3 bar menu

The Four Eastern Stars Ventures into the Labyrinth, While the Masked Boy Leaves – Part 02

In the late hours of the night, Paula wandered the streets of Ponsonia Kingdom’s capital, lost in thought.

“Ugh… Wh-What should I do?”

With the dilapidated warehouse where they used the spell for crossing worlds now demolished, and the Four Eastern Stars gone on the Adventurers Guild’s request, Paula found herself at a loss. Hikaru and Lavia were in Japan, leaving her with only the magic diagrams and catalysts for the magic—but lacking the elemental magic stones needed to activate it.

If only she had those stones, maybe she could reach Hikaru in Japan through the one-way version of the spell. Sending him a letter explaining their predicament might spark some ideas, at least that’s what Paula hoped.

But she knew large elemental magic stones came with a hefty price tag. Scarce due to the calamity caused by the Accursed Toxin, they still sold rapidly, leading to sky-high prices. Those desperate enough to pay snapped them up swiftly regardless of costs.

“I don’t know what to do.”

With no acquaintances in the capital, Paula had to do things on her own, and that thought pressed down on her.

“I-I wonder if contacting Queen Kujastria could help somehow. No, I’m not even sure how to reach her.”

Even offering information about Silver Face wouldn’t guarantee an audience with the queen. In fact, the authorities might just bring her in for questioning. Lavia had once navigated a secret passage known only to the royals, but Paula lacked Stealth-related skills on her Soul Board.

Moreover, she’d heard that a special team of investigators had been formed recently to crack down on corruption among the nobility, fueled by factional strife during the previous king’s demise—a situation Hikaru, known as Silver Face, had helped expose.

Paula hadn’t just idled away, though. She’d ventured to the royal castle and questioned the guards.

“Um, excuse me,” she had said. “Are you gathering any information about a person with a silver mask?”

The guards’ demeanor shifted abruptly, one dashing off to summon higher-ups. Soon, a towering figure—likely the Knight Commander, Lawrence D. Falcon—strode over. Paula beat a hasty retreat, slipping into a passing merchant caravan’s wagon to evade pursuit.

With avenues dwindling, Paula aimlessly roamed the capital, the day passing without progress.

Gurgle.

Her stomach rumbled. She realized she hadn’t eaten all day.

Her nose picked up the delicious aroma of soup. Following the scent, Paula found herself in a slum corner, facing an abandoned church.

“I didn’t know there was a church here. I’ve never been here before,” she mused, slipping through the broken door.

The inside was in disarray, with broken benches and torn walls. The churches she had visited during the epidemic had been repaired and cleaned by people, but there were still many abandoned churches that Paula was unaware of, left in disrepair.

What currently caught Paula’s attention, however, was not the church’s appearance, but the aroma.

As she stumbled over, she found a small altar in the center, with a tiny figure of a deity broken at the waist. At the altar’s foot lay a meal. And there was something else.

An elderly person was lying next to it. His ashen pallor and emaciated body suggested his time was short. His clothing was decent for someone in an abandoned church but fell far short of what one might generally expect from a wealthy individual.

Burial clothes…

It didn’t take long for realization to dawn on Paula. This old man had come here to die. He appeared too frail to manage alone, so his family likely brought him here. Yet, they were nowhere in sight. Did they just leave? Perhaps they had struggled with caring for him and left after giving him his final care. The neat clothes and relatively lavish meal seemed to hint at guilt.

“Sir,” Paula called.

Then, she remembered something. She put on her silver mask adorned with flower patterns.

“…Who… are you…”

“I’m a nun.”

“I-I see. I apologize. I chose the church as my place to die. Never thought there’d be someone from the church here.”

Such a rundown church would usually be considered abandoned.

“I’m just passing by.”

“In that case, could you leave?”

“Why’s that? It’s also the duty of a nun to care for those facing death.”

“No… My illness is contagious… Not as bad as the recent Black Rot, though.”

Black Rot was another term for the Accursed Toxin. Since it spread from person to person, everyone assumed it was a disease, not realizing it was actually poison.

“Are you sick? Wouldn’t healing magic cure you, then?”

“It’s no use. I spent a fortune, but the church’s magic couldn’t do anything. Spending more money would only trouble my son’s family.”

“I see.”

At that moment, Paula resolved to save the old man. She wasn’t sure if she could, but she was determined to do everything possible to help someone who opted for death out of concern for their family.

Hikaru had given her the power of healing magic, leaving its use to her discretion when he wasn’t around.

“There’s one thing I want to ask. Do you have any regrets?”

She needed to know. If he truly wanted to die, she had to consider if saving him was right.

“Regrets?” The old man’s eyes opened. “Of course, I do! My fifth grandchild is due next year, and the store I’m leaving to my son just opened. If I could live a little longer, at least a year, I could teach my son everything he needs to know to run it.”

The tears welling in his eyes reflected a golden light.

“Wh-What?”

It was light emanating from Paula.

“O’ God who art in heaven, in your name I ask for a miracle. In my right hand is the gift of life, in my left the blessing of death. Bless us who live in this world. My mana I offer…”

Paula’s hand rested on the old man’s chest, emitting a blinding light, which began to transfer to the old man’s body.

“Oh… Ohhh…”

The warmth of that light brought back memories—of his mother’s embrace. Though he’d received healing magic before, it was never like this. Not enough to tug at his heart.

By the time he came back to his senses, Paula had finished casting the spell.

“Phew…”

Paula glanced up at the church’s broken roof and let out a long sigh. The disease had progressed, requiring a substantial amount of mana. Fortunately, aside from the illness, the old man had no other issues. His muscles and bones were robust enough for magic to manage.

Magic was more versatile than medicine, but without medical knowledge, one couldn’t effectively use it. This was the case during the Accursed Toxin crisis. When magic alone couldn’t suffice, the world proved fragile. Hikaru overcame it with his knowledge of both magic and medicine, and Paula also learned a lot from him.

Even if this old man recovered through magic, he might still suffer if his heart or muscles were too weak. While using healing magic, Paula considered efficiency and post-treatment outcomes. Believing it would work, she persisted in casting magic until the very end.

“That should do it. Oh, but try not to overexert yourself for a while, and eat easily digestible food—”

“Young lady!”

“What?!”

The old man, sitting up abruptly, clutched his waist and groaned.

“Ow, ow…”

“Are you okay?! You weren’t moving much, so your body might be surprised by the sudden movement.”

“Th-That doesn’t matter. What… What did you do to—”

Suddenly, the old man’s stomach growled loudly.

“Oh.”

Paula chuckled. “The body can’t lie. It’s saying it wants to eat.”

“I… I haven’t had an appetite all week. Even when I ate, I couldn’t keep it down.”

“Please, go ahead and eat. Chew slowly, okay?”

“R-Right.”

Sitting on the floor, the old man cautiously picked up the bread and brought it to his mouth, but he stopped chewing abruptly.

“…”

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling pain somewhere?”

“This… This was the meal my sons prepared for my last moments. They really wanted me treated, so I had to stop them. I told them I didn’t want them to see my face when I died, so they left me here. Then, my sons said, ‘At least let us prepare a meal for you,’ and ‘It’s too lonely to embark on a journey to death alone.'”

“…”

“My sons were crying. They understood that I didn’t want to trouble them. They’re kind-hearted boys. They kept apologizing while in tears. This bread is delicious.”

The old man ate the bread and drank the soup, slowly so as not to startle his body. Once he finished eating and felt more at ease, the old man turned to Paula.

“I owe you. I must thank you.”

“Oh, no, I just did what a clergywoman should do.”

“I want to properly thank you, not just with words.”

“That’s not necessary, really.”

“It’s not so simple. Just saying ‘thank you’ for something like this affects my honor as a merchant. What do you want? I may not have money, but I have connections. I’m a fourth-generation hardware merchant here in the capital, so I can talk to people in all industries.”

“No, really…”

Before Paula could say any more, her stomach growled this time.

“Oh.”

She had completely forgotten she was hungry too. Using magic that consumed considerable energy on an empty stomach made her hungrier.

The old man cackled. “To borrow your words from earlier, the body can’t lie.”

He stood up and invited Paula to eat with him.

Unable to refuse, Paula ended up visiting the old man’s home for a meal. There, the old man’s family, eyes wet with tears mourning his death, rejoiced in his recovery. They called in the owner of the tavern that was about to close down to make food and served it to them.

Paula enjoyed her meal with a smile, unaware that they were all excited, thinking of her as a miracle worker, a saint who saved their father that the church had given up on. Nor did they imagine being graced by the presence of the Wandering Saint herself.

Furthermore, as the old man himself had said, he had extensive connections in the downtown area of the capital, and through his information network, rumors of the Wandering Saint began to spread.

“Young lady, if you can, could you come to that church three days from now? If you won’t accept money or anything else, at least let me repay you by shining up that place.”

Once he said that, Paula couldn’t refuse.

“All right,” she acquiesed. Both her heart and stomach were full.

Paula thought she’d just see a clean church in three days, but it turned out to be more than she expected.