Chapter 26

Chapter 26

An Unfamiliar Ceiling

In a space where everything was dark, a man stood looking at me.

I'd never seen his face before.

Yet strangely, he felt familiar, as though I'd seen him somewhere long ago.

Judging by his East Asian features, perhaps he was from the Eastern Continent?

While I was thinking that, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Who are you?”

That came out of nowhere.

Was he literally asking my name?

Or was this supposed to be some kind of Zen riddle?

I looked at him with slight confusion, but his expression didn't change at all.

Apparently, he was waiting for my answer.

Well... we'd never met before, so maybe he just wanted us to introduce ourselves.

“Beatrice.”

With that thought, I gave him my real name.

The man looked faintly lonely after hearing my answer.

“Then what is my name?”

The man asked another question.

What is this, seriously some Zen riddle?

Unfortunately, I had absolutely no talent for stuff like this.

I wish he'd stop beating around the bush and just say what he wanted.

“How the hell would I know your name?”

“...I see.”

At my curt answer, the man's expression turned bitter.

His form began fading away like mist.

Wait, what the hell?

At least tell me what this weird place is first!

Startled by the sudden turn of events, I tried to speak.

But before I could, it felt as though freezing water suddenly flooded deep into my lungs, and my consciousness was hurled upward toward the surface.

“Ghk...!”

My eyes snapped open with an icy pain that felt as though my heart had frozen solid.

Only after gasping harshly and blinking several times did my blurred vision begin clearing.

What was that?

I felt like I'd been talking to someone just a moment ago.

But I couldn't remember what we'd discussed, or even who I'd been speaking with.

A prophetic dream?

No.

Prophetic dreams remained vivid for several minutes after waking, almost as though I'd actually experienced them.

It was probably just a normal dream.

Being a Saintess didn't mean every dream had to be prophetic, so that wasn't strange.

I'd almost died to Selenia, after all.

Maybe it had simply been a nightmare.

Trying to remember would probably only ruin my mood anyway, so I decided not to force it.

With that thought, I pushed away the strange discomfort and the inexplicable hollow feeling inside me.

‘More importantly, where am I? I've never seen this ceiling before.’

...Wait!

Hold on.

There was a line I'd always wanted to say in exactly this situation.

“An unfamiliar ceiling.”

Honestly, it was the most clichéd line imaginable.

But isn't it something every protagonist who transmigrates somewhere gets to say at least once?

Unfortunately, I'd woken up in a filthy back alley, so I'd never gotten the opportunity.

All I'd said back then was stuff like, “Where the fuck am I?” and “That fucking author.”

More than ten years had passed before I finally got to say the line.

And somehow, it was strangely satisfying.

Like finally clearing some early-game achievement quest you'd ignored forever.

But seriously.

This really is an unfamiliar ceiling.

Where the hell am I?

Enough pointless thoughts.

First, get up and check the surroundings.

“Ughhh...”

But pain like I'd been beaten across my entire body made it impossible to sit up.

The pain in my chest and side was especially horrible.

“...Ugh, this... fucking...”

While I lay there trembling and groaning alone, the door opened with a clunk and Cassian entered.

He was carrying a basin of water, a towel, and an ice pack.

The moment he saw me, his expression filled with surprise.

“Saintess! You're awake...!”

“...Wow. Seeing your face the moment I wake up is such a pleasure.”

“...My apologies.”

Seeing Cassian's face first thing after waking was truly enough to piss me off.

And judging by the things he was carrying, he'd apparently been nursing me.

Wait.

How the hell could they entrust my care to this bastard?

Who knows what he might do to me?

Whatever.

I'll complain about all the minor stuff later.

First, I need to understand the situation.

“Where are we?”

“Sodom. We borrowed a house and are currently using it.”

“Oh...”

No, seriously.

That fucking name.

I hate it so goddamn much.

I wanted to run straight to the village chief and demand he change this shitty village name immediately.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the strength.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“About two days.”

“...Holy shit.”

I was out for two whole days?

That startled me a little.

But thinking about it, I'd encountered Selenia, a legion commander of Lust, and even managed to defeat her.

If the price for an accomplishment like that was only two days unconscious, I'd gotten off absurdly cheap.

...Though judging by my current condition, I might have to stay in bed quite a bit longer.

“What are the old man and the other Holy Knights doing?”

“They are helping restore the village.”

“Ah, right. So the villagers woke up too? Everyone's okay?”

“Yes.”

“That's a relief.”

Knowing everyone was safe really was a relief.

“First, tell the others I'm awake. Once everyone's gathered, I'll explain what happened in Sodom.”

After sighing in relief, I ordered him to gather everyone from our Order.

The old man had probably already taken some measures, but I was the only one who knew exactly what had happened here.

I needed to share that information.

“Understood. However, it may take a little while, so please bear with us.”

“That's fine. Let everyone finish whatever they're doing first.”

“Thank you. We'll all prepare ourselves before coming.”

“Huh?”

Cassian lightly bowed, then walked out of the room with oddly solemn steps.

...What the hell was that?

Why do they need to prepare themselves just to see me?

Am I terminally ill or something?

Wait.

He made it sound like they were the ones who needed to mentally prepare.

If I were terminally ill, shouldn't I be the one preparing myself?

“Goddammit, that bastard.”

Spouting nonsense and making my already dizzy head even more confused.

Fucking guy.

Whatever.

No point giving myself a headache thinking about it.

I'll find out once the old man and the Holy Knights arrive anyway.

“Ughhh...”

I barely managed to lift my upper body and leaned against the headboard.

Looking through the window, I saw the sun slowly sinking toward the horizon.

Come to think of it, he said two days had passed.

...Hmm.

Can we still reach Septimoa by the deadline?

Just looking at my condition, this didn't seem like something a day or two of rest would fix.

“Saintess, may we enter?”

While I was thinking through various things, someone knocked.

The voice outside belonged to the old man.

For some reason, he sounded as grimly determined as Cassian had.

Wait.

Did something really happen?

“Yeah, come in.”

I suddenly felt tense and swallowed unconsciously before answering.

The door slowly opened.

The instant I saw the people entering, I knew something definitely was going on.

Every single one of them had brought their sword.

Even old Bartolomew was holding a knife.

There was only one reason people would carry weapons into the room of an injured patient.

Namely...

“What, are you here to finish me off? If I'm going to die anyway, can't I at least have one magic herb fir—”

“WE'RE SORRY!!!”

BANG-

“?”

Before I could even finish the stupid joke, the old man slammed to his knees hard enough that I thought they might shatter, then planted his forehead against the floor.

Every Holy Knight behind him immediately followed.

“...What the hell are you all doing?”

I stared blankly at the completely unexpected sight.

“Please kill us for the disrespect we showed you, Saintess!”

“...Huh?”

“H-How dare we... speak and behave so vulgarly toward the Saintess...!”

...Ah.

I think I understand.

They remembered what they'd said and done while brainwashed?

Honestly, it probably would've been better for everyone if they'd forgotten that entire incident.

I couldn't help looking awkward.

“Uh... Hmm... I'm fine, okay? So could you stop making such a huge deal out of this?”

“No! We dared show disrespect toward the Saintess. Even paying with our lives would not be enough! If you command it, we shall take our own lives immediately!”

Ah.

So that's why you brought swords?

Judging from the grim way they were staring at their weapons, if I gave permission, they'd probably draw them and cut open their own stomachs on the spot.

...I had no particular desire to witness that kind of bloodbath.

“Okay, everyone be quiet for a second.”

My head already hurt enough.

Watching these people add even more pain to it was starting to irritate me.

Still, I understood why they were acting like this, so I could only hold my head and sigh.

Think about it.

Brainwashed or not, they'd told someone above them in rank—and not just anyone, but the Saintess, the Order's second-in-command—to strip naked.

They'd said things like how dare a woman defy a man.

And in the end, they'd even charged at me personally to take my clothes off.

Looking only at the facts, calling that simple insubordination probably wasn't enough.

“Everyone calm down. All of that happened because of brainwashing sorcery, right? That's obviously more than enough mitigating circumstances.”

“Even if we fell victim to a brainwashing curse, we still committed the disrespect. You should not defend us, Saintess. You should rebuke us for our weakness in succumbing to the sorcery.”

“Ugh...”

Goddammit, this rigid old bastard.

Honestly, just surviving after a demon on Selenia's level pulled something like that was already a major achievement.

Trying to persuade everyone individually sounded annoying, so I decided to simply tell them what had happened.

“First, listen to what happened here, then decide. Got it?”

“...We shall listen.”

I organized my thoughts for a moment, then slowly explained everything that had happened.

Leonid and the other Holy Knights, the old man, and Cassian listened silently.

Their expressions grew increasingly grave as the story continued.

Then, when I mentioned Selenia, every one of them shouted at once.

“Selenia the Apostate?!”

They sounded like characters in some sitcom.

Despite the serious atmosphere, I couldn't stop a small laugh from slipping out.

Anyway, the story ended with me defeating Selenia.

“Understand? The one who appeared here was Selenia the Apostate. A demon ranked directly beneath the Great Demons of the Seven Deadly Sins. So stop blaming yourselves for being inadequate or tormenting yourselves because you rebelled against me. Got it?”

At my serious tone, the Holy Knights, the old man, and Cassian all nodded.

“For now, just be grateful we're alive. I'm telling you not to do anything stupid. Everyone understand?”

I drove the final nail in.

Seeing them nod again, it looked like I'd managed to prevent the bloodbath.

“...But old man, why is my body in such terrible shape?”

Once the immediate issue was mostly settled, I asked about my condition.

Because I seriously felt absolutely awful.

“I have purified all of the demonic corruption... but the wounds carved into both your soul and body by the ‘Curse of Cognition’ and that ‘whip’ you described cannot easily be healed. The best I could do was prevent them from worsening.”

“Oh.”

Even the old man couldn't heal me?

...Then aside from Grandpa Pope, there probably wasn't anyone in our Order capable of treating this.

What if even Grandpa couldn't heal these wounds?

“Then am I terminally ill now? Am I supposed to count the leaves falling outside the window and say, ‘When the last one falls, so too shall I die,’ before passing away tragically...”

“This is not the time for jokes.”

The old man cut off my nonsense with a stern expression.

“...Then what do we do? Return to the Order and show my injuries to Grandpa Pope?”

“I considered that, but time is precious right now. Reaching the capital will be faster.”

“Will going to the capital actually solve anything?”

“Saintess Clarice of the Justitia Order will be there, will she not?”

“Aha. We can ask Clarice.”

Clarice was the heroine of the original story.

She possessed an overwhelming amount of divine power and healing sacred arts so extraordinary people said she could even revive the dead.

If anyone could heal the wounds Selenia left on me, Clarice could.

I was already acquainted with her, and even if we weren't, her personality meant she'd probably treat me anyway.

So it was a good option.

There was one problem, though.

Could I even make it to the capital in this condition?

“We intend to travel by carriage. The village has also offered its finest carriage for your use.”

The old man answered immediately, as though he'd already anticipated my concern.

“Oh... I don't really like carriages. What if I just walk—”

“Absolutely not.”

Exactly the answer I expected.

I normally hated carriages because they felt cramped, but given my current condition, there was no better means of transportation.

If I walked, I'd collapse.

If I rode a horse, I'd fall off.

And if someone carried me on their back, I'd probably aggravate my wounds and die screaming.

Rather than cause everyone trouble, it would be better to travel a little slower by carriage along the wider roads.

“When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Already found a carriage?”

“Yes. When we asked the village, they readily offered us their finest one.”

As expected of the old man.

Thorough as always.

“Then could everyone leave so the patient can rest? I've talked a lot and worried about enough things already. I'm exhausted.”

“Understood. Rest well. We will come in periodically to check your condition. Your bandages must also be changed.”

“Yeah, got it.”

I waved my hand, dismissing everyone.

Once the room became quiet again, I lowered myself back onto the bed.

My wounded body fell asleep almost instantly.