Despite waiting for a long time, there was no response.
“What are you doing?”
It felt strange, so I turned around.
In an instant, I saw the two women frozen, but as soon as I turned, their expressions changed to surprise.
“Wait!”
“Don’t turn like that!”
The two of them hurriedly pulled my clothes back down that had been lifted.
Why are they acting like this?
I’m sure I heard that exposing a man’s upper body isn’t encouraged, but it wasn’t a huge problem either.
“Really, really? Is it okay to put your hands on my back? Is it really okay for me to touch your back?!”
Alios screamed and overreacted.
“I’m the one giving permission, so it’s fine.”
“Even if Ceres gives permission, Count Ares will probably try to kill us.”
“Why would she kill us for healing me?”
“…Well…”
It was frustrating for me, but Alios seemed to be avoiding the real answer.
Then, finally, “Alright. I’ll do it.”
Hames finally responded to my words.
“I just need to place my hands on your back and inject spiritual power, right?”
“Hey, you!”
“Hero Alios, stop making a fuss. According to Ceres Hyperion, this is just a healing act.”
Hames, who agreed, and Alios, who argued, were in the middle of a dispute.
I already gave permission, so why was Alios the one making a scene?
“If you’re not going to do it, then just leave. I’ll call someone else.”
If they’re not going to help and are just hindering me, I can’t do anything about it.
When I said I would call someone else, Alios flinched.
“You’re going to call someone else? Are you going to let someone else touch Ceres’s bare skin, and only leave Hames behind?”
“Yep.”
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
She should have done that earlier.
“Do it properly this time.”
I turned around and exposed my back.
“Alright, alright.”
Though I couldn’t see it, Alios seemed to move first. I heard her voice and then felt her hand touch my back.
“It’s so soft… It doesn’t seem like you’ve been taking care of it, but it’s so smooth and soft!”
That’s not something you should say out loud.
Alios’s hand felt smooth as it touched my back.
“Excuse me.”
Then, Hames’s hand touched my back. Her strong, firm hand felt different, but it brought a strange sensation.
Is this spiritual power?
A certain force entered my body and began to move, but it felt familiar.
The divine power within me seemed to react, wriggling as if welcoming the spiritual power. Maybe they’re like distant cousins?
“Ceres, I’ll inject my mana as well.”
Immediately, Alios’s mana entered me. It felt powerful, like an overwhelming force.
In the original story, Ceres didn’t experience this, right?
What Ceres received was a mage’s mana, but what Alios handles is the mana of a powerful warrior.
It felt energizing, but it was short-lived.
Soon, I began to feel the strain.
What Alios was doing right now was similar to inserting internal energy into someone’s body, like a martial arts training regimen.
It was training, so it was hard for the one receiving it too.
I knew this would be hard because in the original story, Ceres also felt the strain, and I expected the same.
I became extremely tired, but luckily, Hames’s spiritual power helped recover my stamina.
If I felt exhausted from the mana training, the spiritual power would replenish it, and with the response to the spiritual power, my divine power would activate nicely.
The divine power harmonized the two forces, keeping the flow consistent and creating a virtuous cycle.
The key to this healing method was that the three powers supported each other to amplify the efficiency.
“Mm.”
But even though my fatigue was recovering, the feeling of exhaustion didn’t go away.
It kept lingering.
I tried to bear the difficult sensation, but it wasn’t easy.
“Ah, ugh…”
Eventually, a tired groan escaped from my lips, and suddenly the spiritual power and mana injection stopped.
“…Ceres?”
“Why did it stop?”
Both of them asked, but for some reason, their voices were trembling.
“Are you struggling?”
“Mana training is difficult for anyone, so it’s more intense when the mana is strong. It’s no surprise that it’s tough with the mana of the empire’s top hero.”
Of course, with a mana like that, it would be even harder.
I knew that the more effective it was, the quicker it would tire me out.
“I’m fine. Keep going.”
I urged them to continue, despite the hesitation.
“Mana training is tough, but Hames’s spiritual power is helping me recover, so I’m not exhausted.”
“That’s a silly thing to say. There’s a limit to everything. If spiritual power could be the cure-all, mana practitioners would always have priests with them.”
But I can do it.
Thanks to divine power, both forces are supported and the cycle continues.
But I couldn’t say that divine power was the reason, so I just insisted.
“I’m really fine.”
“Then why the moans earlier?”
“I felt good. It was like getting a massage.”
“I’m not a masseuse, you know.”
“I know. But that’s how good it felt.”
I made up a strange excuse as the mana and spiritual power injections continued.
“Ugh, ahhh…”
Maybe they believed me when I said I was fine, because neither of them said anything even as I moaned again.
After some hours passed,
“How long are we going to keep doing this?”
“I think we should head back now.”
It had been a while, so it was time for them to leave.
Normally, I would have preferred they leave quickly, but now was different. I hurriedly stopped them.
“Stay the night!”
“That’s impossible. We need to go back to the temple.”
Hames shook his head in refusal.
“Staying the night is fine, but I think it’s best to stop the mana injections. You look too exhausted.”
Alios requested a halt.
Hey, what do you think I’m doing this for? Do you think I’m enjoying this with you two?
The emperor is worse than both of you combined, and I’m trying to prepare myself before meeting him!!
“Please, please continue!”
“…Alright.”
When I pleaded, Hames reluctantly agreed. Alios also joined in, albeit reluctantly.
Just when I thought I could relax and focus again, I momentarily forgot something.
This world exists to torment me, Ceres.
“Ceres, my lord, I’m sorry to interrupt the treatment, but something urgent has come up.”
After some time passed, a servant knocked. He was standing outside the door, delivering the news.
“There are people who say they need Ceres-sama’s treatment.”
“What are you talking about? I just treated everyone in the territory recently!”
Was there an accident where someone lost their limbs?
I was baffled by the sudden interruption in the middle of my treatment, and the next words were even more shocking.
“They’re from the neighboring territory.”
“What?”
“The count from the neighboring territory came with his people, asking for treatment.”
Were they seeking treatment for some kind of expedition?
I just finished healing our entire territory, and now someone from the neighboring one is coming?
I tried to suppress my frown as I reluctantly paused the treatment.
“Both of you, wait a moment. Help me get up.”
“Yes.”
“Like this?”
Alios grabbed my right side, and after a brief hesitation, Hames grabbed my left side to support me.
With their help, I went out and found a scene of great chaos.
“Go, go already!”
“Why is it so hard to spare some time?!”
Ares was arguing with a woman I had never seen before, both of them pointing fingers at each other.
The woman, with long black hair, was shouting angrily but speaking urgently.
“Ares, you know us well. Please, call your son and have him treat my daughter!”
“I already told you, I can’t do that.”
“I’ll offer a great price. I’ll give you the biggest of the gold mines my family owns.”
“Hurion, I’m sorry, but my child is in a bad state. They’re receiving treatment right now.”
“My daughter is about to die!”
The woman, called Hurion, pointed to someone being carried on a stretcher.
The person, covered in horrific burns, was groaning in pain. The burns were gruesome, to the point where it was hard to tell their gender.
“If it wasn’t for the name ‘daughter,’ you wouldn’t even be able to tell if it was a man or a woman.”
“She was in a fire accident, and her skin is burned all over. She needs treatment immediately, and the closest high-level healer is your son!”
“Please!”
Hurion was pleading, while Ares stood by silently, observing.
As I surveyed the situation, the servant who had informed me whispered quietly.
She had said she would handle everything and not to inform me, but she felt it was important to ask Ceres-sama for his opinion.
I remembered the incident.
Was there a scene like this in the original story?
This seemed like an important situation, but I didn’t recall anything like this.
However, the neighboring territory’s count had been mentioned before. It was a passing reference.
“Ceres, do you know? Your father was about to start a rebellion to find you.”
“That’s a lie. My father would never do such a thing!”
“Luckily, a loyal count from the neighboring territory alerted me before anything happened.”
“That person? He’s a friend of my father’s!”
“There must have been some hidden grudge. He probably hated your father a lot.”
When the tyrant emperor kept his daughter in the palace for an extended period, Ares went mad and was planning to invade the palace. The neighboring count had helped stop it.
Could that count be the woman there?
If so, the reason for hating Ares would be that he refused to treat her injured child like this.
This is crazy! How was I supposed to predict something like this?
When I read the novel, I just thought the two had a bad relationship, but it turns out there was this hidden backstory?
I couldn’t believe I had missed such an important detail.
Thanks to the servant’s words, I was given the opportunity to stop it in advance.
I was about to go to the burned girl, but I couldn’t move.
The two people who had been supporting me stopped suddenly.
“Stop.”
Alios spoke in a serious tone.
“Ceres, your body is not in a normal state.”
“What?”
“You’ve been groaning in pain since earlier! That’s a sign that your body has reached its limit.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. If you use spiritual power to heal such serious injuries in your condition, I don’t know what will happen.”
She still didn’t understand.
Before I could explain again that I was fine, a loud voice interrupted.
“Enough already!”
It was Hames.
“Why do you always try to sacrifice yourself for others?”
What was she saying? Why was Hames suddenly saying something so strange? She looked pained as he spoke.
His voice was full of frustration.
“Ceres Hyperion! Don’t think of others before yourself in this state. If you start living for yourself, no one will say anything!”
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