"What's going on here?!" a male voice bellowed.
Vivian turned her head to the direction of the voice and saw a burly-looking old man with a red face glaring at her.
She also noticed the gathering of onlookers.
Tch...!
I don't have time for this shit..!
She shot a glare back at the old man and pointed at the injured man lying on the floor.
"Is this your employee?!"
"That's my grandson! You better --!"
Pah!
Thud!
Vivian slapped him away with her poleaxe and he fell to the pavement.
"Shut the fuck up!"
When the old man finally realized what just happened to him, he tasted iron in his mouth, his flesh throbbed, and his bones ached. And with blood trickling down his mouth, he tried to get up but stopped.
Shiiing.
The spear-head of Vivian's poleaxe was pointing at his face, its tip staring straight between his eyes.
"Your pervert of a grandson tried to touch me, a Priestess, all of a sudden. What do you have to say? Tell me, old man, is this what you're teaching in your family?"
All of a sudden, a woman in her 40s burst out of a shop and rushed to the old man's side, shielding him with her body before turning to Vivian.
"MERCY, HONORED PRIESTESS…! I BEG YOU…!"
"Who are you?"
"This is my fa--" she wasn't able to finish her sentence when she saw the unconscious young man severely injured and lying on the street. "My son!"
She rushed towards the young man and hugged him.
"My son, what happened to you?!"
Vivian looked at her with a deadpan expression.
Eh…?
Is that even safe to do…?
I mean…
He has broken bones…
"Ehem!" Vivian cleared her throat. "Ma'am, please stop shouting and listen to me."
"My son! My son! Please wake up!"
Vivian gritted her teeth.
Clan--raaaaack!
She struck the end of her poleaxe against cobblestone pavement, causing a small web of cracks to appear and catching the attention of everyone, including the woman.
Seriously…
"The both of you," she said and looked at the old man and woman. "That young man tried to grab me all of a sudden so I accidentally hit him."
"My son?! He isn't --!" the woman said.
"Martha!" the old man interjected and then gritted teeth.
Vivian turned to the old man.
"You. Who are you? You seem to be someone important to talk to a member of the Temple of Priests like you did."
The old man knelt down and pressed his forehead on the pavement.
"I beg for your forgiveness, Honored Priestess… My emotions got the best of me that I didn't realize who I was talking to…"
"So let me get this straight: If I wasn't Priestess, you would've done worse?"
"I would never, Honored Priestess… My emotions simply got the best of me…"
At the corner of Vivian's eye, she noticed two Guards approaching her. One was in his late 20s while the other was in his mid-20s.
Shit…!
When the two Guards finally reached her, they saluted.
"Good morning, Honored Priestess! How may we be of service?"
Huh…?
How may we be of service…?
They're here to help…?
She shook her head mentally.
Nah…
It can't be…
"What do you want?"
The two Guards were caught off-guard for a moment.
As expected…
Vivian pointed her poleaxe at the injured and unconscious grandson.
"That young man tried to touch me all of a sudden while I was walking and I accidentally hit him out of reflex."
She turned her poleaxe at the old man who was still pressing his forehead on the cobblestone pavement.
Eh…?
He's still bowing…?
Such an insidious drama king…!
So you want to play that game, huh…?
"Meanwhile, this old man tried to defend his grandson by threatening to hurt me."
Clang.
She planted her poleaxe on the pavement once again. But this time around, no cracks appeared.
"Normally, I would seek justice and compensation for such disrespect. But I currently have a Holy Mission issued by the Temple of Priests. If you or anyone got any issue, tell that to the Temple of Priests."
She went over to the woman and the unconscious man.
Seeing Vivian approach, the woman hugged her son tightly.
Vivian suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
You're the one who's going to end up killing him if you keep doing that...!
"Ma'am, please relax, I'm just going to heal him. As a member of the Temple of Priests and a devout believer of the God of Light, I will still bestow him forgiveness despite his actions."
[Heal].
A faint yellow light enveloped the man's body and half of his injuries recovered.
Oh shit…
I don't have enough mana to cast another [Heal]…
Well, at least I was able to save him before this woman moved him to death…
The man opened his eyes weakly.
A look of confusion appeared on his face from seeing his mother crying and hugging him, and also the pain that he felt all over his body.
"Young man," Vivian said, drawing his attention to her. "Don't ever try to harass a Priestess ever again. I know it's hard being young and healthy, but please control yourself. You were extremely lucky that it was me you encountered. Had it been another person, you and your family would've been charged with sexual harassment and be thrown in jail. May the God of Light continue to watch over you."
Her Brown Cloak fluttered in the wind as she turned and began walking away.
"W-What…?" the man asked weakly, his face painted with even more confusion.
Meanwhile, for the rest of the people, they were just as confused as the young man.
***
7:38 a.m.
Temple of Priests Office Building, Temple of Priests Private Compound, Luxen City.
Vivian entered the Mission Room.
What the hell…?
Although it was still about half an hour before 8:00 a.m., there were already several people inside the room, some were dressed in Brown Cloaks, others in White.
She went over to the line in front of Ezekiel's counter.
"Excuse me, excuse me…" she said as she made her way in front of the counter.
Ezekiel was currently talking with a Priest.
Vivian turned to the Priests and Priestesses behind the Priest talking to Ezekiel.
"Excuse me, brothers and sisters, can I insert in the line for a quick moment? I have an important message to tell Brother Ezekiel. I promise it will only take a moment."
"No problem, sister."
Vivian gave a quick and slight bow.
"Thank you," she said and smiled.
A couple of seconds later, the person talking to Ezekiel left and Vivian immediately rushed in.
"Brother Ezekiel."
"Oh, Sister Vivian, how are you? I mean, are you okay?"
Ezekiel met with Vivian yesterday. Although she looked haggard yesterday, today it only gotten worse. Moreover, she hasn't taken a bath yet. When she arrived at the compound, she immediately went straight here to the Mission Room.
"That's the reason why I came here to talk to you."
Ezekiel raised an eyebrow.
"The reason you came here to talk to me?"
"Remember the Teaching and Feeding Holy Mission you told me about? Is it possible to attend tomorrow? I haven't slept for 2 days and I'm not feeling well," she said and then took out the token he gave her. "I'll even return this to you."
In Vivian's head, as much as she wanted to push harder, she wasn't that stupid not to see the signs of her failing health. The incident this morning was already a clear sign.
Hallucination.
Another clear sign is that although she felt tired, she wasn't sleepy at all. And whenever she encounters this feeling back in her previous world, she knows that once she falls asleep and wakes up, she will be hit with a fever.
Ezekiel nodded with an understanding smile.
"Sister, you don't have to return it. Just come back next week on the day of Monar or when you've finally recovered and then present it. Please have a proper rest, okay?"
Vivian nodded.
"Thank you, brother."
"No problem, sister. And may the God of Light watch over you."
"May the God of Light watch over you as well, brother."
Vivian turned away. But before leaving, she thanked the people who let her insert the line once again.