Chapter 135: My Name is Solomon
What happened?
What was that huge explosion?
Ah, right—she had heard that this country was often in conflict with its neighbor, with occasional artillery shells landing inside.
So, the golden-haired, blue-eyed nun, driven by the desire to help, quickly got up, dressed, and rushed outside.
She saw red lights falling from the sky onto other parts of the town, followed by more explosions.
However, these explosions were much smaller than the first one, meaning the initial blast had happened nearby.
Where?
"Sister, hurry and take shelter!"
"The shelter is this way!"
A few panicked people nearby called out to her, urging her to follow them to safety.
"O-okay!"
But the nun who answered didn't follow them—instead, she kept looking around.
There! She saw the devastation in a small park less than fifty meters away.
Many of the trees had been knocked over by the shockwave, and thick smoke rose from the center.
At this hour, there shouldn't be anyone there, right?
Still, the worried nun decided to go check.
When she reached the edge, she saw a crater about ten meters wide, and at its center was a nearly shattered crate.
Inside that crate was another, now deformed, box—something like a coffin for the dead.
But given how badly it was warped, covered in dust and scorch marks, it was only vaguely similar. It probably wasn't a coffin, right?
Judging by the situation, had it fallen from high altitude?
Or maybe it had been buried underground in this park and was blasted out by the explosion?
So…?
Huh? It suddenly moved, startling the nun.
If this was a coffin, what could possibly be moving inside?
No… it couldn't be, could it? That kind of thing?
Then… she had to exorcise it, to prevent it from harming the town.
But was her power meant for exorcism?
Biting her lip lightly, swallowing hard, she prayed to God, staring intently at the figure now rising.
…Huh?
The person getting up didn't look like the rotting corpse or skeleton the nun had imagined—it was just a man.
"Please don't move! I'll come down and treat you right away!"
She immediately called out anxiously and hurried down into the pit.
The person was alive, though injured—hands covered in blood, head and face also smeared with crimson.
"Oof!"
Then, accompanied by a muffled groan of pain, she accidentally knocked the person she had just pulled out back down.
"I-I'm sorry, so sorry, really sorry! I didn't mean to!"
The flustered nun apologized, on the verge of tears.
Still panicking, she scrambled to her feet, only to slip again and land hard on her backside, her skirt flipping up in the process—revealing a rather delicate sight if one were to look directly at her.
"I'm really sorry!"
The nun kept apologizing, oblivious to anything else.
"Alright, if you keep apologizing, I might actually die. Weren't you supposed to heal me?"
The other person responded with a slightly exasperated tone.
"Ah? R-right, healing!"
The clumsy nun clambered up and extended her hands—which should have been soft and pristine but were now grubby from pressing against the dirt.
Noticing the filth on her palms, she hastily withdrew them before touching the injured person, wiped them on her clean robes, and then reached out again to lay her hands on the other's body.
Immediately, an emerald glow enveloped the heavily wounded figure.
"How is it? Feeling better?"
Since the other person also looked rather disheveled, and the injuries weren't visibly obvious, she couldn't tell if the healing had worked.
"That'll do."
So it worked? The nun sighed in relief.
But then, intermittent explosions echoed around them, making her tense up again.
"Quick, we need to take shelter!"
"Shelter? Is this country at war?"
"War? Ah, well, not exactly. Though we are under attack... How should I explain this?"
The nun wasn't entirely clear about the complicated relationship between this country and its neighbors, so for a moment, she didn't know how to explain it.
"Then let's go take shelter."
The other party didn't press further and stood up. Seeing her still sitting on the ground, he reached out a hand toward her. She placed her small hand in his and was pulled to her feet.
But as she stood, her foot slipped on a smooth stone, causing her to stumble and fall into his arms. Flustered, Asia hurriedly apologized.
"It's fine. If anything, I should be thanking you, Sister~"
He gave her a faint smile, and at such close proximity, the nun finally got a clear look at his appearance.
His hair was quite long, his features refined, and his figure slender. His attire didn't seem modern but rather resembled ancient robes—and quite ornate ones at that.
So why would someone like this be locked inside a crate?
"I'm Asia Argento. Please just call me Asia~"
The nun introduced herself with a bright smile.
"Solomon."
His response made Asia tilt her head in confusion.
What did he mean by saying that name?
Ah, was he also an admirer of that ancient wise king, planning to visit the holy land to see the relics left behind?
"Solomon. That's my name."
"Huh? Wait—"
No way. The person before her was named Solomon? As in that wise king?
N-no, that couldn't be.
"Just kidding, Miss Asia. You actually believed that? You're so easy to fool."
Teased by him, Asia puffed her cheeks slightly in displeasure.
"White as in daylight, moon as in the night. Call me Renji."
So that was his real name.
"Alright, Mr. Renji. Let's hurry and find shelter~"
Less than half an hour after the two disappeared from the area, a squad arrived.
"It's empty inside?"
"Not surprising. It probably disintegrated mid-air, scattering whatever was inside."
This left the Church's warriors with a headache.
After being sealed away for three thousand years, the body would naturally have turned to bones—not exactly easy to find compared to a whole, intact corpse.
On top of that, the town had been bombarded by enemy artillery, leaving everything in chaos and making the search even harder.
Damn devils. Damn traitors. They'd pay for this!!