Interrupted Healing and Burning Grudges
How the hell was I supposed to know? No matter how long I waited, there was no response.
"What're you doing?"
Getting suspicious, I turned back around. For a split second, I caught sight of the two women frozen stiff, but the moment I turned, they jumped in surprise.
"Wait!"
"Don't turn around like that!"
The two of them teamed up to pull my shirt back down over me. What the actual hell? I'd heard that baring a guy's upper body wasn't exactly recommended, but it wasn't a big deal either.
"Seriously, can I really put my hands on your back? Is it okay if I touch your back?!"
Arios was practically yelling, overreacting big time.
"The person involved—me—is giving permission."
"Even if you give permission, Countess Ares will try to kill us."
"It's just treatment. Why would she kill you for that?"
"No, but..."
I was the frustrated one here, but Arios trailed off like she was the frustrated one.
At that moment.
"Fine. I'll do it."
Hames finally acknowledged me.
"I just put my hands on your back and infuse holy power, right?"
"Hey, you!"
"Hero Arios, stop making a fuss. As Seres Huferion said, this is purely a medical procedure."
Hames, who was ready to proceed, started arguing with Arios. I'd given permission—why was she freaking out?
"If you're not gonna do it, then leave. I'll call someone else."
If they weren't helping and just getting in the way, what choice did I have? The moment I moved to call someone else, Arios flinched.
"Call someone else? Let someone other than me touch Seres's bare skin? Leaving just High Priestess Hames?"
"Yeah."
"I'll do it."
About damn time.
"Do it right this time."
I turned my back to them again.
"O-okay, great."
I couldn't see, but it sounded like Arios moved first. Her voice came closer, and her hand touched my back.
"So soft... You don't even get special care, but it's so smooth and silky!"
Says the one whose hands feel just as nice. Arios's hands on my back had an amazing texture too.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Then Hames placed her hand on my back as well. Her smooth yet strong hand made contact, and something flowed in. Was this holy power? Some kind of energy entered my body and started moving—it felt familiar. The divine power inside me wriggled in response, like it was welcoming the holy power. Distant relatives or something?
"Seres, I'll infuse mine too."
Right away, Arios's mana flowed in as well. It felt incredibly vigorous, overflowing with power. In the original story, the original Seres didn't seem to feel this. Seres had received mana from a mage back then, but Arios wielded the mana of a mighty warrior—maybe that was why. It'd been ages since I'd felt this surge of energy; it was a good sensation, but only for a moment.
Soon, it got tough. What Arios was doing was like injecting internal energy into someone's body in a wuxia novel to help them cultivate. Training meant the receiver had to endure hardship too. I'd known this was coming from the original Seres's descriptions of struggling. I grew exhausted rapidly, but thankfully, Hames's holy power restored my stamina.
Mana training drained me, but the holy power replenished it right away. Reacting to the holy power, my divine power activated smoothly too. The divine power purified both energies, kept the flow unbroken, and created a positive cycle. The three powers supported each other, amplifying efficiency—that was the core of this treatment method.
"Mm."
Even as the fatigue recovered, the sensation of exhaustion lingered. It kept going. I tried to endure the grueling feeling, but it wasn't easy.
"Ah, ugh..."
In the end, a weary groan escaped me, and suddenly, the infusion of holy power and mana stopped.
"...Seres?"
"What's wrong?"
The two asked about my condition, their voices trembling for some reason.
"Are you in pain by any chance?"
"Mana infusion training is exhausting even for experts. The stronger the donor's mana, the worse it gets."
Coming from the empire's top knight, dubbed the hero, it was no surprise. I knew full well that the better the effect, the quicker the drain.
"I'm fine. Keep going."
I urged the hesitating pair.
"Mana training tires me out, but Hames's holy power recovers it, so I'm not exhausted."
"Foolish talk. There's a limit to that. If holy power recovery were perfect, every mana trainee would drag a priest around."
I can do it. My divine power assisted both energies and kept the cycle going. But I couldn't explain it was thanks to divine power, so I just insisted.
"I'm really fine."
"Then what was that groan earlier?"
"It felt good. Like getting a massage."
"I'm not a masseuse."
"I know. That's how good it felt."
I spouted weird excuses to keep the mana and holy power flowing.
"Ugh, aaah..."
"..."
"..."
Whether they believed I was okay or not, even when more groans slipped out, they stayed silent. After a few hours like that.
"How long do we have to keep this up?"
"We should probably head back soon."
Time had passed, and it was time for both to leave. Normally, I'd be thrilled for them to go sooner, but not now. I desperately held them back.
"Stay the night!"
"That's not feasible. I need to return to the temple."
Hames shook her head.
"Staying overnight is fine, but we should stop the mana infusion. You look exhausted."
Arios demanded we halt.
Damn it, you two. You think I'm doing this for fun? The emperor's worse than both of you combined—I'm prepping to thrash around before even meeting her!!
"Please, keep going!"
"...Fine."
At my plea, Hames reluctantly stayed. Arios joined unwillingly too. Now I could relax and focus—or so I thought. I'd forgotten for a moment. This world existed to screw me over, Seres.
"Young Master Seres, sorry to interrupt the treatment, but something's come up."
After more time passed, a servant knocked. He delivered the message from outside the door.
"People have arrived saying they need treatment from Lady Seres."
"What? I just healed the entire territory the other day!"
Did some freak accident sever limbs or something? The news hit right in the middle of focused treatment, leaving me baffled, but what came next was even more absurd.
"From the neighboring territory."
"What?"
"The countess from the neighboring territory brought her people and is asking for treatment."
Were they on an expedition for healing? I'd pushed through treating our whole territory, and now the neighbors showed up?
I suppressed my twisting expression and paused the session.
"You two, hold on. Help me up."
"Yes."
"Like this?"
Arios supported my right side, while Hames hesitated briefly before taking my left. With their help, I went out—and it was total chaos.
"Go! I said leave!"
"I'm just asking for a moment of your time—is that so bad?!"
Ares was pointing and yelling at some woman I'd never seen before.
The long black-haired woman spoke angrily yet desperately.
"Ares, we're not strangers. Please call your son to heal my daughter."
"I already told you that's impossible."
"I'll pay any price. I'll hand over our family's largest gold mine."
"Hurion, I'm sorry, but my child's not well. He's in the middle of treatment right now."
"My daughter's about to die!"
The woman called Hurion pointed to someone on a stretcher. It was a person moaning in agony, covered in horrific burns—truly gruesome. If she hadn't called her "daughter," even the gender would've been unrecognizable.
"A fire accident burned all her skin. She needs urgent treatment, and the highest healer nearby is your son!"
"..."
"Please!"
Hurion begged while Ares silently watched her. As I surveyed the scene, the servant who'd informed me whispered quietly.
"The countess said she'd handle it herself and not to tell you. But I thought I should ask your opinion, young master. You've already treated so many."
Rummaging through my memories as I listened, I wondered: Was there a scene like this in the original? It felt important, but I didn't recall it. The neighboring countess had been mentioned in passing, though.
Seres, do you know? Your father was about to rebel, saying he'd come get you.
Lies—Father would never!
Luckily, a loyal countess right next to your territory snitched and warned me.
Her? But she's Father's acquaintance!
She must've harbored some grudge. Looked like she really hated your father.
When the tyrant emperor kept Arios's daughter in the palace too long, Ares lost it and tried storming the place. The neighboring countess had tipped them off, stopping it early. No way—was that countess this woman? So the reason she hated Ares was because Ares refused to heal her critically injured child like this.
...Bullshit, how was I supposed to predict this?! When reading the novel, I just skimmed it as "they had bad blood," but there was this backstory? Enough with the screwing me over already! I gritted my teeth at the hidden bomb for some tragic plot I never knew about.
Thankfully, my recent deeds had the servant call me, giving me a chance to intervene early. I tried heading to the burned daughter, but my body wouldn't move. The two supporting me had suddenly stopped.
"Stop it."
Arios said in a serious tone.
"Seres, your body's not normal right now."
"What?"
"You've been groaning in pain since earlier! That's proof you've reached your limit."
"I'm fine, I told you."
"No. Using that much holy power to heal such severe wounds in your state—who knows what'll happen."
She was still misunderstanding. I tried explaining again that I was fine, but a loud voice exploded from the side.
"Enough!"
It was Hames.
"Why do you always try to sacrifice yourself for others?"
What the hell? Hames was suddenly saying weird stuff, frowning like she was in agony. Her voice sounded genuinely pained too.
"Listen up, Seres Huferion! Don't put others first in that condition. No one will blame you for prioritizing yourself. Live for yourself!"