After that, I searched a few houses, but I didn’t encounter any monsters other than rats and household pests. I only found pet corpses, and I never came face to face with a human corpse. To be honest, I’m relieved, but maybe the area on the north side suffered less damage. There were no large monsters, and it seems that smaller monsters came to the north side, and the residents ran away when they noticed them.
“Huh?”
Meanwhile, as I come out of the house after finishing my search, I spot a red signal fire and rush towards it.
“Uncle, what’s wrong?!”
The signal fire location was relatively close, and there was a farmer outside the building.
“Amelia-chan. There are many refugees in this temple, and some seem to be injured, so I want you to examine them and decide who will take them to the village.”
“I, I understand.”
Nodding, I look up at the large building, realizing that a temple once stood in a place like this.
Of course, it wouldn’t be unusual for a town with a lot of people to have one. However, there is no Saint in the temple in this town, so I had no reason to go there until now. Most of the temples in towns are places to spread the faith of the Saints. Therefore, only priests live there, so it is not as large as the temple in the royal capital.
Still, it’s much larger than an ordinary house and would make a good shelter. It would be a little more reassuring to know there are other people like you than hiding out alone at home while monsters roam.
“It’s a good idea to use the temple as a shelter. This place is designed to repel monsters to some extent, so it should be able to repel rats and insects.”
“Oh.”
Hearing my father, who had arrived after me, speak with an air of admiration, I looked around the entire temple.
Since I had no knowledge of temple buildings, I didn’t know how it was different from normal buildings. I was very curious about how it could ward off monsters, but a knocking sound brought me back to reality. That’s right. Right now I don’t have the luxury of indulging in such curiosity.
“It’s the person from earlier. There is a magician here who is knowledgeable in medical matters. Please open up.”
“Please hurry in.”
At the man’s words the door opened and the priest beckoned.
The door we entered had a bolt on it and looked sturdy. Once we entered, the bolt was inserted again. The moment the bolt was inserted, a magic circle appeared for just a moment, so it was probably some kind of magic circle to ward off evil. It was a shame that it only lasted for an instant before disappearing immediately.
“Which one is the magician?”
The priest who invited me inside looked at me with pleading eyes. He was a skinny man who didn’t seem to be used to rough work, and he looked very tired.
It’s no wonder he gets tired after guiding the residents to the temple and being constantly on guard in case monsters appear.
“Me and my daughter.”
“I see. The lightly injured are together with the uninjured ones in the auditorium, but the seriously injured are sleeping in the room that used to be the priests’ quarters… I wonder how many of them have turned into monsters…”
He looked at me pleadingly, but when he told us about being transformed into monsters he lowered his gaze with anxiety.
He doesn’t seem to be a person of high rank. Rather, he seems to be the type to do as he’s told, and his thoughts are frozen as he worries about what he might do if they turn into monsters.
“You didn’t chase away the dangerous person who had the potential to turn into a monster.”
“…We serve God. And right now, some of us are on their way to the royal capital to call for help and to get some holy water.”
“It won’t be in time at this distance.”
When the priest spoke of his hopes, my father bluntly dismissed him.
The normal distance from here to the royal capital is four days. A round trip takes eight days. There might be a saint staying in a town along the way who can make holy water for us, but the chances are slim.
“Who is in charge of this temple?”
“He, he headed to the royal capital early in the morning. He thought that the Saintess might come if he called her.”
He ran away.
That’s what I thought for an instant. My father and I seemed to feel the same way, and looked at each other with confused looks. Still, no one dared to say anything out loud, so as not to break the spirit of the priest in front of us. Perhaps the people in this auditorium thought that because the priest was there, they had not yet been abandoned.
What would happen if the priest panicked or became apathetic in such a situation?
“So who was in charge? Who decided to isolate the injured in separate rooms?”
“It was just me and another priest. I thought it would be a little more comfortable if They had beds, rather than just being isolated…”
Since no one can do anything, this priest has no choice but to give orders. Personally, I think it was a very good decision to move those who are likely to turn into monsters to a separate room, but he looks extremely worried and unsure about whether this is really the right thing to do. It seems painful to even use the word “isolation.”
“The treatment I’m about to give you is one that the temple definitely doesn’t offer. But there is no saint here, and even if she does arrive in eight days it will be too late to cure the monsterization. I believe that human life takes priority, so I would like you to overlook this treatment. Is that possible?”
“Of course, I want to help the injured…”
“No. This time, it’s more to help you and the other people who aren’t injured. If they were to become monsters, the humans here would be the first to become food. The auditorium is designed to make it difficult for monsters to get in, but at most it will only block insects or mice. Hungry monsters will try to get food no matter what, so they’ll probably use all their strength to pry it open. Hunger can irritate even humans, after all.”
His face went white, as if he had never imagined that the people he was trying to help would perceive them as food. He must have never actually faced a monster before.
If that weren’t the case, how many people would be turned into monsters… that’s not something I could take my time with.
“W-Will we have to drive them away? Everyone is suffering… there are families with only minor injuries…”
“If you don’t know what to do, then you should have kicked them out. But thanks to you letting them in, we know how to deal with them and can help them. In return, even if someone says something about the treatment later, please report that it was necessary. The temple will not be pleased if someone other than the Saint performs the treatment to stop people from turning into monsters. Especially since the Saint is not here.”
I realized that Theo didn’t know that mushroom disease could suppress monsterization because the temple has the idea of a saint, and that may have been why the temple stopped it from spreading. My grandfather had known about the mushroom disease suppression method since I was a child, and so did another village doctor he knew. He hadn’t made a big announcement about it, but I figured that a town this close would know about it.
But after hearing my father’s story, I realized that maybe the temple deliberately forbids spreading it. They don’t come to complain to places where there are no temples, but it wouldn’t be strange if they were to use the power of the Saints and not such evil magic.
“Or will you accept God’s will and choose to give up and die because there is no Saint?”
“Huh?”
The priest looks as if he might collapse at any moment.
But if they don’t receive treatment and wait until they turn into monsters, everyone here will soon die. The fact that they haven’t fled the town means that there is a reason why they can’t run away.
“… P-please. Help them. If you tell me not to reveal the treatment method, I won’t tell anyone.”
“No. You can tell the method of treatment. It’s not like I want to hide it. I just want you to say that it was necessary. No matter how important the person who comes, please don’t change that one point. If you do that, I will explain the necessity and method. There’s no doubt that the problem lies with them for not being able to dispatch the Saint. However, if it becomes known that helping is something to be reproached, then no one will try to help again… The easiest way is to kill them before they turn into monsters.”
If you kill the monsters and burn them, it’s more efficient and doesn’t create any undead. It’s hard on me mentally, so it’s better to heal them, but I understand that there will be aftereffects.
Originally, this was how it was in the days when there were no saints and no cure had been found.
“Okay. I promise.”
“Amelia, I’ll look at the seriously injured first. Please check that the rest of the injured have not been harmed by monsters. Please try not to scare them as much as possible, tell them there is a treatment, and don’t make them hide. It will be troublesome if they hide because they don’t want to be kicked out. After guiding them to the lecture hall, I would like you to guide them to the rooms for the seriously injured.”
The priest nodded as if he had made up his mind, and my father quickly gave instructions.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
