, let out an awkward sigh like “Eh” Or “Ah.”

Usually you have to ask for a deeper story here to get accurate information.

Besides, I prepared a lot of answers with Raven in preparation for such a situation.

And just as the girl feared, all kinds of interpretations and opinions snowballed into a simple piece of fact.

As the word was passed from mouth to mouth, at some point the word ‘guardian’ changed into ‘father.’ Because it was more stimulating to think this way. This was because the word guardian was used interchangeably with the word parent.

Now the question has moved to the next level. Then why on earth did the father bring his daughter to the battlefield?

In this case, the correct answer is most likely because the driver’s personality is half-hearted. If that was the correct answer, the soldiers would have been convinced and would have been able to break the chain of doubts. That’s right… Because it’s a knight. There is no need for any special reason.

But when I looked into it again, it seemed like he wasn’t a cold-blooded person who didn’t care whether his child died on the battlefield or not.

My imagination, which normally would have run wild with vulgar and provocative parts, suddenly stopped.

“… What? “The rumors are better than I thought?”

“I heard that he protected a village.”

“I heard that after making a pledge, you couldn’t bear to see those suffering in pain under the thieves, so you came back on the pilgrimage route?”

No smoke comes out of the chimney.

Here, a bishop who had attained the level of intelligence was behind the scenes.

He quickly caught up on the rumor and instructed his priests to pass it on naturally and secretly, responding to soldiers’ requests for healing or prayer.

Of course, the bishop did not suddenly grow up and become absorbed in charity work to enhance the reputation of others.

“If this continues, my position in the church will end.”

“At least to survive, I must prove my usefulness and sincerity to the Count and His Holiness…… !”

Just because it spread some good words, it suddenly hit its lowest price and became a miscellaneous stock that the Pope was afraid of and prepared to cut off, and the Emperor was trembling and tried to have it delisted.

In order to survive, that is, to raise the stock price even a little, we had to use every means available.

Of course, there were several other knights called by the bishop, but they all had minor problems such as crude swords, substandard riding on ponies, or flaws in their character.

Raven was the only one who had a clean background, private life, and even rumors. It was a moment when the self-PR or propaganda called heroic stories that had been spread around so hard shone.

If we look at it a little differently, the bishop was sending this message.

“This damned knight is the one I called! “I am such a useful person!”

“So please, let’s make it a draw…” ….”

As an unexpected effect, the soldiers began to shake their heads hard at the new rice cake.

And after using their imaginations, the soldiers came to their own conclusions.

A sad family story, a story that cannot be seen without tears. The details of each rumor were different, but the common thread was roughly this.

A girl who lost her father and mother who left home to work as a driver.

Due to the nature of her job as a knight, which requires her to wander around despite having no relatives, she tried to leave her daughter in the church, but when she met her daughter after a long time, she felt a longing for her family.

Finally, the father and daughter go to the battlefield together due to the needs of the girl who misses the affection between family members.

… The novel with its contents was completed and distributed throughout the camp.

“Such a pitiful story…… !”

“It’s too bad. The child may also be dangerous on the battlefield, but it is unavoidable.”

First of all, as is the cliché of this era, I tried to add a spoonful of a story that stimulates emotions for the first time in a while, taking a spoonful of tragedy that kills all friends, relatives, and family members.

When I looked at the result, I thought it was a surprisingly delicious combination.

The sight of a girl following around the knight’s tent, calling him knight, knight, added credibility to this rumor.

The reason why his title is ‘Knight’ is because he hasn’t said the word ‘father’ since it’s been a while!

Even though the driver (23 years old, a bachelor) did nothing, he suddenly became a father with a daughter.

*****

It’s already been four days since we built a new home in the camp and lived together with Lisia.

This is something I feel as I spend my time waiting for the troops to be called up, but the soldiers at the camp are strange these days.

“Are you training today too?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, that’s right. You probably didn’t receive it yesterday because you were talking with other drivers for a while, right? “Good bread was served for dinner, but I saved some so you and I can eat together later.”

This is a collapse of the setting.

He is not a normal knight at all, but for some reason he is treated as a potential armed robber.

But since when did the world become so warm and affectionate?

Of course, even in the Middle Ages, not all people were barbaric and cold-hearted. Although it is a confusing world, there was family and love at the opposite end of the spectrum, and sacrifice and sharing also existed.

It’s just that it’s not a sight you’d see in a dull and bloody camp ahead of a battle.

At that point, three soldiers were gathered together and giving various things to Lisia.

After a while, the girl came back with an armful of freshly baked bread that she had been given, saying that she would grow well if she ate well.

‘What is it really?’

No way… Have they heard of my great name and adored it, and like moths drawn to the light, they have become unable to give up anything they have without offering it?

“Knight.”

“Huh? Why, Lisia?”

The girl gently pulled my sleeve while I was thinking hard. When I looked down at her, I could see her expression as if she was about to say something.

The girl seemed to be pondering whether she should speak for a moment, but after a moment she opened her mouth.

“Well, the last time I asked you why you were on the battlefield, you said you followed me because you were my guardian.”

“I decided to say that. Good job.”

“That’s not it, I don’t know where it went wrong. I guess other people think of me as the driver’s daughter…….”

“What?”

Licia’s voice became smaller in a gradation. She waited a little longer to see what she was going to say, and then the girl spoke softly in a barely audible voice.

“I thought it was my daughter…” ….”

“What?”

I understand roughly how things work. It was obvious that this was what people who were hungry for gossip would do.

And as a girl, she probably wouldn’t be happy about being tied to a stranger by blood.

It would be out of consideration not to express this fact directly.

Isn’t he a child whose only expression of anger is ‘I’m angry, even though I’m gentle’ even when mud splashes in a puddle where a carriage passed while walking down the street? I understood her meaning well and spoke to the girl.

“Okay. Please wait here for a moment. “I’ll go and correct it.”

“No, that’s not it!”

The moment I turned around to gather the soldiers and correct the rumors, Lisia grabbed my sleeve tightly.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Actually, it’s easier to understand if we leave it like this, right?”

“Um… ….”

“If it were someone else, she would ask why I’m hanging out with her, but then she might keep making excuses and even find out that she’s a wizard. She’d rather not have anything to bother her, right? Yes?”

Before I could reply, the girl shot her words back.

But there is no mistake in the logic.

If you are not a blood relative, you will have to face questions such as how will you ensure safety and how will you take responsibility, but if it is a father-daughter relationship, it is not a big issue.

I had a strong feeling that since it was a family matter, there was no need for others to touch it.

I don’t know if Licia isn’t happy, but she had the consent of the person involved, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

“Okay, if it’s okay with you.”

“Huh, yes…” ….”

The girl nodded her head.

This means that Licia and I have built up enough inner intimacy to overcome something like this.

I was worried that he might find it difficult to hang out with me, but I’m glad that there is progress in our relationship.