Chapter 79

Leaving the town, we dashed through the still-dumbfounded knights, crossed the bridge, and traversed the forest, returning to the Berserk village.

"Back!"

"Eh!? You're already back!?"

Seeing us arrive, the Berserks who had stayed behind to care for the injured let out cries of surprise.

"Those A-rank adventurers..."

"We beat them all."

"The gate..."

"We forced it open."

"Th-then the doctors and the mages who can dispel curses..."

"Here they are."

I pointed to the doctors and priests getting off the cart.

"...Ah, who are you really..."

"Before we explain, we need to treat everyone quickly."

I led the doctors to the injured beastmen, who were lying on the cloth, groaning in pain.

"Reyle! How are they!?"

"Mako! Well, I tried to freeze deep wounds and cool the affected areas as emergency measures..."

"Nice!"

From what I could see, thanks to Reyle, Mawr, Meala, Uga, and Delphi, none of the beastmen had fallen into a critical condition. With proper treatment now, they would be fine. However...

"Is it true...?"

The doctors, holding their medical bags, showed signs of shock at the sight of the injured beastmen. I could understand why. They were also from the town, and perhaps they were not enthusiastic about treating the beastmen, who had a bad reputation in the town. All three doctors hesitated, looking at each other.

"I'm sorry, we came here without knowing the situation, by Prince Iksa's order, but..."

"It's fine."

At that moment, some people moved before them. The priests. Four women in pure white habits headed to the injured.

"We will take care of it."

Each of them knelt before the injured and placed their hands together in a praying posture, whispering softly, probably prayers. Instantly, a divine light emanated from their bodies, enveloping the beastmen who were contorted in pain.

'Hey, it's just like my magic.'

'Your magic just shines, though.'

Entia and Kuro-chan commented on the scene. Indeed, this was probably the magic they used, known as the miracles of the Holy Deity. The injuries on the beastmen's bodies, enveloped in light, gradually healed. The black marks caused by curses also faded and disappeared.

"We will perform healing and dispelling simultaneously. However, since it is a burdensome magic even for one person, it will take time."

One of the priests, sweating, said this.

"No, no, we are very grateful for your efforts."

The beastmen, whose curses were dispelled and injuries healed, now had peaceful expressions. Seeing this, I sighed in relief.

"..."

"I brought you here by force, but I won't force you."

Iksa also followed up, addressing the silent doctors.

"...No, we are sorry, we will also participate in the treatment."

The doctors then moved, sitting beside the injured and opening their medical bags.

"I'm awake. There are injured people in front of me. What kind of doctor would I be if I didn't help them?"

Iksa looked at me and smiled. Good, everyone will be fine. The priests mainly performed dispelling and healing, while the doctors provided emergency care, and we supported them. The treatment proceeded smoothly.

"Phew..."

However, treating nearly 20 beastmen was a lot. The priests were visibly exhausted.

"Are you okay?"

"Thank you for your concern, Holy Maiden."

"No... I'm not sure if I'm really the Holy Maiden..."

The Church of the Holy Deity seems to have recognized me as the Holy Maiden for exorcising demons... but is that really the case? I don't feel like a Holy Maiden. Seeing my confusion, the priest smiled.

"If it were the Holy Mother, she could heal all these people at once."

"Holy Mother?"

"Yes, a believer and high-ranking official of the Church of the Holy Deity, and an S-rank adventurer like Mako."

Wow, she must be in a very high position.

"She is the most powerful healer, dispeller, and protector in the history of the Church of the Holy Deity, recognized as a Saint and given the title."

"Saint? Title?"

"In the Church of the Holy Deity, those who have been granted special miracles are called Saints. Mako is one of them."

...Yeah, apparently, without my knowledge.

"Mako's title as the Holy Maiden, and the Holy Mother, are among those titles."

"Wow."

After a few hours, the treatment for everyone was finally completed. Fortunately, there were no deaths, and no one was left with any aftereffects.

'Ponpoko!'

'Korya! Korya!'

Pocota, the raccoon, was also healed and is now running around with Chibi-chan.

"Phew, that's a relief."

"Yes, really..."

Some still needed to rest, but on the other hand, the Berserks who had recovered enough to stand and move came to me, who was stretching.

"Thank you so much... It's all thanks to you."

"No, no, what I did wasn't much."

"What are you saying?"

Bushi, leading the group, said with a calm expression. He looked like he might cry.

"Seeing our plight, you fixed our homes, gave us food, beat the adventurers who attacked us, and even brought valuable healers and mages from the town to treat us... How is any of that not a big deal?"

"Ah, that's right."

"Who are you? Are you really a messenger of God?"

Faced with the approaching beastmen, I was at a loss for words. Then,

"Hehe, everyone, this person has been recognized by our Church of the Holy Deity as a Saint and the Holy Maiden."

One of the priests behind me said.

"Listening to your story, I was truly moved. Your acts of kindness... Actually, Mako's recognition as the Holy Maiden by the Church of the Holy Deity was still provisional."

"Well, that makes sense."

"However, after meeting you, I am convinced. Mako is definitely the Holy Maiden! I will report this to the headquarters of the Church of the Holy Deity!"

"Wait, wait! That's a bit premature--"

"What!? The Church of the Holy Deity!?"

"Then, are you really a messenger of God!?"

In the end, it turned into a chaotic scene, but the matter was resolved. The most time-consuming part was calming down the priests and the Berserks.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

The next day, after a night of rest, we spent the night in the Berserk village and returned to the town in the morning. We thanked the doctors and priests (I reminded the priests to not exaggerate to the Church of the Holy Deity) and then we reviewed the current situation.

"Yesterday, when we came to the town to have some fun, we heard that the beastmen were being expelled from the town, so we headed to the outskirts."

"There, we encountered the bear beastmen, the Berserks, who had been expelled from the town. We learned that they were forced to live in harsh conditions for no good reason."

Mako and I recounted the events in turn.

"Learning this, we returned to the town to investigate the truth..."

"Only to find that the village had been attacked by the A-rank adventurer, Cyraus. We rushed back to save the injured beastmen and returned to the town. With Mako's mysterious power, we defeated Cyraus and his gang, and with the help of the priests and doctors, we managed to avoid any serious consequences. It was a very intense day."

"Yeah, and there were a few personal touches from Iksa, too."

Regardless, there was one thing we needed to do now.

"I will try to contact the lord of this region, Prince Stinger, the Thirty-Seventh Prince."

Iksa said. The lord, whether it was about the expulsion of the beastmen or anything else, had the ultimate authority. If it came to this, it was faster to talk to him directly.

"Where is Prince Stinger's residence?"

"It's inside the wall in the center of the city. I will go with Suaro."

Iksa would handle the request for a meeting with the lord. Given that it was a request from a fellow royal, they would have to listen. On the other hand, Mako and Garai would head to the adventurer guild to take on the tasks related to the beastmen, which were originally scheduled for yesterday. After a while, having completed our business at the adventurer guild (Coru was very cooperative, so it was done quickly), we headed to the meeting place to meet Iksa.

--However.

"Can't meet?"

"Yeah, that's what they said."

At the meeting place, Iksa and Suaro stood with bitter expressions.

"When we tried to cross the wall surrounding the city center, we were stopped by the gatekeeper knights. After explaining the situation, they said they would check with the lord... After waiting for a while, we were told that we couldn't meet him."

"That's suspicious."

I was puzzled. Perhaps the knights who were present yesterday knew that Iksa was with us when we protected the beastmen. If that information reached Prince Stinger...

"Prince Stinger might be hiding something and doesn't want Iksa to know."

"There might be something he doesn't want to make public. Of course, I wasn't going to back down. I even offered to challenge him to a duel as heirs to the throne, and asked for a referee."

"And?"

"'Do as you please.' But, if we can't meet him, there's no duel. Besides, our goal was to meet him, not to fight. So, we couldn't do anything."

"...Hmm."

I looked at the wall surrounding the city center.

"Can't we even enter the area inside the wall?"

"I was denied entry. If they have information on Mako and the others, it's likely that everyone will be turned away."

"Even with the authority of S-rank adventurers like me and Garai?"

"Probably. That area has the smell of extraterritoriality."

"...There's nothing we can do."

I sighed. Prince Stinger, who was likely at the heart of this matter, was refusing to meet us. If that was the case, we had to make him come out.

"Let's make him come out."

"...Huh?"

"We need to make him want to meet us, whether he likes it or not."

"...How?"

Iksa crossed his arms, not rejecting or showing any resistance. He always took my ideas seriously.

"Start a riot in the town and cause a commotion?"

"Of course not. We'll do it our way, like we did in the capital."

"?"

I smiled at Iksa's puzzled expression.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"So, that's why..."

We returned to the Berserk village and declared to the gathered group:

"I want to rebuild and develop this village into a tourist destination that can rival that town."

"......Huh!?"

Everyone was surprised by my words. In a way, this might be the culmination of everything we've done so far. The development of Abatos Village and the opening of a shop in the capital. We would apply the skills and knowledge we gained from village revitalization and business here.

"If we can steal customers from the town and make this place a big hit, they won't be able to ignore us. It's a win-win situation!"