I Will Not Leave Here

"Very well." Claire nodded with satisfaction and put the pistol away. Only then did Oma truly relax.

"You're a smart person, so I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you stay put in the church and don't come out to cause trouble, you can do whatever you want. When believers come to the church, you can pray for them. I can even let you serve as a priest during religious festivals. We can get along well."

"Yes, yes, yes." Oma could only nod in agreement now.

"Of course, don't think about reporting me after you leave," Claire narrowed her eyes. "Building hospitals and schools isn't something that can be used to frame me. Besides, only the two of us know about this. I'm a noble, and it takes evidence to convict me for no reason."

Pearls of sweat broke out on Oma's forehead; he had indeed been thinking that very thing.

After giving the other party a stern warning to prevent that idiot from causing more trouble, it was time for the enticements.

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

Oma didn't quite understand why Claire was asking this, but he answered, "After sending most of the money to the Royal Capital's church, I have three or four Gold Coins left. But now that the nobles have moved out of Nafu City, it will be even less..."

"I'll give you fifty Gold Coins every month. You don't have to send this money as tribute; you can keep it for yourself," Claire said with a smile. Money has always been a great motivator.

If the other party weren't a priest of the church, Claire wouldn't have been willing to spend those fifty Gold Coins. Giving away this money was like paying to avert disaster, to avoid replacing Oma with an even more troublesome priest later on, which would be a loss.

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

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

Oma patted his chest. "I promise I will honestly stay in the church and diligently serve The Lord."

The reason he had come to find trouble with the hospital and school was precisely because they had affected the church's revenue and directly impacted his income. Of course, faith was also important, but as Claire had said, the church and the hospital and school didn't conflict.

"Honestly, you're not exactly a very good pastor," Claire said, glancing back at Oma. "Do you know what true evangelism should be like?"

Oma subconsciously shook his head, then quickly remembered he was a pastor and nodded vigorously. "Tell the world of The Lord's greatness. Believers will ascend to the Divine Kingdom, while non-believers will go to hell."

Claire chuckled and shook her head. "I've met many priests in the Royal Capital, and none of them are as radical as you. Even their evangelism is subtle." Speaking of which, Claire fell silent. He didn't want to teach this guy anything about evangelism.

Oma lowered his head in shame. If he had been as outstanding as the priests in the Royal Capital, he wouldn't have been sent to such a remote place as the barony.

"Alright, let's go. We need to go out and give the people an explanation."

With both coercion and enticement applied, Claire was confident that Oma wouldn't cause her any more trouble in the future.

Stepping out of the room, Claire friendly grasped Oma's hand and walked out with a kind expression.

"Everyone, please quiet down. I've just had a thorough discussion with Pastor Oma, and we've finally cleared up the misunderstanding."

After speaking, she deliberately pressed down on Oma's palm and looked at him with a smile.

Seeing the crowd's gazes and Claire's kindly smile, Oma stepped forward.

"That is indeed the case. The Viscount has just explained the situation to me. This doctor is not an evil witch or a demon. You can all rest assured and come here for treatment from now on."

After hearing him speak, Claire released her grip and patted Oma's shoulder.

"See? I told you it was a misunderstanding."

"I misunderstood the Viscount. I should have believed him. How could the Viscount, who is so powerful, be tempted by demons?"

"Exactly! And Dr. Rona is so kind; she couldn't possibly be a demon."

"It seems Pastor Oma made a mistake this time."

"The matter is finally resolved."

"But for Pastor Oma to make a mistake... something like this has never happened before."

Oma pursed his lips, looking at the discussing crowd with a complex expression. Logically, priests, as emissaries of The Lord, should not make mistakes. Even if they did, only higher-ranking clergy could discover and punish them.

This was somewhat like ancient emperors; they could not err. If they did, it would affect their authority, and the people below would slowly lose their reverence for imperial power. The same applied to religion. The divine could not be wrong, and as divine emissaries, they necessarily could not be wrong, otherwise, the authority of religion would be threatened.

As Oma was lost in thought, Claire patted his shoulder. "Pastor Oma, you should head back now. I won't see you out. I'll send someone to deliver things to you in a few days."

Oma's face lit up. "Then I shall take my leave."

After Oma left, Claire looked at Rona beside her and connected her mental threads.

"The problem is solved. Now you can treat patients with peace of mind."

"Mhm." Rona glanced at the crowd outside the door. Their eyes no longer held suspicion and fear, only a look of guilt for having misunderstood her earlier.

Claire then looked at the courtyard of the hospital. When it was being built, there was nothing here. After a few days, the small courtyard was already full of flowers and plants.

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

"I saw these flower seeds when I was gathering herbs and brought them back." Rona tilted her head. "Is it not allowed to plant them?"

As a half-elf, she had a special fondness for flowers, plants, and trees. Moreover, there were specific spells that could make seeds sprout and root quickly, so she had turned the courtyard into a small garden within a few days.

Claire smiled. "Of course not. I told you, the hospital belongs to you. You can plant whatever you want. And these flowers you've grown are very beautiful."

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

"You've worked hard during this time. You're the only doctor in all of Nafu City; you must be exhausted. Just wait a little longer. Other doctors will be coming in a while, and then you won't be so busy."

There were nearly a hundred thousand citizens in the entire barony, and it was impossible for Rona alone to treat them all. She couldn't be bothered with minor issues like colds and fevers. Claire's plan was to treat Rona as a star doctor and then find several other doctors from different territories to open their own shops. If they encountered any untreatable illnesses, they could then come to Rona for treatment.

Rona nodded. "It's not hard. I really like this job and this kind of life. I don't have to wander around with no fixed abode like before, and you're very good to me..."

After saying that, Rona felt it was a bit inappropriate and added, "I won't leave."

Claire blinked slightly, a smile forming on her lips. "You should take some time to learn the Common Tongue."

Dozens of miles outside NAFU City, a caravan, with its convoy of Green Scale Horses stretching for tens of meters, slowly made its way towards NAFU City.

Thanks to "Feng" for two monthly tickets, and "Book Friend 20181219090305724" for two monthly tickets!!!!!!!!

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