Chapter 50

The black-haired saint, Filine, and I made eye contact.

When our eyes met, Filine smiled.

Despite her smile, a chill ran down my spine, probably because of the way her lips moved just a moment ago.

I couldn't hear her voice, but it felt like she murmured, "I found you."

...What could that mean?

It can't be something like, "That cool black-haired guy from before. We didn't get to talk much because of the time, but I never thought I'd meet you again in a place like this!"

I did meet her once before coming to the Miss Contest venue, but we didn't have any particularly flirtatious conversation.

The only things we talked about were that we had the same hair color and whether I was a healer.

That possibility is out of the question.

Moreover, if she said "I found you," it means that the saint was looking for me.

...Well, it's not like I don't have a hunch about who the church saint might be looking for.

Probably the person who cast a large-scale healing spell during the Crankheight Turtle incident in the city.

That was called a miracle of the gods in this city.

...I was the one who cast that large-scale healing spell in the city.

In other words, I was the one she was looking for.

I was found.

...Why was I found?

When I healed Luluka and the others in Exheal, Yuell created a smoke screen, so I shouldn't have been seen.

There were many people in the smoke screen besides me.

Did she happen to have some convenient magic item that could nullify the smoke screen?

...No.

That's not it.

I was spoken to by the saint before the Miss Contest.

Although it's just a guess, she might have already narrowed down the powerful healers in the city.

Talking to me before the Miss Contest might have been a way to investigate one of the top healers in the city.

In that situation, when the smoke screen was suddenly set up, all the people who were about to be petrified in the smoke screen were healed.

And among those in the smoke screen was one of the healers she had marked.

From the saint's perspective, it was highly likely that I was the one who did it.

That's probably what happened.

Casting Exheal recklessly was probably a mistake.

Even with or without the smoke screen, Luluka and the other Miss Contest participants were healed.

I couldn't just let beautiful women die in front of me.

In any case, my healing magic skills were already known.

...But, there's no point in thinking about what's already been exposed.

What's important now is why the saint of the Medine religion, which is the state religion of this country, was looking for me.

Depending on her purpose, my future actions will change.

Mainly, it will come down to either running away immediately or being caught and manipulated.

--Just as I was thinking about this.

"Oh, it's the saint. I heard there was a monster attack."

A middle-aged man in priest's robes approached the saint and spoke.

He was well-built, to put it nicely.

To put it bluntly, he had a body like an orc, round and plump.

Behind him, a group of sturdy-looking priests in robes followed.

He was probably a high-ranking figure in the church.

"...Archbishop Darno."

The priest called Archbishop Darno by the saint looked around at the collapsed makeshift stage and the dead monsters.

Then, he noticed the unconscious earth dragon.

While looking at the petrification marks on the ground, he said,

"...An earth dragon, huh. The treatment of the petrified people... It seems to be already done. I thought I would help with the treatment, but it seems unnecessary. You are truly remarkable, saint."

"No, I couldn't have done it without the knights and guards."

If he was offering to help with the treatment, then this Archbishop Darno can probably use Exheal.

I heard from Elise that the Archbishop is the top position in the church of this city.

It wouldn't be surprising if he could use it.

So far, he's the second person I know who can use Exheal.

...But, that's not what I want to know.

What I want to know is the saint's purpose.

...While the saint is talking to the archbishop, I want to gather as much information as possible about why she was looking for me.

With the saint and the archbishop, who are surrounded by multiple guards, standing about ten meters away, I might already be like a carp on a cutting board.

"However, I was surprised to hear that there was an attack targeting the saint in this labyrinth city. I heard that the base of the evil god cult is in the capital. I'm glad you're safe."

"When the earth dragon appeared, I was surprised, but fortunately, I was able to knock it out quickly, so there was no damage. If it had breathed one more time, I might not have had enough magic power."

The archbishop and the saint continued their conversation.

What is the evil god cult?

I think the saint mentioned something similar during the attack.

I remember reading in the Bible that Elise was reading that evil gods threatened humanity in the past.

There must be some kind of religious conflict.

...By the way, the saint, who said her magic power was exhausted just a moment ago, still seems to have some left.

Could it be that her statement about running out of magic power was a lie to lure me in?

When she was using the sakura to gather faith, I had a feeling she was a bit devious.

She's been talking to the archbishop with a forced smile the whole time.

"I see, I see... However, the saint must be tired. Please rest at our church."

"...Archbishop Darno, I appreciate your offer, but I need to talk to Lord Mailharts about this attack as soon as possible. We haven't finished discussing the donation issue that we've been working on for the past few days, so I will continue to stay at Lord Mailharts' mansion."

"...I see. I understand."

Mailharts is, I believe, Fran's family name.

In other words, she will be talking to Fran's father, the lord.

...Will the responsibility for this monster attack fall on the knights?

After all, this incident happened right in the middle of the city.

Moreover, the target was an important figure with the title of saint of the state religion.

It's understandable that the knights, who are usually responsible for the city's security, will be blamed.

The lord of the region, who commands the knights in each city, will also be held responsible.

The responsibility of the knights is the responsibility of the lord.

He might be pursued for it.

I hope the lord doesn't collapse from the stress.

"Then, I'll take my leave. I'll see you again, Archbishop Darno."

And their conversation ended.

The saint turned around and approached me.

The words "I found you" from when the smoke screen cleared.

The movement of her lips at that time came back to my mind.

What will happen to me now?

What is the saint's purpose?

I don't know.

I have a bad feeling about it.

Although running away was an option earlier, the more I calm down, the more I feel it's impossible.

The saint of the state religion.

I don't know how much power she has, but she seems to have enough to catch me if I run.

Even if I try to hide in the crowd now, I'll be caught sooner or later if she really wants to.

Will I be detained to use my healing magic?

It would be better if they welcomed me into the Medine religion to praise my contribution to saving the city.

I have a lot of value, even if I say so myself.

From the Crankheight Turtle incident, I learned that I have enough magic power to cast a healing spell that can cover the entire city.

This means that no matter what kind of epidemic or endemic disease breaks out in the city, I can handle it alone.

Powerful people would want me so badly.

Especially a major religion closely related to healing magic would definitely want to secure me.

It would be bad enough to be detained, but it's also possible to be branded with a slave rune and imprisoned.

I haven't even made a move on Elise yet.

I finally got along well with Luluka.

I still have things to do.

But, fighting against the powerful state religion is impossible.

Running away is also a bad strategy.

My position will be worse if I'm caught.

...In other words, what I should do now is negotiate.

It will be a battle to see how much of my rights I can get the saint to recognize.

The saint is about to be right in front of me.

There's no time left.

I made up my mind and was about to talk to the saint—

--But the saint passed by without even looking at me.

The saint and her guards passed by me and left the square.

There was no sign of them turning back or looking at me.

They probably went to the lord's mansion.

...Huh?

A complete and elegant ignore.

We've talked before, and she was so close, she could at least make eye contact.

I didn't want anything to happen, but it's also strange that nothing happened.

Maybe "I found you" was just my imagination.

...No, but I definitely saw it.

Our eyes met, and she kept looking at me, and then she smiled.

There must be a reason.

While I was thinking about this, I suddenly made eye contact with Archbishop Darno.

...Ah, so he's the main one.

Thinking about it, the saint is still young.

Even if she has the power to heal, she might not be able to make major decisions.

The serious expression of the middle-aged archbishop.

His sharp eyes, as if trying to see through everything.

I felt a presence that could see through any lie.

The archbishop, who took over from the saint, will talk about my future treatment.

That's what it means.

...No, that's not it either.

The archbishop's gaze is slightly off.

He's not looking at me.

He's looking at Elise, wrapped in her nun's habit.

He's looking at Elise's sexy body.

So he was trying to see through Elise's clothes.

His sharp eyes were probably squinting to see Elise more clearly.

His serious expression was probably from imagining what was under Elise's clothes.

I can't really blame him.

Elise is beautiful.

I probably look at her like that every day.

But, the archbishop is only looking at Elise, not at me.

There's no sign of him or his guards talking to me.

Thinking back, the saint and the archbishop didn't say a word about me.

Was it really just my imagination?

But, it was definitely...

No, the fact is that I'm not being noticed by anyone from the church.

No matter how it seemed, it was just how it seemed.

It was just my imagination.

...

Maybe I should go home.

The Miss Contest probably can't continue anyway.

As I was about to leave, I realized something.

I had been so focused on the saint that I forgot about Luluka and what happened.

Moreover, Yuell and Elise saw it.

Looking around, I saw Aria, who was far away, clearing the monster corpses, glaring at me.

She probably couldn't abandon her work to come over, but she was definitely watching me.

It seems she saw that moment too.

I forgot.

It was a battlefield.

Lowering my gaze, I saw Yuell standing nearby, looking down without saying a word.

...Now that I think about it, I've been feeling a tug on my clothes.

I ignored it because of the situation.

She seems to be depressed.

First, I need to figure out how to console Yuell.

The third volume of the book is apparently being released tomorrow.

The book version includes a major addition to the Elise and Aria sisters' episode and a side story about Shiki meeting Luluka.

I hope you enjoy it.