Chapter 32: Education and Stuffed Bread
The next morning.
When I stepped out into the garden after waking up, I froze in shock.
Countless corpses were strewn across the ground.
Their lifeless bodies lay scattered everywhere, turning the peaceful morning scene into something straight out of a nightmare.
“W-What happened here!?”
“Ah, Father!! I did it!! I defeated the bandits!!”
“Amate? Bandits…?”
At a glance, the dead men were clearly armed. Their equipment and appearance made it obvious they weren’t ordinary, law-abiding people.
There was only one among them who seemed to still be breathing.
Though calling it breathing might have been generous.
Blood poured from his arms and legs, staining the earth beneath him crimson. His face was pale as paper, and he looked as though death was only moments away.
I needed to get Raphiel here immediately.
“H-Hey, Grana!!”
“Hm? Did something happen?”
“Please wake Raphiel right now! There are dead people out here, and one who’s practically dying!”
The moment Grana saw the horrifying scene in the garden, her eyes widened.
Without another word, she turned and rushed off to fetch Raphiel.
About ten minutes later—
“Fwaaah… I am still sleepy…”
“Please treat this man immediately!”
“Ah, yes. I already finished.”
“Huh?”
“I only performed the minimum treatment necessary. It would be troublesome if he escaped before we questioned him.”
“W-Wait… you’re right! He’s already healed!”
While I was still trying to process what had happened, Raphiel calmly issued her next instruction.
“Grana, contact Cardinal Larsa through the Miracle of Telepathy. Have her arrange for the disposal of the bandits’ corpses and prepare an interrogator.”
Following Raphiel’s orders, Grana immediately sprang into action, and the estate quickly became a hive of activity.
“Now then,” Raphiel said.
Her gaze shifted toward Amate.
“Amate.”
“Y-Yes!!”
Amate stood proudly, her face lighting up with a radiant smile as bright as the sun itself.
For a moment, I simply looked at her.
Then I spoke.
“…First of all, thank you. Truly. Thank you for protecting both me and our home.”
“Hehe.”
“But Amate, can I ask you one thing?”
“Y-Yes!! Ask me anything, Father!!”
“Thank you. Were these people stronger than you?”
At my question, Amate shook her head.
“No. They were weaker than me.”
Her answer came without hesitation.
“The fight ended almost instantly.”
“I see.”
A small sigh escaped me.
“Then there’s just one promise I’d like you to make.”
“A promise?”
I crouched down so our eyes were level.
Carefully.
As gently as possible.
Without sounding threatening.
“I don’t want you to kill people recklessly.”
“Eh…? B-But why…?”
“Because I don’t want your hands stained with blood.”
Her eyes widened.
“If your own life is in danger, that’s different. But if it isn’t… then please don’t kill them.”
“A-Ah…”
The confidence she’d been showing vanished instantly.
“I-I’m sorry, Father…”
Her voice trembled.
“Uuu…”
“Ah, no! I’m not angry!”
I hurriedly waved my hands.
“I know you did it to protect me! I understand that! I’m not blaming you at all!”
“Uuu…”
Despite my desperate explanation, tears gradually began gathering in the corners of her eyes.
This was bad.
Very bad.
At this rate she’d burst into tears within seconds.
What do I do!?
Think!
When I was little and got scolded by Dad, how did he calm me down when I was about to cry?
Then it hit me.
“…Got it!”
“Hya!?”
Acting on instinct, I lifted Amate into my arms.
Her small body stiffened in surprise.
“I’m really not angry.”
I held her securely.
“I’m grateful. Truly grateful. You protected all of us.”
“Sniff… okay…”
“There we go. Good girl.”
“…Father.”
“Hm? What is—”
The next instant, Amate suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around my head.
The force of it buried my face directly into her ample chest.
My breathing immediately became difficult.
…Okay.
Calm down.
No matter how developed she looked, she was still a young girl.
I had absolutely no interest in getting excited over that.
Right.
Calm.
Completely calm.
“Mm… where am I…?”
A short while later, the surviving bandit regained consciousness.
The moment his eyes landed on Amate, all color drained from his face.
“H-Hiiiii!?”
He scrambled backward on the ground, unable to stand, terror written all over his face.
Apparently she had left him with a truly unforgettable trauma.
“W-Why did this happen to us!?”
He clawed at the dirt.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it damn it damn it!”
Suddenly, he glared at Raphiel.
“This is all your fault, Saint Raphiel!”
“My fault?”
“That’s right! Yours!”
The man’s voice rose into a hysterical scream.
“As long as you’re here, we’ll keep coming for your life! Again and again! Everyone living in this house will die eventually! Hahaha!”
Raphiel remained perfectly composed.
“So your objective was my assassination.”
“Wait,” I interrupted.
“Could this guy be one of the people Mikaela mentioned? The group targeting the Saint?”
Raphiel nodded solemnly.
“Most likely.”
Her gaze shifted briefly toward the bodies scattered across the garden.
“Though before they could kill me, Amate appears to have eliminated them first.”
“A-Ah…”
Amate shrank slightly.
“I-I did that…”
She lowered her head.
“I’m sorry. I killed so many people…”
“I am not angry.”
Raphiel’s response was immediate.
“They came here intending to take our lives. Anyone who chooses such a path should be prepared to lose their own life in return.”
Then she glanced at me.
“Though Eight appears to have scolded you because he is somewhat soft-hearted.”
“Guh…”
I couldn’t even deny it.
The idea that “those who are willing to shoot should be prepared to be shot” was probably an important principle in a harsh world like this one.
Even so—
“I-It’s still too soon for Amate to be learning things like that!”
“There is no such thing as too soon.”
Raphiel’s tone was calm, but her words hit with brutal precision.
“I respect your moral values, Eight. However, education is not merely a matter of imposing those values upon others.”
“W-Wow, that was a direct hit with pure logic!”
“A-Ah!!”
Amate suddenly stepped between us.
“Father! Raphi-neesan! Please don’t fight because of me!”
Her anxious plea instantly snapped both of us back to reality.
Come to think of it, I’d once seen a television program saying that arguing in front of children was one of the worst things adults could do.
Right.
I needed to cool my head.
At that moment, Grana returned.
“Eight-sama. Cardinal Larsa has dispatched Holy Knights to transport the bandit. I will accompany them to the temple and explain the situation. I won’t be staying for breakfast.”
“Ah, understood.”
The two Holy Knights sent from the temple promptly bound the prisoner with ropes.
Then, using the Miracle of Teleportation, Grana departed for the temple.
As silence settled over the estate once more—
Grrrrrr.
Someone’s stomach growled.
I checked the clock.
It was already past ten.
At this point, making a proper breakfast felt like a hassle.
“After everything that’s happened today… how about we just have some bread?”
“I shall have yakisoba bread.”
“I want to try that croissant thing I saw on television before!”
“I-I would like melon bread…”
The bread I’d ordered through mail-order delivery arrived shortly afterward, and everyone immediately dug in.
“As expected, yakisoba bread is the supreme choice among savory breads!”
Raphiel declared proudly while chewing.
“I deeply respect the Japanese philosophy of ‘just put it on rice’ and ‘just stuff it inside bread.’ Delicious.”
“Crispy and tasty!”
Mikaela beamed.
“But it keeps crumbling everywhere and I can’t eat it neatly!”
“The melon bread is sweet and wonderful…”
Amate nibbled happily on hers.
All of us gathered around the living room table, munching away contentedly.
As for me, I’d ordered a chocolate cornet.
The rich chocolate filling paired perfectly with the slightly firm bread.
Technically it was more of a sweet pastry than a meal bread, but somehow eating something like this in the morning always boosted my mood.
Funny how that worked.
“Eight… I owe you an apology.”
While we ate and watched the morning drama on television, Raphiel suddenly spoke.
I tilted my head.
“Um… sorry, but what exactly are you apologizing for?”
“The matter concerning Amate’s upbringing.”
Raphiel lowered her gaze.
“The bandit’s words irritated me more than I realized. I allowed myself to become argumentative.”
“Ah, that.”
I smiled.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“Truly?”
“Of course. You were speaking because you care about Amate too, weren’t you?”
“Well… yes.”
“Then there’s nothing to apologize for. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
After I said that, Raphiel fell silent.
She lowered her eyes and seemed to sink into thought.
Eventually she spoke.
“Now that I think about it… what exactly is the relationship between you and me?”
“Landlord and freeloader.”
“Could you not phrase it in something more romantic?”
She looked genuinely dissatisfied.
“We have, after all, shared the same futon.”
“I mean… even if you say that.”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“It’s not like we’re lovers. And you’re not exactly paying rent either…”
Wait.
Hold on.
Now that I thought about it—
What kind of relationship did Raphiel and I actually have?
As I found myself spiraling into increasingly confusing thoughts—
The morning passed.
And before I knew it, it was noon.
“Raphiel disappeared!?”
Lunch had finally been prepared.
I went to her room to call her for the meal—
But Raphiel was nowhere to be found.