The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 27 - Her Decision

After cleaning up the mess and gathering the bodies into one spot, and even fixing the roof on the farm which took me about an hour, I finally got to return to the Church where Amelia was still unconscious in her room.

“Hmm, looks like she won’t be waking up any time soon.” I said as I checked on her condition.

“I tried everything in my capabilities, but she wouldn’t wake up.” said Jenny as she was sitting beside her.

“Lets just give it time…now that you’re here for some reason, mind telling me why exactly?” I asked.

“Like I’ve said, I came here for her.” she answered.

“Yeah, you said that, but why?” I asked.

“…She’s the saint of the Alticrast Church.” she said.

“…And?”

“And? What else is there…are you’re not surprised by her presence and authority?”

“She already told me…and as you can see by the bodies, I’m more than what meets the eye.” I said as I pointed to the dead corpse of the so called ‘Victor Vandel.’

“You killed Victor Vandel…It obvious that you’re more than just some man here in this quiet village. Tell me, who do you work for?” she asked.

“…I’ll only answer if you tell me who you work for.” I said in return.

“I-I don’t work for anyone!” she said panicking.

Its obvious that Jenny, the greatest Stone mage in the kingdom works for some higher up. Back in the past, I knew her to be quite a quirky person. She fights badly head on in a battle, but she’s great in casting stone magic and creating golems. I can’t really imagine her being capable of helping Amelia the saint into reaching her through title and position. It makes more sense if someone else is actually managing the entire position of this scheme.

“…Hmm, are you really sure?” I asked.

“Y-yes…”

“Hmm, I’ve been to all sorts of places and all sorts of battle…you can’t really fool me with that kind of face.” I said as I could see a nervous sweat drip down from her forehead.

“…F-fine, you’re right. I do work for someone.”

“What’s their name.”

“I can’t say…but all that I can say though is that we work to support the righteous path.” she said.

“Hmm, and helping Amelia regain her position and title back is your group’s objective?”

“Yes…”

‘Looks like my assumptions were right…but who would have thought that Jenny, the one who used to run away from a fight all the time would be involved in such a group.’

“…If what you’re saying is true, then what do you plan now?”

“Well, truth be told, I was tasked to pick her up while the partrus church had yet to make a move, but we never really expected that the Partrus Church would take action now of all days. And against someone like Victor Vandel, I didn’t really had any expectations of winning the fight.”

“Victor Vandel was that much of a problem?” I asked.

“You don’t know? Victor is one of the apostles of the church. There’s over five of them and each one is quite masterful in the use of magic…for you to ask this is quite troubling. Tell me, how did you defeat Victor?” she asked with a doubtful expression.

“…A sword across the neck. Victor was an arrogant bastard in midst of our battle. If he only looked out for one of the most enticing places to cross your sword into, he wouldn’t have lost his head.” I said in full honesty.

“…” Jenny was a bit taken aback by my comment. I mean, I can’t really blame her…the way I said it, felt just as arrogant as I described Victor, but my arrogance is backed by my skill.

“What took you so long in finding her? It’s been a few days since she’s bee staying here in the village.” I asked as I moved along the awkward silence.

“S-She hid her identity well…it was hard to locate a nun into a remote village like this. It was only due to our incompetence that the Partrus church got to her first before we could.” she said.

“Hmm, and now that you located her, what now?” I asked.

“…I was only asked to convince her when we meet. I can’t force her to come back with me, If I do, our group is just as much wrong as the Partrus Church itself.”

“So you have to wait until she wakes up.”

“Yes.”

“Okay then, I’ll go home for now and come back later…I’m pretty tired.” as I said this, I turned my back and started walking back to my home.

“Umm, what about the corpses?” she asked as she looked to the pile of corpses outside the church.

“You can take care of them…I’ve done most of the hard work around here, its your turn now.” I said as I continued walking back home.

“O-okay.”

***

The next morning…

I woke up expecting that things would go back to normal and nothing would change, but I didn’t expect that for some reason…the saint herself was inside my house, drinking coffee with my sister.

“…”

“Ah, good morning Thill, you woke up quite late today.” said Theresa as she noticed me.

“…I had a bad dream last night, woke me up in the middle of the night.” I said.

“Huh, you too?” asked Theresa.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I also had a bad dream last night…”

“What did you dream about?” I asked.

“I don’t really know how to explain it. It was like I also woke up in the middle of the night, but I couldn’t move or do anything with my body. It was like I was paralyzed…I couldn’t even hear anything. It was so silent in my dream.”

“…”

“But in the end, I was able to go back to sleep and wake up from my dream. It’s weird right?” she asked.

“Yeah…”

‘Hmm, so that was what the spell was about. The Partrus Church must have used a paralyzing spell last night that enabled the villagers to move or do anything with their bodies, even from hearing…’

“Anyway, why is the nun here?” I asked.

“Sister Emily is here to actually talk to you about making a few hinges for the door in the church. She said that last night, the doors suddenly fell off from the frame, so now she wants ot fix it.” said Theresa.

“…I see.”

As I looked to Amelia, I could see a different intention in her eyes. She must be curious about what happened last night.

“Okay, I’ll come by the church today and make ome measurements on the hinges.” I said.

“Thank you very much, this will surely help the church stand open it’s doors again.” she said with a smile.

After our exchange, she walked out of our home, waved goodbye with a smile and left.

Soon after eating my breakfast and taking a cold shower, I went by the church.

And as what she explained, the door was broken. It was the perfect excuse to talk while doing something else.

With all my equipment with me, I started fixing the door.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked as I lifted the door up vertically.

“…About last night, I heard everything from the mage. About how you killed the man from the Partrus Church.”

“…I did, but what about it?” I asked as I unscrewed the broken hinge from the door.

“I simply want to say my thanks…I failed to do my part and you fixed it on my end.”

“Hmm, and what now? What do you think the Partrus Church will do after losing someone so valuable like Victor Vandel?”

“…I don’t know. What do you think?”

“If you ask me, I think that after losing a valuable piece like him, they’ll settle for a bit.”

“Really? You don’t think they’ll come back more fierce than ever and destroy this village whole?”

“They don’t know anything. They don’t know who killed Victor…and what’s more likely a possibility is that Victor was killed by you.”

“What?”

“A saint capable as you is more believable than a person like me ending his life. So I think, in the end…they will settle for a bit and try looking for another end in their schemes. They will now look to you to be more capable than they have thought…and during that time, you have to leave.”

“…Leave?”

“fulfill your duty as a saint.”

“But what if they do the opposite. What if they’ll attack this village anyway out of hate?”

“Then I’ll do my part and protect this village.”

“…You can’t do it on your own!”

“Trust me Amelia…I’m more capable than you know.”

“But-”

“Amelia, you have a responsibility to uphold. Your title as the saint I nothing to scoff at…but more than anything, you need to prepare. You need time to fully gain the strength and support of the people. Staying in this village won’t help you attain that…so you need to leave.”

“…”

“Think it through…” as I said this, I finally fixed the door that easily.

“…” as I left, Amelia was still by the door with a hard look in her eyes.

***

When the afternoon finally came, Amelia came by my home for one last time.

“It looks like you decided.”

I could see her wearing a robe to hide her figure and along with that, her clothes that were inside the suit case. And standing beside her was another person who I assumed to be Jenny.

“I did…I’m leaving now.” she said.

“And why did you have to come by my home?” I asked.

“…It’s because I wanted to thank you.”

“…”

“I survived the night before because of you. And to give thanks to your actions, I wanted to give you this.”

Holding in between her hands, she passed on to me a golden cross small enough to be worn as a  necklace.

“What is this?”

“A holy artifact…one that protects a person from all forms of evil.”

“I don’t think I’ll need it, but thank you.” I said.

“You will need it. So please, keep it close to you at all times.” she said.

“.…” I looked at the cross and considered it.

“If I do finish my duties as the saint, I’ll come back here once again…and when I do, I’ll hope you’ll accept me back.”

“The Village will be happy to have you here.” I said.

As we exchanged a few words, she finally left. But right before they walked away, Jenny approached me.

“Here, take this.” she said as she to handed me something.

“What is this? I asked.

“Its the symbol of our group. I’ve told your existence to my superiors, and if they take in an interest in you, they might send an invitation your way. I hope that if you do receive an invitation, please accept it. Your strength will surely help our cause.” she said.

“…Thanks, but no thank you. I don’t want to get involve anymore than I should.” I said as I returned back the symbol she gave me.

“…B-but we might need you!” she said desperately.

“You don’t know anything about me toots, for all you know, I might just be a con man, a drug dealer, a human trafficker. So don’t try to call me.”

“You’re a blacksmith providing for your brothers and sisters after you lost your parents to the plague a few days back. You’re a fucking decent man, I’ll marry you if I have to, to get you into the group.”

“Hmm, don’t be weird, just leave.”

After that weird exchange, they finally left.

‘If I remembered it correctly, she said something similar back in the past when we used to work on some of the jobs in the guild. Talking about marrying me or something…what a weird girl.’