Chapter 147: Mishap

At this moment, Regis and Killian just got back to the plaza of the village.

They looked around and so that some of the villagers were already catering to the wounded while the others were already gathering the corpses of the fallen in order to bury them.

However, the one that caught their attention was a certain person that was wearing a beige robe with golden adornments.

A golden glow appeared on his hands as he healed the wounded villagers.

It only took him a few seconds to heal large gnashes all over the villagers’ body as the golden glow showered their bodies.

He also seemed to be talking to the villagers with a smile, even laughing with them on a few occasions.

Regis and Killian glanced at each other before deciding to walk towards him.

At this moment, the man was healing a little girl whose body was covered with wounds and bruises.

"U-Uncle, can you heal my mother too?" the little girl asked with big eyes.

The man smiled amiably, "Of course, where is she?"

However, when he saw the little girl pointing over to the corpse of a woman a few meters away from them, his eyes flickered.

"What happened to her? Did she fight with the bandits?" He asked, lowering his head in order to hide the sadness emanating from his eyes.

The little girl smiled proudly, "Mhm! She was so strong!! But she said earlier that she was too tired from fighting and wanted to sleep first."

Her expression told the man how proud she was of her mother, only fueling the empathy he was feeling even more.

Soon enough, the golden glow on the man’s hand faded as he smiled, "All done!"

"Thank you, Uncle!" the little girl joyfully said before holding the hems of the man’s robe and asking, "Please heal my mother too..."

Her begging tone caused a fleeting sadness to show in the man’s eyes.

Fortunately, the little girl wasn’t able to notice it.

It took a few seconds before the man was able to speak, "Of course. Take me to your mother."

"Yay! Don’t worry, Uncle. I’ll surely work lots so I can repay you in the future!" She said as she led the man while still pulling at the hems of his robe.

After a short while, they arrived before a woman who was laying on the ground on her side, looking as if she was only sleeping.

If not for the fact that there was a large wound on her back, the man would have thought otherwise.

He crouched and looked at the corpse’s face, seeing her eyebrows that seemed to be knitted in worry.

"I’ll do my best, okay?" The man said as he glanced at the little girl.

The little girl pursed her trembling lips, "Thank you, Uncle!"

The man knew that it was not a good idea to pretend as it would only give false hope towards her, which would hurt her even more.

However, at this moment in time, he felt that it was necessary to do so.

He felt that she needed to feel hope for it was the only way at which she could continue to find the meaning to live.

Thus, he felt obliged to give her hope... even if it was a false one.

The golden glow on his hands brightened ever so slightly as he lowered his head and muttered a chant.

[Holy Healing]

Five seconds...

Ten seconds...

Fifteen seconds...

Moments passed by as mere seconds seemed like an eternity.

The wounds on the corpse had already disappeared, making the woman look like she was only sleeping.

Her knitted brows had also relaxed as if proof that she had let go of her worries.

Everything seemed fine, except for the fact that no matter how long the golden glow surrounded her body, her eyes didn’t open.

Still, the man persevered even while fully knowing that his holy miracle...

...doesn’t really cause miracles.

He could only heal, but he knew that he could never bring back the dead to life.

"You know that it’s pointless, right?"

At this moment, a voice sounded which prompted the little girl and the man.

"Why do this? You’re only wasting your divine power." The one speaking was none other than Regis.

Killian looked at him in shock, "U-Um, Boss. I think we should come back late—"

"So why do something so pointless? There are still others who are wounded there. You should use your divine power on them instead."

However, Regis ignored him and kept on speaking, making him keep his silence.

All Killian could do was nervously look between his boss and the priest that was crouching beside a corpse.

The man flinched, but his hands continued to emit a golden glow.

"You’re the only priest here, yet you chose to give this little girl false hope rather than do something that really matters."

Regis’s words seemed to set the man off as he suddenly stood up and grabbed him by his shirt.

"Stop it, Kid. Who are you to judge what matters and what doesn’t?"

The man looked at him in the eye as his eyebrows curled, a hint of anger could be sensed in between his words.

"Hic... Hic—"

At this moment, the sound of sobbing suddenly sounded.

The man’s eyes widened in realization at what he just did as he released Regis and glanced behind him.

Seeing the little girl that had now been crying, he hurriedly crouched in front of her.

"Don’t listen to them—"

"I-It’s fine, Uncle. Hic..." the little girl did her best to speak clearly.

"I-I have a f-feeling... Hic... t-that my m-mother left me also..."

"Also?"

The man repeated her words in a questioning tone.

The little girl nodded, doing her best to prevent herself from breaking down, "M-My dad was like that back then too... Hic—"

"I-It’s that I don’t... hic... want to believe it. I-I thought that maybe... hic—!"

"B-But in the end... I g-guess they r-really left me... Hic..." as she finished speaking, the little girl couldn’t prevent herself from crying.

The man kept silent, he was already nearing his forties, yet he didn’t know what to do at this moment.

His countless years of experience seemed to jump out the window as his mind blanked out.

All he could do was caress the little girl’s head and hope that it could comfort her even in the slightest possible way.

"R... a..."

Hearing the little girl speaking again after a short while, the man looked her in the eye.

"What did you say?"

His voice was soft as his tone was slow, afraid that he would startle the little girl.

"M-My name is Rita, Uncle..."

"What a wonderful name! I can feel that you’ll be able to reach massive heights in the future!"

His praises made the little girl giggle.

"Uncle, I’ll repay everything in the future. So remember my name, okay? By the way, I’ll ask my aunt to help me take care of my mother, so you don’t have to worry about her.

"Of course!" He answered with a nod.

However, the man felt stunned as she saw her

walking towards Regis and bowing.

"Thank you for saving us, Big Brother!"

The little girl didn’t wait for his response before she ran away and left.

"See? She isn’t as weak as you thought."

It was only after a while that Regis spoke while looking at the little girl’s back.

The man in the priest’s robe, who was still crouching on the ground, nodded, "I guess you’re right..."

He was only able to snap out of his daze after a few moments.

The man stood up and dusted his robe, though some stains still stayed on it, "I’m sorry for my rash actions earlier."

"It’s fine. I know that you’re only doing what you know is best for her."

His words caused the man to be taken aback as surprise was obvious in his tone, "Such wise words coming from a young one like you."

"You’re just a little older from that girl Rita and yet you’re already..."

Regis smiled as he looked at him, "Such praises coming from a priest really lightens my heart, but don’t you have more important things to do?"

"You’re right." The man in priest robes then stretched his hand, "My name is Alaric. Let’s talk some more later, okay?"

"Alright." Regis shook his hands and said, "My name is Regis, by the way."

"I’ll treat you to something later!!"

Seeing Alaric hurriedly running over towards the wounded villagers, Regis shook his head.

"What a strange priest."

At this moment, Killian who had been silent since earlier, spoke, "What happened, Boss?"

He was confused at the events that transpired a little while ago as evident on his confused expression.

However, Regis only looked at him, "Don’t we need a priest in this journey? I think that he’s perfect for it."

"Eh? Do you think that he’ll agree with you after your squabble earlier?"

"We’ll see... Anyways, let’s help take care of the villagers while looking for Pandora and Aurelia."

Afterwards, the two of them then helped with catering the wounded and burying the corpses.