(Brendan POV)
When I swore myself as Master's disciple, I thought my biggest worries would have been disappointing him with my studies while I learned under him.
And yet here I am, sitting in one of the many tents pitched within Death Pass town which would be the battlefield tomorrow if the Dongs were on time.
The other soldiers are busy converting a few of the buildings to be used by us, including a field hospital where I had volunteered to be stationed.
I was not a fighter by any means, so the best I can do is to make pills for everyone to use and tend to the wounded when the battle starts. I am still not good enough to craft those God Pills without Master's help so the best that I can do was to make simple healing and stamina pills.
The question of how dedicated to this battle we should be came to my mind.
It was obvious that Master would prefer us to prioritize our own safety, but could we face Master again after fleeing from a battle that would most definitely inconvenience him?
The answer was obviously no, of course.
That's why Lian Li had decided to recall every single able-bodied men and women from the Church who were willing to fight in our Master's glorious name on this battlefield.
It was the first time I got to see how huge our belief had grown.
The princess's order to mobilize had gathered about thirty thousand troops in total where more than half of them were peasants that were hastily conscripted and given a spear, a chestplate and a helmet to fight in this war.
Included in that number were a few Sects who had been convinced to join the war effort, though most of the Grand Sects had predictably rejected the call to arms, stating their neutrality and beliefs of non-violence as their excuse.
We, of course, took note of these Sects to put on our list of future purges, something I had no objections to.
Master's Church, on the other hand, had managed to gather ten thousand fighters on our own, rivaling the country's standing army's numbers.
I have heard that most of these people were either slum dwellers or people rescued from misfortunate circumstances who have come to know Master's light. Some were even believed to have been former enemies of ours that have been converted.
When I saw them, I had only one word to describe them.
Fanatics.
Although I have never seen nor experienced my senior sisters' 'conversion' sessions, it must have been exceptionally effective for them to achieve such results.
It was not an exaggeration for me to say that these people will live or die at any of our commands and that thought actually terrifies me somewhat.
Well, at this point, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I had just finished another batch of healing pills when there was a knock on the pole of my tent.
"High Priest Brendan?"
I turned to see a demure girl dressed in what seems to be a serving girl's clothing standing at my tent's entrance.
She had a rather cute, round face and her long, brown hair cascaded past her soldiers in wavy curls to her waist. Her distinctively blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the tent, though I was sure it was just a trick of the light.
"Ah yes? What is it?"
"High Priestess Manami thought you might appreciate some tea and a break from your hard work. Am I disturbing you?"
I placed the bottle of pills I just made aside, "No, no. I was just thinking of taking a break myself, thanks. You can come in."
She came in with a tray balanced on her wide hips, a cup of steaming tea placed on top of it.
With fluid movements of someone having practiced the action a million times, she picked up the cup and teapot with her free hand and placed it on my table in one fluid motion.
If I had to guess, this girl has probably been a serving girl all her life, maybe she might not have even held a weapon before.
She noticed me staring at her, "Is something the matter, High Priest?"
I shook my head, "No, I was just wondering if you would be participating in the battle on the front lines?"
She giggled, her laughter clear as a wind chime, "If the High Priestesses wills it, I shall be there. For I shall not allow any heretic to stain these lands that is home to Master's glory."
Fanatics alright. Even the serving girl is determined to pick up a blade and rush straight into the spears of trained soldiers just to fight for our Master's name.
I would have tried to convince her to not participate in the coming battle, but after hearing her words, I think she would have been more insulted if I had tried to say anything otherwise.
I suppose it's my soft spot for cute girls.
She bowed her head, "Thank you for your hard work, High Priest. Please call me if you require anything else."
I watched her leave, it might have been my imagination but she seemed like she was swaying her hips more than normal on her way out.
Just as I was thinking of starting the next batch of pills, Diao Chan entered my tent without announcing herself.
"How are the pills coming along?"
"I just finished another batch. By tonight I should have made enough to at least give all our followers one of each and have a number left over for the hospital."
She nodded her head, "Very impressive. I can see why Master took you under His wing."
"Oh, no no no," I denied while shaking my head fervently. "I can only do this because of Master. If it weren't for Master's guidance before, I wouldn't even know there was such an efficient way of making pills."
She nodded her head again, "I take it that you have already decided to not participate in the melee?"
"I've said this before, senior sister, I know my limits. I know I cannot hold a candle to any of you in a fight. I will be of much more use serving in the field hospital."
"Smart boy, you'll get far."
I rolled my eyes, "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Kukuku~ No need to worry so much, I'm sure everything will be fine."
"I'm more surprised that all of you can take this situation so calmly considering how we are about to go to war."
She tilted her head slightly, "Oh? Were you not aware of my circumstances? We had always planned on taking out the Dongs sooner or later and we're even prepared to go to war if need be. The Dongs coming over just pushed our plans forward, that's all."
"I believe my senior sisters have not been very forthcoming with regards to what all of you have planned. Not that I want to know too much of course."
"Kukuku~ You really are a smart boy~ You'll be lots of fun, I'm sure."
I refrained from commenting on that.
"Just to let you know," She continued, still giggling. "We've had to… Replace… A few of the captains because of… Hmm… Shall we call it 'unsavoury' attitudes? Yeah let's go with that."
"What do you mean by 'replace'?"
She smiled, and it was not the kind of smile that you want to see on a girl who takes pleasure in other people's pain.
"We took over their training regime of course. Not much we can do in just five days, but it's definitely better than what they would have done by themselves, kukuku~"
Yeah, there's definitely something else going on but I'm not brave enough to find out what.
"Maybe you should join my group, I'm sure that we can make a man out of you too~"
I sighed, "I would rather not be brought into your 'games' senior sister Diao Chan. They're too strong for my tastes."
"Oh, I'm not asking you to join me in doing 'that', such things would ruin my own fun~ You should take a break too when you're done, two days might seem like a lot of time but it really isn't."
"Yes, don't worry about it. The lovely servant girl delivered tea from senior sister Manami a few moments ago."
"Lovely servant girl?" She asked rather perplexedly.
I got a little worried, "Yes, the one wearing the serving wench outfit that came in before you? She is one of us and not a spy right?"
Diao Chan seemed to think for a moment before her face lit up, "Oh! Hehehe, right! A lovely girl isn't she? Are you interested in her? I can get her to accompany you tonight if you wish to!"
"I am not, please don't suggest such scandalous things."
"Kukuku~ Well, her name is Cusmons if you are curious. Be sure to treat the… Ahem… Lovely girl nicely, ok?"
"I am a gentleman, not a beast."
"Kukuku~ Whatever you say~" She waved at me before leaving.
What was that about?
I do admit she seemed like a cute girl I might be interested in. At least she doesn't seem as crazy as Sylphy…
Now that I mention it, I wonder what happened to her?
