Picking Up the Abandoned Healer (6)
The ranch was lit up bright as day, even in the dead of night.
"Guildmaster!"
Leana, who'd been pacing at the entrance to the pasture, spotted me and came running with a shout.
"What on earth happened?! You said you'd be back before sunset!"
"Got a little delayed."
I held up the demon head in my hand, and Leana clapped in delight.
"You took care of it! Carla! Come out here! The guildmaster killed the demon!"
Leana's voice was so loud that not just Carla but all the ranch hands came swarming out.
"Oh, Dios mío! That's a real demon head?!"
Carla leaped back in shock at the blood-soaked demon head.
"So you really are a Demon Hunter. Impressive. But judging by the head alone, it looks like a huge one. How the hell did it steal our livestock without a trace all this time?"
"Demons don't usually leave traces. That's why folks like me are needed."
"I see. Thanks to you, Leonar, I can finally breathe easy. Come on in. You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? But who's this with you?"
In the dark pasture, the saintess's halo shone exceptionally bright. Under that light, she looked like an absolute mess. Her clothes were torn and filthy from rummaging through the woods, splattered with the demon's and priests' blood, like a ragged mop.
"A halo."
The people murmured at the halo floating over the saintess's head.
In this world, a halo was a supernatural phenomenon that only manifested in those who wielded considerable holy power. It was the primary measure of rank and authority within the church.
Still, this saintess's halo was relatively small compared to other renowned priests. High-ranking ones had triple or quadruple layers, or they glowed white like the sun and slowly rotated. I'd even heard that archpriests sometimes had divine revelations inscribed in ancient script on their halos' surfaces.
"Are you perhaps a saintess?"
"The freedom bound by heavy chains... I'm Celestine, saintess of the Ascetic Order..."
Her name was Celestine, huh.
"Why has Your Holiness visited our humble ranch at this hour?"
Carla asked, eyeing Celestine's thoroughly dirtied clothes.
"Ah, well..."
Celestine glanced nervously at me, unable to answer.
"We met her during the day while tracking the demon here. She came demon hunting with me, but all the other priests died except her."
"Qué?! For real?!"
As I explained in her place, Carla and the hands erupted in shock, chattering away in some foreign tongue I couldn't follow.
"Tell us exactly what happened, Leonar!"
"You know that cliff up ahead?"
One of the hands raised his hand, saying he knew the spot.
"There's a crack in the cliff where the demon was hiding. Demon and priest corpses are right in front of it."
"Then we can't just stand around!"
Carla barked orders at the hands in that foreign language. They scattered quickly, then regrouped with stretchers, axes, torches, and the like.
"Go retrieve the priests' bodies. Handle them with care—they mustn't be damaged!"
"Sí, amo!"
The hands charged off across the pasture in a group. Carla then approached the saintess.
"Your Holiness, please come inside for now."
"I'm fine, sister. I'll wait here for the brothers to return."
But Carla kept insisting she come in. I wondered why she was being so deferential until I remembered the church emblem hanging on the wall of Carla's house. A devout believer wouldn't just ignore a saintess who'd been through hell with a demon and ended up alone in the middle of the night.
"Please, Your Holiness."
Celestine finally gave in and took a step forward.
"You too, Leana and Leonar."
I set the sack with the demon head down in the corner of the entryway, figuring I'd deal with it later.
Inside, tanned women who looked like Carla were bustling around, setting food on the table.
"Escort Her Holiness to the bath."
Carla handed the saintess off to one of the female servants, then sat us down at the table.
"Sorry, but wait until Her Holiness returns."
"Got it."
Looking around the table, I saw foods that were rare around here. Carla noticed my gaze and explained.
"This is arepa—cornbread. That's empanadas, stuffed with meat, cheese, and beans. And that's steak chimichurri. You probably know tacos, right?"
"Yeah, famous stuff."
"This drink is caipirinha—a cocktail with lime, sugar, ice, and cachaça. Delicious. And that pudding is pudim de queijo..."
There was so much food that her explanations were still going even after I'd washed up quick and Celestine came down looking somewhat presentable.
"This way, Your Holiness."
Carla pulled out a chair herself, and the saintess sat as if it were the most natural thing—like she'd been treated this way her whole life in her order. Made sense for a halo-bearing saintess.
The devout Carla gazed up at the halo over Celestine's head with eyes full of emotion.
"We're sorry for your fellow priests, Your Holiness. Our hands have gone to retrieve them—they'll bring the remains back properly soon."
"Thank you, sister. When I return to the order, I'll report your devotion in full."
Even though it was just polite words, an irrepressible smile bloomed on Carla's face.
Carla rose and personally served Celestine a plate with tongs and a spatula.
"It's nothing fancy, but please eat up."
Leana and I helped ourselves to what we wanted. The food was fantastic. True to the massive ranch, the meat was generous, and the spicy southern flavors were top-notch. A place like this could open a southern-style restaurant in town and rake it in. But as part of nobility with a ranch this big already, she probably wouldn't bother with pocket change like that.
As we ate, Carla kept peppering the saintess with questions—typical stuff a faithful believer would ask a high saint. Celestine answered quietly, but kept stealing glances at me. Every time our eyes met, she'd give an awkward smile. Then it hit me, and I asked Carla,
"Carla, if it's okay with you, could I take that demon head?"
"Gasp?!"
Celestine reacted before Carla did, her eyes going wide as she stared at me in shock.
"As you know, our guild fell on hard times but we're restarting fresh. Displaying demon heads from completed requests could attract more clients."
"Sounds good to me. Ownership goes to the client first, of course, so if you're willing to do us the favor, Carla."
Leana backed me up smoothly from the side.
Carla thought for a moment, then agreed readily.
"Sure, Leonar. Go ahead. I didn't hunt it myself anyway, and if it helps your guild thrive, that's how it should be."
Southern women were straightforward like that.
"W-wait a sec!"
Celestine half-stood from her chair in a fluster.
"What's up?"
I tilted my head, and she opened and closed her mouth like she wanted to say something. Everyone at the table watched her lips, but she sat back down without a word.
What the hell? Why's she acting like that? No way the saintess is like that creepy overseer priest from before, eyeing the demon head? No dice. That's mine. If the priests had contributed to the demon hunt, maybe I'd consider it, but I handled this solo. Sorry, saintess, but no way.
As we finished eating, Carla handed over a money pouch.
"Here's the request fee, Leonar."
"Thanks. Feels heavy."
"Added the bonus as promised."
Carla flashed a bright smile, white teeth gleaming.
"Thanks so much for the feast tonight, Carla."
Leana and I, pouches secured, stood from our chairs.
" entrust us with your next request too. We'll handle it clean."
"You got it. Good work, everyone."
As we said our goodbyes to Carla, I glanced over—Celestine was sweating bullets, staring down at the table.
Why's she sweating like that?
Deep into the night past midnight. Walking the path between vineyards, I looked up at the night sky where a massive galaxy river flowed.
Second demon request cleared successfully. The priests were a hassle, but it wrapped up clean.
One from the city hall, one from a noble ranch. Big clients—word'll spread fast.
But no guarantee demons keep popping up forever. Truth be told, I'd been pretty lucky these past few days. Going forward, regular requests would outnumber demons for sure.
Which meant I needed to hire other swords-for-hire.
Hunting Dog's Mark gave insane combat buffs, but only on demons—useless on other races. And I couldn't handle multiple requests solo.
So I needed guildmates to back me up in fights.
Honestly, that halo saintess? I wouldn't mind her.
A halo meant her holy power was no joke, at least. If a saintess like that joined as our healer...
But she was order-bound, not a freelancer. No dice.
Shame.
Back at the guild, I tossed the money pouch into the safe and headed for a shower.
"I'll finish the paperwork."
"Cool."
After showering, Leana was waiting outside the guildmaster's office, papers in hand.
"Request completion report."
No way she'd finished it while I showered—she must've drafted it while I was out hunting and finalized it when I got back with the fee. Top-notch guildmaster.
I sat at the desk in the guildmaster's office and read the report. Neat format, clean handwriting. Every key event from start to finish, no omissions.
"Perfect."
I signed the approval box at the top with my pen.
Funny thing: the guildmaster signature at the bottom already had Leana's. Technically the manager's job, but I was nominal manager, actual guildmaster.
"I'll file it in the archives."
"Yeah. Good work today."
"You did the heavy lifting, guildmaster. Know what? From accepting to finishing—in half a day."
"Simple job—just lop off the head, no brains needed. High demon? Might've taken weeks."
Leana tilted her head.
"High demon? What's that?"
"Put simply, super strong demons. One step below archdemons."
"Huh. But you fight 'em with a sword either way, right?"
"Nah. High demons are smart. Can't just charge in. They polymorph into humans and hide out. Like in the capital or Grand Capital."
"Why?"
"To bring down the human world from inside. Way more effective than rampaging openly—climb high and rot it from the core."
"I see..."
Leana nodded along, then said,
"High demon requests must pay big. Ask about any if they come up!"
Any other girl her age would've gone, "Whoa, those exist? Scary!" or some squeal. Her grit cracked me up.
"Why the laugh?"
"Just funny."
"Night, then."
She tilted her head a sec, smiled, and left.
I flopped onto the bed and replayed the day.
Halo saintess, huh... Every guild needs a healer. Versatile as hell, and I'd get holy purification for free.
Temples charged five gold per purification. Pricey.
Our own healer? No fees, easy purges...
Musing like that, I drifted off.
"Aaaahhh!"
The next dawn. Leana's scream from outside had me kicking the door open and charging out.
"What happened?!"