Chapter 113: The Lord is With Us (34)
Chapter 113: The Lord is With Us (34)
The infirmary was still in the dead of night.
In the impoverished orphanage, there was no oil, so even the lamps barely flickered. Moonlight spilled into the dim room.
Relying on that faint illumination, a woman was intently examining my back.
It was the Saintess. She ran her slender fingers down my spine. Her touch was careful, yet a bitter groan escaped my lips involuntarily.
It hurt. It seemed the injuries I had sustained while fighting the monkey-like demonic beasts hadn't fully healed. Even after pouring an entire bottle of healing potion over them, they were still in this state.
Unaware of the severity, I had pushed myself through a forced march since morning, so it was no wonder my body was falling apart. Blood was trickling steadily from the wounds that had torn open again.
It felt as if my skin were cracking like parched mud. A stinging pain pricked at my mind.
"…Are you a fool? I told you last time, your body has already reached its limit. Did you really think a single bottle of healing potion would make everything okay?"
Then came the Saintess’s scolding, as expected. I had no defense.
Before an attending priest, a patient was nothing more than a sinner. It was my fault for not taking better care of myself. I was even guilty of intentionally avoiding her because I didn't want to hear her nagging.
It had only been a day since I was discharged. The Saintess must have been utterly dumbfounded to see me return injured from a demonic beast hunt on the very same day.
I felt ashamed.
Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat with a dry cough, trying to salvage some pride.
"I thought it was just a shallow wound, so it would be fine… Gwaaaakh!"
Of course, my bravado didn't last long.
I couldn't help but scream as her hand abruptly pressed down hard on the injured area. The sound of the Saintess’s sigh tickled my ear as it drifted in.
"…Hmph, as if."
Since my back was turned, I couldn't see her, but I could easily imagine her expression.
She likely looked at me with utter disdain; I could tell just by the tone of her voice.
I could only groan in pain. I had no right to argue. It was my fault, after all.
After glaring at me for a moment, the Saintess snorted and began to draw forth her divine power.
A warm sensation spread across my back. As the wounds closed, the pain vanished rapidly. Though I had experienced it several times now, it was truly a remarkable miracle.
To think wounds could heal at such a speed.
It was truly a power bestowed by God. While healing potions were effective, they couldn't compare to the Saintess’s divine power.
After meticulously checking the wounds on my back for a while, the Saintess tossed out a blunt question.
"You’re hurt somewhere else besides your back, aren't you?"
It was a question, but it carried a strange weight of certainty. I could feel her conviction that I wouldn't have returned with only a back injury.
Her hunch was correct, of course. I had no choice but to confess to another injury.
"Well, actually, my left arm too…"
"…I swear, you’ll be the death of me."
Though she grumbled, the Saintess moved to my front and took hold of my arm. At first, I thought it was just muscle pain from grueling training, but when she applied pressure with her fingers, a sharp ache flared up.
The Saintess silently watched as my face contorted. Once again, divine power surged, and the pure white light gathering in her hand slowly seeped into my arm.
The look in her eyes as she treated the wound was incredibly solemn. They said she drew a strict line between public and private matters, and it seemed that was true.
At the very least, the Saintess appeared sincere toward her patients. If she weren't, she wouldn't have bothered nagging me while tending to every single one of my injuries.
Though, the extent of it was a bit overwhelming for me.
I’d be lucky if I wasn't hounded until dawn again today. A sense of gloom settled in my eyes as I sensed a miserable future ahead.
If things got too bad, I thought I might use the wound treatment as an excuse to sleep in tomorrow. We were at a point where we might have to face a Fiend soon.
Maintaining peak physical condition was fundamental.
However, regardless of what I was thinking, the Saintess simply examined my wounds in silence. She had been staring blankly at my arm for quite some time.
Finally, she slowly let go of my arm. It seemed the treatment was finally over.
Of course, it was too early to feel relieved. The Saintess’s reproachful gaze was fixed on me.
"…Why do you have so little regard for your own body?"
"I had no choice. Senior Delphine happened to be incapacitated at the time…"
"You shouldn't have gone into the forest in the first place. Who goes hunting demonic beasts right after being discharged from the infirmary?"
It was a perfectly valid point. At that single sentence, my mouth, which had been trying to fish for an excuse, clamped shut.
The Saintess looked even more displeased. Another sigh escaped her lips.
Her sweet breath brushed against the tip of my nose.
"Anyway, you’re banned from combat for a while. Starting tomorrow, stay out of the search parties as well."
Her tone was firm. It was the voice of someone who wouldn't yield an inch, yet I moved my lips to try and negotiate.
The full-scale search was just beginning. We were in a situation where a Fiend might be hiding. Every bit of combat power, including myself, was precious.
But before I could even get a word out, the Saintess asserted herself again.
"No."
"…How do you even know what I was going to say?"
"No matter what logic you use to persuade me, the answer is absolutely not. Are you insane? Think carefully about how many times you've been injured lately."
At those words, I swallowed a groan and averted my gaze. Even if I couldn't remember the exact number, I recalled seeing the Saintess at least once or twice a week.
The Saintess acted as if it didn't matter whether I replied or not. A list of prepared answers began to flow from her mouth.
"Once while sparring with Sister Seria, once while facing ten wolf-like demonic beasts alone, once while fighting with Brother Teahn, and after that, having your hand pierced by Sister Delphine…"
"Stop, stop!"
I shouted in surrender. When the Saintess turned her half-lidded eyes toward me, I raised both hands and admitted my fault.
"Fine. I was wrong. But, I really had my reasons back then."
"Reasons, you say…"
Surprisingly, my words seemed to strike a strange chord. Upon hearing the word 'reasons,' the Saintess slightly averted her eyes.
It wasn't as if she had misunderstood it as a homonym, so I couldn't fathom why she was reacting that way.
The Saintess, who had been kneeling to examine my wounds, stood up. After pacing the room for a moment as if idling, she crossed her arms and looked down at me.
I could feel the heavy elasticity of her breasts resting atop her arms. It was an impressive texture, no matter how many times I saw it.
"…Lately, I’ve been a bit confused."
Her voice was sullen. My questioning eyes locked onto her. At that, she glared at me with an even more suspicious look.
"I mean, you’re trash, aren't you?"
"Isn't that a bit much?"
I grumbled immediately, but the Saintess didn't budge. She continued speaking.
"You use information as blackmail, you don't hesitate to use violence, and you even tortured Sister Delphine after she was already subdued… You’re a textbook villain."
"Well, that’s…"
Strictly speaking, those were the deeds of the personality from the future, but I found myself at a loss for words and let my sentence trail off.
Even if I told the truth, she would likely see it as a pathetic excuse. In that case, it was better to remain silent.
The Saintess watched me intently, as if waiting to see what I would say. But when I remained silent for a long time, she snorted as if she had expected as much.
Nevertheless, a subtle crack was detectable in her pale pink eyes. It was faint for now, but the nature of that emotion was clear.
Confusion.
The Saintess’s hesitant lips parted once more.
"…Then why do you keep throwing yourself into danger?"
I said nothing. Our gazes failed to meet, sliding past each other. She was looking down at the floor with a somewhat hesitant look in her eyes.
"You could just take it easy. You could do just enough and look out for yourself, couldn't you? I just don't understand why you push yourself to such extremes."
I remained silent. Why did I push myself so hard? It was something I had never even thought about.
It was simply because it was something I couldn't achieve without pushing myself.
Whether by a stroke of luck or misfortune, my skills had improved by leaps and bounds, but I was still weak. Compared to my actual abilities, the responsibility placed on my shoulders was far too heavy.
But if I didn't succeed, the world might be destroyed. So, I gritted my teeth and made it happen, one way or another.
Because it was what had to be done—that was all. But tonight was far too short to lay out all my circumstances in detail.
So, I gave a small smirk and spoke playfully.
"Thanks to that, we were able to hunt the demonic beasts. The orphanage's situation will improve with that money, so isn't it a good thing regardless?"
"That’s why it’s even weirder!"
However, my nonchalant remark seemed to provoke the Saintess significantly.
As if frustrated, she cried out. Stepping toward me, she began poking my chest with her index finger as she spoke.
"They’re just orphans anyway! No one cares if one or two of them die."
"I cared, though."
It was a plain but piercing response.
The Saintess seemed momentarily speechless at my short answer. After glaring at me for a while, she tried to press me even harder, as if exasperated.
"And for that, you sacrifice hundreds of gold? You’re a lower noble. This is the result of a hunt where you literally ruined your own body!"
"Therefore, it’s my business how I spend it."
But my clear-cut answer brought silence once again.
The Saintess let out a hollow laugh, as if she had given up. She placed a hand on her forehead and shook her head several times.
Then, biting her lip, she looked back at me.
Her gaze was full of suspicion.
"…Are you pretending to be nice? Because your public image is important?"
"Saintess."
I let out a sigh and stood up from the bed where I had been sitting.
As I stood tall, the Saintess had to look up to meet my eyes. I looked down, she looked up, and our gazes finally crossed.
The Saintess’s eyes were trembling slightly. She looked quite confused.
In a low voice, I offered her some advice.
"Don't think so calculatingly. Sometimes you just want to act according to your heart."
"…By beating people up with a hand axe?"
"I beat up demonic beasts too. And I donated to the orphanage."
The Saintess, who had been glaring at me with sharp eyes, finally softened her gaze and looked down. Yet, she still seemed to harbor some dissatisfaction.
After hesitating for a while, she let out a mumble. Her voice was timid.
"…You beat me up, too."
A bitter smile formed on my lips. In the end, it all came back to that day. The Saintess still held a grudge against me.
Not only had she been blackmailed by me that day, but she had also been utterly defeated by force. It had been too short a time for the wound to her pride to heal. That was why she had been projecting her hostility toward me so freely until now.
However, the Saintess seemed to have become confused by the side of me I had shown recently.
The Ian Percus she knew was supposed to be trash, but from what she had seen by my side, I couldn't be that bad of a person. Those two perceptions were clashing.
I pondered for a moment.
I could formally apologize for that day right here. Then, the Saintess might let go of her anger, even if she acted reluctant.
She would still be prickly afterward, but she wouldn't show such blatant negative reactions as she did now. The Saintess was a politically skilled person, after all.
The Saintess was stealing glances at me. She seemed curious about how I would react.
Seeing that, I was about to offer an apology.
But then, I smiled bitterly and decided against it.
That wouldn't truly resolve the conflict. The Saintess would continue to harbor doubts in a corner of her heart, and above all, wouldn't it be even more awkward for us to greet each other with smiles now?
In that case, remaining as "evil friends" as we had been was also a good option. At the very least, it allowed the Saintess to face me without her mask of hypocrisy.
So, I gave a bright smile and said:
"Can I hit you one more time?"
Honestly, about half of that was sincere.
Bratty little divine power pouch. I’ll teach her a lesson someday.