Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Power Upgrade (5)
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"This is the church in Tridia... It's pretty big."
Aria marveled at the church dedicated to the God of Light in the commercial city.
It was at least the largest church she'd ever seen.
"It's a commercial city, after all."
"Does that have something to do with it?"
"The more goods that flow in, the larger the population. That naturally means more followers for the church."
"So the church has to be bigger to accommodate all those followers?"
"Exactly."
In fact, the commercial city was full of regular worshippers who frequented the church for prayers.
Not just priests or clerics—even ordinary townsfolk and adventurers who revered the God of Light came by, so the church had no choice but to grow much larger than those in smaller villages.
The interior exuded a grand yet solemn atmosphere.
"Welcome, brothers and sisters."
As soon as they entered, a priest greeted Nellis's party.
"Oh, if it isn't Brother Kalt. It's been a while."
"It's been a while, Priest Bremer. I hope you've been well."
"Yes, thanks to the God of Light. Here for prayers? Or healing?"
"No, we have something to discuss with you today."
"With me? Understood. I'll prepare a room. Please follow me. Sister Lucy, I'll leave things to you for a bit."
"Yes, Priest Bremer."
Priest Bremer asked the nun for help, then led Nellis's party to a reception room inside the church.
"So, Brother Kalt, what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"First, allow me to introduce someone. This is Aria, our party's healer and support."
"Hello, Priest Bremer."
"Aria... That name rings a bell."
"Aria. Show it to Priest Bremer."
"...Yes, Kalt."
Trusting Kalt, Aria removed her gloves and showed her palm to Bremer.
"That is... the Stigmata! Ah, yes. Now I remember. Aria—the saintess candidate who appeared a few years ago."
"Yes, that's right."
"Traveling with a saintess candidate... What brings you here, Brother Kalt?"
"We'd like new vestments for her... I suppose that's the best term. Something fitting."
"Vestments... you say?"
"Yes."
"But for a saintess candidate like her, surely... Hmm."
Priest Bremer trailed off, lost in thought, then closely examined Aria's clothes.
"Could it be..."
Priest Bremer approached Aria and asked,
"Lady Aria, may I take a look at your clothes for a moment?"
"Yes."
"Pardon the intrusion."
Priest Bremer picked up the gloves Aria had just removed and inspected the veil on her head.
"Indeed... So that's how it is. I understand what you mean, Brother Kalt."
Stepping back from Aria, Priest Bremer shook his head.
"However, preparing new vestments won't be easy."
"Why is that?"
"We can't disregard the intentions of the church that provided these vestments."
Priest Bremer's explanation boiled down to this:
The church that gave her these clothes wasn't foolish.
They had clear intentions in providing vestments of this caliber.
Handing out better ones on their own could be seen as insulting or shaming that church.
"..."
Aria, with her long experience in church life, immediately grasped what Priest Bremer meant.
And Kalt had anticipated this reaction.
"I understand your position, Priest Bremer. But won't you reconsider? People grow. Aria has grown since she received those vestments. That growth opens up new possibilities that the old Aria never had."
"However..."
"And here's the proof."
Kalt pulled a heavy money pouch from his bag.
"This is..."
From there, Kalt unleashed a rapid-fire explanation.
"This is part of the reward from our latest successful commission. No matter how skilled the vanguard or mage, without a healer supporting from the back, success rates drop. And Aria here has shown tremendous growth lately. She believes this growth comes from her devout faith reaching the God of Light, earning His grace. This is simply a way to express our gratitude."
Aria blinked at Kalt as his machine-gun words continued.
She had grown, sure. But she hadn't shone in any commissions because of it.
Her most recent standout moment was firing a Holy Sword—a divine attack spell—at the Kobold King.
She prayed to the God of Light daily and worked hard to overcome her issues.
But she attributed her growth largely to Kalt's help.
Of course, she was grateful to the God of Light for granting her the power to protect her comrades, but expressing thanks with money had never crossed her mind.
Aria wanted to ask Kalt what he was saying.
But Scarlet tapped her thigh, tamping down her impulse.
"Indeed, that makes sense."
Priest Bremer nodded at the money pouch and tucked it into his robes.
"My judgment was lacking. People do grow. And they can overcome even great challenges."
"Yes. And with the God of Light's blessing, they can draw even greater strength."
"Well said."
With a beaming smile, Priest Bremer stood.
"Please wait a moment. I'll fetch vestments more fitting for Lady Aria."
Once Priest Bremer left the reception room,
Aria immediately turned to Kalt.
"K-Kalt! What was all that about!?"
"What else? The process to get you new vestments."
"B-But...!"
"Aria, even this church needs a justification."
"A justification...?"
"Yeah. As Priest Bremer said, they can't just hand over new ones without reason. It'd imply the church you came from made a mistake. So we give them a suitable excuse."
Kalt formed a circle with his thumb and middle finger, grinning.
"Show some sincerity, and Priest Bremer will be more than happy to provide new vestments."
Listening to Kalt's explanation, Nellis said earnestly,
"Wow, that's so mercenary."
"Churches love money just like anyone else. They need it to feed their followers and priests."
'They just don't flaunt it.'
"But Kalt, that money you just..."
"Just a bit from what we got for the Kobold King."
"Th-Then tell me how much. I'll pay you back..."
"We'll talk later. Priest Bremer could come back any time."
"...Okay."
A short while later, Priest Bremer returned with the vestments.
"Thank you for waiting. These should suit Lady Aria perfectly."
Aria jumped up eagerly at the sight—new clothes were new clothes, after all—and approached.
"These... look the same as the ones I have?"
"No, the embedded blessings and functions are far superior. I figured something familiar would be best for everyday wear, so I brought the same design. Are they not to your liking?"
"Oh, n-no! It's not that. What extra functions do they have?"
"They'll protect more firmly against monster attacks. You'll gather divine power faster when using blessings. And... no matter how torn they get, they'll restore themselves over time."
"They self-repair too...!"
"Plus, no washing needed. No Purification spell required either."
"Whoa!"
"No washing? Not even Purification?"
The women of Nellis's party gasped in unison at Priest Bremer's words.
On the road, clothes and bodies inevitably got dirty.
That's where healers shone—one key role was maintaining cleanliness.
Purification, a blessing powered by divine energy.
With it, no worries about filth-related illnesses during travel.
It even cleaned clothes.
But only up to a point.
Heavily soiled or multi-day worn garments still needed actual washing.
These vestments? No washing at all.
Until now, Nellis's party had mostly handled laundry in batches themselves.
But with Kalt—a man—in the group, they did it in secret.
No matter how gentlemanly and capable he was, they couldn't ask him to do women's laundry out of sheer embarrassment.
Nellis and Scarlet eyed Aria with quiet envy.
"C-Can I try them on right now?"
"Of course. That room's empty—go ahead."
"Yes!"
Thrilled with her new vestments, Aria dashed into the room Priest Bremer indicated.
It was empty, perfect for changing.
She'd settle the money with Kalt later, but new—and better—vestments made her happy regardless.
Aria began removing her current vestments to don the new ones.
"Huh...? Wh-what...? Why...?"
The design was almost identical.
Her vestments were a full-body tights style, no exposed skin.
A standard nun's habit, but with the chest exposed and daring slits up the sides revealing thighs and a bit of lower waist.
And inside, even if not visible from outside, there was a high-leg section covering the groin.
But...
"Why... is it missing...?"
The new vestments from Bremer lacked that high-leg cover.
Aria broke out in a cold sweat.