Chapter 272: Chapter 272: Righteous Radiance (3)

The Righteous Radiance and her followers were striking down monsters left and right, using their holy power without restraint.

Maybe it was because all the cultist commanders had been killed. The attacking monsters either charged in without order or fled, breaking their formation.

Thanks to that, we were able to break through much more easily and bring Iris and her group back.

However, it seemed we had overdone it. The Righteous Radiance looked quite exhausted when she returned with the group.

The others who followed her didn’t die, but they seemed to have sustained both large and small injuries.

Even so, when our eyes met, the Righteous Radiance, covered in blood, gave me a sly grin.

“How was it? Pretty cool, right?”

“It was amazing.”

“Then, how about becoming my apostle—no the pope?”

“…I think I’ll pass on that.”

When I awkwardly declined, she chuckled and let out a long yawn.

“Just kidding. Anyway, I think I need to rest now, so I’m going to head in. I’ve already arranged everything, so you and your companions can stay in the VIP room you used last time. Clara will handle the rest.”

“Huh? Oh, okay…”

Before I knew it, I found myself holding the medallion with Clara in it, and the Righteous Radiance turned around, heading towards the exit of the church.

Seeing her stagger slightly, she must be heading straight to rest.

The other followers noticed as well but couldn’t bring themselves to touch her. Among them, the old woman who came with Iris, Gertrude, hurriedly supported the Righteous Radiance.

It seemed Gertrude was the only high-ranking female cleric here.

As she half-leaned on Gertrude, heading towards her quarters, the Righteous Radiance suddenly turned her head and looked in my direction.

“Oh right. Yandel, we’ll finish your treatment once Helena wakes up. Don’t do anything reckless just because you’re feeling fine, okay? Take it easy for a few days.”

“…Why does everyone treat me like I’m someone eager to cause trouble?”

Where would you find someone as sensible and well-behaved as me?

For some reason, my grumbling made not only Iona but also the other women who were approaching warmly stop in their tracks. They all nodded in unison.

“Anyway, understood. I’ll rest well, so don’t worry.”

“Grr… That’s good to hear. See you all tomorrow!”

With that, the Righteous Radiance waved her arms energetically as she disappeared. It was a friendly gesture, but her followers only responded by solemnly crossing themselves.

It seemed their faith had grown even stronger.

Well, they did just fight alongside the God they serve. It’s only natural for their faith to swell.

But maybe it was too overwhelming—none of the followers even tried to lift their heads after the Righteous Radiance disappeared completely.

Perhaps she felt that was enough. The medallion, which had remained quiet until now, began to glow and hum softly.

As if she had been there all along, Clara materialized naturally and clapped her hands lightly.

Well, I couldn’t hear any sound since she was just a projection, but she made the gesture anyway and shouted.

-Alright, that’s enough! There are a lot of injured people, so let’s start with treatment. Use your remaining holy power to heal the severely wounded first. For the lightly injured…

“Oh, leave that to me. I brought plenty of potions.”

-Huh? But wouldn’t it be better to get help from the priests who were tending to the refugees?

“Don’t worry. I really brought a lot.”

I opened my inventory and dumped out a huge pile of potions. There were so many that the pile reached up to my waist.

Clara, with her mouth agape, looked at me in disbelief, and I shrugged.

“These are intermediate potions, but you said the injured were only lightly wounded, so this should be enough. Oh, and we’ll need this, too.”

-Wh-what else are you pulling out now…?

This time, I took out a box of high-level potions.

Clara, who had been speaking, stopped mid-sentence and pursed her lips when she saw the obviously more luxurious design of the potion bottles.

“Holy power is indeed the best for healing… but everyone’s tired, right? If you use these potions together, you can save your holy power.”

-Oh, um… Thank you?

Well. There’s still a lot more to do.

Next, I pulled out various special potions I had gotten from Faye.

“This one works well on Greenskins. It’s poisonous to humans, too, so make sure to throw it outside the barrier. It’ll clean up the orcs pretty well.”

“This one causes a troll’s regeneration to go haywire, turning them into festering lumps. There aren’t many of these, so only use them on mutant trolls, not the regular ones. You’ll need to either force them to drink it or aim it carefully.”

“Next, these are flash bombs. Cyclopses tend to hesitate when they can’t see, so use these in emergencies. On the other hand, Minotaurs get excited and charge when blinded, so be careful.”

“And finally, this isn’t for combat, but it’s glue made from Trap Spider silk. If you use it to temporarily prop up the collapsed walls, we can reinforce them with magic afterward. It won’t be a perfect repair, but it’ll keep the wind out for now.”

As the pile of supplies grew in front of her, Clara swallowed hard. Suddenly, I remembered something, and I reopened my inventory.

“Oh, right. I almost forgot this.”

Thud.

I placed five large sacks on the ground.

-…What are those now?

“Bread. Since you’ve taken in refugees, I figured you’d be short on food, so I brought some. I cleaned out the bakeries near the Academy, but since I only bought out the stock they had, it’s not exactly plentiful.”

-Still, this should be enough to last about four days! I’d heard that spatial magic had advanced far beyond what it was in my time, but to think something like this would be possible…!

Clara, so moved, clasped her hands and offered a brief prayer.

Then, as the Righteous Radiance had done before, she began jumping up and down in joy.

-Incredible! Bringing exactly what’s needed, exactly when it’s needed! You were already pleasant to look at, but today, your face is practically glowing! I could even give you a kiss right now, you know?

“You don’t even have a physical body.”

Knowing it was a joke, we both laughed it off. But there was one person who didn’t take the joke too well.

“Oh, no…!”

Iris, who had been quietly circling me in excitement, suddenly jumped up.

Then, she stood in front of me, waving her short arms as if to block Clara from approaching.

“My master… uh… my master…!”

But it seemed she hadn’t thought about how to stop her.

Iris was struggling so much that steam might as well have been coming out of her ears, and Clara just smiled gently and shook her head.

-Don’t worry. I’m merely a lingering ghost from a bygone era. I cannot and should not bind myself to someone living in the present.

“…Really?”

-Yes. As you can see, I don’t even have a physical body.

“But still…”

-Are you thinking it’s too pitiful that I remained in this world, only to be left alone?

“……”

Iris was silent, but her silence was an answer in itself.

-My very existence in this era is a miracle. Hoping for anything beyond that would be greed. Besides, even if I were given a body, there’s a reason I wouldn’t be able to intrude. Or rather, I couldn’t.

“???”

I lifted Iris, who was tilting her head in confusion, and held her in my arms.

These days, she didn’t resist at all when I picked her up. In fact, she went limp, almost as if she had been waiting for it. As I patted her back, I gently shook the medallion I had just received.

“Well, as long as you’re satisfied, that’s what matters. Anyway, I’ve handed over everything, so I’d like to rest with my companions now… By the way, what’s the range on this? The Righteous Radiance entrusted it to me, so I don’t feel right passing it on to anyone else.”

-The medallion’s range is limited to a few meters. But there’s no need to wait for me. I need to retreat soon anyway, as my holy power is nearly depleted.

“…Didn’t you fully recharge before heading out?”

-Ahem… embarrassingly, I got a little excited and set off a few minor explosions…

“……”

Come to think of it, no matter how calm she appeared, Clara was still a follower of the Righteous Radiance. And not just any follower—she was the former saintess.

She probably activated the holy power explosion option attached to the medallion.

It’s like those stories about ego swords slashing enemies on their own—was this an ego medallion that released holy power by itself, perhaps?

“Oh, I see. Well, I’ll wait a little longer, so take your time finishing up.”

-Thank you. I’ll be quick.

Clara gave me a nod, then went to pass a message to Albaor. After exchanging signs of the cross with him, she returned.

Of course, that kind of thing is typically the Pope’s responsibility.

Even though the God had descended into the body of the Saintess, or Clara, as a remnant of the former saintess, the fact remained that Albaor was the rightful leader of the Church of Righteous Radiance.

Once Clara returned, she left me with a final request to deliver the medallion to the Righteous Radiance tomorrow, and then she returned to the medallion herself.

We, too, exchanged brief greetings with Albaor and Gilbert, then headed to the VIP room, where we collapsed into a deep sleep.

And the next day.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As soon as the Righteous Radiance got the medallion back, she dashed off to fight monsters again.

Unbelievable.