I Won't Leave Here

"Very good." Claire nodded in satisfaction and put away her pistol. Only then did Oma finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're a smart man, so I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you stay honestly in the church and don't come out to cause trouble for me, you can do whatever you want. When believers come to the church, give them proper prayers. During the gods' festivals, I can even let you serve as the priest. We can still get along just fine."

"Yes, yes, yes." Oma could only nod and agree now.

"Of course, don't think about reporting me after you get out." Claire narrowed her eyes. "Building hospitals and schools isn't something you can use to accuse me of wrongdoing. Besides, only the two of us know what happened here. I'm a noble too. To punish me without cause, they'd need evidence."

Sweat beaded on Oma's forehead again. That had indeed been what he was thinking.

After giving him a warning to keep that fool from causing more trouble, it was time to tempt him with benefits.

"Pastor Oma, how much do you usually spend in a month?"

Oma did not understand why Claire was asking such a question, but he answered anyway. "After handing over most of the money as offerings to the royal capital's church, I have three or four Gold Coins left. But now that those nobles have moved away from Nafu City, it'll be even less in the future..."

"I'll give you fifty Gold Coins a month. You don't need to offer that money up. Keep it and spend it yourself." Claire smiled. Money had always moved people's hearts.

If the other man had not been a church pastor, Claire would not have been willing to spend those fifty Gold Coins. This was money spent to ward off disaster. Otherwise, if Pastor Oma was driven away and an even more troublesome pastor came later, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Oma's eyes widened, and he hurriedly said, "Thank you, Lord Viscount."

"Do you know why I'm giving you this money?" Claire asked.

Oma patted his chest. "I guarantee that I'll stay obediently in the church and devote myself to serving the Lord."

The reason he had come to make trouble for the hospital and school was that the two had affected the church's income and, directly, his own earnings. Faith was certainly important too, but as Claire had said, the church did not conflict with the hospital or school.

"To be honest, you aren't a very good pastor." Claire turned back to look at Oma. "Do you know what real preaching should be like?"

Oma instinctively shook his head, then quickly realized that he was a pastor and nodded hard. "Tell the world of the Lord's greatness. Those who believe may ascend to the Divine Kingdom, while unbelievers will descend into hell."

Claire gave a soft laugh and shook her head. "I saw many pastors when I was in the royal capital. None of them were as radical as you. Even when they preached, they did it subtly over time." At that point, Claire closed his mouth. He had no intention of teaching this fellow how to preach.

Oma lowered his head in shame. If he had been as outstanding as the pastors in the royal capital, he would not have been sent to such a remote place as a viscount's territory.

"All right, let's go. We should go out and give the people an explanation."

With both threats and rewards brought to bear, Claire was certain that Oma would not cause him trouble in the future.

After walking out of the room, Claire amicably took Oma's hand and walked outside with a kind expression.

"Everyone, quiet down. Pastor Oma and I just had an in-depth discussion, and we've finally cleared up the misunderstanding."

As he spoke, his fingers pressed hard against Oma's palm, and he looked over with a smile.

Seeing the people staring at him, then looking at Claire's benevolent smile, Oma stepped forward.

"That is indeed the case. His Lordship the Viscount has just explained the situation to me. This doctor is not some evil witch or demon. Everyone can come here for treatment without worry in the future."

Only after hearing him say it did Claire release his hand and pat Oma on the shoulder.

"I told you it was a misunderstanding."

"I misunderstood His Lordship the Viscount. I should have trusted him. His Lordship is so formidable—how could he have been beguiled by a demon?"

"Exactly. And Doctor Rona is such a good person. She couldn't possibly be a demon."

"It looks like Pastor Oma was mistaken this time."

"The matter has finally been cleared up."

"But Pastor Oma actually made a mistake. That's never happened before."

Oma pursed his lips and looked at the people who were constantly discussing the matter with complicated eyes. In principle, as a messenger of the gods, a pastor could not be wrong. Even if he was wrong, only a higher-ranking clergyman could discover it and administer punishment.

It was somewhat like the ancient emperors. They could not be wrong. If they were, it would affect their authority, and the people below would gradually lose their reverence for imperial power. Religion was the same. Gods could not possibly be wrong, and their messengers likewise could not be wrong. Otherwise, the authority of religion would be threatened.

While Oma was still feeling melancholy, Claire patted his shoulder. "Pastor Oma, you should head back first. I won't see you off. In a few days, I'll send someone to deliver the things to you."

Oma immediately broke into a smile. "Then I'll take my leave first."

After Oma left, Claire looked at Rona beside him and connected his spiritual thread to her.

"The problem is solved. You can treat patients in peace now."

"Mm." Rona looked at the people outside the door. The doubt and fear in their eyes were gone, replaced only by guilt over having misunderstood her just now.

Claire looked around the hospital courtyard again. There had been nothing here when the building was first constructed, yet after only a few days, the little courtyard had become covered in flowers and grass.

Pointing at the flowers climbing the stone wall, Claire asked, "Did you plant these?"

"I saw the seeds of these flowers when I went out to gather herbs, so I brought them back." Rona tilted her head. "Am I not allowed to plant them?"

As a Half-elf, she had a special fondness for flowers, grass, and trees. She also had magic specifically meant to make seeds sprout, take root, and grow quickly, so in just a few days, she had turned the courtyard into a small garden.

Claire smiled. "Of course you are. I told you, the hospital belongs to you. Plant whatever you want. Besides, these flowers you grew are very beautiful."

"Thank you," Rona said softly. She could tell that Claire's praise was sincere.

"You've worked hard lately. You're the only doctor in all of Nafu City, so you must be exhausted. Just wait a little longer. In a few days, other doctors will come too. Then you won't have to be so busy."

There were nearly a hundred thousand subjects in the entire viscount's territory. Rona alone could not possibly treat them all, nor could every minor matter like a cold or fever be brought to her. Claire planned to make Rona the ace doctor, then find several doctors from other territories and let them open their own clinics. If they encountered an illness they could not treat, they could bring the patient to Rona.

Rona nodded. "It's not hard. I really like this job, and I like this kind of life too. I don't have to wander around homeless like before, and you treat me very well too..."

After saying that, Rona felt that it was a little inappropriate, so she added, "I won't leave here."

Claire was briefly stunned, then smiled. "When you have time, learn some Common Tongue."

Several dozen miles away from Nafu City, a group of merchant caravans slowly drove toward Nafu City in a convoy formed by a line of Green Scale Horses stretching dozens of meters.

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