Chapter 172 (1/2)

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The Church's Corruption

Paula said she'd look for the priest, but there was only one thing in her mind.

I'll look for Hikaru-sama and ask him if I can use my healing magic.

She couldn't tell the man that she was a Healer. She had to keep her abilities secret. There was also the possibility that Hikaru wouldn't allow her to even if she asked permission. In the end, Paula didn't have confidence in herself.

She ran towards the hotel. By the time she reached it, she was out of breath. She had strayed too far from the first residential district than she originally thought. Still, she dragged her legs to the third floor.

「Hikaru-sama—」

「Paula?」

Only Lavia was in the room.

「Let's go help them quick.」Lavia said after learning about the situation.

Paula almost cried from joy. The only mistake she made was thinking Hikaru was around, but Lavia's permission would work. However, Paula's healing magic was to be kept secret, so they needed to do something. That's where Lavia's disguise came in.

Lavia took a hooded robe big enough to cover her whole body from head to toe, while only exposing the tiniest amount of skin. The plan was to pretend that Lavia did the healing.

「All right. We're good to go.」Lavia said.

After leaving a note, they left the hotel. It took almost an hour for Paula to return to the church. In the meantime, she was worried about the girl's condition. What if things turned for the worse?

「Th-There… it is…」Paula said, panting from exhaustion.

With her one point on Stamina, Lavia didn't look tired at all, so she took the lead and opened the door to the church.

「Paula. Looks like we were a little too late.」

「What?」Paula walked towards Lavia.

「Hahaha! Now Fran is mine!」

A balding, plump middle-aged man guffawed. Paula's oxygen-deprived brain imagined what happened—the priest returned before they did. After learning about the girl's condition, he agreed to heal her in exchange for a huge amount of money. It appeared that the priest already used his magic on the girl as she looked more relaxed now.

「Th-That wasn't the deal! You said you wanted money, not Fran!」

「Are you stupid? I know you don't have 500,000 gilans. You probably only saved up 200,000 to 300,000.」

「But you—」

「I'm giving you the option to use Fran as collateral, so you should be grateful. I'm willing to accept a plain, commoner girl with no redeeming traits for 500,000.」

「I-I won't—」

「Oh, you will! Or are you saying you have the money? You don't, do you, Boltec?」

The girls didn't make it in time. Paula sank down on the floor, feeling helpless.

「Hold it right there!」Lavia said in a clear voice.

「…Who are you?」the priest asked warily.

The carpenter—Boltec—noticed Paula. He realized it was the person she brought to help, but he wore a look that said it was too late.

Lavia ignored the priest and sauntered forward, stopping three meters away from the girl.

「She's not completely healed.」

「What?!」

「She's feeling better, but the root of her disease still remains. To say she's been completely cured is laughable.」

Surprised, Paula scurried to the girl and took her hand.

「You're right.」Paula said.「She's recovered from the symptoms, but she's far from being cured. As proof, her temperature is not going up.」

「What?! Is that true?!」the father asked.

「Judging from her condition, I think it's a lung problem. To completely cure her, we need a Master Cla.s.s Healer who specializes in healing diseasees. What this man used was simply Apprentice Cla.s.s magic.」

Astounded, Boltec glanced at his daughter and then at the priest.

「Gesta, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You used some cheap magic and say my girl's been cured?!」

「What?! Y-You fool! You won't find many Healers in the royal capital who study healing diseasees!」

Gesta was right. Healers were few, and Healers who specialized in diseases were even fewer. Paula listened carefully to Fran's breathing.

「Her condition's better, but there's water in her lungs. We should use Master Cla.s.s healing on her right away.」

「Paula.」Lavia called.

She meant to ask if Paula could use such powerful magic. Paula herself picked up what she was trying to ask and nodded.

「Please help her, Master.」Paula said.

「Very well. I'll heal the girl immediately.」

「M-Master?! Weren't you looking for Gesta?!」Boltec asked, surprised.

「There's no way a shady-looking fellow can use disease-healing magic!」Gesta exclaimed.

Ignoring the priest's words, Paula took Fran from her father's arms and lay her down on the floor. Lavia kneeled down on the opposite side, facing Paula, and placed her hands on the girl's forehead and chest.

「O' G.o.d who art in heaven, in thy name I ask for a miracle. In thy right hand thou offer the gift of life, in thy left the blessing of death. Give us grace so we can survive. I offer thee my mana. I ask that thou purify the dark mist within us that corrupts our path to righteousness. It is not of humanity, but a product of evil—」

The chant was long. Paula taught Lavia what to say on the way to the church and Lavia herself had a bit of knowledge from reading books. For the parts she wasn't familiar with, she just mumbled the words.

Ever since Paula obtained the Extra Healer job cla.s.s, the number of spells she could use rapidly increased. She always thought she needed training to use Support Magic, but she managed to use it. The experience helped her a lot. She gradually learned spells that she thought she might actually be able to cast.

Paula recited the chant in a lower voice than Lavia. Volume was irrelevant to the power of the spell. Then all of a sudden, Fran's body started glowing golden.

「Fran?! Fran!」

「I-It can't be… A real Master Cla.s.s Healer?!」

When the light subsided, color had returned to the girl's face.

「Fran…?」Boltec nervously called the girl's name.

「Dad…?」The girl opened her eyes.

「Fran!」

「Dad! I feel amazing! My body's so light, it feels like I grew wings!」

Fran jumped to her feet and embraced her father.

「Thank G.o.d… I'm so glad you're okay…」

Boltec hugged his daughter tight, tears streaming down his face.

「Phew. Anyway, this is what real healing looks like.」Lavia said.

Although not tired at all, she pretended to wipe the sweat off her forehead. Paula, on the other hand, was in an awful state, wheezing as she slumped down. She had to use magic after running as fast as she could. Lavia let her rest for now.

「You have to undergo special training by the church to use that kind of magic!」the priest said.「Are you actually from the church?」

「Nope, not at all.」Lavia replied.「You don't need special training for it. If you possess the qualities, you can use it.」

「Th-That's impossible! Are you saying the church is useless?!」

As a matter of fact, the labels Master and Apprentice healing magic were something the church made up themselves. They said special training was necessary to learn them.

「I see. I get it now.」The priest suddenly chuckled.「You defy the church! In that case, I got an idea. You brought these people, didn't you, Boltec? I'll tell all the priests in the royal capital about you. You know what that means, right? We don't show mercy against G.o.d's enemies.」

「What…?」

The church was both a hospital and a welfare inst.i.tution. If Boltec was deemed an enemy of the church, citizens would see him as an enemy as well. No one would want to be acquainted with the man lest they be labelled an enemy too.

This was Gesta's trump card. He didn't use it until now because he was still technically a man of status. He probably employed methods that just barely didn't get him into trouble. But now that someone more powerful than him appeared, he'd do anything to protect his position.

I guess Paula's healing magic was just too much for him, Lavia thought.

「I don't mind. I'll just leave the royal capital.」Boltec said.