The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 323: The City of Culture (3)

As all eyes turned toward the empty stage, a woman’s soft voice began narrating.

Once upon a time, there were two empires of equal power. They were the Empire of Kan, land of knights, and the Empire of Gon, land of wizards. Though they were neighboring nations, they hated and resented each other for over a hundred years. The hands of their soldiers were never free from the blood of the other nation’s citizens, and the emperors of the two empires swore not to lay down their weapons until they had destroyed one another.

“Humans are so cruel.”

“The citizens are the ones who suffer most.”

“... It’s just a play. A fictional story.”

Helik and Cal Rashya muttered awkwardly.

“Oh...”

“R-right.”

At least they seem really immersed.

When Kai glanced at the audience, their reactions were no different. Even the hands that had been reaching for popcorn and snacks had stopped, eyes locked on the stage.

A woman dressed in bright, medieval noble attire stepped onto the stage. “Whew, what lovely weather.”

She was the elf playing one of the play’s main characters, Sophia.

Her maids followed closely behind and asked with bowed heads,

“Your Highness, prolonged exposure to sunlight may damage your skin. Please head inside.”

“This is fine. I plan to inspect the territory today.”

Her acting was outstanding. Not just her voice, but even in her steps and the subtle motion of extending her hand, the grace of royalty was evident. Not only she, but the player actors also delivered excellent performances. Naturally, the audience was drawn into their story in an instant.

Hm, this is actually fun.

Kai was one of them.

***

The play’s pacing was quick, giving the audience no time to feel bored.

The prince of the Empire of Kan and the princess of the Empire of Gon ended up visiting a neighboring kingdom. There, they secretly slipped away from their attendants and concealed their identities, experiencing life among commoners. They met by chance while buying apples and fell in love at first sight. Promising to meet secretly in the plaza every night, the two quickly grew close. However, fate was not on their side.

“Phia, come with me. In truth, I am no farmer... but the prince of the Empire of Kan.”

“W-what...?!”

At first, discovering that they were royals of enemy nations filled them with betrayal, but only for a moment.

“Even so, I cannot forget about you!”

“Phia... No, Sophia! My feelings are the same as yours.”

“Julio!”

The two chose a forbidden love, and a bright, cheerful song played, as if blessing their future. But it didn’t last long, as the tone of the music began to shift, becoming slower and heavier. Eventually, their secret meetings reached the ears of both emperors. Of course, teams were dispatched from both empires to chase them down.

“There’s no more time.”

“I don’t want to give you up.”

“Then, under the blessing of the Solarian God, will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

In a small country temple of the Solarian Church, the two got married with only an old priest as a witness.

“I will love you until my golden hair turns to white.”

“And I will love you until the day my heart no longer beats.”

They smiled, but the audience couldn’t relax, as the threat of the pursuit teams were getting closer with every moment. After days of running away night and day, the two were eventually separated at a crossroad.

“Let’s meet in two days, beneath the shade of the old oyster mushroom tree.”

“No matter what happens, I’ll be there on time.”

Pinky-promising and sharing a kiss, the two set out on a difficult journey. They avoided the pursuit teams, sometimes fighting, and at times begged for help from subordinates who had once served them, barely escaping danger. Then, it was Sophia who arrived first at the old oyster mushroom tree.

“Huff, huff... Where’s Julio?”

She looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, she hadn’t fully managed to escape those chasing after her.

The imperial wizards can use magic to detect life.

If she waited for Julio here, she would undoubtedly be caught. So, Sophia used her magic to place herself in a coma-like state for twenty-four hours.

***

“Bwaaahhhh.”

“Waaaaaaah.”

Kai silently watched the two girls sobbing their hearts out. He didn’t say anything, but he was quite moved too.

Romeo and Juliet... A world-renowned tragedy, a masterpiece.

At times cheerful, at times devastating, and at other times heartbreakingly sorrowful. The lingering emotion of Sophia and Julio did not fade, even as the actors all came on stage for their final bows.

The dome was filled with applause, but no cheers were heard.

Was it because the play had been terrible? Absolutely not.

“Sniff.”

“There must be some dust in my eyes...”

No one was in the state to speak, still overwhelmed by their emotions. The moment they opened their mouths, it felt like tears would pour down like rain, so no one dared to utter a word. But the applause they gave was etched clearly into the ears, eyes, and hearts of the actors.

“What did you think, my lord?”

At Spielbucks’s question, Kai wiped the corner of his eyes and nodded.

“Honestly, I’m touched. Romeo and Juliet is a story countless people have already encountered. Because of that, it can feel rather cliché, but you really brought it to life. You’ve proven your reputation wasn’t in vain.”

“Hahaha. I’m flattered. And how about you two ladies?” Spielbucks scratched his head as he looked at the two girls, tears rolling down their cheeks. “I-It seems they were really moved.”

“I think they both enjoyed it very much. Thank you for all your hard work on creating such a wonderful play.”

“It wouldn’t have been possible without your support.”

Just then, someone knocked on the VIP room door, and an attendant entered.

“My lord, Count Mediff and several other nobles wish to see you. There have also been many requests to meet Director Spielbucks.”

“Seems like it went well with the nobles too.”

As Kai smiled, Director Spielbucks responded with a bright expression, “We’ve prepared an afterparty as well. Please attend and share a few words with the nobles.”

“Ah... In that case, please give me a moment.”

As he prepared to head out, Kai lowered his voice and tried to comfort the two crying girls. “Helik, Rashya. That’s enough now.”

“Sniff... But... but... Julio... waaaah!”

“Sophia... I... I feel so bad for her! Waaah!”

“Hmm.”

It seemed the emotional story had been a bit too intense for the adorable gods before him. However, he couldn’t just keep the people waiting for him waiting forever.

“But we really need to go now. Shall I escort you back to the celestial realm?”

At his question, Helik and Rashya shook their heads at the same time.

“Sniff... G-go ahead without us.” Helik waved her hand and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“How could I leave you two behind?”

“Once we calm down... we’ll look around on our own.”

“Sniff. We might look like kids, but we’re not actually little children.”

As the two gods gradually calmed down, they pouted, seemingly displeased that Kai was treating them like children. Of course, under normal circumstances it would’ve been beyond adorable, but with their eyes all swollen from crying, it was honestly kind of funny.

“Bahaha. Then, may I really go now?”

“We said it’s fine, didn’t we? If anything happens, we’ll call you.”

“Yes, then I’ll be back.” Knowing they didn’t like being treated like children, Kai nodded without hesitation. “Don’t get lost, and don’t follow any suspicious strangers, okay?”

“Mhmm. Got it.”

“Keep that in mind.”

Watching the two girls holding hands as they wandered off to explore the city, he summoned Blizzard.

“Yes, Master.”

“I’m counting on you to protect them.”

“How much should I intervene?”

“Step in and protect them if they’re in real danger. But don’t show yourself unless absolutely necessary, since they wouldn’t like knowing I assigned them a secret bodyguard.”

“Understood. I’ll guard them discreetly.” Blizzard bowed and pulled a gray robe over himself, covering his shiny armor.

***

After parting ways with Kai, the two girls held hands and walked through the streets.

It was the first time they had seen such a heartbreaking play. The two of them sat on a bench in the plaza, mouths slightly open, staring blankly at the sky. Their expressions were filled with sorrow, as if they had lost an entire nation. It took them two hours to calm the lingering emotions left by the play. Once the emotional wave had settled, they began to feel hungry, likely from all the energy they had spent crying for so long.

“Rashya, aren’t you hungry?”

“... I am.”

“Then let’s go eat cake.”

Rashya grabbed the wrist of her old friend, who was about to get up from the bench, stopping her. “But Helik, in the world of people, there’s a thing called currency. I don’t want to become a god who eats without paying.”

To that, Helik responded in protest, “Rashya, Kai gave me something called an allowance for situations like this.”

“Oh...” Rashya looked in awe at the coin pouch Helik pulled from her pocket. “Your apostle truly is remarkable. To have foreseen even a situation like this... How much is in there?”

“H-huh?” Slightly taken aback by the question, Helik opened the coin pouch. “Just a moment. There’s one, two, three, four, five yellow coins... Um... and five more fingers on my right hand... so that makes six, seven...”

Unfortunately, the highest number Helik could count to was ten.

She eventually closed the pouch and casually said, “There’s more than ten in here.”

“So how many cakes can we buy with that?”

“Mmm...”

That question sent Helik into deep thought again.

After a moment, she put on a very proud smile and said, “Kai once said to me that human relationships are give and cake.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means if you give a coin, you receive a cake in return. What else could it mean?”

“I see!” Rashya clapped like a seal and praised Helik’s competence. “Amazing. I wonder if I’ll learn things like that when I get an apostle too.”

“Of course you will.”

Helik and Rashya held hands again and entered the prettiest-looking shop nearby.

“Welcome... hmm?”

The staff member in a suit looked at them and then glanced behind them.

Realizing that no one was with them, he knelt on one knee and asked, “Excuse me, little ladies. Did you not come with a guardian?”

“We did, but now he’s at an afterpa—um.”

“Afterparty,” Rashya whispered.

Helik nodded. “Yes, he went to an afterparty. We have plenty of allowance.”

Helik pulled five gold coins from her coin pouch and handed them to the staff member. “Bring cake, and don’t forget about cola.”

The two were immediately guided to the most luxurious seats in the shop.

“This place has a nice atmosphere.”

“Yeah. The shop is pretty.”

Seated at their table, the two ordered cake, bread, and drinks, then began admiring the shop’s interior.

That was when the atmosphere in the shop suddenly turned chaotic. A table was flipped over, and the plates of food and glasses of water on it spilled everywhere. The boy who ended up soaked in it bit his lip tightly and lowered his head.

“So much for calling this a city of culture. In reality, it’s nothing more than a trashy place crawling with street rats.” A man, dressed in clothes that practically screamed they were a noble, snapped irritably as he called for the staff, “Get the manager. Right now.”

Helik quietly sipped her cold water through a straw as she watched the scene unfold.