Chapter 12

A woman with bright scarlet hair wearing rather revealing black clerical robes was sitting next to a girl with lilac hair tipped with red, unconscious on a small wool-stuffed bed, her hands near a bleeding wound on her leg that was healing at a relatively visible speed while a divine light emanated from her palms.

The captivatingly beautiful woman had absolute concentration on her task as she closed her eyes and sent her holy power to stimulate her patient's natural healing, looking extremely peaceful in the process, like a lifelike statue of a saint illuminated by sunlight.

To the woman's left was a bloodstained iron bowl, with a thick ebony arrow resting on it. Flies buzzed around the object, tainted with the blood of an innocent girl, feasting on it while the cleric focused entirely on healing the young Nox.

The poor girl moaned softly in agonizing pain in her dreams, cold sweat all over her face as the healing procedure was performed on her.

Evidently, it wasn't a relaxing process, as the clerics' healing abilities caused a certain amount of strain on the physical body. Not only that, the healing process was extremely uncomfortable, giving some people a sickening feeling.

In truth, it didn't matter whether it was alchemical potions or the healing skills of clerics, both caused cold sweat in those who suffered serious injuries because the healing process can be more painful than the injury itself….

Furthermore, magical healing didn't compensate for blood loss through holy power, but simply forced the body to heal itself rapidly in ways that a human normally couldn't. Because of this, patients lost significant stamina with the continuous healing... and this could be fatal in some cases.

Fortunately, the Nox girl-fighter occupying the Cleric's time only had one particularly aggravating wound to treat, which she has just finished completely healing.

And although she put most of her holy power into healing her leg, the other minor wounds that little Nox suffered on each limb and on her face were also healed by the residual energy that coursed through her small body, even now.

Letting out a tired sigh, she then put a happy and relieved smile on her beautiful face as she looked at the now peaceful face of the Nox, the cleric placed a hand on the girl's hair as she gently stroked it, looking at her with a certain maternal affection in her green eyes before getting up from her wooden chair.

“How is the girl?”

John asked, his gaze somewhat uneasy, as he watched Alica leave the room where the Nox girl his hunting partner had accidentally injured was resting. She was currently wearing nothing but a linen shift that barely covered her muscular upper body, her arms crossed as the harsh sunlight illuminated the interior.

“She’s fine now. I’ve completely healed the wound on her left leg, as well as the bruises and scrapes she sustained during her time in the forest. The only thing is that she’ll be very weak for a while due to the loss of stamina, at least until she can feed after waking up.” The cleric of Aphrodite smiled in their direction and replied in a soothing voice. Then she sighed, “I never expected you to find a girl of my race in the middle of a hunt in the Argos Forest… Who could have imagined such a thing would happen?”

“…Certainly,”

John smiled bitterly as he leaned against a stone wall, “And the worst part is that the person who caused her injury wanted to abandon her right there without any shame or guilt. And I thought he wasn’t such a bad man despite being a bit rough with others…how foolish of me to think I could trust my back to someone like that.”

“People you think you know can reveal their true colors at the most inopportune moments. It’s not your fault one of our hunters is a selfish bastard who would abandon a wounded child to her fate, especially cruel because he was the one who accidentally injured her. At least the others weren’t such scumbags… even if they too seemed dubious about having the child here.”

Alica put both hands on her hips while childishly puffing out her cheeks, showing disgust at the hunter's actions, whom she didn't hesitate to insult for being a total wretch.

"It can't be helped, I suppose. The secrets of our people... if they were to spread, it would mean the end of our peaceful way of life."

"Still, that's no reason to be so cruel. What the people here did to Yulia and her mother a few years ago was enough..."

"And…"

John couldn't help but remember that beautiful but pitiful silver-haired girl whom the vast majority of the town treated with such hostility for being a foreigner. He and Arisella once tried to become friends with the girl, but a series of misunderstandings between her and her lover turned their relationship into something quite bitter.

It wasn't one of his best childhood memories.

“Anyway… What do you think we should do about the girl? News of her existence will spread quickly among the population of Taylan, and there will be many who won’t appreciate her presence.” Shaking his head, the young hunter asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

“You're right about that. I suppose we should wait for a chance to take her to some city or town…perhaps it would be best to ask her where she's from…”

“Although if I end up here somehow, I probably won’t have any family…”

“Are you suggesting she’s an orphan?”

"I'm not saying that's the case... but judging by the tattered clothes she was wearing, she was either a slave or being taken to become one by traffickers. I heard rumors from the caravan that some areas of the Cordillera are used by bandits for that purpose..."

Stories of bandits kidnapping people from villages and even entire towns to sell them as slaves were, unfortunately, a common phenomenon in the cold northern lands. The nobles' lack of interest in protecting commoners with their knights has contributed to this illegal trade being very common here, and as a result, the North is basically the center of the black slave market.

Considering that many nobles across the Empire actually benefit indirectly from these practices, it's no wonder that efforts to stop it were rather superficial. And since the north has the largest number of slaves for sale, it's practically the trading center for unscrupulous people who come to select slaves of different races with a smile on their ugly faces.

It was a horrible situation that even John, someone who shouldn't have any feelings about matters that didn't concern his people, felt such profound disgust. The very idea of ​​depriving another person of their freedom and treating them like mere merchandise was repugnant.

And the nobles who allowed such a thing for their own benefit while cunningly taking advantage of the loopholes in the noble law made by the gods themselves were the worst scum.

"Perhaps there was an incident during those criminals' journey, and she was able to escape here through sheer force of will... Such a strong girl... but so pitiful. It's a shame that so few in Taylan could truly sympathize with such a situation."

“…”

Alica was silent for a few seconds as she gently placed her hand on the edge of an open window, her face showing a slight sadness being illuminated by the sunlight as she looked at the village near the church on the hill.

The people of Taylan had a secret they needed to keep to maintain their way of life at all costs. That was something the Nox who served the goddess of love could understand, as there wasn't enough land to share with everyone in the north. Even more so when they considered that the nobles would definitely seize everything they had for themselves, enhancing their already luxurious lifestyles by using Argos Forest as their personal farm.

The extremely fertile land that allowed for the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, the wide variety of trees with ebony wood, the rare alchemical materials that could be easily found in the depths of the forest, and the terrain that was basically a sacred ground for magicians due to the strong mana and spirits that abounded….

There were many reasons why the Aristocracy would covet everything Taylan had, and to avoid ruin, secrecy had to be guaranteed. That's why they couldn't allow just anyone to come to Taylan.

However, this situation, in which a girl was injured by one of the Thai people and yet he considered abandoning her because she was a stranger, brought great sadness to Alica's heart.

Yes, the man who wanted to let her throw her away was a selfish bastard who clearly had no heart. However, John's account made it clear that the others only reluctantly agreed to bring the girl here, possibly fearing that by doing so, their secrets would somehow be revealed.

As if a lonely little girl could do that…

Alica thought, "Someone will go with you." Then she shook her head with a sigh. To change the somber mood that filled the hallway they were standing in, Alica cast a calm look at John and asked him in a mock-reproachful tone.

“By the way… Is it true that you kissed my dear Arisella like you were a dog, John?”

“….Why are you suddenly asking me about this!?” The serious face John had a few seconds ago quickly collapsed to show embarrassment, irritation, and some guilt in his eyes as he awkwardly shifted his gaze to the white stone ceiling, which suddenly seemed very interesting to him.

With a chuckle in her head, Alica continued, her mood rising slightly, “That was so wrong, the worst thing you could have done as a man and a lover. I mean… Were you really so excited to see her look good that you couldn’t control how you kissed her, or do you just have no talent for kissing women? If it’s the latter, then I feel sorry for the future of your relationship.”

“Why would you feel sorry for our relationship?”

She frowned at those words, and Nox wagged her finger with the attitude of a teacher trying to make a latecomer understand an extremely simple subject, “Well, think about it~ How would you feel if someone came and aggressively shoved their tongue into your mouth, savagely attacking every corner? I’ll answer for you; it would be extremely unpleasant, like being raped.”

"That is…"

“Oh, stop right there and let me continue….Since Arisella experienced something this ugly and from her own lover, I highly doubt she’ll feel comfortable with your presence easily again, let alone the idea of ​​letting you kiss her, you know?”

“Really!?” John exclaimed, visibly shaken by the idea of ​​Arisella walking away from him because of his mistake.

Alica laughed inwardly; she knew Arisella wasn't someone mean enough to distance herself from John over an incident like that. Of course, she'd be angry and upset, but as his mate, she'd forgive him in time. La Nox believed she knew her daughter's personality well, and she was sure of it.

He just wanted to tease John, and he managed to keep a straight face for the purpose.

"I'm serious. If you don't do anything to remedy this situation, Arisella will most likely decide to break up with you, thinking she could get someone better than you."

“Someone better than me? ….Like who?”

“What’s with that question?” Alica gave her a mocking look, “Do you think there’s no one better than you in this town?”

“Call me a narcissist if you want,” John shrugged as he gave an irritated look at the thought of being abandoned, “But as a Third Rank [Hunter], the only Third Rank in the entire village in fact, I highly doubt there are any other men here who could stand beside Arisella with pride, regardless of what her housekeeper says about me…besides, Arisella says she quite likes my face, so I’m pretty sure.”

“Heh…being the most handsome man in town has its perks. Still…” Alica suddenly looked away slightly, her good mood dipping again as something crossed her mind, and she involuntarily whispered, “What if…that hottie came from out of town?”

“From outside…of town…?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Alica blinked as she realized what she’d said and waved her hand, pretending it didn’t matter. However, John clearly saw that she was flustered, and her words unsettled him, so he insisted,

“I understand that I’m probably not the most desirable marriage object in the outside world… But why does she look so downcast and flustered when she said that? It’s not like Arisella is going to leave the village to find a husband… Right?”

“Quizás no para buscar marido….“ Alica desvío la mirada y junto dos de sus delicados dedos, diciendo con dudas. John tenía un mal presentimiento por esas palabras y pensó en indagar por más información, pero de repente….

Ahhhhh!

A scream of fear and surprise echoed in the room from which Alica came out….The little Nox that she healed was awake!

Without a second's hesitation, Alica ran to the door and entered at lightning speed with her eyes wide open, and John hesitated for a few seconds and stayed behind, deciding to put the matter aside for now and wait for Alica to calm the little girl who woke up in a strange place.

♦♦♦♦

“W-where am I? Who are you?!” was the first thing Nox shouted at Alica the moment she saw her walk in. There was a look of slight fear and wariness on her pale face that she was evidently only able to control upon seeing Alica’s black clerical robes.

Still, he watched her with anxiety in his eyes.

The red-haired cleric smiled at her with a soft and kind look on her face as she moved her hair to the side to show her ears to the girl, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise.

“You are…a Nox like me…” She whispered, more relaxed than before.

It was well known that the Nox cared for one another even if they were complete strangers, as demonstrated by the unknown adults who helped her escape the ravages of that magical beast at the cost of their lives.

The girl wanted to cry when those memories suddenly came back to her, making Alica anxious at the sight of tears forming at the edges of her eyes. The cleric approached little Nox with some caution, who was trying to hold back her tears without much success so as not to frighten her further, while she asked her a soft question, weakly raising her hands.

"Oh honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I...because of me, complete strangers ended up dying. Because I was the youngest among those kidnapped by those evil bandits, they helped me escape from the crazed monster brought by some hooded men...Now everyone must be dead and that thing is on the loose!"

The girl visibly began to panic as she continued, "Despite your efforts to save an insignificant young girl like me, that monster relentlessly pursues me to eat me! No matter how much I ran, it followed me obsessively!"

Alica couldn't stand it any longer as she watched her suddenly breathe heavily and hugged her gently while stroking her head, saying in a soft reassuring tone, "Please calm down. Don't be afraid; you will be safe here under the protection of us, servants of Aphrodite."

"R-really?" She sobbed, her voice shaking as she slowly calmed down under Alica's warm and comforting embrace. She wondered if she should believe that to be true, since the other party is a servant of one of the noble Titan gods.

"Yeah, don't worry, okay? Right now you have us, and also the strongest man in this village outside the room. He's a Third Rank [Hunter], so that monster would be easily eliminated!"

It should be like that since he can't even catch a little girl running away in the woods, right? That's what Alica thought.

The girl's eyes filled with fear again, "H-hunter? Like the ones who hurt me in the forest?"

"That was an accident. If they had wanted to hurt you, they wouldn't have brought you to this church to heal you, right?"

"Ah... Am I healed?" The girl, hearing those words, looked at her hands and feet, and Alica gave her space to examine the rest. Sure enough, she was now free of any visible wounds. The girl opened her eyes when she saw that there was no arrow or bleeding hole in her leg, as if the attack and the previous pain had been an illusion or part of her nightmare...

"Yeah, you're completely healed. I did it, by the way. My healing skills are way better than the village Clerics'~" Alica boasted with a smug smile. The Nila just nodded as she stared at her leg in a daze.

For a moment of silence, the two said nothing to each other, then the girl looked up and observed Alica, saying in a weak voice, "H-hmm, I..." but her words were suddenly stopped by someone who abruptly entered the room, startling her.

"Alica, Alica! You won't believe what happened!" The invader, a brown-haired Beastly woman with dog ears, spoke excitedly while waving her hands; her childlike attitude causing her enormous assets to flap as a result.

Feeling a sense of annoyance as she watched the girl frightened by that rude entrance and her companion's behavior, Alica barked at her, "Hey, Chia, shut up and stay still! Can't you see you're disturbing our little guest?"

"Sorry! I can't help it!" The dog cleric was undeterred, "You must hear the latest news! Did you know that a magical, snail-shaped beast attacked the Runei farm!?"

"".....What!?" The simultaneous screams of both Alica and the girl echoed in the room, the latter trembling from the news.

That monstrosity followed me here and attacked these people....it's my fault...

Tears began to spill from her eyes as she realized this, but the excited Bestiana paid no attention as she continued, "And you wouldn't have guessed it, but Arisella went and killed him herself with a powerful spirit magic according to rumors!"

""....What?" This time, it was three voices filled with disbelief that echoed, with John poking his head through the door with a look of astonishment.

The canine cleric, who was evidently not the smartest of the pack, just showed a smug smile at seeing them all in shock at the juicy and shocking gossip while waggling her tail in excitement.