Episode 125: Spread the Word (II)
“He’s from another territory, but as soon as we confirmed his identity, he collapsed… First of all, I have been ordered to bring the sick here.”
“Put him down there in the middle.”
The condition of the man, gasping for death as if he was about to die, looked really critical.
Rotting flesh could be seen under his clothes, and even a stench spread around him.
Paras sensed the seriousness of the situation and moved closer to the man now lying on the floor.
“Oh, please save me… Ugh.”
The man vomited blood every time he coughed, unable to speak properly. Then he simply fainted.
Looking down at the man’s closed eyes, Paras frowned. However, even after examining his body with his divine power, he could not figure out the cause of the disease.
“I don’t know what disease it is.”
“Me too.”
Watching from the side, Esther also tilted her head. She had never seen a disease where the flesh rots so terribly.
“It’s a pity, but it’s not a condition that can be treated.”
Paras gestured to the knight on the other side. He intended to order the man to be moved elsewhere.
“Sir Paras, wait a minute.”
But Esther stopped him in a clear voice.
“You can’t let him out now.”
“It cannot be cured anyway. It takes too much divine power to even maintain his current state, other patients cannot be saved.”
Esther’s pink eyes stared into Paras’, who shook his head resolutely, saying “Absolutely not.”
“It might be an epidemic.”
Esther remembered the contents of the letter she received from Noah last night.
Along with a request to grow holy flowers, he wrote about a plague that had begun to spread around the borders.
‘Maybe, this person…’
Esther thought that the man who showed up with a disease she had never seen before might be from the borders.
She called the waiting knight who had brought the sick man on his back.
“You said that this person came from another territory, right? Where is it?”
“Here is his identity card.”
When she received the man’s identity card and looked at it, he was, indeed, from a territory near the border area, the one closest to Tersia.
Maybe the epidemic was spreading much faster than Noah knew.
Esther lowered her voice so that only Paras could hear it.
“I heard that an epidemic is spreading recently near the border area. This person seems to have contracted an infectious disease, and he came from there.”
“What? An epidemic means that the protection of the goddess has disappeared. If that’s true, how could this happen to our empire…”
Paras, whose devotion as a priest still remained, looked back at the stone statue, clenching his fists tightly.
However, the statue of the goddess stood tall as always, not revealing anything.
“Sir Paras, if it’s an epidemic, it might have already spread to Tersia.”
The man collapsed as soon as he entered, so he didn’t come into contact with many people, but she had to think about the possibility that it might have already spread.
“It’s a waste, but it would be better to use the holy water the lady brought.”
“I think so too.”
With worry tinting her face, Esther sighed and looked behind her.
“Victor, let everyone here drink holy water right now.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes. You too.”
Holy water wouldn’t be helpful when the disease turns critical, but if it’s just close contact, it could purify sufficiently.
“And you guys, go out and tell people who are sick to come here. Say that Tersia will take care of them, not the temple.”
“Yes, Lady Esther.”
The knights ran out immediately as Esther ordered.
“Now, what about this guy?”
At Paras’ question, Esther stared at the man. It seemed so serious, like he would die soon if left alone.
‘What do we do?’
Conflicts arose in Esther’s heart, like when she healed Hans.
She knew that he could easily be saved if she used her divine power.
But there were so many eyes around.
Moreover, Paras was next to her. Treating the man in this situation would never go unnoticed.
‘What if I get caught?’
The worry didn’t last long. Esther thought about what Noah would have said if he was by her side.
—Do whatever you want.
Yes, he would probably say that.
Esther smiled and made a decision.
Anyway, the time was coming when she would have to reveal that she was a saint.
In order to properly destroy the temple, it would be better if rumors spread that Rabienne was a fake.
“I will treat him.”
“Yes? In such a state, how… No, it’s too risky. If the disease spreads to the lady…”
Recalling Deheen, who was very fond of his daughter, Paras tried to dissuade her.
But Esther had already sat down next to the man.
“It will never spread to me.”
Sensing an unusual energy from those words, Paras bit his lower lip tightly. And he decided to just watch.
Esther placed her hand on the unconscious man’s chest. Slowly, she closed her eyes and concentrated.
“I will definitely save you.”
Since Esther was wearing the gloves given to her by Noah, Paras couldn’t see the back of her hand, but upon discerning her divine strength, he widened his eyes.
Healing the man took longer and required more divine power than expected.
During that time, the people around watched the scene without even breathing.
As a bright light passed under Esther’s palm, new flesh sprouted from the rotten skin.
“We are now… Could it be that we are seeing a saint?”
“I think so.”
Some people knelt down and prayed to Esther without realizing it.
It felt as if a wall had been created between Esther, who was trying to save the man, and the people.
“Shh. Stop.”
Having decided which books to put in the library, Dennis, who was descending the stairs with the knights, stopped and leaned against the railing, fearing that the sound of footsteps would disturb Esther.
Then he brought both hands up to his chin and looked at Esther below.
“It’s amazing. Isn’t our Esther surrounded and full of light?”
“Yes. I can see it.”
“That’s right. Anyone with eyes will recognize it.”
A star that lit up the dark night sky.
Esther, the one who bore that light.
“Is there anyone else who fits the name ‘Esther’ so well?”
Dennis continued to mutter to himself, looking at Esther with eyes dripping with honey.
After a few more minutes, Esther slowly opened her eyes, thinking it was now okay.
Her eyes had turned golden, perhaps because she had used a lot of divine power at once.
The man, whose rotten parts had all returned to normal, groaned and slowly lifted his eyelids.
“Are you awake?”
“Am… Am I alive? I-I thought I was dead…”
As soon as he opened his eyes, he was surprised at how light his body was. All his pain was gone and his wounds were healed.
Tears welled up around his eyes when he realized that he was cured.
“Did you treat me?”
“That’s right. Could you explain why you came to Tersia and what’s going on with this disease?”
“I lived in the Bethral territory. It’s a peaceful town… But suddenly, a strange disease started to spread.”
“A disease that causes flesh to rot?”
“Yes. The disease that used to affect one or two people suddenly spreaded throughout the village… Then, the temple took people at random.”
Hearing that the temple was taking people, Paras flinched and asked to be sure.
“Were they trying to heal them?”
“No. I’ve seen people still alive pushed into the fire. I managed to run away.”
After hearing this, Esther left the man alone and stood up.
‘I guess he ran to Tersia because he was worried his symptoms would spread and he would be thrown into the fire pit.’
Angry at the temple that even killed innocent people, her clenched fists trembled.
“Sir Paras, please accept all the sick people who come. I will give you holy flowers so that they can be healed.”
Esther, whose expression grew even more determined, continued speaking in a calm tone.
“I hope no one dies. Especially in our territory.”
“Distributing the holy flowers… Those holy flowers… but who in the world are you, Lady Esther?”
Esther looked into Paras’ trembling eyes, then took him to the greenhouse inside the temple.
“Have you already noticed?”
“Am I right? Those eyes… The enormous divine power is definitely the saint’s.”
“That’s right.”
She decided to be upfront once and for all, especially since she wanted to ask him to manage the holy flowers.
And after hearing the answer, Paras was genuinely astounded and stunned like someone who had been scammed.
“How can someone else pretend to be a saint when there is a saint? Does this make sense?”
Esther didn’t even look at the man who was more upset than her and touched the soil in the greenhouse.
“The temple will collapse anyway.”
“Is that what you want, my lady?”
“Yes.”
After that brief answer, Esther slowly poured plenty of holy power into the soil so that holy flowers could bloom.
Astoundingly, small sprouts sprouted in places where Esther’s hand touched.
“I will come every two days and take care of it, but it’s better for Sir Paras to take care of it too.”
“Ha… you’re creating holy flowers. This is really undeniable evidence.”
The buds didn’t just sprout in an instant, flowers were already formed in places where a little more power was applied.
“We will need a lot of holy flowers in the future. Please purify them well.”
“I will.”
Walking alongside Esther growing holy flowers, Paras suddenly recalled an old memory.
“The day I brought you to the temple, Cespia told me not to believe in the temple. I think it has something to do with the young lady.”
“That’s right. Saint Cespia…”
When Esther thought of Cespia after a long time, she felt affection for her and made a sad smile.
“I’m very grateful to her.”
“Yes. She was a good person.”
Perhaps because he shared the same sympathy and longing, Paras seemed to be very open to Esther.
“I still cherish the portrait you painted then.”
“Can you show me sometime? If I knew I would miss her this much, I would have drawn another one.”
“Anytime.”
Paras nodded willingly, saying that he would bring it to the temple the next time she was to come.
“Then, I’ll take my leave for today.”
The goal of raising holy flowers was completed, so Esther thought it was a good time to return, but Paras held her back as she was exiting the greenhouse.
“Excuse me… I have a question for you.”
“Please speak.”
“Lady Esther, what do you think of the world after the temple disappears?”
Esther’s eyes became round.
“I hadn’t even thought about that. At least, it will be better than now, right?”
With an expression that he knew it would be so, Paras asked seriously.
“If everything goes back to normal… Will you go back to the temple? The empire desperately needs the saint chosen by the goddess.”
Esther, who was thrown a completely unexpected question, slightly raised her eyebrows, asked what he was talking about.
Ame: Hm valid question. Religion/the temple isn’t inherently bad, it’s much dependent on the people involved.
