Chapter 117 – Miracles
The village headman’s expression, which had been trembling with anxiety, turned into joy at the appearance of the saintess with a benevolent smile on her face.
Yes, a girl with a beautiful appearance that is not easily found even among nobles and a halo behind her appeared, as if she had met an angel.
“Oh, Estella…!”
He bowed his head deeply and cried out the name of the heavenly god.
Since I was the person I was facing just now, I must be even more thrilled. Somehow, I’m a little embarrassed.
“Are you having difficulties? The grace of the Celestials dwells equally on everyone. As his priest, I can never overlook this.”
“Oh, priest! That’s what you mean…!”
However, the girl’s expression is not unusual.
A determined face that feels a sense of duty beyond simple interest. Seeing her like that reminds me of one of her junior officers who had a look just like her on the battlefield.
She was a guy who had just been put into action and was overflowing with passion and pride.
I remember him being a pretty good guy, but his end was never good.
In the heat of the battlefield, I had to forget what my duty was. It is a soldier’s role to fight against the enemy in front of his comrades back to back, even though it is not the commander’s role.
‘Well, I’m not in a position to talk to anyone.’
It was a pretty bittersweet memory that I still remember.
Ophelia’s behavior overlapped strangely with the behavior of a guy I couldn’t remember the name of anymore.
If I left that kid alone like this, it was obvious that he would listen to the villager’s detailed explanations in as much detail as possible and then rush to help.
Not a very proud adult, but not foolish enough to condone the mistakes of a child.
“That’s it. There’s no need to repeat the explanation I gave.”
“Huh? Sir Wolfgang? Still, I’ll have to listen to the details…”
“No, the testimony is enough.”
I raised my hand to block Ophelia’s actions and put an end to the incident in the most decisive tone possible.
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t help. The amount of support I initially thought would be enough.
“I’ll send a separate unit to your village to help search for the missing people. So, let’s go.”
“Aigoo! Thank you, knight! Thank you! Angel!”
“Chew, you’re an angel. Oh dear…”
Even so, the girl was dissatisfied with something, but soon began to fan her hands on her blushing face, smiling like an idiot at the village headman’s shy talk.
When I see it, I burst out laughing. I’m so glad I’m a simple kid.
In the end, we decided to send one tens of thousands, three priests, and magic tools for communication to the village chief.
It’s impossible to send and receive voices, but simple communication through a set signal is possible, so there will probably be no problem in receiving reports.
I thought I had finished the job, but sure enough.
“Ugh… I wanted to help them myself. The closer you are to those in a lower position, the closer you are to reaching out! It’s a verse from the Bible. Sir Wolfgang is so cold-blooded, huh!”
“…”
Is this kid?
Listening to the way they speak, if they hadn’t been restrained a moment ago, this massive procession would have been stranded in one of the villages in the mountains.
No matter how close she was to a scarecrow, the final decision on her mission clearly belonged to the saintess.
If she had declared on the spot that she would help everyone without thinking, everyone would have had no choice but to follow her orders.
I shook my head, resisting the urge to put honey chestnuts on the immature girl’s forehead.
There’s no need for me to say anything harsh. There was an old man with a worried look on his face as he listened to this nonsense conversation.
“Holy Lady, would you like to talk to me for a moment?”
“Yes? Cardinal. Suddenly, what…”
After hearing her three-hour sermon from the Grand Inquisitor, who had gone through countless battles, the saintess stuck her head out the window of her wagon with an expression like a hamster who had lost her sunflower seeds.
— Knocked up!
“I’m sorry. Sir Wolfgang… I was wrong…”
I couldn’t help but put my head on her chin as I watched that unfunny look.
He was truly a troublesome kid. I feel like a babysitter somehow.
Agnes, who happened to be by her side for the report, saw the skit and muttered with a chuckle.
“Hehe. I really miss him. There was a time when I was like that too.”
“No, you mean?”
However, imagining Agnes, who has the exact opposite impression of Ophelia, looking like that, made me feel awkward, so I casually asked that question.
“What, what is it! That reaction.
“Hmm? Hey, why are you suddenly hot?”
“Ugh… That’s it!”
For some reason, seeing her slightly upset appearance made me feel ashamed and scratched the back of her head.
After going through such a trivial happening. The party spurred on the short journey.
We were able to safely reach our destination, the headquarters of the Ropes Knights, before it got dark.
* * *
Argon territory located in the basin terrain surrounded by large and small mountain peaks.
An uneasy atmosphere hung over the Knights of the Ropes, who had settled in the nearby mountains.
First of all, there were too few people. Speaking of knights, it is basically a large-scale military facility with hundreds of superhumans and their assistants.
Of course, considering that the size of the Black Lion Knights is a bit large and the Ropes Knights are a relatively small unit with enemies in rough terrain…
There were only about 150 people at most who could feel the presence here. It was obviously not normal. Except for the minimum number of personnel to maintain the unit, it means that all of them are either being dispatched or performing operations.
It was a scene in stark contrast to the situation I had been told in a letter just three days earlier.
“Welcome, saintess. The main building is Helga, the vice-captain of the Ropes Knights. The current situation at the headquarters is not good, so please understand that the hospitality may be a bit shabby.”
“Don’t say that. We’re here to carry out our mission, not to treat ourselves.”
“Thank you for your understanding. There are many people who are absent at the moment, so there will be no shortage of accommodation. Then…”
The one who greeted the party was a red-haired female knight with dark shadows around her eyes. I heard that the leader of the Knights of Ropes is a big-hearted man with a sense of justice. Is he vacant now?
In a situation that seemed unusual in many ways, the party’s leadership decided to have an immediate meeting.
There are only two key officers of the Ropes Knights remaining in the unit: Sir Helga, the vice-captain, and Sir Hobbs, the centurion.
As soon as the briefing-like meeting began, their faces, which had been tinged with depression, began to turn a little bright.
“Sir Helga. Where is Lord Fractal, the knight commander of your unit?”
“Yes… Currently, the captain is conducting an operation with the main unit to grasp the trend of the monsters that suddenly started rampaging again last night.”
However, the party had no choice but to be silent as a group at the words of the female knight who forced herself to pretend to be calm and spit out the words.
The personnel who went out yesterday have not returned yet. What he meant was clear.
It was Cardinal Malleus who broke the silence and managed to raise the question.
“May the brave warrior’s struggle be blessed with good luck. Excuse me, but are you properly in touch with the main unit?”
“The last time we contacted him was around 23:00 yesterday evening. We lost contact after he told us that a fierce battle was expected at that time.”
“Oh, my God.”
At that, the priests made the sign of the cross and prayed, and the knights bowed their heads in silence.
It was because, given the circumstances, it was as if it was certain that the main force led by the Knights of Ropes had been annihilated, or suffered a similar blow.
Now I understand why the atmosphere here was so gloomy.
Ophelia approached Sir Helga cautiously, took her hand, and began to radiate her warm divine power as she recited her prayers.
“As long as the heavens look down on this land. The light of hope is always with us.”
The holy power emitted by the high-ranking priest has the power to stabilize people’s minds. That act will bring greater peace than the clumsy consolation that can sound like deception.
But, just then.
The moment Ophelia’s radiance fills her room. A truly unfortunate phenomenon occurred.
—Chijik, chijik…
“Wait, wait! Everyone! This is a call from the main unit!”
“Uh huh?”
At the crackling noise characteristic of communication tools, Sir Helga pushed the girl with her bewildered face and hurriedly took a small wooden box from her bosom and put it on the table.
Then, the lamp inside the box slowly flashed blue three times.
What that sign meant was very simple.
[Returning]
“Ahhh…!”
Witnessing this, the red-haired woman who lived here covered her mouth with one hand and held her saintess’s hand with the other and began to shed hot tears.
“Heavenly God…”
At that, everyone gathered here chanted the name of God in a low voice. Of course, me too.
It could only be described as a small miracle.
“Ha, nice to meet you! Reinforcements! You came just in time!”
The leader of the Knights of Ropes, who returned late at night with his men in tatters.
He opened his mouth as he hugged his subordinate who rushed at him without hesitation in his arms contaminated with blood and flesh.
