There were a lot more people heading into town today than yesterday.
The reason for this goes back a little while.
Injuries heal faster while transformed into a monster, so they had mushrooms growing on their heads to slow down the progression of their transformation, and apparently they had been watching their conditions last night to make sure they didn’t die.
The next morning, Alice, who arrived at the clinic with them, healed everyone’s injuries with light magic. Then, as their injuries were healed, the holy water that had been prepared was used to cure the ones turning into monsters, and there was no need to worry about them turning into monsters. When they removed the mushrooms with a mushroom disease remover, lo and behold, the people who had been dying were completely revived in a short time.
“…The Saint is amazing.”
The dead cannot be brought back to life, but the Saint can heal them with light magic if they are not dead.
Normally, it takes a lot of time to cure the monsterization, so they feel very helpless. However, since the Saint is not always nearby, it is very important to have a way to do something about it ourselves.
“This was only possible because Amelia and the others carried them to a safe place. Also, with my powers I can’t heal many people, and I can’t heal those who are on the verge of death. So this was only possible because Amelia administered first aid, carried them to a safe place, and healed them to a certain extent.”
It wasn’t really comparable, but I felt like I’d somehow lost, when Alice grabbed my hand and shook her head.
“So everyone, please give your thanks to Amelia. A saint is someone like her.”
“No, no, no. No matter how you look at it, it was Alice who cured them, right?! I’m not a saint, I’m a magician you know?”
Alice smiled and spoke in a ladylike manner, instantly raising her saintliness to the point where everyone wondered who she was. The patients’ eyes sparkled at the beautiful red-haired girl’s saintly smile, but their gazes were not only directed at Alice, but also at me.
“To us, they are both saints.”
“If Lady Amelia isn’t a saint, then isn’t she an angel?”
“I never thought I’d be saved by someone so beautiful. Perhaps she’s a goddess?”
“Don’t worship me. Don’t treat me like an inhuman! Alice!! Don’t do some weird brainwashing.”
The people who were rescued from near-death situations are so excited it’s scary. Are you kidding me? Please tell me you’re kidding!
“It goes without saying that Amelia is an angel and a goddess. Amelia will now go to help your town once again. Those of you who have recovered and are able to fight can protect your town yourself instead of leaving everything to Amelia, the angel and goddess, right?”
“Of course.”
And so, the townspeople who had been subjected to strange brainwashing education were forced to return.
… I’m sure she does this to boost morale on her regular journeys to purify maga, but the Saint is scary. She’s held power over an organization for so many years, and her control over it is extraordinary.
“Amelia, please come back alive. When you come back, no matter what injuries you have, I will definitely heal you.”
I was wondering what to do in this heady situation when Alice tugged on my clothes and whispered, looking up at me.
Hey, what are you going to do?
It’s so cute that I have no choice but to go with it.
“It’s okay. I’ll definitely come back.”
“Yes. I’ll do what I can to wait. Absolutely, absolutely.”
So I made a promise with Alice and headed towards town with the strangely excited group of people.
The Saint’s control technique is really scary. I accidentally let myself get controlled.
“Let’s head to the temple first today and see how the evacuation center is doing. Then we’ll check the wounds, and if they seem to be healing, we’ll use holy water to treat the monsterization. If the healing is delayed, we’ll leave them as they are and look at the situation of today’s rescues to select who to take to the village… Also, if there are any priests who have contracted mushroom disease, let’s remove them first.”
“…I hope it’s okay.”
“I have already told the lightly injured people not to go outside if they start planting mushrooms, so I think someone is probably doing something about it.”
A surreal image of the priests all planting mushrooms at once comes to mind.
The tricky thing about mushroom disease is that even if you remove it once, if there are other people infected with the mushrooms, they can become infected again. I hope that people will have the determination to not give in to the mushrooms… but to be honest, I can’t help but feel that it’s a delicate situation.
The wagon swayed gently as we moved along, and we stopped again in the same place as yesterday.
Today, unlike yesterday, I didn’t pass any evacuees on the road. Those who were able to evacuate on their own had already done so, and those who couldn’t were still in town.
I put on a mask and goggles to protect myself from insect monsters, and headed to the temple with my father to treat them. However, instead of going together, some people went to check if anyone was left behind at home, while others went to get temporary food from restaurants. Even if people managed to escape from the monsters, they would die if they couldn’t eat. Food aid for the evacuation centers is urgently needed.
I knocked on the door of the temple and my father called out to me and asked me to open it. However, the person who opened it was not wearing a priest’s robe. It seemed to be someone who had fled here yesterday after suffering minor injuries.
“Thank you for coming today.”
When I entered the temple, it seemed a little more lively than yesterday, and it was bustling. I guess people had gotten used to the situation. I could see children running around.
“What about the priest?”
“Umm. He was fine yesterday, but ever since he woke up this morning, he’s been talking to mushrooms, planting them… he’s been acting strangely. I’ve heard that they’re harmless, so no one is panicking when they see him, but it seems like the people in the seriously injured room are feeling quite uneasy.”
Ahhhhh. I thought so.
The infection rate in the seriously injured room is 100%. They knew they would catch it because they were there. And anyone who saw his strange behavior must be worried that they might end up like that too.
“I will examine them in order, but I also brought holy water today, so let’s start by removing the mushrooms from the priests so that we can distribute it properly.”
Although their wills are weak enough that they follow orders from the mushrooms, they are here to spread the gospel and are good at conveying their message to people. There should be plenty of holy water, but we would like to ask for their cooperation so that we don’t fight over it. In the first place, the people who took refuge here came to rely on the priest, so they trust him more than us outsiders. Therefore, I think it would be easier to drink the holy water if they distributed it to them.
With the help of those with only minor injuries, all the priests who were planting mushrooms were gathered in one place. Their symptoms varied – some were talking to the mushrooms, some were planting them in the corners of their rooms, and some were just staggering around – but there was no doubt that they were all behaving strangely.
I’d like to take a closer look, but I know I don’t have the time right now.
I put the ointment I brought with me into a bucket and took a brush to apply it to the mushrooms. The priests who saw the first person to apply the ointment all tried to run away, but my father had foreseen this and instructed the lightly injured to tie them up with ropes, so the priests could only scream and thump around.
I feel like I’m doing something really bad.
Following Alfie, I have once again been given the title of mushroom killer.
However, when the mushrooms are removed, everyone writhes about as if they are going to have a mental breakdown. Their memories of being infected with mushroom disease never fade. How cruel.
“Don’t worry. You were all sick. It’s normal for people to have hallucinations, behave strangely, or become irritable when they’re sick.”
Father’s words of comfort are spoken, but in the minds of the priests they must have acted strangely. They all look depressed, with no sign of any effect.
“Hmm. In that case, I will give you a job so you can forget about this morning. I brought some holy water today, so I want you to give it to anyone who has been slightly injured by monsters. I will distribute it to the seriously injured after examining their condition. However, although there is a lot, it is by no means an amount that can be wasted. Right now, I am checking outside the temple to see if there are any people who were left behind due to a delayed evacuation, so there may be someone there who needs it. So I want you to give as much as you need to where it is needed. Can you do that?”
“…Yes. I understand.”
The priest who let us in yesterday was the first to respond to the task given to him by my father.
And when the others were told that they had to work, they stopped thrashing about… as expected of people who were used to following orders.
I waited for them to get their jobs and be revived, then headed towards the room where the seriously injured were.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
