Two hours after sunrise, Reg shook Suna awake in the study.
He had spent the night sleeping in the infirmary.
“Wake up, Suna. That underground labyrinth you were researching— it’s opened. The Academy has ordered an emergency assembly.”
“Mm-hmm…”
Suna stretched with a groan, her dark circles especially prominent.
“Where’s Truth?”
She instinctively glanced around the study.
Truth was nowhere to be seen, which prompted her to immediately check the mark on her neck.
It was still there— last night hadn’t been a dream…
“I’m right here.”
Just then, Truth’s pleasant voice came from outside the study door.
She had gone to retrieve her clothes from the innkeeper, which had cost her three silver coins.
She now wore a holy white priestess robe, symbolizing devotion to the Goddess of Life.
The flowing garment shimmered like moonlight, softly draping over her petite frame.
Her frost-like silver bob cut hung neatly on either side of her face, swaying gently in the breeze.
Her round little face bore eyes filled with endless gentleness, as if they could pierce through one’s soul and perceive all the good and evil in the world.
Both Suna and Reg were momentarily stunned.
She was… quite literally the perfect priest in their minds.
Only, her danger level was yet to be determined.
With that thought, Suna made up her mind— she was going to take Truth to the Academy to find the best priest available to perform an exorcism!
Twenty minutes later, at the Deya Magic Academy.
Despite the name, the Academy taught more than just magic.
Take Reg, for example— he had no magical aptitude, but his physical prowess was outstanding.
He could fight and take hits, and was in high demand within the Academy.
Even more valuable, though, were the rare functional classes— elemental priests, contract users, healers, and the nearly extinct bards.
With the labyrinth newly opened, the Academy was bustling with activity today.
It was the perfect opportunity to raise one’s Adventurer Guild ranking.
The higher your ranking, the greater the rewards.
After all, this world still revolved around adventuring.
Sandwiched between Suna and Reg, Truth easily slipped into the Academy and arrived in front of a chapel-like building.
“That demon wouldn’t let me talk about what happened last night. I’m scared that if I say anything, the mark on me will change. But you can— you just have to go in and tell High Priestess Tia you want an exorcism. She’s the head of the Priest Division.”
Suna whispered in Truth’s ear before promptly shoving her inside. She’d come back to fetch her later.
“Another exorcism? Sigh…”
What did demons ever do to deserve this? Truth sighed and walked inside.
The air was filled with a peaceful aroma that made one feel at ease, and a large wooden table was covered with books.
Beside the table sat another woman in a white priestess robe, though hers was several sizes larger than Truth’s.
The blonde priestess set down her book, and her pale green eyes— framed by large glasses— curiously studied Truth.
Truth, for her part, was also checking out the woman from head to toe, eyes gleaming.
She wasn’t one for flowery compliments, but in her words:
“Such big boobs. Such a big ass…”
Even the loose priestess robes couldn’t hide those massive curves— hips like sweet ripe peaches, paired with a face radiating maternal warmth…
Damn, how can someone this lewd-looking exist?
Compared to her, could it be that she was the real priest of this world?
Truth lowered her gaze to her own modestly curved figure, and a strange sense of defeat washed over her…
Wait a minute. I’m a guy! Why am I thinking about this?!
Truth quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts.
“What’s the matter, dear?” Priestess Tia set her book aside and curiously pulled Truth closer for a quick examination. “What’s your name? I don’t recall seeing you around the Academy before.”
There were only fifteen priest trainees enrolled this year, and Tia could recognize every one of them.
So where did this little thing come from?
“So big…” Truth mumbled dazedly, eyes fixed on the looming curves before her.
“So big?”
“No, no. I’m Truth. I’m from out of town. My friend suspects I’ve been possessed by a demon, so she told me to come here for an exorcism or something.”
“I see.” Tia gently touched Truth’s face, wiping away the drool from the corner of her mouth.
She didn’t sense anything unusual.
Then she picked up the crystal staff beside her— over a meter tall— and gave it a little wave.
In the next second, a strange life force began to swirl around Truth.
As the only mid-tier priest in Deya City, Tia was known locally as the “High Priestess.”
Honestly, she found the title a little embarrassing— she was only Tier 4 on paper, and even the Tier 7 seniors wouldn’t dare call themselves high priests…
A moment later, Tia noticed that Truth wasn’t rejecting the life energy at all— there were no signs of demonic possession whatsoever.
“You’re not possessed by a demon,” she said gently. “But from the look in your eyes, it seems like something else is bothering you. Would you like to talk about it? I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
That blend of admiration and self-doubt in Truth’s eyes was something Tia knew all too well.
She often saw it in teenagers going through puberty.
As the head of the academy, helping students navigate emotional issues was part of her duty!
Truth looked up at her, her innocent little face meeting Tia’s warm, smiling gaze.
“In that case… can I touch your boobs?”
“Sure—wait, what?!”
……
On the Academy field, Suna let out a long sigh.
She hadn’t been able to find her history teacher— he’d been urgently dispatched to the labyrinth to study ancient ruins.
That meant he couldn’t help her research Truth.
Instead, another magic instructor had told her to hurry and form a party for the dungeon dive.
There was no helping it. The labyrinth was a once-in-a-century opportunity. Suna quickly called over Reg and another student, intending to form a four-person team with Truth.
Before long, Truth stepped out of Tia’s office with a deep exhale, looking thoroughly refreshed and in excellent spirits.
“Over here, Truth! How was it with Dean Tia? She’s super gentle, right?” Suna waved enthusiastically.
“Mhm. Definitely big,” Truth replied, looking quite pleased.
“Big… uh, you mean about your condition?”
“The exorcism? I’m totally fine. No need to worry. Don’t take what the books say as absolute— this mark is nothing serious. Just make sure not to leak anything about it. It’ll disappear on its own after a while.”
As long as Truth didn’t go out of her way to hunt, the mark would automatically vanish in about a year when the mission expired.
“That’s what the Dean said? That’s great news!” Suna sighed in relief too, clearly delighted.
“Oh, right— Truth, the Academy just issued us a mission. We need to form a party and explore the underground labyrinth. Want to come? I can even get you a brand-new magic staff!”
“Adventuring? As long as I get to heal people, that’s fine with me.”
Perfect timing. Truth had originally planned to head to the black market and cobble together a random party— which would’ve made killing and looting more convenient.
But if Suna’s group took the lead, it’d save her a lot of trouble.
“Yay! Our team finally has what every party dreams of— a dedicated healer! Oh, and let me introduce another teammate— Anderson. He’s a Tier 1 warrior too.”
From behind Suna, a tall, lanky young man with a buzz cut stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you, Priestess. Please take care of me.”
Truth stared at him for a moment… Ah, an old acquaintance. She smiled.
“Hello, Mister Mole.”
“Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!” ……
Tftc!
damn