After that, I went to find the Sword Saint. He responded to me politely enough, but I had the distinct feeling that he was unhappy with me for some reason. I couldn't recall doing anything to offend him, and ever since our second spar, I hadn't run into him again.
Under the Sword Saint's guidance, I was brought to the door of the room. Then he turned around, said nothing, didn't even look back, and simply walked away. What did I do to upset him? …Well, I'd think about it later.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw a large round table with five chairs placed around it. Three people had already arrived, and all of them were looking at me.
Starting from the left, the first was a girl with short, light-purple hair. She looked very young. Her upper body was slim and petite, and she wasn't very tall—was she underdeveloped, or had she just entered her growth spurt? Judging by her outfit, she was likely an assassin.
The second was a boy with sky-blue hair. He was quite handsome. His upper body was slender, probably the type who never gained weight—model material, really. He wasn't wearing any armor, so he was most likely a merchant.
The third was a girl with long orange hair tied in a high ponytail, her expression upright and dignified. She wore armor on her upper body. Honestly, by process of elimination alone, she had to be the swordsman, and she looked very capable.
(These must be the people I asked for. I should wrap this up before the Saintess arrives.)
"Excuse me, please let me come in."
Just as I was about to close the door, it was stopped by a force from the other side, and a voice followed. I pulled the door open to see what was going on and found a girl with long golden hair, dressed in a white nun's robe. There was no doubt—she was the Saintess.
Her timing was way too perfect. Couldn't she have arrived a few seconds earlier so I could accept reality, or a few seconds later so I could lock the door? After letting the Saintess in, I closed the door.
"Thank you."
Once the Saintess and I took our seats, I began speaking.
"Hello. Let's put self-introductions on hold for now. I'm the one who requested that you all come here. First, could you tell me what reason you were given for being summoned? I don't know exactly what His Majesty told each of you, so I need to understand that before I explain my purpose."
I needed to confirm whether they knew why they were here before telling them the truth. If the king hadn't explained anything, then there would be no need to bring it up. At that moment, the knight spoke first.
"A few days ago, His Majesty asked me whether I was willing to become a companion to the Brave. I accepted, but I don't know why we were called here today."
"I accepted as well, and my situation is the same."
"Same here."
The merchant and the assassin gave the same answer. At the very least, all of them already knew—and had accepted—that they might become my companions. The next step should have been introductions, so we could get to know one another.
"I'm here to become the companion of the Brave Karen."
The Saintess was way too direct. Did she have no sense of the mood at all? Seriously, I should probably kick her out as soon as possible.
"!?!"
Both the merchant and the assassin let out sounds of surprise, but while the assassin made a sound, there was no trace of shock on her face at all. The knight, on the other hand, slammed the table and jumped to his feet, shouting at me.
"You're the Brave?!"
I raised both hands to signal the knight to calm down and sit back down.
"Please calm yourself. I understand already, so let me introduce myself first. I'm Karen, 16 years old. My magic elements are Earth and Light. My occupation is adventurer and Brave. Next, you."
I pointed to the assassin seated on my left and went clockwise—next would be the merchant, then the knight, and finally the saintess.
"Ethefelis Sugued, 12 years old. Fire element. Assassin."
Wait, twelve? The King is kidding me, choose a kid? …fine, maybe she was genius assassin.
Ethefelis Sugued… a surname I'd never heard before. Nothing came to mind that connected to it. She was probably a cold person—she really didn't say much.
"I'm Jacob Zereil, 17 years old. My magic element is Water, and my occupation is merchant."
Jacob Zereil… the heir to the Zereil Trading Company? Looks like he's a capable merchant.
"I'm Grace Somart. I'm seventeen this year. My magic element is Wind, but I'm not very good at using magic. My current occupation is a knight of the Knight Order."
Grace Somart—an often-heard surname. The Sword Saint's daughter? Hopefully she isn't as obsessed with the sword as her father.
Still, all four major magic elements were present. That was great. Finally, it was the saintess's turn—but why wasn't she speaking?
Everyone turned to look at the saintess, only to find her staring at me with sparkling eyes, as if stars were shining in them. What on earth was she doing? She had a lovestruck expression, her hands clasped together tightly.
"Miss, it's your turn."
"Huh?! …S-sorry, what did you say?"
Grace stood up, called out to the saintess, and touched her shoulder. The saintess jumped in surprise and asked Grace in return. She hadn't been listening at all, had she? I had no choice but to repeat myself.
"It's your turn to introduce yourself. Your name, age, magic attribute, and occupation."
"My name is Alice. I'm fifteen—I'll be sixteen tomorrow. My magic element is Light, and my occupation is Saintess. Please, Brave Karen, you must take me with you to defeat the Demon King."
From beginning to end, the Saintess looked only at me during her introduction, as if she were speaking solely to me, completely ignoring everyone else.
"""..."""
The three of them all looked at the saintess. It felt like they had many thoughts, yet none of them spoke. What an awful atmosphere. I should nexting topic on quickly.
I clapped my hands once to snap them out of it before continuing.
"Alright. You all should understand why you were summoned here, right?"
"To meet the Brave and become companions, right?"
Jacob's answer was correct.
"Exactly."
"But I don't understand why you would hide your identity."
Because I don't want to live my entire life as the Brave."
"I see. I understand now."
Jacob nodded in understanding. As expected of a merchant—his mind works fast. At that moment, the Saintess cut in.
"No, I don't understand! Brave is such an incredible existence—why would you hide who you are?! Brave is the great protector of the world! You should let everyone know of your existence!"
At last, I understood the look the Saintess had been giving me. She only saw the Brave in me—not Karen as a person. To her, it didn't matter who the Brave was.
And that was exactly why I didn't want the world to know I was the Brave. Once people learned the truth, all they ever saw was "the Brave"—nothing more. It completely denied my existence as a person.
At this point, there was only one thing left to do: I had to make her leave.
"...Miss Saintess, if an enemy were to attack you, would you be able to protect yourself?"
"I've never learned offensive magic, because a saintess is not allowed to harm others. But I believe the Brave will protect me."
Not allowed to harm others?
When you face an enemy, you fight back. That's common sense.
As expected, the saintess was completely useless—nothing more than a walking healing potion.
What was worse, as a person, she didn't even possess the ability to think independently. She simply followed whatever the temple had taught her.
She was no different from a puppet brainwashed by the temple.
"You're right. I will protect you."
"Brave!"
The saintess looked deeply moved by my words.
But there was no way I actually intended to protect her.
"You stay in the temple. If you stay there, you won't encounter any enemies at all."
What nonsense—the Brave protects the saintess? Why should I protect someone who's useless and only causes trouble?
Compared to going outside, she'd be far better off staying in the temple, surrounded by people who could protect her.
"Huh? W-What do you mean…?"
She still didn't understand? How dense could she be?
"It means I won't be letting you join us. Please leave."
I pointed directly at the door, making my intent unmistakably clear.
She panicked, jumping to her feet and trying to rush toward me.
"No, no! You can't! Without a Saintess, the Brave can't defeat the Demon King!"