The State Of The Hero Party

――Meanwhile.

――The Hero party led by the Second Prince, Sylvan.

“Huh!? What do you mean you can’t heal it?! I’ll pay any amount of money, I told you!”

“Your wound has been left untreated for quite some time since the injury; it can no longer be healed by restorative magic. It is only my inexperience… I’m terribly sorry.”

“Save the apologies! Then fetch someone who can heal it, damn it!”

The Hero party had come to the headquarters of the Holy Church in the capital’s central district—commonly called the Grand Cathedral.

The one shouting in one of the rooms was the Heavy Knight Garen, seconded from the royal palace knights.

His right arm was wrapped in bandages.

After losing their pack bearer Sid, he went into a dungeon without him, made a mistake, and was struck by a Poison Goblin’s attack.

At the time Garen thought it was just a goblin’s attack and postponed treatment, but a few days later he felt something wrong with his arm, and before he knew it he was tormented by severe pain and couldn’t grip a sword, let alone a knife.

“Hey~ ❤ You’re the daughter of the Saintess of Mercy, right~ ❤ So just fix a little wound like this in a jiffy~ ❤”

Lilium, the Mage of the Hero party attached to the Holy Church, suggested that the clergy at her old home, the Grand Cathedral, might be able to heal Garen’s wound.

They used Prince Sylvan’s authority to knock on the cathedral’s doors—but even there they were told Garen’s wound could not be treated.

Bowing to them was Sister Florence Cuticle—the sister who recently fought alongside Sid Ranorus in the S-Rank Dungeon【Crimson Night Moon】.

Florence had been designated under the belief that the daughter of the ‘Saintess of Mercy’ might be able to do something, but as she’s still in training, the request was a heavy burden for her.

“Damn it! To have my arm cut off because of goblin poison is a shame that will last generations! Impossible!”

“When his wound was shown to a physician, we were told that if the poison has progressed this far, amputation would be necessary to save his life. He is indispensable to the Hero party. I’ve heard that if it’s one of the relics the Holy Church possesses, his wound could be healed. Could you please, I beg you?”

“So please, Your Highness! Please lift your head! It would be presumptuous to ask a mere sister!”

“Then I would like you to refer me to the College of Cardinals who manage the relics.”

“E-even if it’s at His Highness’s request, we cannot so easily use the relics…”

“You’re useless, so I said bring someone important! You don’t understand anything! I get pissed off looking at incompetent people, you damn fool!”

“Garen, you’ve gone too far. She’s scared.”

The Heavy Knight Garen had previously vented his stress by mistreating their pack bearer Sid.

But Sid was gone, and Garen, hot-tempered by nature and unable to control his emotions, couldn’t be satisfied unless he took his anger out on someone.

“I-I’m sor…ry…”

Florence shrank back at Garen’s angry voice, tears welling at the corners of her eyes, ready to spill.

“Your Highness and party—she is still in training. If there has been any discourtesy on our part, please forgive us.”

“L-Lady Sheena!”

“Ah ❤ Lady Sheena ❤ Long time no see~ ❤”

A tall female Holy Knight entered the cathedral’s reception room.

Upon seeing the long-haired blonde in a ponytail—the female Holy Knight Sheena Aytel—Florence and Lilium cried out.

For reference, the Assassin Ruru was also present but, in true Assassin fashion, kept a low profile and stood in the corner of the room without uttering a word.

“Long time no see, Lilium—good to see you’re well.”

“I’m fine~ ❤”

Lilium was a Holy Knight seated in the Knights of the Stigmata and was familiar with Sheena.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

Asked the Hero, Sylvan.

“I am Sheena Aytel, Third Seat of the Knights of the Stigmata—the Third Stigmata. I am the mentor for that sister, Florence. I deeply apologize for the trouble our incompetence has caused Your Highness and your party.”

“No, don’t worry about it. Our Garen was rude. He’s usually reliable, but he’s been mentally shaken by his arm injury. Forgive him.”

Sylvan tried to smooth things over, though Garen’s rough speech had been that way even before he was injured.

“That said, Lady Sheena—apparently ordinary healing magic cannot cure Garen’s arm. We’d like to borrow the power of a relic the Grand Cathedral holds; could you put us in touch with the College of Cardinals who manages the relics?”

“I’m sorry. Relics are the treasured remains of past saints, highly revered by the Holy Church. Even at Your Highness’s request, they cannot be taken out so readily.”

“Even if it’s my Father’s—His Majesty the King’s—word?”

“I’m afraid that would still be the case.”

The Holy Church is established as the state religion and wields immense power in the kingdom, sometimes even more influence than the Royal Palace.

For a church that values tradition and protocol, using a holy relic cannot be permitted simply because a member of the royal family asks for it.

When the Crimson Vampire Princess of the S-Rank Dungeon【Crimson Night Moon】was slain, the head of the Knights of the Stigmata—Oswald Weidenreich—took out several holy relics as a precedent.

However, even that required numerous meetings of the College of Cardinals before permission was finally granted.

“However, I have one piece of information that may be of use to Your Highness.”

“Oh…? What is it?”

“The recently appeared A-Rank Dungeon【Blue Orchid Lake】—according to the Adventurer’s Guild’s investigation, its Boss is Windine.”

“Windine… If I recall correctly, it’s a large Spirit-type monster adept at healing magic.”

“Exactly. And it is common knowledge among adventurers that when you defeat a Dungeon Boss, items related to that Boss will drop.”

“I see… In other words, if we clear the A-Rank Dungeon【Blue Orchid Lake】, there’s a chance we could obtain a magical device to heal Garen’s arm—just getting that information made this trip worthwhile. Thank you.”

The Hero party left the Grand Cathedral.

They were headed for that A-Rank Dungeon【Blue Orchid Lake】.

Coincidentally—it was the same place Sid Ranorus was heading to in order to rescue a slave girl.