Chapter 717 – Diora’s Memories -1-

000

Squeak, boom!

Diora stood there in a daze for a moment as she watched the huge iron door close before her eyes.

The place where she used to live and work has now become a place she cannot enter.

The guards standing in front of the door did not even look at Diora, as if emotions did not exist, and were standing in a stiff posture like a frozen stone statue.

What you see beyond the iron gate is a high, colorless tower.

The owner of this lonely place, where since ancient times, the royal family, who committed crimes but were not worthy of death, were imprisoned and punished for their sins, and a person whom Diora respected, passed away just a few days ago.

Leaving her own beloved daughter alone.

Her daughter, who was the queen of this country – that is, a young girl who would be called a princess or princess – was too young to even go to the bathroom on her own.

The fact that someone had to be by her side to take care of her was an objective fact no matter who saw it, not her own selfishness.

Therefore, she was thinking of taking on the role of Amelia’s maid even after Queen Sariel died.

Although Sariel did not say this while she was alive, she asked Amelia to take care of her when she died, because she considered it her duty to save her.

However, what made her sense of mission meaningless was her order from her royal castle.

It is an order to transfer the personnel of those who were Queen Sariel’s maids or servants when she was alive.

She was forced to choose between working for others in the palace or leaving the palace.

However, their policy was that even after moving to another part of the palace, they would not be entrusted with any work related to the Tower of Confinement, and the maids who would look after Princess Amelia would be made up of completely new people.

Of course, Diora’s personal respect for Sariel was a top priority when it came to working in the royal palace, so she would not consider working anywhere that was not related to Sariel or Amelia.

Still, most of them – that is, people except Diora – followed that order and moved to another part of the palace in order to make a living.

Even Dio didn’t think she had the right to criticize that choice, but she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

The thought that she might never see Amelia again makes her depressed, and she wants to spend her time squatting in front of the door leading to the Tower of Confinement.

If she did something like that, her guards standing next to her would forcefully drag her away…

She was carrying a bag full of the clothes she had received as a gift from Sariel, and now she had to worry about where she should go.

Suddenly, when I looked up, I saw two maids walking in a panic, holding a shopping cart in both hands.

＂Maid…＂

If she worked as a maid in the royal palace, it wasn’t a bad thing for her to work for a nobleman somewhere.

Come to think of it, she is the mistress of the Tromeiya family and is recruiting maids, so let’s go to her.

She was a friend of Queen Sariel, but she had not met her properly since Queen Sariel was imprisoned in her tower.

She had decided on her destination and tried to move on her feet, but when she suddenly thought that even if she worked in such a place, she would never see Amelia again, she became depressed and could hardly cheer up.

Even if she remained in the royal capital, she was just a maid and there was nothing she could do.

No, it’s probably the same wherever you go.

She realized that the relationship between herself, Sariel, and Amelia had ended here.

So… What should I become from now on and where should I go.

As she stood still, as if struck by such loss, the sound of her horse’s hooves could be heard in her ears.

If you look around, what you see is a carriage, a means of transportation that connects the royal capital with the outside world.

Movement using transfer magic is still a special thing that can only be used by some, so carriages remain a valuable means of transportation on this continent.

When I look at a carriage like that, I suddenly remember the last time I rode a carriage.

The day she came up to the royal road with the nuns from her hometown.

＇… Hometown.＇

It may be natural that my heart trembled greatly at those words.

A scene that she hadn’t seen in several years and that hadn’t even appeared in her mind naturally flashed back.

Although she was not yet an adult, she earned and saved a considerable amount of money while working as the queen’s maid.

If she left the royal capital and went down to her country to live somewhere, she could have lived for decades even if she had to find a maid for herself.

What if she takes this money back to her hometown and uses it for them?

In front of the nuns who left him behind, he laughed as hard as he could, saying that he had succeeded so much thanks to you.

Just thinking about it sent goosebumps down my spine at the thrilling sight.

Is it possible that I now have enough time to recall such shallow, forgotten emotions?

If you get on that carriage now, you will never be able to return here again.

While thinking that, I was about to walk towards the carriage stop.

＂Excuse me, lady over there.＂

When I suddenly turned around at the sound of a voice that seemed to be talking to me, there was a man dressed in a suit standing there.

He had a thick gray beard, was neither sturdy nor small, and wore a black silk hat, commonly called a gentleman’s hat, on his head.

His face was also full of wrinkles, but even the wrinkles that made him feel old gave him an intelligent look, perhaps because of the square glasses he wore over his eyes.

He was holding a cane, perhaps due to discomfort in one leg, and in his other hand, he was holding a bag so large that it could be compared to a huge luggage bag that was similar to a moving bag.

＂…?＂

As she rarely left the royal castle, she had no acquaintance with such an elderly gentleman.

When she naturally shows a bit of a guarded attitude, the gentleman speaks to her while looking at her like that.

“Ah. Sorry, I’m not a suspicious person. “He’s an ordinary doctor.”

＂Haa… You are a doctor.＂

Why did such a person talk to me?

“I was away from the royal capital for a long time, and I heard that you were unwell. I came here in case I might be of help… Is the tower behind you the tower where the queen is imprisoned?”

“… Queen Sariel passed away a few days ago. “You’re too late, doctor.”

The queen’s death occurred quietly, and only a few nobles and royal family knew.

Therefore, it was natural that he, an ordinary person, did not know.

“… I see. As you said, it seems too late.”

After hearing Diora’s sharp words, the doctor shook his head with a sad face.

“… Well, even if you came at the right time, you wouldn’t have been able to enter the tower. While Sariel’s illness continued for several months, only a few church clergy were able to come in. “Not a single doctor could come in.”

As Diora said that, she glanced at the guards standing by the door who were the ones who kicked out the doctors, but the guards still showed no reaction.

Then, the doctor says nothing for a moment, then speaks to her.

“Are you okay? My complexion is not good.”

When the doctor suddenly asks her about her physical condition, Diora doesn’t answer for a moment and then nods her head.

“… Are you okay? She just lost her job a little while ago and was wondering where to go.”

Although she continued to feel a little lethargic, she did not realize that she was not in good health.

“I see… Hmm, then, if it’s okay, wouldn’t you help me out for a little while?”

“Doctor? Sorry, but I’m not a porter…”

Seeing that her legs seem uncomfortable, are you thinking of asking her to move her luggage?

“No, no, I’m planning to open a hospital in the capital soon, but I haven’t been able to find staff yet. I hope you can at least help me until the nurse is rescued. Well, it looks like you need a place to work too.　Of course, I will pay you a proper salary.”

Is this old man’s suggestion worth more than going back to their hometown and seeing them struggling?

‘… No, that was a stupid idea.’

Of course, it would be worth it.

Being a doctor means saving people’s lives.

It was clear that his petty self-satisfaction was so worthless compared to such matters.

“… All right. But I don’t know anything about medicine, is that okay?”

“Of course. Even just greeting patients and helping them organize their luggage is a great help. As you can see, the legs are like this.”

At the doctor’s words, Diora nodded and picked up her luggage that had been placed down next to him.

＂Then, please take care of me, doctor. So…”

＂Diane. Dian Porras, Miss Diora.”

As he said that, taking off his hat and looking at the shiny top of his head, he almost burst into laughter without realizing it.

001

What Diora felt after working at Dian’s hospital for about a month.

Does this city really need a facility called a hospital? It was a question.

That’s because there are very few customers who come to the hospital, and most of them are old people who come to talk to people because they are bored.

This is because the place to go when you are sick is not a hospital, but a temple.

And Diora’s job, rather than professional work that requires medical knowledge, is all about greeting the elderly and being a conversation partner, and occasionally going to buy tea leaves at Dian’s request.

Aside from basic tasks such as coming to work in the morning and cleaning, I still had some concerns about the hospital’s management situation, such as whether I could work comfortably and get paid.

Well, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like talking to people. Dian was an ideal intellectual who was kind, gentlemanly, and even caring.

If there’s something you don’t know or have questions about, most of the time, he answers on the spot without even having to look through a book. Looking at him as if he had an encyclopedia in his head, I got the feeling that he could make a living doing anything other than being a doctor.

However, if there is a place that is a little unknown to him…

“… Is Dian inside?”

Every Wednesday, the hospital stays open a little longer after business hours have ended.

However, instead of accepting general guests, only one person.

It’s for another gentleman who asks about Dian’s presence right in front of me.

He was a man dressed entirely in a black suit and wearing a top hat like the one Dian was wearing.

Is his age similar to Dian?

However, with long gray ponytails and a monocle over one eye.

Neatly trimmed beard and mustache.

What was characteristic was his cold eyes that showed no emotion, in contrast to Dian’s.

The old gentleman, who is tall enough to feel intimidating, but whose physique appears to be slightly smaller than Dian, visits like this every week at a set time.

Every time he makes eye contact with her, Diora feels a little creeped out and shrugs his shoulders, but after nodding, she guides him to the treatment room where Dian will be.

Was his name called Mananan Baal?

He thought it was an unusual name, but seeing Dian greet him without any suspicion and treat him as his friend, he thought that Mananan was not a bad person.

Diora looked at Mananan’s back as he closed the door as he entered Dian’s treatment room.

Then, he went straight to the kitchen in the hospital and prepared tea for the two people who were talking late at night.

After a while, they arrived in front of the room and were about to knock on the door.

“No! That technology is not yet perfected!”

Diora, who had never heard Dian make such a loud sound, shrugged his shoulders in surprise.

Could it be that something that would make him, who always has a kind smile, so angry came out of Mananan’s mouth?

“The technology was perfected a long time ago, Dian. The part you are talking about is… Whether the side effects can be erased… I guess.”

“If there are side effects, it cannot be considered complete until they are improved. Don’t you know it well?”

“Then you also know. The union of factors forcibly unites two different beings into one. It is natural for such technology to have side effects.”

Thinking that he couldn’t get involved in an argument between two people talking about something difficult, he was about to return to the kitchen with the plate with the teacup in his hand.

“I can’t delay any longer. If we don’t make arrangements from now on, the fate of Princess Amelia and the magic swordsman who connects the stars will fall into destruction in a predetermined order.”

Diora, who heard the story about Amelia, could not move from her spot.

“The reason we, Babel, exist is to eliminate the parasite of this world called Adam. It is natural that the power of the princess and the magic swordsman is needed for that. … If a scapegoat is needed for him, it is our mission to prepare that sacrifice.”

“… Avoid calling yourself a scapegoat. Because I have no intention of sacrificing her.”

Mananan’s voice is as calm as ever, and Dian’s voice answers him.

However, Dian’s voice, unlike usual, sounded dull, as if she was suffering from some sort of guilt.

“I know very well that you have a more affectionate personality than anyone else among us. So, I guess you were protecting her. Before the rest of us touch it first.”

＂… Did you notice?＂

“From the first time I saw it. I’ve been waiting until now to see when you would bring that up. Now, I can no longer wait.”

When I thought I heard the sound of the chair’s legs being dragged, I could tell that Mananan’s footsteps were coming toward the door because they were regular and the sound of someone’s footsteps.

Just after Diora thought she had to get out of there, when the door opened, Mananan was looking down at Diora, making a shadow with his tall stature as always.

“There is something you must do, Miss Diora. It is something only you can do, and it is a mission assigned to you.”

＂Hey, over there. I…”

For some reason, when I heard those words, my heart started pounding and my mind became confused.

And when the gaze turns towards Dian, Dian covers the corners of her mouth and looks like she is deeply troubled, then nods her head and speaks.

“… I’m sorry, Miss Diora. It may be a bit harsh, but… Please, please listen to our story.”

─Just before hearing that they were destined to meet him from the beginning.

Diora regretted meeting them for the first and last time.

However, when I found out their truth-

Meeting them gave new meaning to his life.

I couldn’t help but think that it was luck.