Ch. 45 – Gossip ~ Just a Slum Rat?! Pt. 3

The white haired priestess quickly led us through the halls of the church while we nervously followed behind. Apple and Crystal both just held my sleeves as we walked, doing their very best to avoid attracting the attention of the many priests and priestesses we passed. The reaction of the various people could be split into one of two categories: pure disdain and simple curiosity.

"I'm sorry about my compatriots. Some of them don't have the best manners." Fae said with a regretful expression.

"I don't mind… We're used to the unkind stares of others." I said stoically, right as we arrived in front of a plain wooden door.

"Well, we're here! Time to get you all patched up, the Saintess is waiting for you three inside." Fae said with a grin, opening the door and shooing us inside.

It was a bit jarring for us to suddenly get pushed through the door and the sudden motion sent a twinge of pain up my stump.

"Hey! Don't push me like that!" I retorted angrily, turning my head to scold the white-haired priestess.

"Fufu, Fae was always a bit overeager..." A gentle voice eased its way out from the room, full of warmth and mirth. "Would you forgive her, Rock, for me?"

Creakily turning my head to look at the source of that bewitching voice, I finally laid eyes on the Saintess. She looked a few years older than me, about twelve or thirteen, but the atmosphere about her somehow made her feel much older. Her black hair and flawless skin sparkled, almost as if it was emitting light. Combine this with the fairy dancing about the room and it painted a divinely inspired picture.

"Struck dumb by my beauty?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

Helplessly, I nodded my head.

"Hehehe! I like honest boys. Now, come in, come in! Doesn't that hand of yours hurt?"

Us three orphans awkwardly shuffled inside and carefully sat on the sofa across from the Saintess, doing our best to not put any of our weight on the cushions and dirty them with our presence.

"Show me your hand! We can't have a good talk with your hand like that." She said with a concerned glance toward my unsightly stump. Small pinpricks of blood could be seen leaking through the white bandage, proving the wound was anything but healed.

Tentatively, I extended it in the Saintess' direction, causing her to smile encouragingly.

"It's good you came here so quickly... Even I can't do anything about lost limbs once a certain amount of time goes by." She said as she carefully extended her own hand. Almost without warning, I could feel an unearthly amount of magic condense itself into that hand as she created a glowing white ball. Judging by the earthshaking level of power I could feel her injecting into that orb of light, healing lost limbs was clearly not an easy task.

Seeing the immense amount of power she was expending, I couldn't help but wonder why she'd go through so much effort just to heal someone like me.

As curious as I was, I didn't want to interrupt the Saintess' concentration, so I just looked on stoically as the magic grew brighter and brighter. Expecting some grand incantation or solemn declaration, my mouth dropped open when she flung the magic forward with no more fanfare than a cute little, "Ey!"

The ball stuck itself onto my stump and rapidly went to work. Details obscured by the incandescent rays of light, all I felt was a warm current make its way up my arm as my hand re-grew and forcefully lifted the bandage from the stump. When the light dissipated a few scant seconds later, my missing hand was returned to me - like a miracle.

"Yayyy! Rock's hand is back!" Apple's naive voice joyfully resounded from the side. Even Crystal had tears in her eyes as she stared at my hand with relief.

"It's really back..." I said in disbelief, looking at both sides of my hand - to verify it was actually there.

"Aren't I great?" The Saintess said with her chest puffed out in pride, grinning all the while. Something about that posture and cheeky smile melted my heart. The Saintess was supposed to be a cold and distant figure, far above us grubby mortals, but here she was, acting playful and cute with an orphan like me.

"You really are!" I said with wholehearted admiration. "You're amazing, Saintess! Thank you! Really... I can't thank you enough."

Tears of relief began to pool in my eyes as I gave the Saintess my thanks, spilling out all on their own despite my desire to leave a good impression on this kind girl. Crystal and Apple concernedly helped me wipe them away, trying to reassure me with their presence.

This scene caused the Saintess to smile gently, "Aren't you three just adorable?"

Being called adorable by a beautiful girl not much older than myself caused my cheeks to redden. Seeing my reaction, Crystal's cheeks puffed in displeasure as she stared at me accusingly.

"Fufu, so adorable." The Saintess said with a mischievous smile, clearly aware of the effects of her words. "So adorable, in fact, that I just can't help but want to support you three."