Pastor Oma had been driven out after failing to outargue the boy. Feeling thoroughly depressed, he could only return to the church and start searching through the Bible.
After spending the entire noon digging through books, Oma finally found an answer to the boy's question. He eagerly grabbed the heavy Bible and ran back toward the school.
But before he could even enter the campus, two knights standing guard at the gate stopped him.
"How dare you block me! Do you know who I am? I'm the only pastor in Nafu City!" Oma stamped his feet in fury.
Yet the two knights showed no intention of letting him in. Their loyalty was to Claire, not the Church of Light. They gave Oma no face at all, standing before him like two walls and blocking him outside the school gates.
"Do you know that obstructing a pastor's preaching will send you to hell?" Oma continued cursing at the gate for quite a while.
But he was merely a preaching pastor. The Divine Arts he knew amounted to little more than Holy Light Healing and a few supportive Divine Arts meant to soothe the soul. He had never learned any offensive Divine Arts. If he had been capable, he would not have been assigned to such a remote viscount's territory.
Moreover, the church's violent arm was not made up of preaching pastors like them. There were dedicated Holy Knight Orders and pastors proficient in offensive Divine Arts to fight those godless cultists who disrespected the gods.
After cursing at the gate for several minutes and seeing that they still had no intention of letting him in, Oma could only stomp away in anger. He had finally thought of an answer, yet now he could not even get through the school gates!
Back at the church, Oma stamped his feet and beat his chest. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, as though there were a breath trapped in his chest with nowhere to go.
Oma slapped his thigh and shouted, "Damn it! If I can't go to the school, does that mean I can't even go to the hospital?"
With that thought, Oma hurried out of the church again and strode toward the hospital.
Passersby along the way kept greeting him. "Good day, Pastor Oma!"
Oma smiled and returned their greetings. "May the Lord bless you!"
As he nodded to people all along the way, his confidence grew stronger and stronger. After operating in Nafu City for so long, he still had fame and respect. That viscount had only been here for less than a month—what did she have to compete with him?
As soon as he reached the vicinity of the hospital, Oma realized something was wrong. There were simply too many people inside, and the line stretched from within the building all the way outside the entrance.
And those were only the people seeking treatment. Once the people gathered nearby to watch Rona treat patients were included, the crowd was even larger.
Don't panic, Oma! The more people there are, the better. That way, I can expose her evil face to everyone. Oma encouraged himself.
When the citizens gathered near the hospital saw Oma, their attention was drawn toward him as well.
Oma cleared his throat. "Ahem! What are you all gathered here for?"
"Pastor Oma, we're waiting for Doctor Rona to treat us," the people in line answered honestly.
Oma frowned and walked into the hospital, just in time to see Rona take a paste fragrant with medicinal herbs from a stone mortar and apply it to someone's wound.
His expression immediately turned horrified. Pointing at Rona, he shouted, "This is the treatment method of devils! She is no doctor at all, but a witch wearing human skin! No—look at how pointed her ears are. She may not even be human!"
"Pastor Oma..." After hesitating for a moment, someone in the crowd said, "Lord Viscount said those pointed ears are a characteristic of Half-elves."
"Huh?" Oma scratched his head. It was not his fault; the books at the pastor academy did not contain such knowledge.
Then he waved a hand grandly. "That isn't important! Her methods are exactly like those of evil witches. Don't let her deceive you. If you are sick, you can go to the church and receive the baptism of Holy Light instead of coming here to be beguiled by demons."
The people in line were still hesitant. If Oma's Holy Light Healing cost the same as treatment here, they would have been quite willing to go to the church for the baptism of Holy Light. But Oma's fees were a hundred times what Doctor Rona charged.
Although Lord Viscount had raised everyone's wages, they could not afford to spend money like that.
"What are you all doing?" Seeing that no one still intended to leave, Oma flew into a rage. "If you accept treatment from this evil witch, you will be abandoned by the Lord! You won't even be able to enter the Divine Kingdom—you'll go straight to hell!"
At those words, the citizens finally wavered. As the only pastor in Nafu City, Oma held the final authority to interpret doctrine. These citizens lacked education and were easily deceived by his words.
Oma smiled in satisfaction. This tactic never failed. Every time he said someone would be unable to enter the Divine Kingdom, these believers became terrified.
Rona curiously raised her head and looked outside. Seeing that the people in line were no longer coming in, she tilted her head in confusion. She did not understand Common Tongue, so she could not understand Oma's string of words.
Still, that was fine. With no one coming in, she was happy to have some peace and quiet, so she simply continued grinding herbs. She knew more than medicines for treating external injuries. Combined with her people's healing magic, even septicemia like the illness Yuna's mother had suffered before could be cured.
Although Rona had stopped treating patients, Oma still felt dissatisfied. He had said so much, yet she had ignored him? How could he tolerate that? Besides, she was an evil witch who had deceived so many believers out of their money. She had to be punished!
So he stepped inside, furiously reaching out to grab Rona.
Rona frowned slightly at his actions and spoke a line of mysterious yet beautiful Elven. The ground beneath Oma's feet suddenly bulged, and a vine swiftly grew out. Its body twisted backward through the air a few times, gathering force!
Smack!
It lashed out less than ten centimeters in front of Oma's feet. It did not strike him directly, but the blow frightened Oma stiff, and he retreated back outside the hospital entrance.
"You really are a demon! You dare attack me, the only pastor in Nafu City!" Oma roared in fury. This was the first time in all these years that he had suffered such a provocation. Even Regan had only politely asked him to leave before and had never resorted to violence.
Though he continued shouting furiously, Oma did not dare step even half a foot through the doorway. He could only keep accusing Rona of being a demon from outside the hospital.
The citizens who had originally gathered here to watch also became unsettled.
"Is it really as Pastor Oma says? Is Doctor Rona truly a demon?"
"That can't be true, can it? She's beautiful and kind, and she charges us so little for treatment. I don't think she's a bad person. Besides, Lord Viscount personally brought her here."
"But in stories, don't demons always disguise themselves as beautiful and kind things to tempt people into corruption?"
"Maybe Lord Viscount has been bewitched by her too."
"I... I don't know what to do either."
Quite a few people in the crowd hesitated, as if they had to make a choice at this very moment—whether to believe Claire or betray the faith they had always held.
But quite a few "devout" believers still looked at Rona with fear and terror.
Rona pressed her lips together. She had been a slave for a time. Although she did not understand Common Tongue, she was especially sensitive to those strange looks, and she could not help feeling a little afraid.
After spending these past days together, she had begun to feel a sense of attachment to Nafu City. Just as Claire had said, these citizens were kind people. She only needed to treat illnesses, and sometimes patients even gave her small gifts and food. She had started to want to stay here forever.
But those strange looks made her waver. Perhaps she had been too naïve. She and they had always been different races.
"What are you all gathered here for? Didn't we agree to line up?"
Claire's voice came from behind the crowd, and Rona's heart settled slightly at that moment.
I should explain a little: Oma's character is meant to be an idiot, so don't find his actions strange. It is not that he is stupid—it is the environment. Nafu City was originally a very remote territory, and before Claire arrived, its people had all been ignorant. So what kind of wise pastor could anyone expect the church in such a territory to produce? Of course, there will be intelligent pastors capable of fighting the protagonist, but they will only appear later.
Also, don't think Pastor Oma's behavior is overly exaggerated. If you know even a little about religion in the medieval Western world, you will find that what I wrote is actually within the normal range.
In addition, thanks to "Book Friend 20200920090319519" for the 100 Qidian Coins tip!!!!!!
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