A Snake’s Life Ch 74

Chapter 74

 

I followed him as we walked toward the church. Just like before, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. I examined the church closely. Drawn by something, I looked up and saw the bell that had rung earlier. Strangely, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. What was this? Just as I squinted to get a better look, I snapped back to my senses at Reute’s voice calling me from a distance, and I ran over to him.

Inside the church, food was being distributed. A large pot was filled with soup, and if you stood in line, they gave you a bowl. At the end, they handed out a dry-looking piece of bread. Priests and villagers alike were standing in the same line. There was no sign of Zerpell among them.

I stood on my toes and craned my neck to look around. Zerpell wasn’t short, and his outfit would’ve stood out, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was he still investigating?

“Give thanks to the mercy of the divine…”

Is this a cult? What kind of phrase is that? The priests prayed among themselves, and they never failed to say those words when handing out food to the villagers. It was also something the pope constantly said. I just nodded vaguely. The soup in the bowl looked thin and devoid of any nutrition, as if reflecting the current circumstances.

Though I sat down, I didn’t eat, and simply stared silently at the soup. Hold on… The people in this village are having a harder time than I am. This isn’t the time to complain about food. I forced myself to eat. But after taking one spoonful, I tilted my head in puzzlement.

It wasn’t that the taste was strange. Or maybe it was? Something instinctively told me not to eat it. However, everyone else was eating earnestly. I turned to Reute, the only person I could really talk to, and asked,

“Doesn’t this soup taste kind of weird to you?”

“Pardon?”

He glanced at the soup and then gave me a puzzled look.

“It seems normal to me.”

Even to me, it looked like just a nutritionally poor soup…

“Do you perhaps not have an appetite? Still, you need strength, so you should eat.”

I dismissed it as needless worry and nodded. Reute was right, so I quietly ate the soup. I scolded myself not to be picky about food. My stomach wasn’t full, so I smacked my lips. But I couldn’t ask for more… As I looked around at the surrounding tables, I noticed the pope was absent. I asked Reute, who was quietly eating beside me, a question I had been curious about.

“Did all the priests here come with the pope?”

“With His Holiness? No way. I’m not from the capital, you know.”

“The capital?”

Reute was taken aback and immediately corrected my misunderstanding. He then answered my question patiently.

“Yes. His Holiness resides in the capital. I’m not qualified or experienced enough to serve there. Only high-ranking priests are allowed to go to the capital.”

“Huh…”

I figured as much. Even from my perspective, there was a clear divide between the pope’s group and the others.

“So then, you volunteered to come here?”

“Yes. Actually, I’m from a border village myself. By divine mercy, I have divine power, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be any different from the others. This place reminds me of my hometown. Most of those who volunteer to come to places like this probably have similar reasons. Not many want to come to a place like this.”

Reute spoke with bitterness. But then he smiled brightly and said he was glad I had come.

I thought the work would be wrapping up by the time I went to eat, but that wasn’t the case. The seriously ill and those less affected had been separated. Thankfully, it required less effort, but there were more of them now than before. They all had dry coughs.

As I stared at them in dismay, I rolled up my sleeves.

“All right…! Let’s see this through to the end!”

“Ugh… I’m dying.”

I didn’t even have the strength to move a finger. I returned to the lodging Reute had guided me to. Of course, it wasn’t as nice as the imperial palace, but it was clear that someone had put a lot of thought into it. Well, I am supposed to be a Divine Envoy and a Crown Prince, after all. I flopped straight onto the bed. It was stiff, but just lying down felt like a blessing.

Zerpell hadn’t returned yet. As I waited for him, breathing slowly, he finally entered. I waved my hand weakly, unable to sit up. I felt the mattress sink beside me.

“You worked hard. You did well on your own.”

“I know, right… I worked so hard… Pet my head.”

I whined as I spoke. He chuckled softly and gently brushed my messy hair.

“Rub my back, too.”

“All right.”

Without me even saying it, he massaged my sore shoulders and waist. I didn’t even have to ask before he softly rubbed my back.

“Was it really that hard?”

“Well, yeah. I was worried they might collapse, the priests looked so pale and worn out. I had to give it my all since I was probably the only one left with decent stamina…”

I sluggishly got up and leaned my drowsy body against him. My head kept nodding as I tried to stay awake. He held my head firmly in place.

“You could’ve gone to sleep first if you were tired.”

“How could I… You weren’t back yet.”

A quiet, breathy laugh escaped from Zerpell. He laid me down on the bed and pulled the blanket over me. The way he patted my chest felt like he was trying to lull me to sleep.

Thinking that I’d have to repeat today’s work again tomorrow made me feel hopeless. I turned my head to look at Zerpell and asked,

“How did it go with your master? Any results? You said you went out to investigate.”

“There wasn’t anything in particular. The villagers are all working together to rebuild the town. I also went to check if there were any dangerous herbs in the forest, but there were no issues.”

“Then what’s the cause? We clearly healed the illness… yet it keeps coming back…”

“Your job is to focus on healing the patients. I’ll handle the investigation. You must’ve had a tough day—get some sleep.”

“Okay.”

At Zerpell’s words, I closed my eyes. The thread of consciousness I had barely held onto finally snapped. In the middle of my sleep, I heard a commotion. I could vaguely hear Zerpell’s voice, slightly agitated.

“They’re all coughing?”

I faintly heard voices outside the door. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My head bobbed helplessly in all directions. The sun hadn’t even risen yet—it was still dark.

“Ugh… What’s going on…”

I groped for the spot next to me. The person who should’ve been there was gone.

“Master…?”

Still half-asleep, I got up from the bed. My head throbbed, and my body swayed from the lingering fatigue. I barely found my balance and opened the door. Zerpell stood just outside with a grim expression.

In front of him, Paul and Wol were coughing. They stood some distance away from Zerpell. My sleep vanished instantly. I recalled what Reute had said yesterday. It started with a slight cough and then led to coughing up blood.

“Shuiren. Don’t come out.”

“I’m sorry…”

Zerpell stopped me as I opened the door. Then I heard Wol’s voice, filled with guilt.

People in close contact with the sick usually have a higher chance of getting infected. Don’t tell me… did they catch it because they were standing guard near me? A sense of guilt swept over me. Zerpell’s face looked grave. I remembered he had used the word “all” earlier. What was going on, so early in the morning…?

No way. If “all” includes Zerpell too…? I quickly ran up to him to check his complexion.

“Are you coughing too, Master?”

I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. He grabbed mine in return, trying to calm me.

“I’m not.”

I let out a sigh of relief. But then the thought struck me that I could have passed it to him. I immediately bolted outside. I brushed past Zerpell, who tried to stop me. He told me to conserve my strength, but if not now, when else should I use it?

I went around healing everyone one by one. Thankfully, the symptoms were mild. But something felt off. How could they all fall ill overnight? I hated to say it, but now I understood why the pope had sent a letter… I rubbed my tired, bleary eyes. All my energy had been drained. From far away, the morning bell rang. The bell from the church was tolling.

“Just who got infected?”

“According to the investigation, almost everyone… What’s strange is that it’s everyone except the team that surveyed the village and Shuiren.”

“So, only those who were in the village yesterday became sick. That’s what you’re saying.”

“Yes. Wol and Paul make sense, but… the other attendants didn’t even go near the tents…”

The atmosphere grew heavy. They had all become sick overnight. We sat clustered around a table, discussing the situation. I was leaning against Zerpell’s shoulder, trying to catch my breath. I raised my hand.

“But why am I fine? Shouldn’t I be the one to fall ill? I had the most contact with the patients.”

“Perhaps it’s because Shuiren possesses divine power? Maybe it acted to protect your body. That would also explain why the priests remained unaffected.”

“Then isn’t this an airborne disease? Everyone breathes the same air. There’s no reason to get infected without physical contact.”

“That can’t be. If it were airborne, the neighboring territories would have reported similar symptoms.”

We exchanged serious words. I had used up all my strength from earlier. Normally, a short nap would be enough to recover, but today, the recovery was unusually slow. If the symptoms eased and people got sick again overnight, it would be a nightmare. At that moment, Paul, who had been standing behind me, cautiously raised his hand.

“Um…”