Chapter 284: 60. Healing Rot Church
Fisher’s gaze was heavy, and at that moment, his eyelids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds. No matter how much effort he exerted, he could only lift them a little, much like the exhaustion that surges when one has a fever, but unlike ordinary humans who feel discomfort due to illness, he was simply too tired.
His memories at that moment were somewhat hazy. He only remembered struggling to swim forward amidst a raging storm, lacking even the strength to determine his direction, accompanied only by an unending fatigue and the salty taste of the ocean.
Fisher groggily opened his eyes, but everything in front of him was exceedingly blurry, making it impossible for him to recognize anything. The ringing in his ears thundered like a storm, and the clocks chiming in the surrounding environment suddenly transported him back to his youth at the church school.
He remembered that in the church school he attended as a child, there were also such chimes. The church liked to use heavy bells to mark the time, and they referred to these bells as “Warning Bells,” aligning with the story in the Genesis where the Mother God exiled her children to the mortal realm to experience hardship. The sound of the bells admonished those who heard them to maintain good morals and not to indulge themselves.
Fisher opened his mouth, and everything in front of him was incredibly blurry; he could only vaguely make out a female figure in nun’s attire with her back to him. The aroma of seafood stew around him made him feel hungry, but even so, he still thought he was dreaming.
“Teresa?”
In Fisher’s unclear line of sight, the figure of the blonde woman in a black nun’s robe slowly began to overlap with a memory of someone, prompting him to call out unconsciously.
Do you remember that Fisher grew up in the church school of Saint Nali? In charitable institutions like church schools, there were often clergy responsible for their work. They would teach the children growing up in the school the tenets of the Genesis and impart some life skills.
One of the most memorable figures for Fisher was a nun from the church named Teresa.
Although he often recalled her primarily for her impressive figure, it was evident that she possessed other, even more noteworthy qualities that made him remember this nun with whom he spent only a few years until now.
“Eh?!”
However, the person before him seemed startled by Fisher’s sudden remark. She covered her chest and took a step back before turning around to look at him. She completely did not understand what Fisher was saying, as his words were spoken in Nali language.
“What are you talking about? I’m Ilos, a nun here. I found you by the seaside and brought you back to the church. You’re fine now.”
Northern Region Language?
That sudden switch brought the dazed Fisher back to reality. He jolted awake and suspiciously glanced at her figure, which, while substantial, was still nowhere near Teresa’s, realizing that he indeed was not dreaming, but in reality.
The person in front of him was not Teresa but another nun. Hmm, and she was even a subhuman nun?
Fisher felt a headache coming on as he held his head and sat up. He glanced around and saw that he was in a clean confession room, located outside the usual quarters for staff.
Small churches often lack complex facilities and structures; they only need to have the basic configuration of a Mother God church, including a Mother God Statue, confession rooms, and a prayer hall. This church was such, with the confession room at the end, serving as a central location linking the various parts.
Across from the confession room was a small rest area for nuns and clergy, to the side was the staircase leading to the bell tower, and directly in front was a gigantic Mother God Statue. Beyond that was the largest prayer hall, with rows of benches neatly arranged, serving as a place for listening to the teachings of the Mother God and devout prayer.
“Where am I?”
Fisher spoke in Northern Region Language, puzzled about why he found a Mother God church in the North Region, where there should be only temples dedicated to the Frost Phoenix.
“Ah, this is within the territory of the Sardinia Kingdom’s McDowell Fiefdom. Um, outside the city of Ru Xiang Bao, the ‘Healing Rot Church.’ You fainted by the sea, so I brought you to the church. So… oh! And your belongings, I don’t know if they’re yours, but I put everything over there.”
She crouched by an iron pot, simmering a mix of shellfish and wild greens, along with a bit of northern spices, making it smell quite tempting. Fisher looked up at the pair of rabbit ears atop her head and suddenly noticed a small protrusion behind her nun’s robe, revealing a small rabbit tail.
Fisher became increasingly hungry.
But upon hearing the term “Healing Rot Church,” he finally understood the situation.
Several hundred years ago, during the outbreak of the Dead Rot Disease in Shivali, a few patients spread the disease to the southernmost part of the North Region, which is now the territory of the McDowell Fiefdom. Although the North Region was cold and sparsely populated, when locals learned that these West Continent people had fallen ill, they restricted their activities.
People back then were ignorant and far from having the scientific understanding we do today. No, or perhaps even today, humans still behave this way despite the technological revolution. Back then, people saw this epidemic as punishment from the Mother God for her children, and during the dark days of despair and stagnation without solutions, the church became a place where people pinned their last hopes.
Historical records indicate that during the spread of the Dead Rot Disease over the course of a decade, the speed of church construction increased dozens of times compared to before the outbreak, with numerous churches built to embody people’s most straightforward wish for “healing rot.” They hoped that their sincere voices would gain the Mother God’s consolation and halt her merciless punishment of her children.
However, it was evident that this behavior did nothing to cure the Dead Rot Disease. After the emergence of the Torga Decay Antidote, this kind of almost irrational religious fervor slowly began to wane.
Today, many of the Healing Rot Churches built during that time have either been demolished or changed names. The churches established during that period were all of small scale and poorly constructed, making it difficult for them to survive until now. Anyway, Fisher had not seen any in Nali, and he hadn’t heard of any remaining during his previous visit to Shivali, yet unexpectedly, he found a surviving Healing Rot Church within the Sardinia Kingdom.
However, after scanning around, Fisher only saw the blonde rabbit subhuman before him and no other clergy members, not knowing whether they were out or if she was the only nun here.
“I see, thank you. I was caught in a storm at sea and fell overboard, but I didn’t expect to make it ashore safely.”
“That really was dangerous. Aren’t you from the North Region?”
Ilos, the nun in front of him, picked up a bowl and scooped some seafood soup and shellfish from the pot into it. She squatted down in front of Fisher, eating while casually asking him.
“…”
Fisher’s stomach growled with increasing hunger. His eyes were fixed on the seafood soup in her bowl, and after a long time, he still hadn’t replied to her.
Ilos caught the gazes filled with longing, and her chewing slowed. After blinking, she protectively placed the bowl in front of her chest and said, “Wait, wait! I don’t have any extra bowls; this is just my bowl.”
“I can use yours.”
“No, you can’t! If you do that… then I’ll have a little baby! That’s a betrayal to the Mother God; I won’t be pure then. So, just hold off, okay? Wait until this afternoon. Oh, no, wait, I can’t go to Lou Xiang Bao until tomorrow because of the carriage. So, wait until tomorrow, and I’ll buy you some eating utensils, okay?”
A little baby?
No, what are you talking about?
Fisher’s expression grew complex as he found it hard to tell whether she was making up an excuse not to share her food or if she genuinely believed that. He opened his mouth, momentarily unable to think of a retort, and could only wave his hand and say, “I’m not hungry. By the way, did you see a book beside me? The cover has an eye and a mouth and looks quite ugly.”
Fisher gestured with two fingers to roughly outline the shape of Sir Book. Ilos glanced up, still sipping her soup and blinking, but she didn’t reply. Just then, she turned to look toward the confession room where his white shirt, staff, and hat were placed, only to see the book lying on the ground, waterlogged from the seawater, suddenly float up.
“Fisher?! Where are you?! Wait, I’ll come rescue you. What?!”
He shook his head; his previously excited expression turned to confusion upon seeing Fisher and Ilos both looking at him.
Who am I? Where am I? What was I doing?
“Emhart?”
He shook his head. A book that gets too much water would end up like this, becoming a bit dazed, but after a second or two, he recalled something. After confirming his safety, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and said, “Great! I thought we were going to sink to the bottom of the sea. What luck! Wait a minute, I think I heard someone saying I was ugly?”
Fisher turned silently to look at the seafood soup in Ilos’s bowl, pondering how to get utensils to eat, while Ilos humbly focused on her soup. It had been too long since she had interacted with anyone, especially two people… oh no, one person and one book!
So much had happened today; how to describe it? Saving a very handsome human man and his book. If Sister Shalu were still around, she would surely be shocked.
But out of the corner of Fisher’s eye, he suddenly noticed a natural, crescent-shaped notch on Ilos’s pair of rabbit ears, making him somewhat doubtful and uncertain if his luck would be this good.
It seemed that there was a type of subhuman called the “Moon Rabbit Tribe” among the snow mountain kin previously?
I beg for votes, tips, and support; it means a lot to me!
A thousand thanks for your support!
(End of this chapter)
