Now that the sister's rampage has been roundaboutedly (?) settled, shouldn't we be getting around to treating Yamada-kun? I feel like that's kind of urgent?
He's pooling blood on the floor.
"Guh!"
Yamada-kun's knee buckles.
Looks like the blood loss is too much for him to stay standing.
On top of that, the sister's sword was still embedded in his stomach, and when he lost his balance it tore the wound even wider, gouging through flesh.
Oshima-kun's sword, which had been lodged in his shoulder, seems to have come loose, but that one carved out a huge chunk of shoulder meat on its way out too.
Sure, he's the Hero with high Status, but taking a wound still inflicts damage, and he could absolutely die from it.
If Yamada-kun dies here, does that trigger the sister route's bad ending?
Or the Oshima-kun route?
A two-timing harem shura ending, maybe?
"Brother!?"
"Shun!"
As Yamada-kun drops to his knees and nearly collapses face-first into the ground, the sister catches him.
Oshima-kun flings aside the sword he'd just been using to stab Yamada-kun and frantically starts constructing healing magic.
Hmm.
Still, just Oshima-kun's magic alone probably won't be enough to fully heal those wounds.
It'd keep him from dying, I suppose, but scars would be left behind.
Healing magic isn't omnipotent, after all.
Miracle magic above that could heal almost anything, as long as the patient isn't already dead.
Oh well.
I can't in good conscience leave Yamada-kun with a permanent scar. I guess I'll lend a hand.
"Lord White. Please leave this to me."
That's what I was thinking, but a voice stopped me.
When I turned around, there was the Pope, entering the room with several women in tow.
Ah, so he's showing himself after all.
"Who are you?"
Oshima-kun tenses up at the suddenly appeared group.
Well, technically the ones who showed up suddenly are actually us, having teleported in.
This is, after all, the Holy Aleius Papal State — headquarters of the Divine Word Church.
It was them, not the Empire, who'd been sheltering the sister this whole time.
And it's right next to Yamada-kun's homeland, the Kingdom.
The sister was right under our noses — literally next door.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am
"The Pope of the Divine Word Church!?"
Either this was a bigger shot than Oshima-kun expected, or the unexpected nature of the person showing up caught him off guard — either way, he's utterly stunned.
But the shock only lasts a second. He continues treating Yamada-kun's wounds while directing a wary gaze at the Pope.
I noticed him glance at the sword he'd tossed aside earlier. He's really on guard, huh.
Well, the Divine Word Church is the bunch that declared Natsume-kun the Hero and helped set Yamada-kun up. In my teacher's understanding, the mastermind pulling Natsume-kun's strings was the Divine Word Church, and behind them, the administrators even further up the chain.
Hm?
But isn't that, in a sense, actually correct?
It was mostly my doing, and the Divine Word Church cooperated with it.
"Rest assured. I am here only to help with the healing. With the elves now extinct, we have no reason to quarrel anymore."
The Pope wears a gentle, pleasant smile — the kind of face you can't help but like.
He looks like a kindly old man on the surface.
And his aura is incredibly calm, gentlemanly.
He radiates an air that instinctively puts people at ease.
It's not like he has a Skill for that or anything.
It's a technique the Pope has honed naturally over many years.
Because what's inside doesn't match the outside appearance at all.
Even Oshima-kun is thrown off by the Pope's innocent, unthreatening aura.
In that opening, the women accompanying the Pope glide swiftly toward Yamada-kun and deploy healing magic.
Before the sister or Oshima-kun could interfere, they'd already healed the wound on his shoulder.
Oh.
Impressively fast spell construction and coordination.
Individually, each of them is far weaker than Oshima-kun, but by cooperating to build a single spell together, they dramatically amplify its effect.
They're probably saint candidates.
Hasebe-san had emerged as the leading contender, but this Pope wouldn't neglect training the others just because of that.
"I'll remove the sword."
"I'll do that."
One of the saint candidates reaches for the sword still embedded in Yamada-kun's stomach, but Oshima-kun stops her.
"Shun, bear with it for a sec, alright?"
Oshima-kun pulls the sword out, and Yamada-kun lets out a groan.
Immediately after, healing magic is applied.
Mm.
I watch the treatment progress, and while I'm at it, I secretly reinforce Oshima-kun's spellwork to make sure no scars are left on Yamada-kun.
There. That should do it.
Once the treatment is mostly complete, the saint candidates promptly withdraw from Yamada-kun and take position behind the Pope.
"...First of all, thank you for your assistance with the healing."
"Not at all. No thanks are necessary. At this level, it hardly makes a dent in our sins."
Oshima-kun offered a reluctant but genuine thank-you, and the Pope responded with an expression of sincere remorse.
Does he actually feel sorry? The Pope's true intentions are beyond even my ability to read.
For starters, the very fact that he showed his face here is hard to make sense of.
There was no need for the Pope to appear.
If he hadn't shown up here, he could have maintained the Divine Word Church's cover story — that Natsume-kun was being brainwashed by upper brass acting on their own.
Sure, a few Church officials would have been sacrificed, but the damage to the Church's prestige would have been far less severe.
The reputation would take a hit regardless, but if they pinned it all on Natsume-kun, there'd still be plenty of room for recovery.
Yet now that the Pope — the very head of the Divine Word Church — has shown his face here, even that option is off the table.
The moment anyone with sharp enough eyes sees him together with me — the true mastermind behind Natsume-kun — they'll put two and two together.
That the Divine Word Church wasn't manipulating Natsume-kun at all, but had willingly cooperated with me of their own volition.
The evidence is right there: Oshima-kun is alternating his gaze between me and the Pope, eyes narrowing with a grim expression.
That's the face of someone who's figured out far too many things.
Which is why I'd planned to teleport back to the elf village as soon as the sister's rampage was settled.
So why on earth did you go and show up here?
"A matter of closure."
The Pope murmurs, as if reading my thoughts.
"The Divine Word Church is finished."
And with that, he drops a bombshell declaration.