The Saint of Akdios – Part 01
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Translator: Kell | Editor: Ryunakama
The miraculous light continued to fall throughout the night, spreading not only to those living in the Holy City of Akdios, but also to the neighboring villages, healing all those in need of treatment. Even the people in Fort Lotus who were sick from the effects of Sacrixigs recovered. It was nothing short of a miracle.
The magical light was indeed a miracle that Lia produced.
Zero used water Magic to prevent the flames from spreading further, but apparently she had nothing to do with the miraculous light at all. In fact, there was no such Magic in the Chapter of Protection.
But the price for bringing about such an extraordinary miracle was steep, far steeper than what a normal Magic spell would require.
Lia woke up three days later. Cal watched her as she slept, never leaving her side, except for half a day when he went back to Fort Lotus for Theo’s burial and to check the situation there as well.
With a pained moan, Lia opened her bleary eyes. Her quiet breathing became ragged. Cal leapt to the huge bed and examined her face.
“Lia. Do you know who I am? Can you hear me?”
“Cal…?”
Lia rubbed her eyes. Reaching out an arm towards the voice, she jumped, squealing with joy at the touch of Cal’s soft feathers.
“Cal! Oh, thank goodness you’re alive. Your injuries are healed!”
“Yeah, thanks to you. Zero says you’re the one who summoned a miracle from God.”
“Me?” Lia looked perplexed. She rubbed her eyes once more. “Can you turn on the lights? It’s too dark. I can’t see your face.”
Blinding light was shining through the window. Cal stiffened up and pulled himself away from Lia. He held his hand in front of her eyes, waving it up and down several times, but Lia didn’t respond.
“Cal? What’s going on? Why won’t you turn on the lights? Where am I?”
“Your eyes…” Cal muttered.
Lia tilted her head. “I can’t see anything. That’s weird. Can you see me? You’ve always been scared of dark places.”
She had completely lost her eyesight. But there was more.
“I can’t stand up…” She muttered in confusion. “I can’t stand up! Cal, I can’t move my legs!”
She could feel her legs, but she could not move them. Crawling out of bed, she asked for Cal to assist her, but no matter how many times she tried to get on her feet, she crumbled to the floor.
The servants, rejoicing for the saint’s awakening, were speechless when they learned of her condition, silently hanging their heads low.
Face down on the bed, Lia cried, “Why? I want to see your face, Cal. I want to walk with you!”
I could not imagine what she felt when she learned that she had lost her eyesight and her ability to walk.
Dispirited, Lia never left her room that day.
Two days later.
Since the mansion had burned down, the best room in the finest inn in Akdios became the saint’s chambers.
Naturally, she wasn’t charged for accommodations. In fact, her presence was welcomed. Nobles from afar would want to stay at the same place if they found out that the saint stayed there for a long time.
Even now, people gathered in front of the inn, leaving flowes, food, and money, praying for the saint’s recovery.
Most of the people employed in the saint’s mansion left due to the psychological trauma of being attacked by moving corpses. Only a few servants remained to attend to Lia’s personal needs. For saving Lia, Cal was allowed to be by her side as the saint’s servant.
I would not have been surprised if Zero and I were arrested by the guards, but Zero was the only one in town who had any medical knowledge. After exhibiting her medical prowess immediately after Lia collapsed, she was allowed to stay in the same inn as the saint.
And as Zero’s attendant, I was allowed to stay in the inn’s stable. It paid to have a brilliant employer. Stables of high-class inns were well-cleaned, the straw nice and fresh.
“Okay, gotta tone it down,” I muttered. “I feel like an actual animal.”
“I find this stable comfortable as well.” Zero’s head popped out of the pile of hay.
What are you doing here? I glared at her.
“They gave you a nice room. Now go back. Shoo.”
“Did you know?” Zero said. “Not so long ago, beds were dismantled and carried around. When the lord of a castle toured around his domain, he would always use the same bed. What I am saying is, my room is where my bed is. That is, where you are—”
“How’s Lia doing?” I cut off her stupid babbling.
Her expression darkened. “It is not good.”
“I see.” I looked up at the ceiling. “Will she be blind forever? What about her legs?”
“I do not know. Nobody can tell. It is the first time I have witnessed a miracle with my own eyes.”
“Just give me your theory.”
“In that case…” Zero looked somewhat relieved. “Do you remember my definition of a miracle?”
“You invoke Magic by asking demons, while miracles occur by praying to God.”
“Yes. That is most likely correct. After using Magic without incantation for a while, the saint somehow learned how to appeal to demons with only her mind. Since I had negated her use of my own Magic, she appealed to a different demon—God, in this case—and brought about a miracle.” Zero’s expression turned grim. “But she ended up forming a contract without stating what she wanted to happen or what the payment was. As a result, a miracle that exceeded expectations occurred, and she was made to pay a considerable price. Whether it is eternal or temporary, I do not know. However, her body parts were not taken away.”
“You mean like her eyeballs and legs?”
“Yes. That is a sign for hope. If her eyes and legs were taken away, getting them back would be impossible. That is what I told the saint. It seemed to calm her down a little, but it is nothing but cold comfort.” Zero tossed herself into the pile of straw.
“Everything will sound like cold comfort in this situation.” I glanced at the street outside the window.
“Bring out the saint! We’re sick!”
I pointed my ears down. This had been going on from morning till nighttime. Sick people came in droves, demanding the saint to heal them. It was probably one of the reasons why Lia didn’t want to leave her room. Heck, it was safe to assume that was mainly why she stayed inside.
The authorities had prevented them from crossing the bridge, but apparently a village of sick people had been created near it. Those who made it here were lucky.
“It took a very long time for me to get here! I even abandoned all my property!”
“Please help my wife! You’re the only one I can count on!”
Every day they pleaded. It would be difficult for any decent person to continue to ignore them. But Lia was completely exhausted. She had no power to heal the sick.
These people, however, did not care what the saint felt. Their lives hung on the line; they had no time to worry about others. Their frustration with the saint for not healing them built up by the day, and would eventually explode.
What would happen if they snapped? What would the people do to Lia?
Zero suddenly stood up. “There is no point in thinking about it. There is nothing we can do for the saint now. Come with me.”
“Huh? Where are we going?”
“Just follow me.” Zero left the stable.
After pondering for a while, I decided to follow Zero’s orders.
Zero and I headed to the burned-down mansion.
“Wonderfully roasted to the ground,” Zero muttered as she walked, moving debris away with her feet.
Frustrated by how slow she was, I picked her up. “Where do you wanna go exactly?”
“I am searching for an entrance to the basement.”
“It’s in the back yard. This is the front entrance.”
Heaving a sigh of exasperation, I walked over the pile of rubble with Zero in my arms. Suddenly my eyes caught something curious, and I stopped. It was Theo’s knife.
Lia must have dropped it when the roof collapsed. While it was stained with soot, the blade was undamaged thanks to Zero’s quick extinguishing of the flames.
“Mercenary? Are you feeling fine?”
“Hmm?”
“You look to be in terrible pain. If you are not feeling well, we can try another day.”
“You’re imagining things. I have the face of a beast. You can barely read the expression on my face.”
“You seem to be forgetting something. I can see your human face. You look like you are about to cry.”
Zero touched my eyes and traced her fingers down my cheeks, like a trail of tears I could not shed. Somehow it made me feel better.
I tapped Zero lightly on the head and tucked Theo’s knife into my bag.
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