871: The Saintess's Home

After hearing the knight’s words, Sophie pointed her head down.

I could see sadness and loneliness on the faces of the patients and soldiers who saw this.

From their point of view, it wasn’t such a bad deal. One of the world’s leading powers offered to officially recognize a self-proclaimed saintess from the middle of nowhere, and invite her to come to their country.

But for someone not interested in status, honor, or power, they had nothing to gain. Sophie was that kind of person, just like Fran.

She quickly raised her head, staring back back into the eyes of the holy knight with a determined expression on her face.

「I will not go to Silard.」

「Hah? What are you saying? Are you truly refusing to serve Silard, the land of all things holy?」

I saw his irritation for a brief movement, and he clearly gave her a stare filled with contempt. He thought of her as a foolish girl throwing away the grateful offer that he bestowed upon her.

But we’re the ones who should be confused at his behavior.

「I appreciate the offer, but this city is my home. It is true that we have people with bounties on their heads and former slaves. But I want all of them to hear my music. I want to heal them. That’s why I won’t leave.」

Sophie must have thought everything over in the short period of silence. She now realized what she really wanted all along.

Unlike her tone containing traces of hesitation when she spoke with Fran back in her room, her face now showed strong determination.

But Sophie’s sincere words did not reach the rotten ears of the holy knight.

「You don’t understand your own value. Listen to me here. Only a true saintess would have the ability to heal such large numbers of people at the same time. Do you know how much our national power would increase with your support?! Don’t let it go to waste in a place like this!」

「…You want me to use my powers for the sake of war?」

「Is the battlefield not the place where a saintess would be most necessary? With your assistance, we may finally be able to take down the detestable Militant Nation! This is our holy mission! Our crusade! Your name will go down in history as an executor of justice!」

Damn, this guy is crazy. Is everyone from Silard like this? Just employing a saintess for an invasion effort is terrible enough, but he’s calling destroying a nation an execution of justice.

The other holy knights blocking the path through the entrance didn’t seem to be surprised either. Those guys must share the same mindset as their leader.

After hearing this, the only people in the room not angry were those five holy knights. Everyone else was pissed at them.

The holy knights flinched, puzzled, not understanding the reason of this anger. The crowds could erupt into a fury at any moment.

In the midst of all this, I caught a strange movement of mana.

A small amount of mana came up from the room below us. Then, it continued upwards through the huge pillar supporting the center of the tower, ascending to the top.

I had seen something similar before, the magical elevator we took on the way to Sophie’s room. So there must be a hidden elevator going through that big pillar behind Fran?

But it felt like the mana was heavily disguised, so I needed to really focus in order to sense it. I was only able to notice the slight leak in the first place since I was on my guard against the holy knights.

This only gives us more reason to check out the underground.

The easiest way would be to dig a hole in the ground with magic and go there directly. We had considered doing so when we sensed the existence of an underground passage earlier.

However, I wanted to avoid doing anything too obvious after learning the existence of those surveillance wards. Anything we did would have a chance of revealing Fran’s existence to the enemy.

But now we knew that Filuria was already aware of Fran. We’re past the point of trying to avoid hostilities.

That means we should consider some more heavy handed measures.

While I was focused on the underground and the elevator, Sophie continued refusing the holy knights.

She told the knight that she would stay, that she didn’t want to leave, and that she wanted to help the people here. But no matter how many times she repeated herself, the knight refused to accept it.

He saw Sophie as nothing more than a convenient healing tool from the very beginning, so he had no intention of engaging in an actual conversation with her.

I could see that the holy knight starting to get annoyed, completely setting aside how self-absorbed he was being. Are they going to try and take her away by force? The holy knights at the entrance had obviously started to evaluate the people in the room.

They must be trying to determine the strength of the Sanatorium’s forces.

Sophie didn’t notice that since the argument was getting heated, and she continued denying the knight with stronger words.

「I will not go to the Holy Nation. I can’t trust a country that won’t listen to me and denies the people I care about!」

「Wha…! Such impudence!」

「You are the ones being rude! Who do you think you are?!」

「You dare insult my country, false saintess!」

The holy knight revealed his true nature in an instant. He seems to have zero tolerance for insults. Maybe his country is just filled with yes-men?

「Is that what you really think?」

「Silence! You’re the one talking nonsense! I offered to make you a real saintess! All you had to do is follow me and keep your mouth shut! If you keep refusing this gracious offer, I will take you by force!」

Now the mask is completely off.

The holy knight’s words and face completely matched those of a kidnapper. While they didn’t plan it in advance, the other holy knights reached for their weapons too.

Shit. If this turns into a real battle, the patients will get caught up!

I quickly focused up my mana to intercept the knights. I think I should build a wall to divide them, then disable them with thunder magic?

But the knights never got the chance to draw their weapons, and I never got the chance to use my magic.

「How dare you be rude to Saintess-sama!」

A random boy shouted and threw his walking staff at the knight. The holy knight leader easily brushed away the thin staff flying through the air.

「You little brat! Insolent――」

「The boy is right! You’re the ones being disrespectful!」

「Yeah! How dare you call yourself holy knights!」

「You’re just a bunch of pussies trying to kidnap a girl!」

「Get lost!」

「Leave her alone!」

The boy’s actions became the trigger, and everyone on the floor started throwing whatever was close at hand. They didn’t just throw small objects, but also flower pots and actual self-defense weapons.

With this much stuff being thrown at then, the holy knights could no longer evade them. They tried to use magic to put up a barrier, but I interfered with their spell.

As a result, the knights had to hold up their hands to block the flying objects.

「Kuh! S-Stop!」

「Shut up!」

「Go home!」

「Get away from our saintess!」

Amidst this commotion, a loud voice echoed through the floor.

「What is all this racket? Cease immediately!」

A blonde woman appeared from behind us, took a deep breath, then shouted. The riot ended that exact instant. The result of her charisma or something? No.

The woman had applied some kind of calming magic on her own voice.

Who is she? Probably someone working for the Sanatorium, right…? I was observing the unknown woman, when I heard Sophie’s mutter.

「Filuria.」

So this elegant lady was our current number one enemy. Filuria, the Medical Director.

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