"I want you to teach me so many things, Fia!!" (Anna)
"I want to become a more powerful saint too!" (Melody)
"If you could teach me something I don't know, that would be great!" (Katie)
The three people, Anna, Melody, and Katie, answered immediately. So, I naturally smiled and told them, "That's great, I'll teach you anything I know! However, I don't have a master and I've been studying on my own with only the forbidden book in hand, so I only have old information. I'd be grateful if you could teach me about newer magic instead."
"Leave it to me!!" all three of them exclaimed. Watching the three of them pounding their chests vigorously, I felt happy and thought they were reliable.
After that, the three of them said they wanted to consider which patients to treat, so I decided to go around all the rooms again while they were doing that. When I checked earlier, none of the patients were in any danger of dying, so I thought I would cast a light spell that wouldn't interfere with the examination and would alleviate the pain and suffering of the patients.
After visiting the rooms of each patient—with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms—and secretly casting my magic, I let out a sigh, "This should keep everyone safe for a while." Although I wanted everyone to make a full recovery, I told myself to be patient because this was the examination venue.
At that moment, a patient, who seemed to have heard me whisper, spoke to me, "You're amazing. I don't know what kind of magic it is, but the throbbing pain has disappeared!"
I turned around to see a man in his forties with dark green hair sitting half-up on the bed. I was in a ward for seriously ill patients, so I wondered if he had been suffering from a long-term illness...and when I looked over, I saw that both of his legs were missing below the knees.
Peeking out from under his simple shirt, his neck was thick and his chest was broad, and it was clear he was well-trained, which gave me the impression that he looked just like a knight. It seemed my guess was correct, as the man introduced himself as a former knight, "Sorry for calling out to you out of the blue. Nice to meet you, Saint. My name is Maurice and I'm a former knight."
"I knew it! When I saw your physique, that's what I thought." (Fia)
"My physique...," he muttered this in a confused tone, and I panicked, "Ah, damn it." As I was a knight, I was simply checking out my companions' physiques, but if someone who didn't know I was a knight heard that, they might mistake me for a shameless saint who ogles men's bodies.
"Th-that's not it! I was just checking out your impressive muscles with pure intentions, Maurice!" as I spoke that, I began to worry whether my words would really clear up the misunderstanding, but Maurice just stood there with his mouth open, then burst out in a sheepish laugh.
"Hahaha, I see! So you were checking out my muscles with pure intentions! I understand your feelings, Saint." (Maurice)
"Th-That was good." (Fia)
I wondered if I had really conveyed my feelings correctly, but as I grew day by day, I had learned that this was not the time to question him, so I decided to accept him at his words.
Maurice then looked happy and slowly stroked his chest over his clothes, "It's been 10 years since I was a knight, so I'm honored to hear you say that."
Then Maurice patted his thigh cheerfully, "After all, I lost my leg ten years ago! There's no way I could continue being a knight."
Maurice said this with a bright expression, but as I was a knight, I knew very well that knights took pride in being knights. He also wished from the bottom of his heart to remain a knight.
Maurice said he quit being a knight 10 years ago, so he was probably doing something else now. And yet, when he introduced himself, he said he was a former knight, no doubt revealing his pride in his past as a knight.
As I stared at his injured area, Maurice's brows lowered in confusion, "Even if it was only recently, the loss of a limb is beyond the level of healing that the Saint can perform. Moreover, it has been ten years, so I understand that there is nothing that can be done. You don’t need to worry about me."
Even if he said that, it was hard not to be concerned. Maurice seemed to understand my silence and explained to me about the injury to his leg.
"Ten years ago, I injured my leg while protecting a knight of noble rank. That was my job, and I was only doing what I was supposed to do, but that knight of noble rank still worries about the fact that I lost my leg. So, in the hope that something, even if just a little, might improve, he forced me to be one of the patients at this selection meeting." (Maurice)
Judging from Maurice's story, this "knight of noble rank" seemed to wield great power. I didn't know who that knight was, but when I thought of a "knight of noble rank," the first person that comes to mind was Commander Savis. Then there was Captain Cyril... Captain Desmond was also surprisingly a nobleman, so it might be around there.
With this group, it wouldn't be surprising if they were already knights ten years ago. However, these three were not the type to force things through, so it did not appear that they would use their power to take special measures such as including people they were close to among the patients on the selection committee.
While I was crossing my arms and wondering who this knight of high rank was, Maurice continued speaking, "That’s why, out of all the patients, I’m the only one who is by far the most difficult to cure. Of course, I know that there’s nothing that can be done about my leg, and I’ve already given up. So, it’s okay if you think of me as a non-existent person."
That was a difficult discussion. Hmm, Captain Cyril said she wanted to surprise Rose with an amazing healing spell, and I wonder if this is it. Either way, it's hard to not heal a sick person when you see them.
I have Sacred Stones, so even if I use healing magic, I'm sure I can come up with any excuse later. The problem, as could be seen from Maurice's words, was that it was believed to be difficult for the current Saint to heal bodily defects, so I had to wonder whether healing this injury could really be considered a "surprise." Previously, when I healed a man who was missing a leg at Sutherland, everyone was just surprised, so I thought it might work.
In the first place, 300 years ago, many Saints could regenerate damaged parts. So, it's not technically difficult— Ah, so that means I should work together with the other Saints to cure it, I guess. It shouldn't be a difficult task for the Saints who will be appearing at the selection meeting.
"Maurice, I'm a saint participating in the Selection Council. My name is Fia. My abilities as a saint are not that great, but the Selection Council is filled with wonderful saints, so I might be able to help you!" (Fia)
I wish I could somehow use the power of the saints to cure Maurice, I thought to myself, but when I spoke, he frowned and said, "If you say something like that after seeing my injuries, then your abilities as a saint may not be that high."
Then Maurice folded his arms as if thinking. "However, you managed to erase the phantom limb pain that had plagued me for years, and there's no doubt that you're a special Saint who can do things that other Saints can't. Other Saints would just say, 'Just bear with that amount of pain,' and they focused on the pain and dealt with it. Also, you're a good Saint who talks to her patients and makes them feel cheerful," he said that in a refreshing and non-offensive way, so I thought Maurice would be a good patient.
"Thank you, I'm glad to receive a compliment. However, what I cast was more of a spell than a charm. If the pain really did go away, then you might be a bit of a person with strong imagination, Maurice." (Fia)
In reality, I had cast a spell to ease the pain and suffering of the patient, but I remembered the explanation that once treatment began, I would be in charge of the patient, so I decided to insist that it wasn't magic. It sounded scary, but I had cast a spell on all my patients to reduce their pain, so if I was not careful, they would all end up being my responsibility.
Unfortunately, my explanation didn't sit well with Maurice, and he grimaced in disapproval, "You think I'm the type who jumps to conclusions?"
I didn't really know Maurice's personality, but I felt that saying any more would backfire, so I just smiled and remained silent. Then, I thought to myself how I should approach Anna, Melody, and Katie.
Being clever, I came up with the idea of enlisting the help of the three of them to treat Maurice.
I waved to Maurice with a smile and said, "I'll come again," and left the place.
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
Sorry for the wait. I'll update now that I have some ideas on what's next.
Thank you so much for all the encouraging comments!! Thanks to you, I was able to think things through slowly.
Thank you very much for your support.