Arm Treatment (4)
“You must do this exercise every single morning after you wake up.” Honestly, once a day wasn’t enough. I wanted to make him do it morning and night, but Master didn’t seem like the type to obediently follow orders, so I’d kept the request to a minimum. He might have lost his arm to Prince Loras, but he was the kind of man who usually took care of his own body.
“This isn’t some child’s game. Do I really have to do this?”
“Your arm isn’t fully back to normal yet. How does it feel? It’s sore because you’re following my instructions, isn’t it?”
“Hngh.”
He couldn’t bring himself to deny it. “You should listen to me. You have to admit the painkillers would’ve helped, too.”
“…A week should be enough, right?”
“A week? You need at least a month.” Normally, rehabilitation training lasted anywhere from three to five months, but I knew Master wouldn’t listen to me for that long. If I gave him too long a timeline, he might give up entirely, so I’d drastically shortened it to one month.
“Ugh…”
“Are you going to ruin the arm I gave you by treating it carelessly? You should cherish the arm your disciple made for you.”
“Rehabilitation is truly important.”
“That’s right, Bishop Saul. It’s an arm you’ll be using for the rest of your life. If you don’t want to suffer later, listen to Priest Arthur.”
The other priests around us chimed in one by one. Having once lost an arm themselves, they must have understood its value all too well.
“Agh, fine, I get it. Stop it already. I thought you were all on my side, but the moment Priest Arthur shows up, you switch over to him.”
“Hoho, of course. Priest Arthur is an excellent healer, and Bishop Saul is a terrible patient.”
“We’ll be heading out now. You two should talk.”
Having watched the entire treatment process, the priests who had been observing decided to give us some space.
“Did everyone see that clearly? I hope it was helpful.”
“It was incredibly helpful.”
“I’d love to perform a treatment like that someday, just like you, Priest. Though I’m still not ready for it yet.”
“I’ll hold a class on today’s treatment.”
I planned to explain not only how I had gathered and used my divine power, but also to answer any questions the priests might have. Even those who had missed seeing the treatment today would find some comfort in that.
“Wow! Thank you!”
“I need to go spread the word right away! Everyone’s going to be thrilled.”
With that, the priests left the room, leaving Master and me alone. He was still swinging his arm around and testing its strength, gauging its condition. Then he spoke to me.
“Thank you. I had completely given up on it. I’ll treasure this arm more than any other part of my body.”
This was why I became a healer. A smile naturally formed on my lips at Master’s gruff words of gratitude.
* * *
With Master’s treatment safely completed, the only thing left was to resolve the issues tied to the Inquisitors. I suddenly wondered how the people sent to find Prince Loras were faring.
“Do you think they’ve found Prince Loras?”
“Probably not. In my opinion, that brat’s already holed up in his own den.”
If he had returned to the Deltrack Empire, even if the Inquisitors found him, they wouldn’t have a way to bring him back. If Prince Loras had made it back safely, he would surely want revenge. ‘Could he be plotting something diplomatically?’
After some thought, I decided it would be best for Master to have one final escape route prepared.
“A final escape route?”
“Yes. Relying on just one way out is far too risky.”
“Even if you say that, I don’t really have a way to secure one.”
“Actually, I happen to have a rather useful method.”
At my words, Master’s eyes lit up. “Really? What is it? I figured you must have something, the way you were beating around the bush, but you actually do?”
“It’s not anything particularly grand. It’s more like using a little trick. And this is a separate matter, but there’s a solid reason we had to go after Prince Loras.”
Though it wasn’t something I particularly wanted to use. There was someone who used to visit me frequently in my dreams inside the Labyrinth, though they hadn’t appeared in dreams lately. And I believed that person would be lenient about borrowing their name for a moment to deal with Prince Loras, who followed the Evil God. Besides, having Master on my side made everything far more reassuring.
“Why do you always keep such important things to yourself? You’ve received revelations from that person multiple times in your dreams, not just once? And the knowledge you’re teaching the other priests is what you received then?”
“Yes. After all, they told me to use it to heal patients. If more people know, more patients can be saved.”
“I’ve raised a madman.”
“?”
Was this something to be scolded for?
“No, you’ve always been like this. Right. I let my guard down because you’ve been quiet for a while.”
“What did I do?”
“A guy who went on a dispatch mission and came back with a Chief Healer’s license has no right to say that.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“It means you’ve been extraordinary since you were young.”
“I didn’t say anything because I was worried everyone would make a fuss like this. They visited a few times, but nothing like that has happened since.”
Perhaps it was because I had become entangled with heretics in the Labyrinth that they visited so often. Now that the matters I had experienced had been properly resolved and passed on to others, there was no longer any reason for them to seek me out.
“It’s rare for that person to visit a single priest multiple times and bestow knowledge upon them. If we had revealed that fact earlier, the Inquisitors wouldn’t have even considered coming to monitor you.”
“Just for something like that?”
“There are plenty of people who would go into a frenzy just from hearing that person breathe. If they knew that person had visited you multiple times in dreams, they’d be over the moon about you. I knew you were a reckless brat, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Why were you worrying about something so pointless?”
“Anyway, this will help you, won’t it?”
“More than enough. The investigation will be over in an instant. It’ll be more effective than me moving the Pope myself.”
Was it really that influential?
“Do you dislike moving the Pope?”
“Dislike it? I hate it.”
“Then, are you willing to use what I mentioned?”
“I said I hate it. The kids will probably pester me.”
“That’s true, but…”
The way he was treating them like lunatics suggested this matter carried far more weight than I had thought. Maybe I could use this situation to my advantage.
“If it’s to that extent, could I perhaps get support for the person I’m backing in the Empire?”
“The person you’re backing? Don’t tell me you’re talking about the Deltrack Empire’s succession struggle?”
“Yes. I know it’s not right to interfere in another country’s imperial power struggle, but I’ve already gotten too deeply involved. Besides, Prince Loras becoming emperor would be a problem. He’s a demon, after all.”
“That’s true.”
With this level of justification, I thought we could receive support for saving Princess Canaby. Princess Reciel’s situation was difficult no matter how positively I tried to look at it. What if a demon really had taken root in Prince Loras’s body?
‘Even if Princess Canaby wakes up, it’ll be tough. How could an ordinary human defeat a demon?’
Moreover, if they found out Princess Reciel had fled to the Labyrinth, they would try to kill her there by any means necessary. Even before the demon had taken root, the Deltrack Empire had only ever obstructed Princess Reciel’s path after she ran away—they had never offered her help.
“We need to capture Prince Loras and confirm whether a demon has taken root in him and whether he’s connected to the heretics, but since we can’t do that anymore, what if we raise Princess Reciel as a force to keep him in check?”
Support for Princess Canaby would be nice too, but I couldn’t be completely honest about her condition. It was unfortunate, but I couldn’t fully trust even our own priests. If even one person betrayed us and revealed Princess Canaby’s location, it would be fatal. However, the idea of raising Princess Reciel as a rival to Prince Loras to keep him in check might be acceptable. Prince Loras becoming emperor of the Deltrack Empire wasn’t something the Holy Empire would welcome either.
“So you’re suggesting we make Princess Reciel the emperor?”
“Yes. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t actually become emperor. The important thing is preventing Prince Loras from becoming emperor. Besides, that person doesn’t like Prince Loras either.”
“Of course not! Do you think just anyone can blow off my arm?”
“Honestly, even if he’s a demon, it doesn’t really hit home. I don’t know anything about demons.”
“The higher-ups are probably the same. They’re drowning in peace right now. Look at how they’re only focused on fattening their own pockets even with the Labyrinth open. The younger generation doesn’t learn anything even when they study history.”
Master’s complaints would gradually improve. That person wouldn’t just stand by and watch the Evil God.
“That person is actively intervening in the Evil God’s affairs. So I think the higher-ups will start moving soon.”
“Fine! Let’s go with what you said.”
“You mean supporting Princess Reciel?”
“You still have a long way to go. That’s not how you should phrase it.”
“???”
“We’re not helping Princess Reciel. We’re helping you.”
“Ah!”
It seemed he wanted to use helping me as an excuse because openly supporting Princess Reciel would draw too much attention. After all, I was already deeply involved in Princess Reciel’s affairs, wasn’t I? Helping me would be no different from indirectly supporting Princess Reciel.
“You’re right. If we proceed that way, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
This had somehow turned into me being the beneficiary, albeit unintentionally. That is, if the higher-ups accepted the proposal.
“You’re not completely without ambition for honor. It won’t be a bad thing for you.”
Master’s words struck a chord. If I had no ambition for honor at all, I wouldn’t have been pleased about becoming the youngest Chief Healer, nor would I have worked so hard to manage my image. And what I was pursuing here wasn’t the filthy, hollow honor built on others’ achievements—it was the honor I had built with my own strength that mattered.