Chapter 22: 22

Volume 1 Chapter 22: Dreams, a Snap, and Awakenings

She found herself in the middle of a lush green forest — but Melody, strangely enough, understood she was actually in a dream.

As she looked around, Melody could only wonder about where she was.

Some say that experiencing dreams was the brain’s way of organizing and managing life’s experiences and memories.

So perhaps Melody found herself in a forest now because she had been frequenting a forest recently so as to procure food.

After surveying her surroundings, Melody noticed a lone girl sitting not too far away, against a tree. Beautiful silver hair flowed down her head, and a large silver wolf was resting its head on her lap.

On closer examination, the fur at the tips of its ears, tails, and ankles were black, so it was not entirely silver. Beside the wolf slept a smaller one… a puppy? This puppy was entirely silver, and it slept quite soundly, snuggling against the larger wolf with a satisfied expression on its face.

…Actually, was this not the same puppy Melody had put to sleep?

“Thank you.”

The girl spoke directly to Melody; her voice was not audible, but the words still definitely came from her lips.

“I swore to put an end to the Demon King but could not. You, who followed, became the Saint and completed that duty. For consigning the Demon King to peaceful slumber, I thank you.”

Melody tilted her head in confusion. Demon King? Saint? What in the world was this girl talking about?

“The truth of the matter is, the Demon King is but the grail that collects the darkness of the world. Without the existence we call the Demon King, that darkness would spread across the land, disbalancing the world and causing its eventual collapse. The Saint, that is, the maiden with the power of the holy light, is tasked with healing, purifying, and returning that negative magic to the world. After the Demon King was sealed, after monsters and Demonized Zones began appearing across the world, I realized this truth… In the long, long time since then, whatever it was that gave us these powers and the Demon King itself… seem to have forgotten their true roles.”

The girl gave a sad smile.

“It was… truly a blessing that you did not yet read the diary I had left behind. If you did, and then fought the Demon King, you would be repeating the same mistake I made, so many years ago.”

A diary she left behind? Repeating the same mistake? What was she talking about? Melody had no clue.

“Only a heart of true compassion could heal the Demon King, so if you had read my diary, a subconscious hostility would have taken root in your heart. The current Demon King, a cup overflowing with dark magic, certainly is a threat to the world in its current state, and with your powers, it certainly is possible to completely destroy it and bring peace to this world… But it would be a temporary respite. With the permanent loss of the grail, no longer would there be a system in place to gather the darkness… The world would eventually be overrun by and succumb to the unrestrained darkness.”

Melody felt as though the girl were explaining the story of some game or novel she had no idea of.

If dreams were reorganizing memories, then what was this supposed to be, this girl randomly showing up and rambling about things Melody had absolutely no knowledge of… But as Melody was feeling troubled, the girl suddenly began to glow and grew transparent; Melody quickly realized now was not the time to wonder idle thoughts.

The girl gently caressed the wolf’s still-black ear. There was a burst of light, and the black became silver.

“It is because of your remarkable power that the feelings I left behind in the sword were able resurface and manifest like this… It feels like I was finally able to do something befitting my duty as a Saint, but… As I am now, I am unable to fully purify the darkness with my remaining power.”

I leave the rest to you Celesti, the true Saint — is what the girl’s gentle smile seemed to say.

Since they were in the world of dreams, it should not be surprising for the girl to know Melody’s real name, but it was still a shock hear her name so casually revealed.

But the girl gently smiled at the shaken Melody.

“You really are so cute, Celesti… If this world were a story, then you would surely be its Heroine… Once again, please accept my deepest gratitude, Saint Celesti. You, the counterbalance of the Demon King, were able to dissipate the negative magicks and return it all to the cycle. I am truly proud that you were able to fulfil the Saint’s true duties. Once the Demon King has fully recovered, monsters will begin to disappear, and the world will finally know true peace. Until that time comes, I hope you will proudly continue to fulfill your duties as the Saint.”

The girl gave one final saintly smile before evaporating in a curtain of bubbles.

All that remained was the silver wolf and the puppy, both sleeping peacefully under the sunlight peeking through the trees, unaware of the disappearance of the girl that stayed with them. Melody felt a sudden pang of loneliness…

…but that was that, and there was another issue at hand. Raising her voice, Melody called out as though to answer the girl who disappeared.

“Me, the heroine? And a Saint? What did you mean by that? I’m neither of those! I’m just a maid of House Luthorburg, the all-works maid Melody!”

And just as suddenly, Melody found herself back in the servant’s dining room. She stood up from her chair and puffed her chest out with pride.

“…Huh?”

What was she doing, standing around like this? Had she fallen asleep? Had she been dreaming?

“What in the world just happened..?”

“Woof, woof!”

“Oh, did you also just wake up?”

The puppy that fell asleep after filling its belly was now wide awake. Its tail wagged energetically when Melody reached over to pick it up from the basket.

“You’re looking better, aren’t you? Your fur is prettier now too… Wait, wasn’t your fur all silver? You’ve got some black spots, on an ear, on your tail, and a bit around your ankles…”

After last night’s washing, it should have been all silver, but perhaps Melody had been mistaken..? Hm? Last… night..?

A pleasant sunbeam shone through a window of the servant’s dining room; it was currently morning.

“Th-th-the return greetings..!”

“Awo?!”

To have missed welcoming back Luciana and the rest of the family and then sleeping in through the morning, Melody has made a truly fatal mistake!

Without missing a beat, Melody dropped the puppy and rushed to the second floor, but there she found no sign of Luciana nor the Luthorburg couple. To be precise, there was no sign of anyone in the entire mansion.

“Why aren’t… Wait, could it be that they still haven’t returned?!”

A worried feeling washed over Melody, and a cold sweat dotted her forehead.

“F-for now, let’s just check for the carriage..!”

Melody broke off into a run. If the carriage had returned, then it should be at the front entrance.

The panicked Melody pushed the front door open and — it opened with a dull BANG.

There was a strange man hunched over in front of the door. It seemed he had lain facedown when the door had suddenly opened and slammed into his head, and he was currently clutching his head in both hands.

“Uh, um, may I help you?”

“Oh my head… Ah! Am I correct to presume that this is the residence of Count Luthorburg?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

The man introduced himself as a guard from the royal castle, and he reported something of startling news.

“The young lady collapsed at the Ball? When exactly did this happen?!”

“Uh, maybe around when the Ball was supposed to end. Count Luthorburg requested for someone to fetch the maid from his residence so they could come and take care of his daughter.”

“So then why did no person come to fetch me last night?!”

“It’s not like that..! It’s just that… I recall arriving here last night, but… I think… I fell asleep?”

“Surely you have a better excuse than that! Oh no, why could I not be there for the young lady when she needed me most! Goodness!”

Melody quickly finished her preparations and boarded the guard’s carriage, but…

“Why is the coachman still asleep? And why are the horses also asleep?! Please wake up!”

The coachman and his horses were fast asleep, snoring away without a care in the world… They seemed to be enjoying a nice dream.

“From mine fingers toll the bell of awakening, Snap of AwakeningArouzaldito!”

Melody raised her right hand and snapped her fingers; the result was a vibration magic that forced its targets awake. The coachman and his horses, after refusing to wake from Melody’s urgent shaking, were instantly awake.

And at the same time, the sounds of people waking up everywhere began to fill the Noble District.

“Please, if you are awake, we must be on our way! To the royal castle!”

“Huh…? Oh! Of course, at once!”

The coachman, ready and alert despite the abrupt awakening, pulled at the reins, and the carriage began its journey to the castle.

In her frustration, Melody had forgotten to hold back her power, and so she had put her all into that snap. Its sound had reverberated across the capital, waking up every resident in the capital.

On the previous night, the citizens of the royal capital had all fallen asleep at the same time, and now, they found themselves waking up at the same time. It was a truly mysterious incident that Melody, the culprit, would never learn about… Can someone tell her already?

When the carriage arrived, Melody disembarked with travel bag in hand only to find the castle in a hectic flurry of activity.

Both soldiers and servants ran this way and that, scurrying up and down the halls with frantic motion. Melody frowned in disapproval as she watched the chaos.

To her, a maid should not just perform their assigned task but also do so elegantly. Even if they must work behind the scenes, a maid should never forget the pride of working as a servant in the royal castle; to neglect that pride was to neglect professionalism.

…But she was blissfully unaware that this bustle was actually her fault; after the rude awakening via Melody’s snap, the staff worked desperately to regain the ground lost to their oversleeping.

Her ignorance was truly astounding… If she only knew the truth: that she was the culprit!

Melody waited at a gate before a maid appeared to escort her; this must have been one of the servants temporarily assigned to care for Luciana.

“If you would, please follow me.”

“I shall be depending on you.”

This temporary maid quickly led Melody through the corridors to Luciana’s room. But as they traversed the halls, Melody noticed more and more maids going about their business as though in panic; even if they had been neglecting their duties, for the situation to be like this was quite strange.

“Um, is something going on? It seems everyone is in quite a hurry.”

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“Hm? Oh, yes, that is correct. The truth is… there was an intruder at the Ball last night.”

“An intruder?! Was it because of this intruder that my lady had collapsed?!”

“Please rest assured. The doctor has already let us know that she only lost consciousness and is actually completely unharmed.”

“Oh, I see. That is reassuring to hear…”

Melody let out a sigh of relief, but so did the temporary maid. While it was true there had been an attack the previous night, the real reason behind the servants’ panic was from having overslept… thanks to a certain someone, no less.

This temporary maid had intended to watch over Luciana the entire night, but she had fallen asleep while on duty until the morning. For such a maid to commit such a blunder, there was no way she could explain herself with something as flimsy as “Oh, we just overslept so everyone is trying to catch back up! Oops, haha!” and face no real punishment for it.

The two finally arrived at the guest room, and the temporary maid knocked on the closed door.

“Excuse me, as requested, we have brought over the maid of House Luthorburg.”

“Let her through.”

Marianna’s voice had answered, and Melody quickly entered the room. Marianna was in a chair beside the bed, and… Luciana was sitting upright in bed and awake.

“You’re finally here, Melody!”

“My lady!”

Melody rushed over to the smiling Luciana. She bowed to Marianna before turning to face Luciana.

“I was told you were uninjured, but are you really fine?”

“Yep! I woke up not too long ago, but I’m completely fine! But the thing is, Melody, I feel normal, but mother isn’t letting me out of bed…”

“Of course I would not. You have been unconscious the entire night, Luciana. You must stay in bed and rest.”

“See what I mean? Isn’t this unreasonable?”

“Um, I apologize, my lady, but I am in complete agreement with the madam.”

“You too, Melody?! Ugh! But I’m feeling perfectly fine now!”

Seeing Luciana puff her cheeks in a pout, Melody is finally able to relax her tension.

At the moment, Hughes was busying himself at the Office of the Prime Minister, so Melody needed only take care of Marianna and Luciana.

Melody asked the temporary maid to prepare breakfast while she helped Luciana and Marianna get changed. At the moment, the two were feeling uncomfortable wearing clothes the castle had lent to them.

“I have brought along a fresh set of clothes. Please allow me to assist with getting changed.”

Melody placed her travel bag on the table, but suddenly the bag began to squirm on its own; Luciana and Marianna widened their eyes in shock as they looked on in horror.

“Melody, what’s inside that bag?!”

“Huh? Wh-why is it moving?!”

The wriggling bag confused even Melody, but she bravely opened the bag regardless. Out of the bag and toward the bed jumped a small shadow.

“Oh it’s you! When did you sneak in?!”

It was the puppy Melody had been taking care of the night before. As though to answer her, the puppy was happily barking.

“Oh my, what an adorable puppy”

“Oh? Do you know this puppy, Melody?”

“I found this little one last night. It came to the house looking so thin… I think it was looking for food, so I fed it and let it stay.”

“I see… It is quite cute…”

Sniff, sniff ♪

“Oh my. Look how friendly it is!”

The puppy rubbed itself against Luciana’s hand. At the sight of the happy puppy, Luciana and Marianna could not help but fawn over it.

Although she had not expected the puppy to come along, Melody found this situation to be an opportune time to put her plan into action.

“My lady, madam, if there is no issue with it, would it not be a good idea to let this one stay with us?”

“How wonderful! What a splendid idea!”

“Hm, but to keep a dog at our home? Would we be able to afford feeding it? Dogs also eat more as they grow, you know.”

“I believe that will not be an issue. The meat I get from hunting should still be more than enough.”

“And now that father is working for the Office of the Prime Minister, he is also making more money. And wouldn’t it be cruel to just abandon such a small, weak puppy? Surely we can keep it, mother? Please?”

Luciana pleaded her case with upturned eyes, and Mariana could not help but smile. While she was hesitant to relent, the events of last night were still fresh on Mariana’s mind, and she soon gave in.

“Well, I suppose I cannot say no… But Luciana, you will be responsible for taking care of it”

“Yay!”

“Awoooh!”

Luciana and the puppy give a cry of joy, and Melody quietly clenched her fist to celebrate the success of her plan.

“So, Luciana, shouldn’t you think of a name for this puppy?”

“Oh, that’s right! Hmm… What would be a good name…”

Luciana frowned with indecision as she stared at the puppy. As Melody watched over them with a quiet smile, a mysterious scene surfaced in her mind.

In a certain holy forest, a beautiful girl with silver hair cradled a certain wolf in her lap. The wolf’s silver coat was reminiscent of the puppy in Luciana’s hands.

As the girl stroked the wolf’s sleeping head, she lovingly whispered a name:

“…Grail.”

“Hm, what was that, Melody? Is that the puppy’s name?”

“Huh..? Um, no, I apologize. It was nothing.”

The name had suddenly came to mind, and she blurted it out without thinking. Melody blushed in embarassment as she realized her blunder.

But Luciana simply looked at the puppy once more, a broad smile on her face.

“Grail, huh… That sounds good! That will be your name from now on then, Grail!”

“Awoh!”

And so House Luthorburg welcomed a new member to the famiily: the puppy Grail.

Grail rolled around as though it understood it had been welcomed into the family, with the other three watching on pleasantly… until Melody, noticing the state of Luciana’s dress, screamed in shock.

After a short breakfast, the doctor came over for another examination, and they found no issues; it seemed Luciana was perfectly healthy.

And so there was no need for them to stay at the castle for much longer, and Melody and the Luthorburg family prepared to return home.

Marianna followed the temporary maid out of the room to find Hughes and formally announce the family’s departure, leaving Melody and Luciana alone in the guest room.

Since they had few items with them in the first place, the packing took little time before they finished. As they waited for Marianna to return, Melody inspected Luciana’s torn dress.

“Oh Melody, I’m so sorry! I ruined the dress you put so much effort to make…”

“Please do not worry about that, my lady. I’m happy just knowing that you were not hurt.”

“…Can you fix it?”

“It is quite badly damaged, so it might be better to turn it back to threads to resew. Most of the protection magic I put on it is also gone… I will remove the rest of my magic from it for now, otherwise it might get in the way with the resewing later.”

“I see… I’m really sorry, Melody… Even after putting in so much time and effort…”

But to the apologizing Luciana, Melody responded with a shake of her head.

“No, I should be the one to apologize, my lady. I had been so confident in my magic, I believed that even if an explosion had happened, the protection magic I put on the dress would have been enough to keep you safe. But to think all it took was a single strike from a sword… it was truly fortunate that my lady was unharmed, but it could have ended much worse. I can only blame my immaturity, my overconfidence for such a blunder…”

Melody sighed in regret, a look of frustration hanging on her face, but unbeknownst to her, Luciana had paled and held her breath in shock at this unexpected revelation.

Luciana could hardly believe Melody had made a mistake in her spellcasting, which would mean the sword that struck her was… Knock, knock.

“Ack!”

Luciana let out a strange noise; the sudden knocking at the door had startled her.

It seemed someone had stopped by for a visit, but… who could it be?

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