Chapter 51
Gren knew that the soldier wanted to stop helping but there were only two more people left. The second to last arrow victim didn't need anybody else to pull the arrow out of him as he ripped it out himself. Gren healed him up and moved on to the final patient. It was a female soldier and after being healed she got up and kneed the guy that pulled the arrow out--her accuracy was brutal and Gren decided to heal the poor man so that he could have children in the the future.
Gren was originally going to help everyone but realized a problem. If he healed anybody with more serious injuries then the apprentice healer act would no longer work. It didn't help that he was becoming too hungry to concentrate. "I'm going to go meet up with the knights. I'm sorry that I can't heal everybody but this is the limit of my skills." Some of the soldiers complained since there were more seriously injured people to heal but Gren didn't stay to listen; it's not like he knew whether or not he could even help them.
It didn't take long to find the knights since it was a small village. They were piling up the bodies from the bandits that were in the path of the automaton. Gren was going to ask if they found anything but remembered how the knights ignored him so he instead went to find Georgia.
Gren went to the area where the bonfire was located. Georgia wasn't there but that's where his mother's body was last. He had spent too much time healing people so the sun was starting to go down and it would become harder to find her. He decided to start by going to where he was when he saw the bandits tossing her body into the flames.
It was a bit difficult to figure out his position but the AI had good memory and guided him to the spot and even to the last position that his mother was. There was a lot of Ash in the way but after a while of digging he found an arm. Attached to that arm was half of somebody's body. The shape was a match to his mother but he didn't expect that there were no burns.
Gren just needed to find the other half when he heard someone's voice from behind him. "What are you doing over here, kid?"
"I'm here to find the bodies belonging to the family members of people within the Church." Gren slowly got closer to the book and placed it behind his back before walking backwards. When Gren's back touched the wall he stored the book away.
The soldier walked forward, thinking that Gren still had the book. "That's very admirable of you but you're forgetting something. Everything in this village is now owned by the Duke's army. If you want something then you have to pay for it."
"Then take my healing services as payment." Gren didn't want to back down since he could tell what the soldier wanted.
"You said those heals were free. You're not going to go back on your word, are you?" This guy was really getting on Gren's nerves.
"Then go get your superior and I'll discuss the price with him!" Gren made sure to yell so the knights might hear him.
The soldier got even closer to Gren and put his hand over Gren's mouth; forcing the back of his head to hit against the wall. "Listen here, you little s.h.i.+t. You're going to pay me with that book whether you want to or not. Your knight friends aren't going to help you."
Gren knew that it would be bad if the man searched him so he decided to attack the soldier before that could happen. Gren pulled out the dagger and drove it upwards into the soldier's armpit. There was no armor there and the dagger was sharp so Gren didn't need much strength to pierce the muscle.
The soldier was yelling in pain and let go of Gren. The other soldiers in the area suddenly regained their sight and pulled out their weapons. Gren pulled his dagger out of the soldier's armpit and started yelling to get the attention of the knights.
The Church's knights appeared but so did the rest of the Duke's army. "What is going on here!?" Georgia was the first to say something.
"Your b.i.t.c.h of a healer stabbed me. I'm bleeding f.u.c.king everywhere." The injured soldier tried to get the first word in.
"It's true." "We saw her do it." "I didn't see it happen but she has a b.l.o.o.d.y dagger."
The other soldiers that ignored the injured man's actions were defending him. Technically they weren't lying but they conveniently forgot to mention the attempted robbery. With no witnesses on his side, Gren didn't feel confident that he would get out of this without a fight. The Duke's army wasn't much better than bandits, it seemed.
"Attacking a soldier is a serious offense. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" A commanding officer in the Duke's army spoke up. Gren didn't know his rank but it was clear that he was more important. His armor was the same grey color but had more layers.
"Even if I tell you the truth and say that he tried stealing the Church's spell book, will you believe me? The rest of your men just looked away as he attacked me and if I didn't defend myself against him then who knows what he would have done to silence me?" Gren didn't expect that they would just let him get away so he spoke his true feelings. "I helped your men and this is how I get repaid?"
"Is what this kid said true? Did you try to steal their property?" The commanding officer was angry.
"No, sir." The soldier wouldn't admit it.
"Can you explain how a child was able to stab you beneath your arm without you being able to defend yourself?" "Sir..." "Can you explain what caused a person that spent hours healing people for free to attack you?" The commanding officer was surprisingly on Gren's side.
"Sir, I didn't..." "Shut up, soldier! It's quite obvious to everyone here that you started it. Stop disgracing the Duke's name even further by denying it." The commanding officer turned to where the knights and Gren were standing. "Something like this won't happen again. However, I would appreciate it if you could heal this man before you leave. I don't want to lose anymore of my soldiers, even if they're pigheaded."
Gren realized this was to help both sides feel like they weren't losing anything and they could go their own ways without any lasting grievances. Gren agreed to it and asked the soldiers to hold the injured man down while he healed him. After the healing was complete, Gren decided to hurry up and finish their job.
"Let's gather the remaining bodies of the villagers and go." The rest of the G.o.ddess's body was retrieved and Gren smiled when he failed to store her.