The Saint Who Has Been Summoned to Another World

 Chapter 2 Summoned Saint

“It's been a while since the weather was so rough.”

“I know right? It's really rare.”

After returning to the royal castle and dressing myself, I walked down the long corridor and looked out the window.

The weather in this country was stable and comfortable, perhaps thanks to the blessings of the goddess.

It's not often that it gets this rough but…

“The rain is getting worse…”

It was evening and normally the sky would still be bright, but now the sky was dark with black rain clouds.

Yuno left when we came to the private area of ​​the royal family in the back of the corridor.

“Well then, I'll stay here. It seems there are other princes here as well, but…are you okay?”

I chuckle at the concerned look in his eyes.

I get along reasonably well with my parents, but I don't get along well with my siblings.

Yuno is often blunt, but sometimes he worries about me like this.

“I’m not, so will you come with me? It might be even better if you go instead of me…”

“If I take one more step, I will go to jail immediately. Now, stop with that worthless prattle and go in quickly.”

“Haha, all right…”

“You don't have to come back.”

Yuno was the type of guy who would see you off until you were out of sight, even though he tells you to leave him be.

A tsundere, huh?

I was not blessed when it comes to my siblings, but I am thankful to be blessed with a chamberlain. With that thought I proceeded further into the room by myself.

I was called to the queen's private chambers.

The room, with the use of magic, had the same level of security as a state-secret room.

I wonder what she wanted to hide so much in her private room, but I guess she had a lot of things to do when she was the queen.

She must have a lot of things to do with her husbands.

This country allowed polygamy and bigamy.

My mother, the Queen, had a knight captain and a magician husband who are the fathers of us three brothers.

Legally, our fathers are allowed to have other wives, but they seem to be devoted to our mother.

But I, who had a traumatic experience in love in my previous life, think that if I were to get married, I would only want one partner.

If possible, I want them to choose only me…

My brothers mock me for it, but I prefer monogamy.

Anyway, the use of that room was not for a public matter, so I guess it was something she didn't want to let out to the outside world.

While I was thinking about this, I arrived at the front of the room.

There were no guards inside the private area of the royal family.

Standing in front of the door, I knocked.

“It’s Edward.”

“Come in.”

A voice urged me to enter, and when I went inside, I saw the three of them sitting on a soft sofa chatting with each other.

“You're finally here.”

A bewitchingly beautiful woman laughed.

It was my mother, Queen Victoria Astraea.

She had brown skin and rich golden hair.

Her eyes were azalea pink, indicating that she had the blood of the Astrea royal family.

She had an outstanding style that makes it hard to believe that she had three adult sons.

Even without her status as queen, she made me feel nervous when I always met her.

If it were not for her being my mother, I would not even feel like approaching her.

As Yuno had told me, my two older brothers were also here.

“You're late.”

Alvin, the first prince, the crown prince, greeted me with an icy glare.

Alvin was a tall and slender handsome man, like the queen.

His skin was pale, like his father, but the noble ladies said that it makes him look smart.

His eyes were also azalea pink because of his royal blood.

It was said that his soft smile was like the wind of dancing flowers, but that wind had never blown against me.

“You're the one with the most free time, so what's the point of making us wait for you? Huh?”

“What I did was inexcusable…”

The second prince, Ethan, folded his thick arms and intimidated me with his whole body.

Ethan had a large body and thick muscles like his father who was a knight captain.

His skin was brown like mother's, but his hair was silver like his father's.

Ethan, of course, also had azalea pink eyes.

Then I, Edward, have a plain and ordinary figure, neither as gorgeous as Alvin nor as muscular as Ethan.

I have some muscles thanks to my work in the fields, but I look weak because I got my father's fair skin.

My hair was golden, but it was duller than my mother's and Alvin's, giving me a subdued impression, but I would be more appropriate to call it ochre than golden.

My eyes were also azalea pink, but they too look somewhat dull.

I may have lost the saturation and lightness of my eyes when I was born.

“Don't blame Edward so much. I knew he was out there, so if I would have called you guys accordingly. We waited, but only a little.”

Hearing the Queen's follow-up, I said, “Then, I apologise for my mistake,” I said to myself as I took my seat.

Even if I had arrived earlier, they would have complained about something.

“Well, we're all here.”

I straightened my posture as I was urged to listen.

I tensed up when I saw that she had the face of a queen, not my mother.

It sounds more important than I thought it would be.

After a short silence, Mother spoke up,

“A saint has been summoned.”

…A saint?

I believed there was a tradition in this country that a saintess who brings prosperity to the country appears on rare occasions.

But I doubt it if that is true.

The three of us could not react immediately and each of us was thinking.

It was Alvin who opened his mouth first.

“She was summoned, is that right? You didn't summon her, did you?”

“Yes, it was the goddess who summoned her.”

“The Goddess?”

“That’s right. It is the Goddess who summoned the saint and gave her to us.”

Goddess…

Since this country was deeply involved, there was something about the goddess that I felt.

The ocean currents around Astraea, which were preventing invasion from other countries, were also said to be blessed by the Goddess, and I think she exists, unlike in the world of my previous life…

“The saint was said to have suddenly appeared in a temple in the sanctuary.”

The sanctuary, located a short distance away from the royal capital, was only accessible to a very limited number of people, and it was impossible for a person to sneak into it.

The fact that she appeared there means…that she was guided by the goddess.

“Why did the saint come to our country? Is there any meaning?”

“I don't know. I don't have the details in my file. The saint may have heard something from the goddess….But, According to the chief priest's research, making the saint happy will lead to the prosperity of our country.”

“Making the saints happy, is it…?”

Everything was vague.

A person who probably claims to be a saint appears, but we don't know what for, although it was said that we would prosper if we make her happy, I don't even know the definition of happiness.

Should we worship her?

Should we let her live a luxurious life?

“The saint's spiritual state was said to take shape in some parts of the country. For example, the weather…”

Following the queen's gaze, everyone looked out the window.

It was one of the heaviest rains in recent years.

Because of that, It was hard to believe that the saint was in a good mood.

“”””.....”””””

We were silent for a while.

Then It was the queen who broke the silence.

“I want you to be a support for her. I don't know what makes her happy, but she will feel more secure with someone by her side.”

“That’s…”

It sounded random, but it was the Queen who said it.

But if she went to the trouble of summoning us princes then…

“You want us to win the saint over and take her as our queen?"

“Edward!”

Alvin looked at me admonishingly, but the queen smiled bitterly.

“Yes…it would help me as your mother. Because having a saint would be a great use.”

But this time, the idea of ‘Using a woman for gains’ makes me frown.

That said, I do not think she was wrong in her decision to use her son to win over the saint for the benefit of the country as queen.

…But, I don't think I'm going to be actively involved in this conversation.

“I think this is where older brother Alvin comes in? If it’s him, who all women in the country adore, I’m sure the saint will fall for him soon.”

I wanted to do the right thing here, carry Alvin, and get out of the line of fire as soon as possible.

When Alvin heard my words, he looked at me as if he knew what I meant.

What’s with that pissed off face?

You're wasting your sparkle, you know?

“I don't need you to tell me that this is my mission. I am the crown prince. Mother, where is the saint now?”

“She is still in the temple of the sanctuary. I will check on her tomorrow, and if she seems calm, I will ask her to move here.”

“If so, I will go and get her.”

“Then, I'll leave it to you.”

All right, I chuckled to myself because I'm not going to get involved.

“Well then, I have some information to share with you about the saint.”

I was going to leave to see if the conversation was over, but the Queen kept talking.

I thought I didn't have to, but I listened, thinking I should at least know enough to avoid getting involved.

“We'll deal with the saint without making it public yet. As you probably already know, the rain that is pouring now is considered to be caused by the saint. If the rain doesn't stop and damage is caused, public opinion of the saint may become harsh. If the saints know about the public opinion and feel unhappy, it could create a vicious cycle of more disasters. Until the saint's mind is stable and we are able to grasp the situation, everything will be done in secret. Understood?"

I see.

I thought if we were going to talk about something in this room, that means we can't make it public yet.

“I understand.”

I nodded following Alvin's reply.

“Mother, is the saint a beauty?”

Breaking the serious air, Ethan, the second prince, asked the queen with a grin on his face.

Ethan was a wildly handsome man with an unparalleled love of women.

He  had made many women cry.

I don't think he should have anything to do with the saints, but Ethan may be the one who was better with women than any of us brothers.

“I haven't seen her, but she seems to be an attractive girl with long black hair and black eyes.”

“A girl, is it?”

Alvin also seems to be interested and joins the conversation.

I'm just a good listener.

But, black hair, black eyes?

That's a familiar shade from my previous life…

“They told me she was nineteen.”

“Nineteen…is older than I thought.”

“I'm glad she’s not a milk-sucking brat. You know, brother, you can give me the job, right?”

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to do it. Mother, what is the Saint's name?”

“The saint's name is Sakura…or did they say Sakura is a family name? Mana…The Saint's name is [Mana Sakura].”

“Eh…?"

I let out a small voice.

The name that the Queen had mentioned.

I thought I would never hear that name again.

“Edward, what's wrong?”

“N-Nothing, I just thought it’s an unusual name…”

“Maybe it's because it's an otherworlder name.”

Alvin laughed at me as if I was an idiot and resumed his conversation with the queen.

From that point on, I couldn't hear what he was saying, and it didn't enter my head at all.

…Because the name of the saint hit me hard…

Mana Sakura—Sakura Mana. (マナ・サクラ――――佐倉真奈)

『Hey, Haru.』

Her long, straight black hair sways.

The Cherry blossom petals, like her name, dance in the wind .(Sakura can also mean cherry blossom in japanese.)

『My name means Cherry blossom and Haru means spring. Don't you think we were destined to meet in this season? In fact, it was spring when we met…under the cherry tree, wasn't it?』

A page from an old memory.

It was the entrance ceremony of elementary school.

She was a new student and I was a child in the nursery school next door.

From that time on, she was a "beautiful older sister" to me.

Junior high school, High school, University.

I saw her dressed up for the entrance ceremony.

Every time I did, I felt like I was being left behind…

I couldn't help but feel sad that I was younger than her.

『Haru.』

“Are you...the saint…?”