“Ouch.”
Then I felt a bit of pain as well. It’s the wound from yesterday. The place where I was shot by that shitty priest still hurts. Looks like the day when it gets healed will be quite far from now. “……Ise-san, are you injured? Is it from yesterday……”
Asia’s expression gets cloudy. I think I messed up. We were having a good time, but I made her remember something painful. But Asia bends down and starts to check my injuries. “Can you please lift your trouser up?”
“S-Sure.”
I lift my trousers to have my calf exposed. The bullet mark is still there. Asia then places her palm there. A warm and gentle light shines on my calf. It really is a warm light. It’s a green light. It’s like Asia’s eyes and it looks so beautiful. It feels like her kindness is inside her light. “How is it?”
Asia stops her light, and she urges me to move. I move my leg a bit. Oh? Wow. This is amazing! “This is amazing Asia. I don’t feel uncomfortable anymore! I don’t feel any pain at all!”
I run around a bit. Asia smiles happily when she sees me. “You are amazing, Asia. The healing power, it’s an incredible power. ……This is a Sacred Gear, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
Just like I thought. “To tell you the truth, I also have a Sacred Gear. Though, it’s not much of a use. Right now, that is.”
Asia puts on a shocked face after hearing my confession. “Ise-san, you also have a Sacred Gear? I didn’t realise it at all.”
“Hahaha, I don’t even know its effect. And to compare it, Asia, your power is amazing. This can heal humans, animals, and also Devils like me, right?”
She put on a complicated expression, then a sad face. Soon after, a single drop of tear falls from her eyes. Then, more tears starts flowing out from her eyes. She then got down and starts to cry. I don’t know what to do, so I took her to a spot where we can sit. We sit on the bench on the roadside. Then, she told me a story about the girl who was once called the “Holy Maiden”. In a certain region in Europe, there was a girl who was discarded by her parents. She was raised in a Church nearby by a nun along with other orphans. The girl who was a strong follower of the Church received a special power at the age of 8. She healed a wounded puppy, and a person from the Catholic Church witnessed it by chance. From there on, her life changed. The girl was taken to the main Catholic Church and she was symbolised by many as a “Holy Maiden” because of her healing power. She used her power to heal many believers and they were told it was a power of divine protection. Rumours brought rumours and she was respected as a “Holy Maiden”. Even without her approval. She had no dissatisfaction for how she was treated. People from the Church were kind and she didn’t hate healing people. She instead was happy that her power was of use. The girl was thankful to her power which was bestowed to her by God. But she was a bit lonely. She didn’t have any friends she could open up to. Everyone treated her nicely and was nice to her. But there were no one willing to become her friend. She understood why. She knew that they were looking at her power as something irregular. They didn’t look at her as a human but as a creature that could heal humans. But one day, it changed. By coincidence, there was a Devil nearby and she healed it. A wounded Devil. The girl couldn’t ignore it. She thought that even if it was a Devil, she had to heal it if it was injured. It was her kindness that made her take such an action. But that changed her life forever. One of the people from the Church saw that incident and notified others of the Church. The ministers of the Church were shocked about it. “A power that can heal Devils! ?”
“Something absurd like that cannot happen!”
“The power of healing can only heal the followers of God!”
Yes, there were several people who had the power to heal. But the power to heal the Devil was out of the question. The people of the Church thought it was common sense that the power of healing doesn’t work on Fallen Angels and Devils. Apparently, a similar incident had happened in the past. The power to heal Fallen Angels and Devils that were not protected by God. But that was feared as the power of a “Witch”. So the people saw her as a heretic. “Damn witch that heals Devils!”
The girl who was respected as a Holy Maiden was then feared as a “Witch” and the Catholic Church abandoned her. She didn’t have anywhere to go and the organisation of “Stray Exorcists” picked her up. In other words, she had to get divine protection from the Fallen Angels. But the girl never forgot to pray to God. She also never forgot to thank God. Even so, the girl was abandoned. God didn’t save her. What shocked her the most was that there was not even a single person in the Church that was willing to defend her. There was no one who cared about her. “……It’s because I didn’t pray enough. It’s because I’m clumsy. I’m so stupid that I can’t even eat a burger by myself.”
The girl, Asia, wipes her tears while laughing. I didn’t know what to say to her. I didn’t know what to say after finding out her devastating past. Just like she showed before, she is a Sacred Gear possessor that has the power to heal even Devils. “This is also a trial that the lord gave me. Since I’m a clumsy nun, the lord gave me this trial. So I have to endure it.”
She was laughing as if she was talking to herself. You don’t have to say anything any more……
“I’m sure I will make lots of friends one day. I have a dream. I want to go buy flowers with a friend, buying books and……talk……”
She is full of tears. I can’t look at her any more. She must have been enduring it the whole time. She has been waiting for God to save her the whole time and has been hiding her feelings all along. Hey. Hey God! What’s the meaning of this!? Why don’t you save this girl! She has been longing for your help!? She has been respecting you more than anyone! What are you doing!? Why aren’t you doing anything!? I don’t know a single thing about you and I also don’t believe in any religion. On top of that, I’m a Devil! But even a Devil like me can talk to her! Weren’t you the one that gave us the Sacred Gears? This! This is wrong! Ah, I know. This is what I’m going to do! Watch me, God! I took her hand. I say it to her while looking directly to her eyes which is wet with her tears. “Asia, I will become your friend. No, we are already friends.”
Asia stands there looking puzzled. “I’m a D-Devil, but it’s all right. I won’t take Asia’s life, and I won’t take any price! You can call me whenever you feel like it! Ah, and I will also give you my mobile number.”
I put my hand inside my pocket to get my mobile phone out. “……Why?”
“It’s not why! Asia, you played with me for the whole day right? We talked right? We laughed together right? Then you and I are friends! A human, a Devil, or God doesn’t matter! We are friends!”
“……Is that a pact with a Devil?”
“It’s not! Asia and I are going to become actual friends! We will put other things aside!