Chapter 40: An Unreliable Angel and a Mysterious Ailment

Just then, another figure emerged, a familiar face I hadn’t seen in ages: Sally.

“Bishop, has the escort from the association arrived yet?”

Sally inquired of Lister as she entered the hall, only to be startled upon seeing me standing beside him.

“Flora! What are you doing here? Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right, I am your escort.”

A wry smile touched my lips, realizing we had finally met again.

“Are you capable?”

Predictably, Sally’s immediate reaction was to question my competence.

“Hey, I’m an angel, after all. Must you be so impolite?”

I couldn’t help but feel exasperated; was my image in Sally’s eyes truly so pathetic?

“A four-winged one, no less.”

To add a touch more persuasiveness, I unfurled my wings on the spot.

Four pristine, snow-white wings instantly glinted with dazzling light, spreading outwards in an X-shape within the grand church hall.

“It’s… it’s breathtaking.”

Bishop Lister’s eyes widened in awe, his face revealing an expression of profound reverence, and his knees nearly buckled beneath him. In stark contrast, Sally, standing behind him, merely curled her lip in disdain, her expression clearly conveying her belief that I was a fake angel.

This was… utterly humiliating; to be regarded with such skepticism by a member of the Church of God.

No wonder I had always been puzzled why she only revered Angelina and paid me no mind; it turned out I had long been categorized as a counterfeit angel.

“That’s enough, Sally!”

Bishop Lister finally intervened, unable to bear it any longer.

“Your rudeness to the angel was regrettable enough, but she is now your appointed escort. You simply cannot continue to be so ill-mannered.”

“Then why isn’t Lady Angelina here?”

Sally asked again, her tone tinged with reluctance.

“Your Lady Angelina is currently occupied with other tasks; she’s quite busy,” I retorted, a hint of pique in my voice.

“Truly, I can manage this alone; trust me. I can fly you there quickly and safely.”

It felt as if I were practically begging her, a truly unprecedented level of vulnerability for an angel, especially in front of members of the Church of God.

I almost pulled out my identification card to prove my rank was sufficient for the task.

Yet, I feared that if she saw it, she might scorn me even more, considering Tiffany had mentioned that even two-winged angels were typically at least Rank 4, while I was merely Rank 3…

“Alright, I suppose we can try it then.”

Sally mused for a moment, finding no further grounds for complaint, and grudgingly agreed.

‘I felt like buying a block of tofu and smashing my head into it, though it seemed tofu wasn’t sold in this world.’

‘Perhaps I could invent it?’ A sudden money-making idea struck me, a testament to my ingenuity, though I wondered if the people of this world would acquire a taste for it.

Before we departed the church, it seemed even Bishop Lister had been influenced by Sally’s skeptical attitude, deeming me unreliable. He repeatedly cautioned me that Sally was the beloved granddaughter of Count Grindelwald, patriarch of the Abyss family, and that absolutely no harm should come to her.

‘These names sound so familiar,’ I mused. Sally was indeed a noble, her full name likely Abyss Sally. This confirmed Tiffany’s theory about noble bloodlines among Light Element mages, and this particular family was even rumored to be distant relatives of the Asante royalty.

****

“You know, an angel like you would actually fit in quite well with our church.”

On a secluded patch of land in the northern outskirts of the city, as Sally and I prepared to find a suitable takeoff spot, she suddenly shifted her demeanor and began earnestly promoting the idea of me joining the church.

She had likely tried to persuade me once before, when we first met in the Amara Forest, but that was before she discovered my pathetic strength.

“Really?”

I was surprisingly thrilled to hear this, feeling no aversion whatsoever to her — no, not pyramid scheme — her proselytizing. Had she finally acknowledged me? Was it simply because she saw that I could fly?

“Of course! Even if you were just a pretty face, a mere ‘vase’ placed in the church doing nothing, it would still be quite good. While your strength might be lacking, you’d be very effective at attracting people to join and promoting our cause!”

‘…’

I resolved then and there: once we were in the sky, I would definitely drop this insolent girl. This was simply too much!

To be safe, after extending my wings, I secured Sally and myself together with a rope. Then, holding her from behind, I flapped my wings and ascended into the sky.

Although being in such close proximity to a girl still brought a blush to my cheeks, I was considerably calmer now, no longer prone to losing composure. After all, sharing a bed daily with Angelina, a “stunning beauty” with an incredible figure, had, through prolonged exposure, endowed me with an unshakeable willpower.

Despite Sally’s petite stature, nearly matching my height, her weight was far from light; she felt many times heavier than Angelina. Nonetheless, this was still within my flight capacity.

I realized that Angelina’s lightness was likely due to her angelic nature.

“Woah—”

Sally, clearly experiencing flight for the first time, excitedly stretched her limbs and waved at the distant figures far below.

Her childish reaction closely mirrored my own initial flight experience, finally allowing me to perceive a glimmer of cuteness in her.

“Flora.”

Suddenly, I heard Sally call my name from where she was pressed against my chest. I responded with a questioning hum, unsure of what she wanted.

“If you could fly back then, why didn’t you just fly out of the Amara Forest on your own?”

“You’re asking about that? It’s simple, really. I mainly wanted to travel with all of you. Besides, if I flew alone, I wouldn’t have known where the royal capital, Navareli, was; I still needed you all to guide me.”

I replied, feeling a sudden pang of melancholy as I recalled those cherished experiences in the Amara Forest, now that everyone had gone their separate ways.

“So that’s how it was. Until just now, I honestly thought you couldn’t fly at all, and I’ve been half-believing it.”

‘She doubted even that! I’m so annoyed, truly infuriated.’

“That’s going too far! You clearly saw me flying when I fought Minos!”

“So, you couldn’t fly before that?”

“Well…”

I was momentarily speechless.

“A truly weak angel, just as I thought!”

“Do you want me to drop you?!”

“Woah! Don’t move so much!”

Ultimately, I suppressed my homicidal urge and hastened to deliver the little brat Sally to her destination.

“That was so fast! Much quicker than a carriage.”

The moment we landed, Sally immediately began exclaiming about the advantages of flight.

“Of course it was; who do you think I am?”

I puffed out my chest proudly, my two pairs of wings fluttering incessantly behind me, clearly seeking praise.

“You look like a white-feathered chicken…”

Sally cast a disdainful glance my way before turning and heading towards Tedles Town.

“You…” I stomped my foot in frustration.

‘Honestly, is being a noble so grand that they can insult anyone they please?’

****

Tedles was a small town nestled amidst mountains, surrounded on all sides by peaks, yet its transportation was relatively convenient, with a main road leading to the outside world.

Conventional travel to this place would take at least four or five days, but I had flown Sally here in just over an hour.

However, something seemed amiss here. The moment we entered the town, I immediately sensed a peculiar and unsettling atmosphere.

Though the town was by no means small, not a single soul was visible on the streets in broad daylight. Sally, having entered first, quickly noticed the abnormality, immediately slowed her pace, walked closer to me, and even produced the staff I had seen before.

‘How enviable,’ I thought, glancing at the ring on her right hand. She could coolly conjure a staff out of thin air, while I merely had a longsword tucked into my waist. The comparison was enough to make one seethe with envy.

“It seems to be permeated with that dark elemental aura you mentioned.”

Unsure myself, I quietly inquired of Sally beside me.

“That’s right.”

She confirmed my suspicion with absolute certainty, having indeed sensed it as well.

“Could it be a magical beast?”

I recalled that whenever this scent appeared, some monstrous creature would invariably emerge, so I immediately gripped the longsword at my waist.

“Unlikely.”

This time, Sally refuted my conjecture.

“Magical beast auras are typically concentrated in one location, but here, it pervades almost the entire town, and it’s very faint.”

She was quite right; the scent permeating the air was indeed very faint, feeling as though it could dissipate at any moment. Yet, even so, we dared not lower our guard, slowly proceeding along the town’s streets.

“My task is to deliver you to the church here. Where is it located?”

Still, I was quite frightened and already considering retreating.

The place felt devoid of human presence, yet the mission explicitly stated I had to escort Sally, so my only thought was to quickly hand her over to the church and then withdraw once the task was complete.

“I’m not sure either; this is my first time here.”

Sally shook her head, responding after glancing at a street sign.

“It should be straight down the main street into town, then a right turn.”

Hearing this, I immediately led her forward. The first intersection was not far, and if luck was on our side, we should spot it quickly.

“By the way, what are you doing in a place like this? Is it merely for inspecting the local branches?”

“Of course not! I’m not that bored!” Sally retorted.

“The branch here reported a few days ago that a very peculiar illness is rampant in the town, with symptoms closely resembling those of dark elemental contamination, such as curses or miasma. Since no one locally practices light magic, I was dispatched to investigate.”

“Dark elemental contamination?”

I had heard about light contamination before, but I hadn’t expected to encounter its opposite, dark elemental contamination.

“Yes, this illness is extremely troublesome. If not treated promptly, it not only endangers lives, but even if people die, they will transform into undead creatures like zombies.”

“That terrifying?”

Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but shiver. Although I hadn’t encountered a zombie since transmigrating, the thought of them existing, and not far from me, was quite frightening.

“This must be it, right?”

After turning the corner, we indeed spotted a spire-topped building on the left side of the road. It resembled a small, simplified version of a church, its distinctive shape instantly recognizable.

Sally nodded, then stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Thankfully, the door soon opened from within, and a middle-aged woman, appearing to be a nun, timidly peered out at us.

“Who are you?”