A pale mist emerged from the body of the fallen Scarecrow Legion Commander.
Soon after, the mist seeped into the bodies of the heroes and soldiers who had been drained of their strength. It was the force being expelled upon his death.
Those who regained their strength showed a variety of reactions. Some rejoiced, some sighed in relief as if to calm their hearts, and others simply collapsed to the ground, dumbfounded.
Above all, this was proof that the battle had come to an end.
"..."
Mikhail clenched and unclenched his fist with a vacant expression. Standing behind him, I patted his shoulder.
As the fall of the enemy leader was confirmed, everyone cheered. I clapped my hands and ordered them.
"Alright, let's hold off on the post-defense celebration for now! Cleanup first, cleanup!"
Everyone began the cleanup together.
The battle hadn't lasted long, but the Scarecrow Legion Commander was so powerful that there were quite a few injuries.
Fortunately, the priests from the Holy Knight Division had arrived and began healing everyone around.
Especially the heroes who had first rescued Mikhail and stalled the Scarecrow Legion Commander were severely injured.
Rosetta personally cast healing magic on those heroes. True to her saintly title, the healing effects were remarkable.
Rosetta, who had been casting healing spells on the heroes in turn, finally stopped in front of Zenis.
Zenis was exhausted and had a large wound on his face.
Hannibal was tending to Zenis, who was gasping for air, unable to heal himself as his divine power had run out.
"Ugh...!"
As Rosetta approached, Hannibal guarded in front of Zenis with a wary look, but Zenis gently pushed him aside.
"It's okay."
"...Yes."
As Hannibal stepped aside, Zenis staggered to his feet.
"Sister."
"You're still foolish, Zenis."
Seeing her severely injured brother, Rosetta clicked her tongue gently,
"Come here."
and extended her hand imbued with divine power. Zenis chuckled.
"You're going to heal someone like me?"
"A priest should not discriminate against patients. Isn't that the first doctrine you learn?"
And just as Rosetta's hand was about to touch Zenis,
"Sister."
Zenis spoke out.
"I've made my choice."
"..."
"I don't want to give up living as a priest."
Not only the party 'uncles' surrounding Zenis but also the other priests who had been healing patients around Rosetta twitched their shoulders in unison.
"...Sigh."
Rosetta let out a low sigh and gazed at Zenis.
"You understand the choice I gave you, right?"
"Yes."
"To die as a priest, or live by being excommunicated... You understand that I opened a way for you to live, right?"
"Yes."
"And you still choose death?"
"Of course, I don't want to die. But..."
Zenis glanced at Hannibal standing beside him and then said with conviction,
"I don't believe that my past life was wrong enough to deserve excommunication."
"..."
"For the past 14 years, I've always regretted my choice. I felt sorry for bringing shame to the order, I couldn't face all the brothers of the Holy Knight Division, and I was sorry to you, Sister."
Zenis reached out his hand and placed it on Hannibal's bushy head.
As Hannibal flinched and closed his eyes, Zenis gently stroked his head.
"But seeing this child grow up and stand before me, my thoughts changed."
"..."
"I did the right thing, Sister. So, there's no reason for me to run."
Rosetta bowed her head and then ran her hand over her forehead.
"There's no need to die for that, is there?"
"My choice must not be buried in darkness, so that someone else... another child like this can be saved."
"Pretending to be a saint and now, a martyr too?"
Rosetta, who had clicked her tongue several times, turned her head to look at Hannibal.
"Is this child your son?"
"No."
Zenis answered immediately.
A response meant to protect Hannibal, indicating he was not 'that child' of the Mist Kingdom, thus telling her not to harm him.
"But I have thought of him as my son all my life, just as I have thought of you as my sister."
"..."
"Please, from now on, consider him as your nephew."
And a request that after his death, she would protect this child.
Having understood all of Zenis's implications, Rosetta quietly closed her eyes and then stretched out her hand to the side.
Swish-!
Suddenly, her hand holding a metal whip extended long to the side.
"Such...!"
"No!"
"You think we'll just watch!"
The heroes and soldiers who had fought alongside Zenis rushed forward in desperation. However, Zenis shook his head and stopped them.
"It's okay."
"But...!"
"It's fine."
Zenis smiled calmly.
"This is the path I have chosen."
Zenis's determination was clear, and eventually, everyone hesitantly stepped back.
Except for one person. Hannibal alone did not.
"Hannibal."
"..."
"Move aside."
"I don't want to."
Despite Zenis's scolding, Hannibal did not budge.
"I don't want to..."
"Hannibal."
"We've only just met... I haven't done anything yet..."
Hannibal, who had always acted mature for his age, squinted through tears that brimmed in his eyes, whining like a child his age for the first time.
"I don't want to part like this..."
"Hannibal."
Zenis cautiously extended his arm and awkwardly hugged Hannibal, patting his back with clumsy strokes.
"Thank you. For being alive like this."
"..."
"You are the proof that my life was not wrong. So, please, continue to live strongly."
Rosetta just stood at a distance, watching the father and son prepare for their farewell.
"...Once again, it has come to this."
Rosetta murmured in a hoarse voice.
"I am a priest meant to save people, yet once again... I have to kill someone."
"Commander, there's no need for this."
"We all know why Zenis did what he did. So..."
The other priests whispered to Rosetta, approaching her. It seemed they were all sympathetic towards Zenis.
But Rosetta shook her head.
"What ultimately remains recorded in the world is not that Zenis saved the child. It's that he became romantically involved with the princess of the Mist Kingdom sent as a diplomat, leading to a complete diplomatic breakdown between the two countries, and blocking all missionary work to the west."
"..."
"It's a matter of principle. You know we've been lenient with the excommunication. If Zenis insists on not relinquishing his priesthood... then I have no choice but to kill him here."
The other priests fell silent. Rosetta gripped the whip tightly as her hand began to lose strength.
"Cough!"
Walking beside Rosetta,
I whispered quietly.
"There's another way, Rosetta."
"...?"
Rosetta turned to me, startled, and I gave her a sly smile.
"Didn't I say before? The world is multifaceted. So, there isn't just one path... How about it. Shall we try another way?"
"What other way? For our order, and for Zenis, the only choices are to die as a priest or live excommunicated."
"Well, leave it to me."
It's time for this trickster genius to step in.
I walked briskly towards Zenis, drawing the longsword from my waist.
And passing by the other heroes and soldiers who looked at me in confusion, I stood right in front of Zenis and,
Whoosh!
Swung the longsword lightly from top to bottom.
Everyone was horrified, but Zenis did not move an inch.
Thud-!
The longsword, merely grazing past Zenis's neck, embedded itself in the ground.
Well, being a ceremonial sword, it wouldn't have done much harm even if it had hit. Anyway.
"Priest Zenis."
Calling out Zenis's name, I pulled out a document from my possession.
The roll of the dead.
Though many were injured in this battle, there had been no deaths yet. I wrote Zenis's name at the very top of that empty paper.
"Having joined the monster front at Crossroad as a temporary chief priest, he fought through eleven defenses and, facing the final invasion of the Scarecrow monster, he did not retreat and engaged in battle, dying gloriously."
"..."
Zenis looked up at me with a dazed expression.
After completing the roll of the dead, I turned around to face Rosetta and spoke in a stern voice.
"I, Ash 'Born Hater' Everblack, as the lord of Crossroad and the commander of the World Guardian Front, formally request Rosetta, the head of the Goddess's Order."
Rosetta slightly bowed her waist and responded.
"...Head Rosetta, listening. Please speak."
"Although Priest Zenis has made a grave mistake in the past that brought disgrace upon the order, considering his lifelong devotion, his acts of saving many people, and his dedication here at Crossroad until the very end, healing the sick and fighting off monsters, thereby elevating the prestige of the Goddess's Order."
I smirked.
"I request that he be posthumously promoted, his past sins pardoned, his dishonorable discharge revoked, and his position restored."
"..."
Rosetta looked at me incredulously.
The idea of declaring Zenis, who was very much alive, as 'dead' must have seemed absurd to her.
But, I played along with your shallow tricks.
I wish you'd play along with mine too.
And then, eventually.
"Although Priest Zenis committed a sin fourteen years ago that warranted excommunication,"
Rosetta began.
"Considering his dedication to the order throughout his life, his care for the unfortunate, and most importantly, his leadership in fighting monsters at Crossroad to the extent that he earned the lord's recognition."
Rosetta slowly retracted the metal whip and tied it around her waist.
"His merits are recognized, and he is posthumously promoted. The dishonorable discharge is revoked, and he is acknowledged as having died a martyr as a member of the Holy Knight Division."
Then Rosetta slowly approached Zenis and gently caressed his cheek.
Rosetta's hand, filled with the light of healing divine power, glowed white. The scar that the Scarecrow Legion Commander had inflicted on Zenis's face healed, leaving a large scar.
Large enough to make him look like a different person. A significant scar.
"Zenis. You have died here, now."
"..."
"My mischievous younger brother. You have already paid enough for a sin you did not commit over the past fourteen years."
Rosetta took a moment to catch her breath, then smiled affectionately.
"Now, I absolve you of all your sins."
"..."
"May you have a peaceful and happy life in the next world."
As if blessing the deceased for the afterlife at a funeral.
Rosetta whispered to Zenis.
"In the life that follows, may you walk the path you believe is right, without hesitation or turmoil, just as you have in this life."
"..."
"And at the end of that path, may you be proud of the life you have led."
Rosetta's hand slowly fell away from Zenis's face.
"This sister will pray and pray for that."
Turning sharply, Rosetta moved away from Zenis. Zenis stared blankly at his sister's retreating back.
As Rosetta approached me, she turned her head away with a sigh when our eyes met.
"A petty trick, Your Highness."
"I know."
I smiled wryly.
"But it worked, didn't it?"
Priest Zenis, who had committed sins worthy of excommunication by the Goddess's Order, died here on this battlefield.
And having died honorably, he was posthumously promoted, pardoned of his past sins as a priest.
The 'man who was Zenis' will live on under a new name and identity.
Wherever he may be, however he may live, just as he has until now, saving and preserving the lives of others.
Even under a different name and identity, I firmly believe that man will continue to live in such a manner.
"..."
Rosetta, tasting my strategy for the first time, seemed incredulous but eventually nodded slowly.
"...How long has it been since a conclusion didn't end with someone dying by my hand."
Rosetta, after staring quietly at her own hand, clenched it tightly and then faced me again.
"So, Your Highness. Yes. I will acknowledge it."
A refreshing smile hung on the lips of the woman who would be the red priests' leader,
A smile she had never shown before.
"I am very fond of Your Highness's trickery."
--TL Notes--
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