The moment Rosa got out of the carriage; her mouth dropped open.
"This is...….”
It looked like a village on the verge of devastation.
Not only trees but all plants were decimated.
There seemed to be few places where people could live.
All the houses made of wood had fallen prey to the Philo.
In fact, the philos were flying about in swarms like bees.
"You bugs!"
"Go away!"
The villagers, dressed in thick clothing, brandished fly swatters and chased after them.
But the philos didn't flee at all. Instead, they were flying up and down excitedly.
Aphra whispered to Rosa carefully at the sight,
"This has been going on for a while. Before long, the philos will eat everything and then move on to the next village."
When it came to the philos, Aphra was the most expert here.
Rosa was going to proceed according to Aphra's plan, so she tried to ask what to do with the sebos.
"Then how much...….”
"Wait!"
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman came out. She grabbed Rosa’s hand tightly.
"A-are you a foreigner who read the newspaper? Do you know how?"
Rosa felt like she could tell how tiring it had been just by looking at her face and hearing her voice which cracked like a drought.
Her face was craggy and scruffy. Even the whites of her wide eyes had turned yellow.
With a pitiful heart, Rosa clasped the woman's hand as tightly as the woman’s hands had wrapped around her own.
And kindly said,
"Yes, I am here to help you."
She only uttered a few words.
But, as if the words were a catalyst, the woman fell flat on the floor.
Letting out a sob, she tried to worship Rosa and Aphra.
"Thank you! Thank you! Please save us! If it continues like this, everyone will die! Please!"
"Don't do this."
Rosa tried to raise the woman up, but she stumbled, as if she had no strength to get up.
Still, that didn’t stop her from repeating, "Thank you, thank you."
Meanwhile, the villagers gradually joined them.
"What? What's going on?"
"Honey, why are you crying?"
"Who are these people?"
Looking at them up-close, things were even more disastrous.
There were many people who were in more serious condition than the women. In addition, there were children who were sucking their fingers because they were hungry.
Rosa forced her mouth to move. She spoke to them, trying to show as little emotion as possible.
"I came here after reading the newspaper. I think I can get rid of the bugs, so I came here."
Their eyes were mixed with disbelief and hope at her words.
"So, we can finally be rid of these bugs now! Finally!"
"I survived!"
"Why did you suddenly appear when we couldn’t even get the people the lord called to come?"
"If you're a fraud, all the remaining plants will disappear! Let's just wait for the saint."
However, distrust was a little more prominent than hope towards Rosa.
Most believed that the Holy Land's saint would save them rather than her, who was unknown.
Of course, that was true.
If she left them alone, the people of the Holy Land would soon appear.
However, with the way things stood, it wouldn’t be strange if there were several people who died of starvation while waiting.
They seemed to need someone to talk to them more calmly.
Rosa calmly asked,
"When did you contact the Holy Land?"
"Two days ago?"
"Then I don't know how many more days it will take them to come. I could just leave, but...….”
She deliberately held her speech. It was to create a sense of tension.
In fact, she could hear the villagers next to her gulping down their saliva.
Then she opened her mouth again.
"Whatever food is left here will just continue to run out more."
It suddenly turned into chaos.
Some villagers began to hit those who were against it earlier in the back.
This was because running out of food was the same as starving to death.
"Let’s just accept this person’s help! Who cares about the Holy Land?"
"It's not like getting help is going to be a big deal! Can it get any worse than this?"
***
They were invited to the village elder's house.
The elder had no strength to hold his cane, and he was lying on one side of a bed, barely breathing.
First of all, Rosa greeted him politely.
"Thank you for inviting me."
"No, thank you."
The elder then raised himself with the help of a man who appeared to be his son.
But he spoke to them in a voice so powerful that one wouldn't believe he wasn't in good shape.
"Thank you very much for coming all the way here. I heard from my son earlier that…… You're here to help?"
"Yes, we are, but the villagers were reluctant to accept us."
"There are a lot of people who have become cynical, believing there’s no use in trying pointless things. Please understand."
The elder's words were fully understood.
Hope has always been only one step away from despair.
However, the elder would not have called them to talk about that.
Rosa didn’t want to further exhaust someone who was not in good shape, so she quickly got to the point.
"Can I ask why you called us here?"
At her question, the elder took a deep breath, perhaps he was nervous.
Then, being helped by his son, he carefully knelt on a bed blanket.
Rosa, of course, hurriedly dissuaded him.
"Please get up."
"Oh! You don't have to do this...….”
But whether they stopped him or not, the elder did not think of stretching his knees.
On the contrary, he bowed his head.
He spoke to them politely as if he were going to ask them a big favor.
"I am old anyway, but this is where my son and grandchildren will live. Please help this village."
The elder looked up.
It was the face of a wrinkled old man, but strangely enough, the face of a man who was stronger than anything else that could be seen.
"I want to keep holding on to even the smallest glimmer of hope. People asked me to follow Imago's lead, but before that, you might solve it sooner."
There was still skepticism in his words, but the elder’s thinking was correct.
They contacted the Holy Land, but it would be good if Rosa could solve things sooner, otherwise, she could just leave it to the Holy Land.
But a barrier remained.
Because of the words of the man with a unique name, Imago, some villagers wanted to wait for the Holy Land.
"I don't know who Imago is, but I don't think the villagers would like me to intervene first."
"Imago is only a stranger who has recently moved in. I will take responsibility as the elder of this town, so it’s fine."
The elder told her that Imago had only recently moved in, and that the decision-maker was him.
Then there was only one answer she could give.
"Yes, sir."
The elder showed a bright smile.
Then he tried to get out of bed again with his son's assistance.
"Right now, with me...….”
"No, not now."
She shook her head.
She glanced at Aphra. When her gaze met with me, Aphra nodded once.
As she said, she meant not right now.
"Tonight. I'll get rid of the philos then."
"Tonight?"
"Yes, philos, the worms fall asleep at times when it’s coldest. That's the best time to get rid of them."
It was what she’d heard from Aphra the other day. Therefore, she was able to explain it to the elder without issue.
Of course, she didn't forget to look sideways at Aphra for confirmation.
Then, a shadow reflected in the window caught her eye. It was toward the corner of the room.
She turned quickly to look at the space in the corner right behind Aphra.
But there was no one.
"Rosa?"
"What's wrong with you?"
She wondered if she’d seen incorrectly, and everyone was looking at her anxiously.
‘Did I see it wrong…….’
***
On the day Yura decided to leave, the Holy Land sent a carriage right away, as if they had foreseen it.
No, it would be more correct to say that it had already been waiting in the imperial city.
"Saint, get on."
The coachman opened the door for her.
Yura saw the maids carrying luggage and saw the priests by her side.
She looked around again. She didn't see anyone else at all.
No one came to stop Yura. Even Theodore hadn’t come to see her off.
Yura gritted her teeth.
She strode and loaded herself into the carriage sent from the Holy Land.
The maids, who were loading the luggage, came to Yura's side. It was to greet her.
"Lady Saint, take care...….”
However, Yura closed the door without listening to the maids.
"Let's go."
The coachman drove the wagon without saying much in response to Yura's chilly tone.
How long did they ride for?
By the time they got to the outskirts of the palace, the carriage's movement had slowed down gradually.
Soon the carriage stopped.
Immediately, the door of Yura's carriage was opened by someone.
They were priests. They wordlessly handed Yura a letter.
He then began his explanation.
"That letter is from the Pope."
"Conitel?"
"Yes."
As soon as she heard the sender, Yura hurriedly opened it.
However, the more she read the contents of the letter, the deeper the wrinkles between Yura's eyebrows became.
"What does this mean? Why do I have to go be a dirty bug-catcher?"
Yura became displeased.
Now that she’d left Theodore and the palace, she couldn’t believe she was going to the countryside to catch insects.
How funny she must look now.
As if they knew Yura’s feelings, the priests presented another letter.
"Another letter from the Pope."
It was oddly different from the one before.
The previous one had an official seal on it, but this one was folded up so that it could be thrown away as easily as possible.
Yura unfolded the folded paper and read it slowly.
However, her reaction was quite different from before. The more she read the letter, the more the wrinkles between her eyebrows began to relax.
As such, Yura smiled brightly.
This time, instead of giving you a blessing, I will make you a virtuous saint.
All preparations are complete.
Please trust us and go to Deutschen.
It will be the first piece to enhancing the reputation of the saint.