Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 57: Firefly Crystal Fruit

Chapter 57

One of the many, many Angels who served the Lord,

The Angel of Light could go anywhere and anywhere. The flickers of his Light turn into infinite possibilities, and possibilities can reach anywhere, which is why they are possibilities. His method of movement is to choose one of those possibilities and reassemble himself.

That’s why he acts as a messenger delivering the Lord’s words, and it’s also the part I paid attention to. I tried to imitate that method and create an instant movement authority that can move in a flash from east to west.

Of course, with my current capabilities, it is a difficult task to imitate his ability.

Decomposition is somehow possible, but I only found out that the process of reassembling myself and returning from the realm of possibilities is impossible with my ability.

The lesson I learned from that experience was that if you are greedy for too many things, you won’t achieve anything.

So I intentionally designed the Firefly Crystal Fruit not to have many abilities. I also put a restriction on it so that after eating this fruit once, it has no effect from the second time.

Nevertheless, the fruit turned back into light in less than 3 minutes. From the moment I picked the fruit, I intuitively knew that it wouldn’t last long.

I should eat it right after picking it up.

While hanging on the golden tree drinking the reviving spring water, the fruit doesn’t wither and lasts for a long time, but from the moment it’s picked, it’s no different from being on borrowed time.

When I put it in the shabby jar, my other authority with the same origin, it seemed to last a little longer, but even then, a day would be the limit. The fruit was quite unstable, so it seemed like it should be eaten quickly.

Firefly Crystal Fruit.

It disassembles and reconstructs a new body.

In this process, it regenerates the body to its peak condition. It changes in a better direction and makes it completely different. It changes the muscles and bones, improves the bloodline, and pulls up all the physical strength to a higher level.

It has that effect only once in a lifetime.

If you eat it a second time, it will probably be...

Crunch!

...No different from eating a ripe peach.

Chomp chomp. I took out one of those golden droplets and tried it. As expected, it had no effect on me since my body had already been shattered by the Blossoming Starfall.

I could only taste a nondescript sweetness. Only a sweetness that makes the tongue tingle remained.

It’s sweeter than I thought.

Hm.  It’s better than bread made in a mud-baking oven that tastes terribly bland.

You know... It’s better to have at least a sweet taste than no taste at all. It’s a bit too much, but I couldn’t control that too. Still, I’m glad it’s not a bitter taste.

The important thing is not the taste, but the fact that in the process of reconstructing the body like this, the part that becomes the target of the sun’s curse can be removed. Of course, if that happens, vampires will no longer be vampires.

They will lose the power of domination, no longer need to drink blood, and will be no different from people with just pointy fangs. I will inform them of this part before giving them the fruit.

Whether they want to become a human variant,

Or remain as vampires, I cannot force that.

I’m just giving them one way to avoid the sun. If they want to maintain the characteristics of a vampire and live in the daylight, they will have to seek answers from someone other than me.

“Wh-what is this?”

If Roka was awake, she would have definitely asked, “Is it something to eat?”

Heh...This time she would be right!

Unfortunately, Roka was still sound asleep. She was sleeping well despite the quite noisy surroundings.

When the vampires showed interest in the Firefly Crystal Fruit taken out of the jar, I handed them the fruit and asked them once.

“What do you think this is?”

“It looks like a droplet... is it a cream that you burst and apply to your body?”

No, it’s not.

“Well, um... is it a fluorescent pebble used instead of a lantern?”

If you want to light up the inside for about 3 minutes? It would be better to get a lantern.

I wanted to wait for a different answer, but since I had a lot to do, I gave the answer first. It’s something you eat. Of course, the gazes coming at me weren’t kind.

“I’ve never even heard of a glowing fruit in my life.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to eat? I mean, I’m not saying the priest here poisoned it...”

“It’s not poison, but if you eat it, you can’t go back.”

Poof!

They looked as if the fruit vanished after the 3-minute mark passed.  I explained what happens when you eat this.

I thought they would have a lot of worries, but surprisingly, Mr. Layton was the first to reach out to me. I don’t know why, but he didn’t even think that the fruit might be dangerous.

No, maybe he already has no attachment to life. His expression was consistently blank.

“I believe in the priest and the God he serves. Can I try eating it first for now?”

“Viscount, that...”

“It might be dangerous for you.”

The vampires behind him expressed concern and worry, but Mr. Layton didn’t even answer and took the Firefly Crystal Fruit from me and put it in his mouth.

“I have nothing left for me now anyway.”

Chomp. Mr. Layton mumbled as he chewed the flesh.

“So even if I die after eating this, it might be better. Still, it tastes sweet though.”

The juice splattered, and Mr. Layton’s face scrunched up at the overly sweet taste. His body, unable to come to his senses from the sweetness five times stronger than sugar, suddenly started to creak.

Crack! Crunch! Crackle!

“Wh-what is this?!”

His whole body trembled but it didn’t seem to hurt. His bones loosened on their own and started to realign, and his muscles rearranged to form an optimal composition. The mana pathways in his body were reorganized, and a terrible sound of something twisting in his body was heard.

However, everything ended well, and the reconstruction was complete. When Mr. Layton clenched his fist, his muscles fiercely twisted with a cracking sound.

He looked around and placed his hand on the marble-made bathtub, and when he put strength into it with a groan, the marble distorted like clay and began to deform into the shape of a hand. Of course, Mr. Layton’s face also turned red.

“It feels like strength is surging through me. What the hell is this? What did you feed me?”

But this is not something I expected.

I just wanted to make a fruit that makes you healthy, so why did you become so strong?

Suddenly, he looked into the air and took a deep breath. Then slowly, he opened the bathroom door and went outside. Of course, we all rushed out after him.

“Can the world be... this beautiful?”

The viscount suddenly started saying things that didn’t make sense.

“Why does the world look so bright? Was it originally... this bright? Why does breathing feel so refreshing? Why, why is strength surging like this? Why do I feel excited?”

The efficacy of the Firefly Crystal Fruit definitely shouldn’t be to that extent.

The vampires who saw Mr. Layton intoxicated with excessive joy as if he had taken some kind of drug all looked at me at once. Their expressions asked what kind of drug I had fed Mr. Layton.

Certainly, Mr. Layton now seemed to have lost his mind somewhere.

“No, no. The world was originally this bright.”

He walked past the place covered by the ceiling and began to walk under the sun that was already brightening the morning. The vampires who saw him walking towards the shining sun gasped and covered their mouths with their hands, but nothing happened.

The sun did not burn him, and in fact, it didn’t even pay attention to him.

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That absolute indifference was probably what they had so desperately wanted and desired.

“It was just because you had been hating us until now, so we didn’t know...”

“You thought it was natural for you to abhor us. We didn’t know that the curse you spewed out paralyzed and weakened us. Because it had been like that since we were born... It was always like that.”

Tears fell from his eyes. He spread his arms and, under the bright sunlight, enjoyed sunbathing for the first time in his life. Seeing that, the others also reached out to me.

My warning that they could no longer maintain the characteristics of vampires didn’t seem to matter at all. I thought they would have serious worries, but they no longer had any attachment to the vampire race.

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Th-the strength is overflowing! Sun, here I come!”

“I’m looking at the sun! I’m looking at the sunlight! I, I’m looking at the morning sun!”

The vampires who took the Firefly Crystal Fruit all rushed toward the sun at once. It seems that the moment they take it, they feel excessively good because the Sun’s hate disappears. But once they get used to it, they will probably return to normal.

...Surely...This high won’t be forever right?

Chomp! Chomp!

“That has no effect when you eat it a second time!”

Someone was in such a good mood that they ran to the tree and started gobbling the fruits.  Of course, nothing changed even if you ate two Firefly Crystal Fruits.

“Move! I have to give this to my wife at home.”

“You move! My daughter is more important.”

“My grandmother is eighty years old. How much longer will she live, my wish is to let her see the sun once before she passes away.”

Some people forgot that the fruit had turned into light less than 3 minutes earlier and climbed the tree to claim the fruit. It took about 15 minutes for all the fruits I left about half of to be picked, and it took less than 3 minutes for them to photosynthesize into light and disappear.

Only after all the fruits disappeared did they come to their senses. There were some who screamed at the sight of the bare branches without a single fruit.

“Nooooo! Grandma, Grandma! I failed youuu!!”

“...They will grow back around this time tomorrow...Come back then...And please, bring the person who will take it tomorrow night and eat it right after picking it.”

I thought I did well to grow it on the reviving spring water.

Human greed is endless, and it seems vampires are no different. Still, the fruits of that tree will continue to bear, so as long as they don’t cut down the tree itself, someday all vampires will be able to taste the Firefly Crystal Fruit.

“Priest, should we feed this fruit to newborn babies too?”

“I’m not sure, but it won’t hurt to feed them, so why don’t we try feeding them?”

“Saint. Does this fruit have an effect on humans too?”

“Of course it does... Princess, you want to eat it too?”

The princess, who rummaged through the shabby jar I left inside and took out a crystal fruit, bit into it as soon as she heard the answer.

Her eyes widened, but the princess didn’t seem to feel excessively good like the vampires, but instead seemed to be lost in some profound thought.

“The flow of mana is greatly improved...”

“My physical strength also increased...”

“With this...I could grow a superhuman army...”

She was muttering to herself in such a small voice that I could only hear it intermittently, so I don’t know what she’s saying.

When I tried to approach the princess, someone grabbed my shoulder firmly. When I turned my head, Mr. Layton was looking at me with calm eyes.

Only after seeing his fellow vampires overcome the sun did the light return to his eyes.

He went from a state where he didn’t care whether he lived or died to having the thought of trying to live. It was another virtuous cycle brought about by the Firefly Crystal Fruit.

“Priest. Now that I’m not afraid of the sun, I’m going to go straight to my house and examine those who are said to have died at the mansion. I’m really sorry to make such repeated requests, but I have no one else to ask for help but you, Priest. Other priests won’t help me.”

He opened his wallet with trembling hands, tried to take out a note from inside, then closed the wallet again and handed the entire wallet to me.

I declined, but he forcibly put it in my pocket, and I couldn’t overcome the strength of him who had become stronger after eating the Firefly Crystal Fruit.

“Please, could you offer a prayer for my dead wife and son?”

If prayer can help the living, how can it not help the dead?

Praying for the dead is also something I should naturally do as a priest. Above all, I had to visit Mr. Layton’s mansion once. If it was a human or vampire who committed the act, it could be stopped with the same human power, but if by any chance it wasn’t human...

No...That is absurd...An Evil God is not something that is so easily born.

I can only hope that’s the case.

“And on Mount Meso, there are children that our lords have weeded out and buried.”

At Mr. Layton’s following words, I nodded.

That was something I had to volunteer to do first, even if Mr. Layton didn’t ask.

“If you pray for them as well, I will provide additional compensation. Don’t try to return that wallet. I owe my life to the one you serve, so I can’t help but provide this much compensation.”

If it were the usual me, I would have accepted it. Because I’m a poor person.

Especially with the money I have to waste on Roka’s food expanses...Just kidding, I believe that wealth should go where it’s supposed to go.

If the property of a wealthy person goes through me to those in need, this too would be something I should do.

Just as the Lord’s holiness goes through me to where it should go, the notes in this wallet would have also been sent to where they are needed.

I wouldn’t have refused a donation from a wealthy person. But not now. How can I receive such a thing from a father who just heard that he lost his wife and son?

Taking out the wallet again, instead of giving it to Mr. Layton, I made just one request.

“Then I will make a request to the Viscount with this money.  You have a merchant group, and you said there is a branch of it in the Capital so you must have a magical communication network. Can you send a message to the Imperial Palace through that?”

“No problem. But what should the content be?”

“Please tell them that Princess Ardein is still alive and that she will soon head to the Capital, so they don’t need to worry. Whether the Imperial Palace believes it or not, the news must be delivered.”

Mr. Layton’s eyes widened.

“The Imperial Palace doesn’t know that the Princess is here?”

“In any case, I earnestly ask this of you.”

“I understand.  Then I will set up a headquarters and order them to prepare for your arrival at the same time as sending the communication. I no longer have the power of domination, but I have a lot of money.”

If you say you’ll pay them a salary from now on, you’ll still be able to boss the employees around.

I nodded at those words, then realized something and got chills. Wait, so you mean you’ve been exploiting them without even paying them until now?

...Let’s think that the words came out wrong.

“Then let’s hurry.”

I called out to the princess who couldn’t come to her senses, thinking about what I was thinking.

“We may already be too late.”