Chapter 20
Auriel Stardust was overcome with mixed emotions.
Ahead of her performance scheduled for the next day, she had taken a brief visit to the city’s slums.
There, Auriel began doing what she had always done wherever she went on the continent.
Unpacking supplies she had brought for the poor, and using the power of her holy Aura to tend to the sick and injured.
However, even while performing deeds that others would call acts of charity, Auriel’s heart was filled not with joy for doing the right thing, but with sorrow and frustration.
The supplies she brought were never enough,
and her Aura was depleted before she could heal everyone who was sick or injured.
The poor were always too many.
The sick and injured were countless, no matter where she went.
Even here, in Bennessa, a city famed for its wealth and prosperity, the situation was no different.
And so, once again, she found herself gazing at the faces of people departing in disappointment.
Bearing the weight of the harsh reality of life’s unyielding walls, Auriel returned to her lodgings, her heart heavy.
Her body was completely exhausted from excessive use of her Aura.
Yet, without revealing her fatigue, Auriel silently followed her escorts, resolving to gather her strength for tomorrow’s performance.
She prayed that her song might inspire warmth in the hearts of those present at the auction,
that they might be moved to offer a single coin to the poor instead of purchasing luxurious items.
At that moment—
“Huh?”
She suddenly realized that her escorts had vanished without a trace.
Thinking she might have lost her way while distracted, Auriel carefully retraced her steps, trying to find her way back to the lodgings.
But then—
“Wha… What are you? Who are—mmpf!!!”
Out of nowhere, men appeared and attacked her.
The thugs overpowered her, tied her up, and stuffed her into a sack before dragging her away.
Normally, Auriel would never have been subdued so easily.
But, completely drained and at her physical limit, she was unable to put up even the slightest resistance.
‘Wh… What’s going on? Why me… Could it be…?’
A chilling thought crossed her mind: the stories she had heard of slave traders.
Evil men who kidnapped travelers and sold them in slave markets.
Separated from her escorts and wandering alone, Auriel realized she had made the perfect target for such criminals.
Faced with this sudden and unexpected crisis, Auriel was overwhelmed by confusion and fear.
In this situation, there was only one thing she could do:
Pray to the God above.
Calling out to the only one she could depend on in this moment of peril, Auriel desperately prayed for His merciful hand to reach out to her.
And then—
Rustle!
“Ah!”
As if in answer to her prayer, the sack suddenly burst open in radiant light.
The scene that greeted her was two slave traders (presumably) lying sprawled on the deck, their heads separated from their bodies.
To Auriel, it was nothing short of divine salvation.
She looked toward the figure who had saved her.
A man stood before her, casually gripping an oar.
A large figure wearing a black plague doctor’s mask and cloak, resembling a raven.
Auriel felt her heart swell with deep gratitude and emotion.
Surely, this person was the savior sent by God Himself to rescue her.
While his appearance might have resembled the Angel of Death more than a heavenly angel,
he was without a doubt her benefactor.
Certain that this man must share a faith as strong as hers in the Lord, Auriel expressed her heartfelt thanks.
And then—
“I’m Buddhist.”
“…”
It took less than ten seconds for her certainty to shatter completely.
The fact that he didn’t even recognize her name was shocking enough, but what struck her even harder was the name of a distant, heretical sect she had only heard about in the past.
Stories of a sect where devotees bowed hundreds of times to curly-haired golden idols,
abstained from eating meat, and trapped the souls of the dead in the bodies of animals or slaves to prevent them from reaching heaven.
A sect infamous for shaving the heads of its followers.
Buddhism.
Hearing that terrifying name in this context was something she had never imagined.
Confronted with the fact that the man before her was not a servant of the Lord but a heretic,
Auriel spoke with deep dismay.
“…You… You mustn’t. Believing in such a wicked heresy. All who live and breathe on this earth should naturally place their faith in the Holy Lord and Lady Magdalena…”
“I recall the Treaty of Westphalia proclaimed freedom of religion some time ago. Whether I believe in Buddha, Shub-Niggurath, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, that’s my business.”
“Sh-Shub? …Spaghetti?.. Wh-What… blasphemous words…”
Hearing unfamiliar names— most likely referring to other strange gods she did not know—
Auriel felt as if her head was spinning from this incomprehensible heresy.
It was clear that this man had already sunk deeply into the realm of heresy.
Having traveled across the continent, Auriel had encountered many such individuals—particularly heretics who worshipped Molla (Unknown), the God of Mystery.
But to think that her savior—someone skilled enough to annihilate her captors in an instant—was a devout follower of a wicked and baseless deity!
This realization filled Auriel with a deep sense of pity.
Determined to deliver the light of the Lord to this lost soul wandering in the darkness of false belief, Auriel resolved to save this man in return for saving her.
‘But a mere sermon will not suffice… I’ll have to take the best approach I can in this situation.’
Turning the hearts of those ensnared by darkness is no easy task.
These were people who could scoff at the words of His Holiness, the Great Pope himself.
There were even factions within the Church that believed heretics should be summarily executed.
However, through her experiences, Auriel had come to understand that they, too, could change.
There was something even more powerful than sermons—
A method capable of moving a person’s heart.
“Um… excuse me. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to offer a small token of gratitude. Would that be alright?”
“If it’s a prayer, I’ve already told you I’m not interested.”
He spoke as he dumped the headless bodies of the slave traders into the river.
His demeanor was stern, almost unyielding, and this made Auriel uncharacteristically nervous as she cautiously continued.
“It’s not that. H-here, take this…”
“?!”
Sensing something peculiar, Auriel carefully pulled out an object she had been carrying.
A small silver medal glimmered in her hands.
Recognizing it instantly, the man in the plague doctor’s mask spoke with a note of surprise.
“This is… could it be?”
“It’s an invitation to the Grand Auction. I’ll be performing there tomorrow… Please, you must come and watch. It… it might have a profound impact on your life.”
Though she had extended similar invitations before, today felt strangely different.
Her heart raced, and a deep sense of unease crept over her.
Would he reject her invitation?
This overwhelming anxiety felt excessive.
And then—
“…Alright. I’ll be there.”
“Ah!”
Auriel’s heart filled with joy at his response.
Lost in an inexplicable sense of elation, she blushed slightly and smiled softly.
***
Having rescued her only to be bombarded with church propaganda—
Auriel, or whatever her name was, reminded him of someone who would yell, “Heaven for believers, hell for nonbelievers!”
Honestly, I was tempted to drop her off somewhere and leave.
But right now, such thoughts evaporated from my mind, replaced by a single exclamation:
“Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”
I’d never cared about religion before, but the object she had handed me was valuable enough to inspire such sentiments.
The silver medal now in my hand—
The Invitation item from the original game—was something you could only obtain from the ruins of a destroyed noble estate, and there was just one in the entire game.
It was a key item granting unrestricted access to the Central Hall, the venue of the Grand Auction, which was otherwise a restricted area.
With this, I wouldn’t need to confront the guards stationed outside.
I could walk in confidently, scope out the auction, and smash everything at the perfect moment to loot the items before escaping.
‘I had planned to force my way in, but this makes things much simpler.’
Unexpected rewards like this were always a delight.
As I reveled in my newfound advantage, I began to realize that Auriel might not be an ordinary person after all.
To part with such a rare and precious invitation…
Recalling the game’s storyline, I tried to piece together what I knew about her.
However—
‘Hmm… Nothing comes to mind.’
No matter how much I thought about it, her name, Auriel Stardust, had never come up before.
Nor had there been any items associated with her.
‘The only things related to religion were a few trinkets, but I doubt she’s connected to them.’
While one of those trinkets happened to align with my current objectives, I doubted it had anything to do with this nun.
As I mulled over these thoughts, I awkwardly maneuvered the gondola, navigating to the location she had requested.
It was only much later that I realized she was just as new to this city as I was and had merely guessed the destination.
‘Still… Buddhism feels like the better choice. Om Mani Padme Hum…’
—
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