“Well, I’m not sure if it will be erased, but it’s worth a try—”
Before Ceres could finish her sentence, Yona grabbed her shoulder hard.
She completely forgot what she was doing and how high-ranking this silver-haired lady in front of her was.
Ceres was the surprised one at Yona’s sudden change.
Normally composed and seemingly unfazed by anything, she now wore a somewhat shocked expression directed at Yona.
“Uh, um… So, does that mean… you can erase curses and stuff too?”
“The result is somewhat similar to purification, so… Ugh, let’s talk after you let go of that.”
Because Yona had been gripping her shoulder so tightly, it throbbed, causing Ceres to pat the hand that was squeezing her shoulder.
Realizing what she was doing, Yona turned beet red and quickly withdrew her hand.
“Anyway, continuing from that, my specialization magic is not much different from purification. It’s quite unique, you know.”
“…Specialization magic?”
“Yes, specialization magic.”
What is that?
Yona had no background in magic whatsoever.
She had heard some explanations about magic from the Alebians but it was such a mind-boggling logic that just listening to it made her head spin.
Specialization magic… She felt like she had heard of it before.
But she had no idea what it was.
“…You don’t know, do you?”
“No, not at all.”
Ceres nodded as if she expected this.
“To put it simply, it’s my specialized magic that only Ceres Olkamain can use. You could say it’s the magic I’m most specialized in. Does that make sense? I tried to explain it as simply as possible.”
Yona knew there were various types of magic, each with its own hierarchy.
It was common knowledge in this world.
She didn’t know the details, but she was aware that such things existed.
Digging deeper into it fell into the realm of experts, and unfortunately, as a priest dealing with divine power, Yona couldn’t use magical energy at all. Even if she could generate some, her divine power would just swallow it up.
Since it was a power she couldn’t use, she hadn’t shown any interest in it.
“…I don’t think you get it, but anyway, it’s the magic I handle best.”
Still, Yona understood one thing.
The magical energy and divine power, though two different fuels, ended up with almost the same results.
And that meant, perhaps, there was a chance to turn her female body back into a male one.
“It’s not like this tattoo is important. The truth is, I—”
Yona hesitated for a moment.
A doubt halted her: Is it okay to tell this lady that she was a man?
The fact she had casually shared with her comrades in the Adventurer’s Guild somehow felt like something she shouldn’t tell this woman; an instinct told her so.
You shouldn’t speak of such instincts.
“…No, it’s nothing. I mean, this tattoo is a bit much for a priest. Let me see if it can be erased… I’ll, I’ll give it a try.”
Aha, haha, ahahaha… Yona fumbled a laugh while Ceres stared at her intently.
That gaze flickered slightly, only to return to a nonchalant expression.
“Alright then. Let’s give it a go. Even if it doesn’t work, you won’t hold it against me, right?”
“Of course, naturally.”
Yona felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her back.
This feeling, how long has it been?
Before charging into the Kobold cave, something felt off, so she stopped Alex and withdrew the request. Then, days later, she heard the news that there were actually three Hobgoblins in that cave, and all the adventurers who went in were slaughtered.
That strange sense of escaping death.
“You need to extend your arm this way, you know?”
Yona hesitated at the chilling feeling but quickly regained her composure at Ceres’ words.
She then awkwardly smiled and extended her right arm to Ceres.
“It doesn’t hurt at all, so you don’t have to worry.”
Despite that, Yona couldn’t hide her stiff expression from disbelief.
Seeing that, Ceres awkwardly chuckled in return.
“I’m not doing anything bad, you know. If you’re that on edge, it makes me feel uneasy too. You get that, right?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Alright. Keep a good expression. Now, let’s see.”
Ceres gently took Yona’s hand and raised her own.
A low chant began to echo along with her lips. As the spell continued, a bluish light began to swirl around Ceres’ hand, growing more intense as the chant built to a climax.
As Ceres’ hand drew nearer, a warm sensation enveloped Yona’s arm.
It wasn’t unpleasant, just a bit strange.
The first time she felt the touch of magical power.
As Ceres’ hand slowly caressed Yona’s right arm, that warmth wrapped around her limb.
“Uh, th-this…?”
Yona quickly covered her mouth with her left hand at the unexpected sound that escaped her.
The letters that had been dark on her arm and hand were visibly fading, almost like magic.
Her heart started racing as she noticed the discernible lightening.
But that was all.
It had lightened, yet it didn’t completely disappear.
The faintly remaining letters, while not as pitch black as before, still held onto that foreign feeling.
But they had been erased.
They had surely been erased.
Yona looked at Ceres, who was breathing heavily, with awe in her eyes.
“This is the limit. No matter what, local purification is incredibly tough. It might be easier if it were a full body cleanse.”
“F-full body cleanse?”
“Right. You’re a healer, so you should know, but my purification is done in the same manner as the priests’ healing. Doing just one area like this is really inefficient. By the way, have you shown this to the priests at the cathedral?”
“It’s just that purifying only one area like this isn’t very efficient. Have you shown this to the priests at the cathedral?”
“I have shown it.”
“Specifically, only to Sister Aege.”
“What about the Saint?”
“…Not yet.”
‘I’d rather bite my tongue and die than show it to her.’
The unspoken words stayed hidden.
“Are you heading to the Mage Community because of this?”
Ceres asked with her usual calm smile.
“No, that’s not it…”
“It seems like this isn’t conflicting with divine power, so I thought you probably didn’t get the answers you wanted from the cathedral. But now I guess that’s not the case.”
While pondering something, Ceres suddenly let out a small chuckle.
As a result, Yona awkwardly smiled back.
“Well, Yona-chan probably has her circumstances too, so there’s no need to dig too deep. Anyway, I get it. I know you can deal with this with magic, but… if you’re going to the Mage Community to remove that tattoo, it’s a waste of time. There wouldn’t be any mage there who can use mana purification.”
“Is that so?”
In truth, she had another purpose, but she couldn’t just outright say it.
For some reason, a strong intuition told her that she shouldn’t tell Ceres the truth.
“Anyway, I understand. I feel like a moment will come when Yona-chan will need me soon. So I’ll wait for that time.”
Ceres smiled at Yona.
Yona couldn’t smile back.
Even she felt it was too strong an instinct that soon she’d have to see Ceres again.
*
When you live as an adventurer, you inevitably lose the ability to sleep in.
Waking up early to prepare and get to the guild is the only way to secure good quests, and diligent companions directly relate to skill, which affects survival rates.
In the early days of her adventurer life, Yona would wake up as soon as the sun rose.
But with the addition of a guard named Alex, and her healer job meaning she didn’t really need to secure quests since they often came looking for her, her ability to sleep in had returned.
“Why are you coming down now? Rubina has been waiting for you.”
“Are you pretending you didn’t know I was a heavy sleeper?”
Having sluggishly woken up after the sun had risen, Yona threw on some clothes and headed down to the first floor.
In the makeshift dining area set up in the corner of their quarters, the whole party was already having breakfast.
“Sit over there and eat.”
Without answering, Yona stood behind Alex and scanned the menu.
It wasn’t the usual rye bread but rather corn steamed bread.
There was also a plate with some sauce that looked like it could be grape or something else strange, and milk.
– Clap!
“Damn, why is this girl acting up again?”
“Shut it.”
Yona grabbed the milk pot and took Alex’s cup that was in front of him.
Confirming that it was empty, she filled the cup with milk and placed it back in front of Alex.
He placed it in front of Alex.
“Are you going to be dumb enough to get a stomach ache from that tough bread? Maybe mix it with some milk, huh? Do I really need to take care of you like this? Are you a child? Losing your hair and your smarts at the same time?”
“No, I was going to drink it.”
“You were going to drink it, but you didn’t, did you? You seriously have a knack for getting on people’s nerves, don’t you?”
“Sis, sis. Sit here.”
Rubina, who had been sitting next to Alex, hurriedly cleared her seat for him.
Yona patted Rubina’s head and took that spot.
“Oh boy, why is my arm so sore?”
As she rotated her right arm, Kaiyak, who had just sat next to Rubina, widened his eyes.
“Isn’t that the Sacred Barrier? Is it a spare?”
Yona looked at Kaiyak and chuckled.
Then, she shot a glance at Alex, sitting on the other side, and coughed lightly.
“This is a high-quality Sacred Barrier, you know? Ahem! Ahem!”
But Alex just dunked his bread into the sauce and gulped down the milk.
“Is the Sacred Barrier expensive?”
Ludvik asked Vigrind, who had been observing the scene.
Vigrind, who was already a light eater, had finished his meal with just a piece of bread and a warm glass of milk.
“The Sacred Barrier has to be handcrafted, so it’s not easily obtainable. And looking at that strange healer’s head…”
Yona glared at him, feeling offended.
But Vigrind didn’t pay her any mind.
“It must have been hard to get more, but looks like you managed somehow.”
“Really? Wow, so the Sacred Barrier is handmade. Thanks to the Saint, my knowledge keeps expanding.”
Hahaha.
As he said that, the hero tore his cornbread in half.
Freshly baked, the white crumb smoothly pulled apart, and steam wafted up from the cracks.
Ludvik dipped it into the reddish-brown sauce and suddenly offered it to Vigrind.
“Have a bite, Saint. It’s delicious. I saw you only eating that apple sauce, but this is raspberry sauce. It’s quite a delicacy. You should try it.”
“H-Hero, I’m full…”
And indeed she was.
Vigrind didn’t usually eat much.
“Hey, my arm’s going to fall off! Oh no, it really is going to fall off!”
Ludvik acted as if he were dying, causing Vigrind’s face to turn as red as a tomato.
Who knew he would make such a fuss? Who knew the hero could be so light-hearted about this?
It was downright embarrassing!
“F-Fine, I’ll eat it, I’ll eat it, just stop…!”
Flustered, Vigrind took the piece of bread from Ludvik’s hand.
She stuffed the bread into her mouth and began to chew.
‘…It’s good?’
The raspberry sauce was actually quite tasty.
‘What a ridiculous scene this is.’
Yona’s mood soured.
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