A Male Healer?
The mornings at the church were always full of energy. Part of it came from the bustle of preparing to welcome visitors, but the biggest reason was undoubtedly this.
“It’s the Saintess!”
“How can anyone be so beautiful? If I could even resemble her by half, I’d have no other wish…!”
It was all thanks to the Saintess, who shone from the very start of the day. The Saintess was the very symbol of the church. Everyone who saw her showered her with praise and admiration without fail.
“You look truly beautiful today as well, Saintess.”
“It feels like my eyes are being purified~. What a tremendous blessing to see the Saintess first thing in the morning!”
There was no denying that the Saintess possessed stunning looks, but the reason she received such adoration wasn’t solely because of her appearance.
“I heard you healed my father. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“You even remembered my passing comment about my younger sibling who had been suffering from a long illness! Your heart is as vast as the bosom of Berkimo herself, Saintess.”
It was because she exercised pure, good influence without asking for anything in return. To their heartfelt gratitude, the Saintess responded with a bright smile.
“Not at all. We are all brothers and sisters. It was simply the mercy of the One God that guided me.”
“Oh my!! As expected of the Saintess.”
Everyone marveled at her gentle demeanor. She spoke as if it were nothing, but in truth, they all knew very well. Just how exceptional and precious her healing magic was. And exactly what kind of sacrifice it demanded.
The healing magic used by the Saintess was incredibly powerful, but it came with one massive flaw. And that was—
“Cough, cough…”
“Saintess, are you alright?”
She sacrificed her own body to use it. That was why they could feel it so acutely. Just how heavy the weight of the Saintess’s healing magic truly was.
Under their worried gazes, the Saintess wiped the blood flowing from her mouth and spoke calmly.
“This is nothing new. Please don’t worry, everyone. Hehe. Now then, let’s all have a wonderful day today as well.”
“Amen…! May the hand of the One God be with us today too.”
She skillfully lightened the somber atmosphere. “I’ll take my leave now. There’s a general meeting soon.”
The Saintess gave a small bow and departed. As she wiped away the blood once more, a huge grin spread across her face. In truth, the Saintess was—
—a massive pervert who enjoyed self-destructive self-harm and reveled in the gazes it earned her.
“Saintess, you’ve arrived?”
On the top floor of the church. The moment the Saintess arrived, the meeting began immediately. The agenda mainly covered the church’s policies. It ranged from diplomatic issues between nations to discussions about the flow of funds and the church’s schedule.
The meeting proceeded quickly, and only one final topic remained. It was about the upcoming healer examination.
In truth, there wasn’t much to discuss about this topic either. The exam was a regular occurrence, and all they had to do was follow the established procedures. However—
“A man applied for this exam?”
This time, it was different from usual.
“A male healer? That’s quite rare.”
The Saintess, who had been zoning out throughout the meeting, suddenly perked up. She had grown interested in what she was hearing.
“Hmm, isn’t it just another rich noble who registered without knowing any better?”
“Hehe, that could be, but would he really apply so frivolously? He must have applied because he can actually use healing magic, no?”
“If that’s the case… the first male healer?”
The discussion grew heated. Opinions were split down the middle. Some insisted it was clearly a scam and that men should be banned from applying in the future! Others argued that even a man could use it. A passionate debate raged back and forth.
“And this is just a side note, but I heard his face is exceptionally handsome… Everyone who was there testified to it.”
“Is that so?”
“One of the sisters who spoke with him said she had never seen such outstanding looks in all her life…”
“Oh, really?!”
Exceptionally handsome? The Saintess’s ears perked up once again. No matter how strong the stimulus, repetition eventually made it dull. The Saintess had grown tired of her monotonous daily routine lately. Even her self-destructive self-harm had started to feel boring. A new toy had appeared?
For the Saintess, this was an incredibly mouth-watering piece of information.
The Saintess, who had remained silent throughout the entire meeting, finally spoke.
“So what is the applicant’s name?”
This healer exam. For the first time, she had a reason to attend in person. If a man could truly use healing magic and had an outstanding face to boot, she was determined to make him hers.
*
Today was the long-awaited day of the exam. It had been a while since I’d felt this kind of tension. It reminded me of the day I took midterms back in school. Pushing aside my fluttering heart, I finished my preparations.
“Then, Sieg-nim! Have a safe trip!”
“Thanks, Akasha.”
With Akasha’s cheerful send-off, I headed toward the examination hall. The test was held at the church. First came the written exam, followed by the practical exam. Everything would be over in a single day.
When I arrived at the testing site, quite a few people were already there. Since it was held once per quarter, the area in front of the hall was bustling.
“You can do it, right?”
“Yes! I will definitely pass!”
“Daughter, if you remember the contents of the scripture well, you’ll be able to solve everything. Just as the One God said…”
“Yes, Mother.”
The place was crowded with people who had come to cheer on their family members taking the exam. The crowd was mostly made up of women. I was the only man there. Maybe that was why I could feel eyes gradually turning toward me.
At first I thought it was just my own self-consciousness and tried to ignore it, but—
“Oh my, a man taking the healer exam? No way…”
“Of course there are always a few. Guys who think they’re special. If you’re a man, you should just stay quietly at home and do the cleaning. Tsk.”
“But his face is pretty decent, isn’t it…?”
I couldn’t ignore the voices that kept drifting my way. It wasn’t that men had never taken the healer exam before. But according to what I’d heard, every single one had failed the practical and been eliminated. Not a single person had ever made it to final acceptance. That was why applying itself was an extremely rare occurrence that only happened once every few years, or so Soho had told me.
“I’m here to take the exam…”
I quickly finished registration and decided to enter the examination hall. Only those actually taking the test were allowed inside, so I figured I’d attract less attention there than out here.
“Yes, please state your name… Oh!”
My eyes met the staff member in charge of registration and guidance. Her eyes widened. It turned out she was the same guide who had been there when I registered last time. She gave me a bright smile and helped with my registration.
And just as I was about to enter the hall—
“Why didn’t you come? I was waiting.”
She whispered softly, keeping her voice low. It was about the note I had received last time. She looked slightly disappointed, and all I could do was respond with an awkward smile. It might have just been a stereotype, but the fanatical behavior the church people had shown in the story gave me a strong sense of rejection. They all seemed to be missing a screw or two somewhere. Even the Saintess, who was supposed to be the symbol of the church, was a little unhinged, so that said everything. Because of that, I had a very strong image of them as dangerous people, and I was terrified of what might happen if I visited even as a joke.
‘I’m not going to end up having to read the scripture a hundred times or something, right?’
Shaking off that worry, I opened the door to the written exam room, sat down, and began reviewing the scripture.
‘Just end already…’
The tension I felt throughout my entire body. I hated this waiting time before the exam. If it were up to me, I’d rather take the written test right now and move straight on to the practical. The practical exam was the moment I was looking forward to the most, since I’d finally be able to unleash all the magic I’d been stockpiling.
Of course, I still had to do well on the written portion.
That focus lasted only a moment.
“Excuse me, which family are you from?”
The woman sitting next to me spoke up. Judging by the robe that priests liked to wear and the necklace engraved with the church’s symbol, she seemed like a devout believer. I had been concentrating hard and almost missed it, but since our eyes had already met, I had no choice but to answer.
“I’m from the Barbary Barony.”
“I see… Of course. I thought you must be a noble because you look so refined. Hehe.”
We exchanged smiles. I thought she might stop talking now that the greeting was over, but—
“The weather’s nice today, isn’t it?”
“Have you had breakfast? What kind of food do you like?”
“What do you do in your free time?”
The questions didn’t stop. Wait, doesn’t this person need to study for the exam? This was the first time someone had approached me so aggressively, so I was completely flustered. I even lifted the scripture in my hand a little and gave her a look that said we should stop chatting, but—
“Oh! You’ve been studying hard. You must be incredibly devout.”
Instead, she marveled at how worn my scripture was and began testifying that she too was a devout believer who trusted in the One God.
‘Isn’t there any other topic she can talk about?’
I desperately hoped her attention would shift somewhere—anywhere—other than me.
And perhaps my wish was granted.
“What’s with this batch? Another male healer?”
I felt the examination hall growing slightly noisy. The reason was none other than someone’s arrival.
“What the, why is another man here?”
“Do men use magic these days? And not just one, but two of them?”
It was the appearance of another male healer. He looked around as if searching for something, then walked straight toward me. Without hesitation, he stared at my face and muttered,
“What? It’s this guy? What’s so great about a guy like this?”
He started talking to himself.
“His looks are so rustic too. Pfft.”
What the hell is wrong with this bastard?