After finishing the treatment for the man who had suddenly rushed in and seeing off the two men as they left with their heartfelt thanks, Noah-san mentioned that she would be heading home soon to start on dinner.
I offered to walk her back, but she told me she would be fine and set off on her own.
Even though evening was still a little ways off, I felt a bit uneasy letting a woman return home alone... but then again, Noah-san was a demon and a half-vampire. I had heard that as long as she was properly nourished with blood, she was far stronger than someone like me to an incomparable degree. It seemed my concern was entirely misplaced.
I could have headed home right then as well, but since I was already there, I decided to take a look around the church I hadn't seen properly yet. Fia-sensei was more than happy to show me around.
The sheer number of crosses decorating the walls from floor to ceiling reminded me of stars in a planetarium. It was easily the most unusual aspect of this church.
I had never been to a real church myself, but I knew enough from television and other media to know that they weren't supposed to be quite this crowded with crosses.
"It’s beautiful... but it feels a bit different from the image I have of a church."
"Ah, that’s quite right. After all, this place wasn’t originally a church to begin with."
"Wait... what?"
When I voiced the doubt that had occurred to me, Fia-sensei gave me a shocking answer.
It wasn't a church? With an interior like this?
Seeing my astonishment, Fia-sensei offered a gentle smile. She reached out to touch a nearby wooden bench as she continued.
"This was originally a place I built for my own personal use. I never intended for it to be a church... but people made the same mistake you did, Miyama-kun, and they kept coming here asking if they could pray. Eventually, I started adding chairs and an altar until it took on this church-like appearance."
"I see. So that's how you ended up serving as both a doctor and a priestess, Fia-sensei."
"Well... I don't really do anything particularly priestly. Being a doctor is more than enough for me, but I suppose that’s how everyone sees it now."
As she spoke with a wry smile, Fia-sensei looked incredibly beautiful. Combined with her priestess vestments, she truly appeared like a saint.
"Come to think of it, why did you decide to become a doctor, Fia-sensei?"
"Hm? Me?"
"Ah, sorry. If that’s not something I should be asking, please don't worry about it..."
The question had slipped out before I realized it.
I believed Fia-sensei was a wonderful person, and through Sympathy Magic, I could feel a profound kindness radiating from her.
However, something felt slightly off. Beneath that peaceful kindness, there was always a faint, dark emotion lingering. Even when those men were thanking her as they left, for some reason, I had sensed a flicker of pain from her.
I asked because I wanted to understand that discrepancy, but I had no intention of prying if she had personal reasons for keeping it to herself.
Fia-sensei fell silent for a moment after I spoke. Then, a smile returned to her lips as she held up her index finger.
"Then, a quiz before I answer! Why am I practicing medicine here in the Kingdom of Sinfonia?"
"Uh... let’s see... Hmm. Because the food is delicious?"
"It’s true that the food culture in the Kingdom of Sinfonia is very advanced and wonderful. But unfortunately, that’s not it."
To be honest, the only real difference I knew between this country and the others was the developed food culture Alice had told me about.
However, from the way Fia-sensei spoke, there was clearly a specific reason she had chosen to base herself here.
"The answer is... because there are very few doctors in the Kingdom of Sinfonia."
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. The reason is quite simple. It’s because the temple of the Goddess of Health is located in this country."
"Oh, I see! The blessings!"
I remembered hearing that people in this world have a tradition of visiting a temple at the start of the year to receive a blessing. By receiving a blessing from the Goddess of Health, they supposedly wouldn't fall ill.
I see. If people aren't getting sick, then there wouldn't be much work for a doctor.
"Correct... but what you’re thinking right now is probably a bit mistaken, Miyama-kun."
"What do you mean?"
"Blessings... unless they are performed directly by a Goddess, only provide a placebo-like effect. And only a tiny handful of people are ever able to receive a blessing directly from a Goddess."
I was startled by her words. Come to think of it, a divine blessing cost one gold coin—about one million yen in Japanese currency.
Nobles aside, only the truly wealthy could afford to pay for their entire family every year. Two million for a couple, or three million or more if they had children.
In other words, the vast majority of people in the Kingdom of Sinfonia did not receive direct blessings from a god, which meant they did get sick.
"That’s why being a doctor is such an unpopular profession in this country. The wealthy people at the top don't get sick, and they don't exactly get injured on a regular basis. Now, here’s one more question for you."
"Another one?"
"Suppose there was a child born to a mother who was a mermaid-harpy hybrid and a father who was a half-elf. If that child got sick... which hospital would you take them to? One for mermaids? For harpies? For elves? Or one for humans?"
"Oh..."
"Exactly. There are so many mixed-bloods in this world, and every race has a different physical structure. Being a doctor is incredibly difficult. I’ve been practicing for a long time, but it took me two hundred years before I could perform examinations with any real confidence. Even now, I still see patients with symptoms I’ve never encountered before."
Interactions between the various races were common in this world, so mixed-bloods weren't rare at all.
In fact, among my own acquaintances, Lunamaria-san was a mix of four different races as far as I knew. If that was the case, the difficulty of medical treatment must be astronomically high.
Furthermore, demons were even more diverse. I imagined that treating a demon living in the Human Realm would be nothing like treating a human, and the diseases they faced would be entirely different as well.
"So, because there’s such a chronic shortage of doctors, I decided to become one. I'm still learning, but I want to be a doctor who can treat as many different races as possible."
"Is that... so you can help people?"
"Yes. I want as many people as possible to stay healthy. I want them to be smiling. I want to help them have even a slightly happier life."
I thought she was a truly, selflessly kind person... but there it was again. I felt that agonizing, painful emotion through our connection.
It felt similar to what I had sensed from Lilia-san during the Treasure Tree Festival. In other words... it was regret.
But I knew this wasn't something I could just casually walk into. I couldn't bring myself to ask.
"I see. Thank you for telling me. You really are a wonderful doctor, Fia-sensei. I truly respect you."
"!"
I had intended those words to wrap up the conversation, but when she heard them, Fia-sensei’s expression twisted. It was a look of unbearable, profound pain.
As I stood there, bewildered by the sudden change, Fia-sensei slowly walked toward the altar. Without looking back at me, she whispered softly.
"I’m not a wonderful person worthy of respect. No... quite the opposite. I think of myself as the greatest fool in this world."
"What...?"
"These crosses you see here... they represent the number of lives I've taken."
"!"
I couldn't immediately process the words she spoke in that sorrowful voice.
She had taken as many lives as these tiny crosses covering the walls? But there were so many... a hundred or even a thousand wouldn't begin to cover it.
"Um... do you mean... patients you couldn't save as a doctor?"
"No. That's not it. Of course, I’m not almighty, and there are many people I haven't been able to save. I keep the names of those people in the back room of the clinic... but these crosses represent something else entirely."
"Something else?"
"Long ago, I took many lives. I stole the precious, innocent lives of people without any justification... The crosses in this room are the symbols of the sins I committed, a burden I must carry for as long as I live."
Fia-sensei’s voice didn't sound like it was lying. More than anything, her regret was being transmitted to me through Sympathy Magic so intensely it actually hurt.
"I don't believe that saving one life will ever forgive me for taking another. No, no matter how many lives I save—even if I were to save every single person in the world—my sins will never be forgiven. They shouldn't be forgiven."
"..."
"I’m not an almighty god. No matter how much I regret what I did, no matter how many tears I cry until I'm dry, no matter how much I apologize here every single day... those lost lives will never come back."
When I had first arrived with Noah-san, Fia-sensei had been kneeling in prayer before the altar.
But it seemed that wasn't a prayer; it was a confession. She had been continuously apologizing to the lives she had taken in this place that served as a monument to her crimes.
"Even if it’s painful, even if I feel like I'm going to break, I won't turn my eyes away from my sins. I will carry them until my dying breath. And I will continue to save as many lives as I can... That is the only atonement I can offer."
"Fia-sensei..."
"I'm sorry. I'm not the kind of person you should respect."
What was I supposed to say? Honestly, I was at a loss for words.
Fia-sensei said her sins would never be forgiven, but I suspected she was the one who could never forgive herself, more than anyone else in the world.
I was certain that no matter what I said, she would continue to carry that weight for the rest of her life.
And yet, I felt that I absolutely had to say something.
"To be honest, I don't really understand. I don't know what you were like in the past or what kind of sins you committed... so I can't really say anything about that."
"Yes. That’s how it should be. It would be better if you despised a sinner like me—"
"But even so, I still respect you, Fia-sensei."
"............Eh?"
I didn't know anything about her past, and even if I did, I wasn't involved in it. Anything I said would probably just sound like a hollow platitude.
So, I decided not to think about the past.
"I don't know what happened back then, and I don't intend to ask. But the woman I met and spent the day with... is a kind person who reaches out to help those who are hurting. To me, you are someone I can respect from the bottom of my heart."
"Miyama... kun..."
"I mean, it happened at least two hundred years ago, right? I have no way of knowing what things were like back then. Even if I knew about your past sins, Fia-sensei, it wouldn't change the respect I have for the person you are now."
"Miyama-kun... has anyone ever told you that you're a bit of a natural charmer?"
"Wait, what? Where did that come from all of a sudden!?"
She had suddenly shifted gears into something I didn't understand. Calling me a womanizer... how could she say that to a guy like me?
Seeing my confusion, Fia-sensei’s expression brightened with amusement.
"Ahaha, you must be quite popular, aren't you?"
"N-No, that’s not really the case..."
"If you say so. Well, in any case... Miyama-kun, thank you."
"Eh? Oh, uh, you're welcome?"
I wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but Fia-sensei seemed to have regained her spirit. She pumped her fists in front of her chest.
"All right, I’m motivated now! I’m going to work harder than ever starting today!"
"Oh, uh, okay."
"Well then, it's getting late. I’ll start cleaning up while I see you out, Miyama-kun—"
"Whoa! Fia-sensei, watch your step! The ledge!!"
"Huh? —Eek!?"
"!"
Fia-sensei had enthusiastically stepped forward, forgetting that the altar was a step higher than the floor. Realizing what was about to happen, I lunged forward.
Somehow, I managed to catch her just as she lost her footing and started to tumble.
"Are you all right?"
"Y-Yeah... Thank you."
That was a close one... Fortunately, Fia-sensei was quite slender, so even with my lack of strength, I was able to catch her.
If I hadn't been able to support her and we’d both gone down, it would have been a pretty pathetic scene. Yeah, I definitely need to work out more.
I helped her back onto her feet and let go once I was sure she was steady.
The sensation of catching her lingered in my palms, and I started to feel a bit flustered after the fact.
Fia-sensei was slender, but she certainly had curves... wait, what was I thinking?
"Hey, Miyama-kun."
"Yes?"
"Come visit again sometime. You don't have to wait for Noah-san’s next treatment. I can at least treat you to a cup of tea."
"Yes, I’d like that. I'll definitely come back."
Fia-sensei had a very soothing presence. She was calm and gentle, and talking to her made me feel at ease, so I was grateful for the invitation.
I decided I’d stop by again whenever I could do so without getting in the way of her work.
By now, the sun had begun to set. I said my goodbyes and left the church-hospital with Fia-sensei seeing me off.
As I waved back at her, I thought I heard her murmur something under her breath.
"No wonder Chrome-sama took such a liking to him..."
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"Nope! Nothing at all! See you soon!"
"Oh, okay!"
I looked back once more to check, but Fia-sensei just shook her head with a beaming smile.
Warmed by that bright expression, I waved one last time and started the walk home.
Dear Mother, Father—It seems that Fia-sensei has been through a lot in her past, and she carries a great deal of regret for it. I can't do anything about that regret, and I don't think I should try to pry into it, but regardless of any of that... I think Fia-sensei is someone I can truly respect.