The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 248: Banquet of the Gods (4)

"Both of you, stop crying please," Kai said.

"Sniff... alright."

"Sniffle... okay."

"Good."

After calming down the two adorable gods, Helik and Cal Rashya, Kai wiped away their tears with a handkerchief.

Looking at them like this, they really seem like sisters.

Helik had abundant blonde hair, while Cal Rashya’s hair was a delicate sky blue. Though the two colors seemed mismatched, they created a strangely harmonious look when together.

"By the way, both of you have terribly swollen eyes."

"Ugh... Don’t say such things. It’s not my fault."

"Indeed. It’s all my fault, so please don’t blame Helik."

Despite being gods of equal standing, Cal Rashya was especially cautious and humble toward Helik.

Watching the two, Kai carefully asked, "May I ask what happened in the past?"

At Kai’s question, Helik and Cal Rashya exchanged glances.

It was Helik who spoke first. "I guess telling you would be fine. Do you remember them? Those who were once her followers and still remain in the mortal realm."

"Oh, the ones like Lynel? The..."

Kai couldn’t bring himself to say the word dullahans out loud.

However, Cal Rashya, with a bitter smile on her lips, said, "My children, now turned into wandering spirits, still roam the mortal world. It’s all my fault."

"Why is that your fault?"

"Because I underestimated the Church of Muldine and gave a wrong oracle."

Cal Rashya continued her story in a sad voice. In the mortal realm, Cal Rashya, now called an ancient god, had been completely forgotten. The reason, of course, was the Church of Muldine.

Those terrifying punks.

They ruthlessly destroyed any opposing sects, erasing even the names of their rival gods from earth. That was how the Church of Muldine dealt with resisting faiths.

An oracle, huh.

Cal Rashya had deeply despised the overreaching Church of Muldine. Naturally, she issued an oracle instructing her followers to resist the Church of Muldine. And the result was...

Their annihilation.

What was even more tragic was that it didn’t end there. What followed was the horrifying torture and biological experiments conducted on the followers of Cal Rashya. Cal Rashya had to endure hearing the screams of her children calling out for her at every moment.

"I tried to convince her that it wasn’t her fault. But Rasha wouldn’t take my hand," Helik said.

"W-well, that’s because you are the god of the sun and mercy, so of course you’d say such things..."

Unable to ignore the suffering of her followers, Cal Rashya became increasingly devastated as she listened to their cries. She naturally developed a social phobia and severed all contact with everyone. In her own secluded place, where no one could reach her, she even attempted self-destruction.

Only after hearing the story did Kai understand Helik’s reaction.

To put it simply... Helik wanted to stop her friend from ending her life, but instead of listening, the friend cut all ties and disappeared?

In fact, Cal Rashya didn’t disappear for just a few months or years—she remained in hiding for hundreds of years.

Honestly, getting slapped once seems fair.

Helik’s ability to forgive everything with just one slap was a testament to her role as a god of mercy.

"So, are you feeling better now?" Kai asked.

"Well... Honestly, I’m still not sure. I came here today to see you."

"Me?" Cal Rashya bowed her head respectfully to Kai, who blinked, confused. "Lynel and my children, whom you set free, spoke to me before ascending to the heavens. They didn’t blame me. Instead, they comforted me, saying I could finally find peace."

"I see. Come to think of it, Lynel did wish for your sect to rise once again."

"If only I had been a bit wiser back then..."

"But your decision wasn’t necessarily wrong, was it?"

At this, Cal Rashya looked up at Kai with her blue eyes, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

"My decision... wasn’t wrong? Thousands of my children died and were tortured because of my reckless oracle to resist the Church of Muldine...!"

"So do you regret it?"

"Of course, I do."

"Then, if you could go back to the past, are you saying you would make the opposite choice?"

At Kai’s question, Cal Rashya’s gaze wavered violently, as if struck by an earthquake.

"W-well..."

"Do not dishonor Lynel and your followers who devoted themselves to you."

"When have I ever dishonored them...!"

Cal Rashya looked as if she was wrongly accused.

But on this matter, Kai had no intention of backing down.

"Have you ever considered why they didn’t resent you?"

"Well, because they were considerate of me...?"

"They became undead, wandering the mortal realm for hundreds of years, unable to find peace. Do you think they had the capacity for consideration?"

Cal Rashya clamped her mouth shut.

"The reason they didn’t resent you until the very end was because they had no reason to."

"No reason to resent me...?"

"Yes, because you made the right decision."

She had made the most righteous choice she could as a god. However, even the right choice could sometimes lead to unfavorable outcomes. That was just how the unpredictable world worked.

"A poor outcome doesn’t mean the decision itself was wrong. Is the transformation you desire, a world where only the result matters, regardless of the process?"

"Of course not!" Cal Rashya raised her voice. "That’s not what I mean... but if no one is to blame, then what am I supposed to do..."

Until now, she had directed all blame toward herself, constantly punishing herself. She believed that was her way of atoning for the suffering endured by her followers who had trusted and followed her.

But Cal Rashya’s followers wouldn’t want her to suffer.

Having met Lynel, Kai was certain of this. Even after hundreds of years, they continued to believe in and follow their god. They respected the conviction and courage embedded in her choices.

"No one to blame? Of course there’s someone to blame—the Church of Muldine. They are the ones at fault."

"Gasp..."

"Ahem... The Ch-Church of Muldine..."

"Umm..."

Several gods trembled with fear at the mention of the name. Some even wore uneasy expressions, as if worried the trouble might somehow reach them.

At their pathetic behavior, Kai’s gaze briefly turned cold before quickly returning to normal.

Incompetent bystanders.

These gods were the ones who had hidden themselves when the Church of Muldine was at its peak of power. And what of their sects now? Unlike Cal Rashya, they hadn’t opposed the Church of Muldine, so were they thriving and prosperous now?

Not a chance.

Their sects, like Cal Rashya’s, had also fallen. There is no one in this world foolish enough to fervently follow and trust someone who fails to inspire faith.

In the end, it was Cal Rashya's win. She was right all along.

Though her sect had collapsed like theirs, the faith her followers held for her remained eternal. After all, no one could hate a god who defied evil and guided her followers down the righteous path.

"You are a victim. Why are you burdening yourself with thoughts of what you might have done wrong?"

Pat, pat.

Cal Rashya’s soft hair became messy with Kai stroking her head.

"Do not blame yourself. It was never your fault."

It’s said that spouses and friends come to resemble each other over time.

Is being a crybaby contagious too?

Kai continued stroking Cal Rashya’s hair as she wept openly. In the Celestial Garden, on that silent island in the sky, only Cal Rashya’s sorrowful cries echoed like a mournful melody.

Ding!

[To the weary, the wounded, and the despaired, a warm word of comfort can sometimes carry enough weight to change their lives. Not only healing external wounds but also soothing internal scars—this is the ultimate goal you, as a cleric and believer, must ceaselessly strive to reach.]

[You have healed Cal Rashya’s wounded heart. She is no longer an outcast and will no longer blame herself or regret her past decisions.]

[The solarian god Helik witnessed your healing abilities firsthand. She winks her left eye at you.]

[+30 Benevolence stats.]

[Due to the effect of Witness of the Sun, your Benevolence stat has additionally increased by 15.]

[Affinity with Cal Rashya has reached its maximum.]

[Other gods who witnessed Cal Rashya’s tears felt a variety of emotions.]

[Some gods will spread stories about Cal Rashya to their followers.]

[The likelihood of the Cal Rashya Church being rebuilt has increased.]

When he turned his head, he saw Helik actually squinting her left eye in a wink. She was likely expressing her gratitude that her envoy had tended to the wounds of her dearest friend.

The Cal Rashya Church.

For her followers to gather once more, there would need to be a pivotal point. And currently, Kai had the power to create that pivotal point.

The ring of Cal Rashya's Guide.

It was a ring that allowed one to advance to the hidden class of the Cal Rashya Church. Now, all Kai had to do was find someone trustworthy enough to inherit the ring and entrust it to them.

Kai knelt on one knee to meet Cal Rashya's eyes. "Cal Rashya, I promise I’ll find a suitable individual for your church and send them to you."

"I-I think it would be fine for you to carry on my will..."

"That is not acceptable!"

A small figure interjected from behind, pushing herself between Cal Rashya and Kai.

"Helik?"

"No matter how much I care for you, Rasha, I cannot give you Kai. He is my envoy... He’s mine!"

"Oh my."

"Oh?"

"I never thought Helik would assert her stance so boldly..."

"I’ve never seen her act like this before."

The gods listening to Helik's bold declaration showed they were intrigued. In a way, it was only natural. No one would have expected such confidence from someone who was always on her island like a couch potato. And Kai was no exception.

Who would’ve thought our cute Helik cared for me this much?

But what was wrong was wrong. He corrected the mistake in her statement.

"However, Helik, I belong to myself, not to you. I am a person, not an object."

"W-what...? You’re not mine?"

"No, I am not."

At Kai’s firm tone, Helik looked as though she had lost her entire kingdom, her expression one of utter despair.

Unable to hold back a chuckle at her adorable reaction, Kai comforted her. "But I will remain your envoy for eternity, Helik."

"M-my dear...!"

Helik, visibly relieved, beamed brightly as she always did, her smile illuminating her surroundings.