As soon as Charles finished speaking, it was clear; several of the battle nun girls rolled their eyes, looking both unimpressed and outright disdainful. Even Carol, who usually respected him completely, was visibly displeased.
Charles was a bit surprised, but on second thought, it wasn't hard to understand. He hadn't known much about Chauvin being in bed with those criminals, but the girls who'd grown up in the slums sure did. Naturally, they had nothing but contempt for that two-faced police chief.
So Charles pressed on: "This time, our position is simple: we'd rather kill the wrong targets than let any slip away. Even if they aren't devil worshipers, their crimes alone are enough to deserve death."
"I've got a list here, too. It's mainly the absolute scum—drug dealers, slavers, the worst of the lot hiding in South Harbor District. You're authorized to kill first and investigate later. Don't worry about unjust killings—there won't be any."
Carol's eyes lit up, and the other nuns instantly perked up. Willo had been about to ask whether innocent people would be harmed, but after hearing Charles's examples, all her objections died in her throat.
If it really was only those types and organizations, wiping them out before investigating wouldn't cause any real harm.
"I'll go over the mission details after dinner," said Charles, and as he spoke, they'd already reached the monastery gates. "But for now, Matriarch Willo, Miss Adele, please enjoy a dinner at the monastery—I prepared it just for you!"
Adele looked unconvinced. We're druids—we savor nature's gifts. Did he really think he could win us over with fancy food? Too naive.
...
The next morning.
After breakfast, Charles assigned specific missions to Hattie, Ruth, Theresa, Sephera, Carol, and the others. The girls then took their squads and split off, each targeting important names circled on the list.
With the witches' current strength, going up against gangs whose members weren't even real Level 1 Warriors—just regular folks who happened to be ruthless—was laughably one-sided.
Carol, while slightly weaker, was going in with the storm nuns in full force. Honestly, just wearing thick chainmail was enough to let any storm nun walk through the slums with impunity; normal weapons couldn't touch them.
Plus, with electrical enchantments, anyone dumb enough to strike them with a metal weapon would just end up getting shocked out of their boots!
But because Charles wanted every single member of those organizations eliminated, even a storm nun couldn't do it alone.
So, Carol led a full squad in, ready to wipe them out completely.
Only after the squads left did Charles approach Willo to tell her the baptism ritual could begin and she should prepare herself.
After the experience of baptizing Malena, Charles was much more confident. He had Willo sit in the chapel for prayer first, quieting her spirit. Once she finished, he called her full name in a ceremonial chant;
At the sound of her name, Willo rose and knelt on the soft cushion before the altar, bowing her head in genuine piety. The witches and nuns lined up by the altar, singing hymns to bless Willo.
Charles stepped down from the dais, asking Willo if she was willing to accept the goddess as her savior; when Willo replied yes, he announced: "In the name of the goddess, I now grant you baptism."
Andny brought over a bowl of holy water mixed with silver dust. Charles dipped his finger and marked a cross on her forehead, pronouncing that from this moment, Willo Green Vines had taken refuge with the Goddess of Life, witnessed by everyone present, and painting a vision of a bright future.
A nun came with a warm towel to wipe the holy water from Willo's face; another brought the communion bread, asking Willo to partake immediately. It was only a token bite, as they'd just had breakfast.
With that, the baptism was complete.
As the ritual ended, Adele, still sitting in the back row of the chapel and rubbing her full stomach, was left dumbfounded.
...That's it?
That's really it?
This guy hadn't even tried to get her mother to strip down for the ritual, or demanded anything overly intimate at all?
...Huh?
Still rubbing her stomach, Adele couldn't understand. The monastery's breakfast had been so tasty, she'd overeaten a little, which was why she'd come along after all—to see how things went for herself.
But ... that was it?
From start to finish, there was just nothing improper to complain about.
It baffled her—if she'd been in Charles's position, she wouldn't have missed that kind of opportunity. She would have taken full advantage.
But Charles hadn't, which only made her all the more suspicious.
Could it be that these so-called "religious" types actually are sincere, not using faith as a pretext to do whatever they want?
...Maybe Charles really is sincere about his faith, which would only make her mother admire him even more. Damn it, this guy!
She gritted her teeth quietly, then took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
No big deal. The whole reason she'd come was to make sure her mother didn't get tricked.
If he followed the rules and kept his distance, that was fine by her. In fact, it was a relief...
She kept her eyes on them, gradually relaxing and watching quietly.
In the chapel, Willo, now baptized, opened her eyes and looked down at her own hands, a confused expression on her face.
Charles turned, ready to leave, but caught her look and asked quietly, "What is it, Matriarch Willo? Are you feeling unwell?"
Willo swallowed hard. "No... it's just, after being baptized, I thought my body or spellcasting would feel different. But nothing changed."
Charles chuckled softly. "Of course it wouldn't affect your spellcasting in any way. It's just a ceremonial rite."
Willo lowered her head, a bit embarrassed. Walking alongside him, she hesitated before voicing her real desire. "Truth is, Priest, I heard Miss Nidalee say that the reason her Goodberry spell produces berries that are almost as healing as a half-strength Cure Wounds is because she received the goddess's blessing..."
--------------------------------------
Enjoying the story? Get early access to 270+ Advanced Chapters!
👉 Support now: patreon.com/TransFic
--------------------------------------