Parallel Memory

"A Funny Guy!"

I answered. Christian guy seemed more funny than arrogant. He felt really arrogant for a second but it looks like he was not as bad as I thought he would be.

"A funny guy? Hahaha… Did you call the heir of the biggest business a funny guy? Haha…"

The maid who was emotionless up until now laughed like she just heard one of the greatest jokes.

La-Minnings is a family that is one of the richest in the world. They are involved in a lot of business like mass-producing artifacts and Potions, though the quality of their items is a little subpar.

This information is something that I as a resident of the world knows. The La-Minnings business was not really mentioned in the novel, maybe because MC does not have anything to do with those things.

Though I remember that there was a strong character with La-Minnings' family name in the novel. I tried to remember but I could not though I knew for sure that it was not Christian.

"But he did act like a stupid man right now."

Looking at the maid right now, she seems like a normal girl in her twenties. She seems to know who Christian is though it is natural since she works as the maid of Saintess and Christian is one of the guys courting her employer.

"Anyway, let's go and meet with Saintess. She wanted to see you."

The maid returned to her emotionless state. She looked like a lively kid when she laughed.

My tour of Holy Church ended up with meeting Christian.

The maid took me outside the building where various flowers were planted. The Saintess was sitting while drinking tea inside a gazebo.

"Oh! You are finally here."

Her Saintess Amelia kept her cup steadily on the table as she spoke.

"I heard that you went for a walk. How is your body?"

"..."

Seeing her act like a good person, I felt something was wrong. I mean just yesterday, she was trying to get me into trouble with Professor Mia.

That reminds me,

"Where is Professor Mia? I haven't seen her since this morning."

Ignoring the Saintess' question, I asked the whereabouts of Professor Mia. She probably asked that question because she wants to appear as a responsible person.

"Ignoring me… This guy, really…"

The Saintess murmured angrily in a low voice. She had been trying to check on Zero since Professor Mia asked her.

"Mia had gone to report to The Authority. You will stay with me until Mia comes back."

"Huh? She is gone?"

Zero didn't think that he would be left alone here in the Holy Church.

Considering he had nothing to do here, he also felt that he should leave the place. He would feel more comfortable sleeping in the Ace Academy dorm than in a stranger's place.

"You have to stay here!"

Saintess Amelia said after she had seen through Zeros' intention.

She would also like to see Zero gone, but she had to make sure that Zero's body is fully recovered before she could do so.

And her friend had also entrusted Zero to her, so she had to make sure to keep her promise.

"Why?"

Zero thought that Saintess would be more than happy to let him go. He didn't expect her to ask him to stay.

Rather than feeling grateful, he thought that something might be up.

"Mia had asked me to keep an eye on you."

"Ehhh…"

"So, Adeline, I heard that your brother came?"

Ignoring the stunned Zero, Saintess asked the question to the maid that was accompanying Zero.

"Yes!"

"I see."

Taking a sip of the tea, she seems to have fallen deep into her thoughts.

"Her brother?"

Zero was confused by Saintess's question. He only knows the maid's name now, Adeline.

He was confused as he didn't know what Saintess meant by having met her brother. He clearly remembered that she had been with him the whole time.

"Don't tell me…"

Realizing who that brother could be, Zero could not help but be shocked.

"Yes, Christian that you met earlier is my brother."

Adeline confirmed Zero's guess.

( Really? )

Zero could not help but question that. The interaction between the two earlier didn't seem like that of a sibling, though he could not really tell because he didn't have any siblings.

At least in this life. He vaguely remembers having a sister in another world. Though those memories were very distant.

Zero understood why Adeline spoke in that manner even though she was a maid. She didn't really seem to treat Christian as a guest earlier, it might be because he was her brother.

She could have also caused a problem for me and Christian with her words but if she was his sister, she would know how he would react after hearing her words.

She must have known that he would not make a scene there and it was not like he could start a fight in front of his sister either.

But still, why were they still talking like strangers? And judging by the fact that Christian seems like an esteemed person, how can his sister work as a maid?

In spite of the fact that working for Saintess would be considered a noble profession, Adeline's employment there makes no sense.

Christians could be arrogant in the Holy Church because their families were sure to come from high backgrounds.

La Minnings would only face humiliation if people discovered that one of their children is working as a maid.

"You seem curious as to why I am working as a maid while my brother is the heir of the largest businessman. Do you want to know?"

"Not really!"

Though he wanted to know, it seemed a little inappropriate to get his nose into other people's business.

"Well, I will tell you. He is the son of his legal wife while I am the child of one of his father's mistresses."

Not caring about Zero's reply, Adeline shared the reason. Adeline spoke as if it was not related to her at all even though it was about her.

"Well, putting that aside, what would Mr. Zero like to drink?"

Adeline was back to being in her maid mode. She was really good at adjusting her mood.

"...Tea"

"Understood!"

Adeline went away to bring tea for Zero.

"So you have met her brother. What do you think about him?"

Saintess Amelia asked.

"Huh? Why are you asking me? You want me to help you choose your lover or something?"

Zero said in a sarcastic tone. Christian had come to court Saintess and now she was asking for his opinion.

To Zero, it seemed as if she was asking him his opinion of her pursuer.

-BANG!

"What?"

The Saintess violently slammed the table and stood up.

"What?"

Zero got startled by her sudden action. He didn't expect her to react like that.

"Are you an idiot? Do you really think Christian has come here to pursue me?"

"Is this not the case?"

"You are really stupid. If he was really coming with the intention of marrying me, why would he go back without meeting me?"

The Saintess began explaining.

"He was obviously coming here to meet his sister Adeline. Since he already got to meet her, he left the place. His objective coming here is pretty obvious."

( So that was the case. )

Earlier, Christian acted as if he was shocked by the fact that I slept in the Saintess's room and left the place.

It must have been his excuse after he saw Adeline. That is why he was not particularly angry at me.

He was not really there to pursue the Saintess. However, there was still one thing that confused me about this whole thing.

"Why do this? He could meet with her if he really wanted to. Why act as if he is courting you?"

"That is their family decision. Their family wants him to be in a relationship with me. That is the reason why they even send Adeline to help complete their objective."

The La Minnings family seems to want the benefit of being tied to the Church. They even send the family head's child as the maid of the Saintess.

"Though two of them didn't seem too keen on following their order. Christian La Minnings does occasionally come to meet me but I could not really see his sincerity in his sweet words. He seems more focused on watching Adeline than on our conservation."

Oh, that guy has a good brain. Yes, Saintess is very pretty, but personality is what matters the most when choosing a life partner.

"It was a win for both of us though. The Church receives lots of donations from the La-Minnings family, so I can't decline their invitation and Christian can't ignore his family order. But it looks like we both don't have an interest in each other which is good. Though we have to keep the appearance in front of others."

Listening to the story, I understand why Christians have to act like that.

It was necessary for him to demonstrate to others that he was courting Saintess Amelia. Though his main objective in coming to Holy Church was to see how his sister was doing.

That Christian guy was really a good man.