Chapter 178: The Word
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: The Word
“L-Let’s pray. Yes. If we pray, we can see God…”
Realizing her killer joke had fallen flat, Asha started spouting the kind of things one would expect from a typical believer.
The all-too-common story that God is up in the heavens, so you can meet Him if you pray.
Fortunately, this seemed to please Yohan, and he joined Asha in prayer. Elesis, who had followed him, also participated naturally, as befitting a nun.
Margaret, however, with an attitude that seemed to ask what good could possibly come from believing in some god, left the church entirely.
“We will now begin our prayer. May God be with us.”
Asha recited a prayer from the Holy Scripture. Having never been properly taught, she wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but since Elesis—a real nun—remained silent, she assumed it was close enough.
She prayed like this for several minutes, reciting the words, until the sound of children crying in the distance made her stop and rush off.
“I’ll be right back!”
Asha, who had excused herself with those words, returned after nearly twice the time she had spent praying. Even after coming back, she couldn't focus on her prayers and kept moving back and forth inside the church.
“Ahaha, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s alright, Sister.”
“Is it? Then I’ll just be one more moment!”
Asha said as she left her spot again. Yohan, observing her from the side, realized one thing: he had yet to see this nun pray for more than ten minutes straight.
There was surely a reason she couldn't stay in one place for long, but her inability to immerse herself in prayer meant it was safe to say she had the worst possible aptitude for a nun.
After about an hour of prayer, Yohan realized this and called Asha over to question her about it.
Asha scratched the back of her head and confessed the truth.
“W-Well, the thing is… I’ve never really prayed properly before.”
“What do you mean, you’ve never prayed?”
“This church also serves as an orphanage, so… it’s busy.”
Asha began to explain the problems of the slum church. Abandoned children flocked to it, and it had effectively taken on the role of an orphanage.
But with no proper caregivers or teachers to look after the children, Asha had to manage both the church and the children all by herself.
She explained that she was so short-staffed she’d never had the chance to pray properly.
“What do you mean… A cleric who hasn’t received proper training can’t be in charge of a church in the first place.”
“Ahaha, well—the truth is, I’m not an officially trained nun. I was an orphan at this church… The previous nun raised me. She passed the position on to me then.”
“Where is she now?”
“She passed away. From old age.”
Hearing Asha’s story, Elesis understood why there was a church in a place like this, and why it received no support from the homeland.
A long, long time ago, the main church must have dispatched a nun to establish a church here, giving her the mission of reforming the slums.
But such a task could never be accomplished easily. After long years of the nun failing to produce any results, wasting away time until she finally grew old and died—they must have completely erased this church's existence from the official records.
From the homeland’s perspective, this church didn't exist, so there was no way any support would come. It didn't have a properly trained nun, nor was it showing any real results.
‘She ran a church without any support…’
Elesis thought, staring intently at Asha. Her unattractive appearance must have also played a part in her survival in a slum like this.
It was the only spiritual refuge the people of the slums had. She wasn't alluring enough for them to attack her, especially if it meant destroying such a place.
“Yohan, let’s step outside and talk for a moment.”
“Why?”
“Just come out.”
Leading Yohan outside, Elesis began to whisper quietly, her voice low enough not to be heard by Asha inside.
“…Didn’t you say we were going to meet the Saintess?”
“And?”
“How can someone like that be the Saintess? She hasn’t received proper training, she can’t use Divine Power, and she doesn’t even know how to pray properly.”
It wasn't that she was discriminating against or looking down on Asha. On the contrary, she thought it was amazing. Her ability to care for dozens of children on her own without any support was no small feat.
But if asked whether she could call her a Saintess, she had to shake her head. What kind of Saintess was a nun who couldn't even use Divine Power?
Divine Power was proof of God’s response, and the amount of it was the very evidence that guaranteed one’s faithfulness.
“If she can’t use Divine Power, does that mean she doesn’t believe in God?”
“Of course. Do you not know what Divine Power is?”
“So, having Divine Power means you’re a follower of God’s will?”
“That’s what I’ve been saying…”
“—Then was it God’s will that you were kidnapped and tortured?”
At Yohan’s words, Elesis clamped her mouth shut. As he said, she had once been dragged away and tortured by Holy Knights and clerics.
They were the ones with the most Divine Power in this world, so according to Elesis’s own logic, she had been tortured according to God’s will.
“It’s always easy to talk when it’s about someone else’s situation, but it’s not so simple when it becomes your own.”
“…You’re right. Fine, I’ll admit that having Divine Power doesn’t necessarily mean one follows God’s will. But separate from that, the reason she can’t be the Saintess is—”
“You’ll see. You’ll see why I thought she was the Saintess.”
Yohan advised Elesis to try teaching Asha. If Asha’s lack of professional knowledge was the problem, couldn't she, a former Holy Knight, teach her?
After all, she had experience teaching other Holy Knight candidates during her time in the order. Teaching one nun how to pray and other such things wouldn't be too difficult.
Though she looked far from pleased, Elesis nodded as if she had no choice when it came to Yohan’s words.
“Fine, I’ll teach her. But if it turns out she’s not the Saintess, just as I said, we’re getting out of this place quickly.”
“Alright, alright, don’t worry.”
Yohan nodded at her words, then looked around and realized that Margaret, who had left the church first, was nowhere to be seen.
This was a slum, but she was a witch; it was unlikely she’d been accosted by thugs. Just as he was wondering where she could be and what she was doing, Margaret revealed herself by dropping out of thin air.
“Oh? Yohan, what are you doing here?”
“Margaret. I should be asking you that. What were you up to?”
“Me? I was just…”
Just as Margaret was about to say something, a ruffian from deep within the slums came running toward them.
He wasn't holding a weapon, so he wasn't trying to cause any harm. He was, however, about to do something far more unsettling.
The ruffian who rushed at Margaret tried to grope her body with his filth-caked hands and feet. With the same impulse one might have to leave footprints in pristine snow, he sought to satisfy his lust by defiling a body he could never hope to touch.
“Get lost.”
Of course, such a thing would never work on Margaret, the Witch of Space. After sending the ruffian flying somewhere, she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, See? and looked back at Yohan.
Only then did Yohan realize what she had been doing, and why the residents of the slum hadn't shown any interest in the two of them. He let out a hollow laugh.
It wasn't that they hadn't shown interest. It was that they lost their lives the moment they showed any.
“Yes, this is how you pray.”
“L-Like this?”
After Yohan’s advice, Elesis began to train Asha. She taught her how to pray daily, how to immerse herself and concentrate, and the hidden meanings within the Holy Scripture.
It was more like intensive tutoring, but under the guidance of a former Holy Knight—an elite position that only those with outstanding physical strength, mental fortitude, and faith among all clerics could achieve—Asha began to seem more and more like a proper nun at a remarkable speed.
Furthermore, once they hired a nanny to care for the many orphans—the very things that had been distracting her prayers—Asha was able to fully adapt to her training.
It meant that she had finally awakened her Divine Power.
“Ah, I think I understand now.”
With her eyes closed, lost in mental immersion, Asha recited from her scripture and felt the Divine Power welling up inside her.
The word of God, the will of God—they assimilated, beginning to elevate her soul to a higher plane.
The moment she awakened her Divine Power, Asha heard a voice from somewhere.
—So, you finally look this way.
It was His voice.