Arc#3 Chapter 67: Sormon's Halo (Patreon)

Reivan was about to exit through the door but just before he could get to it, he heard someone knock. "Eh? Who..."

"Allow me." Valter stepped forward ahead of Reivan and pulled the door open.

"Good day." The newcomer, a woman with bright blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes smiled as she greeted Reivan and the others.

"Yes, a pleasant day to you as well..." Reivan stepped back and greeted in return. He hadn't expected to encounter a beauty that could rival his mother and Elsamina while visiting his subordinate, but here he was.

That said, he quickly noted that she wore what seemed to be a white lab coat and an apron over casual clothing. What stood out was the necklace bearing the symbol of the Sun God hanging from her neck, immediately clueing him in as to what her profession was.

"May the Sun God praise you for your devotion, Priestess."

"Yes, and may he bless you as well, Your Highness."

'She must mainly do research...'

A lot of people forgot, but the Sun God actually exceeded the state when it came to medicinal research and development. Although the state had secretly closed the gap due to Reivan's fraudulent ability, they were still a leading authority in the field. These kind souls took every measure they could to improve the health of everyone — even those who did not believe in the Sun God.

'What's she doing here, then?'

Right behind her, he could see a young man and a young woman dressed as actual clerics, with flowing white robes and a mitre on their heads.

Reivan didn't know what was happening, but he signaled for Valter to step aside and let the Sormon adherents in. "Please, don't let us disturb your work. We were just leaving."

"Oh, heavens. No one's disturbing anyone." The beautiful woman dipped her head, looking slightly embarrassed. She then glanced at Valter and smiled. "It's been a while, Sir Valter."

Vatler looked uncharacteristically stiff as he nodded at her.

'They know each other?'

The woman looked very young — maybe in her early twenties — and Valter was apparently in seclusion for a long time before he came out to become a guardian knight. So Reivan grew confused at how the two could possibly know each other.

Eventually, he got his answer.

Covering her mouth to stifle her giggle. "I think the last time we saw each other was a hundred years ago when you asked for help healing a particularly nasty wound."

'A hundred years ago...?'

"Yes..." Valter fixed the collar of his shirt and dipped his head. "I still feel very thankful for that, Saintess Frey."

'Saintess!?'

In horror, Reivan searched through his memories for a portrait of the Saintess and realized that the woman in front of him matched it almost perfectly. She had been wearing sacred garbs at the time, with a golden ring floating behind her in the portrait. The immaculately holy appearance was a far cry to the somewhat sloppy — but still very beautiful — woman in front of him, so he'd failed to make the connection.

Reivan quickly apologized for not recognizing the Transcendent. "Forgive me. I failed to recognize the Saintess."

Saintess Frey seemed agitated, waving her hands in front of her. "Oh, no, no. It's fine. I rarely go outside, after all. Of course, the prince wouldn't recognize me. I haven't attended any social events since you were born."

"Even so..."

"Goodness, it's alright~!" she strolled into the room and gestured for the other two clerics to follow. "I'm just here to make sure His Highness' subordinate is taken care of."

Reivan cleared his throat. "We don't deserve the honor. You didn't have to come for such a small matter."

"Oh, it's quite alright. I actually had something to discuss with you, Your Highness." Saintess Frey narrowed her eyes at him and smiled, making him feel as if it was a mistake to come here. "I hope you'll give me a bit of your time."

"Ah. Of course..." Reivan nodded but he didn't really feel like he had the right to refuse in this kind of situation.

'Shit. Did I get trapped?'

The Saintess had only asked for what amounted to a "chat", and Reivan had every right to refuse on account of his busyness. But she'd been polite from the get-go and honored them by personally seeing to the recovery of one of his men. Furthermore, she was an entity with a spotless reputation and represented an organization whose value to the nation was incalculable.

If Reivan refused such a small request, it would create more trouble than he was willing to deal with.

"Wonderful!" The Saintess clapped her hands and giggled before gesturing at the two white-robed clerics she'd brought with her. "I hope you understand, but we are constantly training new priests. These two are some of our most talented trainees, and I think everyone would benefit if they gained more experience. So I wanted to ask if it was okay to let them have a shot first. Of course, should they fail, I will step in and fix any and all mistakes."

Reivan shared a glance with his guardian knight before nodding. "If Xander agrees, I do not mind."

"I have no complaints either." Xander bowed to the clerics and held out the stump of his left arm.

'Ugh. That looks nasty. This crazy bastard must've cauterized it.'

While there were numerous ways to regrow limbs — the healing medicine he gave out being one of them — there were also numerous techniques that could temporarily nullify them. Apparently, one of the reasons why spirit beasts were so dangerous was precisely because most of them dealt wounds that were nigh unhealable within a certain period of time. And what was more annoying was how the effects persisted even if those spirit beasts died.

There was one healing method that always worked though.

"Then, we will start now." The male cleric nodded toward the other and they both joined their hands together in prayer.

'Now that I think about it, this is the first time I'm watching a Sormon Priest at work...'

He'd never gotten injured, after all. And even when he did, he could heal himself with [Effect Reproduction]. Sensing that it was an opportunity to learn more about the church, Reivan watched closely.

The two priests did not do much else aside from standing and praying. No chants, no sutras, and no ritualistic dances.

Just prayer — a solemn communication with the divine.

An atmosphere of pure devotion enveloped them as they stood in silence. And soon enough, it seemed like their god answered their call.

'Woah...'

A literal halo of light hovered over Xander's head, radiant and ethereal. Another halo encircled his stump, illuminating the burn marks the knight had inflicted on himself. Motes of divine light began to emanate from these celestial crowns, their luminescence swirling and coalescing into a faint, ghostly silhouette of an arm.

With every heartfelt prayer, the ethereal arm took on a more tangible form. Its outline became clearer, gradually emerging from the divine aura that surrounded it. As the moments passed, the celestial glow faded away, revealing a miracle that defied all rational understanding — a fully restored arm, perfect and whole in every way.

'Holy shit...'

Reivan did not truly believe in gods. He did believe in Archons playing around in the mortal world. But gods? Nope.

Still, what he'd just witnessed certainly made him think that the Sun God really did exist somewhere out there — and they were kind enough to lend their powers.

Saintess Frey stepped forward and poked the knight's restored limb with some kind of blunt metal apparatus. "Is your new arm working fine, Sir Xander?"

"Yes, Saintess. Thank you." Xander flexed his fingers, then his joints. Satisfied, he smiled toward the two trainee clerics and bowed. "Thank you."

"Ah, no. It was nothing."

"You're welcome, sir knight. We'll pray you won't have to return here soon."

Xander chuckled. "I shall try to delay my next visit as best as I can."

A pleasant atmosphere surrounded the room for a bit before the Saintess turned toward Reivan with a radiant smile. "Now that the healing's over with. I'd appreciate it if you could accompany me for some refreshments and conversation, Your Highness."

"...Of course, Saintess Frey."

Reivan put on his best smile and prepared himself for whatever the Transcendent had in store for him.

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The Sol Sanctum of Sormon held the honor of being the first church ever built in the Sun God's name. However, despite its profound historical importance, the sanctuary lacked the grandeur and opulence of modern churches.

Of course, the state helped them compensate for it in other ways. Such as creating a large underground research lab directly below it and erecting numerous chapels in its vicinity for the faithful to pray in. The actual Sol Sanctum though, was just a tourist attraction and the home of the Saintess Faction's most important personnel.

That's why it wasn't strange at all when the lounge Reivan and Valter were taken to was very... homely. Or cozy, was the word. In any case, it all looked very lived-in.

"I am quite proud of the tea I brew. Please try some, Your Highness." The Saintess smiled as she passed him a cup.

"Thank you." Reivan graciously took it and took a whiff. "It smells wonderful. Though I'm not quite familiar with this brand."

"That is to be expected. The leaves come from my personal garden and are grown with my power."

"I see. It's not every day I get to enjoy something so rare. Please excuse me."

Saintess Frey giggled. "Please take your time. I hope you like it."

Reivan nodded and took a sip.

'...it's sweet.'

The good kind of sweet, he thought. He didn't see her put any sugar into the tea, so it must've been the original flavor.

'Hm. I guess I'll give it an eight out of ten.'

"How is it?" The Saintess asked, slightly tilting her head.

"It tastes wonderful. I'm sure someone with a sweet tooth would enjoy it much more than I do, though."

"Ah, so you don't like it very much." Saintess Frey chuckled, standing up to take off her coat and apron. "You talk similarly to a minister, Your Highness. And I don't appreciate that."

Reivan placed the cup down and tried to hide his panic. "I meant no offense. I really did like the tea."

"Hmm~ really?"

"Yes."

"Fine, fine. I'll believe you for now." The Saintess sat down on the couch in front of him and stretched her arms upward. "Ungh...!"

Her oblivious actions made Reivan unconsciously glance at her chest.

'I guess the rumors are true. She really is flat.'

Reivan had a preference for large... assets, but it wasn't like he judged women by their cup size. Some ladies were highly attractive even when they were lacking in that department.

'She's one of them.'

He rather thought that the Saintess looked perfectly fine just the way she was. By his standards, she was the very image of a Saintess.

Reivan looked away after just half a second of looking, but he'd apparently been caught anyway.

"My eyes are up here, Your Highness."

"... My apologies."

"Geez. I'll forgive you. But please don't let it happen again, okay?" The Saintess gently admonished him like a mother to a child.

'I guess the ages, line up. She should be around three to four hundred years old or something...'

Frey was the youngest Transcendent in the continent, who managed to break through to that stage before she reached half of her current age. Still, she certainly could be his mother — or great-great-great-great-great grandmother.

"Of course..." Reivan cleared his throat and cut to the chase. "So what did you wish to talk about?"

"You don't waste time, do you? Very well." Saintess Frey took out a vial of what appeared to be blood and placed it atop the table.

'Hm? What's this?'

He tried to use [Supreme Insight] on it and got a strange answer.

[Fresh Blood Sample]    A vial of blood from [Xander Suprana]. It is still fresh while also being free of undesirable properties.

'Eh? Why does she have this?'

The Saintess answered his question before he could ask it. "The church takes a blood sample of everyone it heals so we can examine it for any contagious diseases. It's to prevent a pandemic. Just in case."

"Oh..." Reivan nodded in understanding, realizing the church's value once again. "On behalf of the crown, I thank you."

"Eh? Ah, well, you're welcome...? But that's not what I was getting at. I didn't ask to meet just to solicit praise."

"Then what is it? And what does it have to do with... this vial of blood?"

The Saintess bobbed her head and crossed her arms. "Well, you see... I've heard rumors that the state has made some big improvements in the medical sector. Furthermore, the church has noticed a very steep decline in the number of knights coming in to have injuries healed."

Reivan gulped. He threw a glance at Valter and noticed that the guardian knight had also stiffened.

"Sir Xander here has actually been our first case in a while. Aside from an incident that Lady Vianna brought up lately is one of the few exceptions. But anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that..."

The Saintess smiled sadly and sighed.

"The order of knights has replaced us, right?"