To the duel.

Pulling myself together, it was time to meet the Saintess.

"Narikin-sama, how in the world did you find him?"

"I looked and found him?"

"I searched as well though. And Narikin-sama was among the candidates."

Apparently, the build was a perfect match.

Come to think of it, I only changed the face…

"I'll explain. Narikin and I go way back — like brothers, really. I heard he was looking for me, so I reached out to him. Right, Narikin?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I see… Um, how should I address you?"

"Let's see… call me Kyou. It's an alias, so don't go asking for my real name, yeah?"

"… Understood, Kyou-sama."

Saintess Alka bowed her head.

"So, what do you want? The 'thanks' is a pretext, you have a request I take it?"

"Eh? No, I truly only wanted to offer my thanks, Kyou-sama. That night, thank you so much. Thanks to you, we were able to judge the Pope's misdeeds."

And she bowed even deeper.

… Well, that suits me just fine. I don't want any requests from a Saintess; they'd be nothing but trouble.

"… Good grief. So I was called here for the Saintess's self-satisfaction."

"Mm, it's true that me offering thanks one-sidedly doesn't benefit you, Kyou-sama… Then let me give you a gift. Oh, how about fragments of a dungeon core I destroyed before? They're highly valuable as material for ornaments—"

"No need. That stuff has no value to me. Narikin's the one who called me here. I'll collect from Narikin, so you, Saintess, owe him. If Narikin's ever in a bind, help him."

"… Owe him, is it? Understood. Narikin-sama, in that case, please count on me."

"Mm. Very well. Let's do that."

With the conversation at a break, I decided to change my appearance here.

"I'm going to disguise myself, so don't look this way."

"A disguise? Is that your true form?"

"What you're seeing now is also a disguise. There's no way I'd show you the undisguised me. I'm cautious."

"I see."

The Saintess obediently turned her back, so I quickly hid my face with my cloakDivine Blanket and used [Super Transformation] to take on another form.

"Alright, you can look."

"Alright—eh!? A woman…!?"

"It's the form of a certain village mage. Shall I imitate the way she talks too…? Ah—ah～. How is it～? Narikin-saaan～, do I sound like her～?"

"Uh, um. N-Nice to meet you…?"

Oh, right. Narikin hasn't met Nerune.

So I took on Nerune's appearance. She can use a full set of magic, and from looks alone it's obvious she can't be a front-liner — perfect for a disguise.

…

If I don't consciously keep my chest up a bit, the heavy load makes me tend to hunch forward.

"… Um, shall I lend you my underwear?"

"Ah… no, I'm fine."

Right, underwear. Without something to support them, they really doesn't stay stable…

For now I'll drop the imitation. No point mimicking if no one here knows her.

"So, you're going to duel Narikin, right? Let me watch too… And Narikin, we should call Rokufa as well, yeah? She'll sulk if you leave her out of events like this."

"Ah, indeed. Alka-dono, would that be alright?"

"Yes, I don't mind. Duels are public in the first place."

"Then I'll have her called at once… Naana! Call Rokufa to the dueling grounds!"

"Yes, understood."

When Narikin called out, Naana appeared from who-knows-where and went to summon Rokufa.

Where had she been hiding…? She scared me!

"Ah, and take this as well. A chest guard."

"Woah!? Didn't you just leave!?"

"I forgot. Sorry, I only intended to surprise you a little. Well then."

Naana handed me the chest guard and left again through the door.

She really scares me! I'll gratefully borrow the chest guard though! … Why did she even have that prepared? Too mysterious…

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

The duel between Saintess Alka and Narikin was about to begin.

Despite no prior notice and it being decided only today, the dueling arena at the Church of the God of Light was packed.

"It was only decided an hour ago, yet it's this crowded… You're popular, Narikin-dono."

"So it seems. Or perhaps it's Alka-dono's popularity?"

"Likely both. Also, people must have seen you summon me, Narikin-sama. If they knew that, they could guess a duel was coming."

Hm? Then they could deduce I'm the 'terrorist' Saintess Alka was looking for…? Well, if it looks like I'm about to get caught that way, I'll play dumb and slip away.

A young priest jogged over. Behind him were three elderly high priests.

"Saintess-sama, Narikin-sama, I've brought the high priests!"

"Thank you. You may go."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Saluting the Saintess and Narikin, the young priest left.

I should head to the stands too; Rokufa should be here by now.

"Well then, do your best, Narikin."

"Mm, I will. With Kyou-dono's support, I have the strength of a hundred!"

Narikin struck a needlessly strong fist pump… Hm? I hear high-pitched cheers from the stands… He gets cheers just for posing? He really is popular. Good to see the streamer strategy paying off.

"So that's the form you're using, Kehma."

"Hey now, call me Kyou, Rokufa."

"Oh, sorry."

I sat next to Rokufa in the stands. Rokuko was already inside, and the little bird in the cage she held had Rokufa possessing it.

The small bird flapped its wings and chirped while cheering via [Telepathy].

"You know? They're saying 'Narikin-sama's second wife makes an appearance!', Kyou-chan."

"… Give me a break."

Right, this country's polygamous. So that's how it looks…

The high priests gave a brief greeting and declared this duel to be the second official papal trial. Then they withdrew.

Left behind, Narikin and the Saintess faced each other in the center of the arena. They had yet to draw their weapons.

"Hehe, I'm looking forward to it. What kind of tricks did you set up, I wonder?"

"Don't get your hopes up. It's nothing big, I'll probably disappoint you."

At last, the duel between Narikin and the Saintess began.