My Childhood Friend the Demon Knight Hates Me

Extra Edition Part 1
The struggle of Roasel-Finns

Translator: Lioness
Editor: Arya

“I am sorry for suddenly calling you here, Roa.”

“No, it’s fine. May I ask why you called me here?”

It was early in the morning, and the sun showered its immaculate light over this planet

Before the morning service started, my grandfather…. No, to be exact, I, Roasel Finns, was called by the Apostle Chief, and had arrived in his office.

Under the pale orange lights, the ‘Forest of Holy Bells’ paintings which were hung on both walls, shone divinely and welcomed me.

When I was a child, I used to drop by this place to see these favorite paintings, but now, what I felt was only nervous.

What will he say to me?

He had taken the trouble to call me here.

Have I done something majorly wrong…?

As I waited for him to speak, hiding my anxiety, the Chief Apostle opened his mouth solemnly.

“This is regarding the Holy Bell Festival. This year, I would like to entrust the Spirit Princess under your care…”

“… What?” I lost my voice for a moment in surprise.

The precious ‘Spirit Queen’ whom we serve. The especially chosen caretaker of the Spirit Princess would have to meet her up.

It was an honor that was too much for my inexperienced self to bear.

“Are you alright about that…?”

“Um …. I am not very sure about that. The spirit princess of this generation is neither an apostle of the church nor a daughter of an aristocrat. As a person who can do it, I think you are the best one … I picked you at my own discretion. Of course, there is no such thing as favoritism here. Will you do me this favor? “

“Yes, sir! O-of course. Please lea-leave it to me…!”

I stuttered, but I bowed my head and replied.

My grandfather, who I respected both as the head of the church and as a person, trusted me. I couldn’t betray and ruin it.

I will definitely fulfill my role as the caretaker of the Spirit Princess!

My grandfather smiled softly at my eagerness.

I’m quite nervous, but I am excited to meet the Spirit Princess.

•••

“Welcome, Spirit Princess and her knight. My name is Roasel-Fins, in charge of taking care of you while you are in the church.”

After I managed to relax my tense body and safely said my greetings, Suria-sama, this year’s spirit princess, was very cheerful.

Normally, I would be afraid to call her by name. However, since Suria herself wanted to be called by her first name, I had to call her by that, even though it was a bit impolite.

It made me nervous to call a beautiful woman by her name…

Suria-sama said that she came from a distant territory. She must be tired from her long journey, but she didn’t show any sign of it from the outside and treated me in a friendly manner. It was a secret that I felt relieved and patted my chest.

The knight who was attached to Suria’s escort, was a talented young man who joined the Order of Privileged knights at a young age, and unlike me, he was tall, dignified and cool.

… Similar to my mother, who had a reputation in the village as a ‘transient beauty’ who lived in the countryside, I looked delicate and often was mistaken as a girl, so I just looked at him with envy.

His name was Reiss-sama, but he told me to call him by his title, ‘Knight Protector’, so I addressed him as Knight-sama.

Knight-sama always wore a tingling atmosphere, partly because of his mission as an escort. It seems that he was wary that the spirit of water, which was close to Suria, was also used to it. He didn’t seem to have a lot of words, basically a silent guy, and to be honest, I’m a little scared of him.

Above all, it seemed that he was a childhood friend of the same country as Suria, but it seemed that the two of them were not on good terms …

There had been a number of strange incidents of Spirit Princess going missing one after another in the royal capital. The church had been busy dealing with the situation, and the days have been somewhat unsettled.

We must not let anything happen to you, Suria-sama.

I would like them to work together as much as possible, but … well, they had a stiff face.

“I’m sure you’re tired today, so please take a good night’s rest in your room. Your luggage and other belongings had been taken to your respective rooms.”

I smiled and said that in an attempt to ease the situation, and the two of them immediately complied.

However, there was still an awkward and unsettling atmosphere between Suria-sama and the knight-sama.

When I showed them to their rooms, I handed them the ‘spirit crystal’ that I had received from the head of the apostles, and the knight’s neat face was distorted and his brow wrinkled. When I got frightened and shook my shoulders, Suria said to him, complaining to him. “Don’t scare Roa!”. And the knight hit his tongue, and the air got worse.

This was completely my fault, so I could only apologize.

My grandfather used to say to me that, “The relationship between men and women is complicated,” and I shouldn’t be upset…

However, I would like to ask them to forgive me for worrying about the relationship between these two, knowing that it was difficult to have them work together peacefully.

Anyway, I had to fulfill my duties. It was my mission to work hard to solve the problem and to serve Suria-sama with all my heart.

“Let’s do our best …!”

That day, I went to bed early with renewed enthusiasm. As usual, after writing a letter to my mother, which I regularly send in bulk, I wrote a short report to her.

‘Dear Mother

Today, I met the Princess Spirit and his Knight.

The Spirit Princess of the present generation, whom I’ve been assigned to take care of, is a bright and wonderful woman. Her pale blue eyes, which looked at me with tenderness, seemed to resemble you, Mother.

The knight is a very handsome man, and I’m sure that if he were to meet the wives of the village, they would all be very excited.

He is very manly and I envy him a little.

Like what my deceased father told me, my mother often says that it’s okay for me to be short, because I’ll grow taller when I’m in my right age, and I won’t be mistaken for a girl after that. But I was worried if I would ever get tall. …… However, the other day, I was approached on the street by someone who said, “You’re pretty, young lady.”

I reflexively said, “I’m a man!” She was shocked when I told her that I was a man.

I’m sorry for reporting so many strange things.

Now, the missing cases are continuing in the royal capital. The crime was aimed only at the Spirit Princess, and the cause is still under investigation. The safety of the victims is a concern.

As one of the apostles of the church, I will do whatever I can to help solve the case as soon as possible.

Are you doing well, Mother?

Is there any change in your health?

If you need anything, please contact me immediately.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can come home again.

From Roa’

●●●.

Carrying a large amount of paperwork, I’m walking down the corridor of the church at a fast pace, being careful not to run.

“Roa-san! The report related to the incident is still unprocessed at ……!”

“The families of the missing people are rushing to the church one after another!”

“I want you to connect to the higher ups of the church from the headquarters of the Knights of the Royal City …! Please respond, Mr. Roa!”

While replying to each and every one of them, my brain was rapidly constructing what would be my next action.

The continuous kidnapping of the spirit princess was still ongoing. The church’s impatience and panic were steadily increasing as new victims continued to appear.

As a person who held a high position in the church, I’m keeping a close eye on the situation.

In addition, although it was still speculative, it was rumored that among some apostles was the mastermind behind the incident, and may be related to the ‘devil’.

A demon was an impersonal being that deceives and entraps people, just like a spirit, but in the opposite direction. In this country, we are not familiar with demons and only a few people know about them, but they definitely exist.

If the incident was related to demons, it would be a different story.

In any case, we couldn’t afford to cause any more damage. I’m running around the church today, driven by a sense of urgency.

…… However, it was also important to remain calm.

“Oh, Roa-san ……!”

“Oh!”

I slammed into a pillar, which created a thud sound.

The papers in my hands were scattered and I stepped on the hem of my robe and fell on my butt. The apostles around me asked, “Are you okay?” But I was very embarrassed that I felt like fire was coming out of my face.

“Hmm … I am okay.”

I sat down on the couch in the courtyard and let out a deep sigh, holding my aching forehead with one hand.

The apostles, who were also my colleagues, forced me to take a rest, saying, “Mr. Roa, please take a rest!”, sSo I am currently basking in the sun for a while.

It was such a beautiful day outside.

The ray of the sun was sinking into my eyes.

But I’m still more restless when I’m relaxing like this.

While I’m doing this, I didn’t know what the missing people were going through. …… There exists no guarantee that they are still safe. My heart hurts when I think about the sadness of their families.

I am an apostle of the church, even though I am not very mature.

I’d been a fan of my grandfather and vowed to devote myself to the peace of the people of this country since I decided to serve the Queen of Spirits.

And yet, when I hit my face on a pillar, the people around me got worried and even stopped me from working.

“I’m going to be a great apostle!” I declared to my mother, who had cared for me until the end. I’ll be a great apostle! I felt so miserable that my eyes were filled with heat.

When I reclined on the back of my chair, my feet were slightly out of reach, and the way to my toes swayed in the air, adding to my misery. I was wiping my eyes with the hem of my white robe, not wanting to cry over something like this.

“Huh? Mr. Roa?”

I heard a woman’s voice from above me. I looked up and saw… Suria looking down at me with a curious look on her face.