Chapter 86 – The Child’s Punishment
Chapter 86 – The Child's Punishment
Even though I came all the way to apologize, I got turned away by a White Priest right in front of the church gates.
With a blank expression, she said, “We don’t accept meetings without prior appointments.”
Pfft. What was up with that face? It was so ridiculous I burst out laughing.
If she hadn’t brought all those burly Holy Knights trailing behind her like that, I could’ve forced my way in when she let her guard down.
That’s just foul play.
So, with no other choice, I snuck around to the back of the church to apologize, but a Holy Knight grabbed me, yelling that I was being noisy.
I got thrown in a cell, but hey, I’m used to it. Hmph. They’ll release me soon enough, just like last time.
Clang!
“Behave yourself.”
The Holy Knight slammed the cell door shut and glared at me with terrifying eyes.
That guy’s gotta be a crooked Holy Knight.
Maybe without a bribe, he’ll torture me or something.
“Haa… I came all the way to apologize, but in the end, the Saintess never showed up.”
As I muttered that with a sigh, the three uncles who’d come with me started bickering.
“That’s why the mayor told us! No prior appointment means no dice!”
“Huh? You’re the one who said, ‘There’s no way they’d turn away someone who came to apologize!'”
“Exactly! It just proves the church is full of scum!”
“Shut up!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sounds of bars being rattled echoed from cells all around, and we exchanged glances, freezing in place.
There were other people here too…
“Hey, what happened with the Saintess?”
A grown man’s voice came from the next cell over.
“We came all the way from a distant town to apologize, but we got turned away.”
“Even high nobles have to wait their turn. No way you can cut in line. What idiots.”
Cut in line…?
What the hell is this guy talking about?
“It’s not a meeting—it’s an apology, okay?”
“You did something bad enough to need apologizing for, didn’t you? That makes it even worse.”
The man spat it out in a dumbfounded tone.
Suddenly, one of the uncles shot to his feet and gripped the bars.
“We got threatened—if we didn’t dispatch the Saintess to our town… It couldn’t be helped!”
“Did they tell you to come apologize?”
“No, but everyone in town…”
“What are you even saying? All for your own convenience. Real idiots.”
The uncle slumped down beside me, looking frustrated.
Yeah, okay, but enough with the ‘idiot’ this and ‘idiot’ that already.
Fine then—what should we have done?
Knock knock.
The old man in the cell across from us was tapping lightly on the wall.
“Hey, what exactly did you come to apologize for?”
We raised our voices so the old man and everyone around could hear, explaining what happened that day—with a bit of exaggeration.
And yet…
“Bunch of morons.”
The old man shook his head with a sigh.
Idiots again.
“You got here in three days? That’s plenty fast.”
Everyone’s saying the exact same thing!
“But Mom was still alive until morning!”
I slammed my fist into the bars as hard as I could.
“The families of those who died instantly aren’t saying that, are they?”
“Because if it’s instant death, no one could’ve saved them anyway.”
Doesn’t this old geezer get it?
“It’s the same thing. ‘If only one day sooner, one hour sooner, one minute sooner’—that’s how it always goes.”
“But…”
The old man snorted. “Not even worth talking to.”
“Suppose you had a healing potion in your hand. You get back to town, and there’s a patient who died without one. Is it your fault they died?”
“Huh? I didn’t even know, so no way it’s my fault.”
The old man let out a huge sigh.
What? What does that even mean?
“It’s the same for the Saintess, isn’t it? She came without even knowing your mom had died. So why is it okay to throw stones at her like it’s her fault?”
Same…
The uncles around us drew in sharp breaths.
What do I do…?
“What did the Saintess do in your town?”
What did she…
“She treated the injured until morning, fixed roads and stuff until her magic ran out, then quietly left…”
My voice trailed off smaller and smaller.
What do I do…?
“Treating people all night, only to get called a ‘murderer.’ Put yourself in the Saintess’s shoes.”
“Stones thrown at her in a strange town. Must’ve been terrifying.”
“Beheading on the spot would’ve been fair. Gotta steel yourself for deterrence like that.”
“””Hahaha!”””
I remembered that scene from back then.
That escort never let the Saintess set eyes on us, no matter what.
The escort knew.
We weren’t even worth entering the Saintess’s field of vision.
We weren’t worth so much as a spot in the Saintess’s memory.
“What do I do…”
The words from all those rowdy people in the jail echoed endlessly in my head.
What horrible things did I say…?
“Get out. Your punishment’s been decided.”
A few days later, we were permanently banished from the royal capital—and then booted from our hometown when we went back.
What idiots we were. I can’t regret it enough.
No place to go, no place to return to—we wandered for months, cowering from magical beasts, barely able to sleep.
We begged our way into a tiny frontier village beyond the mountains, promising to do anything, and finally got to hole up there, letting out a sigh of relief.
It’s a slave-like existence, but way better than living in the woods.
Status records:
“Saintess Assault Crime” and “Permanent Banishment from the Royal Capital”
Apparently, mine will vanish when I come of age—since I was the only one who didn’t throw stones.
Too late now, but Saintess… I’m truly sorry.
Thank you for reading.
*I revised the wording and added a bit because the emotions felt too heavy.
Thanks so much to everyone who bookmarked, rated, or liked!
Typos reports—thank you always, truly!!
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thanks for the chapter