IX ◆ The Holy Maiden’s Ambition
Before me lay someone who was completely covered in blood, with a pale bluish complexion and no pulse –
in other words, a dead body.
Um, what exactly am I supposed to do with this?
Since they’re already dead, healing would be impossible. Surely you’re not telling me to use a resurrection spell?
I’ve never actually used a resurrection spell before, you know?
While healers are taught resurrection magic, it requires tremendous healing ability and experience, so hardly anyone can actually use it. In the Marve faith, death is considered natural, so we’re not really supposed to use it except under extraordinary circumstances.
For gladiator fights viewed as gambling entertainment, the dead are basically just left as is. Let them rot.
So what should I do about this?
……Ah, I should probably purify them with sacred flames?
Yes, that must be it. No doubt about it.
I quickly began praying to the gods.
“O gods, cleanse this soul with your great fl-“
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing!?”
As I started the sacred flame incantation, Ruida looked alarmed and stopped me.
“What? I was just trying to purify the dead body with flames.”
“Dead body? …Well, I guess it does look like that, but in Hundred, that would be classified as an injured person!”
“Injured? But their heart has stopped.”
If someone with no heartbeat is considered injured, then what exactly constitutes being declared dead?
“Well, yeah, but as long as their head isn’t severed, they can be revived with resurrection magic if they just died. So it counts as injured! I know it sounds weird when I say it out loud. Whatever, I’ll do it.”
Ruida then began casting a resurrection spell.
While resurrection magic is supposed to be an extraordinary miracle that hardly anyone can use, Ruida’s casting seemed like practiced routine without any sense of tension.
Though I doubted they would actually revive, as the prayer progressed, the dead person’s face regained color, and their entire body became infused with life again.
Wow? Isn’t Ruida incredible? I think she has more healing power than me…
Compared to me, maybe she should be the holy maiden instead?
At that moment, I started to lose confidence in becoming the holy maiden for the first time.
However, right after completing the spell, she, yell:
“There, what are you still lying around for after all that trouble!? Get up and pay up!”
Ruida kicked the revived person square in the head
The kicked person opened their eyes, gave a wry smile as they stood up, took a gold coin from their pocket, and handed it to Ruida saying:
“My bad, sis.”
……Yeah, she doesn’t really seem cut out to be a holy maiden.
I guess I’m the only one really suited to be the holy maiden with the right mind, technique and appearance! By “appearance” I mean outward looks – Ruida’s looks are good, but her mind is messed up.
Just like that, the confidence I had momentarily lost came right back.
And so I spent the whole day assisting with healing at the arena.
Though I was flustered at first, I eventually became numb to it and could cast healing spells fluidly.
While I had some reservations, this healing work…has a major benefit.
Money. I received over 10 small gold coins that day. An amount a commoner would take a month to earn, I made in just one day. Easy money.
Ruida made over twice as much as me, including one gold coin. She’s rolling in dough. Looking closer, her gear and accessories seem quite high-end too.
It’s definitely better to work for a proper payment than half-heartedly heal the impoverished masses bit by bit.
The final match at the arena even had King Mars himself competing. But what was that, exactly?
I can see why he’s rumored to be a demon lord. Though the people of Hundred are a monstrous bunch themselves, King Mars easily scattered them – he’s not someone mere humans should be fighting.
My final task was using a Healing Field spell to quickly treat everyone King Mars had knocked around.
Finishing that hectic day, as soon as I returned to the castle, Annie brought me dinner. This time she seemed to have prepared some monster meat for me.
The meat was from a beginner-level monster called a Killer Rabbit, and was quite small in size.
As Annie watched me with a worried look, I ate it in one bite.
Hmm, not very toxic at all.
“Annie, please get me something a bit stronger tomorrow.”
“Eh??”
Annie looked surprised when I made that request.
It was probably an unusually bold request for a beginner. But I came to Faloon to gain power, so continuing with this weak meat wouldn’t do any good.
“Lady Maria, is your body…okay?”
“Yes, this level is no problem. So next time, could I get a larger portion of meat from a somewhat stronger monster?”
“Ah, so holy maidens have resistance against monster meat toxins, huh?”
Annie looked a bit exasperated.
Of course not. Poison is poison. It took me an incredibly long time to build up tolerance to it.
But the story of “Maria was unfazed by monster meat toxins” does sound like it could become one of the miracles attributed to me, so I’ll just go with that.
“She could eat monster meat without issue?”
I was dumbfounded when Gamaras relayed the report from Maria’s maidservant about her eating monster meat.
“Yes. As befitting a holy maiden candidate, I’d say. No, the keen eye of Lord Mars to have recognized that quality in her is equally impressive.”
Gamaras didn’t seem too suspicious about the report.
As one of the few people around me who hasn’t eaten monster meat, he probably doesn’t grasp how potent the toxins are.
I don’t think monster meat toxins are something that can just be shrugged off with divine protection.
That said, Killer Rabbit meat isn’t deathly toxic.
“Maria apparently asked for meat from even stronger monsters? Give her Blood Bear meat.”
Blood Bears are mid-level monsters with highly toxic meat – enough to easily kill an ordinary human. Even in Hundred, it takes around a year to build enough resistance to eat it.
“Understood.”
Gamaras didn’t object and just followed my order.
And the next day:
“She ate Blood Bear meat too?”
“Yes. She said it was just right.”
Gamaras still doesn’t seem suspicious, but this is fishy. Even for a holy maiden candidate, that toxin resistance is way too high. In Faloon, thousands eat monster meat, but not a single one has ever shown high resistance right from the start – without exception, they all start by getting used to Killer Rabbit meat first.
That was true for me, Frau, Oguma, and other skilled individuals. Even my master Cassandra apparently started with weaker monsters, though not Killer Rabbits specifically.
Yet the idea that Maria alone could eat Blood Bear meat right off the bat is unthinkable. If that’s divine blessing, it’s way too much favoritism.
Which makes me doubt her holy maiden abilities too. What if she’s not able to eat monster meat because she’s a holy maiden candidate, but became a candidate by virtue of eating monster meat?
So I summoned Maria to my private room.
“Maria, you were eating monster meat even before coming to Faloon, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I was,”
Maria readily admitted with her clear, innocent-looking eyes.
“The reason I came to Faloon was to eat stronger monster meat, increase my healing powers, and definitively become the holy maiden. Oh, and to have Your Majesty back me up, so I could use power, force and money to aim for the next Pope’s seat.”
……What an outrageous thing for her to say.
Her appearance is pure and lovely, but on the inside she’s greedier than Carmilla.
“I see. But what’s in it for Faloon if you become the holy maiden or Pope?”
“The Marve Church will fully support Faloon.”
Support…support, huh? It’d be better if they just left us alone. I’m satisfied with the status quo, got rid of penance in the new doctrine, so I really don’t need any “support.”
As I pondered silently, Maria seemed a bit flustered and continued:
“Of course Your Majesty realizes the Marve Church’s support alone isn’t enough value – you can unify the Ares Continent through military might alone!”
Eh? No, I haven’t considered anything like that. I have no intention of unifying it.
“However, Your Majesty, true unification of the Ares Continent requires control not just militarily and economically, but also religiously! Swaying the hearts of the ignorant masses requires a religious approach!”
The ignorant masses? Did she just call the common people “ignorant masses?”
“That’s not all. If you make me Pope and have me unify Iris under the Marve Church’s rule, I can have it pledge allegiance to Faloon. As you know, Iris was originally part of the same nation as the Marve Church before separating on religious grounds. I’m from Iris and have many sympathizers there. If I become Pope, reunification will be easy. Then under Faloon’s control, I can contribute to Your Majesty’s unification of the Ares Continent.”
What’s this feeling… I think I just casually heard some evil future dreams. She talks about having sympathizers in Iris, but aren’t those basically potential terrorists? Despite being a Holy Maiden candidate, she’s aiming not just for Pope but even for the throne of Iris? Just how greedy is this woman?
“Why are you aiming for the throne of Iris?”
“Isn’t it natural to aim high when born human? Surely Your Majesty understands. After all, you harbor the unprecedented ambition of unifying the Ares continent. If I may be so bold, Your Majesty and I are kindred spirits, both pursuing impossible dreams. Won’t you pursue these dreams together with me?”
I thought she’d be more subtle about her dark ambitions, but it turns out she sees me as the same type as her.
My head’s spinning from her excessive… enthusiasm. I’ve never even thought about unifying the Ares continent, and I’ve never had any impossible dreams. If anything, my dream was just to live freely as a mercenary.
“I understand. I’ll think about it.”
I’m just completely done with this – I just want her to leave the room already.
“Do you still doubt me, Your Majesty?”
Perhaps sensing my poor reception, Maria pressed even closer.
“If you prefer, I’m willing to be your unofficial queen! That way, the child between Your Majesty and me could become the future ruler of Iris. Ah, but officially, please make it appear as a virgin birth – I do have my reputation as a Holy Maiden to maintain.”
…Please, won’t you just leave?
TLNOTE: One more crazy wife, GET!
While waiting for the next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
Please check the Internet Archive if what you’re looking for is no longer on this website. *wink *wink
Volume 4 English translation is already starting btw…
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Today is my birthday, so i consider this is my birthday gift
thank you,there’s nothing boring about this novel lol