Ch.536Hospital Visit and Visitation

“Haschal?!”

As expected, Ceylon was so overwhelmed by the fact that I had personally come to visit him that he didn’t know what to do. To the point of being uncomfortable.

Despite his rather gaunt appearance, he tried to get up from his sickbed and show proper respect the moment he saw me.

“Stay lying down. Where do you think you’re getting up in that state?”

I pressed down on Ceylon’s shoulder to make him lie back down, then peeled an apple from the fruit basket I had brought as a get-well gift and handed it to him. He ate it well.

“I heard you had awakened. But for you to come all the way here… are you feeling better now?”

“I’m more worried about you.”

I heard he had woken up before me so I thought he would be fine, but it seems the side effects of fighting while burning his life force were quite severe.

At this rate, his lifespan must have definitely shortened… I wonder if I should try to get him an elixir later. Since it’s a medicine made by refining the sap of the World Tree, I should be able to find some if I raid Alvheim.

An elixir should be able to restore some of the lost life force.

“I’m fine. I’m just a bit weak, but I should be able to return to duty soon.”

Is that so? From what I can see, it looks like he should stay in bed for at least another month, but he’s certainly full of determination.

“Don’t push yourself. You survived fighting that monster, so it would be too meaningless to die from overexerting your weakened body.”

I leaned against the window of the hospital room, blowing cigarette smoke outside while chatting with him about various things.

Things like praising him for protecting the other comrades, telling him about my visit to the Great’s Twelve Knights’ shrine, asking if he could come with me when I return to the Empire soon. That sort of talk.

Even after one cigarette had turned to ash and scattered, our conversation continued. We talked not just about constructive topics like future schedules, but even about trivial everyday matters.

Since I had come to visit rather late, I felt a bit guilty about leaving right away.

“…The Bethania priest?”

“Yeah. What’s with her? When I said we should postpone religious education, she suddenly started whipping her own back. I was really shocked.”

Thanks to that, I’ve been receiving religious education regularly these days, which isn’t something I ever expected to do.

Fortunately, she doesn’t test me on whether I’ve memorized things well. I can just listen casually and let it go in one ear and out the other.

What did she say again? That it’s important to accept the doctrine with your heart, so there’s no need to memorize it forcibly as long as you’re aware of it?

“She’s a penitent priest of our order. Unlike paladins who serve Astraea by destroying evil, those who cannot serve Her that way prove their devotion by purifying their bodies through flagellation.”

In other words, it’s self-promotion toward the goddess. I wonder if they really need to go that far.

Religious people are truly extreme.

—-

“By the way, Haschal, what was that sword strike you showed at the end of the battle with the Arm of the Evil God?”

During our chat, Ceylon asked me about the Heaven Slash.

Well, lately everyone who meets me asks about that. I guess it was that impressive.

“Well, how should I put it… I didn’t exactly understand it fully when I used it either.”

It was more like the life-threatening situation drew out power beyond my capabilities. The reason I became so weak to the point of nearly dying after swinging the sword was probably because of that technique.

Anyway, I explained to Ceylon my theory about the principle behind the Heaven Slash.

It’s certainly one of the most secret techniques, but Ceylon isn’t the type to go around carelessly talking about my skills, so I figured there wouldn’t be any problem telling him.

“First of all, the cutting technique I gained upon reaching the realm of heroes is the power to compress time.”

More precisely, it’s the power to enter a world where time is compressed. Tales of Heroes are usually bizarrely illogical, but this power might be one of the most peculiar ones even among them.

“Compress… time…?”

Ceylon slightly furrowed his eyebrows as if he was having trouble understanding what I meant.

In his common sense, the very concept that time could be compressed must sound like nonsense.

“So, if it takes me 2 seconds to swing my sword and cut off an enemy’s neck, this technique allows me to achieve the same result in 1 second. From the enemy’s perspective, the power and momentum of the attack remain the same, but the speed is several times faster. You know how sometimes my attacks become abnormally fast? That’s it.”

In other words, the power itself is no different from my normal attacks… but that’s not really an issue.

Since I can break even the True Silver Sword if I put all my strength into a single strike, it doesn’t matter if my Tale of Heroes doesn’t increase attack power—I don’t lack strength anyway.

“…Amazing. The effect itself seems modest, but the fundamental principle seems to contain profundity beyond divine powers.”

“You think so? I found divine powers more fascinating. Anyway, I can compress time, and Durandal, being a divine object, has the power to cut through space itself. Though the conditions are quite strict, so I can’t use it often.”

Actually, I’ve only used it twice.

Rather than finding enemies who meet the conditions, wouldn’t it be easier to find a way to remove the restrictions on the sword?

“The slash that cut the Arm of the Evil God along with the sky… Defying Fate, is a strike that mimics the power to cut space with my own strength, while adding the power to compress time… I think.”

If you cut space in a world where time is compressed, it’s like cutting a much wider area of space in the original world.

It was a vague explanation based on intuition and experience, but even I found it difficult to explain the phenomenon otherwise.

“…I don’t quite understand, but it sounds like an amazing technique.”

Ceylon nodded with a face that seemed to have suddenly become less intelligent.

His expression suggested he didn’t understand a word I said, but barely grasped that it was an extremely profound technique.

“I can’t use it now anyway. I nearly died after using it that time.”

I’m lucky to have survived. If the treatment had been delayed even a little, wouldn’t I have died?

When I recall the feeling of exhaustion I felt then… I wonder if it was really something that could be recovered from with just a priest’s healing.

—-

After talking for about an hour, there was nothing more to say, so I left the hospital room after telling Ceylon to rest well.

“Lord Median. Did your visit go well?”

A young man in priest’s robes was standing in the corridor a little distance from the hospital room door, as if waiting for me.

No, judging by how he spoke to me as soon as I came out, he must have been waiting.

Eavesdropping on the conversation between Ceylon and me would have been extremely rude, so he seemed to have deliberately kept some distance.

“It went well… do you have some business with me?”

“His Eminence the Cardinal wishes to see you. Of course, if you have urgent matters to attend to, you may decline…”

Ah. Come to think of it, should I have met Cardinal Ernliter before Ceylon? When visiting another organization, it’s proper etiquette to meet the superiors first.

Well… it doesn’t matter. Since when have I strictly followed etiquette?

Besides, thanks to Lacy, I’m now of a higher rank than the Cardinal, aren’t I?

Cardinal Ernliter knows this well, which is why he politely said I didn’t have to come if I was too busy.

“What will you do?”

“I’ll go meet him. Where is he waiting?”

“Please follow me. I’ll guide you to His Eminence’s office.”

The priest bowed his head and led the way.

I followed two steps behind him, recalling my impression of Ernliter from our previous meeting. It was at Lacy’s hearing, wasn’t it? He had a terribly stern face.

Of course, that was natural since he was in opposition to Lacy at the time.

—-

“Lord Median. Welcome to the heart of the Church of Astraea. I am Ernliter Zaiseus.”

Unlike my first impression in my memory, Cardinal Ernliter, whom I was meeting after a long time, wore a friendly expression like a grandfather meeting his granddaughter after a year.

“Thank you for your warm welcome. I am Haschal of House Median. As you already know.”

I greeted him with a polite attitude for now. Since I would have been in trouble without his help in many ways, there was no reason to give him a bad impression.

I also felt a bit guilty about some things.

“To welcome the Hero of Arvil in my old age, what a truly honorable experience.”

“Your words are too kind. Is that achievement mine alone? It’s thanks to the help of many people, including Sir Ceylon. Especially Sir Ceylon, who was of tremendous help.”

Exchanging light pleasantries as we sat on the sofa in the office, the priest who had guided me bowed politely and closed the door as he left.

After drinking the tea placed on the table and waiting for the priest’s presence to completely disappear, Ernliter and I began our main conversation.

From topics about Ceylon and the aftermath in Arad, to the shrine I would visit in two days… and even about my stigmata.

Ernliter hesitated repeatedly before asking if he could directly verify my stigmata, if it wasn’t too rude.

Since it was a natural request, I slightly lowered the upper part of my clothes to show him the Stigmata of Astraea.

“…Can you see it?”

My face reddened slightly. Since the stigmata was located on my chest, both Ernliter and I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

[…Now you’re showing your chest to men every day. How about just going around naked?]

Hersella muttered sarcastically with a disgruntled voice. Since it was technically her chest, she seemed to feel discomfort and embarrassment.

You’re one to talk. As if you wouldn’t have a fit if I actually went around naked.

‘That’s not a bad idea. Should I go around like that in summer?’

[Are you insane? No, you were already half-mad to begin with. Go ahead if you think you can handle it.]

…It’s true that I couldn’t handle it.

I only said that to counter Hersella’s sarcasm, I had absolutely no intention of actually doing it. That would make me not just a barbarian but a perverted exhibitionist.

Even now I’m surrounded by embarrassing gazes; if I went around naked, how would people look at me?

“Oh… Astraea…!”

The moment Ernliter beheld my stigmata, all sense of embarrassment seemed to vanish as he shed tears of emotion and offered a prayer of gratitude to the goddess. I inwardly sighed and pulled up my clothes that I had half-lowered.

—-

After that, Ernliter addressed me as “Lord Astica” and showed an extremely respectful attitude.

…Honestly, it was a bit unexpected. Even with the stigmata, since I had been of a lower rank than the Cardinal until a few days ago, I thought he would maintain his superior attitude according to the old custom. But far from it, he even used honorifics like Ceylon did.

Was he that desperately hoping for someone with the stigmata to come to his order? As someone who is not religious, it was a yearning difficult for me to understand.