Gratitude to the Gods!
Hypno pointed to the sofa across from him and said,
"Have a seat first."
"Yes!"
The priestess scurried over and sat on the opposite sofa. After activating the consultation room's lock function, Hypno asked her,
"Could you tell me your name?"
"I-I'm Marne!"
Marne stammered out her name, fidgeting shyly. Hypno flashed the gentle smile he'd perfected from dealing with so many clients.
"Nice to meet you, Marne. As you know..."
Hypno released a hypnosis wave, implanting two commands: she would answer all his questions truthfully, and anything he called "treatment" was naturally something she should accept as proper healing. He continued,
"What's your problem?"
"W-Well... I've been feeling really insecure lately."
"Insecure, huh... Could you be more specific?"
"Right now, I'm in a party with three other adventurers. When we take on requests and someone gets hurt, I heal them."
Well, that's what you'd expect from a priestess.
"What's the gender breakdown?"
"Huh? I'm the only woman; the rest are all men."
Oho...
"Hmm, I see. Go on."
"W-Well... On our last request, one of my companions got seriously injured."
"Oh no, is he okay now?"
"Y-Yes. We came back to Jenid, and he got treated at the temple, so he's fine now. But... even when I healed the wound, it was just basic first aid. The senior priestesses at the temple healed it right away..."
In other words, she realized the gap in their skills and lost her confidence.
As she spoke, Marne seemed to shrink, hanging her head lower.
"Of course, I know the senior priestesses have served Quil for far longer and with much greater devotion than me. But..."
"Quil?"
"The healing goddess Quil."
"Ah, got it. So, you're accepting reality, but you lack confidence in your own healing skills?"
"...Yes. The seniors say I'll get better, and my companions encourage me to grow stronger together... but I'm so anxious that a worthless priestess like me could ever manage it."
A priestess who lost confidence after failing to properly heal an injured companion. It was a scenario Hypno had seen plenty of in his past life.
Hmm, in that case...
"Marne, you're saying your healing skills fall short compared to the senior priestesses, right?"
"Ugh... Yes."
"I'll ask a few questions."
Hypno tossed out some questions he'd always been mildly curious about.
"Divine spells are used for all sorts of things beyond healing. How do non-magical holy arts work, exactly?"
"You pray to the god, reciting the desired power in your heart or aloud. Then, your mana combines with the strength of your faith to activate the holy art."
"So mana is still required for holy arts."
"Yes. Mana is one of the vital forces the gods bestow on humans. We use it, of course. The difference from mages is that while they wield magic solely with mana, we priestesses amplify our innate mana with our devotion to the god, manifesting holy arts."
Hypno organized her explanation in his mind and said,
"So faith acts as an amplifier for mana in holy arts... You're thinking your healing is weak because your faith is lacking?"
And that's why you're insecure.
"...Yes. As a follower of Quil, I have faith that's not enough to satisfactorily heal my companions' wounds. I no longer have confidence that I can perform well as a priestess going forward."
Marne clenched her fists on her lap, wrinkling her priestess robes. Hypno watched her and thought,
She doesn't strike me as lacking faith at all... Isn't it just that her base mana is low? From what I've heard around town, mana grows with experience anyway.
If your base mana is low, no amount of faith-multiplication will make up for it. But as a priestess who believed in her god, Marne seemed focused more on faith than her own mana.
I could advise her to take on more requests to build mana... but heh heh heh, no way! A good host tailors solutions to what the client wants!
"Marne, you want confidence in your faith, right?"
"Yes."
Hypno racked his brain for some plausible-sounding lines.
"Marne, what exactly is faith?"
"Faith... You mean the heart that believes in the god. The heart that trusts and gives thanks to the god."
"Right. So what's lacking in you? Trust? Do you doubt the god?"
"N-No, I don't!"
Touched on the core of her priestess identity, Marne shot to her feet.
"I believe in the god! Quil exists! Quil is always watching over us! Th-This..."
A soft lime-green light emanated from her hands.
"This healing light is proof that Quil watches over us! ...Ah! S-Sorry! I yelled all of a sudden..."
"Hahaha, no need to apologize. That's a very honest and admirable devotion."
"Th-Thank you."
"Then... you're lacking gratitude."
"Gratitude?"
"Yes. Are you always thankful to Quil?"
"Of course I am!"
"Really? Every moment? When you heal, 'Thank you, Quil, for granting me the power to heal my companion.' When traveling with your party, 'Thank you for these wonderful companions.' Even when eating, 'Thank you for letting me live another day.' Are you thanking Quil in every moment of life?"
"Th-That's..."
Stunned by the barrage of examples, Marne trailed off. Hypno didn't miss it.
"Of course it's not easy. To a priestess, Quil is a given. Believing in Quil and praying for holy arts, using that power to heal companions—it's all natural. Focus on belief, and it's faith: unshakeable trust in Quil. But!"
Hypno stood, stepped beside her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and said,
"You've taken it so for granted that you've forgotten to be grateful to the god. That's why your faith isn't amplifying your mana properly."
"N-No way...!"
Marne couldn't refute Hypno's words. The god's existence was a given. Belief without doubt was a given. But to be grateful for that existence every single moment? As a follower, she couldn't lie and claim she did.
Constantly thinking of the god, constantly giving thanks—that pinnacle of piety was nearly impossible outside saints or high priests, even in the temple. But Marne, unaware of that difficulty, saw her lapses as profound negligence.
"Ahh...!"
Marne slumped back onto the sofa. Tears soaked her priestess robes, dripping steadily.
"I've... been so lacking in gratitude to the god. That's why I couldn't properly heal my companion's wound..."
Whoa... she's taking this pretty hard. Perfect for now!
Hypno patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Marne. My consultation therapy includes a faith-boosting course."
"R-Really?!"
Marne whipped her head up, eyes still brimming with tears, gazing at Hypno.
Hypno nodded.
"Yes, of course. I wasn't planning to cover faith-related stuff, but... just for you, Marne, who's repenting so tearfully over your lack of gratitude."
"Ahh...! Th-Thank you!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Marne clasped her hands in prayer and thanked him.
"Heh heh heh, then let me explain the faith-boosting course."
Hypno sat beside her, draped an arm around her shoulders, and stroked gently.
"Eh? H-Hypno...?"
"This is part of the treatment process."
"Oh, r-right?"
Hearing it was "treatment," Marne's resistance to his touch vanished completely.
There's shoulder-touching therapy too, huh.
She simply accepted it as some treatment she didn't know about.
"Honestly, constantly thanking the god is incredibly tough. Human life is short compared to a god's, and there's so much to do in that time. So, we create an intense experience to remind you of gratitude toward the god at all times."
"An intense experience?"
"Yes. Like joy. Extreme joy in life makes you naturally thank the god. Like surviving a crisis: 'Thank you, god!' right?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Exactly! But you can't always be escaping crises. So this treatment uses a different kind of joy to make you feel, 'Thank you, god, for this joy.'"
"Wow..."
Ideas and words she'd never considered. Marne was drawn deeper into Hypno's words.
"Wh-What kind of joy?"
"Heh heh heh, pleasure."
"Pleasure...?"
"Yes, pleasure. The joy of creating life. The joy when man and woman become one."
"B-But... the seniors teach that we mustn't indulge in pleasure or decadence..."
"Is that the god's teaching?"
"...No."
"Sure, the seniors have a point. But that's about losing yourself in pleasure and forgetting gratitude to the god. If you feel pleasure and remember to thank the root cause that allows it—the god—there's no problem at all! Humans are frail, and so are our hearts! Teachings like that exist because pleasure's sweetness can make you forget the god!"
Hypno raised a finger, put on a stern face, and emphasized,
"Howev~er! This treatment awakens gratitude to the god! You'll never forget the god even briefly in pleasure! So it's fine!"
"I- I see...!"
"So you understand this treatment is completely problem-free, right?"
"Yes...! B-But I have no experience yet..."
"Heh heh heh, no worries. I'm a pro. Even a virgin like you, Marne, will squirt like oooh! from the pleasure."
"S-Squirt...?"
"When it feels amazing, women sometimes call the fluid from their pussy that."
"P-Pussy..."
Hearing "pussy," Marne blushed furiously.
So innocent... heh heh heh.
"Marne, one thing in advance: during treatment, when referring to a man's cock or a woman's pussy, don't use vague words like 'down there' or 'that place.' Say pussy and cock properly. Got it?"
"Y-Yes!"
"...Well, cock is special. It's Cock-sama."
"C-Cock-sama...?"
"Yes. My cock will bring you pleasure ahead, awakening gratitude to the god. So call it Cock-sama with respect and thanks! Got it?"
"Y-Yes! C-Cock-sama... I'll call it Cock-sama."
"Heh heh heh, perfect! Now, Marne."
Hypno grinned lewdly at her.
"Before the main treatment, let me teach you what you need to know."