Chapter 4: You Don't Want to...
Without even having time to bid farewell to Phoebe, Aeron rushed out of the restaurant and chased after Cartethyia's figure back to the Cathedral of Mercury.
The cathedral, having just concluded its service, was nearly empty, with only the girl's silhouette standing alone in the chapel.
She wore a Crown of Thorns, her golden hair cascading to her waist, delicate pointed ears peeking through. Dressed in exquisite ceremonial garments and wearing small sandals.
The girl turned around and flashed Aeron a dazzling smile.
"You've come, Mr. Priest."
When those smiling blue eyes fell upon Aeron, he couldn't help but marvel at how this youthful yet heroic face displayed a maturity beyond its years.
Aeron first blinked, then slapped himself hard twice across the face.
Holy shit guys, I must be seeing ghosts today.
Cartethyia, the saint who should have been martyred 20 years ago, was now standing before him.
Was there something wrong with how he woke up? Had he finally started hallucinating? Should he go to the Order to claim disability benefits?
"?"
From a distance, Cartethyia watched as Aeron seemed to be fighting with his own mind, tilting her head in confusion.
After maintaining nearly a minute of silence between them, Aeron's extraordinary wisdom finally provided an answer.
"Alright, wait here for a moment."
What followed was a scene Cartethyia would remember for the rest of her life:
The priest before her drew a blade from his robes and decisively stabbed it into his own neck, blood gushing out like a waterfall.
"Eh?"
Witnessing this scene, Cartethyia froze completely.
Thump.
Aeron's body swayed, then collapsed into the pool of blood on the floor.
"Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhh?"
Faced with this situation, Cartethyia's mind went completely blank.
Why had this priest suddenly taken his own life? Had she said or done something wrong? Had the world gone mad in ways she no longer recognized?
Before little Cartethyia could recover from her shock, an even more terrifying scene unfolded.
The corpse lying on the ground suddenly twitched several times.
[Cause of Death: Suicide]
[Rating: B]
[Reward: Focus Fire—You who excels at drawing aggro will become the primary target of all enemies, even bullets will curve to hit you.]
[Status Refreshed.]
"Who the hell wants an ability like that!"
The wound on Aeron's neck rapidly healed, pushing the blade out of his body as he sprang up from the ground as if nothing had happened.
While it was convenient that things could be settled this way, this ability was seriously weird!
Wait, that wasn't the main issue right now.
When Aeron looked toward Cartethyia, the saint had been so frightened that she was sitting on the floor trembling.
...
"S-so that's how it is?"
In the end, it took Aeron considerable effort to calm Cartethyia down.
He had only wanted to use the ability the System had given him previously to check if he was still sane. The result was clear—he had terrified Cartethyia.
"Don't you ever do something like that again!"
Cartethyia curled up by the fountain, hands tightly clutching the front of her garments, her Crown of Thorns slightly askew.
"B-but since you're the Sentiel Resonator, being able to do such things should be expected... right?"
"...What?"
Before they could exchange more than a couple sentences, disagreement arose between them once again.
"Oh? Didn't you find me after winning the Crown at Carnevale and establishing a connection with the Sentinel?"
In Ragunna, people worship the Sentinels as deities, establishing an Order and doctrines for them.
"Carnevale" is an extremely important day when the masses collectively offer prayers and, at the peak of revelry, fulfill their Oaths, select the "Crown," and communicate with the Sentinels.
However, due to interference from the Order, twenty years have passed since the last Carnevale. Various factions will converge upon this significant festival, making it an important chapter for Rover after arriving in Rinascita.
But Aeron was just a minor cleric. To him, this was merely a small episode in his ordinary life.
"My apologies for disappointing you, Your Holiness. I don't deserve such an honorable title."
Aeron truthfully conveyed this and explained to Cartethyia the current situation in Ragunna.
The Order, Fisalia, and Montelli—Ragunna was now largely under the shadow of these three major powers. Beneath a surface of peace surged turbulent undercurrents.
First, Fenrico, the head of the Order, ruled over Ragunna City through the Order with near-dictatorial control.
The Montelli family sought proactive change, establishing their foothold in Ragunna through wealth and trade routes, which inevitably brought them into conflict with the Order.
Fisalia, meanwhile, lurked beneath these undercurrents, making preparations for their own objectives.
Of course, all three factions ultimately shared the same goal—the final theme of Wuthering Waves: resisting the Dark Tide.
"And I'm just a nobody who wants to live an ordinary life~"
After hearing Aeron's account, the emotions in Cartethyia's heart gradually gave way to a heavy understanding. She lowered her head slightly, the shadow of her Crown of Thorns falling across her delicate cheeks.
No doubt, she was now worrying about the future of Rinascita.
"Alright, then let this pleasant misunderstanding end here. Farewe—"
"W-wait a moment!"
Aeron stood up to leave, but before he could finish his farewell, Cartethyia hurriedly called out to him.
"Mr. Aeron... could... you please help me?"
With a long sigh, Aeron reluctantly turned back. Seeing Cartethyia's determined expression, he couldn't bring himself to voice his refusal.
"I know my request is sudden and excessive. But... you're the only person I can trust right now..."
"..."
Cheating! This was pure cheating!
Was there really anyone in the world who could resist when a cute girl said something like that? If such a person existed, they must be... well, let's just say they'd have unusual preferences.
But no—Aeron couldn't agree. He had his own principles to uphold!
For the sake of his dignity, he had to make one last attempt to resist!
"Heh heh... It's not that I can't agree to help you."
With that, Aeron forced a deliberately roguish smile onto his face, letting his gaze deliberately drift downward to rest on Cartethyia's slender feet in their sandals.
Her ankles were delicate, her toes as round and smooth as pearls, radiating an untainted purity under the church's lighting.
There was no helping it—though this made him seem like a pervert, it was the only way to make her give up!
"Then—allow me to test... the holy maiden's beautiful feet!"
The moment these words left his mouth, Aeron despised himself inwardly—this was too perverted, he was absolutely not like this normally.
Cartethyia clearly froze, her eyes widening instantly as a visible blush spread across her pale cheeks.
She instinctively retracted her foot slightly. Evidently, she had never anticipated such a request.
"You... you..." she stammered, her voice trembling with shame and disbelief, unable to form coherent words.
But Aeron couldn't back down now!
"Your Holiness, you wouldn't want Rinascita to face any threats, would you?"
Aeron's expression grew increasingly brazen. He had acted so forcefully—surely Cartethyia would give up soon, right?
"...Alright."
That single word, spoken softly, struck Aeron like a physical blow.
"...Huh?" Aeron wondered if he had misheard.
"I said... alright!" Cartethyia repeated, her voice slightly louder, quivering yet unmistakably clear. "If... if this is what it takes to prove my resolve, if only then will you agree to help Ragunna...!"
Cartethyia's fingertips lightly brushed against the transparent strap of her sandal, slowly loosening the tie. The silk cord slid along the curve of her arch, freeing her toes.
Her fingers trailed from her ankle to her heel, gently hooking the sandal's edge. She gradually slipped off the sandal, revealing her slender ankle, followed by the slightly flushed heel and the elegant curve of her arch.
Once the sandal was fully removed, her toes were exposed like pearls. The skin on her instep was so delicate that faint blue veins were visible, gleaming with a porcelain-like luster under the church's light.
Overwhelmed with shame, Cartethyia removed one sandal. When she looked up again, Aeron was already kneeling in a dogeza posture before her.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong."