CH 98

Chapter 98 – The Saint Has A Poisonous Tongue

“Mm… I’m a saint, you know? I’m a saint of the Adel religion. I don’t think you should use that kind of language.”

“No, whether you’re a saint or a nobleman, if you suddenly say something like that to someone’s face, I think it’s inevitable that they’ll think you’re crazy.”

“Huh, disrespectful…”

The saint is astonished, seemingly making an onomatopoeic sound. I guess she’s never been treated like this before.

“I mean, under what circumstances is this?”

When I looked around the room carefully, I saw that there were sisters dressed in inconspicuous black nuns’ uniforms waiting near the room’s doorway, right next to the bed, and one by one at that place in the opposite direction of the saint. They, too, looked surprised and shocked at my language.

“How much do you remember?”

The saint, who had recovered from her shock, recreated a blank expression as if to mend her face and asked me. Even if you ask me to what extent.

“When it was my turn to receive the blessing of the saint in the cathedral, the guy behind me made a weird noise and… was clearly not normal, so I elbowed him, and he stabbed me?”

“The fact that you can wield your power without cowering in fear is what makes you a self-proclaimed mercenary.”

“Self-proclaimed?”

“Self-proclaimed, right?”

As if to gauge my intentions, the red jade eyes look into my eyes. Her eyelashes are long and beautiful. A beautiful girl that is comparable to Sylphy… beauty…? That’s what I think of this girl.

“It’s not like there is any proof, so let’s just call it what it is. So, I’ll ask again, why am I being nursed in such a nice room by the saint herself? I’m not sure, but it seems that that dagger was coated with poison, and the place where it was stabbed was dangerous, but I’m surprised I survived.”

“It was probably a good thing that I immediately pleaded for a miracle of antidote and healing on the spot. Even so, I am amazed at your vitality to be alive after being stabbed in the liver with a dagger coated with basilisk poison. Are you some kind of cockroach or something?”

“Cockroach means a G word*, right? You’re talking like that to the man who saved your life!”

[T/n: Cockroach in Japanese is Gokiburi!]

What an amazing = Impoliteness! There’s something strangely life-giving about it, and I don’t think it’s because I have the life force of a G, but it’s because of my abilities!

“If you don’t respect the others, they won’t respect you back.”

“That’s a good point….! Thank you for saving me in any way you can.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for saving my life. You have saved my life.”

“So we’re both saved.”

“No, I’m a precious saint, and I deserve to be protected. In fact, you are the one who is in debt for bothering me, the precious saint. My prayers are expensive.”

The saint looked at me as if to say, what the hell are you talking about?

“What an unreasonable world we live in… Isn’t life equal before God?”

“Equal. That’s what I call a joke.”

“You’re a funny girl, aren’t you?”

“I’m flattered.”

While we were exchanging glances, the sister right next to the bed gave a deliberate cough.

“Let’s go back to the story. Are you a god or an apostle of one?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re not supposed to use the same phrase more than once.”

“You’re being very harsh… How did you get into this?”

“It’s obvious to my eyes. You are surrounded by a divine and powerful glow that is incomparable to that of the damn Pope and the pig cardinals.”

“Your words are abominable, Saint-sama.”

“Excuse me. I was being honest.”

I looked at the sisters who were waiting for us, but they kept their eyes down as if to say no action. It seems that this saint is rather uncommunicative when it comes to official matters.

“Isn’t this some kind of misunderstanding?”

“I still see it. To be honest, it’s so bright.”

“I think it’s just your imagination. I saved the saint and got stabbed, so it’s like a temporary distraction. Well, I’m pretty popular now too.”

“――Fuh?”

“Did you just snicker at me?”

My glass heart was cracked. I’m sorry, I got carried away. I got carried away just because Sylphy, Isla, the Harpies, the slime girls, and other beautiful girls liked me a little. I’m sorry. I’m a trash bug.

“Do you mind? I’m a saint. I am a noble being. Sometimes I am forced to deal with the son of a nobleman whose face is better than yours. At best, I drink tea with them, and when they ask for more, I make them regret it.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.”

“It’s hard work. It’s painful to be forced to deal with those trash which are no better than a cockroach, who spout uninspired pick-up lines when they open their mouths, who lick and ravish my entire body with a lustful gaze, and who try to touch my skin whenever they can. My eyes can ‘see’ a lot of things, so it’s not easy.”

The light gradually faded from her eyes, which had been shining like red balls, and they became cloudy like red glass balls rather than red balls. This is a bad thing. It’s the kind of thing where you’re under a lot of stress.

“No, it’s really something. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you very much. So, are you a God… or an apostle?”

“Aren’t you allowed to use the same phrase twice?”

“Actually, you’re not allowed to use the same line twice. And this time, I’m asking you to identify yourself as an apostle, so that counts separately.”

“What are you… Sigh!?”

“You can’t use that trick anymore. Now, please give up and answer me.”

The saint leaned forward with no expression. This girl is very aggressive.

“More importantly, you still haven’t explained to me why I’m here and why I’m being cared for so well.”

“You fought off a thug who tried to kill me but was stabbed with a poison dagger. Somehow, through my prayers and God’s miracle in response, you survived.”

“Why?”

“It should have been a serious wound that no human being could have survived, but somehow you survived, and I can’t leave you behind. You’re the one who protected me, a precious saint, in front of the masses.”

“Do you really like using the phrase ‘great and precious saint’?”

“About three days ago. So, you have been kept in this room at the back of the cathedral for three days now, and we have been taking care of you, dressing you, cleansing you, cleaning you, and everything else. It’s been three days since I came to check on you in between my duties, and you woke up.”

“I thought I heard some unpleasant words.”

“If you don’t cleanse yourself well, you’ll get sick. I had to cleanse every inch of you. You were dripping profusely on the first day due to the effects of the poison.”

“Stop.”

My heart is broken when people talk about abominations without expression and without hesitation. My heart is made of glass, you know?

“What does it feel like to have an unsullied maiden like me looking at your asshole? Are you sad? Embarrassed? Or does it excite you? You pervert.”

The saint, who had been expressionless until now, let out a big smile.

“Hey, Sister! Sister! Do something about this girl! Help me!”

I called for help from the other sisters in the room, but they quickly turned their heads away. Even if she is a devout child of God, she is only a mere mortal in the face of status and power. No one would risk their own lives to reach out to the poor lamb. God was dead.

Or rather, it’s been three days. That’s not good. No, I said I’d spend up to five days in the city, so I guess I don’t have to worry about Lime and the others yet. As soon as I regain consciousness, I’ll get out of this evil place as quickly as possible.

“F-for now, I’d like to thank you for saving my life. It’s not good to be taken care of any longer, so I’ll take my leave…”

“No.”

When I tried to get up, the saint pressed my chest and pushed me down on the bed.

“W-what are you――”

“The basilisk’s poison has entered your body. It’s in your liver. Your organs are almost dead, and it is a wonder you are still alive. If you force yourself to move now, you will die. It would not be worth the effort to let you die so easily after taking the trouble to keep you alive.”

The saint told me this without any expression and stared at my face. I don’t know. It’s so hard to handle.

For now, I glanced at the menu and checked my status. My physical strength and stamina gauge is almost zero, and I’m repeatedly losing and gaining a little… It’s not like I’m slowly recovering or slowly losing, but I’m just barely keeping the balance between natural recovery and damage. That’s right, my condition is poisonous (chronic).

“Indeed, it seems that I am getting weaker. It’s not easy to move around when even a saint’s thin arm can knock me down.”

“That’s right. At the moment, you are barely alive, thanks to the effects of the miracle I pleaded for and the blessings of this cathedral, which has become a sanctuary. If you take even a single step outside the cathedral, your organs will immediately rot, and you will vomit blood and die.”

“Oh no, that’s scary.”

“So you’ll have to stay here for a while longer. Okay?”

“That’s very kind of you to offer, but I have my reasons.”

“You’ll die, you know?”

“Ugh.”

The words of the saint were very heavy, as she had actually seen on the status screen that my physical strength and stamina were in a desperate struggle. If the miracle of the saint and the effective thumbing of the facilities of this cathedral are keeping me in my current state, I may really die of bloodshed the moment I leave the cathedral, as the saint said.

“…Thank you for your help.”

“Honesty is a virtue. I always try to be honest too.”

The saint nodded with a blank expression and then stared at me. It’s very unsettling to have a pretty girl stare at you with no expression.

“Why are you staring at me so intently?”

“Because I haven’t heard the answer yet.”

“Answer?”

“I’ll fold it if you don’t stop playing dumb.”

“Fold what?”

“You’re an apostle, aren’t you?”

Without reacting to my reaction at all, the saint said nonchalantly and stared at my face.

Ah, geez. I don’t know what to do. It seems that she is convinced that I’m a marebito because she sees something that Isla can’t see, this saint.

“Well, I am…”

“Yes.”

“Oh, no. The poison is making me dizzy. It’s too early to wake up. Good night.”

I slumped down on the bed, closed my eyes, and decided to sleep it off. I demand time to think, time to think!

“Mmm…”

I opened one of my eyes and looked at the saint; she puffed out her cheeks in frustration. It’s not as if her facial muscles are dead. It might just be that the expressionlessness has stuck to her face from her past experiences. It’s a tough job, isn’t it?

And since she doesn’t try to force me to wake up and ask me about it, she may be a kind girl at heart. I can’t help but notice that she’s a bit of a sadist.

“Saint-sama, it’s time to go…”

“It’s no use; I’ll come back. Next time you’ll have to talk to me.”

“Let’s try to be positive.”

“Very well, then.”

The saint got up from the chair beside the bed, and I heard the rustling of her clothes and the sound of quiet footsteps moving away from the bed. Then I hear the sound of a door being opened and closed.

I opened one eye to check the room again and saw that the saint and the sister at the doorway had disappeared. The sister by the bed seems to have stayed put.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no. This is also God’s will. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call on me.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The sisters seemed kind, even though they had abandoned me a while ago. Anyway, I need to rest my body first… If I had a potion, I might have been able to handle it, but I don’t have one… I couldn’t get the materials for the workbench. If I drink the antidote that Poizo made and gave me, I might get a chance.

I’ll have to try it later. Yeah.