Volume 2, Chapter 1 – A Peaceful Journey

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

“You’re quite energetic, Fiene-sama.”

“Well, this also gives me EXP.”

Pop.

I was repeating the process of Enchanting a small pebble with Purification Magic, quickly appraising it, and then tossing it behind the carriage.

Why was I doing this?

It was my personal Enchanter training.

Since they were originally just ordinary pebbles, the materials cost nothing.

Furthermore, the Enchanted Purification Magic would lose its effect after about an hour, so there was no problem tossing them away.

On top of that, each Enchantment gave 1 point of Skill EXP.

At this rate, if I Enchanted 100,000 times, I’d be able to make potions.

For this purpose, I had raised my Dimensional Storage Skill Level to 2. Its capacity had roughly doubled, allowing me to carry a lot of pebbles.

It also served to kill time. Since raising Skill Levels in this world took an absurdly long time, I thought to myself that I had come up with a pretty good method.

While I was doing this, the carriage came to a stop.

“Folks, we’ve arrived at today’s post town.”

Oh? It seemed we had arrived.

The carriage passed through a checkpoint and entered the town, stopping in a square that appeared to be a departure and arrival area.

“Departure is at 10 AM the day after tomorrow. Those continuing on to Illumi City, please be on time.”

While the driver called out to the disembarking passengers out of the corner of my eye, we also got off the carriage.

“Here, Fiene-sama.”

“Thank you.”

I was already used to this escort courtesy of Chris-san, though it had been embarrassing at first. Then, a young woman approached and spoke up.

“Um, e-excuse me… you are Saint Fiene-sama, right? Um, could you bless this for me?”

“Ah, an Enchantment with Purification Magic. Yes, that’s fine.”

She timidly held out a glass figurine. I took it, Enchanted it with Purification Magic, and handed it back.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you so much!”

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“You’re welcome.”

Saying that, the woman happily walked away.

Recently, I’d been getting these requests from strangers quite often.

Even in this country without TV or the internet, my fame seemed to be considerable.

Maybe it was the same feeling as spotting a celebrity and asking for an autograph.

That said, a Level 1 Enchantment doesn’t have much effect, and even on high-quality glass, the Enchantment’s effect would fade in a few years.

I really don’t understand what they’re so happy about.

As someone with no interest in celebrities, I find it somewhat hard to comprehend.

“Now then, Fiene-sama. This way, please.”

“Yes, thank you as always.”

As expected, I was led to the most expensive inn among the three in this town.

But, I had decided not to worry about the small details anymore.

These small post towns don’t have super luxury hotels.

Even the most expensive place costs only one gold coin per night for two people.

If this made Chris-san happy, it was better for everyone’s peace of mind.

“Fiene-sama. There are three treatment requests in this town. The town mayor’s lower back pain, his wife’s knee pain, and the wife’s mother’s lower back pain.”

“I see.”

It seemed that after the Mummy Disease incident in the Royal Capital, word had spread that my Healing Magic Skill was high.

I kept receiving treatment requests like these from the town’s ruling class, despite none of them seeming remotely urgent.

Some implicitly demanded it as a kickback after hosting me at public expense, while others—like this town’s mayor—seemed to think they were entitled to it for free.

“Then, please make sure to charge the mayor an appropriate treatment fee.”

I have no reservations about taking money from those who have it.

“Leave it to me. Also, I have arranged for us to visit the town’s orphanage.”

“Thank you.”

◇ ◇ ◇

The next morning, we visited the mayor’s residence.

“Saint Fiene Argentata-sama. Welcome to our humble town. I had heard rumors, but I never imagined you would be such a beautiful person. It’s as if a heavenly—”

“You are the mayor, I presume. I am Fiene. As requested, I shall perform the treatment.”

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——Yep, let’s get this old man’s back pain out of the way.

“Oooh, what is this feeling…”

“Done. Now then, next person, please.”

At first, I seriously dealt with these kinds of people, but since they were empty-headed and furthermore looked at me with lecherous eyes that seemed to undress me, just interacting with them was unpleasant.

In the past, I had somewhat disrespectful thoughts about women who said they disliked being stared at by men they weren’t interested in, but now I understood that feeling very well.

If I could return to the real world, I swore to myself I would absolutely never look at a woman with that kind of gaze.

Huh? Am I not looking now? I can say that with certainty.

Ever since coming to this world, it seems my sexual desire has completely vanished.

I might look at a woman and think I want to suck her blood, but I have never once thought, “I want to do her.” Well, even if I did think it, it would be physically impossible anyway.

Ah, of course, I don’t feel lust towards men either!

Right, right. Getting back on topic, you must never, ever direct a customer service smile at those types.

I learned that if you do that, they misunderstand it as me being interested and will persistently follow you around until you leave town.

Having the town’s highest authority figures turn into stalkers… that’s a whole different kind of trouble.

Well then, having successfully treated all three, I left the rest to Chris-san and stepped back.

“Now then, Mayor. Since this was treatment for chronic conditions for three individuals, the treatment fee will be 30 gold coins.”

By the way, 10 gold coins per person, about 500,000 yen, might seem like exorbitant profiteering, but it’s actually the appropriate price publicly listed by the Temple.

Treating age-related chronic conditions like these requires Healing Magic at Skill Level 4.

This is the level capable of curing Zombie disease, and there are only a handful of Healers at that level even in the Royal Capital’s Temple.

It’s only natural that receiving treatment from such a rare Healer costs a considerable amount of money.

In fact, considering travel expenses and costs from the Royal Capital, it might even be considered a bargain.

There might be pros and cons, but I’m not kind enough to treat the town’s important people for free.

Of course, I have absolutely no intention of saying they should pay even if they have to go into debt.

And the exchange when Chris-san requests payment from these people is almost always the same.

“Wh-what? Saint-sama is charging a fee?”

“This is the appropriate price set by the Temple. Fiene-sama does engage in charity, but that is for those who have nothing. It is not for those in positions like yours, Mayor. Shouldn’t someone in your position be the one making a charitable donation in such cases?”

“Ugh, gah… understood.”

“Very well. Mayor, I have duly received the payment. Now then, we shall take our leave.”

Once Chris-san had firmly extracted the payment from the mayor, we headed for the hospital and the orphanage.

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By the way, the reason we also visit hospitals is because, in this world, hospitals are where people who can’t afford magical treatment end up.

The wealthy can pay high treatment fees to be treated by Healers with high Skill Levels, but those who cannot afford that have no choice but to receive non-magical treatment at hospitals.

Even the Temple cannot easily brush off powerful people with money, and Healers also have their livelihoods to consider.

Unfortunately, it seems the ways of the world remain harsh, both in this world and the real one.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Welcome to our orphanage. Saint Fiene Argentata-sama.”

“Thank you for having us. I apologize for this sudden visit during your busy schedule.”

“As the Gods guide.”

“As God wills.”

We were led inside by a staff member. About twenty small children were gathered in the dining hall.

“Everyone, Saint Fiene Argentata-sama and Holy Knight Christina-sama have arrived. They will speak with each of you one by one, so please sit quietly.”

“Yeeees!”

The children replied in loud voices. They were energetic and sitting obediently. Just this was enough to tell that this orphanage was a wonderful environment for the children.

“Now then, Fiene-sama. Please.”

“Yes.”

And so, I called out to them one by one.

“Hello. What’s your name?”

“Ah, I’m Ted, 5 years old.”

“Hello, Ted-kun. Ted-kun, you’ve hurt your forehead.”

“Ah, this is nothing!”

“Okay, then I’ll heal it for you.”

I quickly held out my hand and cast Healing Magic on Ted-kun. His clothes were also dirty, so I cleaned them with Cleansing Magic.

“There, all better now.”

Saying that, I patted Ted-kun’s head.

“Ah, ah, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

My usual customer-service smile.

With children, at most they just blush a little, and it causes no harm whatsoever, which is a relief.

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“Ah, I’m Sanya!”

The girl next to him spoke up, as if it was now her turn.

“Yes. Sanya-chan. Nice to meet you.”

“N-nice to meet you. Um, I—”

In this manner, I cast Healing Magic, Disease Treatment Magic, and Cleansing Magic on all the children at the orphanage.

It seemed there were no seriously ill children at this orphanage, so afterwards, we spent time playing with them. Since the boys wanted to play Hero or Knight outside, I left that to Chris-san, and I read books to the girls.

Surprisingly even to myself, I might actually like children quite a bit.

The innocent children soothed the heart that had grown worn down from all the lust-filled gazes of adults.

After playing with them as long as time allowed, the reluctant time for farewells arrived.

“Fieeene-samaaa, don’t gooo.”

Three-year-old Amy-chan, who had been reading a book with me on my lap, cried as I held her.

“It’s okay. If Amy-chan is a good girl, we can meet again.”

“Waaah waaah—”

“Now, now, Amy, you’re troubling Fiene-sama. If you’re a good girl, the Gods will guide you to meet again.”

A staff member offered help from the side.

“Amy-chan, let’s meet again, okay.”

“……”

Gently patting her back to calm her down, I handed Amy-chan over to the staff member.

With the children’s voices at our backs, we left the orphanage.

“Playing with children really is healing for the heart, isn’t it?”

On the way back, I inadvertently let that slip to Chris-san.

“Is that so? As expected, Fiene-sama is so kind. As for me, I’m always worried I might injure the boys.”

“Chris-san is the Holy Knight those boys admire. They’re happy just to have met you.”

Chris-san scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

“Fiene-sama, we must depart this town tomorrow. Let’s return to the hotel.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps because we had played with the children for quite a long time, the western sky was beginning to turn red.

We walked side by side back toward the hotel, our long shadows stretching behind us.