The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 49

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 49
At last it was time to return to the Temple. Count Lebon had come to see us off at the castle gates, and unlike before, his face now carried a hint of ease.
There was relief that the demonic corruption of his domain had been purified, and beneath it all, the practical calculation that he had survived a disaster that seemed moments away from erupting before his very eyes.
“I do hope the House of Lebon will continue to maintain relations with Saint your Highness going forward.”
He spoke these words while bowing, then with utmost naturalness pressed something into my hand.
“The information you requested shall be delivered to you shortly as well.”
The weight alone told me what it was. Heavy. I didn’t bother opening it immediately, instead accepting the Money Pouch with a show of reluctant compliance.
“Don’t rush to bring it to me—take your time and be thorough with the investigation.”
At my added remark, the Count’s lips curved upward slightly. The expression of someone who understood exactly what I meant.
Then I felt a rather pointed gaze from beside me. Sharp enough that I didn’t need to turn my head to know who it was. Arden. His eyes on the Money Pouch were strangely complicated.
I slipped it casually into my robes as though it were nothing. I had no intention of offering unnecessary explanation.
Unlike our first meeting, which had been wretched, our parting took place amidst warm smiles.
As we passed through the castle gates, Lebon Castle receded into the distance, and a familiar structure came into view ahead. The Sierra-Valente Grand Bridge.
Walking across it, I found myself stopping without quite meaning to. It was clichéd, really—standing in a place where something happened in the past and recreating the exact same scene.
But now there were far too many problems with that.
For one, this wasn’t a night with a full moon hanging overhead, but midday with the sun directly overhead. And the person beside me wasn’t Valente, but his descendant, Arden.
Most critically, Arden and I were not people who kissed.
If I grabbed him by the collar right here as I had in the past and pulled him in for a kiss, Arden might well request a transfer the moment we returned to the Temple, citing sexual harassment in the workplace. That would be a thorny development in every sense.
Since I’d stopped in the middle of the bridge, I expected Arden would have gone further ahead, noticed I wasn’t following, and come back.
But surprisingly, he too had stopped halfway across the bridge. When I turned my head, he was already looking at me.
Hmm, his attention to his charge’s safety was quite remarkable. This man really did need to remain my guard knight.
“Your Highness mentioned you had read all the records of the Third Saint.”
Arden spoke slowly.
Strictly speaking, I hadn’t read them so much as carried them entirely in my head.
“Then does the record also explain why the Third Saint kissed the Hero at this location?”
Arden asked quietly.
Why was he curious about that? I didn’t think Arden was like this—was he trying to assassinate me with words?
“Probably just wanted to test whether that legend about eternal lovers was true, and since the Hero happened to be nearby, figured she’d check while she had the chance.”
“The Third Saint must have been quite impulsive. Kissing just anyone out of curiosity about a legend.”
“Because she liked him! Don’t go painting her as some loose-lipped woman!”
The words tumbled out in Sierra’s omniscient perspective, and I realized my mistake only after speaking. Arden let out a soft laugh.
“If we continue standing on this bridge, we’ll likely end up conducting a Monster Raid here just like five hundred years ago. Shall we move on?”
With that, he extended his hand toward me. I hesitated for a moment, then took it with a show of reluctance. Together, we resumed our crossing of the Sierra-Valente Grand Bridge.
Until we completely left the bridge, no Monsters appeared, fortunately unlike five hundred years before. This time, at least, the past remained peacefully in the past.
Thank goodness I didn’t add another embarrassing page to my history!
***
As we rode the carriage steadily toward Temple Territory, the sun began to set and twilight descended.
The horses too grew weary, and the carriage’s pace gradually slowed.
It was certain we wouldn’t reach the Temple by nightfall.
Since the hour was late, I was searching for an inn in a village near Temple Territory where we could spend the night.
The sun had already sunk low, and lanterns were beginning to light one by one in the village alleys, when a raised voice cut through the peaceful atmosphere. At first I thought it might be a tavern brawl, but the voice was far too familiar.
“Excuse me, but how can the price of the same medicine be ten times higher than last month?”
Turning around, it was Deacon Rilette. Her gray Deacon’s robes fluttered with the intensity of her emotion, and across from her stood a local physician wearing a troubled expression, arms folded.
“Deacon, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. The main ingredient in the medicine, Rediment Grass Root, has completely dried up these days. Even the merchants are raising their prices, so what can I do about it?”
“Surely the price wasn’t this high the last time!”
“That’s because the price of Rediment Grass Root wasn’t this high back then. But now it’s skyrocketed completely—what can I do? I’m not digging it up from the earth myself, and I need to cover my material costs too.”
The physician sighed and shook his head. Deacon Rilette’s face grew increasingly taut. Her expression was less anger than the anxiety of someone whose calculations had failed.
She was about to press the matter further when she failed to notice a piece of rubble in front of her, stumbled, and lurched forward.
In that instant, I reflexively reached out toward Deacon Rilette.
Deacon Rilette was caught by the back of her neck in my grip and spared the tragedy of crashing face-first to the ground. Only after steadying herself did she seem to register who I was, her eyes blinking in recognition.
“Saint your Highness?”
“What are you doing here?”
Deacon Rilette was silent for a moment, seeming to choose her words carefully, her lips pressed tight. Then, with a determined expression, she spoke to me.
“Do you happen to have any money with you? Would you be able to lend me some? I promise I’ll repay you.”
The unexpected question caught me off-guard.
What—watching her argue with the physician about medicine prices, it was clear she had patients who needed care. Yet instead of asking for healing, she was asking me for money.
“I don’t have enough for my mother and sibling’s medicine.”
With that single sentence, I suddenly understood why Deacon Rilette had lived such a pinched existence all this time. Two patients at home, not just one.
“If we go without the medicine for even one month, their conditions worsen immediately.”
She clenched and unclenched her fist as she spoke, her voice tight with strain.
“Have you received healing treatment at the Temple?”
“Yes, I have, but it’s a genetic illness…… One treatment won’t do it. I need to receive it periodically.”
I furrowed my brow.
“So it can’t be cured completely.”
“……Yes.”
Rilette nodded.
“But with a Deacon’s standing, the healing cost discount is only ten percent. To receive a fifty percent discount, one would need to become a Priest, and there are still several years before that happens…… It’s quite a financial burden.”
I clicked my tongue sharply at that. Wait, they can really differentiate discounts like this?
“And besides, to receive healing at the Temple, we have to get a new diagnosis certificate every single time.”
A Deacon of Rilette’s standing could’ve easily stolen some healing relic gathering dust in the Temple, but even if she was a small-time crook, she clearly kept to certain principles at least.
I exhaled shortly.
“Let me examine the condition myself. Where are your family members?”
Rilette looked up at me with startled eyes, clearly never imagining I would examine them directly. So that’s why she’d asked to borrow money from the start without mentioning Holy Power?
“They’re very close by.”
“Then let’s go.”
We made our way at once to Rilette’s home.
In a small room lay a pale-faced woman and a child.
The moment I saw their condition, I understood why. This was not an illness Holy Power could cure completely in a single treatment. It was a genetic defect carved deeply into the body—as Rilette had said, it would require consistent Holy Power therapy.
Without a word, I knelt and placed my hands on both their foreheads.
As I carefully channeled Holy Power, the woman’s breathing eased considerably and the child’s spasms began to subside. It wasn’t complete healing, but it was enough to pull them through the immediate crisis.
“It’s not fully cured.”
I turned to Rilette and spoke.
“The interval between treatments will be longer than what medication alone could manage, but you’ll still need to receive healing regularly.”
Rilette’s eyes reddened. She said nothing, only bowing her head deeply. It was the first time I’d seen her so meek.
I looked at her for a moment, then finished all the accounting and extended my hand.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————