Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Holy Blood (1)
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A whisper tickled my ear. But oddly enough, the voice was trembling just a little.
"Where... are you trying to go?"
I cautiously opened my eyes, which I had squeezed shut.
"...!"
I flinched involuntarily.
Those golden eyes staring at me from so close still radiated a chilling aura.
But at the same time, they quivered faintly.
As if anxious... or confused...
The emotions swirling in her gaze trembled in her voice as well.
"If you abandon me now too... then I..."
"......"
I was a little surprised.
Honestly, up until now, the image of Esty in my mind had been that of an ironclad machine.
Even in a battlefield where a single moment of carelessness could mean death, she never batted an eye.
I'd only ever seen her as a superhuman with power, mental fortitude, and intuition beyond ordinary people.
But this was the first time she'd ever shown such vulnerability so openly.
Her slightly drooping eyes, her tightly pressed lips full of pathos, her expression brimming with desperation.
Esty was laying bare her very human insecurities.
"......."
The moment I saw it, I realized something.
That she was just like me, after all.
A being who felt emotions like anyone else, with fragile parts deep in her heart...
Realizing it so late made her seem a bit pitiful.
'Maybe Esty... has trauma from being cast aside by those she trusted.'
It had been that way from the moment we first met.
A woman discarded in a junkyard corner, dying a miserable death.
She had devoted her life to some organization that's now erased from memory, only to be met with cold execution upon her return. It wouldn't be strange if she'd suffered deep mental scars. After all, she'd been utterly betrayed by the one she pledged her loyalty to.
I had saved that once-abandoned Esty, and she had promised to follow me.
Since then, we'd overcome countless hardships together. If I had to pick the one person I'd forged the deepest bond with in this city, it would be her without question. And the same went for Esty. I knew without words that our care for each other was mutual.
Yet the instinctive fear that even this trusted ally might cast her aside again...
It shone poignantly through her anxiously trembling eyes right now.
"......"
I felt a little sorry.
Esty being scary? What a foolish notion. The real suspect was someone else. She'd always been devoted to me—to the point where I felt ashamed for not rewarding her more... It was pathetic how I'd shrunk back out of fear just because she was acting out of character.
So I reached out and gently, firmly pulled her slumped shoulders into a hug.
"...!"
Esty's body jolted in surprise as she nestled into my arms.
I stroked her quivering shoulders soothingly and spoke in the gentlest voice I could muster.
"Me, leaving? What are you talking about? You must have misheard. Kayla's been tossing weird jokes around since earlier."
"......Is that true?"
With her face buried in my chest, she asked again, unable to hide her anxiety.
"Yeah. Want me to promise right now?"
"...?"
"I'll never disappear without a word. Even if something like that comes up, I'll tell you first, Esty. So relax."
Even if a miraculous way to cross dimensions existed, I had no idea what preparations it would require.
From what I could vaguely guess, it would be an incredibly distant journey.
So there was no way I'd leave her—or this place—right now.
Later... much, much later, if that day ever came, I'd deal with it then.
Esty murmured in a low voice.
"You promised for sure."
"Yes, of course."
We stayed like that for a while, sharing each other's warmth in an embrace.
A little later, as I tried to let go of the now seemingly calmed Esty, she strangely didn't want to pull away.
If anything, she seemed to hug me even tighter.
"Just a little longer... I want to stay like this a bit more..."
Her soft voice carried a childish whine mixed with some other emotion.
Somehow, it felt endearing, so I smiled faintly and patted her back.
"I'll hug you as long as you want."
I even felt glad to see this new side of her I hadn't known about.
Lost in those thoughts, I missed something.
The golden eyes that had slowly risen while her face was buried in my shoulder.
The fact that, in those pupils which had regained their usual cold composure, a faintly chilling gleam had flickered for just a moment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After clearing up the misunderstanding, my relationship with Esty returned to its usual atmosphere.
Though there were some minor changes in her demeanor.
Occasional lingering gazes directed my way.
Refusing to leave my side even in safe places.
And sometimes attempting to follow me into stalls like the bathroom under the pretext of a security gap...
I decided to set aside those petty squabbles for now.
It was time to focus seriously on the church's operations.
"......"
It had just happened while walking down the cathedral corridor.
Every believer I passed straightened their posture reverently the moment they spotted me.
And they remained silent in prayer until I was completely out of sight.
"........."
I could say with certainty that no one had taught or forced this etiquette on them.
It was closer to voluntary respect born from genuine faith.
After the gas leak incident, to the residents of this eastern suburb at least, Radiance had truly become the one true god watching over them.
Thus, the 'Saintess' was no longer someone they could approach casually; now they showed her deference.
As you can see, believers no longer greeted me warmly like before. But that didn't mean their fondness had waned.
On the contrary, their feelings had transcended simple affection into realms of devout worship.
Not just in the cathedral, but on the streets, in restaurants, in alleys—whenever I encountered people, the reactions were similar.
It was hard to find a resident here who wasn't a follower of the Radiance Church.
This eastern suburb had nearly perfected religious permeation.
So the only way to expand further was to reach into other districts.
But there was one problem.
The church's finances weren't flush enough to launch additional charity drives here.
Operations were in the black, sure, but all profits were being reinvested.
As charity efforts reduced street homeless and beggars, simple food handouts lost effectiveness for proselytizing. Instead, we were buying up back-alley properties to rent to believers, establishing church-run schools and hospitals—more practical, sustainable ways to bind faith to daily life.
Those plans left us short on spare cash.
The businesses seized from the mafia boss were still in acquisition, their slush funds mid-laundering.
They'd all come into our hands eventually, but like most criminal assets, they straddled legality's gray line. Legitimizing black money and taking ownership involved tedious processes.
But we didn't have the luxury to wait leisurely.
In this city, disasters like the gas leak could erupt anytime.
Would I make it home safely first?
Or would forces coveting the Saintess's powers discover and capture me first?
It felt like a race against time.
Thus, growing the church faster was the only way to brace for an uncertain future.
Yet, as mentioned, we lacked funds for basic charity expansion.
'Is there some way...?'
Lost in such worries while descending stairs to somewhere.
I'd finally arrived at one of the cathedral's basement storage rooms, packed with supplies.
In one corner sat large boxes of sealed glass bottles stacked high.
I picked one up and fondled it briefly; the clear water inside instantly transformed into a brilliant ruby-hued liquid.
It was a miracle dwelling in me: turning water into wine.
'But strangely, this power's the hardest to control.'
Maybe because believers had grown so rapidly, but if I didn't periodically 'vent' it like this, every liquid I touched would turn to wine in a blink. To avoid stumbling around drunk all day, I had to bleed off the power regularly.
That's why these wine bottles were already filling a display rack in the corner of the storage.
'I didn't want to just toss them since they're valuable... so I kept them...'
And now they were piled up like this.
I tried squeezing the freshly made bottle into a gap on the tightly packed rack.
Clink-, clink-
When it wouldn't fit, I habitually tidied other spots while deep in thought.
'Maybe something lucrative will drop from the sky for free.'
Then, I glanced down at the wine bottle in my hand.
"...?"