Bonus chapter...
After the duel with Shakuna, I was officially hired as an escort.
I don't remember that I asked her to hire me... but it was something that I couldn't refuse.
"...I don't mind, though. I've been planning to kill that Guru from the very beginning."
One of the purposes of my coming to this country is to defeat Guru Rudanaga, or Rujanaga.
Strictly speaking, there is no guarantee that Rudanaga and Rujanaga are the same person at this time. There is a possibility that they are different persons with similar senses of the word in their names.
" Oh, you are here... Baskerville-sama."
"Hmm?"
When I was lying in the shade of a tree by the oasis, collecting my thoughts, Ryuna came to me.
The blind Priestess walks up to me with a white cane, checking me step by step.
I frowned slightly and took her hand as she approached me.
"Ah..."
"Sit down. It's not bad to sit in the shade of a tree, even in the desert, isn't it?"
"Yes... Thank you very much!"
Ryuna looked slightly surprised... but soon her face broke into a big smile like a blooming flower.
I flinch at her innocent smile and cough to cover it up.
"So... What's the situation with your sister? She's not hurt, is she?"
"Onee-sama is in the tent, hugging her knees in dejection. She seems to have been shocked by the defeat at the hands of Baskerville-sama."
"...I won't apologize. That fight was brought by her..."
"Well, she's always had a talent with swords and magic... and she's gotten a bit cocky... so I think this will be good therapy for her. I'd like to thank you..."
"...To be treated like that by her own little sister, she's quite a big sister. I'm sure she must be going through a lot."
Shakuna in the game had a calmer personality.
Perhaps some incident will happen in the future that will change her personality.
"Hey... Why did you decide to hire me?"
"Eh... Is there a reason?"
When I ask her what I've been wondering, Ryuna blinks in surprise.
"You see, you're about to be killed by that Guru and your king's father is being manipulated. There are few people you can trust, and you need help... I understand that. But do you really want to hire a strange foreigner who just fell from the sky?"
"That's... Because I'm a Priestess..."
"Well, you 'saw' it with your eyes, right? I don't think you can trust me with just a vague image of the moon shining in the dark. And it's insane to offer up your body as a reward for hiring me as your bodyguard."
If she had offered money or treasure as a reward, I would not have doubted her so much.
However... Ryuna's boldness in offering her own body as a reward makes me question it.
Thinking back, Ryuna was friendly to me from the very first meeting. She was not angry at all when I saw her naked... and I don't remember receiving so much trust from her.
"...Rudanaga, the guru..."
"Hmm...?"
"When Guru Rudanaga visited the temple where I lived... I saw a future of doom in my eyes. A future in which giant snake covered the heavens, devoured the earth, and the people cried out in grief. I saw a vision in which I would be sacrificed to the great snake, eaten alive, and suffer forever without being allowed to die in its belly.
"Did you see it... in Rudanaga's soul? Or did you foretell the future?"
"I think... it was the latter. Rudanaga is trying to resurrect a terrible monster. For that, he wants me as a sacrifice. At first, I talked to my father about it, but he wouldn't listen to me. He said that a great guru would never do such a thing."
Ryuna bites her lip with a pained expression.
She has seen her desperate future, and her father, the one she should be relying on the most, is not at all dependable.
Just how terrifying that must have been.
"Only onee-sama and some of the priests believed in the future I saw and helped me escape from the temple. Most of the people in the palace can't be trusted, including my father."
"I know you've been through a lot... but what does that have to do with you hiring me?"
"When I met you in this oasis, I saw a different future. Not the same as when I met Rudanaga. A different future than the one of doom and despair."
"...What kind of future is that?"
"..."
When I asked her... for some reason, Ryuna covered her face with her hands as if she was ashamed.
It's hard to tell because her skin is brown, but she seems to be flushed.
"Don't make me say it! You're embarrassing me!"
"E-Embarrassing you...?"
"I can't marry someone again after what you did to me! Please take responsibility!"
"Hey, what did I do!? What did I do to you in the future!?"
"Noooo! Please don't make me say it! It's sexual harassment!"
I questioned her desperately, but in the end, Ryuna did not open her mouth until the very end.
The girl's intense embarrassment made me imagine that I had done something terrible... I wonder what really happened between me and Ryuna in the future.
The truth is still in the dark.
It exists only in the mind of Priestess, who cowered in embarrassment.
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