My eyes widened in surprise as I saw a brilliantly shining, transparent jewel inside a large container held up by a resident kneeling next to the chief.
"C-Chief, this is the Sacred Stone, right...?" (Fia)
I couldn't help but let out a panicked voice.
At that moment, Commander Savis called out to me.
"Fia, do you know what you've got?" (Savis)
I could understand why Commander was asking the question. I guessed he was trying to say that I was undeserved to receive an armful of such glittering jewels.
I swallowed hard and looked up at the commander with a serious expression.
"Of course! It's a very beautiful stone, and I'm sure ladies will be competing to get it. If I were to get one like this, I'd be very rich!" (Fia)
"You..." (Savis)
The Commander paused, then seemed to have second thoughts and continued.
"That is a precious stone called 'Sacred Stone' as you said. This stone has added value that makes it more useful than a 'magic stone'." (Savis)
"Huh? Is that so?" (Fia)
It was a stone that was seen very rarely 300 years ago, but no one realized it had any special effects. All I knew was that it was a pretty stone that could store a small amount of healing magic.
I looked at the Sacred Stone with excitement, wondering what kind of effect it would have. Then, Captain Cyril, who had been standing next to me without me realizing it, spoke with a serious expression.
"You can store healing magic in the Sacred Stone. In other words, by carrying Sacred Stones, you can obtain the same effect as the saint's power." (Cyril)
"What?" (Fia)
Up to that point, of course, even I knew about it. That being said, the healing magic that could be stored in the Sacred Stone was only a small amount, so its effect was not likely to be of much use. I looked up at Captain Cyril in anticipation, wondering what other wonderful effects I didn't know about would come next.
My heart was pounding and my eyes were shining as I waited for the Captain to say something next, but when Captain Cyril saw my expression, he closed his mouth and blinked repeatedly in a troubled state.
"...Excuse me, Fia, but do you understand what I just said? I explained that this is a stone that can exert the same effect as the saint's power." (Cyril)
"Yes, of course I understand. You mean that Sacred Stone can store a little bit of the Saint's power, right?" (Fia)
I tilted my head in confusion, wondering why the conversation didn't move forward from there.
Then, Captain Cyril spoke in a slightly louder voice, as if it had finally dawned on him.
"Oh, that's not it! You misunderstood that! This stone can store the power of multiple Saints. In other words, the healing magic of several Saints can be used with just this one small stone." (Cyril)
"Huh? But that stone can only store a tiny amount of healing magic, right?" (Fia)
"No, that's why I explained that it can hold so much magical power that it can hold the power of several Saints." (Cyril)
"Huh?" (Fia)
"Huh?" (Cyril)
Although Captain Cyril was usually good at explaining things, I couldn't understand a word the captain was saying and I tilted my head vigorously. Then, as if unable to bear seeing me like that, Captain Curtis hurriedly stepped in between us.
"Lady Fi! When a Saint heals a wound, it is difficult for her to do it alone, so it takes multiple people to heal her, right? This stone can store the power of multiple people! Not only that, but even if we take into account the amount of magic power the Saint has from full to depleted, it can store the magic power of several people. In other words, it is an amazing stone that can store the entire magic power of the Saint, even for several people." (Curtis)
"………ah!" (Fia)
Belatedly realising what he was saying, I opened my eyes wide.
"Healing potions take time to take effect. Therefore, when you use a healing potion, you have to leave the battlefield until your wounds heal, but if you use this stone, you will be able to continue participating in the battle." (Curtis)
Captain Curtis provided similar information in a natural way, allowing me time to organize my thoughts.
...I see. That's what it means.
Hearing Captain Curtis's words, I finally understood Captain Cyril's explanation and hung my head in dejectedness.
If I believed what I had just been explained and think that the Saint's current magic power might be very low, then a lot of things started to add up.
Thinking back, the abilities of the saints I witnessed when I first went out to subjugate monsters as a knight were far inferior to those of my previous life. It took three people several tens of seconds to heal the injury of an arm.
In addition, the Saints looked quite tired after completing their healing. Thinking about it now, that might have been a sign that they had used up a lot of my magic power in one healing session.
However, even after hearing about their weakening and seeing the Saints' powers for myself, somewhere deep inside I still believed in their potential. In other words, even though the amount of recovery magic output in one go was small, I had assumed that the amount of magic power itself was still quite large.
That was because, even during the monster subjugation, only three saints were assigned to twenty knights. In other words, it was expected that the three Saints would be able to heal all of the wounds suffered by the 20 knights, and if the frequency with which the knights were injured was the same as in their previous lives, then it would amount to a considerable number of healings for the entire subjugation.
However, in reality, the knights might be injured much less frequently than in my previous lives.
Thinking back on it from that perspective, it's true that at that time, there may have been many injuries because we were fighting powerful monsters that we don't normally encounter, and they may have been angry for other reasons, but my injuries were not healed by the Saint...
When I thought about it that far, albeit belatedly, the explanation of Captain Cyril and Captain Curtis suddenly hit me.
…I see, that’s how it is. The magical power of the Saints in this world must be so small that the small capacity of a Sacred Stone could contain the magic power of several people.
Feeling dejected, I glanced up at Captain Curtis.
"...I understand. In other words, if I were to collect the healing magic of several Saints, the Sacred Stone (which only has a small capacity) would be filled up (as the current Saints have a low amount of magical power), right?" (Fia)
"……that's right" (Curtis)
Captain Curtis, realising what I had understood, looked at me with a concerned expression.
...Curtis, there's no need to worry. I was just dreaming about becoming a saint. Just as I was about to reassure him, I noticed Captain Cyril looking at me with a suspicious look on his face.
Realizing what I had done, I quickly put on a happy expression and spread my arms out in an exaggerated way.
"Wow, I'm sorry I didn't understand properly! I finally understand how amazing it is! It's amazing, it's amazing! It can hold the magical power of several Saints, this is an incredible stone!!" (Fia)
"Fia, I don't need to point out just how terrible your acting is... But don't you understand the power of this stone? Ah, I see. You don't have much experience in actual combat, so you probably don't understand the importance of the Saint's power." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril muttered to himself, then shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment at the commander.
Commander Savis looked me straight in the eye and spoke in a calm voice with an emotionless expression.
"Fia, The effects of the Sacred Stone, are as Cyril and Curtis explained. Its value on the battlefield is immeasurable, and it will undoubtedly save the knights. And you have been offered the right to receive it for the future by the clan that holds the only established way to obtain it." (Savis)
"Huh………" (Fia)
Finally, I realized the seriousness of the situation and swallowed hard.