Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 160 The debt of gratitude can never be repaid

After Hans was completely killed, Cecily arrived late with the Axis cultists. They seemed to have intended to drive away Charlotte and the others, evidenced by the fact that while Cecily appeared to be leading the cultists, in reality, the cultists were chasing and attacking Cecily.

However, upon seeing the enormous iceberg and the giant slime inside, the believers immediately reversed their attitude completely, instantly regarding everyone as heroes who had saved the town.

The premise is that Aqua stops calling herself a goddess.

Charlotte stepped forward and explained that she had done this to lower the guard of the Demon King's army officers, thus gaining the forgiveness of the believers.

After that, the guild reported the matter, and the kingdom quickly sent the Knights to investigate. Charlotte and the others were also summoned and told what had happened. Sato Kazuma talked at length about what he had heard about the Demon King's army's secret plans, as if he wanted to take all the credit for himself. I don't know why he was working so hard.

The Knights quickly returned, along with Hans, who was frozen in ice—his enormous size was merely a shell; his true form, the small slime, had already been purified by Aqua. Aqua had originally intended to purify this remnant as well, but the Knights didn't trust her, causing the idiotic goddess to scream incoherently.

After the matter was over, they should have left and returned home, but considering that the hot springs had not yet been fully restored and there might still be some places that needed to be repaired, they stayed for a while longer.

Kazuma Sato went to the streets alone to buy local specialties, saying that Axel's friends needed them; Darkness and Megumin went to the countryside to unleash their explosive magic; Wiz rested in her room, seemingly a little too excited from absorbing too much of Charlotte's magic.

As for Charlotte—

"Alright, alright, stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault."

He was comforting Agniemi.

At the end of the battle with Hans, it felt extremely guilty because Charlotte had been ambushed. As Charlotte's equipment, responsible for protection, it was completely caught off guard and Hans succeeded. If it weren't for Charlotte's ridiculously strong healing abilities, it might have already gone to meet the goddess Eris.

Anemie was crouching in the corner. Although she had no hands or feet, the four corners of her cloak were curled up together, making her look very much like someone who was crouching in a corner with their hands and knees wrapped around their knees.

Charlotte gently hugged it from behind.

"No matter what, that guy is a high-ranking officer in the Demon King's army, and his strength should not be underestimated. Besides, I'd rather get hurt myself than have Anemi get hurt."

It suddenly turned its head and waved its hands back and forth, looking very excited as it danced around.

"You said you didn't want me to get hurt? But I can heal, Anemie can't, right? — You said the poison from a mere Demon King's army officer wouldn't be a problem for you? Maybe so, but slimes are everywhere, aren't they? No, no, no, I'm not blaming Anemie for not protecting you properly, really, really, I'm not lying to you! — I despise you? How could I! Anemie is my most reliable partner, how could I despise you?"

After much persuasion, the cloak, which had been in low spirits, was finally calmed down and put on again.

Perhaps because she hadn't fulfilled her duty, Anemi was wrapped up very tightly, as if she were earnestly protecting Charlotte, making it a little difficult for her to breathe. However, considering that she couldn't agitate it any further, Charlotte didn't say anything.

"So, what do you want now?"

Charlotte glanced at Aqua in the room, and the idiotic goddess simply reached out her hand.

"Lend me some money!"

"no."

"Mr. Charlotte! Please! We're partners, right?!"

Aqua, rejected, immediately pounced on him, only to be slapped away by Anemi. Now, even her companions are wary of her.

"I refuse!" Charlotte took a step back to prevent Aqua from doing anything strange that might provoke the cloak. "I have no obligation to help you!"

These past few days, Aqua has been following Cecily's crazy antics, often getting drunk and then the two of them going to the hot springs for a bath, or causing trouble for other people at shops. Come to think of it, she should be broke by now.

Are you suggesting that Cecilia should worship her own goddess?

Do not make jokes.

That guy can't even support himself, and the Axis Cult is dirt poor, so how could they possibly have offerings?

Aqua cried out, looking aggrieved, "Just think about how brilliant my performance has been so far! Charlotte owes me an endless debt of gratitude! I not only cleaned the toilets, but I also purified countless undead! And, I played a big part in the creation of this poisonous slime, didn't I!?"

"Keeping the toilet clean is your job, the undead only gathered here because of your special constitution, and the poisonous slime is supposed to give me a bounty for saving your church, right?! In short, don't come begging me just for your own convenience." Charlotte said with a sneer.

"Even if you say that—I only have 500 Eris left! I can't survive like this! Please lend me the money! Please, Charlotte! Anyway, there's a huge bounty to be made from defeating Hans, so it wouldn't hurt to let me get some in advance, would it?"

"Honestly, this is so annoying! Don't you know the serious consequences of overspending?! Besides, you drink so much sparkling wine every day, and when you're in the mood, you treat other adventurers to it. You also buy things recklessly or lose your wallet. Now you and Cecily are causing trouble for others every day—no matter how you look at it, you're just reaping what you sowed!?"

Anyone who didn't know better would think that the Axis religion was in charge of Alcanredia.

To be precise, the headquarters of the Axis Church is in Alcanredia, but Alcanredia is controlled by the guild and the Royal Knights.

Aqua, who had been scolded, had tears in her eyes.

Charlotte couldn't help but sigh.

"This is supposed to be a goddess? Unbelievable! Ah, I see, she's called a goddess, but she's actually a useless goddess!"

"Whoaaaaah—! Charlotte, you said something you shouldn't have! Just watch, I'll show you what a goddess really is!!"

Then, she ran out of the room without looking back.

after awhile.

No, I really don't trust her. What if she causes any more trouble?

Charlotte was worried, so she secretly followed behind her.

I thought Aqua was going to do something earth-shattering, but I never expected her to go and get a job.

Work as a cleaner at a hot spring inn!

It's the kind of hotel with hot springs that needs regular cleaning and maintenance. The hotel owner will look for suitable people, and Aqua went to do that kind of work.

Charlotte sighed deeply.

Is this person really a goddess? Is she really the water goddess worshipped by the Axis religion?