The Outer God Needs Warmth

A Saturday morning, just for the day.

I was resting at the inn when someone who worked as a butler came to tell me that the guard had arrived and asked me to come down to the reception room on the first floor.

When I went there, a girl with black hair, who was rare to see here, was sitting. I went and sat across from her.

"Hello." "Hi! So, you're Bell? The one to be guarded?"

She's quite lively. She seems younger than expected for a guard, but if she’s supposed to attend the Royal Academy with me, it's probably not that strange.

"I heard someone like you was coming. Are you starting to guard me today?" "Yeah. That's right."

She said that while handing me a piece of paper. I took it and read it—it was an order from the king to provide me with protection.@@novelbin@@

The term was for this year. And the name was...

"Merryweather Olket?" "Uh-huh, but I’d prefer you call me Marly instead of that stiff name."

I nodded at Merryweather’s words. I had expected someone more rigid due to her role as a guard, but she didn’t seem like that.

The northern people Kanna knows, even though they have the title of knights, would be better described as barbarian warriors, and the knights Aurora knows always patrol the castle with a stern expression.

"Will you keep following me around?" "The scope of my duties is on the next page!"

Turning the page, I saw that indeed, her duties were written there. She’s supposed to be with me almost all day.

Being a guard... seems unexpectedly harsh. There are no days off. There’s even no shift change; it’s all Merryweather.

Maybe the royal family isn’t trying to control me but prioritizing catching the witch.