Chapter 289 - Fourth Story: The Crown Prince of Northern Gram
After returning from Regnentes, I participated in a dinner party at the Royal Capital. The Crown Prince of Northern Gram said he wanted to meet me and came all the way to Sertoria.
It seemed to be a gratitude tour, as he had visited Finis and Medioland as well.
I had been invited to banquets at the Royal Capital several times before, but this was my second official dinner party since receiving my decoration.
I participated wearing my priestly robes.
Beatrix and Mary were dressed in their newly made 'social climber' fashions and were surrounded by middle-aged men and young knights respectively.
"You are Jeanne-sama!"
Just as I was getting fed up with the usual onslaught of greetings, an incredibly handsome blond man in extravagant attire approached me, using an honorific. He had a face like a sculpture, even more handsome than James-sama. Moreover, he suddenly knelt down, pressed his hands together, and prayed to me. Leaving aside the Archbishop, this is not a gesture a mere priest should receive.
I'll get in trouble with the Church.
I was wondering what to do, but the bearded King introduced him as the Crown Prince of Northern Gram.
"Jeanne-sama. You are the one who saved me from that loathsome disease. If you would be so kind, please, a blessing."
I'm grateful that he's bowing so low, but as a priest, I have to say something.
"You just called it a loathsome disease. But from what I've heard, it's not something that spreads to people so easily. Of course, it has nothing to do with a person's karma. It certainly looks bad, but that thing is Just a Disease. In other words, it's not loathsome at all. That's why it was cured by my mold-removing magic. Could you please reconsider your position and the eyes of the public, and correct your words?"
The Crown Prince, who had been blank-faced, suddenly started crying.
"A-Ah, I didn't mean to be angry. Please don't take it so seriously."
Oh no! I made the Crown Prince of a nation cry. I meant to say it lightly, but I didn't expect him to actually cry.
Everyone's gaze is painful. The women are hiding their mouths with fans and whispering.
Good grief! For a man, he's so frail! Is Northern Gram going to be okay with someone like this as Crown Prince?
"I shall tell those words to all the patients in my country. Everyone will be delighted."
While I was crouching down and patting the Crown Prince's head, the Queen spoke up.
"Jeanne. Well said. Those who suffered from that disease believed they were born with evil karma and were ashamed of themselves. Of course, it is no such thing. Jeanne has proven that."
The King knelt on one knee next to me and took the Crown Prince's hand.
"Eowyn-dono. As Jeanne said, the disease you suffered from is Just a Disease. It is not something malicious like a plague, and it has nothing to do with your past life or nature."
"Your Majesty. Regarding the name of that disease, in our country, shall we call it Just a Disease?"
Excuse me? Queen? Your naming sense is too lacking... no, it's nothing.
She's smiling, but for a moment, I felt like I sensed some incredible bloodlust...
I got a chill...
Come to think of it, this person was the original 'demon wife'.
"A-Ah, that's good. As expected of my Queen. Wonderful. Let's do that. H-How about it? Eowyn-dono. What you had was Just a Disease."
Somehow, the King's smile looks strained... The King has it hard too.
"Oh, what kind people you are. I have no words to thank you. Our country will follow yours and call it Just a Disease. Yes. What I had was nothing more than Just a Disease!"
He's stopped crying and is laughing, so I guess it's fine.
I had the revived Crown Prince stand up, and since he has a position, I gave a normal "nice to meet you" greeting.
"The Goddess's blessing upon you."
When I said the set phrase I had said to almost everyone I greeted, he was extremely happy.
He's simple in that regard.
"Jeanne-sama. Actually, I have a favor to ask."
Is it about going to Northern Gram? I have something I want to ask too.
"Wonderful! You already know!"
"Eleanor-sama..."
"You have already heard from Eleanor-sama. Then, this makes things quick. Please, do come."
"Um, I heard that from the back it's quite difficult..."
"To challenge it from the back, as expected. Please, become an ultra-high-level mage."
"Um, support from the front..."
"Leave it to me. I will let no one interfere."
This man is hopeless. He's completely carried away. When I looked at the King, he nodded to me.
"Eowyn-dono. I am thinking of having Jeanne visit your country after spring."
"After spring! You're telling me to wait until then! N-No, for someone like Jeanne-sama, she must be quite busy."
"Umu. The promise with James-dono of Medioland was decided first."
"Oh! I see! James-dono. In that land too, something... No, say no more. For someone like Jeanne-sama, she must have her duties."
Somehow, he's getting excited on his own.
The Queen, unable to watch any longer, said she would introduce him to everyone and took him away.
"Sorry, Jeanne. I'm putting you through a lot. Please go to Northern Gram next time. Of course, the palace will cover the expenses. After all, the Crown Prince is in that state. It will be an official mission."
It was the King.
In the direction of his gaze, Eowyn-sama, who had regained his composure, was being led by the Queen to greet many people.
My going to Northern Gram was decided by the Headmistress and the ghosts on their own. In a way, the King is on the side that got caught up in it, just like me. He seemed to understand that point too, and after briefly talking about each other's circumstances, we encouraged each other to do our best.
"Once you go to Finis and head south through the plains, you will cross the border before the target canyon. In Northern Gram, Eowyn-dono should accompany you."
"Is that person really the Crown Prince? Northern Gram still maintains a class system, right?"
"In the north, the respect for priests is incredible. On top of that, with Jeanne's magic, Eowyn-dono's Just a Disease, which was said to be incurable, was cured. Perhaps in Northern Gram, you are more revered than Bishop Catherine or Bishop Harrison."
"That's too much. If I stand out too much, the Church will get angry, so could you do something about it?"
"It's only in Northern Gram. Be lenient with them."
I'll ask Henry-sama to let me enter the country secretly.
"Also, about the name of the disease, um, a little more..."
The moment I said that, the King's shoulders twitched.
"A-Ah, Just a Disease, right. As expected of Jeanne. You changed the name of a disease that was considered so dangerous to something with the same nuance as a common, easily cured illness."
"It wasn't me."
"The one who used those words first was Jeanne, right? The Queen just matched Jeanne's words."
From that way of speaking and your current expression, I can tell your true feelings. You mean the Queen's mood is more important than the royal family's dignity, don't you?
"Think about it from the patient's perspective. They were ashamed, cursed their own bodies, and were even considered dead and abandoned by their families. To a patient who has gone through such suffering, a priest in robes said, 'That thing is Just a Disease!' How much do you think they are saved?"
Please stop imitating me in a loud voice.
People around us are looking.
It's frustrating that it's a bit similar, though.
"Then, is the name of the clinic the 'Just a Disease Clinic'?"
"A clinic is a clinic. The clinics established by the Kingdom don't have disease names attached to them. No problem."
He said "That thing is Just a Disease!" one more time and went somewhere else.
He's not planning to make it popular in the royal palace, is he?
"Actually, there was quite a bit of dispute over what to call the disease."
It was Evans-sama.
"The original name had been opposed for a long time. However, a common name is necessary for information exchange with other countries... especially the continent. But now, the treatment method is known. Moreover, prevention seems possible. Above all, the patients are saved. Next time an envoy from the continent uses the old name, I'll tell them, 'That thing is Just a Disease!'"
Evans-sama, please don't imitate me too.
What are you going to do if it really becomes popular?
Harris-sama came to call me secretly, which was the signal to change locations.
I decided to let Mary, who loves dinner parties, stay there, and went to the side of the kitchen with Beatrix. Henry-sama's group should be there.
Since Dune and Mel couldn't be called to the official dinner party, they had prepared the usual place for us.
Thanks to that, we can make a fuss without reservation.
"It seems the two of them are plotting various things."
Harris-sama said with a grim face on the way.
"Again?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about how to tell His Majesty."
When I entered the room, two delinquent old people in plain clothes were rubbing their hands together. Because they've been doing it for many years, they look like nothing but ordinary people.
When I looked at Wilson-san, he shrugged his shoulders. He must be exasperated.
"Oh! You've come. Did you meet Eowyn-dono?"
I met him, but it was a struggle.
"I perceived him as someone quite emotionally unstable."
"Is that so? He was a composed, incredibly handsome man, and dressed-up girls were surrounding him while sighing."
"Is that so?"
"There were circles around Mary and Eowyn-sama. He didn't seem emotionally unstable, though."
I didn't explain the circle around myself, but it doesn't matter in this case. I explained this and that.
"Aren't you the cause?"
"But he called it loathsome."
"That's true, but if you say it in front of the person themselves, they'll cry."
"Umu. For a Crown Prince, the pressure must be great. Given the nature of the disease, even if he himself is cured, the royal family itself would be in danger. All of that is solved by Jeanne's words. He would cry."
Even Will blames me.
"It's an exaggeration. It's Just a Disease."
In the end, they're smirking, saying I made him cry.
"Isn't it a good thing? As a priest, you have to make one or two Crown Princes cry. Catherine made our country's Crown Prince cry many times."
The meaning is different.
In the Headmistress's case, the crime of high treason should have been applied.
"That aside, you're going to Northern Gram next, right?"
Henry-sama brought it up. It's bound to be some evil plot.
"Yes. The King also said it would be an official mission."
I put emphasis on the word "official".
"About that. If it's official, it'll be troublesome in many ways. If it's okay with Jeanne, I'm thinking of going incognito during the winter."
"Illegal entry?"
"Well, it would be that."
Hmm. It might be good. But.
"Um, even if it's official, Henry-sama and the others are going, right?"
"If we go incognito first, we don't have to go. Someone like Evans will probably go."
They just want to go sightseeing.
"Um, since we're stopping by Finis anyway, I'm thinking of dragging along the ghost who committed a blunder and having them apologize."
"It's easy. If we go by bowl, it's just a hop. I think it'll be fine if we ask Aira through Mary. If we go officially, we might stop here and there, so we'll be on a ship for a long time to get to Finis."
Ugh... As expected of Eleanor-sama. She's good at striking a weakness.
"T-That's attractive. But..."
"But?"
The two of them peered into my face.
"Either way, I have to go as an official envoy, right?"
I don't think there's a need to go twice. Besides, the incognito trip would be during winter anyway. I don't want to camp out in a northern country in the middle of winter.
"Jeanne, you haven't learned [Refresh] yet, have you?"
That's right. I chanted recovery magic countless times at the camp, but in the end, what I learned was [Cool], a spell to lower the fever of patients suffering from high heat due to illness or major injury, and I learned it after the war ended. If someone developed a fever after having a hand or foot cut off, I had the Headmistress cast it. I don't know the reason, but cooling the whole body with a magic circle can sometimes make it worse, so it's used while controlling it, but it takes two hours of continuous casting. During that time, the Headmistress can't use other magic. It was an extremely inconvenient and difficult situation.
If there's a next time, I could be of use, but it's better if there's never another war.
"If you go incognito and learn [Refresh], when you go officially, you'll feel refreshed without seasickness. You can go easily. It's a mid-level spell, so you can't learn it by exterminating rats."
That's true too. I want to do something about the seasickness.
"If I go without permission, won't the King get angry?"
"That's where I have a favor to ask."
Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama gathered everyone and formed a circle. Wilson-san, Harris-sama, Beatrix, and Will joined in.
I was surprised when I heard it. It'll become a diplomatic issue.
"It's fine. Mary and Aira guaranteed it would go well."
"Jeanne, who made the Crown Prince cry, will be the intermediary. It will surely go well. 'That thing is Just a Disease!' It's a famous quote."
How do you know that!
When I looked at Harris-sama, he was pointing to the corner of the room.
When I looked around... Hughes-sama was lurking there!
"It will surely become popular at the clinic. No, considering the patients' feelings, let's make it popular throughout the country."
Hughes-sama, who heard Eleanor-sama's words, silently raised his right hand in apology.