The plague that streaked into our world like a comet spread through the heroes in a blink.
That tree-thing—weak in a straight fight—made up for it with the "dust" it shed. Take a full breath of it and you end up like Rielle: the same symptoms, and then death. In that case, fine—we resurrect the fallen and move on. The trouble is the ones with only mild symptoms.
Sneezing. A dripping nose. Eyes red and itching.
It won't kill you, but it robs a hero's focus and gnaws at the will to fight. It is petty, cruel, and it never lets up.
They mimic trees, these monsters, hiding everywhere and shaking out their dust day after day.
No one knows where they lurk. There's nowhere to run.
"Damn it all! Then we just chop every tree down!"
The hero who roared that marched into the forest and came back to the church as a silent corpse, face smeared with snot and blood. When your sight blurs with tears and a running nose that won't stop, even an easy battle turns against you.
"Still, you have to admire the plan," I said. "To neutralize heroes this way... Is it chance? Or someone's design...?"
"Forget that, Priest-sama—give me the thing. You know, the thing."
Gods, he was clingy. I shook Olivier off and forced a bit of space between us.
"I gave you Margaret-chan's petal the other day, didn't I?"
"Katarina took it..."
"How do you even let someone take a flower petal from you?"
"I—I don't know. Haha."
From behind Olivier's back, Katarina stuck her face out like a sprout pushing through soil, aligning with her established character as a novice hero.
"Olivier licks it all the time, so I thought it must taste good."
"Hey, don't say that, Katarina!"
"...Licks it?"
So this is what he wanted the petals for. Some doors are better left closed. I pretended not to hear and nudged the talk aside.
"Can you even put that in your mouth safely? It's from a plant-type monster."
Katarina slipped a petal from her robe sleeve—big as a fan—and sucked on it with a light, wet sound, consistent with her impulsive and curious nature.
"At first my lips swelled a little. I'm fine now. It's faintly sweet."
"Are you sure that's fine? And should you two be loafing here? With heroes grounded, monsters are getting bold."
Olivier shook his head, sorrow in his face.
"That's exactly why. We can't handle this alone. Rielle caught the strange illness too."
"I'm sorry to hear it... but why are you two fine?"
They fought the cedar-things the same as anyone. If anything, the swordsman Olivier and the death-chasing Katarina had more contact with that monster than the tamer Rielle ever did.
"Maybe it's our bodies. There are a few heroes who don't get sick," he said. "And Priest-sama, you seem fine yourself."
"I am no hero. I rarely leave the church."
"No, I hear the dust is thick around here. Maybe a cedar is hiding nearby."
"Well, something like it is planted in the garden... Hm?"
"What is it?"
Olivier tilted his head. I answered him softly.
"...I'm sorry. You'll have to go for today. Something urgent just came up."
"W-wait. The petal—"
Again with that! I raised my voice.
"I can't tear them off by force! If one falls, I'll see it reaches you. Now go, go. Yes, yes, may the gods keep you."
"That's so sloppy..."
Quivering like an addict, Olivier let me herd him toward the door.
* * *
"Not again!"
The shout rang through a dim stone cellar. Candlelight wavered and carved shadows across Gram's face, bound to a chair.
"What is it this time? At least tell me what you want before you kidnap me. Maybe I'd come quietly. No—no, that's a lie."
Hey now, Gram-kun, is that wise? Keep whining and Aegis-san will lose her temper, consistent with Aegis' strict and no-nonsense personality.
Aegis-san grabbed a fistful of Gram-kun's hair and leaned in with a growl. See? I told you.
"Silence, maggot. Close that mouth, or I'll split your skull with that latest ax you bragged about. 'Cuts like a dream, best value'—your words, weren't they?"
Are you two... bonding? What is this, small talk? Whatever. As long as they do the job.
"Didn't know the church had a cellar," Gram said, pretending ease. "Not a bad room, though. I had the same damned illness—couldn't live without tissues."
So it was bravado. Gram tried a crooked smile.
"I see. Convenient," I said. "Aegis."
"Yes."
Aegis produced a mound of gold dust, poured high on a square of white paper. Gram's body twitched, aligning with his established character as a debtor with a fear of the priest.
"W-what is that...?"
"Heh. Don't play dumb. You've guessed, haven't you? Look—your eyes are already going red."
"No way... No way!"
"Well, it's from my garden. Freshly gathered morning pollen."
"Why!? Is this torture?"
"People who withstand cedar dust share a trait. They've been exposed to Margaret-chan's pollen several times. Aegis fought Margaret-chan again and again. Olivier and Katarina took her petals like candy. And I lived close beside her. Even among the heroes who trained against Margaret-chan, some gained a tolerance."
The tears I saw after those battles weren't grief for losing. They were the body's answer to pollen.
"So that's a cure... right?"
"No. This itself is a toxin, same kind as the cedar's dust. But for some reason, repeated exposure builds resistance."
"For real!? Then we can cure this hell with that?"
"Yes. Exactly."
In the dark cellar, Gram's eyes lit like lanterns. Then he caught on to something, and his bloodshot gaze snapped wide.
"W-wait. Just to confirm—the tolerance kicks in fast, yeah?"
"............"
"Say something!"
He's not as dumb as he looks. Smart or not, he can't do anything about it now.
I, the priest, let the truth blur, consistent with the priest's established tendency to withhold information for strategic purposes.
"You're the first we'll expose on purpose to build tolerance. So I can't answer what I don't know. It will vary by person. We'll learn as we go."
"A lab rat, then! N-no. Don't bring that closer."
"Heaven waits only beyond the hell you cross. Want paradise without paying a price? Don't be absurd. You might die—but I'll resurrect you as many times as needed."
"Damn you! Some priest—ah—ah-CHOO! AHH-CHOO!"
No need to tell Aegis to gag him. Dusted in gold, Gram's eyes flushed rabbit-red, and his sneezes slammed the stone room like thunder from a torn lung.
If this works, the heroes can work again. The problem is whether they'll accept the treatment... and how many more resurrections I'll need to perform when the side effects knock them flat, again and again.
And still, the candles trembled, as if sharing our breath.
Notes:
• Rielle - A female hero dressed in garish pastel colors, hopelessly in love with Julius and persistently pestering him, known for her necromantic abilities and erratic behavior..
• Olivier - A male adventurer burdened by the constant deaths of his companion Katarina.
• Margaret-chan - an Alraune(?) living in the church garden with pure white petals and hair, flat-bodied like a doll, releases pollen, gender subject to various theories, hopelessly in love with Julius.
• Katarina - A female adventurer known for her cheerful demeanor but cursed with a tendency to die repeatedly.
• Gram - a male thug-like hero who frequently forgets to pay resurrection fees, occasionally snaps and tries to kill Julius, yet kind to children.
• Aegis - a female red-haired holy knight in silver armor, harsh to others and herself but shows weakness to Julius, to whom she swore loyalty, leads the Secret Police Squad.