Chapter 4: Attack
TL: Scaramochi
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We were led to a dining room for the faithful and served drinks.
With compassionate eyes, Eilia looked at Tiana, who was holding a cup with both hands.
With my permission, Tiana excused herself and Eilia spoke to me in a hushed voice.
"That girl. She's been through a lot up until now. Please take good care of her."
"......Oh."
"That girl had other siblings, but her parents chose her to be sold because she was a useless cripple. She told me the story when she was in a daze with the cure spell. That's why she was so desperate. Poor girl......."
Eilia opens her furrowed brow.
"But Harris is amazing. I can't believe you opened that girl's heart so quickly. I completely trust you. She had a lot of hard times in her life, but this is going to pay off."
Looking at the tears shining in Eilia's eyes, I gazed blankly at the priestesd who was making a grand mistake.
Is today a special day for misunderstandings?
My hands are wrapped by Eilia's soft ones.
"I was blind not to realize that you are such a wonderful person. There are good people, even those who use lock-picking and trap-dodging techniques."
Eilia reaches into her chest through the folds of her robe and pulls out a small thin metal plate and hands it to me.
The plate, which felt warm against my skin, was inscribed with an intricate coat of arms and sacred script.
"This is the sign of the Society of Friends. If you take this with you, you can receive treatment at any of our temples. We have had the names of Harris and Tiana put here."
"Thank you."
I finally speak up.
"Well. The scar on her cheek is still there for now, but it will eventually fade and disappear. So there's no need to treat it again. Her skin is still rough, but she is young and should be fine in a month. You don't want to do too much magic and have a backlash, do you?"
A voice comes from beside me as I try to make conversation.
"Master. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Tiana bows her head.
I realize once again that she is so small and neat from the appearance I saw this morning that it is hard to believe that she is the same person.
Maybe Eilia is a higher ranking priestess than I thought.
Eilia stands up and bows her head.
"I have some business to attend to, so I will leave you here. May the grace of God be with you all."
With a blessing, Eilia left.
I carefully put away my plate of free treatment.
Except for injuries serious enough to take off an arm or a leg, a plate that guarantees to cure most of it's owner's wounds and poisons for free is not so easy to come by. I've heard of people who have tried to buy them with gold, and they cost as much as 100 gold coins.
I got up and walked out of the building, past the temple grounds, and into town.
The sun was still high in the sky, so I decided to buy some food and other things that would last me for a while and then head home. I stopped Tiana, who said she would carry the food. She was apparently weak, but she would only be in trouble if she couldn't make up the distance she had to walk.
I was worried, but Tiana was surprisingly able-bodied.
"Thanks to the Master, I can walk easily now that my legs has been healed."
She says as she sings with grateful eyes.
She's still sometimes too frightened to speak well to strangers she's never met before, but to me, she sounded like the sound of a bell.
After about seven days in the field, we pass the most difficult part of the road. It was a disaster that we took the back roads over the mountains, avoiding the main highway, which was a long way around.
Three pig-faced orcs spotted us walking along the road and attacked us from behind.
It was unusual to see them wandering around outside. We wondered if there might be an entrance to an unknown dungeon nearby?
It's not often I get attacked by these guys unless I'm in a dungeon.
My doubts were soon cleared up.
The target was Tiana.
I don't know how they do it, but orcs are known to rape women of other races and breed with them.
In the countryside, it is said that sometimes there are incidents where villages are attacked and women are taken away and never returned.
I looked to the side and saw that Tiana had turned blue and was shaking.
Apparently, she had heard of orcs and their practices.
I took Tiana by the hand and we walked up the hill. There was a cut through the road ahead, and there was barely enough room for a single person to pass.
I pushed Tiana along, and when I looked back, I saw an orc drooling and chasing after us with a terrible look on his face.
"Master, Master! If I don't do something, they will catch up with us! Please leave me!"
Tiana panted and squeezed out her voice.
Seeing the drooling orc running down the mountain road, Tiana tried to push me off.
The orc's loin cloth is pushed up in an ugly manner, as if they intends to turn me into a piece of meat and enjoy a sexual feast beside me.
"Don't be silly. You, do you have any idea what you'll be in for if you get caught?"
"But Master will be killed! I regret that I haven't repaid you for your kindness, but please runaway from here!"
She was in tears as she tried to push me away with her frail arms.
Tiana's desperate pleas come up empty, and the orcs arrive.
"Gufufu. Keep running, sweet child!"
"You're having fun, aren't you?"
I gently tapped Tiana's hand, which was shaking from the selfish orc.
Then, I stepped forward to cover her.
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