“Yeah.”
The child asked if I was a priest, and I answered briefly.
“Then you’re the Priest of Flowers?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I heard that priests who believe in the Flower Goddess put pretty flower patterns like this on their clothes!”
The child, apparently liking my shirt, gently stroked the floral pattern.
‘This kid’s got a good eye.’
Being complimented on my favorite shirt put me in a fairly good mood.
Of course, the fact that my fondness for the Church of the Flower Goddess, whose priests wear floral clothing, went up was a bonus.
‘The Flower Goddess, huh. Not bad.’
My religion to impersonate was naturally decided.
“Yes, I serve the Flower Goddess.”
Though I only started serving her from now.
…
The innkeeper kept examining the child’s neatly healed forehead.
Not only was the stitch mark gone, but even the trace that a wound had ever existed had vanished.
“Oh my…”
Only after stroking the child’s forehead several times did the innkeeper finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But soon, a troubled expression crept onto her face, as if she was mulling something over.
“I don’t know how I can ever repay you. It’s not much, but please accept this offering.”
“No, your gratitude is enough.”
In truth, I really wanted my lodging fee refunded.
But I couldn’t act un-priestlike while pretending to be a priest, so I forced myself to decline.
Instead, I brought up a different request.
“If it truly weighs on your mind, just tell me where the Healing Center is in the city.”
“The Healing Center?”
“I plan to stay in the city for a while due to personal circumstances.”
There was no lie in that.
It was true I needed to stay, and it was true that it was for personal reasons.
“So I intend to do what I can during that time.”
After all, I needed to work to earn money, and I needed money to stay here.
But the innkeeper looked moved, as if she had witnessed the very model of a priest.
“If that’s the case, of course I’ll tell you! The way to the Healing Center is a bit complicated, but don’t worry.”
She then glanced at Sean and said,
“This boy Sean will guide you well.”
“..Just telling me the location is fine.”
Just as I was about to decline, not wanting to put work on a young child,
“Hehe. I have business nearby anyway, so it’s no trouble, Priest!”
But Sean, the one in question, stepped forward and said it was fine.
“..Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Since he said he was headed that way anyway, it felt awkward to keep refusing.
In the end, I nodded and accepted his company.
After finishing the breakfast I hadn’t fully eaten and stepping out of the inn, the city looked quite bustling.
Merchants laid out their goods on stalls, and carts loaded with vegetables and such shuttled back and forth on the streets without rest.
Sean slipped expertly between carts and people.
I followed behind him and asked,
“Is the Healing Center quite far?”
“No, the roads are just tricky and complicated. It’s actually close by.”
I wondered why they would put a Healing Center in such a complicated spot.
The answer came soon enough.
“I heard it used to be in a noticeable place, but after the Priest grandmother gained the ability to use the Miracle of Healing, outsiders came too often, so the Lord had it moved. He said what’s the point if the residents can’t even receive treatment.”
That was a reasonable reason.
On top of that, the information coming out of Sean’s mouth was useful.
Small details about the city that were hard to verify in the Gallery popped out one by one through that small mouth.
‘I heard priests who can use healing abilities are rare, but in this whole city, there’s just one?’
And even she had people flocking from outside.
It was fair to say supply was woefully short compared to demand.
In other words, it looked like money would come in well.
After winding through the streets toward the outskirts of the city several times,
I finally reached the destination.
“It’s over there.”
Sean’s fingertip pointed at a building that, to anyone, looked simply large and otherwise like a private home.
They really did hide it well.
“Well then, I’m off to take care of my business!”
Once we arrived in front of the Healing Center, Sean bowed his head.
True to his word about having business nearby, Sean guided me only to the front of the Healing Center and then ran off toward the market.
After seeing the child off, I slowly stepped inside.
The smell of herbs and a faint scent of blood stung my nose.
Compared to modern hospitals or clinics, the odor was raw and thick.
But unlike the smell that filled the space, the inside of the Healing Center was quieter than expected.
An elderly man coughing and a young man clutching his wrist sat in chairs, receiving treatment.
It seemed light ailments and wounds were handled with medicine.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Just as I was looking around,
The Priestess who had just finished treating the young man stood up and approached.
“I am Flawi, a servant of the Flower Goddess, Lady Iris.”
It was a name I had made up on the spot, but I was inwardly satisfied that it sounded fairly plausible.
“So you’re a Priest of Flowers.”
The Priestess confirmed the floral shirt and nodded as if convinced.
“But what brings you here?”
She cut straight to the point without beating around the bush.
“I’m here for an interview.”
“Pardon?”
She was flustered for a moment, then wore a troubled expression.
“I appreciate the offer, but our Healing Center isn’t that well off. Whether we can take on a new Priest is something I’d need to ask about..”
It was a roundabout but clear refusal.
Still, I was confident she wouldn’t refuse after seeing this.
“It may be humble, but I have a talent, so I’m sure I’ll be of help.”
Whoosh-
The moment I finished speaking, a bright light bloomed above my outstretched palm.
At the same time, the gazes of everyone around gathered on my glowing hand.
At the rare Miracle of Healing (not), the Healing Center stirred briefly.
The troubled Priestess’s eyes also went wide.
“A Miracle of Healing..”
“By the blessing of the Flower Goddess, I was granted it, however faintly.”
It was, to be clear, a lie.
The Priestess stared blankly at the light gathered in my hand for a moment.
Then, as if snapping out of it, she flinched and turned around.
“One moment, please wait just a moment!”
The Priestess hurried inside, and not long after, she returned with an elderly Priestess.
Though, she wasn’t the kind-faced grandmother one typically pictures when hearing “old Priestess.”
Rather, she had the impression of a strict old woman.
On top of that, her tired complexion only made that impression stronger.
“You can use the Miracle of Healing?”
The old Priestess got straight to the point.
She even stepped close before hearing my answer.
“Show me.”
“Very well.”
A bit nervous, I used Heal again.
Whoosh-
Bright light bloomed above my hand.
The old Priestess narrowed her eyes and studied the risen light for a long while.
I wondered if she had noticed it wasn’t actually a Miracle of Healing.
My feet were starting to go numb, but then the old Priestess’s hardened expression softened.
“Good.”
“Pardon?”
“Start working right away.”
“..Very well.”
It was flustering, but at the same time, I was relieved.
‘If even a Priest can’t tell the difference, then I really don’t have to worry about being found out.’
The Gallery’s words weren’t wrong.
“With only me in the city able to use the Miracle of Healing, I was being stretched thin. Gaia has helped.”
The old Priestess muttered that as she walked briskly down the hall toward the back.
The place we arrived at was a separate, isolated ward that anyone could see was the intensive care unit.
The inside of the ward was quite grim.
Patients with bandages and splints lay on every bed.
There were no fewer than eight patients who wouldn’t survive the week without immediate attention.
“Ha. Did they run into a monster the size of a house?”
“If it were an ogre, they wouldn’t have even recovered the bodies. It was a group of orcs.”
“..I see.”
“Still, the immediate fire is out. The patients left now can at least hold out for the day.”
Only then did I understand the old Priestess’s tired complexion.
She had poured every last bit of strength she had into saving the patients who were on the verge of death.
‘There’s no elderly abuse like this.’
It was no wonder the innkeeper’s daughter had returned without receiving a healing miracle.
“Then I’ll begin treatment right away.”
Thinking there was no time to waste, I slowly drew up Heal.
However, the way I used it was slightly different from usual.
“Don’t push yourself to heal them all at once. Even if you just extend their lives for now, that’s fine..”
The old Priestess couldn’t finish her sentence.
Because before she could, a brilliant light spread, as if filling the entire ward.
‘Healing Wave.’
Since there were too many to treat one by one, I cast an area-of-effect Heal, and the effect was outstanding.
Crushed flesh knitted together, and damaged organs recovered.
The patients’ rough and precarious breathing gradually steadied.
The treatment ended only after the light that had filled the ward completely faded.
“It’s done.”
“..Done already?”
The old Priestess asked back in disbelief.
Instead of answering, I unwound the bandage of the nearest patient.
The wound that had been gaping was gone without a trace.
The other patients were the same.
As if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, the old Priestess quickly moved between the beds, checking the patients’ conditions.
She pressed on the areas where wounds had been, took pulses again, and even opened eyelids to examine pupils.
With each check, her hardened expression only grew more astounded.
“Ha..”
The old Priestess wiped her face and fell into thought for a moment.
“You. Why didn’t you show up sooner, and only now?”
“How can a dandelion seed choose where it falls on its own?”
“Damn it.”
The old Priestess spat out a curse with a sour expression.
I thought it was a fairly priestlike thing to say, but she didn’t seem to like it.
Still, it was impossible not to tell that all these reactions came from regret.
‘Seems I passed, then.’
Taking the old Priestess’s reaction as such, I wrote a post on the Gallery to commemorate.
Title: Got hired.
Author: yea(123.123)
She seems to like me.
[Did the Priest not find you out?]
ã„´[She didn’t seem to catch on at all. I used it right in front of her and she still didn’t know.]
ã„´[You should practice holding your breath for a long time in advance..]
ã„´[Why?]
ã„´[(It’s called tact.. boom)]
ã„´[BOOM!!!]