episode_0060

*

“Good heavens… Sola, are you really alright?”

“Priest, I can’t breathe.”

Sola patted my back.

I slowly released Sola and looked at her face.

Sola seemed unable to grasp the situation, her eyes rolling around in confusion.

“Seeing that blank face, you really are Sola.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Why do I have to hear that as soon as I wake up!”

“Thank goodness… Thank goodness you’re okay.”

“Ugh,”

I stroked Sola’s hair as she huffed.

I tried to infuse a little Holy Power into her without her noticing, but Sola didn’t react at all.

If she were possessed by the Demon King, she would have noticed this much Holy Power and reacted somehow.

I turned to Kunat, who was sitting next to me, with a smug look.

“You were going on about different levels of existence, but look. Sola’s fine. Were you just trying to scare me with your nonsense?”

“This is truly astonishing. Genuinely impressive. I can’t quite comprehend it.”

“So, the devil is gone?”

“That’s not the case. It’s simply sunk beneath her consciousness, like Luciana Anna. I know you’re happy, but don’t be too hasty.”

“That’s something we’ll know later when we check for the mark.”

In Lucia’s case, there was a demonic mark on her collarbone, as if carved with sharp claws.

I hadn’t checked, but there would definitely be a demonic mark somewhere on Anna’s body too.

I could ask the nuns to check Sola’s body for a mark when they washed together later.

For now, I decided to enjoy the fact that Sola had safely regained consciousness.

The monastery had been wrecked in a disaster of unprecedented proportions, which complicated things, but such happy events were necessary for a person to enjoy life, weren’t they?

Sola glanced at Kunat and sighed.

“My cat turned into a half-naked *ahjumma*.”

“…*Ahjumma*,”

Kunat looked dejected.

He was surprisingly transparent with his emotions.

Of course, even that might be an act.

I chuckled and asked Sola again.

“Sola, do you feel anything strange? Any pain?”

“Priest, why are you being like this all of a sudden? You’re starting to scare me.”

“Sorry, I was just worried.”

Sola looked a little uncomfortable as she spoke, averting her gaze.

Well, she had only just woken up, and if she remembered what happened when she was possessed, she would have seen me beating her up.

If Kunat hadn’t healed her with demonic magic, her body would have been as broken as Lucia’s had been.

It wouldn’t be strange if she was traumatized by seeing me, so this aversion wasn’t unreasonable.

Sola groped her body for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.

“My body… I thought it would hurt, but it’s fine, and my head feels refreshed, like my hair’s grown a lot… Yeah, I’m fine!”

“You don’t know it, but a devil tried to take over your body. That’s why I was worried. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“I know, the Demon King. He appeared as the Goddess and crawled into my throat.”

Sola stuck out her tongue and made a gagging sound.

“Ah, last night… Do you remember everything? Even what happened after that?”

“The Priest grabbed my legs and threw me around like a boomerang?”

“… Sorry.”

Sola smiled.

She remembered everything, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be traumatizing her.

“Hehe, Priest is incredibly strong, so why do you always make only us do the work?”

“When did I ever make only you do the work? I worked hard too.”

“Anna does all the field work, manages the orchard, and prepares the meals.”

“What about you, then?”

“Oops.”

Sola grinned.

In these dark times with no end in sight, it was a radiant smile like the sun, just like her name.

“Oh, come to think of it,”

Sola clumsily tried to change the subject.

Compared to Kunat’s slyness, it was a clumsy ploy that was all too obvious, but I was willing to play along.

“What is it?”

“I had a little chat with the Demon King.”

“… What?”

Sola dropped the bombshell with an indifferent face.

Kunat was also looking puzzled, wondering what she was talking about.

“A chat?”

“What was it he said… Something about whether I was qualified or not, and then he said he’d stay in my body for a while.”

“…?”

Sola opened her mouth as if she were saying, “My friend said he’s going to sleep over.”

Besides, as always, Sola didn’t fully remember what the other person had said.

From the start, the Demon King used a dignified and arrogant tone befitting his name, so it was possible that Sola didn’t understand him and half-listened to his words.

I asked in a trembling voice.

“… And?”

“I told him to go ahead.”

“…”

What am I supposed to do with this girl?

“Sola, that’s…”

“He said he had nowhere else to go and was sobbing,”

“Don’t lie.”

“At least he looked sad.”

This was exactly like when Sola had begged me to let her keep a cat.

Back then, Sola had said the cat was crying, and when I pointed out that she was lying, she had mumbled that it looked sad.

“He, what was it… He said that if I couldn’t stop the Priest and that cat *ahjumma*, it would be better to just stay here.”

Kunat immediately retorted at Sola’s words.

“I’m neither a cat nor an *ahjumma*, so that title is completely wrong.”

“Is this really the time to argue about that?”

“Demons are sensitive about titles.”

“He’s sensitive about hiding his name, so titles shouldn’t matter. Cat *ahjumma*, it suits you perfectly as your twenty-fourth name,”

“… Ah, that’s really not it.”

“Anyway, what do you think about this situation?”

Kunat sighed and said.

“What can we do? It seems the other party is thinking the same thing as us.”

“The same thing?”

“If you can’t beat them, join them. That’s what they say.”

“Ha, well, well.”

“However, I’m surprised that he was the first to bow his head.”

“He must have some ulterior motive, right?”

“A guy who doesn’t scheme and plot can’t be called a demon.”

“Yeah, it’s reassuring to hear that from you.”

I stepped away from Sola and sighed.

In reality, Sola’s permission was just a formality.

Someone like the Demon King could probably just do whatever he wanted.

Even if Sola had refused, he would have forced his way into her body.

Sola noticed my bad expression and frantically waved her arms and legs as she made excuses.

“That, I didn’t do it without thinking! He said. The Priest got hurt trying to help us, and if I accepted him, that wouldn’t happen again!”

“The reason I got hurt was that I didn’t want you to die or give your bodies to the devil… You know that.”

“That… he said this was different from giving myself over. I even confirmed that I wouldn’t go to Hell.”

I asked Kunat.

“What do you think about this?”

“You’ve been tricked. What else.”

“Ha…”

Kunat rested his chin on his hand and continued.

“I don’t know the Heavenly Realm’s strict standards for judging sin, but at least Sola has more room for consideration than Anna or Lucia. All I can do is hope that the judge she meets in the afterlife is lenient.”

Sola looked at me with a pale face.

“Am I going to Hell too?”

Would I let that happen?

I shook my head and patted Sola’s head.

“You’ll have to pray even harder than before, Sola.”

“Gasp, I’ve been secretly dozing off during prayer time until now…”

“I know, but don’t worry, the Priest will make you pray until you puke, including all the times Sola dozed off in the past.”

“Uwaaaah.”

Leaving Sola’s cries behind, I left the room with Kunat.

I had told Sola that she could rest for the day.

She knew that the monastery had been wrecked, so she readily agreed to rest, burying her head in her pillow.

When I closed Sola’s door, the hallway looked much tidier than before I went in.

The filth that had been sloshing up to my ankles had drained away, and the wrecked furniture and shattered pieces of the wall had all been taken out of the monastery.

Of course, it was only relatively tidy. It still wasn’t fit for human habitation.

The wooden floor, which had soaked up the filth, reeked, and wriggling bugs were crawling in and out of the collapsed floors and walls.

Anna was scrubbing the floor hard with a mop, and Lucia, who had woken up sometime, was diligently carrying things out of the monastery.

Lucia, who was coming in from outside, saw me and smiled brightly, waving her hand.

“Priest!”

Lucia waved her hand wildly and came straight to me.

For some reason, she looked like a dog wagging its tail.

Lucia, who had run as if she were about to jump into my arms, suddenly braked and stopped in front of me.

“Ah, no, if I hug you, I’ll get dirty stuff on the Priest.”

Lucia looked at her clothes and hands, which were covered in filth, and then smiled, hiding her hands behind her back.

“Priest. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. What about you, Lucia?”

“I slept well too.”

“I didn’t think you’d just sit on the floor and sleep. Why didn’t you go into your room?”

“Hehe, I didn’t realize it…”

Just then, Anna approached with a mop in her hand.

“Priest, how’s Sola?”

“Thankfully, she’s fine.”

“Is she hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

Anna carefully leaned the mop against the wall and asked again.

As the one who bickered with Sola the most, she seemed worried.

“How did she seem… what was her mood like?”

“The usual Sola. Clumsy and cheerful.”

Anna covered her mouth with her hand, trying to laugh, but then she realized that her hand was dirty and lowered it again.

“That’s like Sola.”

“That’s just like Sola.”

I looked around the hallway and said.

“I’ll help with the cleaning, what should I do first?”

“Ah, no. You’ve been up all night…”

“It’s okay. I’m fine. I’m even better than Sola.”

“But you had a hole in your stomach just two days ago.”

“I’ve had enough rest.”

Lucia also said with a worried face.

“Mr. Kunat said you’d be lying down for at least a few more days… that it would be a miracle if you got up… so, you should rest a little more…”

I glared at Kunat.

Kunat shrugged at me.

“Don’t try to blame me. Your recovery rate is insane.”

“…”

“It must be thanks to that terrifying Holy Power.”

“You help too.”

“I don’t want to touch this dirty stuff.”

“You had needles soaking in that filthy slime stuck in your skull. What are you pretending to be clean for?”

“… You’re too harsh on me.”

“Ugh, you crazy bitch, well then, you goddamn devil. I’m a priest, why would I show affection to a devil?”

For some reason, both Anna and Lucia looked dejected at my words.

I sighed and said.

“Just tell me how to help. Let’s just skip over the parts that are too hard to clean. We can’t keep living here anyway.”

“Ah…”

Anna realized something and gasped softly.

“You’re going to move. Like you said before…”

“Yeah, when I thought it was safe here, I was planning to leave in the spring after winter, but now I’ve changed my mind. It’s not safe here anymore, and since the wall’s been breached, it’s not suitable for surviving the winter.”

Lucia nodded in agreement.

“Actually… It feels like it could collapse at any time… The whole building has become very unstable with the big cracks in the wall.”

“How did you know that?”

“I can feel vibrations and hear sounds like the roof is slowly sinking…”

“… It’s more serious than I thought.”

Kunat snorted and said.

“That’s because you swung that huge cross around recklessly.”

I didn’t answer and activated Bolina’s Needle.

Kunat grabbed his head and rolled around on the filthy floor that he had loathed so much.

Ignoring Kunat, I said.

“Do you think it’ll collapse soon?”

Lucia shook her head.

“I don’t think it’ll collapse today or tomorrow, at least.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes… unless it’s subjected to any more shocks.”

“Good. Then, I’ll clean the hallway now. You guys go to your rooms and tidy up the mess, and pack your things at the same time.”

I picked up the mop that Anna had leaned against the wall and continued.

“Lucia, go into the room and explain the situation to Sola. Sola seems fine, but if she has trouble moving, have Anna pack Sola’s things for her.”

“Yes, I understand. But packing our things… when are you planning to leave?”

Anna asked cautiously.

As the one who had felt the greatest reluctance to leave the island, she seemed uncomfortable with the current situation, in which she was being forced to move.

In my original plan, I was going to take the time to persuade her so that she could prepare herself mentally, but now the situation had changed, and there was no time for that.

I looked at Anna and answered briefly.

“We’re leaving the island the day after tomorrow.”

“So… so suddenly?”

“Actually, there are a lot of empty houses in Mora Village. Summer’s over, and winter will be here in the blink of an eye, so it’s going to be great for surviving the winter. I actually wanted to fix them up little by little before moving, but it seems that’s going to be difficult.”

Anna slowly shook her head.

“… It’s like this. There’s no choice.”

“Let’s think of the positive side. We can all have our own houses and live separately.”

Anna chuckled at my joke.

“Hehe, I’ve secured a house before my blacksmith family. I’ve made it.”

“That’s right, you’ve made it. I never even dreamed of owning a house with a priest’s salary.”

“Um, well…”

At that moment, when we were in the middle of joking around,

Lucia looked at me and cautiously opened her mouth.

“Priest…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, you know…”

Lucia stared at me with her fingers fidgeting.

If her hands weren’t dirty, she probably would have jumped into my arms right away.

“Wouldn’t it be okay if I lived in the same house as the Priest?”