5 - Holy Maiden Candidate 圣N候选人

Thelma Zayin.

塞尔玛·扎因。

The woman who once held the title of Holy Maiden drew closer to the burned down carriage as we kept lookout of the surroundings.

当我们注视着周围的时候，曾经拥有圣女称号的女人靠近了被烧毁的马车。

There were traces of battle around, and in the burned carriage, were the bodies of men holding weapons, whom I assumed to be guards.

周围有战斗的痕迹，烧毁的马车里有拿着武器的人的尸体，我认为他们是警卫。

Whether their deaths had led to victory or not was cleanly burned away.

无论他们的死是否带来了胜利，都被彻底烧毁了。

Eva held her hand to her mouth, while Aria9;s face was pale.

伊娃用手捂住嘴，而阿丽亚脸色苍白。

I didn9;t feel too great either.

我也感觉不太好。

0;… Come to think of it, that was the first I9;d directly dispatched a human on my own.1;

（……想想看，那是我第一次直接派遣人类。）

I had rendered the return trip of some adventurers in Arumsaas impossible, but it9;s not like I had directly dealt with them.

虽然我让阿鲁姆萨斯的一些冒险者无法返程，但我并没有直接对付他们。

I felt a strange sense of unease. Clara walked over to my side.

我感到一种奇怪的不安感。克莱拉走到我身边。

“Lyle-san, only one of them survived. They9;ve lost consciousness, but they9;re more or less safe.”

“莱尔小姐，只有一个人活了下来。他们失去了知觉，但或多或少是安全的。”

第六个。

Hearing that, Clara nodded, and went off to transmit my words to the rest of our comrades.

『Put her in your debt here, and have her rely on you in Beim. Luckily enough, Novem-chan and the others are out searching for our own stronghold in Beim. They plan to buy a relatively big one, so you could even give them shelter!』

A hooded girl was standing beside her. From how those around were treating her, she was being cared for just as much as Thelma-san, so she must be an important one.

『你一定要给人留下好印象。当你在搞事情的时候，为了让自己更多地参与到这场混乱中，你认为你可以尝试提取一些信息吗，莱尔？』

『在这里让她欠你的情，在贝姆让她依靠你。幸运的是，小诺维姆他们正在贝姆寻找我们自己的据点。他们打算买一个比较大的，这样你还可以给他们提供庇护！』

Is what Thelma-san said, but Gastone-san shook his head. He understood how dangerous it was to remain here.

祖先们比平时更加活跃。

0;I should9;ve taken Shannon. Rather than leaving her to lend a hand in cleaning, she may have been more useful on this side.1;

“Well, it isn9;t a bad thing to get her in our favor. And let9;s remain wary of this survivor of ours. Theres something bothering me.”

The ancestors were even more lively than usual.

「莱尔先生，我本来不想说的，不过请允许我说一下吧；为什么还要接受这个要求，还听她任性呢？我们应该在时间允许的情况下尽快上路。”

Clara tugged at my sleeve.

On top of equipment gathered in accordance with their ordeal, I could tell they weren9;t bandits.

第三个发言了。

我看着前圣女塞尔玛小姐。

Clara9;s words were correct. They were correct, but I had circumstances of my own.

“……你不能给他们一个更体面的葬礼吗？”

Normally, I9;d have taken Monica along, but there was cleaning to be done in the property they9;d purchase, so she wanted to stay behind.

But due to a lack of time, he was digging out the holes with magic.

There was a possibility there would be poisons in their weapons, and I got the feeling concealed weapons were fair game.

克拉拉的话是对的。他们是对的，但我也有自己的情况。

I felt like letting out a sigh, but I endured it and turned my eyes to the survivor. He had yet to regain consciousness, and we had handed over some of the medicine we had on hand to treat him. The Fifth spoke.

Novem、Miranda、Monica和Shannon……他们四个人被留下来，除了收集信息之外，还为了达到目的。贝姆的基地。

『……真可疑。即使他们如此彻底地消除了所有其他证据，留下一名幸存者仍然感觉很不合适。难道是陷阱？』

『You9;ve got to give a good impression. While you9;re at it, to get yourself more involved in this mess, do you think you could try drawing out some information, Lyle?』

It was too late, but I regretted not putting more thought into our formation. I addressed Clara.

塞尔玛小姐如此说道，但加斯托内小姐摇了摇头。他明白留在这里有多么危险。

I turned my eyes to the surviving man, but there wasn9;t anything strange about him. Even confirming with Skills, I couldn9;t really understand anything.

主要是宝石中的祖先。

但当她目送我们其他人离开时，她显得非常孤独。

通常情况下，我会带莫妮卡一起去，但他们购买的房产需要进行清洁工作，所以她想留下来。

Our opponents were familiar with battle, and they were resolved enough to blow themselves up.

（麻烦啊，巨剑有点粗，弓也被挡住了。）

The Third spoke.

『… How suspicious. Even after they9;d erased all other evidence so cleanly, having a survivor left behind feels quite out of place. Is it a trap?』

（我应该带上香农。与其让她帮忙打扫卫生，她在这方面可能更有用。）

克拉拉拉扯我的袖子。

0;They haven9;t given up. I can only think they9;re getting their numbers together to launch an ambush.1;

When I remained vigilant of our surroundings, I sensed the pursuers close in the distance a bit.

“Lyle-san, I didn9;t want to say it, but if you9;ll let me have my say; why did you accept this request, even listening to her willfulness on top of that? We should have been on our way as soon as time permitted.”

Mainly the ancestors in the Jewel.

0;How troublesome. The Giant Sword will be a bit rough. And the Bow was blocked.1;

扎因的前大祭司【加斯托·贝尼尼】打算举行最后的仪式，并埋葬死者。

I nodded, and headed in that direction.

但由于时间不够，他只能用魔法来挖洞。

当我对周围保持警惕时，我感觉到追击者已经离我们有点近了。

The Sixth.

我想叹一口气，但我忍住了，将目光转向幸存者。他还没有恢复知觉，我们已经拿了一些手头上的药物来治疗他。五号说话了。

“好吧，让她对我们有利并不是一件坏事。让我们对我们的这位幸存者保持警惕。有件事让我烦恼。”

已经太晚了，但我很遗憾没有在我们的阵型上多加考虑。我对克拉拉讲话。

Novem, Miranda, Monica and Shannon… the reason the four of them were left behind, on top of information gathering, was to attain a base in Beim.

Zayin9;s former High Priest 【Gastone Benini】intended to perform their last rites, and bury the dead.

我们的对手熟悉战斗，他们有足够的决心去引爆自己。

But as she saw the rest of us off, she looked extremely lonely.

根据他们的苦难收集的装备，我可以看出他们不是强盗。

他们的武器中可能含有毒药，我感觉隐藏武器是公平的游戏。

克拉拉闻言点了点头，然后就去把我的话转达给其他战友了。

我点点头，朝那个方向走去。

（他们还没有放弃。我只能认为他们正在集结兵力发起伏击。）

“… Couldn9;t you give them a more respectful burial?”

I looked at the former Holy Maiden Thelma-san.

一个戴着兜帽的女孩站在她旁边。从周围的人对她的态度来看，她和塞尔玛小姐一样受到了照顾，所以她一定是一个重要的人。

我把目光转向幸存的男人，但他并没有什么奇怪的地方。即使用技能确认，我也无法真正理解什么。

I didn9;t think they9;d start their counterattack so soon, but they were accustomed to battle. Turning the Jewel to the Giant Sword to fight would be too dangerous.

没想到他们这么快就开始反击，不过他们已经习惯了战斗。把宝石变成巨剑去战斗，太危险了。

The information about the Bow was already transmitted to them, and perhaps they had put up some countermeasure with it.

关于弓的信息已经传给了他们，或许他们已经采取了一些对策。

While I tried thinking up a new plan, Gastone-san came over to us.

当我试图想出一个新计划时，加斯托内桑向我们走来。

“I apologize for taking our time. Let us depart at once.”

“很抱歉耽误了我们的时间。我们赶紧出发吧。”

I nodded, and issued orders. I had me comrades board Porter, and had us take up the rear.

我点点头，下达了命令。我让我的战友们登上波特号，让我们走在最后。

I also thought it best if we looked after the injured.

我还认为我们最好照顾伤者。

“We9;ll take care of the injured.”

“我们会照顾伤者。”

When I said that, Thelma-san wandered over, and shook her head.

当我这么说时，塞尔玛小姐走过来摇了摇头。

“We cannot trouble you to such an extent. And I want your party to concentrate on guard duties. The injured man is one who has been in service to us for many years. Please let us use our own hands to treat him.”

“我们不能给您添麻烦。我希望你们的队伍集中精力履行警卫职责。受伤的人是一位为我们服务多年的人。请让我们用自己的双手来治疗他。”

From the Jewel, the Seventh let his voice.

第七号从宝石中发出了他的声音。

“Hey, I9;m a bit curious, but…”

They had stripped off quite a few of the parts, but their constructions were sturdy. With a former Holy Maiden and High Priest riding them, it doesn9;t seem they were something prepared spur of the moment.

0;Purposely fall for the trap, and lure them out?1;

He was a cause of concern, but we abided Thelma-san9;s opinion. But the Third gave a proposal of his own.

I answered the question.

0;Hah, so when it comes down to it, it9;ll dull my blade. But if I hesitate, I may die. And I can9;t go around dying here.1;

我回答了这个问题。

“嘿，我有点好奇，但是……”

“Then aim for victory in the road ahead. The path becomes narrow, and our opponents seem to be in a hurry, so wouldn9;t they aim for such a point? You9;re using a Skill to raise this group9;s movement speed, so the other side will be a bit impatient.”

艾莉亚和伊娃也很可靠，但问题在于她们有犹豫。

我点点头，侧耳倾听，宝石中传来了五号的声音。我忽略了它。

I turned to her, and she plopped herself down cross-legged, but she continued speaking without sending her eyes my way.

“It isn9;t a plan. I9;m just a quilin. I9;ve taken on humans seeking to seize me. And a number of them were quite troublesome folk. No matter how far you run and run, they9;ll give chase, so there wasn9;t a choice but to defeat them. But if you hold out slaying them, the survivors build up their knowledge, and build up their traps and numbers, so I always aim to take out the whole herd at once.”

他们已经拆掉了相当多的零件，但他们的结构很坚固。骑着前圣女和大祭司的人，看来不是临时准备的。

“Run if we can. I9;d like to think they won9;t follow us all the way to Beim. But if we9;re going to fight, we9;re going to crush them.”

仅仅说他可疑是没有任何作用的。我握着宝石，向塞尔玛小姐和加斯通小姐提出了三代的提议。

而且因为可能发生什么事而把他绑起来也是不可能的。

『Lyle, tell them to lighten the load on a carriage so the important ones can get away, and load the man onto that one. At the very least, keep damage to a minimum.』

『I want to remove uncertain factors as much as possible, but you9;ll lose credibility if you force them apart.』

当我再次坚定了自己的决心时，梅把脸转向我。

➐

Stationed at the back of the group, we looked at the three carriages pressing on in front of us.

梅爬上屋顶，向后看，开始与我交谈。

他们有可能渗透到贝姆并埋伏。幸运的是，袭击者盯上了我们，而且没有任何迹象表明他们给家里的孩子发过信息。

“What will we do if those guys from before come back? Run? Fight?”

Aria and Eva were dependable as well, but the problem lay in that they had hesitation.

他虽然令人担心，但我们还是听从了塞尔玛小姐的意见。但第三人提出了他自己的建议。

“如果以前的那些家伙回来了我们该怎么办？跑步？斗争？”

我们没有那么多战士，但我们有梅。她是我们目前的人数中最可靠的。

“那是什么？”

Twelve in number.

“如果可以的话就跑。我想他们不会一路跟着我们到贝姆。但如果我们要战斗，我们就会粉碎他们。”

数量为十二。

我们站在队伍的最后面，看着前面逼来的三辆马车。

When I asked, May smiled.

The way back to Beim.

『莱尔，告诉他们减轻一辆马车的负担，这样重要的人就可以离开，然后把那个人装上马车。至少，把伤害降到最低。』

“Do you have some sort of plan?”

The 【Speed】 Skill hastened our movement. If I pushed it, then outrunning them may be possible as well.

Just calling him suspicious wouldn9;t get anywhere. I gripped the Jewel, and proposed the Third9;s proposal to Thelma-san and Gastone-san.

返回贝姆的路。

I nodded and listened, when the Fifth9;s voice came from the Jewel. I ignored it.

老四也是这么认为的。

『… So pushing her to leave him with you won9;t work. If you tell her there may be something wrong, her sentiment for her friend will dull her decision. Lyle, he won9;t wake up for a while, but you have to stay on your guard.』

『我想尽可能地消除不确定因素，但强行分开你就会失去可信度。』

【速度】技能加快了我们的移动速度。如果我推动的话，或许也有可能超越他们。

我转向她，她盘腿坐下，但她继续说话，没有把目光转向我。

There was the possibility they9;d infiltrate Beim, and lay in wait. Luckily, the attackers were stuck on us, and there weren9;t any traces of them having sent a message to their boys back home.

我也不能说我没有。

And I can9;t say I didn9;t have any either.

Climbing onto the roof, May looked behind, and started up a conversation with me.

The Fourth was of the same opinion.

当我问起时，梅笑了。

“What is it?”

“这不是一个计划。我只是一只奎林。我已经对付了试图抓住我的人类。其中有不少人是相当麻烦的人。不管你跑多远，他们都会追上来，所以你别无选择，只能打败他们。但如果你坚持杀掉它们，幸存者就会积累知识，增加陷阱和人数，所以我的目标总是一次性消灭整个兽群。”

（故意落入圈套，把他们引出来？）

（哈，所以说到底，我的刀刃会变钝。但是如果我犹豫的话，我可能会死。而且我不能就这么死在这里。）

『……所以强迫她把他留给你是行不通的。如果你告诉她可能出了什么问题，她对朋友的感情就会影响她的决定。莱尔，他有一段时间不会醒来，但你要保持警惕。』

“你有什么计划吗？”

And tying him up since something may happen was also impossible.

When I confirmed my resolve once more, May turned her face to me.

“那就在前方的道路上争取胜利吧。路越来越窄，对手又显得很着急，难道不就是为了这个目标吗？你用技能来提高这群人的移动速度，所以对方会有些不耐烦。”

We didn9;t have that many fighters, but we had May along. She was the most reliable among our current numbers.

『You9;ve been through a lot, May… the tears are…』

『你经历了很多，May…眼泪是…』

May gave a grin.

May 笑了。

“Even we will kill humans if they corner us so. But at such time, you9;ve got to get all the troublesome ones together, and take them out at once. Fall for the trap, and aim for the moment they all try to jump you.”

“如果人类将我们逼入绝境，我们也会杀死他们。但这个时候，你就得把所有麻烦的人都集中起来，立刻除掉。落入陷阱，瞄准他们都想跳你的那一刻。”

As I thought, she was thinking to purposely take the bait.

正如我所想，她是想故意上钩。

“That9;s a dangerous one. If we9;re surrounded like that, there9;ll be casualties. You aren9;t here alone.”

“这是一个危险的事情。如果我们被这样包围的话，就会有人员伤亡。你不是一个人在这里。”

There, May looked right at me, and scoffed.

在那里，梅直视着我，嘲笑道。

“You9;re joking. Lyle, it9;s best you trust in your own power just a little bit more.”

“你在开玩笑吧。莱尔，你最好多相信自己的力量一点。”

Saying that, she turned her field of vision to the back, and didn9;t say another word.

说着，她将视线转向了后方，没有再说什么。

➐

… Inside the carriage.

...车厢内。

Thelma called out to the young girl sitting beside her.

Aura lifted her legs up onto the seat in front of her, in quite a sloppy fashion. She didn9;t look like what one would call a candidate for leadership.

It waged war on its surroundings, and continued to pillage and plunder.

塞尔玛向一边摇摇头。

“这没什么特别的。但这是多么美好啊。为了我们能够在途中遇到冒险者。它们非常柔软，而且很容易使用。”

The pillager9;s mindset built over long years of war had persisted through Thelma9;s time, and she had found herself unable to alter it.

“And so war came year after year, and I couldn9;t do anything of the hatred that had been passed down through the ages. In my time, our neighbors made an alliance, and came from all sides to wipe Zayin off the map, you know.”

在多年的战争中形成的掠夺者心态一直持续到塞尔玛的时代，她发现自己无法改变它。

亚乌菈把腿抬起来，相当随意地放在前面的座位上。她看起来不像人们所谓的领导候选人。

“And wouldn9;t that have been better for all of us?”

“这就是为什么我从来都不想成为圣女候选人。还有很多选择，不是吗？本来就应该让一个在总局里有点欠缺的漂亮姑娘坐在空着的宝座上，却非要把她拖进政坛不是吗？”

She had a hunch towards the identity of the squadron chasing them.

Those divine knights she wrote off as blockheads were Zayin9;s official knight brigade. Under the name of the Goddess, the knights that abided the Holy Maiden. But their role wasn9;t really any different from the knights of any other country out there.

“……一旦我们到达贝姆，我就会继续过平静的生活。”

它向周围发动战争，并继续掠夺和掠夺。

And because of that, the anti-Thelma radical party was able to gather and organize itself. The candidate pushed forth by that radical faction was 【Remis】.

Her education was the same, but Aura9;s appearance was of high class. Thelma and Gastone had backed her, and recommended her as the next Holy Maiden.

“It isn9;t anything, in particular. But how nice it is. For us to be able to meet adventurers on the way. They9;re huge softies, and easy to make use of.”

塞尔玛眯起眼睛，警告亚乌菈。

她身边的女孩是【亚乌拉】。她的头发长而卷曲，而她的身材却相当纤弱。

亚乌拉笑了。

学历相同，但亚乌拉的外貌却很高级。塞尔玛和加斯托内支持她，并推荐她作为下一任圣女。

Just as with Thelma, Aura was a member of the moderate faction. A little over twenty years ago, while being a Theocracy, Zayin was going through a stream of continuous war.

但周边国家不会袖手旁观，受苦受难。他们以类似的方式入侵扎因的土地，给当地民众带来痛苦。

塞尔玛叹了口气，向亚乌拉道歉。

No, in violence, perhaps the divine knights were a bit superior.

“That9;s why I never wanted to be a Holy Maiden candidate. There were plenty more options, weren9;t there? They should9;ve just had a pretty girl a bit lacking in the head department sit on an empty throne, yet they just had to get her dragged into politics, did they?”

Thelma narrowed her eyes, and cautioned Aura.

不，在暴力方面，或许神骑士更胜一筹。

奥拉抬头看着天花板。

“他们追我们只是因为我们逃跑了。我们应该在扎因寺庙里保持安静。那些神骑士的蠢货就是讨厌处女涉足政治。”

“I do feel sorry for getting you dragged into the mess. But if we had run alone, then it would have invited harm unto you without fail.”

正因为如此，反塞尔玛的激进党派才得以聚集并组织起来。那个激进派推出的候选人是【雷米斯】。

“我为让你陷入困境而深感抱歉。但如果我们单独逃跑的话，肯定会给你带来伤害。”

与塞尔玛一样，奥拉也是温和派的成员。二十多年前，作为神权国家的扎因正经历着连绵不断的战争。

过了一会儿，亚乌拉开口了。

Of course, it9;s not like her appearance and education were the only reason for which she was selected.

“After they saved us, what9;s with your attitude? If you didn9;t have that side to you, you9;d have been the perfect candidate.”

两人之间陷入了沉默。

“这对我们所有人来说不是更好吗？”“当然不是！”

“他们救了我们之后，你是什么态度？如果你没有这一面，那么你就是完美的候选人。”

当然，她的外表和教育并不是她被选中的唯一原因。

“听起来不错。但其中应该有一个“如果”。我们雇佣的冒险者看起来很熟练，但我真的不知道接下来会发生什么。”

The girl beside her was 【Aura】. Her hair was long and wavy, while her body9;s build was quite delicate.

塞尔玛向坐在她旁边的年轻女孩喊道。

She had gone against the current generation9;s Holy Maiden 【Remis Zayin】 in the Saint Selection process, so Thelma had taken it to herself to take her out of the country.

A silence fell between the two of them.

那些被她视为傻瓜的神骑士，正是扎因的官方骑士团。以女神之名，侍奉圣女的骑士们。但他们的角色与其他国家的骑士并没有什么不同。

Thelma let out a sigh, and apologized to Aura.

塞尔玛将头靠在额头上。可能是因为头痛。

Thelma held her head to her brow. Likely from a headache.

But it9;s not like those surrounding nations would just sit quiet, and suffer. They invaded Zayin9;s land in a similar fashion, and brought pain to their populace.

“Aura，你最近表现得很奇怪。”

“… Once we get to Beim, I9;m going to go on to live a quiet life.”

“They9;re only chasing us because we ran. We should9;ve just stayed quiet back at the temple in Zayin. Those divine knight blockheads just hate it when a virgin gets involved in politics.”

Thelma shook her head to the side.

“That has a nice sound to it. But there should be an, ‘if9; somewhere in there. The adventurers we9;ve hired seem proficient, but I really don9;t know what9;s to come.”

“于是战争年复一年，我对世代相传的仇恨无能为力。在我那个时代，我们的邻居结成了联盟，从四面八方赶来，要把扎因从地图上抹掉，你知道的。”

“Aura, you9;ve been acting strange for a while now.”

After a while, Aura opened her mouth.

她在圣选过程中与当代圣女【雷米斯·扎因】作对，所以塞尔玛一意孤行，将她带出国。

Aura laughed.

“Of course not!”

Aura looked up at the ceiling.

她对追击他们的中队的身份有一种预感。

The subdivision of the divine knights kept for assassination, sent by the radicals.

激进分子派出的神圣骑士小队，用于暗杀。

Under absolute secrecy, they9;d committed a number of ill deeds, and they were a squadron that existed for covert operations. They were the elites of the divine knights, and quite a troublesome existence.

在绝对保密的情况下，他们干下了许多坏事，他们是一个为了秘密行动而存在的中队。他们是神骑士中的精英，也是相当麻烦的存在。

But they hadn9;t dispatched that great a number.

但他们并没有派出那么多人。

If they were able to make it to Beim, the assassins would probably return to the country, thought Thelma.

塞尔玛想，如果他们能够到达贝姆，刺客很可能会返回这个国家。

Aura rearranged the folding of her legs as she looked at Thelma.

奥拉重新盘起双腿，看着塞尔玛。

“Wouldn9;t this have been solved if you tried to get along with those blockheads? If it9;s you, Thelma-sama, then you could9;ve done it, right? In truth, couldn9;t you have retired over ten years ago, built up a temple or something in the sticks, and lived a quieter life?”

“如果你试着和那些笨蛋相处的话，这问题不就解决了吗？如果是塞尔玛大人的话，应该也能做到吧？其实你十几年前就不能退休了，在荒郊野外建个寺庙什么的，过点安静的生活吗？”

After her face became expressionless, Thelma began grumbling out complaints.

塞尔玛面无表情后，开始抱怨起来。

“Even I wanted to retire and build up a family… but Gastone wouldn9;t stop crying. And we weren9;t able to find the next candidate. On top of that, the divine knights went on strike, and we couldn9;t use them at all. Yet whenever we relied on adventurers for their neglected jobs, they9;d complain… just what did they want me to do, dammit? I wanted to retire to the countryside and get married or something.”

“即使我想退休并建立一个家庭......但加斯顿却不停地哭泣。我们无法找到下一个候选人。而且神骑士们都罢工了，我们根本就无法使用。然而，每当我们依赖冒险家来完成他们被忽视的工作时，他们就会抱怨……他们到底想让我做什么，该死？我想退休到农村去结婚或者其他什么。”

Having flipped a strange switch, perhaps Aura knew she had done wrong, as she tried to follow through. She was in debt to Thelma.

按下了一个奇怪的开关后，也许奥拉知道自己做错了，因为她试图坚持到底。她欠塞尔玛的债。

She was able to serve by the Holy Maiden as a consecrated virgin, and was treated quite favorable.

After hearing that much, Thelma smiled.

“How about you find a quiet life in Beim too? See, marriage is still…”

“你也去贝姆过上安静的生活怎么样？你看，婚姻还是……”

Seeing her enlightened smile, Aura9;s heart began to fill with pitiful sentiment…

听完这句话，塞尔玛笑了。

她能够以圣女的身份侍奉圣女，并受到相当优待。

看到她开明的笑容，亚乌拉的心里开始充满了怜悯……

“Aura，我今年三十六岁了，你的意思是我还有对象吗？即使十年前这会很困难？”

“Aura, I turn thirty six this year, yet you imply there9;s still a partner for me? Even when it would9;ve been hard ten years earlier?”