Chapter 4
My heart sank when I met his inquisitive gaze.
I might end up looking suspicious.
“A-As expected, Vice Commander, you really are incredibly strong! To defeat such a wicked demonic beast in a single strike!”
“……”
“You’re amazing! The best!”
Beyond my two raised thumbs, he continued staring silently at me for longer and longer.
‘Did I screw up?’
I was biting my tongue internally when Raphael gave a short reply.
“Lucky you.”
Then he immediately trudged off.
It seemed he intended to take me to the Pontifical Palace.
“Um, you can really put me down now!”
“You think I’m doing this because I enjoy it?”
“Exactly!”
“Just stay still, you’re heavy.”
“No!”
I can feel your bare body through the fabric!
This wouldn’t be happening if you’d just put some clothes on!
I squirmed now that my body was no longer frozen stiff, and after clicking his tongue, he smacked me on the butt.
“Can’t you see what’s going on around you?”
That outrageous touch made me freeze in shock.
‘Did he just… smack my butt?’
Even throughout all the countless guiding sessions of my previous life, no one had ever hit me there.
When I went still from the shock, Raphael finally increased his pace with a satisfied look.
“That’s better.”
* * *
After dropping me off at the Pontifical Palace, Raphael ran straight back out without a second thought.
I looked around in a daze.
Low-ranking clergy like me, injured priests, and terrified civilian believers were packed tightly together across the floor.
At the end of all their gazes stood Commander Arle and Saintess Serena.
The hem of her white robe trailed with her movements as she raised her fingertips toward people whose bodies were covered in blood from their wounds.
In an instant, the bleeding stopped, and broken bones shifted back into place.
“It’s the divine healing power bestowed by God!”
“A miracle of God!”
“Aah, Saintess!”
Exclamations and praise, sobbing and cheers all burst out together.
And beside her, Arle, wearing the flawless expression of a perfect knight commander, quietly supported the Saintess by the shoulder.
“Arle, how long do you think the turmoil outside will continue?”
“Judging by the number of demonic beasts I saw earlier, I estimate two hours.”
“If only they can reach me, I can heal them, but I fear there may be casualties before then.”
“It should be alright. Sir Raphael is an Aura Master like me.”
“May God’s protection be with them.”
A healing priest approached me as well and tended to my injuries.
“Are you alright, young sister? Your knee is badly scraped.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“It is my calling. God’s grace be with you.”
I returned the benevolent priest’s greeting and swallowed the unease slowly creeping up inside me.
…These people still didn’t know.
If the Gate wasn’t closed, it would continue spewing monsters without end.
Simply holding out was meaningless.
The longer it went on, the stronger the monsters that would pour out.
There was only one way to solve it. Someone had to go inside and kill the boss.
‘…What do I do?’
I clenched both hands tightly.
I was the only one who knew this, but I had no idea how I was supposed to bring it up.
That was when it happened.
“Sir Raphael!”
Raphael hurried into the Pontifical Palace, covered in strange bodily fluids and blood.
He immediately reported to Arle.
“Commander, the demonic beasts keep multiplying. They just keep crawling out of that hole.”
“……”
“I think we’re f****d?”
Arle gave him a cold look at the language far too vulgar for a clergyman, then spoke resolutely.
“I’ll discipline you later. Raphael, defend this place. I’ll go outside.”
“No!”
The shrill voice belonged to the Saintess.
She looked startled by her own outburst, then quickly replaced the expression with a gentle smile as she moved closer to the Commander.
“Arle, don’t you have a calling of your own?”
“Protecting this place is meaningless if we don’t eliminate the root cause.”
The Saintess gritted her teeth, and silence briefly fell among the three of them.
Arle and the Saintess conversed only with their eyes, while Raphael alone seemed lost in an entirely different thought.
“We’re missing something.”
Raphael rubbed his chin as he pondered something, then raised his head.
He began looking around the interior, and his eyes lit up when he spotted a woman sitting against a pillar.
“Found you.”
…That woman was me, Mireille.
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