Chapter 16
As a result of the late-night house call, it was discovered that the patient with a high fever had ingested poison.
Apparently, someone had thrown poison into the well.
What Clael saw upon returning after purifying the poison was Reina, sleeping soundly on a pew in the chapel.
And... men dressed in black, collapsed on the floor.
It seemed they had been trying to abduct Reina.
Clael immediately notified the military police and had them apprehended.
Interrogation by the military police revealed that they had been hired by Reina's father... Guez Auster.
As the head of the Auster Trading Company, he had hired thugs and gangsters to engage in crimes such as trafficking illegal drugs.
What he intended to do by kidnapping Reina was unknown, but it was obvious that his motives were far from pure.
Thanks to the military police, not only Guez but also all his subordinates involved in the crimes were arrested. The Auster Trading Company had already vanished from town.
"We finally tracked down their hideout and were planning to raid it tomorrow... Sorry, we were too late."
Later, Roywood Belen, the captain of the military police who came to explain the situation at the shrine, bowed his head as he said this.
Roywood had been investigating the Auster Trading Company based on information from Clael, but that didn't mean he had done nothing until now.
He had been carefully preparing to bust the Auster Trading Company and had gotten very close.
It was an undeniable fact that Roywood had been slow in his work... but his opponent was a powerful figure in town—the head of a major trading company.
It seemed he couldn't make a move until he had solid evidence.
"...If we had captured that bastard Auster sooner, the young lady wouldn't have had to go through such a frightening ordeal."
Roywood bit his lip in frustration and glanced over at Reina, who stood some distance away.
"Okay, please line up in a single file. I'll heal your injuries now."
As usual, a line had formed in front of Reina in the shrine's chapel, full of people waiting their turn to have their injuries or illnesses healed.
Clael and Roywood spoke in hushed tones in a corner of the shrine.
"That young lady Sister... She's acting cheerful, but she must be having a hard time—almost getting kidnapped, and her father getting arrested..."
"Well... it's not really like that."
In response to his friend's apology, Clael shrugged.
"When the kidnappers broke in, Reina was asleep the whole time. She didn't even realize she was about to be taken."
When Clael returned, Reina had been sleeping with drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
After tying up the kidnappers, Clael carried Reina to the bedroom.
"I did tell her that her father had been arrested... but she didn't really react. She just said, 'Is that so?' and left it at that."
"Ah... how should I put it, she's surprisingly bold. Despite that cute face."
Roywood gave a wry smile and scratched his head.
"Anyway... the delay in our work was my mistake. Please apologize to the young lady for me. Also... about that company's assets, after deducting compensation and other expenses for the victims, the remaining amount will be paid to the young lady. I'll ask the judge to ensure she gets as much as possible."
Leaving those words behind, Roywood departed from the shrine.
That was likely Roywood's way of making amends.
A portion of the Auster Trading Company's assets... even a portion was a considerable sum for an individual and was to be delivered into Reina's hands.
Later, Reina received the money sent by the judge and, as if it were only natural, handed it all over to Clael.
"I don't need it, so please use it however you like, Priest."
"...However I like, huh."
Faced with a pile of gold coins worth dozens of times what he had paid when taking Reina in, Clael agonized over how to use it.
Resisting the temptation of a fortune he had never seen before, he decided to save it for Reina's future.