The Goddess's Oath
I stared blankly ahead, my mind reeling. ‘…I never expected this.’
After hearing the Lure Church’s official announcement, I was genuinely shocked. I hadn’t anticipated this kind of response at all. Well, to be precise, I had expected they wouldn’t revoke the appointment. The deed was already done, and since the whole thing had begun at Lana’s request, I figured the church wouldn’t cancel the honorary title just because public opinion had soured. But this…
‘I never imagined they’d go so far as to swear in the Goddess’s name.’
The fact that the church had sworn an oath upon the Goddess herself left me stunned. ‘…Is this really okay?’
My first reaction was, naturally, worry. Swearing in the Goddess’s name was no trivial matter. It wasn’t just a matter of faith—there were real, tangible consequences. That was precisely why the clergy of the Goddess Church would never utter a falsehood while invoking Her name.
And yet, in their statement, the church had sworn upon the Goddess that there had been no corruption in this appointment.
Because it was such common knowledge that one could not lie while invoking the Goddess’s name, public opinion had quieted down almost immediately. But I couldn’t relax. After all, I knew better than anyone that this appointment was far from honorable.
By any normal standard, I hadn’t met even the slightest requirement. The only reason I’d been made an Honorary Monk was because of Lana’s personal request. Even if it felt awkward to say it myself, it was an undeniably shady appointment.
What was strange, however, was this: ‘…Nothing happened.’
Despite the clear corruption involved, neither the priest who made the announcement nor the church that had approved it suffered any repercussions. What on earth was going on?
My thoughts were a tangled mess, but one somewhat plausible theory did come to mind. It was possible that this matter simply wasn’t being recognized as “corruption” at all.
As I’d said many times before, a Saintess was the Goddess’s representative. The Goddess Church, which placed the words of the Goddess above all else, might not view bending established procedures at the direct request of Her representative as corruption.
However… ‘…That’s still far too optimistic an assumption.’
It might be fine for the church to reach that conclusion internally, but once an oath in the Goddess’s name was involved, things became far more complicated. A divine oath was exactly what the name implied—a vow made directly to the Goddess. Even if the church didn’t see it as corruption, whether the Goddess Herself would agree was an entirely different matter.
Of course, since the situation had originated from Her own representative, there was a decent chance the Goddess would overlook it… but swearing an oath so boldly without any certainty seemed incredibly reckless.
‘Did they receive an oracle or something?’
That would make sense. If the Goddess had sent down an oracle approving the matter, the church could have made the oath without hesitation. The problem was… oracles were not something that came easily.
In general, the Goddesses rarely issued oracles directly. Whether it was due to some restriction upon the divine or simply a lack of interest in the mortal world, the Goddesses did not hand down oracles frequently. Unless it was a truly historic event, they almost never intervened in such a way.
So would the Goddess really have sent an oracle over something like this? Honestly, it didn’t seem very convincing.
Then what in the world was going on?
After turning the question over in my mind for a while, I eventually reached a conclusion.
‘…Well, it doesn’t really matter.’
In the end, the situation had been resolved peacefully. I hadn’t lost my position as an Honorary Monk, the Lure Church’s reputation remained intact, and Lana hadn’t been put in a difficult spot. That was enough.
The exact details behind it all… well, I didn’t particularly need to know. There was a saying that what was good was good. Recalling that particular pearl of wisdom, I decided to let the matter slip from my mind.
After the church’s announcement, things became considerably more comfortable.
The gazes directed at me were still somewhat strange, but the whispering had stopped completely. Since the Lure Church had gone so far as to swear an oath, digging up more dirt would be tantamount to openly challenging the entire Goddess Church.
With peace restored, I found myself, as usual, receiving treatment from Lana once again today.
By now the sensation of holy power’s warm light enveloping my entire body had become familiar. I glanced at Lana.
I hadn’t voiced it aloud, but lately one particular question had been nagging at me.
When she had first begun treating my body, Lana had said that two or three more sessions would be enough to completely cure me. However, as time passed, she had revised that statement, saying the traces were more stubborn than expected and would require more time.
Ever since then, I had continued receiving treatment… but at some point, a thought had begun to take root in my mind.
‘No matter how you look at it… isn’t this taking way too long?’
That was the thought.
While receiving Lana’s treatment, my physical condition had improved beyond recognition. Even by feel alone, the difference from before was unmistakable. At this point, only the faintest trace of that “mark” remained in my body. And even that was so faint that one would have to examine me very carefully from within to notice it.
I possessed no holy power and knew nothing about healing arts, but whenever I sensed just how faint that trace had become, I couldn’t help but wonder—‘At this level, couldn’t she erase it immediately?’
In fact, during the very first treatment, Lana had wiped away a significant portion of the “trace.” The fact that she was now struggling to remove something that had grown this faint was a little hard to understand.
Still, I never brought it up.
Perhaps, contrary to appearances, completely erasing the trace was far more difficult than it seemed. If I carelessly voiced my doubts, it might come across as questioning Lana’s abilities. That was the last thing I wanted.
Besides—‘There’s no harm in it.’
Whatever the truth might be, the fact that I got to spend more time with Lana was a joyous thing for me. It wasn’t as if leaving the trace alone would put my life in immediate danger. My body was essentially back to normal, save for the fact that it wasn’t fully cured yet. There was no need to rush.
Rather than risk losing this time by raising pointless questions, I preferred to spend a little more time with Lana like this.
So today as well, I quietly swallowed the question that had risen all the way to my throat.
Today, once again, Lana was treating the man named Kyle.
It had become part of her daily routine—a fixed part of her schedule. The treatment had dragged on far longer than originally planned.
However, the truth was that the reason the treatment had been prolonged so much… was because of her. Lana had deliberately chosen not to use her full power.
Healing Kyle’s body was not difficult. Although his condition had been severe and the “trace” exceptionally stubborn, it was hardly a challenge for a Saintess who possessed the greatest healing power on the continent. If she had truly exerted herself, she could have cleansed him completely in just two or three sessions.
But Lana had not done so.
She had intentionally slowed the pace of the treatment. She could have erased the “trace” entirely at any moment if she wished, yet she refrained.
Why had Lana gone out of her way to do such a thing?
There was a reason.
It was to observe the man.
From the very beginning, her meeting with him had come at Julia’s request. Lana had been worried. She had feared that the innocent, sheltered Julia might be deceived by a man with a dark heart.
On the surface he didn’t seem like a bad person, but one could never be too sure. So Lana had decided to slow down the treatment. She would take her time, stay by his side, and carefully assess his character—
‘…No.’
Even Lana herself knew that was nothing more than an excuse.
Lana possessed an outstanding affinity for spirits. On top of that, she had spent nearly ten years bound by contracts with them. As a result, her senses had developed tremendously in the spiritual realm, granting her a transcendent perception that operated in a completely different domain from Julia’s.
Because of that, she could instinctively sense a person’s true nature—whether they were fundamentally good or evil.
From her perspective, the man called Kyle Berwen was not evil. If anything, he leaned toward the side of good. She had realized it not long after meeting him—that he was not the kind of person who would harm Julia.
Nevertheless, she had lied to create these moments.
Why? Why had she gone so far?
The answer was simple: because she wanted to know.
Not long after meeting him, she had gone out with the man. It was to observe his true nature more closely, over a longer period of time.
But then something unexpected had happened.
Kyle had suddenly reached out and stroked her hair.
At that moment, Lana had been greatly startled and thrown into confusion. Of course, the fact that the man had done such a thing was surprising, but what shocked her even more was something else entirely.
She was most surprised by the fact that she had not avoided his touch—and that she had felt no aversion to it whatsoever.
That should have been impossible.
Because she felt an intense aversion to physical contact with others, Lana had always instinctively rejected anyone’s approach. That reaction had nothing to do with the other person’s character. Whether they were evil or even a perfectly virtuous saint, she had always felt repulsion.
Yet… with Kyle, she hadn’t felt even the slightest trace of rejection.
It was something that should not have happened. Something even Lana herself could not understand.
So she wanted to know. She wanted to know why she felt no aversion toward this man.
That was why Lana had lied.
She had told him the treatment would take longer than expected, and she had deliberately slowed its pace.
That had been her motive.
‘At first’… anyway.