R4STWH - Chapter 80
Chapter 80
Hindel Territory, eastern Lucendria.
The Amern Religious Order’s relief tents were filled with people seeking treatment or a piece of bread.
The tent where Saintess Heerin was stationed was, naturally, the most crowded.
Heerin, having just finished treating a soldier with a chunk of flesh torn from his thigh, wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Saintess, thank you so much. I thought I’d have to have my leg amputated…” The soldier wept, looking at his fully healed leg.
“May God’s grace be with you. Go in peace, brother,” Heerin said, giving her blessing to the young soldier, barely an adult.
‘It’s a good thing I awakened.’
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to treat so many people in a single day.
‘It’s thanks to the choice I made.’
Heerin had accepted Ilesha’s offer to help strengthen the religious order.
She persuaded the reluctant paladins and priests, forming teams according to Ilesha’s manual. Most of them had successfully awakened and gained titles in the process of clearing dungeons.
There was the priest who, unable to bear the fear, had squeezed his eyes shut and swung his mace, earning the title “Crusher,” and the paladin who, covered in blood, had fought ferociously to protect his comrades, gaining the title “Berserker.”
Compared to them, Heerin’s title was rather boring; it was simply “Saintess,” as people usually called her. Crow’s was “Guardian.”
After awakening, her level increased just by treating people according to her daily quests.
Of course, the conditions varied depending on the person. Crow had to run 30 kilometers every day carrying the incredibly heavy shield he'd received as a reward.
It had initially been 10 kilometers, which meant the conditions would likely continue to change.
‘I don’t know how the genre changed so drastically, but I hope we can continue to survive…’
Heerin, who had been struggling with depression after the narrative shifted completely and she lost contact with God, now acknowledged her good fortune.
Ilesha had told her that in her ruined world, the religious, those who served God, were the first to be eliminated.
The more devout they were, the more keenly they felt God’s absence.
Too afraid to even enter dungeons, they succumbed to fear and despair, perishing pointlessly in monster waves.
Learning from that example, the Amern Religious Order had chosen to endure and persevere during this dark age.
Perhaps their god was unable to intervene due to some principle during this period of testing. If so, He might return to them once they overcame this ordeal.
If they didn't forget Him, if they remained faithful, if they didn't lose hope.
Fortunately, the Amern Religious Order’s standing was higher than ever.
They had provided accurate and useful information about dungeons throughout the continent, minimizing casualties, and dispatched awakened priests and paladins to areas lacking manpower, greatly assisting in dungeon clears.
Under Heerin's leadership, they were also actively involved in relief efforts.
‘When the god you serve returns, put in a good word for me. I might be from another world, but I want to settle down here.’
Heerin smiled wryly, remembering Ilesha’s casual request after giving her so much helpful advice.
It was clear that Ilesha was closely linked to the calamity that had befallen this world. She was a tough one, having survived alone even after her world was destroyed.
Although she was the one who had shattered the peaceful daily life of this romantic fantasy world, Heerin no longer felt fear or resentment towards her.
Over the past month, since the first dungeon appeared, Ilesha had worked harder than anyone, tirelessly clearing dungeons to protect the world.
The name “Tenaclad” had become synonymous with the strongest shield and the sharpest sword on the continent.
Whenever a dungeon was about to erupt after repeated failed attempts, everyone's first priority was to request Tenaclad’s assistance.
Those who had lost their homes due to incompetent lords risked their lives to reach Tenaclad.
Elias, the young head of Tenaclad who succeeded Gerent, never failed.
He tirelessly searched for and cleared dungeons day after day, growing stronger at an alarming rate.
No one dared to look down on him anymore.
Even the Emperor, who used to treat him like a servant, tossing him insignificant rewards, couldn’t do so anymore.
Elias Lakdel Tenaclad was the most essential figure in this age of rampant calamities.
‘He was supposed to be the villain, backstabbing the male lead and bringing about his own downfall.’
Unlike in “Fragments of the World,” the novel Heerin had read in her past life, Elias hadn’t ruthlessly slaughtered his family to become the head of Tenaclad.
He had married Ilesha, a character who didn’t even exist in the novel, instead of the Second Princess, to whom he was betrothed but had a distant relationship with, and showered her with affection.
‘What caused such a drastic change?’
She couldn’t figure it out.
And the reason Heerin couldn’t help but be curious about the current situation was…
‘What happened to the male and female leads?’
She understood why Leonard Bytan Lucendria, the supposed male lead whose soul was said to have been swapped, was so quiet. It took time for a soul to adapt to a new body.
However, as expected of someone from a humble family, there had been no news of the female lead.
‘She’s alive… right?’
She couldn’t have died so pointlessly. She was, after all, the half-sister of Elias, the most prominent figure on the continent.
“Saintess.”
Heerin, who had been briefly thinking about the female lead, described as a stunning beauty who resembled her mother, snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name.
Crow, carrying a large shield on his back, was standing before her. She didn’t know when he’d entered the tent.
“What is it?”
“We need to evacuate the relief camp,” he said, his expression grim.
“A dungeon appeared nearby two days ago, and they’ve already failed to clear it twice. The sole survivor said it’s an S-rank dungeon…”
“S-rank?!”
The highest rank dungeon they’d encountered so far was A+, and that was only because the difficulty had been adjusted due to Ilesha’s presence. An S-rank dungeon appearing naturally…
“Evacuate everyone to the nearest gate. And… send a message to Tenaclad requesting assistance.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
Heerin silently prayed that Elias and Ilesha weren't currently in a dungeon and hurriedly began writing a letter to them.
Since we didn’t return to the main house until almost dawn, the sun was already high in the sky when I woke up.
Were our sleep patterns becoming synchronized as a married couple? Elias also opened his eyes just as I woke up and blinked a few times.
He smiled at me, a breathtakingly handsome sight, despite not having washed his face yet.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Of course.”
“Are you tired?”
“Not at all.”
His smile widened at my answer.
“That’s good.” He climbed on top of me, his movements surprisingly agile.
“I was at my limit.” He said it as if he hadn't been intimate with me for days, but that wasn’t true at all.
“We did it this morning…”
“Exactly. I’ve been holding back for six hours.”
“……!”
I couldn’t help but think his stats were truly specialized in this area…
Was I complaining?
Of course not. I welcomed it. I was also getting used to using my abilities for this.
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