episode_0134

133.

“Achoo―! Ugh…. I was definitely fine, though…….”

It’s cold. My head throbs. My body should have been in good condition, but to fall ill after just one day… The Goddess might think I’m pathetic. No matter how much I pull the blankets over myself, the chills won’t go away. I’ve heard it’s good to maintain a slightly cool temperature, but I don’t have the energy to worry about that.

‘If only I didn’t have a fever…….’

My head hurts so much. I can feel the throbbing in my blood vessels so clearly, it’s agonizing.

I did think about creating a skill to resist illness, but that’s not the answer.

“Still, I have to work…?”

With a groan, I throw off the sweat-soaked blankets and take a deep breath. I’m lying in bed thanks to others’ consideration, but naturally, I feel uneasy lying here like this. Because people are working inside the church, and, of course, outside, intensely engaged in battle (coitus) with the Fried Church.

For how many days now…? Even the returning parishioners are looking exhausted. No matter how advantageous we are, if we can’t end this, it’s meaningless.

I gulp down the lukewarm water on the small round table and stagger out.

“Ah, ah! Your Grace, you need to rest!”

“I’m fine. I’m just going to talk.”

“Excuse me for a moment…. It’s incredibly hot! Hina-nim has gone to get medicine, so at least until then, okay?”

“Berry-ssi. I’m really fine. You’re the one who’s been struggling in a foreign land, Berry-ssi; you should rest.”

I realize that saying any more is useless. I nod helplessly and step aside.

“Thank you.”

Definitely, my body feels heavy. My already heavy breasts feel twice as heavy today. The throbbing in my head and the weight of my breasts bother me with every step. I want to go back to bed, but even if I lie down, I’ll only suffer until I fall asleep. I need to finish this while I still have the strength.

It’s time to go and see the captured leader of the Fried Church’s heretical inquisitors.

‘Whew. I don’t know if I’m cold or hot…….’

I take a moment to catch my breath at the door. I need to think carefully about what I’m going to say before I talk. I mustn’t let my headache hinder my thinking. After briefly summarizing the current situation, I open the door. The constriction in my blood vessels is excruciating.

“Hello. How was your sleep?”

“Humph. Don’t get smart with me. A heretic, yet you’ve built a church so grand.”

She’s a prisoner, but unbound and free. We’ve only magically sealed the room to prevent her from leaving. Of course, we thoroughly searched her, confiscated the armor-like clothing she was wearing, and put her in a nun’s habit, the most readily available garment.

“Heretic? You’re just claiming that arbitrarily.”

“Actually, you teamed up with that damned demon woman!!”

“Oh my. That’s a misunderstanding. I let that damned demon woman fully experience the Goddess’ grace, you know?”

“So, what business do you have? I don’t think we have that much to say to each other?”

Erina walks around the room and opens the window. The heat filling the room makes my breath heavy. As if she’s venting, she drags the misaligned one-seater sofa in front of the window and sits down.

“Whew. I have a lot to say. You have… plenty of time, right?”

“……And you intend to release me? Sorry, but I don’t know anything? Just idle chatter at best.”

“Well, fine. Keeping you here doesn’t serve any purpose. Of course, when you do leave, I will make you swear not to return to this battlefield.”

“I don’t understand. What do you want???”

San-ya thinks hard, but can’t come up with an answer. It’s always been a weak point for me; compared to other heretics that I’ve met, this was an extremely ordinary church.

“Whew, whew…….”

“Are you sick? K, Kkk… puhahahaha! That’s hilarious. I thought the atmosphere was strangely off, but it was just because you’re sick?”

“Yes. I seem to have overdone it recently. I’d rather lie down and talk.”

“What an idiot, what a fool. And I lost to someone like you? I can’t believe it.”

She laughs loudly and sharply. My head hurts so much, it’s even painful to listen to her tone of voice.

“Oh, and about the next story… There’s a cave nearby, you see.”

I need to quickly change the subject. My head feels like it might explode.

“A cave?”

Luckily, she shows curiosity.

“Yes. Surrounded by mystery… ? Thinking about it now, it really feels like a dream. I met the Goddess there…….”

“What?? You met the Goddess?? Where is it? Immediately―”

“Calm down. It was an avatar of Her. I had to undergo trials there.”

“What authority, what qualification do you have? Don’t be ridiculous. If you’re just going to say things you heard somewhere, shut up.”

The atmosphere suddenly turns cold. Despite her slightly hazy state of mind, Erina’s eyes widen. Her eyes sparkle instinctively at the hidden story she didn’t know. It was sudden, and the mood shifted suddenly, and it was over before I knew it. Besides, with this body ache, it’s like I had a dream. If not for the faint energy I feel in my body, I might have brushed it off as a pleasant dream.

“That story… you seem to know something about it? Cough― Cough.”

“Fishing? I’m freaking furious. ……What’s with that unsettling gaze?”

She looks so exhausted, I can see the sweat on her forehead, and even though we’re both women, her fascinating beauty and bright eyes make it hard not to be charmed. While she has the innocent eyes of a young girl, I know what she’s hiding down there, so it makes my skin crawl slightly.

‘If that story is really, really true…, or rather, what is this Holy War we’re waging for?’

San-ya feels something is wrong.

‘What kind of fight is this, in the first place? To purify heretics…, what method of subjugation was used in the first place….’

It’s a little late to be thinking about this now, but I can’t help but think about it.

“Cough, cough―.”

“There’s a condition. I need to hear the story too.”

“Of course! Anytime.”

San-ya recalls a few scriptures secretly kept within the Fried Church.

One of them is a kind of prophecy about the Goddess’ trials. It’s an ordinary book that any member of the Fried Church can read. It’s not exactly a forbidden book or a secret, so there’s no harm in telling her. It’s just a story that hasn’t been publicized.

“It’s not a particularly great story. I’m telling you this before you get your hopes up. It’s something light… something I can easily tell you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Tell me the story.”

“It’s the story about how someone guided by the Goddess becomes a true warrior through two trials…. Regardless of the contents of those trials―”

“Don’t leave that out. It’s im, important. Ugh….”

Erina presses her relentlessly, but San-ya shakes her head.

“Ah, I don’t know. It wasn’t described in detail. Strength and wisdom… something like that. And it says that those who pass those trials will have a mark on their body.”

“Ah, I received one. I can’t feel it, though…….”

“That would be right. That mark is so burdensome to humans that at first, their whole body feels like… ?”

San-ya’s suspicious gaze suddenly hardens.

“A body ache? No, no. That’s impossible.”

“So? You’re really good at keeping me waiting…. The most important reason is missing. Why are they undergoing trials?”

Erina continues to press, and San-ya quickly scans her memories. Not because she’s nagging, but because it concerns her. And when she reaches that reason, goosebumps erupt all over her skin.

“Why? Cough, ahem.”

“……Soon, the demon world will unfold.”

Erina stiffens at the unbelievable words. The throbbing in my head, caused by the fever, doubles. And at the same time, it feels like everything that has happened is coming back to me at once. In conclusion, it seems undeniable that the return of the demons and devils is approaching.

“The fact that there were so many demons here… the appearance of devils… the statue of the Goddess… Ugh…! Whew……. Whew….”

The chills continue to envelop my entire body, and the fever shows no sign of abating. I want to think this is just my body aching and causing me to think negatively, but the flood of information seems to erase that possibility.

“……Thank you for the story.”

“Wait. The condition. You can’t just eat and run?”

“Ah, right. Ask away.”

Erina touches her forehead. It’s so hot, it feels like it might burn.

“Why is this Holy War being conducted this way? It’s been strange from the beginning.”

“I don’t quite understand your question. We’re simply resisting your coercion, adapting to your tune.”

“……. I made a mistake asking a heretic.”

“If your question is why we have to fight like this, why we have to make each other pregnant, then I can answer that.”

San-ya also touches her head for a different reason. Whenever I think about this Holy War, my thoughts feel like they’re shrouded in fog; I can’t think straight.

“It’s all for the Goddess. To spread her faith widely, for the prosperity of the world. You probably know this, but strangely, the population is decreasing, right? Because the Goddess loves the world, we have a responsibility to create more children. In other words, this Holy War is to carry on the Goddess’ will, isn’t it? So we’re fighting back to prove our devotion to the Goddess’ will.”

It’s a flimsy story when you think about it, but the Fried Church’s mental strength had already been gradually eroded by Erina. Even though San-ya is just making things up as she goes along, she accepts it as true. Erina herself doesn’t even know what she’s saying because of the fever and chills.

“Give me a moment to think.”

“Of course. My head hurts too much…….”

Erina bows politely and leaves the room. I’ve only talked for a short while, but I’m already exhausted. I need to rest for a while and think about the end of this Holy War.