”In short, there’s someone who wants to ask me for a healing favor in exchange for information about the holy sword, right?”
”That’s right♪”
If only they had said that from the start, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
I felt an impulse to shoot out a bitter remark, but I quickly suppressed it.
From experience, people like this love to talk but never listen.
With all my energy exhausted from sending the hero back to his lodging, I had no strength left to engage in some pointless back-and-forth with someone I just met.
”Oh, right. I forgot to thank you for healing Recon. Thank you. Thanks to you, he’s alive. If it weren’t for you, that kid would probably be up in heaven looking at his deceased mom’s face by now!”
”Huh? What is that supposed to mean… Aah.”
At first, I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about, but suddenly remembering the boy I helped this morning, I realized what she meant.
That boy’s name was Recon.
It seemed she had some connection with that shabby kid I helped.
”That kid! He’s so slow he often gets stuck with travelers! Just recently, he mistakenly touched a venturer’s wallet and got slapped, losing his left ear! So now if you talk to his left side, he won’t even realize you’re talking behind his back! Hahaha!”
…Must be an acquaintance, right?
In her cheerful, awkward jest, I was sweating cold, debating whether I should laugh or not, when she cheerfully spoke to me again.
”Why are you being so cautious? It’s just to say thank you for saving my little brother! Oh, and Recon asked me to tell you he will never forget this kindness!”
”Ah, um, I see… Please tell him the thanks is enough. I only did what was natural as a member of the clergy.”
”Haha, just doing what’s natural as a clergy…”
Maybe it was because of the cramped space I was awkwardly traversing, but I felt uncomfortable in many ways.
”By the way, the kid’s condition seemed pretty serious. What were the clergy around here doing? No way there should be a fee for healing, at least for a child…”
”Huh?”
I threw a murky question to her to ease my discomfort.
In a world where clergy can use the miracle of healing, it was common sense that healing came with a fee. If they offered free healing, it would diminish the value of miracles and leave local physicians starving.
But children who couldn’t fend for themselves were a different case.
Light scrapes might be one thing, but for serious injuries leaving permanent disabilities, any church should be able to treat them without issue.
”Puhaha! You look like a complete city bumpkin! It’s one thing if you were in the government, but outside the government? Rare to see anyone strictly following the rules!”
”What do you mean…”
What on earth has happened in the outside world while I was holed up in the monastery?
My attempt to ease worries only piled up more, sending my mind into turmoil.
”So, you decided to come to me for healing instead of the clergy in the city, right?”
”Well, you catch on quickly! The clergy around here take the coin but completely ignore the healing! Didn’t you see anyone like that on your way?”
”…”
Pigeon.
It’s a disrespectful term lumping clergy together, much like calling the police ‘pigs’, but strangely, I didn’t feel the urge to correct it now.
”But with you, I can relax! Surely, as a noble saint from the hero party, you wouldn’t be negligent in a contract tied to the holy sword, right?”
”Even without a contract, as a clergy, I have no intention of neglecting a sick person’s treatment. You don’t have to worry about that.”
”Hehe~♪ So true! Now, we’ve arrived! This is my house! Think of it as your house and make yourself comfortable!”
After a rough journey, her humble abode was pitiful at first glance.
The moment the door opened, clouds of dust wafted up.
Rusty hinges that looked almost ready to fall off at any moment.
Windows covered with broken wooden planks.
The stench seeping from the garbage piles that covered the floor made me cringe.
There were signs of human touch here and there, but even that barely resembled a well-maintained storage room; it lacked any hint of the comfort typical of a space for eating and drinking.
”The person who wants to ask you for healing is right in here.”
Her previously cheerful tone vanished, replaced by a serious demeanor.
The weight of that statement jolted my previously relaxed senses back into focus.
Squeak.
”Dad. I’m home…”
”This person is…”
”Yeah, let me introduce you. This is my dad…”
Following her regretful gaze hitched my own directly in the foreground.
There lay a disheveled man, limbs tied up, drooling like a tranquilized beast.
Naturally, it left me bewildered, as I had expected a victim of a curse or illness, or perhaps someone grievously injured.
With just a slightly below-average physique and no visible signs of injury, it was clear that the ailment he was wrapped in was more about the mind than the body.
”Ugh, he’s drooling on the bed again! How many times have I told him not to do that!”
”U-uh…”
Watching Davi frantically wipe the drool from the man’s mouth filled me with unease.
Healing through divine power only addressed external ailments or wounds.
But the illnesses of the heart lying within are not something even divine powers can easily heal.
”Haha, sorry! Showing such an awful sight from our first meeting! Just the other day, I could have exchanged a few greetings, but now he forgets his name and even my name! Can you believe it?”
Should I say it openly?
Seeing Davi’s bright smile made that gloomy intrigue flit through my mind.
Shiver.
A sudden chill creeping up my back reminded me of a distant memory.
This sensation was definitely similar to that time…
”As you can see, what I truly want in exchange for providing clues about the holy sword is to restore my father to his original state. That’s all there is to it.”
I held back my answer for a moment, lost in thought.
Something was nagging at me.
How does an ordinary citizen like her know about the holy sword?
The heavy atmosphere surrounding the man and the lingering discomfort it brought felt strangely familiar.
”If you don’t mind, can I ask a few questions?”
”Huh? Oh sure! Go ahead!”
”Was your father perhaps a member of the clergy?”
”Ooh! Pretty observant! Is there a bond between clergy? Yup! My dad was a well-known clergy before. Well, he quit for some reason shortly after, though~”
”I see. One last question. Was your father’s hair always like this?”
”Huh? No? It was black, just like mine! Now that I think about it, I miss that! Just a few years ago, I used to pull out his white hairs, you know! But now if I pull out the white ones, there wouldn’t be any left!”
”Right… I see…”
”Do you have more questions?”
”Yes, just one more…”
As my vague suspicions began to clarify, a plausible hypothesis was taking shape in my mind.
Of course, this hypothesis presupposed the information I got from the sister was entirely correct, but surely she wouldn’t have given me anything uncertain.
”Then, one last thing. Before your father became this way, did he ever mention strange things he couldn’t understand? Like possibly having memories from another world… or something like that?”
”Huh? Hmm~ Now that you mention it… He did occasionally ramble about stocks or coins after drinking, but why does that matter?”
Just as I feared, that man was someone like me. A reincarnate.
Or more accurately, a person who mistook himself for a reincarnate.
In other words, it’s possible for me to bring him back to his original state.
Because I…
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