I Shall Go Myself
Astria stirred from a late lunch, her eyes fluttering open. The sunlight was far too bright, her body languid, and her stomach’s insistent clock pointed squarely at midday. She had overslept again. She had told them not to wake her, and they truly had not. What useless maids. …If it were a certain someone currently enjoying his vacation, he would have ignored such an order and woken her without hesitation.
“Your Majesty, Priestess Seria requests an audience.”
“Tell her to leave.”
“Your Majesty.”
“I have only one personal physician. Only one person is permitted to examine my body.”
Yesterday, a priest had come. Sena had apparently designated him as a replacement. That cat-like fellow. He had quietly and thoroughly prepared to depart. “……She said to tell you that Sena will be saddened by this.”
Astria’s brow twitched. “Still, shall I turn her away?”
At Betty’s sorrowful voice, Astria turned her head sharply. “Let her in.”
“First-rank priestess Seria, at your service.”
It was the first time Astria had seen Seria’s face, and she disliked her from the very start. “Do not raise your head. I forbid you to speak. Simply listen.”
Astria spoke coldly to the bowed Seria. “My physician will return soon. I have no need of you.”
Seria replied without the slightest concern. “Would you allow me to treat you until he returns?”
“……”
Astria still found her disagreeable. She was fairly certain she had ordered her not to speak. Yet Seria continued steadily, “I shall visit again tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow?”
‘Come to think of it, Sena will not be here tomorrow morning either.’
“……”
Moreover, this priestess was truly unpleasant. There was no particular reason. She simply disliked her. From head to toe. Especially the chest area.
Tap, tap. Astria drummed her fingers on the armrest, lost in thought. ‘I wanted him to return of his own accord, but I cannot endure this.’
Suddenly, Astria realized how uncomfortable mornings without Sena felt. What could possibly fill this emptiness? Probably no one but the man himself.
“It is time I brought him back.”
Astria decided, as arbitrarily as she had released him, that she would now arbitrarily fetch him. She had intended to give him a week, but a week was far too long for a tyrant. “An excellent idea, Your Majesty. I shall bring him at once.”
“How presumptuous.”
Astria’s lips curved upward. “Do you truly believe I would leave him in another woman’s hands? Me?”
She fixed Seria with a chilling glare. “I shall go myself.”
And so, after three years, the Empress’s inspection of the capital was decided.
**
“You think I would give up?”
Sena was genuinely furious. “Even without Cruyff’s help, leaving the capital is child’s play.”
When he considered asking Isabella for assistance, the image of Astria’s murderous expression flashed through his mind.
—Oh my, quite impressive, Physician.
—To dare humiliate me in such a manner, I shall exterminate your entire clan.
He shuddered. Perhaps that method was best avoided after all.
“It is good that you are looking for a way,” Silvia said with a thoroughly dissatisfied face, “but are you not forgetting something?”
“Hm?”
“Your treatment. Your treatment.”
“Oh, oh, right. Of course I know that. I have been thinking about it the whole time.”
His silver hair stood on end at the crown. Silvia sighed. Was asking him to take care of himself really such an unreasonable request?
“Since we are already at the Order, it would be best to look into it here.”
“After we leave the capital first……”
Silvia grabbed Sena’s arm and dragged him out of the prayer room without another word.
“W-wait, Silvia? This is a cathedral. They will not perform any treatments here.”
Sena struggled and protested, but it was useless. Silvia had no intention of delaying any longer.
Creak. She opened the door to a room where someone’s presence could be felt and pushed Sena forward.
“Did your prayers go well?”
“There is a sick person here.”
“…?”
Ellie blinked and tilted her head. “Please treat him.”
“Sister, this is a cathedral. It is not a place for using holy magic.”
“S-see? I told you it would not work. Let us go back.”
“But,” Ellie smiled brightly, “it is different if it is Sister Sena. I cannot simply send away someone who prayed for me.”
‘This kind of special treatment is not particularly welcome…’
Sena’s shoulders slumped. He did not want to waste time on meaningless matters. Yet, under Silvia’s pressure, he approached Ellie.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Nowhere.”
Silvia spoke from behind him. “Frequent hemoptysis. At night, breathing becomes difficult, and his body’s balance is disrupted.”
“Oh dear.”
Ellie’s expression grew serious. At least outwardly he looked fine, so she had assumed it was something as minor as a cold, but his condition was worse than expected.
“It is not that serious……”
“Senior. I am truly willing to drag you around every single branch of the Order in the Empire if I have to.”
“T-that seems a bit excessive.”
Ellie chuckled. “You two get along so well. I am jealous. Now then, Brother Sena. Would you give me the chance to hold your hand?”
Sena extended his hand with a reluctant expression. Ellie took it and closed her eyes. Soon, a warm energy flowed into his body. It was Ellie’s divine power.
Perhaps Ellie felt the same. His body grew slightly languid and comfortable. Divine power was a pleasant current.
“This is……”
Ellie slowly opened her eyes. “……That cannot be.”
“Something is wrong, is it not!”
Silvia slammed the table and leaned in close, but Ellie did not hear her. The shock was that great. A bead of cold sweat rolled down her cheek.
She had seen many people. Countless priests and apprentice priests. But this case was a first. And it would likely remain the only one.
“Most of his body is composed of divine power. How is that even possible? I was told Sister Sena is not a priest.”
Sena’s face was stained with panic. ‘What is this person?’
She was right. Half of Sena’s body was made of divine power. It was the overwhelming talent he had possessed since birth—the very reason the Order was so desperate to recruit him. With this level of divine power, any miracle could be realized.
That was why he kept his divine power suppressed as much as possible. No ordinary priest should have been able to diagnose Sena’s body. At the very least, it would require a Cardinal. And yet she had noticed it simply by taking his pulse?
‘Just who is she?’
“This is proof that Lady Justitia loves you immensely.”
Ellie grew slightly excited. “Why did you not become a priest? I may not know much about worldly matters, but there seems to be no better path for you than that.”
Because he disliked both the Order and Justitia. He would never become a priest, even if it killed him.
“I should at least have the right to refuse, should I not?”
“……”
“It is not as though I was born with this body because I wanted it.”
Sena spoke with a hint of bitterness. Ellie released his arm, looking dazed.
“I have dreamed of becoming a priest since I was born and raised, so I always thought having more divine power was simply a good thing. I see. To someone who does not want it, excessive divine power is merely a burden. I am sorry.”
Ellie truly was a good priest. There had been no need for her to apologize.
“S-so, what about Senior’s body? What is the problem?”
Ellie shook her head. “I cannot say for certain either. Divine power naturally returns things to their original state. With this level of divine power, even if something were wrong, it should heal quickly. However……”
Ellie gently touched her lips. Speculative remarks to a patient should be avoided. But in this case, even her small conjecture might be important.
“It is possible this is a backlash from using holy magic. Those who are not ordained priests pay a price for using divine power. Brother Sena, do you perhaps use divine power to save people in your daily life?”
Silvia’s pupils widened. Sena laughed awkwardly and waved his hands.
“Of course not.”
But to Silvia, whose eyes were already half-crazed, his voice did not register. She felt as though her heart were sinking.
“……Is that true?”
“Using divine power without being a priest is bad for the body.”
“Yes. It will likely shorten your lifespan. Lady Justitia does not permit it.”
Silvia’s lips trembled. “Then, then……”
Tears quickly welled up as she looked at Sena. “Has Sena Senior been saving people by using up his own lifespan all this time? Even… even for me?”
No, no. That could not be. It was simply a combination of modern medicine and fantasy power. Cruyff had strictly forbidden using divine power without training, so Sena knew about the backlash and had never gone so far as to risk his life saving others. Of course, he did use a little when activating Medicine, but only the amount Cruyff permitted—just enough to slightly accelerate natural recovery.
More importantly, if that were truly the cause, his lifespan should have decreased day by day while treating Astria. Yet since Sena had begun seeing these numbers, he had never once seen his own change. It had neither increased nor decreased. That meant it was not the cause. There was no connection between divine power and his body. Rather, it was more plausible that the goddess had shortened his lifespan as the price for granting him excessive divine power.
“It really is not. I have never used even the slightest bit of divine power.”
Sena dismissed it simply. Strictly speaking it was a lie since he did use a little, but he thought speaking so firmly was best to avoid misunderstanding.
“Ah.”
Silvia’s eyes moved to the silver hair standing upright on Sena’s crown. A lie. He lied. Her body sank to the floor.
“Why… why did you have to go that far?”
Sena was flustered. She seemed to be under some absurd misunderstanding.
“S-Silvia? Anything else aside, this really is not true.”
Nothing reached Silvia’s already blurred eyes. It felt as though she were falling into an endless pit of despair.
“Silvia? Silvia.”
“Silvia!”
Sena shouted with force, gripping her shoulders tightly. She looked far too unstable. Her eyes were filled with fear and terror, and it was heartbreaking to see.
“Pull yourself together.”
Sena spoke strongly, with all his sincerity. “I am truly fine.”
But it was no great comfort to Silvia. The compass indicating Sena’s condition had been pointing north this entire time.