A terminal illness meant the other party had to pay a greater price—or, in other words, show greater “devotion.”

As for the method of treatment...

Bishop Kore casually held the scalpel over the candle flame for a moment, then lightly pressed it against Aviva’s abdomen.

All he had to do was cut here, expose the organs, remove the tumor, then casually use a bit of Holy Light to heal the wound. This so-called “terminal illness” would then be cured on the spot. It was that simple.

To Holy Light, which could easily repair even injuries to the internal organs, there was no risk at all so long as his movements were not so rough that the girl died during the procedure.

Of course, even if she did suddenly die, that was fine too. It would only mean she had not been devout enough to the Goddess, had deceived the Goddess, and had received the punishment she deserved.

As a merciful bishop... he had already done his best.

As for any aftereffects that might remain even after she was cured because the procedure had been performed too carelessly... those mattered even less.

Who would care about such minor aftereffects? Was curing your illness not already the Goddess’s greatest blessing?

“Then let us begin.”

Bishop Kore handed the scalpel to the nun. Something this bloody and filthy was, of course, not something he would do himself.

“Yes.”

The nun took the scalpel and, without any preparation at all, pressed the blade straight down along the spot Bishop Kore had just marked out.

The blade slowly sank into the girl’s skin, into her flesh, and a streak of bright red gradually welled up beneath it.

But suddenly—

“Who’s there?!”

The nun jerked her head up and looked behind her.

The doors of the Hall of Sacraments were tightly shut. There was not even a stray breath of wind. Only the candle flames trembled faintly.

“Hm? What is it?”

Bishop Kore, seated nearby and leisurely drinking tea, looked over and asked.

“It’s nothing...”

The nun took a small step back. “I just... felt like someone was watching me.”

“Watching you?”

Bishop Kore frowned and followed her gaze... but there was no one else anywhere in the Hall of Sacraments besides him and the nun.

“No one’s watching you.”

“But... never mind.”

The nun shook her head hard. “I must just be tired.”

She lowered her head and gripped the scalpel again, preparing to continue.

Cut the abdomen carelessly, remove the tumor carelessly, then use Holy Light carelessly to heal it.

That was all there was to it. It was so simple that even a novice nun who had only just learned Holy Light could do it.

It was just that, compared to locking onto the tumor’s location and directly using a large amount of divinely blessed Holy Light to destroy the diseased tissue, this method would cause the girl a little more pain and carry a little more risk.

That was right. Only that.

“I’m starting.”

The scalpel went deeper. Blood welled again—

“Who?! Who is it?!”

The nun spun around again and shouted sharply, “Who’s there?!”

“...”

Of course, there was no one there.

This time, even the candle flames did not flicker.

“What in the world are you doing?!”

Bishop Kore slammed his teacup onto the table and barked,

“What is wrong with you today? Do you dislike working that much?”

“N-no... Your Excellency, I really do feel like someone is staring at me.”

The nun shook her head in panic. “And that gaze... it’s frightening.”

“There’s no one there, no one there, no one there, no one there!”

Bishop Kore pointed around the hall as he angrily berated her. “This is a church. This is the Hall of Sacraments. There’s a Holy Light barrier here. Without my permission, no one can get in! What, are you saying someone outranks me within the Church, slipped in here anyway, and is now hiding and spying on us? Do you take me for blind, do you think I don’t exist, do you think the Church’s Holy Light barrier is just decoration?”

“No, that’s not what I meant...”

“That’s enough. If you won’t do it, I will!”

Bishop Kore snatched the scalpel from her. “You can’t even handle a task this simple. Useless!”

“But—”

“Shut up! If there really is someone here spying on us, I’ll eat this scalpel!”

Bishop Kore cursed under his breath. He had never realized before how painfully slow this nun was.

Looks like he would have to replace her too.

Once those trainee nuns out “gilding their résumés” came back, he would get rid of this one. He was tired of looking at her anyway.

“Honestly, you can’t even manage something this small!”

Bishop Kore gripped the scalpel, ready to finish this quickly, but then he noticed the handle felt sticky. The nun had been so nervous that it was slick with sweat.

“Disgusting. And you call yourself clergy? Bring me some water!”

“...”

The nun did not answer. It seemed she was too frightened to make a sound, though a cup was obediently handed over.

Bishop Kore took the cup and casually poured it over the scalpel’s handle, but the strange color, texture, and scent made him freeze.

“This isn’t water.”

He stared at the dark red liquid and sniffed it. “This is wine. Why are you bringing me wine?!”

“To go with the meal.”

“To go with the meal? What meal? Are you insane?”

Bishop Kore was so enraged that it took him about three seconds to realize something was wrong with that voice.

“Wait... you... who are you?”

Bishop Kore turned his neck stiffly and discovered the nun was not standing beside him at all, nor had she handed him this cup of water—or wine. She was still several steps away, staring at him in terror.

It wasn’t the nun!

Which meant... there really was someone else here?

“Who am I? You forgot already? Even though we were having such a pleasant conversation just a moment ago.”

The air twisted. Color filled a few transparent arcs, and in the blink of an eye, a Slav in a black top hat and a gorgeous formal suit appeared before Bishop Kore.

Before that, he had left no trace at all. He had seemed to appear out of thin air.

“The fat sheep—no, it’s you, the girl’s adoptive father!” Bishop Kore felt as though his heart had skipped a beat. He had never imagined that this cheapened version of the Goddess’s blessing would have a witness.

“I’m not called ‘adoptive father.’ My name right now is Bruce. You never even asked. I suppose in your eyes, a plump little lamb like me doesn’t {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} need a name.”

Muen smiled warmly. His gaze brushed over Aviva lying on the platform, over her tightly shut eyes, her pale little face, and the bead of blood swelling from her abdomen, and his smile only grew gentler.

With a flick of his hand, another glass of wine appeared in front of Bishop Kore.

“Here, go on. Didn’t you say you’d eat the scalpel? I even prepared a nice wine pairing for you. So, would you like to tear it into slices and eat it piece by piece, or swallow the whole thing in one go?”

Muen asked with open curiosity.

“Shut up!”

Bishop Kore was furious beyond measure, and at once put on the full dignity of a bishop.

“I don’t care what your name is, but trespassing into Church grounds without permission is a serious crime!”

“Church grounds?”

Muen laughed again.

“A perfectly ordinary church, a so-called Hall of Sacraments—other than hiding a few shameful secrets, what makes this a holy place? I frequently go much deeper into the Church’s most private places. What is this compared to that?”

“Insolence!”

Bishop Kore shouted as he secretly began to activate the Holy Light barrier in the hall.

He did not know the identity of this arrogant wretch in front of him, but since the man had dared to come here and spy on him, he absolutely could not be allowed to leave alive.

Kore Church—no, Bishop Kore himself—could not be allowed to bear even the slightest stain!

“I don’t know where your confidence comes from, but you need to understand that this... is the Church!”

Bishop Kore flung out a hand, using his authority as bishop to activate the church’s Holy Light barrier. Boundless Holy Light surged forth, divine power from the Goddess descending with the weight of heaven itself, and then...

Nothing happened.

That vast flood of Holy Light fell upon the stranger before him, only to roil once around his body and then go still.

It was like a savage beast leaping at its target, only to discover the target was an even more beloved keeper than its own handler—so it rolled around beside him, acted cute for a second... and that was it?

Huh?

That was it?

Bishop Kore stared blankly, completely dumbfounded. He could not understand why the Church’s power of divine punishment had no effect on this man. He was obviously not one of the Church—how could a man who reeked from head to toe of rich young playboy energy possibly belong to the Church?

There was no time to think.

Thud.

With that dull sound, Bishop Kore felt a violent pain explode through his abdomen, and the power he had just gathered inside him instantly scattered.

He could not even hold on to the scalpel. It slipped from his hand and fell in front of him.

“So weak.”

Muen looked at Bishop Kore collapsed on his knees, his face full of disgust.

“What rank of warrior are you? Third rank? Not even as good as Tyron. Your magic too—you’ve got a fair bit of mana, but it looks like you can’t even use silent casting. All you rely on is Holy Light. Without Holy Light, you’re nothing.

How exactly did trash like you become a bishop? Have the Church’s standards for bishops fallen that low?”

“You... I...”

Bishop Kore’s face twisted, but he was in too much pain to speak.

“Forget it. We can talk about that later.”

Considerately, Muen once again held out the wineglass to Bishop Kore.

“Come on, back to where we left off. Are you going to eat it with wine, or are you more of a coffee person? Do you prefer coffee?”

“Get... get away from me!”

Bishop Kore struggled and slapped the glass away.

“Oh? You won’t eat it? Don’t want to? Or is it that you have no appetite?”

Muen immediately crouched down in concern. After carefully studying Bishop Kore’s pale face for a moment, he slapped his hands together in sudden realization.

“I understand. You’re sick, aren’t you? Because you’re sick, you’ve lost your appetite, so you don’t want to eat!”

“That’s easy to fix!”

Muen turned and beckoned to the nun, who was trembling off to the side.

“You. Come here.”

“W-what... what for?”

“Nothing much.”

Muen pointed at the scalpel on the floor.

“Pick it up.”

“...”

The nun was so frightened she almost bolted, but she also knew that the Hall of Sacraments—sealed off by Holy Light—had now become an absolute cage from which there was no escape.

So under the pressure of that terrible gaze, she shakily walked to Bishop Kore’s side and shakily picked up the bloodstained scalpel.

“A-and then?”

“And then I have to teach you?”

Muen looked genuinely surprised. He tipped his chin lightly toward Bishop Kore on the floor.

“Treat his illness.”

“T-treat... his illness?”

“Yes, treat his illness. Just like what you were doing a moment ago. Treat his illness.”

Muen’s finger lightly traced through the air.

“Understand? Or do you need me to teach you?”

“...But I... I...”

The nun’s teeth were chattering. She had already started crying uncontrollably. Of course she knew what Muen meant... but how could she possibly dare do such a thing to a bishop?

“You won’t do it? Ah, I see. You’re afraid, aren’t you? Afraid. But that’s all right, because...”

Muen gently patted the nun on the shoulder and motioned for her to look where he was pointing.

There, the golden statue of the Goddess stood gleaming, gazing down on her in compassion.

“Look. The merciful Goddess is watching you. She’ll send down her blessing and keep you safe and sound... if she really does send blessings down at all.”