Iri was woken up by a series of urgent knocks on the door early in the morning. Who could it be? So early.
Iri was very displeased. Dragging her sleepy eyes, she opened the door and saw a tall woman, dressed in a standard Japanese priestess outfit, standing anxiously in front of her door.
Iri rubbed her eyes… She carefully examined the person who had disturbed her peaceful sleep so early. Hmm… didn't recognize her. Then she decisively closed the door, planning to go back to sleep.
"Ah, Clementine! Clementine! Please open the door! Um… it's… it's time to leave… Please… please open the door…" The priestess, whom Iri had shut out, started knocking again, calling out something with a hint of a crying voice.
Iri, already lying in bed, seemed to hear something about a departure time? Departure? Departure to where? Didn't know… Uh… continue sleeping… zzzz…
Hmm! Departure?! Iri jumped out of bed. That's right! Didn't they say they were leaving today to rescue the Dragon Kingdom?
Uh… I was all muddled from sleep.
Iri then obediently got up and opened the door again, only to see the priestess looking at her with teary eyes. So, who was this person? Iri didn't understand what her departure had to do with this priestess who came knocking on her door so early in the morning.
Iri once again carefully scrutinized the woman. Uh… a very standard Japanese priestess skirt, white on top and red on the bottom. Could this be the bad taste of the Six Great Gods or Eight Great Kings who had previously transmigrated? Seeing something so familiar in another world felt incredibly out of place!
"Sister? Is there something you need from me?" Iri was too lazy to complain about her priestess outfit.
"Ah, Clementine, I… I am an Apprentice Priestess of the Windflower Scripture, and I am here to take you to the Dragon Kingdom," the woman said.
Just an Apprentice Priestess? Does she only become an apprentice if she can use teleportation magic? The Windflower Scripture's standards are quite high, Iri thought.
"Oh! I see. I'll get ready now. Sister, do you want to come in and wait? Or wait outside?" Iri asked.
"Ah! Please allow me to help you change! Pope also instructed me to take good care of you!" The woman said, bowing to Iri.
Didn't expect that old man to be so considerate, even sending a maid… ah no, a priestess to take care of her? But that old man shouldn't be that kind-hearted, right?
"So what else did Pope say?" Iri asked.
"Pope told me to take care of you, to send you to the Dragon Kingdom, and also to be responsible for your daily life during that time… Um… although I am just an Apprentice Priestess, I can do laundry and cook…" The woman began to speak voluminously, but Iri wasn't listening at all.
A bit strange, isn't it? Didn't he say he was going to put a collar on her? Why did he send someone who didn't seem very reliable at all? Could it be that she was overthinking things? Had she been infected with the symptom of over-imagining after interacting with the Blood Emperor for a while?
"During this time, I will take good care of Clementine. If you need anything, you can tell me at any time. Um… I'm… very good at cooking, Clementine, if…" The woman was still rambling on.
This is good too. This way, she can find an opportunity to return to Nazarick. If she suddenly teleports away, Astrology Thousand Miles would also have a hard time searching for her, right?
When she comes back, she can just make up some excuse, and it'll be fine. It's good, it's good, as long as no one is watching her, Iri continued to think.
"Oh! There's also a very important matter! Pope told me to monitor your every move! I! My memory isn't very good! So I plan to record everything you say and do during your time in the Dragon Kingdom. Look, look." The woman even pulled out a notebook-like item from the large bag she was carrying and handed it over.
Huh? What did this woman just say? Iri snapped back to reality. Did she just say monitor? She definitely said it!
Iri looked down, and on the cover of the notebook the woman handed over, it read, "Clementine Observation Log."
Uh… Is this person an idiot?? She must be an idiot! Iri was speechless.
"Ah… I messed up! Pope said I shouldn't let Clementine know, boo-hoo… I messed up again…" The woman was crying again. What in the world was this?
Honestly, this silly woman in front of her, if she just stood there with a slight smile and didn't speak, she would definitely be a top-notch, mature older sister type. Who knew her brain would be so lacking?
Was that old man underestimating her? To actually send such a person to monitor her?! Iri didn't even know how to complain.
"Um… Sister, I know everything you've said. I need to change clothes, please wait for me outside for a moment." Iri simply closed the door and started changing.
"Ah… Clementine… Please let me take care of you, Clementine… Boo-hoo…" Another crying voice. Ignore, ignore… Iri was very annoyed and planned to ignore her.
"Boo-hoo… I'm rejected again, boo-hoo… Clementine, please let me take care of you, please give me a chance… I… I…" Sobbing sounds came from outside. This person actually cried, huh? Uh… the pressure felt immense.
Iri, out of helplessness, could only turn back and open the door to let her in, then comforted her in various ways… As a result, by the time Iri had changed and finished washing up, it was almost half an hour later.
"So, how do we leave, Sister?" Although Iri was very annoyed with this silly woman, at least she could use teleportation magic. Iri probably understood why she was only an Apprentice Priestess despite being able to use teleportation magic.
"Ah, Clementine! Please just call me Belle Adocmisraina, calling me sister…" The silly woman became shy instead.
You all like to have such long names, huh? This makes it very difficult for me, okay? It will make everyone suspect that I'm padding the word count! Iri was powerless to complain.
"I can't remember such a long name. Can I call you Belle from now on, Sister?" Iri asked cutely.
"Belle…" At the mention of this abbreviation, Belle's expression, which had been tense from the start, clouded over with a hint of gloom.
"Hmm? Is that not okay?" Iri said softly, then put on a sad expression.
"Yes! Yes! Of course, it's okay! Please, by all means, call me that!" Then Belle straightened her back and said loudly.
This silly woman is so easy to deal with, Iri thought to herself. But when she first suggested this abbreviation, the silly woman clearly hesitated, didn't she? Her expression also changed somewhat. There must be some story behind this, right?
But whatever it was, it had nothing to do with her. As long as this silly woman could get her to the Dragon Kingdom, then it was none of her business, Iri thought.
Then Iri asked Belle how to get to the Dragon Kingdom. As expected, it was the same as when she returned with Gelos last time, by teleporting repeatedly through Belle's teleportation magic.
However, it was rare for Theocracy to have also set up a teleportation plate in the Dragon Kingdom, which was quite unusual. Then she roughly asked how long it would take, and Belle's reply was about three days, which surprised Iri a little.
Because last night, Iri had asked her previous attendant for a map and also consulted him, mainly wanting to know how far the Dragon Kingdom was from the Jiao Country Capital. The conclusion she got was that it was roughly twice the distance from the border town when she came with Gelos before.
However, this silly woman could teleport that distance in just three days, which meant that this silly woman's MP was much higher than the one who sent her back to the country before, right?
Before returning to the country, while chatting with that woman, Iri had also learned that she was a formal priestess. So, if this silly woman had twice the MP of a formal priestess but was still an apprentice, it didn't make sense, did it? Being a bit silly wouldn't affect teleportation, right? Or was it that she couldn't do anything else besides teleportation? Was she that specialized?
With this suspicion, Iri, under the pretext of getting to know each other better for easier arrangements once they arrived in the Dragon Kingdom, asked Belle what else she could do.
The result surprised Iri. This silly woman claimed that she could use first and second-tier faith-based recovery magic, and also some attack magic from the same faith-based system.
After that, she only focused on practicing teleportation magic, so she never broke through to the third tier. Her former teacher also said that if she worked harder, she had hope of reaching the third tier, but then a small accident happened, and her teacher left. The head of the Windflower Scripture directly ordered her to be forbidden from breaking through to the third tier, making her specialize in teleportation magic.
This was very strange. After Iri heard Belle's description, Iri, who had no interest in this silly woman, suddenly became interested. Among the natives, reaching the third tier was already considered very powerful, right?
Like Arshe, in the original work, Fulda felt sorry for her, saying she was very talented and so on. And this silly woman was also a genius who could reach the third tier, right? But why would the head of the Windflower Scripture directly forbid it? It seemed there must be some reason behind it.
At the mention of this, Belle's expression was not good when she recounted these things… She looked very dejected. Her personality, which couldn't hide anything, was really a great help. After Belle finished speaking, Iri decided to ask one more question, the only question she wanted to know after this silly woman successfully piqued Iri's interest.
"So, Belle, since you're so amazing, why are you still an Apprentice Priestess? Did you make a mistake before, like me?" Iri asked.
"No, Clementine, I… I'm not amazing at all. The reason I… I'm an Apprentice Priestess is because… I only… became a priestess not long ago," Belle said with a hint of sadness.
Not long ago? A newcomer? This old man sent a newcomer to monitor me! Is he looking down on me?! Iri was instantly a bit angry.
"Um… Clementine, please don't dislike me! Although I really only became a priestess recently, but! But I was always an unofficial member of the Windflower Scripture even before becoming a priestess! So… um… please don't dislike me…" Belle seemed to notice Iri's displeased expression and said very nervously.
Hmm… This silly woman is really sharp. She only showed a momentary flicker of disgust, and she detected it? Perhaps she learned how to read expressions after spending a long time at the bottom? And she mentioned being an unofficial member, didn't she? She did!
You know, the meaning of an unofficial member isn't as simple as just doing odd jobs! Look at the unofficial members of the Black Scripture? That's the crazy woman Death Knight!
Hmm! This silly woman must have some unspeakable secret! But for now! Let's first resolve the matter of the Dragon Kingdom, and then she can deal with this silly woman when she has free time! Iri thought.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!