02 — A Letter From Master and Things to Come

02 — A Letter From Master and Things to Come

The day after my guidelines were approved, I was summoned by the pope.

“Luciel, well done making good on your words from the ceremony.”

“Thank you, Your Holiness, but the credit goes to the cooperation of the factions and their specialists. They reminded me how woefully inexperienced I am.”

“Take pride, young healer. Your modesty is admirable, but it was you who engendered change.”

“All the same, I owe this success to the support of my peers.”

“Ah, but it was your own words that moved mountains, was it not, bringer of hope? Not even I imagined that you might bridge ideological divides through the words of our founder, Lord Reinstar. Your passion gladdens me, but do be cautious of your limits.”

The shock was mutual. How was I supposed to have known that every leader of every faction had memorized nearly the entirety of Lord Reinstar’s biography? Or that every freaking word held some particular significance? For crying out loud, wasn’t that level of devotion supposed to be reserved for fanatics and scholars? Way to screw me over, Monsieur Luck.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Think nothing of it. You are my one and only emissary. Now, have you heard of the matter regarding the guidelines? Mardan and Muneller are to take the helm for the time being.”

“Yes. The laws were ratified under my name, but they’re to negotiate behind the scenes to help deal with the backlash. Someone as young as I am would be an easy target for criticism.”

S-rank or not, a teenager was apt to be looked down on. That was why I’d asked for help from someone with more weight to throw around.

“Indeed. Dongahar will head the coordination of a timetable for enforcement.”

“So I’ve heard. I’ve been told it could be several years before they’re implemented in full force, but all that matters to me is that it eventually happens.”

The nail that sticks out is hammered down. This was true in any world and all the more reason to play the networking game. If the information Granhart had given me was to be trusted, the guidelines would mean huge losses for the Reformists, so I had handed Dongahar the important role of overseeing the transition period.

“I do not think we will need to wait that long. As it happens, I was offered a proposal by the faction leaders.”

“May I ask what it was about?”

“When you reach the age of twenty, we will make your status as an S-rank healer public, as well as your role as an architect of the coming changes.”

It had never been my idea to hide my rank in the first place, so that was fine by me. The real question was why they’d bothered to bring it up with Her Holiness.

“That sounds fine, but surely there’s a reason they asked you for this.”

“There is. One I will not yet reveal.”

“As you wish. What exactly is my job as an S-rank healer anyway?”

“Nothing in particular. Should you have time to spare, the labyrinth is open to you. Ah, and Catherine tells me that you struggle with horsemanship. I recommend that you work to remedy that.”

The labyrinth could be as open as it wanted, that didn’t mean I’d ever enjoy going down there. And for some reason, horses hated my guts. All horses except for Forêt, that is. I considered asking Her Holiness to let me buy her from the Church if worst came to worst.

“I’ll keep training.”

“When the time comes for you to set out, you may come to blows with monsters or bandits. You would do well to prepare yourself before then.”

“Of course. I’d definitely prefer to avoid dying just because I wasn’t able to ride properly in the middle of a battle.”

“Death is one possibility; however, I fear your concerns are best directed towards the risk of becoming a slave. Allow yourself to be captured and never again would you be free, your life nothing more than a tool to heal ruffians’ wounds. This would not only be a loss for the Church but for the entire world, so I implore you to train well.”

I felt goosebumps rising all over my body. “I will be thoroughly ready.”

“Well said. When you turn twenty, the time will come for you to journey to the many Healer’s Guilds of the world. Thus I would also ask that you inform yourself of the workings of the guild and its clinics.”

So, it had just been decided that I’d travel the world once I turned twenty? Why and how? I swear, if it’s that dragon’s blessing...

“As for the business of your personal guard, I have entrusted the matter to Catherine. Speak to her about the details. I leave you with my first order, S-rank Luciel: before the world knows your name, be prepared.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.” As if I had a choice.

I left her chamber, wondering what point there was to me actually being at HQ.

With the guidelines now completely out of my hands, I had jack squat to do, so I wound up going back to my room. The clock was ticking down the minutes until the entire world knew my name, but I wasn’t concerned about that as much as I was with figuring out what to do for the next year and five months. Spending the entire time studying didn’t sound appealing. Boosting my skills was another option, or maybe getting to know my would-be companions once Catherine chose them. Boy, a year and five months sure was a long time...

Someone was standing in front of my room when I arrived.

“Oh, Jord, did you need something?”

“I have a letter addressed to you, sir.”

My master’s name was written on the front. “Ah, he’s the guildmaster at the Merratoni Adventurer’s Guild. I’m surprised they delivered it here.”

“I’m sure seeing your name on it motivated some hands. And I don’t think the receptionists will be forgetting your master any time soon after he stormed the castle.”

I figured Jord would evade any questions regarding how he’d gotten his hands on a letter addressed to me, so I took it and went into my room to read it.

Luciel,

I hope you’re not slacking off on your training. People have come knocking for me to teach them, but no one can last longer than a few days. It’s been boring around here.

Anyway, I have the results of that testing we did with Substance X. Turns out you were right. I always heard it made newbies stronger, but sure enough, no one can level up while they’re on it. I thought making you drink it was for the best, but if you think there’s no use for it, I won’t blame you for ditching the stuff. Your foundation is strong enough to give goblins or kobolds a run for their money. I could tell from our match a while back, so it might be time for you to start putting on levels.

But don’t get full of yourself. When your stats start climbing, you might feel stronger, and you’d be right, but you’d also be dead wrong. Don’t forget what I taught you. Stats don’t decide who wins or loses. You can have the highest numbers in the world, but everyone bleeds.

If you’re ever up against someone you’re equal in strength to, run. The moment you decide to fight, you’ve made peace with the fact that losing means death. If you somehow pull out a win, keep your head on straight or you might end up losing it.

Next time you feel cocky, come visit us in Merratoni. I’m always ready to take you down a peg. Nanaella and Monica would love to see you too.

Winning a battle comes down to not only preparation but luck, circumstance, and your chemistry with your opponent. That might sound unfair, but save the whining for when you beat me, you lousy apprentice.

Your favorite master

It sounded like my master needed to find himself a rival in order to use up all the excess energy he was constantly trying to direct my way. There was no way he was avoiding it to save his own hide, right? Next time we met, I’d have to get the truth.

At the time of our most recent match, I’d thought he had simply been beating me to a pulp, but it felt good to know that he’d been judging me as carefully as always. He knew I was the type to let things go to my head and called me out on leveling up well in advance this time. What a swell guy.

Then again, one might call it good fortune that all his letters had been intercepted by the Church in the past, otherwise he would have dragged me back to Merratoni kicking and screaming for “rehabilitation” rather than letting me off the hook so easily. I almost wanted to bow towards Merratoni in reverence to my wise and thoughtful master.

“What are you still doing here, Jord? I’m not going out today.”

“Pish-posh, sir! Where’s your sense of adventure? Won’t you show us lowly folks the wonders of the outside world?”

“‘Us’? There are more of you now?”

Jord and his Church-issued robe were already trouble enough, and now he wanted to make it a party? Personally, I preferred not to stir the pot so much.

“Me and four other healers, at your command.”

“When was I assigned subordinates? I never got that memo.”

“The captain of the guard has been recruiting healers who are interested in accompanying you. The competition was stiff, but I managed to snag a spot for myself!”

Having both a personal guard and a company of healers was really going to weigh us down as a group. And to be honest, I was a little dubious about people’s motives if things were that competitive.

“So, I’ve got healers joining too? You don’t surprise me, Jord, but I’ve never met these other guys in my life. You think they’ll be okay? It’s not going to be sunshine and rainbows.”

“Not to worry. How about we hit the town?”

“Sure, if you really want to, but I hope you know we’ll be stopping by the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Jord had become quite perceptive. I hoped the others would be able to similarly adapt.

“Oh, I would. Substance X works wonders for growing as a healer—if you want to, that is.” My companion was silent. “What’s the matter? You look pale.”

“D-Do I? Wow, interesting. Say, I just remembered this thing I’ve gotta do, so, uh, maybe we’ll do that town-hitting another day? Anyway, see ya!”

He bolted from the room and for a moment, I couldn’t contain my laughter. But I quickly refocused myself. I had a year and five months to ready myself as best I could. Above all else, healers relied on holy magic, but I was already fairly confident in my abilities and, on top of that, no stranger to combat. There was one glaring hole that I’d yet to fill in, though: knowledge.

From the basic history of nations to Healer’s Guilds and attitudes towards healers to wealth disparity to religion, I knew next to nothing about this world. Even guild and clinic administrative practices were foreign to me. With so much to learn in so little time, I worried about whether I’d even retain anything.

But first and foremost came the most pressing matter, which was the issue of my horsemanship abilities. It was pretty much a matter of life and death, so Yanbath and Forêt Noire would have to come to my rescue. Forêt was unfit to ride too often, but no other horse even let me near them, let alone hop onto their back.

I’d better stay busy if I want to be able to convince Her Holiness to let me have Forêt.

A thought suddenly came to me. Once Catherine finished choosing the knights who would make up my guard, I’d petition to take them to Merratoni. My master could put them through their paces, and they would foster a sense of solidarity through their shared disgust of Substance X, although we would miss out on training with the Valkyries (assuming they’d even let us).

My final concern was that when we inevitably came across bandits or monsters, I’d need to be ready to kill. I simply wasn’t strong enough to subdue someone without maiming them, as frustrating as it was to admit it. And these enemies would not be zombies or ghouls like I’d faced in the labyrinth.

I felt a headache coming on, so I turned my brain off. All that mattered now was doing what I could.

I sat down and started working on my letter home.

The next morning, a knock came at my door as it so often did.

“It’s Marluka of the Valkyries, Mister Lulu, sir.”

It made me happy that the Valkyries still treated me as they had before my promotion, but I had to wonder if they knew how weird it sounded when they mixed their casual behavior with formalities, especially Marluka. “Lulu”? Really?

“It’s open.”

The Valkyrie entered, bowed, then said, “Good morning. We must be off for the main field, if it pleases you.”

I’d never gotten used to that strange and stiff way of talking, and neither had the girls despite their insistence on using it. Only Lumina spared me the pain.

It surprised me to hear that we weren’t heading for the Valkyries’ private field today. No one had told me about this yesterday.

“Not the usual grounds?”

“No. Lady Catherine recruited several knights to join your guard for when you set out, but there were more volunteers than anticipated. So you’ll be making the final decisions personally.”

Oh, lovely. What an amazing honor that would be. How were there so many applicants for a job like this? It wasn’t going to be a pleasure cruise.

“Does that mean our session’s canceled today?”

“Yes, so you can think long and hard about the candidates you choose, Sir Lulu,” she returned flatly. Was the tension I felt in the air just my imagination?

“Did you see anyone who caught your eye? Anyone on your team’s level?”

“Please,” Marluka scoffed, then quieted down to barely a mumble. “If it bothers you that much, why didn’t you just pick us?”

Yep, she was mad. Unless I cleared things up now, I could most likely kiss my training sessions with them goodbye.

“For the record, I wish I could take you all, but your unit is too crucial to the knights, so I’m not allowed to. Come on, Marluka, you know how timid I am.”

“So it was the captain who took us out of the running? I don’t believe it!” She wasn’t even trying to be formal anymore. In fact, she’d probably only been behaving that way out of anger.

“I’m sure the higher-ups have their reasons. And you guys are the only regiment I’m even remotely on good terms with. Did you seriously think I was dying to travel the world with these people?”

“Oh, that’s right, you don’t have any other friends because you’re always training with us.”

Well, that was one way to put it. But when she phrased it that way, the excess of volunteers made even less sense. Did knights belong to factions too?

“Please pass it along to the others. Oh, and another thing. You don’t need to act so formal when we’re in private. I’m still technically an honorary Valkyrie to you all.”

“I knew you were a good guy, Lulu. We were planning to beat the snot out of you next training session if you started acting all high and mighty.”

“I’m glad I get to keep my snot. Seriously, you girls...”

The misunderstanding had been resolved and Marluka was back in good spirits. Thank god. That hadn’t been some figure of speech. Those ladies would have absolutely beaten me to a pulp. I was surrounded by battle-crazed lunatics.

“‘You girls’ what? Hm? We’re a bunch of battle-crazed lunatics, is that it?”

Clever girl.

“Er, no, I was just wondering why the Valkyries were so different from other regiments.”

“That’s all, huh? Well, fine, I’ll play along. The first priority for all knights is to protect, so no, we aren’t ‘battle-crazed lunatics.’ The Valkyries’ motto just so happens to be ‘The best defense is a good offense.’ Maybe that’s why you feel that way.”

I’d never been fond of that saying... How could a total lack of defensive strategy be considered good defense? It felt like a lifetime had passed since I’d last heard the phrase.

“Maybe so.”

“I wonder why the captain asked for volunteers instead of just choosing people,” she mused.

“Because it’s going to be a dangerous mission?”

“I don’t think that’s the only reason, but knowing you, I bet you’ll find yourself some adventurer worth a thousand guards.”

“Maybe...”

The best defense is a good offense. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Did this world have a history of people being reincarnated here over the years? I’d nearly forgotten that there were supposedly at least nine others like me, since I hadn’t seen or heard anything about them, but maybe that meant it wasn’t even worth worrying about.

“What’s up with you, Lulu?” Marluka leaned forward and looked up at me. “Lumina’s waiting, so let’s get going.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” I replied with my best poker face. Not blushing was just about impossible.

I pushed all thoughts of reincarnation out of my head and followed Marluka to the training field.

We soon reached the grounds. Had I been alone, I would have been hopelessly lost, even with a map.

The knights, the protectors of the Church of Saint Shurule, were already waiting in silence.

“Sorry we’re late,” I said.

“Luciel, stand here with me,” Catherine replied, beckoning.

I stepped up beside her and faced the knights.

“Luciel is an S-rank healer, and he is in need of swords for his guard. This you should already know from my prior explanation.” Her voice rang out loud and clear. “Ideally, I would send him with the Valkyries, but their abilities are far too crucial to the Church’s protection to do without, so they will remain here.”

Shock ran through the assembled Valkyries. Guess they really didn’t know. Surprisingly, even the other knights started to stir in the same way. They hadn’t volunteered for guard duty just to hang out with some girls, right? I sure hoped not.

“This mission is not confined to the borders of Shurule. You will be traveling far and wide, to many nations, and as such, this is not a post to be accepted lightly. With that in mind, all who would like to volunteer, step forward.”

The alleged overabundance of ready individuals was nowhere to be seen. Only five templars came to the front.

“These are to be your companions, Luciel, but you could certainly use more. What are your thoughts?”

I looked over the five volunteers and contemplated the situation. The Knights of Shurule were divided into templars and paladins, with each division consisting of four regiments. The Valkyries were one such paladin unit.

Templars were primarily the Church’s guards—protectors—and that was likely why only they had come forward for this mission. Granhart had told me they revered Crya the Divine as well as the deity of healing, and that their loyalty was to the pope before the Church itself. Such individuals weren’t blessed with the knight class at their coming-of-age ceremonies and could only be promoted to the position of templar after pledging their devotion to the divines in front of the pope herself.

The fact that they were the only volunteers really drove home how much the paladins in general hated me. Nearly every one of them were born prodigies, having been given their class directly by Crya at their ceremonies. Their affinities were usually either holy or light magic, and while it was theoretically possible to become a paladin later in life, it was an extremely difficult path to walk.

“The five of you who stepped forward, thank you,” I finally said. “Captain Catherine, would it be possible to have them spar? I’d like to see what they can do.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Volunteers, from this moment on you are under Luciel’s command!”

“Yes, ma’am!” the group replied.

Catherine and I moved away to settle into special seats with a wide view of the field.

“I’m sorry for not letting you take the girls,” she said, lowering her head. She was earnest and knew the pope well, so I felt that I could continue to trust her, even with all the talk of individual factions vying for control.

“No, I understand. You’ve only just been reinstated, and you have a duty to uphold. We still have more than a year left, and that’ll be plenty of time to turn my new unit into a fighting machine.”

“That would certainly be something.”

She might have thought I was joking, but I couldn’t have been more serious. A year of nonstop training with my master would whip them into shape, and my healing made any injuries a non-issue. Okay, maybe constant suffering for the sake of training wasn’t the most mentally healthy approach, but as they say, no pain, no gain.

“Knights,” Catherine called out, “my gratitude for answering my urgent summons. We are about to conduct a mock battle between the templar and paladin divisions, but I want to make it clear that this is not a game. The goal of this exercise is to gauge your abilities, as it is my duty as captain of the guard to ensure that our forces are properly organized. The winners will receive a bonus, and the losers will be penalized.”

The entire forces of the Knights of Shurule, save those on duty, stood at attention.

“194 templars versus 68 paladins. Each division commander, as well as every regiment’s captain, will have a small flag on their helmet. Steal the division commander’s flag and the match is yours. Today we will see if numbers or power will win the day. Remember, this is no mere recruitment screening. This will be our first joint training exercise, so treat it with due sincerity.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Their voices were so loud that they shook the air and the ground I stood on, but it wasn’t as intimidating from this high up.

“Who do you think will win?” I asked Catherine.

“The paladins, I expect.”

She seemed awfully certain despite them being significantly outnumbered. Was the gap between templar and paladin that wide? Or maybe it wasn’t the paladins as a whole.

“Because they have the Valkyries?”

“Mm-hm. Without them, the paladins wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“You seem confident about that.”

“Those ladies are incredibly strong.”

That definitely explained why I could never hold a candle to any of them in a match.

“Wow, the field looks huge from up here. Which regiments use it?”

“None. It’s reserved for joint exercises like this.”

“Really? But that’s such a waste.”

“It’s restricted to division captains because regiments used to squabble over it. I heard some of the fights got a little ugly. There were casualties.”

I couldn’t argue with her. Still, this would’ve been the perfect place to practice my horse riding. “That makes sense. And I guess the Valkyries are a small regiment compared to the others, so they’d be low on the priority list even if it was available.”

“Right, and they don’t have any flashy magic to practice either.”

“What about me? Could I use the field?”

“Well...” she hesitated. “I’d hate to turn you down, but it really depends on what you need it for.”

I just so happened to have a valid reason, and technically an indirect order from the pope. “I’m still having trouble riding any horses other than Forêt Noire, so I was thinking I could practice my Riding skill here.”

Catherine chuckled. “That excuse works for me, but I’m not sure it’ll do your horsemanship any good if the horses don’t actually let you mount them.”

“Er, you heard?”

“I sure did. But I am under Her Holiness’s orders to accommodate you, so let’s say I’ll give you permission once you can stay on a horse other than your black-haired friend.”

“Yeah, um, that’s fair. Anyway, I guess we should watch the match now.”

“Try not to blink,” she giggled.

Catherine held her hand up, then brought it down, and at once the air was filled with battle cries. I felt the fiery energy seep into me as a knightly passion boiled up on the field.

“They’ve come a long way from the layabouts they used to be,” I marveled.

“I had some whipping to do after Her Holiness reinstated me. Your master was a good example.” A chill ran through the air. “Now I think they’ve finally got a bit of spine again.”

I was captivated by the knights’ ferocity. As the wounded quickly began to fall, Catherine looked on, observing carefully. Meanwhile, I played out simulations in my head; what I might have done if I’d been participating. Would I have been enough of a help to give an edge to the outnumbered side? Perhaps by shoring up their defenses with Area Barrier and reviving casualties with Area High Heal... But would I have been able to manage that much? Would I not have run away or frozen in fear by then?

Suddenly, the scales tipped. The Valkyries overextended themselves on the defending templars’ side and broke through.

“They’re going in pretty far. Do they have a plan or are they getting impatient?”

“They know they have the advantage, so I imagine they’re trying to break the templars’ formation. But they’re being a little too aggressive about it.”

The dual-wielders, Ripnear and Elizabeth, cut a path forward as Lumina and the rest followed behind them. Those poor templars—the power gap was impassable.

“They’re incredible, but I don’t see this lasting much longer.”

“It won’t. It’s just impossible to coordinate with that much power.”

The Valkyries were strong but excessively so, and their bold maneuver allowed the templar captain to retreat. The templars quickly reformed and began a coordinated offensive against the paladins.

“I could always take them off your hands if they’re having trouble cooperating with the other knights,” I offered.

“Nice try. Honestly, though, those girls alone shouldn’t technically be enough to control the match.”

“You look pretty happy about it.”

“They’re my pride and joy. I personally asked Her Holiness to create their troop, and they’re the strongest regiment of all. It just goes to show that they were pouring their sweat and tears into training while the others slacked off.”

“I don’t envy the other units right now. I assume you’re excluding Lumina’s team from the reorganization.”

“Of course.”

The templars quickly broke out of the corner they’d been in since the start of the exercise and overwhelmed the paladin captain. The match was over.

“The templars seem pretty experienced. They consistently had at least three people on every Valkyrie.”

“They played their roles perfectly. I’m interested in knowing how different things might be if you take the field one day.”

“Ha, I think it’s safe to say my regiment would win.”

“Confident about that, hm?”

“As long as there aren’t any ranged attacks, I could be healing nonstop, and Area Barrier would be more than enough to end a stalemate.” On the off-chance there were ranged attacks... Well, I probably wouldn’t be fighting in the first place.

“Want to put that to the test?”

“Sorry, but I highly doubt I’ll ever feel the urge to place myself in the middle of a fight unless I absolutely have to. And sparring for self-defense training is different.”

“Suit yourself. Would you mind tending to the injured?”

“Will do.”

Catherine addressed the knights while I went about casting my healing magic. I primarily used Middle Heal (High Heal for a few severe injuries) and its potency was, apparently, unlike that of any normal healer. My patients kept going blank in shock. Naturally, this meant that they’d temporarily stop listening to Catherine, who would promptly rain hellfire down on them.

Five of my patients quickly volunteered to join my guard—two paladins and three more templars. I never thought the Divine Healer’s blessing would make that much of a difference to my magic, but it evidently made me more than average in their eyes.

After I saw to the last of the wounded, Catherine addressed the crowd.

“Congratulations templars. Your reward will come at a later date. For now, let’s discuss how the paladins were defeated. The first step was when the Valkyries overextended themselves and broke formation, and I’m sure many of you believe that is where the sequence ends. However, the captain of the paladins failed to form a strategy or provide proper orders.”

“One moment, please,” the paladin captain interrupted. “With all due respect, didn’t you just say that the Valkyries broke formation?”

“By all means, captain, please tell me the strategy they failed to follow. You did issue orders to the knights’ greatest assets and most formidable force, I take it? Or am I wrong and stopping their charge was simply impossible? Forgive me, captain, but I believe it is the leader’s duty to lead.”

“My... My apologies.” The captain stepped back, head bowed.

“Paladins, you’re to do laps around the grounds until this afternoon. But first, Luciel, do you have anything you’d like to say to them?”

“Let’s see. Well...” I paused. “This was my first time seeing an exercise on this scale. The intensity and passion on both sides really blew me away. Thank you for allowing me to witness it.”

“No one caught your eye?”

“Five more people kindly asked to join me earlier, so we’re at a comfortable ten now.”

“Is that enough?”

“More isn’t always better, so I don’t think I’ll need any others. And there are eleven Valkyries too, so it all works out.”

Frankly, compared to the Valkyries, it didn’t matter how many I had on my team. It wouldn’t make a lick of difference. Thankfully, the knights joining me were all fairly young (the oldest seemed to be around thirty), so a year and five months was plenty of time to get them into fighting shape. I’d have to let Master work his magic if I wanted them to rival the Valkyries, though.

“If you say so, but feel free to speak up if you’re after someone in particular. You can have your pick.”

Everyone immediately looked away from me. Catherine couldn’t just up and say that in front of the crowd! Not that I even wanted anyone special. I preferred to keep our morale high and participation voluntary.

“Maybe I’ll see someone who stands out eventually, but I think I’ll make do with these ten for now.”

Catherine turned to the knights. “Did you all hear that? Luciel has no need for you loafers! If that frustrates you, start trying to change his mind! We’ll hold this same exercise monthly, so work at it, train hard, and do your duties. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

My time with the proud Knights of Shurule at an end, I started to mentally plan out a meeting between my new guard and Jord’s group of healers.

“Ah, that’s right, you aren’t acquainted with Luciel yet. This would be a good opportunity to ask any questions,” Catherine announced to my ten new companions.

“Sorry, what?” Questions? Catherine, I am not prepared for that. What was going on in that head of hers? Had her time away from the knights turned it to mush?

A paladin quickly raised his hand. “Sir, may I ask something?”

“Um, sure. Go for it.”

“My name is Palaragus. What are your thoughts on medicinals?”

I definitely hadn’t been expecting that question. And he looked so serious about it that I had to answer sincerely. The problem was, although I’d seen medicinal herbs and such in encyclopedias, I hadn’t really given the subject much thought. I knew there was a Doctor’s Guild of physicians, but they weren’t malicious or particularly interesting. This was a tough one.

Potions came to mind. Those were sort of like medicinals, could heal all manner of wounds, and were a real lifesaver when you were fresh out of magic, so maybe that was what he was getting at.

“I think it’s a fascinating field of study. Doctors have given us potions and dedicated years of their lives to researching how to heal people, all without holy magic.” It wasn’t illegal for healers to use them as well.

“Even an S-rank healer like you uses potions?” Palaragus asked.

“Of course. I use my magic when I can, but if I can’t, or if I’m out of energy, I’ll never hesitate to down one.” I followed my personal creed to a tee: survive, no matter what.

The knights started to make a fuss. I couldn’t have said anything that weird unless the Healer’s and Doctor’s Guilds were enemies or something. In which case, this was yet another bit of ignorance that wasn’t going to fly once I started traveling. I was putting the Church’s authority on the line for the sake of the healers, and ignorance was no one’s fault but my own. A bit of schooling would do me some good.

“Have you studied the subject, sir?” another templar asked.

“No, I’ve just read a few intermediate books on it at an Adventurer’s Guild.”

“An Adventurer’s Guild? The rumors say you used to live at one, but why would you, a healer, do something like that?”

Word sure got around. No harm in coming clean, though.

“I’m surprised you know that. Well, to be honest, I was terrified of seeing adventurers walking around with weapons everywhere, and I wanted to learn how to defend myself.”

“So you went to the Adventurer’s Guild alone? By yourself?”

Everyone stared at me in utter disbelief. What was so weird about that? If living at an Adventurer’s Guild really was that strange, I must have been one lucky guy.

Actually, this entire discussion—me and a bunch of knights shooting the breeze in a huge training field—was stranger than anything else thus far. I locked eyes with Lumina, who smiled and nodded in greeting. I wondered if she’d worried about me after leaving Merratoni back when we’d first met, then immediately felt my face go warm.

“Yep, by myself. At the time, I didn’t know that adventurers hated healers, so I guess you could call it dumb luck that things worked out. No one trusted me at first until they saw how hard I trained. But everyone got sick of me not knowing things, so they started teaching me stuff, and that’s where I first read about medicine. Just don’t expect me to be able to make anything myself.”

“I see,” Palaragus replied. “Thank you for answering my question. I feel like I understand you a little better now.”

Really, all that anyone needed to understand me was a mug of Substance X.

“I’m an open book, so ask me anything any time.”

Something didn’t feel right. I was so used to people’s gazes being filled with discontent, but now they looked almost sympathetic and gentle.

“If there are no more questions, the paladins have laps to run,” Catherine ordered. “Templars, I expect you all to continue training diligently. This concludes today’s joint exercise. You’re dismissed.”

I now had a unit of ten knights, a party of five healers, and absolutely no idea what to do with them. I’d have felt awful letting them sit around and do nothing, though, so I decided to consult Granhart. He seemed like the right person to turn to for matters of leadership.