"Come this way, please. There's plenty of room for everyone!"

As soon as we left the inn, we were stopped by a sea of people. From the looks of it, nearly every living being in Villeverdure flowed towards the church in a stream so strong we had no choice but to get swept into it. While it did wonders for our need to scan their info boxes, we quickly lost Giulio in the crowd.

Gleaming in the morning sunlight, the church looked more like a cathedral as it towered above the crowd. Its intricate carvings, stone reliefs and grandiose architecture looked much like the images of Notre Dame I'd seen in textbooks, but something about it felt off and I wasn't sure what until Elane pointed it out to me.

"How did they manage to build something like this in just a few years?"

She mumbled, gawking up at the stone face of one of the church's many gargoyles as the bells tolled to signal the arrival of 9:00 AM.

I wasn't sure what to say. Made mostly of wood and stone, I was fairly certain even modern technology would have struggled to pump out a building like this, regardless of how long the contractors spent milking their employer's wallet.

"Maybe it's some kind of magic?" I asked, but she shrugged. Well-traveled as she was, she didn't know much about magic. Instead, she looped an arm around Mana's shoulders and pulled her close so she didn't get lost.

Covering her ears as she walked unsteadily, weighed down by the pout that ruined her good mood, Mana nearly veered off and out of the line of people waiting to get inside and she wasn't the only one that struggled. Though Yua was able to bear the toll of the bells, many of the beast-kin around us also had to cover their ears as they cringed, which only proved the strength of their faith.

Thankfully, the bells didn't last long and the line continued to move at a steady pace thanks to the nun guiding everyone inside. Soon enough, I spotted Giulio on the church's steps with his elderly friend, but the crowd was too thick to push through to him.

I sighed.

"Anything yet?" Yua asked, nudging my arm.

"No. I checked everyone I could see, but most are people we've already okayed."

Again, the leg up I thought I had in seeing people's info boxes was proving to be mostly fruitless.

The air was warm and filled with the scent of sweat and dirt, both from those who wrapped themselves in too many layers and from those who'd left the farm early to attend mass. And, according to Yua's nose, there was also a subtle, lustier smell mixed into the crowd nearby. This smell, I guessed, was likely attributed to the young lovey-dovey couple giggling and holding each other beside us in line.

Back on Earth, I never visited a church, but the people here all seemed like the sort of fine, upstanding and pious people I would have expected to find in one. Or in other words, there wasn't a single bandit amongst them, save for the one we already knew.

A rather sweet-looking nun posted by the church's door greeted Giulio with a kind smile and even went out of her way to clear the path for Peter, the elderly man leaning on his shoulder. Her info box was no more special than anyone else's. She didn't even have a combat class.

The line moved slowly as the people funneled in. Though there were at least forty people gathered ahead of us, it wouldn't take much longer to reach the church's doorstep.

"Elane," I whispered. "You grew up in a church orphanage, right? What exactly are we in for?"

She shrugged. "If the priestess Gino was talking about isn't pretty, you're probably going to be bored the whole time."

"Elane…"

"I'm serious. Do you have any idea how many sermons I've sat through? If you're not an active follower of the faith, sitting through morning mass isn't going to be fun."

And this coming from the woman who actively maintained her virginity despite being a pervert, because her god-fearing caretaker told her to.

"Hmpf."

With a short huff, Mana shoved her head backward, intending to headbutt Elane for ruining the fun before it had the chance to not start, but all she managed to do was bounce her head off Elane's chest. No damage was done.

I rolled my eyes and tapped the shoulder of the man of the lovey-dovey couple, Rost, but not before discreetly hitting him and his girl, Mayni, with a silent cast of the Body Wash spell – for their own sake more than ours. He turned without noticing my meddling and, still unashamedly holding his partner by her waist, he smiled politely.

"Excuse me, we're new to Villeverdure. Could you tell me what the church is like?"

"Oh, it's a gift from Tallow himself! Life here used to be so hard. If one of us ever got hurt in the fields, we could do nothing but hope it healed well enough on its own. But now, all it takes is a quick trip to the church!"

"And it's been so peaceful since the priestess came," said another man.

"Peaceful?"

"Yup! The poor guards never have anything to do but cut up the occasional monster that appears in the forest or haul the local drunks back to their houses."

Ah, no wonder why Lucielle managed to become a guard. Whatever is keeping the peace here is keeping the guards from needing to hone their skills.

"And some of the merchants that pass through bring us potions," said the Mayni. "I remember my dad saying he used to have to send someone to Amoranth just to buy them."

"It's a shame too," Rost shook his head. "Wasn't that why your dad left for Amoranth? Because he got tired of waiting for potions all the time?"

"Mhmm. If only he waited a little longer."

Listening to her speak as though her father impatiently called for a taxi when the bus he'd been waiting for was right around the corner, a whole new pit opened up in my stomach.

"Your father left Villeverdure and never came back… because of potions?"

"Yea. He was never a very patient man."

"At least he's not here to get in the way of our love anymore," Rost said, kissing her cheek, much to her giggling delight.

"Wait, wait. Did you or your mother have some sort of chronic condition that required the regular use of potions?"

"Hmm? No. He used to get them whenever anyone needed them. Our family owns the stable with the fastest horses, after all. Besides, my mother went with him."

"Do you remember if he visited the church before they moved away?" Elane asked.

"Oh, yes. Several times."

I blinked and the pit in my stomach opened up into a deep and very empty chasm. Brow furrowed, Yua discreetly let me know they weren't lying, but I couldn't get over how confident this girl seemed in the face of such an obvious lie.

There was no twitch in her brow, no shaky smile on her lips, no sweat on her palms, no tell that I could see that she was pulling my leg. Her father may have been one of the victims, and she looked genuinely happy to believe that wasn't the case. There was no doubt visible on her face.

Lucielle was telling the truth – the people really don't think anything is wrong with this city.

"Will you be joining us today?"

Before I could come up with another question for the couple, the nun that had been by the church's door appeared beside us. Older, her info box putting her in her late forties, but wearing the wise smile of someone much older on her lips, she gestured towards the church. Apparently, the line had continued moving without us.

"Huh? Oh, yes, sorry."

"No worries, dear. All are welcome in the house of Tallow, including these wonderful members of the beast-kin. But you are holding up the line. So, if you'd be so kind…"

"Right. Sorry. Got a little distracted. Come on, girls."

Putting my hands on Yua's shoulders, since Elane already had Mana in check, I pushed towards the church and through the door.

The Church of Tallow was pretty much what I expected to find in such a large place of worship. A large stained-glass window directly in front of the door refracted all the pretty colors used to create the jagged shape of an elderly man with a long white beard. Set before it was a rather modest-looking dais, which held only a single candle and a thick book whose contents were being debated by a pair of men in priestly garb and a third in field clothes, while the woman beside them shook her head in exasperation.

Before all this were endless rows of pews, most of which were already filled to capacity, and with many more slowly filling up as the stream of attendants continued.

It was an almost chaotic mess of people. Some were trying to find an empty seat, others were chatting away, a few tired-looking women were trying somewhat successfully to wrangle their kids into their seats, while more still were just enjoying each other's company.

The place was about as packed as a can of sardines, but the atmosphere was lively. And yet, for some reason, I felt intensely uncomfortable the moment I stepped inside.

The sheer number of bodies and their closeness to one another kept the place warm, refusing to let the lingering scent of sweat completely dissipate. It was stuffy, but not with holy expectation like a church should be.

I wasn't sure what exactly it was that strained my breath, but I knew it wasn't the same social anxiety I used to suffer from. It was something much deeper. It was like an invisible hand was prodding my back with a very hot finger. A heavy shiver ran up my spine, knocking all the vertebrae out of the way to slap the back of my head, trying to draw my attention to something I just wasn't seeing.

And yet, aside from Mana scrunching up her face to keep from covering her ears again, the girls all looked completely fine. Yua was on full alert as usual, but her calm expression betrayed no signs of worry.

I looked around at the others at the congregation filled mostly with younger people. At the warm colors reflecting off the stained glass and onto the church walls. At Giulio as he talked and laughed with those around him. At the occasional city guard posted inside, each of which were about as lackadaisical as could be.

Amongst them, I found Lucielle, standing in the corner off and away from the crowd. Clearly forcing herself to keep a stiff posture, she pushed up her glasses and quietly scanned the room. She looked tired, really tired. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd been forced to take a double shift. But she looked fine.

Our eyes met only long enough for her to recognize me before she purposely looked away.

I followed her example and removed her from my attention, only to find my eyes resting on the dais at the head of the church. Or rather, at the thick book resting on top of it. Suddenly, I was unable to look away.

It looked like any other book I'd seen in this world, handcrafted and bound in some sort of leather, but it somehow felt more than that.

I clenched my chest as I watched it. Its info box popped up, labeling it as The Book of Valediction, but that's all I could see.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Elane nudged my arm. "You look scared."

"I'm not."

"Hey, I know I said it was going to be boring, but it won't be that bad."

"I'm fine. Really, I am. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Well, we better find our seats. Looks like it's about to start."

After pointing towards the front, where a thin, elderly priest entered the room from a side door. With the support of the plain wooden staff he carried, he slowly made his way over to the dais and the room quickly grew quiet. Following suit, Yua led us towards the first pew that would have us and we squeezed together, only to get boxed in by more people.

I took the elderly priest, a man named Werner, as the head of this not-so-little congregation as, when he smiled at the others fawning over The Book of Valediction, they bowed before taking a gracious step back.

One then turned to retrieve a heavy bronze pitcher whose contents sloshed audibly. Another opened a wooden box set and presented its contents to Father (?) Werner, who pulled a finely sewn stole out of it. After saying some sort of prayer to the cloth, he kissed it and draped it around his shoulders. As he did this, a third priest quietly set an empty chair next to him.

Confused by the process, I kept myself quiet when I saw that nobody else found it odd. Everyone waited patiently as Father Werner began flipping through the religious text, quickly finding the page he was looking for like he had the whole thing memorized.

And as he folded his hands on the page, the side door he came from opened once more. When it did, it felt as though the temperature of the room rose a few degrees. Half of the congregation, notably the male half, leaned forward onto the edges of their seats as she walked out.

Wearing a pure white dress that could have been a nun's vestments, were it not for how it exposed more of her bountiful bosom than it hid, she walked with a sway that seemed to hypnotize every eye in the building. Her breasts, large and inviting, jiggled just enough to draw the occasional furtive glance from the obviously interested, while the strategic slit in her skirt dared their eyes to linger.

A thickly-braided ponytail just as vibrantly yellow as a sunflower's petals cascaded over her slender shoulder, while another much longer braid swayed behind her hips.

She turned to us, all of us, and made her beauty paramount when her lips curled into a smile so sweet that not even the women joined here could've looked away if they wanted. Elane, at least, was slack-jawed.

Her very presence instantly did away with any and all distractions. The only sounds in the room were of her heels clicking against the floor and of the brief wave of soft claps as the people drew their hands together in prayer.

I knew at once that she had to be the priestess we'd heard about when she moved past the empty chair and joined Father Werner at the front.

Behind her walked another more modestly-dressed nun that clutched to her chest a long white staff with what looked like a baseball-sized pearl at its head. She moved first to stand beside the priestess, but after a single look from her, she blushed, bowed frantically and took a step back.

The priestess's smile continued to warm the world and, as her silvery eyes scanned the room, her smile growing more and more comforting by the second, she found me.

She paused, her eyes softening slightly and, all at once, the unease I'd been feeling vanished, but she moved onto the next face as if nothing had happened.

"Good morning, everyone," Father Werner said, snapping me, Elane and the rest of us to attention. "And what a fine morning it is. I see we have some new faces amongst us today and I hope you'll all let me be the first to say this: Welcome. Be assured that Tallow's embrace is strong enough to lift you all out of whatever darkness claims your mind. All you need is to open your hearts to him to begin healing."

At this, the more curious among the crowd began to look around for these new faces, several of which found us and smiled warmly. Meanwhile, a few of those that had been at the inn this morning, quickly looked away.

My cheeks heated up all over again over how our morning fun had been heard and I suddenly felt like I was an irreparable sinner. I mean, I may call them my wives, but since my girls were slaves, we weren't legally married. We couldn't be. So, our technically premarital relations may well have been a violation of Tallow's will – whatever that may be.

Unconcerned, Yua smiled right back at them before focusing her ears ahead, while Mana slumped against Elane, already looking bored out of her mind. Father Werner continued.

"Ah, speaking of healing, I heard that a few of our brothers and sisters were in need of Lady Nerissa's aid. My dear, if you would."

"Of course," the priestess said, clapping her hands together in front of her chest. "Anyone that wishes to receive Tallow's blessing of renewal, please form a line. It matters not how shallow your wounds are, the magic bestowed upon me by the almighty Tallow will heal you. But please remember to let those with more serious injuries take to the front of the line. No need to have them suffer any more than they already have."

Without further ado, and at her word rather than Father Werner's, several members of the congregation stood from their seats and quickly and quietly formed a line. Among them was Giulio, still helping Peter, a couple older people in about the same condition, a pregnant woman and her husband, a couple of kids with tears in their eyes and scrapes on their knees, and at the front, a burly man clutching a bloodied and bandaged hand to his chest. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he clenched his teeth, trying not to let his pain show.

Once they were ready and it was clear nobody was going to join them, Lady Nerissa turned to her aid, who bowed her head and presented her the staff. Accepting it gracefully, she gestured with a free hand towards the empty chair, but her smile was directed to the bloodied man.

"Please, have a seat."

Still trying to keep quiet, but eager to get the show on the road, the man scurried over to sit in the chair and offered up his bandaged hand to her, but their reactions to it were polar opposites. Once he was under the full weight of her beauty, his cheeks reddened and the tension in his shoulders faded almost instantly, like all his pain had been exorcised. But her silvery eyes widened as she covered her mouth to suppress a gasp.

"Oh dear… You poor thing. What in the world happened?"

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Nothin' much. Just an accident. I were cleaning my horse's hooves when I lost my focus and, erm, she stomped on my hand."

"Oh my word! You should really pay more attention. Didn't the same thing happen a few weeks ago? And then again a few weeks before that?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm a…"

"He's making excuses just to talk to you!" shouted another man and everyone laughed. Even the priestess giggled a little, a soft rouge coloring her cheeks. The bloodied man, though, only grew redder.

"That's not true! Priestess, I wouldn't waste your blessings like that, I swear!"

"It's quite alright. But they are not my blessings, they are Tallow's. I am merely a conduit for his love. Now, let me see your hand."

Without needing to be told, Lady Nerissa's aid began untying the man's bandages, quickly reigniting his failing attempts to hide his pain. He gripped the side of the chair and clenched his teeth as the mangled mess that was his hand was unraveled.

His index and middle fingers were broken, both bent at odd angles. One fell back, dangling and barely hanging onto his hand by a thread of skin. Fresh blood continued to pour down his forearm.

Those that were joking and laughing moments ago quietly began praying for him, but the priestess was different. Her golden brow developed a serious arch as she leveled the jeweled end of her staff at his hand. She steadied her breathing and he gripped the edge of his seat harder.

"Eldas Aetheri! Sana Lentor!"

As the incantation reached its crescendo, a radiant white light flared out of her staff and flooded the air around the broken hand.

The bones in his fingers began to shift, straightening themselves back out with a series of quick and disturbing pops. He gritted his teeth, bearing an unimaginable pain, but when the white of his bones began fusing themselves back together, he relaxed. He, we, watched in amazement as the torn flesh and muscle of his hand then began to stretch over the wound where it pulled and stitched itself back together. When all was said and done, there wasn't even a scar left to show he'd ever been injured.

"Phew."

Lady Nerissa let out a contented sigh and smiled at her work and at the man, before a stern look from her made him flinch. Moving her staff behind her back, she aimed a finger at him and shook it, causing her breasts to jiggle right before his eyes.

"You better start paying better attention to your work, mister. Relying on Tallow is one thing, but you are only making yourself suffer."

"Y-Yes, Ma'am. I'll be more careful!"

The man quickly stood, bowed to her and returned to his seat. I waited until the next person in line took the seat beside the priestess – an elderly woman complaining about a sprained ankle – before I gave up and folded my arms.

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Yea," Elane agreed. "It's always a sight, seeing healing magic in use."

"No. Not that. I…"

… I didn't learn the spell she just used, but I can't exactly say that out loud.

I met the requirements of my Easy Spell Copy trait by both seeing and hearing her spell as it was cast, and I have the incantation memorized, but I got nothing. Even a quick menu check at the list of spells I know shows nothing new. And again, as she healed the old lady with another spell, I still learned nothing.

Maybe it's because her incantations are in a language I don't understand?

"Well, do you think a high-tier health potion could do that?"

"Nope. At least, none that I've seen. Pretty sure you'd need one potion to fix the bones and another to fix the skin, but I'm not the Apothecary here, am I?"

"I suppose not…"

We watched as the priestess made short work of the injured and I still didn't manage to learn anything more than the incantations she used. I thought about trying to move closer to make sure I was hearing her clearly, but then Giulio and the old man holding onto him slowly made their way to the stage.

After helping the man sit down, Giulio gave him a playful half-salute and then a quick bow to Lady Nerissa before lifting just his chin to smile at her. Without even trying, he looked the part of the knight in shining armor offering to protect his delicate priestess.

Clinging now to her staff, pressing it between her thighs, Lady Nerissa smiled back, this time even more warmly and, this time, bringing out a few displeased sighs from a few of the other women in the room.

Before Lady Nerissa could raise her staff again, Giulio left his friend in her clearly capable hands and stepped off the stage as if he hadn't noticed the difference in how she looked at him. Instead of returning to his pew, he then lined up along the wall like the rest of the city guard.

"Hoho? See, now that's interesting."

Intrigued myself, and wondering where Elara was, I focused again on Lady Nerisaa, this time prompting her info box to appear. It took me only less than a handful of seconds to read through it all, but when I finished, I palmed my face.

Lady Nerissa Gilderose was not only a priestess, a level 29 Cleric and something called a Dark Shepherd. It was a class I'd never heard of before, but I could guess what its purpose was by its name.

More than this, she somehow had the Bandit tag under her name.

I closed my eyes to steady myself, then quietly re-read her info box to be sure. I then focused on her staff, thinking it might have been Lucielle's Unlucky Thorn, but its info box named it Tallow's Illuminara.

"You don't know the half of it."

Trying to be discreet, I pat Mana's thigh and nodded towards Yua, asking for her to grab her attention and in turn, Mana happily did the same to Elane, but the blonde failed to get the memo and instead wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders to pull her closer. However, Yua noticed the commotion and turned our way anyway.

"Focus on the priestess," I whispered as low as I could, though the family sitting next to us were much too focused on what was in front of them to notice.

Yua nodded and turned her ears to the front, but I really wasn't expecting anything. Like Giulio, Lady Nerissa was hiding in plain sight. I doubted she'd do or say anything incriminating in a room this packed.

Once the last of the injured had been healed, Lady Nerissa handed her staff back to her aide, who in turn handed her another copy of their holy text. As she turned the pages to catch up to the page Father Werner was on, the parishioners all started clapping and praising her.

Startled and with her cheeks tinged pink, Lady Nerissa inclined herself into a slight bow before stepping behind Father Werner, who cleared his throat.

"Thank you for your help as always, Lady Nerissa. Now, let us get started.

Father Werner began reciting various passages from The Book of Valediction, all of which were related in one way or another, but despite the biblically-epic tales of right and wrong, my thoughts slowly began to drift.

It wasn't because I found it as boring as I was promised it'd be that I started to tune it out. In fact, Memorization was actively engraving every word the father said into my mind for me.

No, it was because I was too focused on the priestess to care about anything else.

At first glance, and every glance past that, her serene, almost-motherly aura gave no impression that she could ever be anything close to a killer. Giulio I could believe, but her? I had a hard time with it, but clearly, she was. What's worse is that she didn't appear to have a shred of remorse over it as she stood there peacefully following along with the sermon.

Had she sought redemption for her crimes through the church? Or did she kill after joining? Did it matter? A killer was a killer.

Trying to find the answer anyways, I tried to cast the Thought Steal spell on her to take a peek into the mind of a killer, but she was too far away. I leaned forward in my seat as much as I could and tried again and still got nothing. Only, the moment I failed to connect, her silvery eyes lifted off the page and looked straight at me.

Our gaze met for the second time and, this time, she lingered. She smiled, the gesture just as sweet as it had been before I knew the truth, but she stayed on me until Father Werner called on her to read a passage. And, practically beaming with joy, she did just that.

"And so, his prophet said that Tallow's compassion outshone his wisdom that day when he listened to the unending trepidation in the hearts of his followers, for who but he could know what lay beyond the inevitable? He shared with them but a small taste of the truest of truths when he said that life on Ternia was only the beginning. That there was a greater horizon far beyond what any mortal mind could know. A wondrous place where his followers and those willing to reflect on their folly will go when their time has come – and that place is The After. And that place is where you'll find his loving arms."

The heavy sound of a book slapping closed echoed in the church and Lady Nerissa continued, eyes closed and, with her arms raised outstretched overhead, she preached as though she wanted her voice to reach the heavens.

"So go on Tallow's children, said the prophet! Fear not tomorrow or the weeks and days thereafter! To live is to cling to his grace and to die is to live knowing that you shall one day break bread at his table! And you shall finally be home!"

Nodding along with a proud smile as Nerissa finished, somehow failing to notice how her chest heaved after her outburst, Father Werner continued for her as if it were normal.

"What this passage means is simply this: there is life after death. Knowing this, there is no reason in letting fear prevent you from living your lives. No matter the troubles you face, no matter the hardships, what comes after it all will always be worth the effort."

"I don't know about that."

Slouched, and with an arm draped over the back of the pew, his relaxed posture betraying a smirk his lips couldn't cash on their own, was a man whose voice might as well have been nails on a chalkboard.

All eyes fell on him, some narrowed in annoyance, others in abject disbelief over the interruption of what was supposed to be a positive message – and one I probably would have done well to listen to back on Earth.

The man remained unmoved as he focused on Father Werner. Father Werner met his gaze calmly and folded his hands neatly on his book.

"I'm sorry, I don't recall your face. May I ask your name?"

"Recult, and you wouldn't. I'm not from here."

I brought up Recult's info box to see if the church's heckler was more than a disruption, only to find him to be nothing more than a Carpenter and a Merchant.

"Don't be so rude," said the woman behind him, prompting him to turn and I recognized his smirk as belonging to the man we let pass us on our way into the city yesterday.

"Apologies, I don't mean to be," he said, then turned back to the priest. "But I can't abide by the idea of pretending not to fear the future, when it is that same fear that forces people to act. Think about it, were it not for soldiers fearing the blade, the shield never would have come to be. How can you tell these people to just roll over and ignore what may one day end their lives?"

Gasps erupted throughout the room, but Father Werner nodded sagely and responded with a easy smile.

"Ah, I see. You're the reactionary sort, then. May I ask if you're a follower of Vytin?"

Recult scoffed, offended enough apparently to sit up straight.

"Vytin?" I repeated.

"The God of Destruction," Elane said, then added, "His followers are just a bunch of brutish nuisances."

"I follow no gods," Recult said. "But I've passed through many a village where the people do, and I'd rather not mention how many of them I've found laid to waste. Walls torn down. Houses set ablaze. Women sullied in the streets either dead or with children they never wanted. All while the able-bodied hide away like cowards in their churches waiting for the trouble to pass when they could have helped."

He stood, fists clenched and nervous murmurs resounded. The reason for the city guard's presence in the church became apparent when Giulio stepped behind the man and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mio amico, maybe you should settle down, ey? Just have a seat and listen to the pretty lady speak for a while."

The worried look on Giulio's face said he didn't want to cause a scene by letting this continue, but it was Lady Nerissa who responded to the man's claims of barbarism.

Clutching her copy of The Book of Valediction to her bosom, she pressed her lips together as if to hold back tears before speaking.

"I am so, so terribly sorry you had to see such things, but you are mistaken. While it is one of the world's many unfortunate truths that sinners often bring harm to the weak and the faithful alike, but Tallow does not teach us to give ourselves to these villains any more than he asks us to commit their sins ourselves."

Many in the crowd nodded enthusiastically, clasping their hands together in praise for Lady Nerissa's speech and she hugged the book tighter to her chest.

"Since this is your first time with us, you may not know that Tallow teaches us to cherish life. And to cherish something is to want to protect it, to embrace it, to face it with every ounce of passion you can muster. That is what life before The After should be. I cannot speak for them or their gods, but I'm sure those who chose to hide within the church only did so because it was their only option."

"Yea, yea, sure. I only stopped here to see what you had to offer, but I can see now that it's all the same fluff your kind always spews. I'm out of here."

Recult brushed off Giulio's hand and awkwardly stepped through the tightly-packed pews full of scowls and made his way to the door without acknowledging any of them.

Left standing there in the middle of a room full of seated city-folk, the majority of whom turned their attention to him once the church doors closed again, Giulio scratched the back of his head.

"Haha. Sorry. I, uh, I'll see him out."

With one hand on the hilt of his sword to keep it from knocking against anything, Giulio hurried for the door. And naturally, a few of the women in the room complained under their collective breaths at his sudden departure.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Father Werner admitted, touching a hand to Lady Nerissa's arm. She stiffened in clear delight as he continued. "But let us not blame this man for not understanding. It would be folly to think less of him when we know nothing of what troubles him. Instead, let us hope he comes to see Tallow's light before it's too late."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Lady Nerissa smiled sweetly as she reopened her book. "Now, how about we partake in communion, shall we?"

The priest holding the pitcher stepped forward and set his burden on a small table as it was placed next to the chair they used for healing. Her eyes still resting on the book in one hand, Lady Nerissa skillfully smoothed the back of her skirt with the other before taking a seat.

A golden chalice was placed next to her as she read aloud, and as she did, everyone in the room clasped their hands together in prayer and spoke in unison with her.

""Dear Lord of the After, we come to you as humble mortals asking for the right to live in thy name. Sanctify this water and let it be to us the elixir of life. With it, may our faith and our lives be strengthened and fulfilled with your love, and may our spirits someday reach your grace.""

Mana jumped a little at the room suddenly filling with voices, but everyone was too lost in their prayer to notice that we didn't join in. But when they finished and raised their heads, looking oddly refreshed as they began to stand, we were forced to do the same. With our pew blocked at both ends, we ended up following the others as the rows became one long, winding line leading to the front of the church.

Lady Nerissa remained seated and lifted the pitcher as though holding something delicate and poured its contents into the chalice. She held the golden cup before her lips and whispered another silent prayer before taking a sip.

When she finished, she ushered the first person in line to come and do the same. She held the chalice for them, pouring this supposed elixir down their throats, smiling all the while, even when a few of the men lingered a little too long before the next could go. And whenever the chalice ran dry, she'd refill it, say her silent prayer again, take another sip and the line would move again.

Caught up in the flow of people, we followed along. As we waited our turn, and as we inched closer to the priestess, I slipped past the girls so I could go before them. As expected, this earned me a few withering looks, but I didn't care. With what I just learned about this priestess, I wasn't about to take any chances.

We waited and waited, watched as those that received communion either stayed to chat with one another or left the church to start their workdays. The priestess and I locked eyes again only once when we neared the front of the line, but she quickly turned her attention back to the pouring.

That is, until it was my turn and the sweetness of her silvery eyes lured me forward. The closer I got, the more unsteady my heart felt and the more she smiled. And as I stepped in front of her, I realized just how cruel the world could be.

The priestess Nerissa was undoubtedly beautiful and yet, she was a killer. As my brain brandished a sword of cold hard logic named "she murdered someone", and dueled with my heart, who bore the weapon of "she might have been forced to," I forced logic to win out when I paused before her and looked back to my wives.

Her cheeks showing no signs of smile-induced fatigue, Lady Nerissa tilted the chalice towards me. Taking the offer, I quietly scanned the chalice's contents by both casting Appraisal and checking its info box to see if there were any additives or poison in the water, but found that the clear liquid was simply labeled "Holy Water."

So, I let her hold the chalice to my lips and drank. I finished the last drop and, when I felt no different, I met her gaze again.

"Oh my," she said. "I don't believe I've seen you here before. There are so many new faces today."

"Haha, yea. We're kind of shopping around for a religion right now. I hope you don't mind."

"Shopping around?" she repeated, looking genuinely taken aback. "What a strange way to test your faith, but you are perfectly welcome. And know this, no matter which god you choose to follow, Tallow will always be waiting for you in the After."

She looked utterly defenseless, but that was probably because I wasn't dressed as an Adventurer this time. I couldn't let the situation or my job get the better of me here. If I did anything stupid, I doubted we would make it out of here unscathed.

So, since she looked like she was waiting for me to speak, I asked the first question that came to mind.

"I heard you mention the god Vytin earlier. Out of curiosity, if he is the God of Destruction, what is Tallow the god of?"

At this, her brow turned upwards as her smile grew strained.

"W-Well, Tallow is commonly known as the God of Death, but!" she quickly added. "But he isn't. That is a common misconception made by those who don't try to learn the truth. Tallow is the God which governs The After. He is the one who will, when your time in this world is up, decide what happens to your soul after you've reached his table."

Taking the After to be their version of Heaven, I nodded.

"I see. Must be hard to recruit new followers with that sort of misunderstanding floating about."

Lady Nerissa let out a small, delicate sigh and nodded, tilting the pitcher over the chalice to refill it.

"It really is. But once I'm given the chance to explain things to them properly, people tend to open up rather quickly."

I smiled, but with her looking so defenseless, she really wasn't making this easy.

I wasn't itching to get to the killing, like Elane joked, nor was I making excuses to avoid it. And yet, knowing what I know of her, I still had a couple spells lingering on the tip of my tongue that I had to fight off. Killing her in the house of God, even if Tallow wasn't my god, was a line I knew I couldn't cross.

Even more than Giulio, this woman was a beloved and very public figurehead. Bandit or not, attacking her while she's surrounded by Tallow's faithful could only result in tragedy. I doubted they'd be willing to give us a chance to explain, assuming we even had a chance. Again, like Giulio, I had no tangible proof of what she really is.

Unless… Maybe I don't need evidence.

Maybe, if I brought up the murders, then skewed the conversation into being about her being a bandit, something I shouldn't be able to know, it'd startle her enough to break her composure. Getting a direct confession may be unlikely, but if I can shake public perception of her while we gather some sort of proof, we could have our chance.

Deciding this, I formulated my plan of attack and kicked into action.

"I actually have another question, if you don't mind."

Lady Nerissa cocked her head, admittedly looking quite cute doing so, but she showed no signs of raising her guard. Perfect.

"About the…"

"Excuse me, but don't you think you should step aside and let someone else have a turn?" Father Werner cut in and, though the look in his eyes was stern, he leaned in and whispered, "Also, if you would, please stop staring at the Priestess's chest. It's really quite rude."

At this, Lady Nerissa shifted in her seat, but the only signs of discomfort I saw in her was the slight red tinge to her cheek. Although, she did lift the chalice higher, discreetly covering her cleavage.

"Wha… But I wasn't… I didn't…"

Cheeks heating, I turned to my girls for backup, only to find Elane failing to hide her snickering behind a hand, Mana looking bored out of her mind and Yua still focusing all her attention on Lady Nerissa.

However, the others in line, a few of which happened to be familiar faces from the inn, all looked at me in ways I'd rather not describe.

Ah… I see… My credibility with them is already zero, isn't it?

Seriously. I have three wives, two of which often end up spending their days lounging about the house half-naked. So, why am I still like this? And why am I never aware of it until I get called out?!

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's quite alright," Lady Nerissa said, having put aside her own embarrassment to bless another chalice. "I know my appearance may appear to be a little uncouth, but I assure you these garments are merely the sanctified vestments of a priestess of Tallow. Thank you for giving our church a chance and may you have a blessed day. Oh," she raised a hand to usher the next person over, but continued. "Should you wish to get those dirty thoughts out of your head, please feel free to come to confession. I'll gladly hear you out."

"Thanks…"

Hanging my head in shame, I slumped to the side wall of the church where I hid and waited for the girls. As I did, though, and as I made sure nobody was watching me, I finally managed to cast the Thought Steal spell on Lady Nerissa. In seconds, her thoughts flowed through my mind as if they were my own.

Oh, this is wonderful. We have so many new people visiting today! So many new faces ready to be illuminated by Tallow's light!

Hmm, that boy a moment ago was cute, but he didn't look very faithful. Though his curiosity about the church may well be Tallow's way to his heart.

"…"

Oh? Oh, my. This blond woman's chest is rather large. I wonder if I should ask her to cover up more next time she visits. That shirt exposes way too much of her cleavage. Not that I'm one to talk, I suppose. And, hmm, what's that pink thing under her shirt? Actually, why is she smiling at me like that?

"…"

Eh, what's this? This little cat girl is so cute! She must truly have been blessed to receive such a wonderful appearance. It's a shame she looks so bored, though… W-Wait, young miss. You're drinking too much of the holy water! But I, oh, she looks so thirsty.

"…"

And another cat girl. Another fine face, but why does she look so serious? Haha… Did she not like our sermon? I wonder what I could say to change her mind… Oh, she's gone. Hey, she's headed over to that boy. Hmm. A cat girl and a human boy… I wonder if they're those… Oh, look, another new face! What a blessed day!

"…"

As she smiled and poured water for yet another guest, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell kind of a bandit this woman was supposed to be? I don't think I've ever seen anyone so enthused about church before. And she's supposed to be a killer?

With my spell unable to delve deeper, I was only able to listen in on what was on the surface of her mind. Meaning I had no proof of anything other than that she found both Mana and myself cute – a strange thought, considering how powerful a cutey Mana is.

"Hey, we're ready."

Forced to disconnect my spell by a sudden shaking of my shoulder, Lady Nerissa's thoughts instantly vanished from my mind. Yua let go and Elane, still smirking, threw a thumb over her shoulder at the door where Mana was waiting for us.

"I'm guessing you're not, but you look like you're ogling the priestess again. Maybe we should get out of here."

Realizing that my spell had left me staring at Lady Nerissa, now from afar like a creeper, I decided it was best I didn't check to see if anyone noticed as we headed for the door.

"Got lots to tell us?"

"… And I don't think any of it's good news."

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