Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Priest, I Need Your Holy Water. (3)
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Glug glug—
The lustrous emerald holy water poured into the large basin. I had been fretting over the shortage, but Isabel's contribution solved it nicely.
The rest was simple... now I just had to mix it properly.
I combined the pre-ground herbs with the holy water, creating a thick, viscous medicine.
The result was a sticky lump of holy water swirling with a yellow hue. I scooped up a handful and spread it evenly over the deepest part of the woman's burn on her leg.
"Ugh! Hngh...!"
The woman clutched the blanket, enduring the pain. As the holy water-based medicine touched her leg, white bubbles began rising.
Definitely effective.
Signs of recovery were already appearing. It hadn't been this quick before, so Isabel's holy water clearly wasn't the ordinary stuff.
This quality... at least bishop-grade or higher...
As expected of a hero? No idea where she got it, but I used it with gratitude.
"Please bear with it just a little longer."
Splat—
"Kuhk...! Ugh...!"
I meticulously applied the holy water to every burned area without missing a spot. To prevent later infection, I carefully removed contaminated sections midway and continued the treatment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Fuu..."
Goddamn exhausting...
After treating a few more people this way, I was utterly drained. Leaving the rest to Vice Priest Rachel and the doctors, I fled to the back and collapsed into a chair.
"Want some water?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
Seeing me slumped and spent, Isabel brought water out of concern. I took the canteen and chugged it like a man finding an oasis in the desert.
"Puha... Thank you."
"No problem. You worked hard, Priest."
She confirmed I'd finished, returned the canteen to its place, then quietly dragged over a chair and sat right beside me.
Leaning back with her arms crossed, she even looked dependable.
I'm always the one getting help.
Like during that kidnapping before, and now this—kept relying on her. Without her... Ugh, hate to imagine. In a way, even being here was all thanks to her.
I might've ended up whoring in some brothel by now otherwise.
"Priest, how's your body been since that day?"
"Ah, yes... Thanks to you... I was really grateful back then."
"No big deal. Just doing my job... Glad you weren't hurt bad."
She waved it off casually. Resting one arm on the backrest, she pulled a cigarette from inside her sleeve.
"Priest, want a smoke?"
"Ah, I'm a non-smoker..."
"Gotcha. Anyway..."
She crossed her legs and lit it with a match. The tiny flame caught on the cigarette's tip.
"Fuu... Fucking draining..."
Head tilted back, she exhaled smoke toward the sky. Glancing over, her clothes were crusted with dark red blood scabs in spots.
"You fought, didn't you."
"Ah... This? Monsters attacked, so I've been hunting the stragglers since yesterday. Put in some effort."
"Must've been tough."
"Hmm... Business as usual. Whatever."
From what she said, she'd been holed up here since yesterday to prevent secondary attacks from any leftovers. Seemed she planned to exterminate all monsters in the area while at it.
"Lately, more monsters coming down to the village."
"I-Is that right?"
"Not sure why, but their numbers spiked recently. Better stay cautious, Priest."
"Ah, yes..."
Monsters multiplying... With all the incidents, I'd forgotten, but in Satta, they surged exponentially around this time.
Looks like the main story's kicking off for real. Time for me to prepare countermeasures.
Right now, my body's worthless, but leveraging all my knowledge, maybe I could snag some artifact for self-protection at least.
"Hmm... Anyway, Priest, you're prettier than before."
"Ah, ye-yes?"
Mid-conversation, she drops something totally random. I doubted my ears, my voice pitching up unwittingly.
What the hell did she just say?
Narrowing my brows, I looked up at her. Cigarette dangling from her lips, she eyed me up and down with half-lidded gaze.
"M-Me?"
"Hard to put into words. Lived by the sword my whole life, so not great at expressing, but yeah, cuter than last time."
"Ahaha... R-Really? Thank you."
So out of left field. Half-wondered if pheromones charmed her, but her reaction said no. If under influence, she'd show arousal, but her face was as serene as ever.
"..."
Silence settled between us for a bit. Tried keeping a straight face, but that one word "pretty" stripped away my mask, leaving me beet red as a ripe tomato.
Haa... Guess she's not entirely right in the head either...
In the game, Isabel had that prim wife vibe, so I'd forgotten this world's version was a whole different person.
No more cringing "Kill me!" drama; instead, some cool, badass bitch energy. The gap was like night and day.
...But wait, had I ever sat and actually talked with Isabel like this? Sure, glimpsed her face now and then, but this was our first real sit-down chat.
Makes sense—whenever we met, no room for talk. Once nearly busted mid-act with Guild Master Reina, once fleeing a kidnapping. Faces familiar, but her? Clueless.
Tsk... Either way, we'll cross paths soon enough. If she's not batshit like Bishop Lisa... Might not hurt to build some rapport now...
Not urgent though. Relationships grow slow anyway.
"Priest?"
"Ah, yes."
"Got any holy water left? Got sliced up by those bastards earlier..."
And just like that, a decent opportunity arose.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Isabel shed her breastplate. The armor encasing her began coming off piece by piece.
Meanwhile, I transferred holy water from the basin into a small walnut-wood cup and mixed in the necessary herbs to make an ointment-like paste.
"Where should I apply it?"
"Ah, hold on."
"Wait a sec," I said, as she stripped off her top. With her clothes already ragged from tumbling around, her toned upper body came into view.
Whoa... This is insane...
Even as a guy, it was body goals.
No need for long thoughts—her physique screamed of brutal battles survived.
Scars dotted her arms, waist, back, everywhere. Countless sword gashes seized my gaze instantly.
"Fuu... Oops, do the scars make it gross?"
She asked, seemingly self-conscious about them. I'd zoned out staring, so I snapped back quick.
"Eh? Ah, no. It's fine. More importantly, can you show me the injury?"
"Ah, sure."
She nodded, spun the chair, and pressed her chest to the backrest. Up close, there was a sword cut on her back in a spot she couldn't reach herself.
Not too deep, but it'd hurt like hell. No bandage, and she'd toughed it out till now.
Her expression barely changed, so I hadn't even noticed. Normally, folks wince and groan with wounds like that, but she was nonchalant, like it was a mere scratch.
Anyway... her body's no joke...
How to describe it... Her upper body had muscles so defined, like an anatomy model laid bare.
Might seem excessive at a glance, but no—unlike a bodybuilder's bulk, it was compact battle-honed muscle. More like finely developed essential fibers, beautifully sculpted.
Gulp... Looks tasty.
"Priest? Priest? Done yet?"
"Eh? Ah, y-yeah, right now. One sec."
What the...? Why do I keep spacing out? No clue, but my heart suddenly started pounding.