Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Whereabouts of Prayer (6)
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Who would've thought Aria had such a past.
Kalt pitied her circumstances, but he wasn't all that surprised.
In a world where monsters roamed and demons lurked, it wasn't uncommon for villages to get raided now and then.
But just because it happened occasionally didn't mean he could brush it off casually in front of the person it happened to.
"When I came to, I was in a church. Adventurers had carried me to one in a nearby village. I found out later... that they were a group of adventurers heading to the city, passing through our village after finishing a big commission."
Aria explained that the adventurers, who had been traveling near the village, had rushed over upon seeing the attack.
But she was the sole survivor from the village.
A few days after she woke up in the church, some priests came looking for her.
"Come with us, Saint Candidate."
Word of Aria's stigmata had reached the high priests in the city, so they took her there as a saint candidate.
Still in shock from losing her village and parents, Aria was in a broken state and couldn't even think to refuse.
In the city's church, she received treatment befitting a saint candidate.
At the same time, they taught her how to live as a nun first.
Aria simply followed their instructions.
She learned the mindset she needed as a nun and the history of the world as taught by the church.
The priests, understanding the trauma of her village's destruction and losing her parents before her eyes, started only with lessons on daily life.
As time passed, the shattered Aria began to regain some vitality bit by bit.
It was thanks to the kindness of the church folk who treated her warmly, slowly mending her heart.
Once the priests saw her recovery and deemed her ready, they decided to teach her blessings that used divine power and holy attacks effective against monsters and demons.
"Lady Aria, let's learn about blessings today."
"Blessings...?"
"Yes. Pray to the god and channel the divine power within your heart to perform a miracle. I'm sure you can do it, Lady Aria."
As the priests expected, Aria successfully manifested blessings.
Using holy attacks like Holy Sword was no problem either.
The priests had high hopes.
They believed the saint candidate Aria could be one of the hopes for defeating the demons that appeared from time to time.
But not long after those expectations arose, the priests witnessed a serious issue with Aria.
"Haa, haa, heup! Haa, haa, haa!"
"A-Aria!"
"Are you alright?!"
"Why... why... why... Mom, Dad... everyone... why... Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god... why..."
It happened while testing how much divine power she had by using blessings and holy attacks repeatedly.
Aria's face grew pale, and she started breathing raggedly.
Soon after, she lost consciousness right there.
And the reason for her collapse was easy to uncover.
Trauma.
A few blessings were fine.
But after repeating them several times, that nightmarish day would flash in her mind.
The sounds she'd heard while desperately praying to the god replayed vividly.
The villagers' screams and their deaths at the monsters' hands.
The thud from above that she thought was her father's death.
Her mother's form collapsing, stabbed by a goblin right before her eyes.
Even after casting blessings, healing the wounds, her mother stayed cold and lifeless.
And the god who granted none of her desperate prayers.
The villagers were all dead.
Dad was dead.
Mom was dead.
She'd prayed so hard.
Prayed so fervently.
Why, why, why, why, why.
God of Light.
If you truly exist.
Why did you let only me survive?
Are you... really worthy of faith?
In the end, despite possessing vast divine power as a saint candidate, Aria couldn't fully wield it.
The priests didn't give up. They comforted her, instilled hope, told her she could overcome it, to focus on what she could achieve and comfort those who'd passed, speaking gently over time.
Aria was grateful for their words.
Thankful for their persistent warmth.
But no matter what they said, no matter how much resolve she gathered...
The trauma never faded.
At best, she could squeeze out one or two more blessings. No further progress.
"This is my problem. Haha, disappointed... right?"
Aria gave an awkward smile as she looked at Kalt.
Kalt was silent.
One hand covering his mouth, lost in serious thought.
'Even the kind Mr. Kalt... is troubled, huh. Of course he would be.'
A nun who couldn't properly use her immense divine power, even as a saint candidate.
It was natural for her to make him question keeping her in the party, Aria thought.
But what Kalt was thinking was entirely different from her expectations.
'Jackpot?'
If anything, he felt like he'd pulled the top-grade character in a gacha with ultra-low odds on the first try.
A growth-type character whose ceiling only got higher with polishing.
Childhood trauma?
Distrust in the god?
Such mental issues were no problem for Kalt at all.
Because he had hypnosis.
Physical defects or problems were beyond his reach.
Mental ones were different.
For mental problems, his hypnotic touch was like a miracle cure.
What he was actually pondering was something else.
How to condition Aria.
Her past was certainly pitiful.
He knew how heartbreaking it was when his own parents passed from illness in his previous life.
And she'd witnessed it right before her eyes.
He at least got to say goodbye; she didn't even have that.
Truly heartbreaking, worthy of sympathy.
He briefly considered going easy on her, treating her gently.
But Kalt shook his head inwardly right away.
'No, can't do that. If I'm doing it, do it right. Make her fully understand her place.'
Pitying and spoiling her would just lead to ruin in the end.
He'd learned that the hard way with Mabel's party.
Mabel was a brat, spoiled, and tomboyish from the start, so fine.
But the other two.
Ianna and Marti weren't like that initially.
They were meek and obedient when they had their issues.
They'd rejoice and give thanks for his cooking.
When hypnosis disguised as counseling gradually improved their problems, they were truly grateful.
But that was it.
Once fully healed, their brazenness started showing.
-Why do I need to learn such trivial things? Might as well learn bigger spells. Helpful for travel? Kalt's already handling all that anyway.
-Kalt, how can you be so heartless? You were so kind during counseling... Treating every scratch will just attract trouble... I'm disappointed!
And when Mabel kicked him out, they didn't even object, acting all magnanimous like it was for his sake, looking down on him.
'Never letting that happen again.'
That day was a trauma for Kalt too.
So he decided.
Be kind until their issues are fully resolved.
Let them savor the sweetest honey, at their happiest peak.
Make them thoroughly know who brings that happiness.
Even if they rebel, blame, or accuse betrayal in the process.
By then, they'd already tasted the sweetness.
To taste it again.
To reclaim that rare happiness.
They'd have no choice but to obey him.
And he'd teach them properly.
Who was above and who below.
Once they fully grasped their place and accepted it.
How immense the happiness waiting there was.
That if they knew their place, he'd reward them in kind.
Mentally or physically, with the sweet happiness he bestowed.
That was Kalt's vow when deciding to join a new party.
So even if he pitied Aria, he wouldn't change his conditioning method.
If done right, at the end, she'd feel happiness, relief, comfort, accomplishment, and pleasure that dwarfed any humiliation, shame, pain, suffering, or betrayal from the process.
Aria too.
Scarlet too.
Nellis too.
Not a single one left out.
He'd solve their problems.
Condition them to know their place.
And grant endless happiness thereafter.
With that in mind, Kalt said,
"Aria."
He removed the hand from his mouth and placed it over her praying hands.
"You're truly amazing."
"...Huh?"
"It must be painful. And yet, carrying that burden, you're here now. You could've stayed in the church forever. But you stepped out and joined a party to keep going."
"Ah..."
Aria's hands trembled.
Her eyes focused on Kalt, who gazed at her earnestly.
"Even scared, even terrified, even in pain, even doubting the god, you wanted to save people, right? You wanted to help even a little. You didn't want others to suffer the pain you did."
He'd decided to condition her.
But his words weren't lies.
"Mr. Kalt..."
Kalt reached out with his other hand, enveloping hers.
His warmth seeped into her skin.
"Thank you for opening up. I'll do my utmost to help resolve your issue."
He wasn't disappointed or repulsed by her problem.
Instead, he held her hands, understood her feelings, and looked straight at her, vowing to fix it.
"Ah..."
A single tear traced down Aria's cheek.