Chapter XXII - Light Slayer (part 2)

I went back inside while Jrake went to his home. I wonder where his house is.

Cane and the others already received their share of the pay. They are still sitting down at the diner, drinking.

"Here you go!"

She gave me a bag. Like an actual, huge chunk bag. And inside...

"How many are these??"

"A thousand and twenty four Jules."

Bloody hell.

"Killing a single yellow beast is worth at least six hundred Jules. While a white ranked monster, more than a thousand. But in this case, the White rank is still an egg, therefore, we can only pay you less than half, which is four hundred. The twenty four is an extra given by the Office, because you four are wayy too under ranked for this mission. The fact that you guys actually did the mission, is insane."

So a thousand Jules alone was already reduced, because the White ranked is under deep slumber. And they also didn't count the fact that the dragon has grown four wings. So I can't just not accept this.

"Thank you, Klane. I'm not sure how I can ever repay you."

"You can try by entering the academy!"

"No thanks."

I turned around and left the Office after waving my hand at Klane. I glanced at Cane and the others. They are all dead on the table. Too much drinking, guys.

When I finally arrived at my inn, I put down everything from my adventure, and went straight to bed. Without changing my attire.

It's still like, 8 in the morning. But fuck it, I didn't get a good sleep last night. Sleeping now is like a cheese cake... Ahh... I'm slowly falling...

I'm finally back on my bed. This felt sooo greaatt...

.

After waking up, I took a bath and changed into my regular attire. Time for a day off!

I just earned a thousand Jules from that mission yesterday. A thousand Jules... huh. I wonder what I can do with it.

If I'm thinking of saving it for the academy, forget it. It's a drag. You don't need magic.

Though, when I saw Cane's light magic yesterday, it did cross my mind. I could kill monsters easier with that.

But naahh...

I left the Inn for some food. It's way past the second bell. How long was I asleep? Five hours? Six?

I went to a nearby diner to eat, this time. I ordered a large cup of chicken soup. Unlike back in my place, the chicken soup here uses some kind of sweet barbeque sauce and a little bit of chili sauce. Which makes it much better. And that is the normal food around here. I wonder what kind of expensive food that they have.

I left the diner after eating. And then, I just remembered something. 

There is one thing that I have always been wanting to try when I finally got a day off. But for a whole month, I barely have a day off. Every morning for the whole month, I always went out for a mission. Came back during the second bell only to go out again for another mission. 

There are even times when I come home the day after, like yesterday. During days like that, I simply did another mission in the afternoon.

But today will not be like that day.

This time, I will go to the place I have been planning for so long.

I will go to the church.

No I don't mean so I can pray to whatever god they have or anything. Klane said the church opens up a spot for people who wish to learn healing magic for free. And as a return, they will have to heal the people who came to the church every weekend.

If I can learn healing magic, that would help me a ton. From now on, I will be fighting more dangerous monsters. I could get injured, or worse. Which is why I thought a healing magic would come in handy.

The church is located at the western main road, not that far from the market. That area is near where the slums are located, homes for the people who are poor.

I still can't believe how the kingdom still has that issue. Klane said the taxes here are already quite low. But she adds that there is a certain debt collector that beats on the poor. 

The underground community is quite lively here at Mazino. Most likely because they have a person inside the kingdom's castle. Thinking about it grinds my gears.

The church is quite large. It's nearly as big as the Office. No, it's bigger.

It goes all the way to the back, where a lot of activities are being held. Like the weekend healing act, where sick or poor people came to the church to get healed.

I really support that act. I thought that since poor people couldn't afford medications, then using healing magic should already help them a bunch. That's why I wished to help out.

The inside of the church is... Just like a normal church. Chairs, the altar, everything. The only difference is that it's very huge.

There is a single person, sweeping the altar. Oh my god it's one of those old lady nuns.

"Oh, wishing to commit your sins?"

"Eh... No I... I want to learn healing magic."

"Ohh? We don't get many applicants this time of the year. Come with me, young one."

She spoke very smoothly. At first I thought she was like a crazy angry old lady. But she is actually nice. Haha, dumb me.

"You do know if you wish to learn magic, you have to serve the people, do you?"

"I am aware."

"Well, good. Because this season is where the worst is happening."

We took the stairs down. There is an underground church??

"You know, during the cold season, most people who come here only bring colds with them, or you may call them sneezing sickness."

I know flu. Please.

"But during this time of the year, where the sun is extremely hot, it is very difficult to attend them."

"What kind of sickness?"

"Variant. Burned skin, dehydration, heat strokes..."

"That... Makes sense."

"But we never really had a doctor here. The doctors aren't saving people because they wanted to. But because they want to get rich. Do you know how expensive it is to see a doctor here?"

"Oh... I'm not sure I do."

If getting a doctor is as expensive as she said, then Klane or the Office must have paid a lot when they called a doctor for the first time for me.

"Well... It's very expensive."

We arrived at an underground room.

There are a few nuns here. They seemed to be either reading or chatting to one another.

"These are the nuns who wished to serve their whole life. They are like the permanent ones."

"Ohh... Did they come here by their own decision?"

"Some of them. Another... Was bought by the church as a slave from a slave trader. It was much better for them to serve the church than be a slave."

"Oh..."

The church is really where the good people are. I just hope they don't have any dark secrets.

"Don't worry. The church is one of the few instances that was recognized by the kingdom. We aren't doing anything terrible, so don't mind them."

Ah... She read my mind.

We arrived at a wooden door at the end of the big room. The old lady knocked on the door and called the person inside.

"Khel! An applicant is here."

"One second!"

The person inside replies. I can hear some loud noises from inside of the room. Did I just hear a frying pan?

After a while, the door opened. A nun with round glasses came out. She is nearly my height and my age.

"Hello, madam! What have we here?"

"This is a new applicant who just came today. Please, teach her well."

"Ohh... A new applicant. All right. You can leave it to me, madam!"

"Thank you Khel."

The old lady turned to me.

"Have fun."

She left after saying that. Oh no, why am I having a bad feeling?

"Please, come on in."

She went inside the room, so I followed her.

The inside of her room is quite spacious. But it wasn't, because of... her. 

The walls are full of bookshelves. There are a pile of books lying on the ground, chips on the floor, as well as bags full of dirty clothes.

"You... Live here?"

"Well, yeah. The church entrusted this room for me. Aside from me, there are also other nuns who live here. Just not in an underground like this one."

She said while cleaning up her desk. The desk is at the end of her room. There are two chairs at the opposite sides of the table. Behind her chair, there is a window. How is there sunlight underground?

She captured my glance of confusion towards the window. And she understood my confusion.

"Oh... Oh, yeah. Not everything here is underground. This particular area is on the surface. That's why I placed a window there so that air can come in. Otherwise, I would have died from suffocation here."

"That makes sense."

"Please, sit down."

She pointed at the chair right in front of her. Be both sat down at the same time.

"So tell me, Rize. Why do you want to do this?"

Her face turned serious. I guess this is like a job interview.

By 'this' you mean talking here or learning healing magic? I guess learning healing magic makes more sense.

"Well... I wanted to learn healing magic, mostly. But I also wish to help out if there is some 'healing the people' act."

"A lot of people came so they can learn healing magic, and at the same time, they also wanted to help others."

"I guess that's understandable."

"So why do you want to learn healing magic?"

"The biggest reason is because I am an adventurer. Having an ability to heal could be essential for me and for others who work with me."

"True. Because you guys risked your life, and getting wounded is part of the process. So you needed the healing magic to close up that problem?"

"That is correct."

"Hmm. Just so you know, a lot of people have come here. They said they wanted to help with the healing sessions. But in reality, they only came at one healing session. They left after that and never returned."

"What? Why?"

She stood up from her desk. She grabbed a scroll at the library, separated from the other books. She put down the scroll at the table.

"Read it. That's the note of the person who left after one session."

I opened the scroll.

'Hello, fellow nuns and priests of the Mazino Great Church!

This is from Baren. The guy who came a few days ago for the healing weekend act.

After learning the healing magic from you guys, I was confident that I could handle healing other people... But I was wrong.

After that day, I have been sick. Like, very sick. Looks like what people said is true, that line of job does have a side effect after all.

Not only does the sickness of the people spread to you, but also the magic exhaustion causes you to be imminent to the sickness from the people. I checked in with the doctors, and they said I'm sick because of the magic exhaustion lowering my body's immune system. Thanks to that, I could get easily sick when my magic ran out.

Which is why, I decided I do not want to come by for another healing session. I mean don't get me wrong. You guys are great. I looked up to you guys. For you to be able to hold on to the sickness, I admire you so much.

But, I only live once. I can't just live with the sickness all the time. Sorry.

Best regards,

Baren.'

.

"When... When was this person left the church?"

Khel already sat down when I was reading.

"A long time ago. After that, people realized how much toll it would take. Less people started coming here."

"Ah... Then how come you guys aren't sick?"

"We did. Sometimes. No, a lot of the time. We called a doctor to look after the nuns. In the end, to heal, we have to pay."

"Oh... You guys must be in a difficult spot."

"Yes. Thank god for the funding from the kingdom. Otherwise, the church wouldn't be able to continue this healing act."

"Hmm..."

She turned her head and put the scroll back after folding it.

"So, what will you do? Will you accept it, or-"

"Obviously, I will accept it."

She turned confused.

"Wait, you saw what the guy said, right?"

"I did. And I'm aware of the issue. Due to magic exhaustion from healing multiple people, the healers were imminent to the sickness the people have. But this problem won't affect me."

"What... How so?"

"You'll see."

I grinned. She smiled as an answer to my smile. Then she took out a paper. It's a form.

"All right then. Would you mind filling this up?"

"Sure."

I picked up the pen at the end of the table. I have been reading and writing for the past month, so I'm pretty much good at it. I wish it was this easy when I learned Arabic, though.

I filled out the form. It only asked my name, occupation, yada-yada-yada. After filling it up, I gave it back to her. She read it for a second to confirm, then rolled the form into a scroll and put it under her desk.

"All right. Now come with me."

She stood up and walked to the door. I followed and we both left the room.

We went up the stairs again. But when we reached the top, we walked to the back. Oh lord, it is a house after all.

There is a kitchen, bedrooms, and a living room. There aren't many nuns here. But there are some sitting in the living room. Some of the bedrooms aren't close, and I can see a nun without her outfit sleeping. She has a towel on top of her head. Is she sick?

Khel followed my glance and looked at the bedroom.

"That's Pei. She is sick from the last healing act. The doctors have checked on her. Even us tried healing her, but her sickness kept on getting worse."

"Oh..."

She kept on walking towards the back. We arrived in some sort of park. An older nun was sitting under the tree where chairs out of stone are placed. She is enjoying her tea while reading. This place really is good to chill.

"Miss Jen! I brought company."

"Ah, Khel!"

We both stopped right in front of her. Behind me, there is also a chair. But seeing how Khel hadn't sat yet, I didn't sit down.

"Please, sit down."

And we both sat down.

"Is this another applicant, Khel?"

"Yes, she just came today, Miss Jen."

"Oh."

She turned her face to me.

"Are you sure you are up for what is coming? You could get sick."

"I am aware. And I am up for it."

"All right then. Don't blame me if you started sneezing."

"Then, I will be leaving her with you."

Khel stood up.

"Yes, thank you Khel."

Khel left the park. It's just me and her.

"Tell me young lady. Have you ever tried magic before?"

Hmm I'm not sure. Does the sword air slash count as magic? I guess it does, but I can't be sure.

"I'm not sure. I don't think so."

"Hmm. This will be a difficult lesson then."

Her way of talking is very calming.

She closed her book and lifted her tea. She took a drink and finished it quickly. I guess this would take a while.

"Then."

She put down the glass next to her.

"Let's begin."