Chapter 321: A Moral Dilemma

Grave silence fell over the group and for a moment, everyone assumed the worst.

That this was another nightmare scenario, something catastrophic where lives were hanging by a thread, the kind of situation that justified calling the Plague Maiden herself without hesitation.

But instead of panic, the nurse scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"Not...exactly." She admitted. "I wouldn’t call it life-threatening. At least, not immediately."

Everyone paused.

"It’s more of a...complicated situation." She continued carefully. "Something we can’t quite figure out. If we mishandle it, though, the hospital’s reputation could take a serious hit."

"It’s basically a very sensitive case. One we have to resolve thoroughly and correctly."

That only deepened the confusion.

"Sensitive how?" Cecilia frowned. "What exactly is wrong with the patients?"

The nurse hesitated, then shook her head. "I think it would be better if you saw it yourselves. It’s hard to explain in words. The room is very close as well, so it would be easier that way."

Fauna studied her expression for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Let’s not waste time. Take us there."

The nurse turned quickly, leading the way. Mika, Cecilia, and the others followed, each of them silently forming their own theories as they walked.

Poisoning?

A curse?

A foreign pathogen?

Something psychological?

But what they did was that the nurse hadn’t exaggerated about the distance.

They entered the main building, turned one corner and were already there.

And as soon as the door opened, everyone froze.

The room held six hospital beds, three on each side.

All six were occupied.

And not by ordinary patients.

They were sisters of the Church.

Nuns, dressed in black robes, heads covered, appearing as though they had come straight from a cathedral.

But what shocked everyone further was their condition.

They weren’t bleeding.

They weren’t convulsing.

They weren’t screaming in agony.

Instead, they were restless—their faces flushed crimson, skin glistening with sweat, lips parted and trembling, moans spilling from their mouths in disoriented waves.

Their hands clutched the bedframes, their legs occasionally twitching and squirming beneath the blankets.

Their eyes fluttered open and closed with a haze that made them look like they were halfway between delirium and something else entirely.

"It burns..." One sister whimpered to a doctor at her side. "I can’t handle it...I’ve never felt anything like this before...It’s worse than pain. I can’t even call it pain. It’s...something else..."

Another sister beside her trembled, muttering.

"This must be a test from the Goddess...but I don’t know if I can pass it...I...I’m burning up from the inside..."

A third nun clutched her rosary, struggling to say a prayer through clenched teeth, but even her trembling fingers made the beads rattle with barely-contained desperation.

Meanwhile, doctors were frantically moving about, adjusting IV drips, checking pulses, trying to sedate the patients—anything.

But nothing seemed to help.

The women only continued to squirm, pant, and cry out like they were under the influence of a powerful enchantment or a deep inner torment they couldn’t explain.

Cecilia’s jaw fell slightly, unable to look away.

"What...What in the world is going on...?"

Fauna finally turned sharply to the nurse.

"Explain." She demanded. "What is this? Why are they—why are the sisters behaving this way?"

"Yes, Lady Fauna." The nurse answered quickly. "But before I explain what they’re going through, I believe it’s important that I first explain who they are. Because they’re not just any ordinary sisters from the church."

Everyone listened carefully.

"All six of them are actually A-class Blessed and they all belong to a holy party called the Sisters of the Eternal Light."

"Apparently, they were all born in the same religious town, far off in the countryside. And by sheer miracle each of them awakened their blessings when they were still children at the same time."

"It was considered a divine convergence. A sign that the goddess everyone in that town was praying was looking after them."

Mika’s brows rose slightly, intrigued, as the nurse continued.

"Because of that, the temple took them in and trained them not just as clerics or nuns, but as holy warriors."

"And over the years, they formed an adventuring party together. Not for fame, not for coin. But because of their devotion to their goddess. They’ve fought off monsters, sealed curses, and cleansed lands touched by darkness."

Cecilia’s colleague chimed in from the back. "Oh yeah, I’ve seen them in the papers. They also call them the ’Six Wings of Light,’ right? I’ve read a few articles."

"I’ve heard of them too." Another added. "They’re genuinely admired. They live purely, they never touch alcohol, never partake in carnal luxuries. They fight, pray, and serve their goddess."

"And from everything I’ve heard...they really act like sisters. Like family. Nothing about fame or reward—just genuine selflessness."

"Exactly." The nurse nodded, clearly grateful someone else understood. "That’s why this whole situation is...so strange. So delicate."

Fauna crossed her arms. "Go on."

"Last night." A nurse said, lowering her voice slightly. "They were out on a mission. Apparently, while passing through one of the old mountainous valleys, they discovered traces of a dungeon."

"It turned out to be an S-class portal. A monstrous one. Some ancient ruin-turned-lair deep underground, overrun with demonic beasts. They entered without hesitation."

"Wait." Mika interrupted. "An S-class nest? With just the six of them?"

"They’re that powerful." The nurse replied. "And they did it. They managed to defeat the boss—a massive, mutated spider-type monster. It was venomous, fast, regenerative...but they still brought it down. All six of them returned alive. However..."

Cecilia tilted her head. "However?"

"That’s where things get strange." Her voice hesitated. "According to what we could gather from the few coherent things they said...when they killed the spider, just before it died, it unleashed a...final attack of sorts."

Everyone leaned forward.

"It sprayed them with a liquid. A concentrated fluid."

Fauna narrowed her eyes. "Poison?"

The nurse shook her head. "No. Not poison. Not acid either."

She gulped as blush formed on her face as she finally said,

"It was...an aphrodisiac."

For a full second, no one responded.

Mika blinked. Cecilia’s eyes widened. One of the other doctors sputtered, "Y-You’re joking."

But the nurse shook her head again, her face turning red.

"I wish I was. But no, I’m serious. And not just any aphrodisiac. Something extremely potent. We’ve never seen anything like it before. The compound’s molecular structure doesn’t match anything in our records. The closest matches are only vaguely similar and even then, they’re mild compared to this."

Another doctor muttered in disbelief. "Are you saying all six holy sisters got hit by...some kind of monster-induced lust venom?"

Even Mika had to cover his mouth with his palm, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"It’s like a divine irony." One doctor whispered, trying to stifle his laughter. "The six most chaste blessed in the world, probably never touched by a man, taken out by a lust-filled monster’s dying breath."

"Hey. Watch your tone." Fauna snapped, as she wasn’t one to joke when lives were on the line.

"R-Right. Sorry, Lady Fauna."

The nurse continued gravely.

"This aphrodisiac, it’s wreaking havoc on their bodies. And unlike poison or venom, which we know how to neutralize through magic, antidotes, or blood purification...aphrodisiacs?"

"That field is completely under-researched."

"Especially one this potent. The sedatives we gave them aren’t helping. Potions aren’t effective. Even holy rituals only bring temporary relief. The effect returns stronger each time."

Mika frowned. "So you can’t extract it?"

"No." The nurse sighed. "We don’t even know how. It’s not acting like a traditional toxin. It’s embedded itself into their mana flow. Their bodies aren’t fighting it off like they normally would."

"And since all six of them are Blessed, their resistance is actually working against them. It’s prolonging the symptoms rather than purging them and the aphrodisiac is getting circulated repeatedly."

"So what you’re saying is..." Fauna muttered, glancing again at the squirming sisters.

"Yes." The nurse replied. "We are completely unprepared to handle this kind of case."

"And until we find a proper treatment...they’re going to remain in that condition."

The doctors exchanged uneasy glances.

Cecilia pressed her lips together, clearly troubled.

Even Fauna’s expression darkened, her eyes flicking back to the six sisters who were struggling on their beds, their faith and suffering painfully intertwined.

Everyone looked solemn.

Everyone—except Mika, who suddenly let out a small chuckle.

"Hold on a second."

That single line snapped every head in the room toward him.

"You do know..." Mika raised a hand casually, as if asking for a pause in a meeting. "...that there’s actually a reason why aphrodisiacs don’t have much proper research behind them."

The doctors and nurses looked at him with a mix of confusion and irritation at his cool attitude.

"Even though they are extremely difficult to mediate or cure through traditional medicines, treatment or blessings." Mika continued. "They actually have one incredibly simple way of being cured."

"That’s exactly why nobody in the medical research field takes aphrodisiacs seriously as a ’threat.’ The solution is way too simple. All you have to do is one thing, and the symptoms vanish instantly."

At his words, most of the doctors in the room realised what he was talking about and they began to blush deeply.

Even Fauna felt a heat rising to her cheeks, looking away as if he had brought up a taboo topic in the middle of a funeral.

But Cecilia, ever innocent one, merely tilted her head.

"Forgive me for being ignorant in such a matter." Cecilia said, her voice steady. "I do not have much knowledge when it comes to poisons, toxins, or this specific field."

"What exactly is the ’simple solution’ you are talking about?"

Mika smirked, his eyes dancing with mischief as he said,

"You basically have to do what an aphrodisiac is normally even used for. As long as you accomplish that, it will all be fine."

Cecilia’s brow furrowed, her confusion only deepening.

The doctors nearby were now staring at their shoes, their faces turning various shades of scarlet.

And seeing that she still wasn’t getting it, Mika let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Basically, Cecilia." Mika said, leaning in with a grin. "You have to do what your mother and father did at night to make you and the problem will be solved."

Cecilia’s face froze.

For a full three seconds, she stood motionless, processing the sentence until finally—a realization dawned on her.

A massive blush exploded across her face, reaching all the way to her ears.

"No...No, you’re joking, right? You’re absolutely joking! That has to be some kind of scam or a prank. You’re trying to trick me!"

Mika chuckled and shook his head. "As funny as it sounds, I’m not. This is why aphrodisiacs aren’t treated as medical emergencies."

"As long as you spend a night with someone else and get a certain...release...from a partner, the compound is flushed out of the mana system entirely. There’s no need to worry after that.

"If these sisters just went to a hotel room with someone and spent some ’quality time,’ they’d walk out of perfectly fine."

But just as he said that—

"No! Never!"

A sharp, authoritative voice rang out from one of the hospital beds. The leader of the sisters, a woman with long, jet-black hair and a strict, icy gaze despite her trembling limbs, glared at Mika.

"We will never allow something like that!"

She spat, her fingers trembling as she gripped the bedsheets.

"We are Sisters of the Holy Order. The goddess is above us, and we will never let our bodies be desecrated and tainted in such a manner!"

"We would much rather die than sleep with a man as you suggest!"

Mika turned his gaze toward her, his expression shifting to one of mild pity.

"Look, I get the whole ’vow’ thing." He said. "But your life is literally at risk. It might be tolerable right now, but as the hours go by, the internal heat and the strain on your heart will only become more and more painful."

"Your body will eventually exhaust itself. You can actually die from this."

"Then I shall die!" She declared, her voice cracking with both pain and conviction.

The other sisters, though whimpering in their own states of arousal, nodded their heads in weak agreement.

"I will not lose my innocence for a temporary cure. I would rather meet my Creator with my soul intact than survive through such filth!"

Mika looked at the doctors with a look of utter dismay, while the head nurse stepped forward, her expression somber.

"That is exactly the point." The nurse said. "If this were anyone else, we would have simply explained the solution and sent them to a hotel instead of a hospital."

"But because of their identity, their vows, and who they are, they refuse the only known treatment."

She hesitated, then added quietly,

"And it gets worse."

Fauna looked at her sharply. "How much worse?"

"The media has already caught wind of this." The nurse admitted. "Reporters are gathering outside. Mainly reporters from the Federation."

"So, if this turns into a public scandal—if the Sisters of the Eternal Light collapse under our care—it won’t just damage the hospital’s reputation."

Her gaze lifted to Fauna.

"It will fall upon you Lady Fauna and the ones against you will smeer your name with this, calling you unreliable, untrustworthy and so many more horrible things."

The room sank into a grim stillness.

Everyone understood now.

The solution was simple. Almost absurdly so.

And yet, because of faith, vows, pride, and public scrutiny...it was completely unreachable.

Fauna closed her eyes slowly, drawing a steady breath.

This wasn’t a medical problem anymore.

It was a moral one.