Chapter 6

Captain Leon's Uncertain Emotions 1

Who the hell is this gutless bitch? -That's what Leon Cartwright, Commander of the Second Knights Order of the Kingdom of Asteria, thought when he first met the "Goddess." She might look pretty, but her attitude towards the other child was just too much. What the hell was she thinking, throwing her out of the temple to fend for herself?

And yet, she acted like a flirt. The prince and Julius affectionately took her hand, but he felt loath to approach her, instead observing them in silence.

He looked at the unfortunate victim - a girl who was just caught up in the mess. Her long, black hair was beautiful and shiny, but only her thick glasses stood out on her face. The jet-black outfit she wore seemed to be made of high quality material, but it didn't fit her body and made her look unrefined.

A simple, quiet, and unrefined girl.

That was his first impression of Rina.

*** 

"You may use this room. I'll have Heinz, the vice commander, show you to the supply room afterwards, so you can take whatever you need from there. If there are any problems, just let me or Heinz know. See you."

After that incident, he took Lina back to the Second Order in the spur of the moment. He was caught up in the violent unreasonableness of the situation, and yet he couldn't stand the way her lips trembled when she looked up, trying not to cry. The Goddess seemed to be displeased, but he didn't care. It was both unchivalrous and inhumane to abandon such a poor child. However, it wasn't good to spoil her too much. He assigned her to help with the menial work after she settled down.

The next morning, Lina appeared in her apprentice knight's uniform, looking much slimmer than the day before. It seemed that her black gown from yesterday just didn't fit her. The apprentice knight uniform also seemed to be too big, but Heinz said she borrowed a sewing box and adjusted them herself. She was quite handy. 

***

He stood corrected.

He had underestimated her.

She wasn't just "a little useful" at all. The food Rina made was simply too good!

After breakfast on the second day, Rina asked him with a serious expression.

"I have a request. Could you please let me prepare the meals from today on? If it doesn't suit your taste, I won't cook again. At any rate, I'd like you to let me make it once."

There was no particular reason to refuse, so he let her make it as she pleased.

It was clear to him.

He didn't want to admit it, but the meals they had been eating up to that point were simply comparable to dog food. That's how shocking Rina's meal was. The entire order accepted Rina's appointment as the lunchlady with tears in their eyes.

To think that such a young girl could make such a good meal... That other world was truly a frightening place.

In the end, it took less than a week for all the knights to wholeheartedly accept the hardworking, honest, and vivacious Rina.

***

He was foolish.

It was about the tenth day after Lina's arrival that he realized this.

After dinner, he had a meeting with Heinz to discuss battle tactics, and on his way back to my room, he found Rina staggering around with a jug full of water.

On a side note, Rina's room was next to Leon's. Although she was young, she was still a woman, and he feared something might happen to her if he threw her in with the knights.

"What are you doing with that thing?"

"Good evening, Mr. Leon! Are you speaking of this? I'm going to use it to wash myself!"

"......Oh?"

She told him that since there was no bath for women, she filled a basin with water every night and cleaned herself with it. The group baths used by the knights were so small that everyone could only take a short bath, and she couldn't just barge in and take over the bath all by herself.

"It'll be winter soon⁉︎ What are you doing, you'll catch a cold! There's a bathroom in my room, you can use it from today on! That's an order!"

That was the problem with Rina. She didn't know how to rely on others. It wasn't that she was being stubborn; it's just that she really didn't know how.

According to what Leon heard, Rina lost her parents in an accident before she could remember, and was taken in by relatives who wanted her for her inheritance. Her myopia was because of said accident. She said she was used like a slave there. She was harassed on a daily basis. She had lived her whole life without anyone to rely on, so she had no idea how to rely on others when she was in trouble.

He was amazed at how she was able to grow up so righteous in such an environment, but she said that her grandmother was a big reason for that. She said that her grandmother was the only person who gave her love and affection, even though her grandmother couldn't live with her because of her bad health.

And it was on the day of her funeral that she was summoned to this place.

From then on, Leon was no longer sure whether or not his feelings for this girl who smiled and said, "I don't have any regrets from my past life, so don't worry about it," were just those borne of an innocent desire to protect her.