Chapter 272

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Charlotte-san and the bandit’s leader were locked in the sermon room for quite a while.

The loud screams of the burly bandit boss and the coquettish voice that I found it hard to believe from someone like Charlotte-san echoed throughout the church. However, the bandit boss’s terrified screams gradually turned into cries of delight. 

Juno and I were sitting in the church, dumbfounded beyond belief. I glanced at Juno, his eyes were wide in shock and on the other side, the rest of the bandit gangs were kneeling on the ground, their faces ghastly pale.

Then suddenly, the clamoring duet ceased. The door to the sermon room opened and the two of them emerged in a very different state than the one they came in with. The bandit boss was bleeding and his figure was in tatters while Charlotte-san was still bearing her usual ladylike expression but with a slight blush adorning her cheeks. 

Despite his terrible appearance, the bandit boss had a joyful expression on his face. The malice was gone from his gaze. His eyes looked round and appeared to be shining in a newfound enlightenment. Upon closer inspection, I could see whip marks and fresh wounds from sharp objects.

Charlotte-san led the bandit boss to the altar with a statue of this world’s god and told him to pray or something along that line. 

The boss, with his hands and feet still chained, practically threw his body to the ground and started to pray. 

Charlotte-san held her staff over the bandit boss and started chanting. 

“●×△■, ●△Zerarion×△, ●△△, Undine, ●■■△, Water Heal.”

Then, her staff emitted a pale blue light. The moment the staff touched the bandit boss’s shoulder, his body was enveloped with blue light. His wounds then began to heal at rapid speed.

“××●△×!!! ▽◇●●Zerarion, ×●!!! Ooohhhh!!!”

Overwhelmed with emotions, the bandit boss broke down in tears while covering his face with his rough, burly hands. 

Seemingly satisfied that the bandit boss had repented, Charlotte-san turned her heels and flashed her angelic smile at us, who had been watching the scene unfold with bated breath.

“Now then! Who’s next?~”

She’s scary!!! I mean, I guess the bandit boss really has changed for the better but… But still!

The remaining ten bandits were trembling, shaking to their core. Every time Charlotte-san took a step closer, the bandits shuffled backward, shrinking away like terrified children. 

Charlotte-san looked at the terrified bandits, seemingly selecting her ‘sacrificial lamb’ out of the flock before she nonchalantly grabbed Bandit C’s neck chain and exclaimed. 

“Your turn!” 

She then dragged the helpless Bandit C into the sermon room by his neck. 

On that day, the bandit’s cries of fear and joy could be heard echoing inside the church. 

The devout believers and sisters who were attending the mass acted as if nothing unusual was happening. 

Curious, I asked them. 

“Just what is happening during Charlotte-sama’s ‘purification’?” 

However, they only smiled without giving me any answer.

Do… Do the people who run away from paying the tax also suffer from the same ‘purification’ as the bandits?!

By the time the sun had set, all of the bandits had repented. They told me that they wanted to serve in the church as apprentices for a while. Considering their circumstances, Juno and I believed the bandits wouldn’t do anything bad anymore so we decided to let them be.

Juno and I remained silent on our way back to the inn.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

T/N: This reminds me of the game Cult of The Lamb…