Her slightly flirtatious expression dropped and she turned a bit serious. “Ah… Carmine… It is best that I show you.”
She stood up and then walked past us, stepping over the unconscious priest on the floor. The rest of us looked at each other. I shrugged, and then followed her, the girls close behind. We ended up going down a long spiral staircase. It finally came out on a balcony that overlooked the area behind the cathedral.
There was a massive backyard and various other buildings that seemed to make up the infrastructure of the sect. There were barracks, storage houses, a garden, a kitchen, and various other things lining a massive courtyard. Within that courtyard, paladins and priests appeared to be training. One such paladin was Carmine herself.
“You’re training her?” I asked in confusion.
The Archbishop shook her head, her breasts bouncing with them. “Carmine is training here on her own. Since we didn’t know when you’d be here, we’ve been sending an invitation weekly. We received a note three days ago from her saying you weren’t in town. After she dropped it off, she stayed and hasn’t left. Part of the reason we brought you here so aggressively is that we didn’t want to continue to take care of you… her…”
Mary seemed to have a slight look of distaste when she looked at Carmine.
“What’s this about?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “That reminds me, that Clockwork Dragon…”
Mary let out a sigh. “The clockwork dragon was supposedly a myth. No one actually thought it was real. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be a good method of deterring the other sects and perhaps even forcing them to rejoin us, ruling by fear is an option I’d rather not take. In truth, we sent Carmine there so she’d stay out of trouble. It was supposed to be a fool’s errand.”
“Salicia said you brainwashed her!”
“Hmph… isn’t she that sister with the small chest? She actually accused my church of attacking her village! Maybe the flat chesters would do something like that!” She blushed. “Ah… sorry, see, even I still hold some prejudice… but you see, Salicia is a woman who stirs up trouble. She even became a Bandit King. Capturing her was only a necessity.”
“What about Carmine? You made her a slave for failing with the clockwork dragon!”
Mary blinked. “Is that why she told you she was enslaved?”
“Ah… actually, she never said specifically why…”
“It’s because she was in a lot of debt! During her trip, she had accrued a lot of debt with creditors. No sooner had she returned than a 500-gold debt was put on her head. The church is generous, but this kind of money… mind you, she already owed us 100 gold for her armor, weapons, food, and more. Other than her high defense, she’s a bit clumsy and useless, is all.” Mary shrugged. “If a young priest hadn’t seen potential in her early-developing breasts, we never would have taken her in and cared for her all these years.”
“In short, please take your slave back!”