Paula said sheâd look for the priest, but there was only one thing in her mind.
Iâll look for Hikaru-sama and ask him if I can use my healing magic.
She couldnât tell the man that she was a Healer. She had to keep her abilities secret. There was also the possibility that Hikaru wouldnât allow her to even if she asked permission. In the end, Paula didnât 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.
ăHikaru-samaâă
TOP ARTICLES1/5Mercenaries in Apocalypse Volume 1Chapter 29
ăPaula?ă
Only Lavia was in the room.
ăLetâs go help them quick.ăLavia said after learning about the situation.
Paula almost cried from joy. The only mistake she made was thinking Hikaru was around, but Laviaâs permission would work. However, Paulaâs healing magic was to be kept secret, so they needed to do something. Thatâs where Laviaâs 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.
ăAll right. Weâre good to go.ăLavia 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 girlâs condition. What if things turned for the worse?
ăTh-There⊠it isâŠăPaula said, panting from exhaustion.
With her one point on Stamina, Lavia didnât look tired at all, so she took the lead and opened the door to the church.
ăPaula. Looks like we were a little too late.ă
ăWhat?ăPaula walked towards Lavia.
ăHahaha! Now Fran is mine!ă
A balding, plump middle-aged man guffawed. Paulaâs oxygen-deprived brain imagined what happenedâthe priest returned before they did. After learning about the girlâs 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.
ăTh-That wasnât the deal! You said you wanted money, not Fran!ă
ăAre you stupid? I know you donât have 500,000 gilans. You probably only saved up 200,000 to 300,000.ă
ăBut youâă
ăIâm giving you the option to use Fran as collateral, so you should be grateful. Iâm willing to accept a plain, commoner girl with no redeeming traits for 500,000.ă
ăI-I wonâtâă
ăOh, you will! Or are you saying you have the money? You donât, do you, Boltec?ă
The girls didnât make it in time. Paula sank down on the floor, feeling helpless.
ăHold it right there!ăLavia said in a clear voice.
ăâŠWho are you?ăthe priest asked warily.
The carpenterâBoltecânoticed 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.
ăSheâs not completely healed.ă
ăWhat?!ă
ăSheâs feeling better, but the root of her disease still remains. To say sheâs been completely cured is laughable.ă
Surprised, Paula scurried to the girl and took her hand.
ăYouâre right.ăPaula said.ăSheâs recovered from the symptoms, but sheâs far from being cured. As proof, her temperature is not going up.ă
ăWhat?! Is that true?!ăthe father asked.
ăJudging from her condition, I think itâs a lung problem. To completely cure her, we need a Master Class Healer who specializes in healing diseasees. What this man used was simply Apprentice Class magic.ă
Astounded, Boltec glanced at his daughter and then at the priest.
ăGesta, you bastard! You used some cheap magic and say my girlâs been cured?!ă
ăWhat?! Y-You fool! You wonât find many Healers in the royal capital who study healing diseasees!ă
Gesta was right. Healers were few, and Healers who specialized in diseases were even fewer. Paula listened carefully to Franâs breathing.
ăHer conditionâs better, but thereâs water in her lungs. We should use Master Class healing on her right away.ă
ăPaula.ăLavia called.
She meant to ask if Paula could use such powerful magic. Paula herself picked up what she was trying to ask and nodded.
ăPlease help her, Master.ăPaula said.
ăVery well. Iâll heal the girl immediately.ă
ăM-Master?! Werenât you looking for Gesta?!ăBoltec asked, surprised.
ăThereâs no way a shady-looking fellow can use disease-healing magic!ăGesta exclaimed.
Ignoring the priestâs words, Paula took Fran from her fatherâs arms and lay her down on the floor. Lavia kneeled down on the opposite side, facing Paula, and placed her hands on the girlâs forehead and chest.
ăOâ God 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 evilâă
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 wasnât familiar with, she just mumbled the words.
Ever since Paula obtained the Extra Healer job class, 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, Franâs body started glowing golden.
ăFran?! Fran!ă
ăI-It canât be⊠A real Master Class Healer?!ă
When the light subsided, color had returned to the girlâs face.
ăFranâŠ?ăBoltec nervously called the girlâs name.
ăDadâŠ?ăThe girl opened her eyes.
ăFran!ă
ăDad! I feel amazing! My bodyâs so light, it feels like I grew wings!ă
Fran jumped to her feet and embraced her father.
ăThank God⊠Iâm so glad youâre okayâŠă
Boltec hugged his daughter tight, tears streaming down his face.
ăPhew. Anyway, this is what real healing looks like.ăLavia 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.
ăYou have to undergo special training by the church to use that kind of magic!ăthe priest said.ăAre you actually from the church?ă
ăNope, not at all.ăLavia replied.ăYou donât need special training for it. If you possess the qualities, you can use it.ă
ăTh-Thatâs impossible! Are you saying the church is useless?!ă
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.
ăI see. I get it now.ăThe priest suddenly chuckled.ăYou defy the church! In that case, I got an idea. You brought these people, didnât you, Boltec? Iâll tell all the priests in the royal capital about you. You know what that means, right? We donât show mercy against Godâs enemies.ă
ăWhatâŠ?ă
The church was both a hospital and a welfare institution. 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 Gestaâs trump card. He didnât use it until now because he was still technically a man of status. He probably employed methods that just barely didnât get him into trouble. But now that someone more powerful than him appeared, heâd do anything to protect his position.
I guess Paulaâs healing magic was just too much for him, Lavia thought.
ăI donât mind. Iâll just leave the royal capital.ăBoltec said.
ăThen Iâll go with you!ăFran cried.
ăWhat are you saying?! I alone am enough. You donât have to sacrifice yourself too.ă
ăIâm not easygoing enough to live a fun life without you.ă
Boltec and Fran seemed to have made up their minds. Gesta watched them, grinning.
ăIâll still make you pay the fee for my services. 500,000. Come on, cough it up!ă
ăWhat?! Youâre out of your mind! These people healed my daughter, not you!ă
ăIâm the one who cast the magic first. Theirs was just a trick that made Franâs body glow.ă
ăYou bastard! Youâre rotten to the core!ă
ăBefore you leave, make sure you pay me! Or elseâă
ăOr else what?ăA voice came from the entrance.ăEither way, youâll be arrested for breach of trust against the church.ă
Everyone turned their eyes towards the door. A black-haired boy stood there, wearing a silver mask and a cloak that covered his whole body.
ăHuh? Whatâd you say?ăGesta asked.
The sudden appearance of an intruder left the priest standing there blankly. The boy took out a few papers from his pocket.
ăAre you familiar with these? Contract of sales and deeds of lands you ripped off of people who couldnât pay for the absurd amount you charged them. This one here is a draft you wrote addressed to a noble, telling him to hush up the people complaining about you. I found similar letters in bulk.ă
ăH-Howâd you get those?!ă
ăI found them by coincidence. Though I came here because it was necessary.ă
The boy shot a glance at Lavia. The note she left said to come to this church as soon as possible. He came here after seeing that. Although, it was pure luck that he came across evidence of the priestâs crimes.
ăItâs not like I looked you up. I just found the documents after sneaking into some nobleâs house, so I took them. I came here âcause apparently you were doing something intriguing.ă
ăY-You think youâll get awayâă
ăI could ask you the same. Hear that?ă
The boy gestured to his ears. The sound of footsteps and armor clanging came closer and closer, as though guards were heading straight for the church.
ăI told you I found other documents as well. Where do you think they are right now? Okay, Iâll tell you. I tossed them into a certain place. With your name on them, of course.ă
Gesta quickly turned around to run, but a stone thrown by the boy crushed his knee, and he screamed.
ăIt would be troublesome if you escaped, so why donât you lie down there for a while? Iâll be taking my leave.ă
The boy turned around, his cloak flaring behind him, and left the church.
ăLetâs go, Paula.ă
ăO-Okay!ă
ăWait!ăBoltec stopped them as they started running for the door.ăWe donât know whatâs even going onâŠă
ăItâs okay. Gesta seemed to have been doing some nasty things. Payment for healing should be given to the church. Forcing people into debt like what he did constitutes breach of trust. It sounds like heâs been using nobles to cover his tracks, but if the evidence was sent to the higher-ups, heâll get arrested for breach of trust.ă
ăDoes that mean we donât have to fear him anymore?ă
ăYes. Bye now!ă
ăI-I havenât thanked you yet!ă
ăYou can thank her.ăLavia said, pointing at Paula, and left through the backdoor first.
ăThank you! Thank you so much! You saved Fran by calling that Master of yours.ă
ăD-Donât mention it. P-Please donât tell anyone about my Master. She doesnât like drawing attention.ă
ăOf course! About the paymentâŠă
ăWe donât need the money!ă
ăButâă
ăBye!ă
Paula cut the conversation short and started running. Completely exhausted, she tripped over the groaning priest. She got back on her feet in a hurry and left staggering.
ăI canât even make heads or tails of what just happenedâŠăBoltec said.
ăMe neither.ăFran said.ăBut itâs strange. It felt like the warm power flowing into me came from the girl named Paula, not her master.ă
ăIs Father Gesta here?! The royal capitalâs High Priest has summoned you!ă
Five men entered the building; not guards, but temple knights wearing bright armor.
ăSo, what happened?ă
Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula met at the back of the church.
ăI⊠caused trouble for you two again.ăPaula said, sitting on the ground, dejected.
Lavia smiled at Hikaru and shook her head. No, she didnât.
ăWhatever. Gesta will receive proper punishment. Letâs go, Paula.ăHikaru said as he crouched in front of Paula, his back turned to her.
ăWh-Whatâs this, Hikaru-sama?ă
ăYou look like you can barely walk. Iâll give you a piggyback ride.ă
ăWhat?! I-I-Iâm fine! Iâll use my healing magic!ă
ăI can tell you donât have much mana. So stop lying and get on.ă
ăUhâŠă
ăQuick. Before the knights arrive.ă
Slowly, Paula moved closer.ăI-Iâm sorry! I must be heavy.ă
Hikaru, however, started walking without trouble.ăNah, itâs fine. Believe it or not, Iâm quite strong.ă
ăOkayâŠă
ăMaybe I shouldâve gone out with you.ă
ăâŠ.âŠ..ă
ăPaula?ă
ăSheâs asleep.ăLavia said.
ăAlready?! I was talking to her just now!ă
Feeling relieved, Paula fell asleep on Hikaruâs back.
ăSo, Gestaâs not the only one doing awful things, right?ăLavia asked.ăWhat about the others?ă
ăIâll gather more stuff tonight and send them to the royal castle. I might as well. If Kudyastoria wins, theyâll probably be dealt with later. I must say, I didnât expect the documents to be useful the very same day I found them.ă
After that, Boltec and Fran told the authorities everything, except the part about Paula and her master.
As for the church, they believed that after recovering her strength through the priestâs magic, Fran overcame her sickness simply because she was still young. Boltec telling them it wasnât anything serious also helped.
After donating 5,000 gilans to the church as payment for the healing services, Boltec and her daughter were released.
ăWhoâs this Silver Face guy?ă
The commander of the temple knights grasped the report detailing todayâs events. Documents indicating Father Gestaâs malpractice were thrown into the temple knightsâ station. Before verifying them, the knights hurried to take the priest into custody. Thatâs where they met a boy wearing a silver mask coming out of the church.
The boy, who called himself Silver Face, said he was the one who tossed the documents into the station. The knights tried to secure the boy, but failed, losing sight of him.
ăA boy got the better of our knights? And the station is on the third floorâŠă
How did he toss in the documents from an open window on the third floor?