Muyoku no Seijo wa Okane ni Tokimeku

Chapter 44: Leo is worried about Chris. (1/2)

"Oh, so you knew the Husheim church? ...Yes, I used to work there... as a Priestess. But, well, things happened and I was demoted. Now I'm just a nun... or at least, I used to be one...."

Leo was really surprised when Chris mentioned that she used to work on the Husheim church, after all, Leena had bought the place, after it was burned down by an enraged mob. However, he wasn't ready for what came after that. Just knowing that she used to be a Priestess, made Leo realize that the woman sitting by his side was way more amazing than he initially thought.

After being chosen at an early age, both aspiring Priests and Priestess' have to attend a religious school that is a lot more strict than the Magic Academy. And after graduation, those who managed to gain the title of Priest or Priestess, go work under a High Priest or High Priestess to, someday, succeed them in their duties.

"So, you were, a Priestess, Chris!?" – Said Leo, in a really surprised tone.

"E-excuse me for asking this, Chris-san, but you don't look like a bad person, so why would the citizens burn down that church?"

"Like I said, I was demoted... I never became a High Priestess.... so they had to find someone else to run that place. But that person was far from being good enough for the job. And as the resentment of the citizens started to pile up, that incident with Harlet happened... so everyone got really angry and burned the whole place down." – Said Chris, with a bitter smile.

"That... must've been an awful experience. I'm sorry for asking such a thoughtless question...."

(W-wait, if I'm not wrong, weren't the citizens mad because the church was giving them low quality bread!?) – Thought Leo, as he tried to remember the conversation that he had with Leena a while ago.

"No, you don't have to be sorry, Kai... you were just curious. Well, although I think the Royal family is at fault for letting us to our own demise, I can't really condemn them. After all, the citizens have all the right to be angry... but to let all of us pay for a crime that we didn't commit... I think that's a bit inhuman."

After being re-summoned to the academy, Leo started gathering information on what happened to those involved with Harlet during the incident, but no one would tell him a thing... except for Albert.

"No one was hurt. You saved everyone." – That's what Albert told Leo.

(N-no way...! He told me that everything was okay, that no one was hurt...! B-but Chris wouldn't lie about something like that, right? S-so that means... Albert lied to me...? He lied because...... a lot of people lost their jobs because of me...)

At the time, Leo just wanted to finish his presentation as fast as possible, so he casted the only spell that he knew. However, his thoughtless actions brought forth a wave of chaos. A wave so big, in fact, that it even swallowed the unrelated people along it's course.

It's my fault.

They are suffering because of me.

If I hadn't exposed Harlet, none of that would've happened.

These self-loathing thoughts were too much for Leo to handle... he had to apologize to Chris, or else, he would be crushed by the weight of his sins—

"T-that, uh, Chris... about the, Husheim church... I-I'm really—" – Said Leo; his tone was low and a bit fearful.

—But before he could do so, Kai interrupted him.

"—And, uh, what happened to the others? ...Did they... I mean... by the fire...."

"No... everyone survived. We knew that they were going to set the church on fire, so everyone ran away... except for me. You see, I was hoping that they would change their minds–"