Chapter 25: The Exiled Marquise is Strong 1
“What are you talking about?”
That question was clearly written all over her face.
On the Sister’s face, of course.
When you talk about a Sister of the Church, they’re people who train day and night in magic, the Divine Technique, as part of their duties. They’re generally more skilled in magic than your average adventurer.
Due to the Church’s principles, while their proficiency in offensive magic might be lower, they generally possess magical abilities comparable to a Rank 5 adventurer.
As for the village chief, who knew we were Rank 1 adventurers, his face clearly showed he doubted our sanity.
The Sister probably couldn’t comprehend Erica’s reaction—telling her to run, despite Erica looking like a civilian, albeit one carrying a Sword.
Still, even if she’s young, an opponent capable of injuring a Sister of the Church…
What could “that thing” be?
I wondered, hearing the Monster’s roar echo again.
“Village chief, what was really appearing around the village?”
I decided to ask the person who seemed most likely to know.
“What are you talking about?”
He tried to play dumb, even though I’d clearly heard him mention “that thing” right in front of me.
Well, whatever. I’ll find out soon enough.
I ignored the village chief and approached the Sister.
The Sister, clearly confused by the situation and our exchange with the village chief, couldn’t hide her bewilderment but quickly composed herself, her expression turning serious.
“This is no time for idle chatter! Please, run away immediately. I will definitely buy you some time!”
“Erica.”
“Yes.”
Erica knelt before the Sister and, ignoring the startled Sister, abruptly tore a part of her Nun’s Habit.
The Sister froze in shock.
“A broken rib seems to be protruding from your abdomen, doesn’t it?”
“Ugh…”
Whether she hadn’t known her condition or had deliberately avoided checking, the Sister groaned upon learning the details of her injury.
“In this state, regardless of the opponent, you’ll die without even needing to fight if you attempt combat.”
“Sister, what about Healing Magic?”
“I only know a little Healing Magic… um… I’m not very good at it.”
The Sister managed the tricky feat of looking embarrassed while still grimacing in pain.
Since Healing Magic and the like are prioritized teachings in the Church, being “not very good at it” must be quite embarrassing for her.
“I see. So you can use a little yourself, then. We’ll go handle the Subjugation of this ‘thing’ that’s coming.”
The Sister shook her head.
“What are you saying? That thing… that Monster is—”
It seemed the Sister was about to tell me the identity of “that thing” I wanted to know, but it was no longer necessary.
Because the figure of “that thing” came into view.
“A Golden Ogre, huh?”
As I fixed my gaze on the opponent to confirm, the Sister groaned, “Aah.”
It sounded less like agreement and more like a lament directed at us for inexplicably not trying to escape.
“Hey, you.”
I called out to the Coachman, who looked thoroughly annoyed, unable to flee because we weren’t moving out of the way.
“Tell the Villagers who fled outside the village not to go too far.”
“What are you saying?”
It was the village chief who spoke.
I ignored the village chief and nodded to Erica.
For some reason, I felt like that alone was enough for us to understand each other.
Erica nodded back at me, then slipped her hands under the Sister’s armpits. Ignoring the Sister’s confused cry of “What are you doing?”, Erica helped her sit down, leaning her back against a nearby fence.
She must have mustered all her strength just to stand up from the wagon bed; being made to sit down at a time like this makes getting up again quite difficult.
I deliberately addressed the village chief.
“This probably isn’t what you intended, but I’ll handle the Subjugation of that thing. Besides, I’ve already accepted the request from that client who cares so much about her father.”
“Please don’t blame me like that. From now on, I’ll be sure to consult you before accepting requests.”
How did we look in the village chief’s eyes, I wonder?
Rank 1 adventurers who didn’t even know their own strength?
Or perhaps just a couple of crazy young people?
Well, his eyes were too undiscerning to even recognize Erica’s abilities, so it didn’t really matter how he saw us.
Magicka flowed through my body.
I put strength into my legs.
“Sister-sama, please wait a moment. We will take care of this swiftly.”
Taking Erica’s words as the signal, we broke into a run.