The Water Saintess
As we followed the refugees into the shantytown, the situation looked far worse than I had anticipated.
A rotting stench hung thick in the air. Every time we passed a shack with its door left ajar, the groans of people writhing in agony echoed out.
And then, Lucia began her treatment.
I had never heard of a spiritist healing people before.
Still, Lucia wasn't the type to tell a blatant lie.
"Where does it hurt?"
"I was injured fighting when the bandits raided us the other day."
Among those who had followed us from the carriage to the shantytown, one man in particular seemed to have great difficulty walking.
Lucia approached him, examined his leg, and then knelt down to roll up his trouser leg to check the wound.
"Ugh..."
The state of the man's leg was far worse than it had appeared on the surface.
The wound remained wide open, and the flesh around it was actively rotting.
I wasn't the only one who gasped; the onlookers let out collective groans of disgust.
Yet Lucia remained unfazed, carefully examining the decaying limb to assess the damage.
"Saintess... is it very bad?"
"I'm not a saintess, I'm a spiritist. My name is Lucia."
"Ah... yes... Lady Lucia... is it very bad?"
"It's tetanus."
"What!!!?"
The man's jaw dropped in sheer shock. Tears began to stream down his face as if his world had just ended.
The people around him clicked their tongues in pity, looking at him with sorrowful eyes.
In a place with advanced medicine, a few shots would have cleared it right up.
Even in this world, wealthy nobles could easily get it cured by making a hefty donation to the temple.
But as far as commoners were concerned, tetanus was a disease that meant either death or permanent disability.
It was only natural for them to react with such despair.
"Do... do I have to cut off my leg...?"
"What? No. It will be a bit difficult, but... I can treat it."
"R-really!?"
Instead of answering verbally, Lucia simply smiled and nodded.
Seeing her confident smile, the man continued to weep, but his face was now alight with hope.
Lucia summoned the Water Spirit King, Elraim, just as she always did.
Upon manifesting, Elraim seemed slightly surprised to see the crowd gathered around her.
However, her gaze soon drifted to the man's leg, which Lucia was holding, and a gentle smile graced her lips.
"I'm sorry."
Honestly, how many people would be willing to touch that man's rotting leg?
Even his own flesh and blood would have hesitated.
Yet Lucia held the leg gently, looking up at Elraim with a bright, warm smile.
Perhaps moved by the girl's pure heart, Elraim said nothing more. She simply reached down and placed her hand over the man's leg alongside Lucia's.
Heal
Water flowed down from Elraim's arm to her hand, cascading over the man's knee. Wherever the water touched, the flesh began to knit back together.
The rotting tissue regained its healthy, natural color, completely restoring the leg to its original state.
"Oh my god... my leg..."
Murmur, murmur.
Starting with the man, the surrounding crowd began to whisper in awe. In an instant, the sick and injured rushed over, forming a long line in front of Lucia.
"Lady Lucia, please look at my arm!"
"Please help my wife!"
"My son's fever won't break!"
The crowd swarmed Lucia as if they had witnessed a miracle from the gods. The numbers swelled so rapidly that I had to step in just to maintain order.
"Yes. Please."
Looking at the gathering crowd, Elraim summoned water to swirl around her.
Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, but beams of sunlight pierced through them, illuminating the ground.
Rain of Healing
Drip... drop... splash...
The scattered droplets quickly turned into a gentle, steady rain that showered down upon the shantytown.
Caught in the sunlight filtering through the dark clouds, the falling rain shimmered like liquid light, creating a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
"Oh my god... the wound on my arm is healing..."
A man nearby unwrapped his soaked bandages and raised his arm high, revealing skin completely free of scars.
Following his lead, people all over the settlement checked their bodies as the rain washed over them. Amazed by the miraculous effects, they began to hug one another, weeping with joy.
"This is a miracle... a miracle! Thank you, Saintess!"
"Saintess! We have witnessed a miracle because of you!"
Once one person called her a saintess, the others quickly followed suit, bowing their heads in deep gratitude.
Overwhelmed by the sudden reverence, Lucia waved her hands frantically, trying to correct everyone who addressed her that way.
"Please... I'm not a saintess. I'm just a spiritist."
"To us, you are no different from a saintess! Who else would bestow such a miracle upon us?!"
The crowd nodded in agreement with the man's passionate cry.
Some even fell to their knees, prostrating themselves on the muddy ground.
"But still..."
The people refused to listen to her protests. In the end, everyone in the shantytown came to revere her as the Water Saintess.
Since our arrival, Lucia had been the busiest of us all. Irene and I did little more than follow her around and eat the simple meals the refugees prepared for us from their meager stores.
It was a watery soup and bread so stale and hard it felt like biting into a stone.
To us, it was easily the worst meal we had ever had, but to the residents of this place, it was practically a feast.
I was used to eating this kind of food, so I didn't mind...
But worried about Irene, I glanced her way. To my surprise, she was eating the bread and soup with apparent relish, though I couldn't tell if she was just acting for their sake.
"Ugh..."
Having paused her healing duties when she heard food was ready, Lucia approached us with a pout, looking thoroughly distressed.
"What's wrong, Lucia?"
"Everyone keeps calling me a saintess."
"Hahaha. Is that all?"
I tried to laugh it off, but Lucia didn't share my lightheartedness. She protested with a frown.
"What do you mean 'is that all'? If word of this gets out, I could be arrested for blasphemy..."
"Don't worry, Lucia. That won't happen. Do you really think I'd just stand by and let them take you?"
I wasn't just saying it to comfort her in the moment.
If the High Temple or the Empire actually tried to lay a hand on her, I fully intended to tear them apart.
Making an enemy of a member of the Hero's party meant making an enemy of me.
As soon as I finished speaking, Irene nodded firmly, indicating she shared the exact same sentiment.
"Still, it's best if it doesn't happen at all... I just hope rumors don't spread."
I understood why Lucia was so anxious.
The primary reason the temple held such sway over the populace was their monopoly on healing magic.
Their entire financial system relied on tithes from the commoners and massive donations extracted from nobles and wealthy merchants in exchange for divine healing.
If someone who wasn't a priest went around healing people for free...
It would directly threaten their authority and undermine their very livelihood.
In this world, any non-priest caught performing acts of healing was branded a blasphemer, thrown into prison, or executed. That was the harsh reality.
"Oh! Lady Irene! I found out the location you asked about earlier."
"Really? Where is it?"
"There's a valley at the foot of that mountain over there. If you go there, you'll find a large cave. That's where they've all gathered."
"Thank you, Lady Lucia."
"But are you really going alone? Should I come with you?"
"You need to stay here and continue healing the people, Lady Lucia. I will be fine on my own."
I wondered where Irene was planning to go. She had asked Lucia for the location and seemed intent on leaving as soon as we finished eating.
"Irene, where are you going?"
"Since the people here were attacked by bandits, I asked Lady Lucia's Sylph to track down their location."
"And you're going alone?"
"Yes."
"Let's go together."
"...It is fine. I am more than capable of handling them by myself."
"No, I'll come. I don't have much to do here anyway, and I'd feel uneasy letting you go alone."
"......Very well."
Of course, I wasn't worried about Irene getting hurt by mere bandits.
If anything, I felt sorry for the bandits, who would likely end up frozen solid like blocks of ice.
Still, letting a woman go off by herself felt wrong, even if I knew she could handle it.
Besides, I had a few things I wanted to ask her on the way.
"Just in case, I'll have my Sylph guide you. I hear the mountain is steep and the paths are confusing, so it will be safer that way."
I felt a bit uneasy leaving Lucia behind, but with Elraim by her side, I could rest easy.
A short while later...
After finishing our meal...
Lucia went back into the shantytown to tend to the remaining patients.
Irene and I set off into the forest, following the direction indicated by the Sylph.
But for some reason...
Irene's expression seemed a bit dark.
Was it because she had parted from Lucia?
Or was she unhappy with me?
"Um... Irene?"
"Yes, Hero?"
"Is something bothering you?"
"No. Nothing."
Her tone and expression practically screamed that something was wrong.
"You can tell me. We're in the same party now. You can talk to me."
"......"
"Is it hard to tell me?"
"It's not that, but..."
"Then go ahead."
I kept coaxing her, sensing she had something on her mind.
After walking in silence for a long while, she finally gathered the courage to speak.
"Hero... do you, perhaps... not trust me?"
"Huh?"
Caught completely off guard by her sudden question, I stared at her in surprise before asking her to repeat herself.