"Here's a towel, Luciel-sama!"
"Thank you."
I received the towel the princess handed to me.
I just finished my daily training, so I'm currently soaking wet with my own sweat. My upper body was pretty much transparent through my white shirt. Fortunately, I was wearing a black martial-art pants, so my lower-half wasn't as exposed.
Looking at the princess and the knights who were my sparring partners, I noticed the redness of their face. For some reason, they were blushing. Perhaps they were sick? It doesn't seem to be the case, as I can feel that their temperature hasn't changed.
"Excuse me," I said as I took off my shirt.
"W-W-What are you doing, Ciel-sama!?" the princess screamed out of nowhere.
"I'm sweaty, so I'm going to wipe my body. Ah. Excuse me, that was indecent of me... I'll go somewhere else..."
Even if she handed me the towel in the first place, I should show modesty towards the Royalties in the castle. I had always bathed in public before, and even when I was took in by the church, some other person would be there for me. The act of showing my body to someone else was natural to me.
How embarrassing. For me to expose my body to the princess. Even though nothing about it was pleasing to the eyes.
For some reason, my body wouldn't grow. I'm perfectly healthy, but I simply won't develop the muscles someone performing my regiment should have. My body is still soft. Frankly, it's almost feminine.
Wide hips and slender shoulders... Nothing I can boast about at all...
Hmm... I should refrain from exposing myself to others from now on. I thought the knights didn't mind, but they must be simply keeping quiet. They're too kind to reprimand me after all.
I looked at the knights once again and saw that their faces were still red. I get it now. They must be feeling awkward and embarrassed—for someone of my position to have such a fragile-looking body.
That would also explain why they sometimes glare at my backside. They're particularly stern about it. They must be displeased with how tight my lower garments would always seem to appear. It's impractical. But it's not my fault. I simply couldn't find any looser clothes in the castle and my wardrobe.
"I'll see you later, princess. Thank you for your time everyone," I bowed as I said my goodbye.
"Oh! I was just looking for you, hero-sama!"
On my way to my room, I coincidentally meet the old prime minister. As usual, he's walking alone with a cane.
"I must inform you, I think I've found the perfect sage candidate! Kuku!" he excitedly announced.
Since the church is already housing the future saintess, the castle is now only searching for the person who will fill the role of sage. To think they would discover someone worthy of such a title so fast. I could only guess that similar to myself, that person must've been raised by the kingdom from childhood.
"There's no doubt she'll be more than capable!"
She?
Since the saintess would undoubtedly be a woman, I wanted my companion sage to be a man. I wanted to get along with a peer of my similar gender.
"Can I ask for her name?"
"Of course! Her name is Eria. I'm sure you've heard of her! Like yourself, she fought the Dark army and protected a frontier town on her own!"
"Ah... Yes, Baron Muro told me about it. Will you be able to convince her?"
"Hmm... The truth is, she might prove difficult. She's already a established name in our neighboring countries. I'm certain they have tried to tie her down, but as far as I'm aware, none of them had succeeded. We'll need to gather more information about her."
"I see..."
"When the time comes, I want you to meet her. Perhaps you might be able to convince her to become your companion yourself?"
"I'll try my best."
After I finished my conversation with the prime minister, I finally went to my room in the castle.
The dirt and grime on my body felt uncomfortable, so I immediately took a shower.
Once I'm done, I took a clean towel and wrapped it around my waist. As I dry myself, I stared at the mirror in the corner of the room. It reflected my somber face peaking through my short dark-blue hair.
I attempted to smile, but failed.
I still can't seem to show any emotion.
"Hm... I need to practice more..."
Sophia-sama said that I should think of happy thoughts in order for me to show a proper smile. So, I reminiscent of the day I killed my first enemy. I reminiscent of how I stabbed my sword into that green goblin's heart as it pushed me onto the ground.
Hot red blood poured all over me, covering my eyes and stifling my nose. I couldn't see nor breathe. I can feel my heart throbbing fast as the fear of death took hold of me.
I'm happy I was able to survive.
I looked at the mirror once again. Still no smile.
Leaving the bath, I contemplate on what clothes to wear. The church and the king provided me with many formal and casual uniforms. I appreciate their generosity, but all they had given me were over the top suits and vests.
I don't have anything to do now that I'm done practicing my sword, so I wanted to take a break and leave the castle. It would be troublesome for me to appear too conspicuous. If possible, I don't want to get caught by anyone at the castle at all.
Having no other choice, I decided to sneak into the servants' quarters and steal their clothes.