Chapter 7: The Goddess of Healing

Chapter 7:
The Goddess of Healing

 

WHEN I OPENED MY EYES, the first thing I noticed was a plain ceiling. I tried to rub my sleepy eyes, but I couldn’t feel my arm.

Oh, uh. Right.

I’d fought with some Bezegamoth guy or something. And yeah, I’d ripped my own arm off and chucked it at him.

Hm. Could Filia fix this?

I’d remembered Filia’s face when I was fighting Bezegamoth, and I’d thought to myself, “Well, she can probably heal me,” so I’d ripped it right off. But, uh, what would happen if she couldn’t?

Could I still fight with one arm?

“Oh, you’re finally awake, huh?”

I heard a deep, brash voice coming from my left, and turned toward it. Babandongas lay there, his legs bandaged up. The hair on his head was sharp and pointy to an almost disgusting degree, as always, like he had a bunch of horns growing out of his skull. Sitting on the chair next to Babandongas’s bed was his little sister, Voltemia. It didn’t seem like she’d been seriously injured. Also, as usual, the moment you saw them was the moment you thought how totally different they looked.

“Is this a hospital?” I asked. “You were fighting monsters too, huh?”

“Yeah, well, kinda. Voltemia and I joined up later, and the two of us only took out a single guurdeck. Not really anything to be proud of. No big deal.”

“Big Brother wasn’t on the front line. His job was to rescue the wounded and get them off the battlefield. But when I got attacked by a guurdeck, he protected me and got hurt…”

“C’mon, It’s only natural for a big brother to protect his little sister. Of course I was gonna defend you, Voltemia. Besides, you’ve been takin’ care of me since I got injured, right? We’re takin’ care of each other,” said Babandongas.

“O-okay,” replied Voltemia, nodding.

Babandongas gently stroked her pale blue hair. This brother and sister pair got along so well that I was honestly kinda jealous.

“Okay, I’m going to head home. See you later, Big Brother. And you too, Yuri.”

“Be careful on your way home!”

“See ya,” Babandongas called. He looked lonely for a while, but he finally turned to me and spoke. “You and I gotta show our gratitude to Filia.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Oh, since ya just woke up, I guess you don’t know. Filia saved more than thirty people on that battlefield! If it wasn’t for her, you and I’d probably be dead. It’s really rare for a magician to be that skilled in recovery magic.”

Whoa, Filia did something that amazing? Me, I could only destroy stuff, so I had nothing but respect for her.

“Yuri! You’re awake!” Speak of the devil, huh? Filia came into our room in the hospital, fatigue plain on her face. Filia’s battle had been difficult too.

“I made you worry, huh?”

“Yes, you absolutely did! When you were facing that majin, I thought you were—you’d be…! But I wasn’t skilled enough to rush in and help. I couldn’t even follow what was happening, and I…I was really worried…”

Filia walked up to my bed and rested her hand on my stomach for a moment as I lay there. Then she rested her head on top of that. So soft… I smelled the faint scent of flowers mixed with the tang of blood.

And, uh, then it started to hurt a little. Did Filia know she was resting her head on my open wound? Well. I guess this was a kind of training too.

“I heard from Babandongas,” I said. “He said you saved us. Thank you.” I don’t know why, but for some reason I was getting super embarrassed.

At that, Filia realized Babandongas was in the same room as us and shrank away from me. “O-oh, B-Babandongas! Ha. Um. You’re here too, I see.”

“Dontcha mind me, you guys! You two just flirt all you like, okay?” teased Babandongas, flashing us a broad grin. When he smiled like that, he almost had a rugged pirate look going.

“D-don’t say stupid things like that, please! Right, Yuri?”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna hear anything from Mr. Bedhead here.” Just too spiky…

“This is just my hairstyle! Besides, I don’t wanna hear that from you, always goin’ off about ‘muscles’ this and ‘muscles’ that, Mr. Musclebrain!”

“Whoa. I wouldn’t go that far.” To think Babandongas was a guy who knew the power of muscle, huh? He’d suddenly complimented me on my muscles, so I couldn’t help but smile. When Babandongas saw that, he started holding himself, as if he had just witnessed something horribly repulsive.

“What in the…” Babandongas stammered. “What are ya actin’ all flattered for?!”

“Our Yuri has a rather unique worldview.”

You know what? I’d count that as a compliment too.

“Oh, right, Filia. Can you fix my arm?”

Filia put her index finger to her chin and pondered for a moment. “If my magical energy were full, then I could, but we’d have to wait till tomorrow for that. That might be too late, though. Your body might get used to its current state, and then even recovery magic wouldn’t return your arm.”

Apparently, recovery magic was a kinda magic that restored the target “back to a natural state of being.” If enough time passed that my body got used to not having my left arm, that was the new normal, and my missing arm was outta luck.

“More importantly, Yuri, it really wouldn’t have been strange if you’d died back there. That is to say, it’s honestly shocking that you’re not dead. You can thank me any moment for that, by the way.” Filia puffed her chest out proudly. “Ahem?”

She was right. I’d been pulled through a perilous situation without even knowing it. “I can’t thank you enough, really.”

“Of course you can’t. You’re so grateful, in fact, that you feel like you owe me big time, don’t you? Tee hee, how about you lick the bottom of my foot?” Filia smirked bewitchingly while taking off her shoe.

When I saw her do that, I was just like, man, her legs are amazing. Her pale, slender calves looked like fine porcelain. It was almost like they could completely captivate anyone who saw them!

“What’s the matter?” Filia teased. “Didn’t you understand me? I’m just so cute that I’ve rendered you mute.”

“Oh, nah, it’s just… ‘Lick my feet’, huh? That’s, uh, not my thing, but…”

Filia’s smirk vanished. “Um…what?”

“After all you’ve done, I can’t really deny you, even if you’ve got some kind of proclivity, and I don’t wanna reject you or anything… But please don’t try and draw me into a scene I’m not into, all right? Not my thing.”

I spoke calmly and firmly. She needed to understand I was serious.

Oh come on, how could I not mess with her a little? She was being so smug!

Filia furiously shook her head and hands in a panic. “N-no, that’s not it! I-I was just messing around a little…”

“Oh yeah, for sure. Let’s just call it that and move on, eh?” I said solemnly. “That’s probably best for the both of us.”

Must…not…laugh. Must…bear with it…longer.

“No, it’s not like that. I was playing around, really.” Filia was turning shades of pink and red that you couldn’t even see without muscled eyes. Maybe it was about time I wrapped this up.

Just then, Babandongas let out a snort. “Oho, Filia, y-y-you want me to lick your feet?”

“I was only joking!” she shouted.

“Bwa ha!” And now I had to laugh.

Aw, Babandongas, no! This was no good. I’d fought the majin and lived, but now I was gonna die laughing!

Filia stared at Babandongas and me as we both laughed hysterically. She finally seemed to realize she was being teased.

“Yuri, Babandongas,” she said with a sniff. “You two were just making fun of me, weren’t you?! I’ll never forget this, you two!” She looked furious, but more huffy than scary.

Still, the sudden aura emanating from her was incredible. I honestly did feel a little bad now. I never wanted to make her angry. Had I gone too far?

“Sorry,” I said. “I was just trying to hide the fact that I find you so overwhelming and I had to put on a little act.”

Filia folded her arms. “H-hm! I-I’m going home!” She turned on her heels and power-walked out, sniffing to herself.

Aw no, had I really made her mad this time?

“Man, you’re a natural-born womanizer!” said Babandongas, looking dumbfounded.

“Huh?” I blinked. “I don’t get what you mean at all.”

Man, Babandongas said the weirdest stuff…

 

***

 

Gauche arrived the next day. He was dressed in the same white uniform that he usually wore.

“Salutations, my friend! I dropped by to pay you a visit. You have my deepest gratitude for your assistance in the battle. If it weren’t for you, Mussen Morgeth would surely have been lost. I am truly grateful to you. Now, how are your injuries?” Gauche bowed to us.

I hadn’t really fought for the city or anything, but I still felt kinda flustered by that.

“I have a compound fracture in my leg,” said Babandongas. “I’m going to get recovery magic cast on me the day after tomorrow, then they’re planning to discharge me from the hospital.”

“Filia’s gonna fix my arm today, and then I’m being discharged too,” I added.

“I see. I’m very glad the two of you are still alive. More importantly, though… Well, as a friend, I need to tell you two that this country may get grow more tumultuous in the days to come.”

Right, yeah. Hm. That got me thinking of a question. “Hey, I heard you say something about majin or whatever. What exactly are those?”

Gauche looked pretty darn serious as he answered. “Majin are said to possess the power of monsters, or to be the reincarnation of demons. They are known for having two horns protruding from their heads, as well as dark-hued skin, though apparently there are exceptions to the latter. Their bodies are unusually sturdy, and they have an extremely high amount of magical energy. For the most part, they reside in the Demon Kingdom. We aren’t typically in any danger from them, but at times individuals like this Bezegamoth character see fit to initiate an assault. I suspect he was a strong opponent even among the majin.”

Gauche frowned. “Now listen, Sir Yuri. The number of human beings at a level where they can triumph against a majin are so few that I can count them on my fingers, but the number of strong majin—stronger than Bezegamoth—I don’t like to think.”

Whoa, stronger than that guy? Awesome! How many more powerful dudes could I fight?!

Uh, um, hm. Right then, it was probably smarter to ask more questions. “Wait a minute, so if we got invaded by the Demon Kingdom, wouldn’t that mean the end of humanity?”

A whole kingdom of demons and monsters? It sounded like bad news.

“Well, as I understand it, the main reason that hasn’t yet happened is that the current Demon King considers himself quite the intellectual. He’s the sort of man who values peace, and I’d say he’s the reason why there aren’t more incidents involving majin. Our order’s commander is another reason. It’s said that he is, without a doubt, the strongest human on the planet, with power rivaling or surpassing even that of the Demon King.”

There was someone out there with that kinda strength?! I wanted to meet him at once, but Gauche told me he roamed through the world and didn’t come home unless it was an emergency.

If I kept adventuring, could I meet him, then? Aw yeah, I had even more to look forward to!

“But as strong as our commander is, very few within our order can fight against majin. I’m afraid I’m about to get quite a bit busier. I can’t guess how many years it will be before I can take my next vacation…” said Gauche, his eyes downcast, looking heartbroken.

He wouldn’t be able to take a day off in years? Terrifying.

“My condolences,” Filia said.

“Sounds like you’ve got your hands full,” I said.

“Ha, my thanks, you two,” said Gauche, with a bright and easy smile. “Well, now, I have some others I’d like to offer my gratitude to as well.”

He turned to leave, but even as he smiled, even as he went, this unfathomable sense of melancholy hung over him.

 

***

 

The next day, I was relieved to see Filia in high spirits.

“You’re going to get your arm back now,” she said. “It might feel a little weird, but please bear with it, okay?”

“Thanks for this, I’m counting on you.”

I’d only really understood this after losing it, but not having an arm? Super inconvenient! I was incredibly glad to have Filia around. I sat down on a chair and prepared to receive her healing magic.

Filia gently touched both of my shoulders from behind. Our faces were close, and the smell of flowers tickled my nostrils. My heart started skipping a beat or two, so I hurriedly tried to lower the sensitivity of my nose.

“Is something the matter?” asked Filia.

“No, it’s, ah… I was just thinkin’ that this was the first time you’ve used recovery magic on me since when we fought the brokirin,” I blurted. It was the first excuse I could think of.

Filia tilted her head to the side, a confused look on her face. “Well, I’m about to show you just how much I’ve grown since then. I’m going to heal you so much it’ll be practically disgusting,” she boasted, making peace signs with both hands. It was kind of surreal seeing her there, a big smug look on her face, opening and closing her fingers in a motion that looked like a crab opening and closing its claws.

I was inwardly relieved that I managed to throw her off somehow, even if my neighbor Babandongas was grinning at me so hugely. Real punchable-like.

“Let’s get started, Yuri. If too many days pass, I won’t be able to heal you.”

“O-okay.”

Filia’s body started glowing a faint white. The light spread to my shoulders, and I felt a soft, pleasant warmth. As the light gathered on my shoulders, I felt a kind of itching, almost. It stayed like that for a while, but then, finally, a new, smooth arm began to grow out of the stump.

At first the arm was transparent, but it became more and more like the real thing until, finally, my arm was fully healed. It looked exactly like the original.

“Whoa, Filia, I knew I could count on you! Uh…hey, what’s the matter?” I felt a weight on my back. Was Filia leaning on me?

“I-I’m all right. Ahh…it’s just…I used a little too much power.”

Filia had a slightly strained look on her face. She let out a little chuckle. Despite somehow managing to stand on her own two feet, her legs wobbled and her breathing was ragged. She was pushing herself too hard.

“Sorry, I don’t wanna wear you out. Thank you.”

“No, it’s okay… I wanted to heal you, and I did. Understand?” said Filia with a sweet smile, putting a hand to her chest to try and catch her breath.

Babandongas held a handkerchief to his eyes. “Oh…such a sweet girl…”

“I’m sure you’re going to have a halo before long, Filia,” I added, and I averted my eyes.

That carefree smile of hers was almost like that of a goddess’s. I couldn’t look directly at it.

“Oh. Oh! I see how it is! You’re both teasing me again, aren’t you?! And I’ve worked so hard. You’re both such terrible people. Well, I won’t be fooled this time!” said Filia, growing unexpectedly furious.

Oops. But I didn’t say anything! Ugh, it felt like it’d be weird to correct her on this one.

 

***

“All right, let’s get goin’!”

After we let Filia rest for a while, I was discharged from the hospital. I exchanged a brief farewell with Babandongas, and at last, we were off.

“So, what are our plans now?” asked Filia, holding her silver hair down as it fluttered in the wind.

“For the time being, we gotta search for the elf village in Hihi Forest. Reupping your fighting strength is top priority.”

“Then we’ll need to raise our ranks, I suppose…” said Filia with a sigh. “What a pain in the butt.”

“Yeah…” We were still Rank C. It was so boring fighting against C-Rank monsters, but we had to in order to earn our laurels.

Soon enough, we arrived back at the inn and got to our room.

“I’m pretty exhausted today,” said Filia, jumping headfirst into bed. She flopped over onto her back and glanced at me. “You’ve changed somehow, Yuri.”

“You think? I don’t know. Really?” I guess I’d probably gotten stronger since leaving the forest. It was great finding out there were people stronger than me out there. My motivation to train was also higher than ever.

“When I first met you, you were kind of scary,” said Filia. “Like a knife, almost. But now you’re more like a dog.”

“A dog… I’ve heard wild dogs are pretty strong. Is that what you mean?”

A knife was no good anyway, you know? I’d be way stronger with bare hands. If I gotta chop something, I can use those.

“Yuri, what on earth are you talking about?”

Was I wrong? Filia seemed a little annoyed. But…hmm, come to think of it, it had been a while since Filia and I’d met. It was kinda… It was nice, to think about that.

“Well,” Filia mumbled, almost unintelligibly, “both the old Yuri and the current Yuri…are good, I think.”

Quiet as she was, I could still hear her from all my ear-muscle training. “What do you mean, good? Why are you blushing? I don’t get it.”

“All I know is that you, Yuri, are a Zero Delicacy Man. And that it’s bedtime. I’m going to sleep! Good night, Yuri!” Filia abruptly covered herself up to her head in the futon.

Zero Delicacy Man? Man, Filia had no knack for coming up with names.

“All right, Filia, good night.”

Now that I was the only one awake, I decided to hold my breath and train my lung capacity. For the next hour, all that could be heard in the room was the sound of Filia breathing.

 

***

 

Come morning, Filia woke up, I stopped doing my one-handed pinky-finger push-ups, and we got ready to go.

“Should we head to the guild?” asked Filia.

“Depends. You feeling okay?”

Filia twisted her hips a couple of times to test her mobility. “No problems here. And your arm, Yuri?”

“No problems here either.” This new arm was exactly the same as the original. Just to be sure, I’d moved it around a bunch yesterday and during my night exercises, and so far it seemed to handle all that indoor training just fine.

“Naturally. I am the one who treated you, after all.”

“Yeah, for sure!”

From there, we headed off to the guild. We had to get to Rank A fast to check out Hihi Forest. Even the process of doing that rank-climbing might help Filia get better at defending herself before we even got to the elf village.

When we got to the guild, we found ourselves keenly followed by the eyes of our fellow adventurers.

“Hey, wait, isn’t that the inhuman master of muscles or whatever—the one who defeated the majin?”

“Yo, wait a minute, why’s a goddess walking around with that muscle-bound dude?”

“You a newbie or somethin’? Those two are always together for some reason. Most likely, he’s Lady Filia’s escort.”

“Aw, man, Filia-tan is totally my waifu!”

I see. So the story of that battle was getting around, huh? Maybe some of the adventurers here had joined in the battle too.

“Looks like I’m pretty popular.” Filia beamed. “I’m simply adorable, so I suppose that isn’t exactly surprising.”

“Oh yeah? How about I spread the word that you’re the kind of person who wants people to lick her feet?” I replied with a wink.

“Dear Yuri,” said Filia with a smug smile, “it’s so hard to be beautiful. Must you add to my trials?”

“Ugh, give me a break…”

Still, Filia covered her face with her hands. I wasn’t really going to spread the word about that little incident, honestly. We were way too busy to bother with that crowd, ya know? Anyway, we picked up a random C-Rank request, lined up at the counter, and handed the request letter over to the receptionist.

“Hello, I’m glad to—oh goodness, Sir Yuri? Lady Filia? The head of the guild would like to have a chat with you. Would you mind waiting a moment?” asked the receptionist.

“Eh, why not?”

“Thank you very much. Well then, please wait here for a moment. I will return in just a second,” said the receptionist.

Filia and I looked at each other.

“All right, Yuri. Fess up. What did you do?”

“Nothing! I think.”

“Of course you think. But your standards of behavior are positively eldritch when compared to the average person, Yuri. Even if you don’t think something you did was bad, well, how would you feel if someone did those things to you? Would that feel bad?!”

“Hey! I feel like you’re gettin’ a little ahead of yourself!” She’d just slipped naturally into a lecture. Come on, Filia, I’m not your kid!

“Y-yes, I suppose so. I’m sorry…” Filia sighed, eyes cast downward. “I got a bit mean there, didn’t I?”

She looked so depressed that it was actually a little upsetting. I might have snapped a little too much myself.

“W-well,” I mumbled, “it’s true that I’m always causing trouble. So you might have a point, Filia.”

After she saw me all flustered, trying to smooth things over, Filia covered her mouth with her hands and, in a quiet voice, whispered: “Gotcha.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I can hear you, Filia. I’ll remember that.”

“Hmph! Consider it payback.” She punctuated her statement with a sly wink. “A Filia doesn’t forget!”

The wink was almost audibly cute—the adventurers who saw her do it couldn’t seem to suppress their excitement.

“A goddess…”

“I finally found the girl of my dreams! I couldn’t ask fer more!”

“What in the world…?! How could such a beautiful creature possibly exist in this universe?!”

“Nngaah! Nngaahhh!” Some of them even wailed like they’d regressed to infancy from the shock of it all.

A bizarre atmosphere dominated the entire guild. Even Filia looked perplexed.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” said the receptionist. “If you’ll please follow me, ah… Is something the matter?”

“Nah…”

“N-nothing! It’s fine!”

Leaving the riled-up adventurers behind, we followed the receptionist to the back of the guild. She came to a stop before an ornate door.

“This is the Guild Master’s room.”

She opened it for us, then went inside. Filia and I followed. The room was just as luxurious as the door itself. The floor was made from some expensive-looking stone material, and mounted on the wall was a stuffed monster head. (Luxurious don’t mean tasteful.)

“Sorry to have you come all the way here,” said a voice coming from a white screen hanging on the wall. The voice seemed to be coming from a person on that screen, but we couldn’t see who was speaking. Everything but the top of the figure’s white-haired head was hidden from view. I guess the chair was too big for whoever was sitting in it? “Oof, I’m afraid that moving has just become so tiresome these days. Here we go, and…”

The person stood up on the chair, and we finally saw her head. She had a gentle face, if wrinkled by age. Despite her calm expression, I sensed a kind of inner ferociousness, hidden from sight, even through this screen.

She’d probably been a formidable master of her martial art when she was younger, huh? I wished I could’ve met her about a half-century earlier.

“Madam, would you please tell us what you wanted to talk about? Thank you.” I tried to use the respectful language I’d learned from Filia. Being an intellectual muscle man, I quickly got the hang of using such terminology. First things first: You gotta remember to add ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’”

“Well, now, there’s no need to be in such a rush. After all, there’s nothing in life you need to hurry for,” said the Guild Master, slowly pouring some tea into a cup. After a long sip, she finally began. “Now, then. The reason I called you here today is, ah… What was it, again?”

“Guild Master, it’s regarding the monster incident in Mussen Morgeth,” said the receptionist.

Uh—forget the earlier assessment. Was this old lady okay? Could she really handle things as the head of the guild?

“Oh yes, of course. Regarding the mass outbreak of monsters in town and the subsequent demon attack. Considering your achievements, we have decided to raise your adventurer rank to A. It would make me very happy if you would continue to work hard in your endeavors in this regard.”

Whoa! Talk about a lifesaver.

“Thank you very much, please!”

That reminded me, Gauche had said something about a demon attack being treated like an emergency or something, hadn’t he? Guess we were almost lucky we got to show off.

“Those S-Rank fellows,” the Guild Master continued, “they’re just not up to responsibility. They’re too free, can’t count on them to fight when it’s important. But can I count on you two?”

Her eyes flashed, and a chill ran down my spine. Hold on a sec! We were just a couple of newbies who only just got to Rank A—she talked like we were soldiers in her war.

“Well, anyone is free to have expectations,” I said, with a fearless glare of my own. “They’re expectations.”

We glared at each other for a long minute until, finally, the Guild Master looked away. The ferocity I’d sensed earlier, that sharp gleam so palpable I could feel it through a screen, dissipated like a dream.

“Oho, marvelous! Guess it’s time for me to go to sleep now. You handle the rest now,” said the Guild Master.

“Understood,” said the receptionist.

With the buck passed, the Guild Master fell asleep then and there, still standing in her chair. When I saw the Guild Master blowing snot bubbles from her nose as she snored, that’s when I knew—she was strong! Not just anyone’s strong enough to fall asleep standing up. Even a baby knows that.

The receptionist started explaining things in place of the soundly sleeping Guild Master. Now that we were Rank A, we could accept requests from the kingdom itself. Also, A-Rank requests were significantly more difficult than Rank B and under, and they had a higher mortality rate too.

“It is also possible to decline the designation of Rank A,” she said. “Would you like to do so?”

“No way, I’m not turning it down.”

“Neither will I. I’m with Yuri.”

We’d always stood out over the other adventurers at lower ranks and, on top of that, getting to Rank A was essential. We needed license to travel to Hihi Forest.

“Thank you for your patience. We’ve now addressed all guild business for today. I sincerely apologize for taking up so much of your time.” The receptionist bowed respectfully and precisely at the end of her explanation.

At last, we left the guild. The sun hung directly overhead in the sky.

“How about we do some training today instead of a request? Training!” I punched the air (lightly).

“Fine, but my goodness, you sure are motivated all of a sudden. What’s with that?”

“Huh? Come on, you know why, Filia. Good grief. Talk about disappointing.” I shrugged and spread out my arms for a really good “good grief” gesture. “There was the whole thing with the Verkis Bandits, and then the majin incident? We just saw what it was like fighting someone of higher rank than us, right? Well, I’ll tell ya how we’re gonna beat strong opponents like that. We gotta be stronger than they are!”

“You sound like a toddler.”

“Well, the truth tends to come from mouth of babes!” Dang, I was really rockin’ it today, like some kinda wisdom machine. And that was probably the first time that the words “tends to” came out of my mouth too. Intellectual Muscle strikes again!

“When it comes to fighting, I’ll trust your judgment, Yuri. When it comes to fighting.”

Hurray! Right? Ehh, it made me happy to be trusted. “All right, let’s go!”

“Indeed. Let’s get going.”

The rest of that day, we trained until it felt like our eyes were going to fall out of our heads. Man, trainin’ really is fun. Even my muscles seemed happy.