The conversation with the mercenaries had ended, but the knight still hadn’t returned. The same went for the female employee.
I wondered what they were doing, as it was still silent, and as time passed, doubts began to grow.
The female employee and the knight appeared later than we expected.
As soon as I saw their appearances, my doubts turned into certainty.
‘Wow~ I didn’t expect this at all…’
I was grateful to the knight who had protected me, but I never prayed for him to be this happy.
The knight’s appearance when he returned.
He might have tidied his clothes, but the lipstick marks on his lips and his disheveled hair inevitably made me imagine unpleasant things.
‘This bastard, 100% did it.’
The mercenary, probably having similar thoughts, looked at them with contempt in his eyes.
“Hmm, are you finished with the conversation?”
The female employee, her lips noticeably redder than before, straightened her back and spoke.
“Cough!!”
The knight, who had initially acted shamelessly, seemed to realize he had been caught when he saw our gazes. He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. I debated whether to point it out or not, but then spoke.
“Yes. You can proceed with the contract.”
“I understand. Please sign here and here.”
With the female employee’s help, the knight seemed to have given up on being stubborn.
He didn’t say anything while I was filling out the contract.
Thanks to that, we were able to sign the document the female employee handed over without any issues.
“Thank you for the opportunity.”
The mercenary bowed her head in thanks, and I ended with a blessing, hoping for the favor of the Sun God.
I couldn’t show too much familiarity in front of the knight, so it was unavoidable.
After parting ways with the mercenary and heading back.
The knight asked me a question.
“Did you think it over carefully before making your decision? I didn’t say much because I thought it was a matter for the priest to decide, but I feel uneasy.”
He had been embarrassed about getting caught fooling around with the woman and was now pretending otherwise.
“We talked it through and made the decision. It should be fine.”
“Ahem! Once again, if anything happens, be sure to let me know. If you need to go to the guild, make sure to call me.”
“…Yes.”
I answered with an obligatory response, unable to hide my discomfort.
“That knight is back again.”
“Again? Seriously, Priest Arthur really has it tough.”
Whisper, whisper—
It was a known fact that someone was hospitalized in the special ward. However, up until now, no one had shown any interest in the special ward.
It wasn’t their responsibility.
But as time passed, rumors began to spread about the patient in the special ward who kept calling for Priest Arthur.
How seriously ill could someone be to call for someone that many times a day?
“It didn’t seem like that before…”
“Could their life be in danger?”
“Seems surprising. Honestly, I thought Priest Arthur could heal any disease.”
“I’ve never seen it, but doesn’t it seem a bit much to say he can cure everything?”
“Isn’t he almost at that level? Every time we’ve had a patient we couldn’t treat, he’s healed them.”
“Right? I’ve never seen him fail to heal someone.”
There’s a reason the healers liked Priest Arthur.
When you’re in trouble, if you ask for help, sometimes he’ll solve the problem without a second thought.
Is he a bad boss?
No! He’s a kind-hearted person, so rare that he hardly raises his voice.
Does he give you too much work?
Not at all! If he sees you struggling while working, he’ll come over and help without hesitation.
He shares knowledge without hesitation, and when there’s a problem, he solves it for you.
How could you hate him?
There were countless times he had helped.
No one could say they hadn’t received his favor.
In fact, if anyone hated him, they must have been crazy.
“He didn’t earn the title of youngest chief healer for nothing.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Hmm, we should think about it more.”
It was a disease that Priest Arthur couldn’t heal, so much so that he had to be called to the hospital multiple times a day.
There was no way anyone could replace him and try to treat it themselves.
While the priests were discussing how to help him feel more at ease, a pretty young girl approached them.
“Excuse me.”
“?”
The girl, so beautiful that she caught everyone’s attention, spoke in an unusual tone.
“Excuse me, I need to ask you something.”
She looked like a girl from a noble family, so the priests hesitated to speak carelessly and responded cautiously.
“Yes, what can we do for you?”
“I heard my sister is here, so I came to find her.”
“Your sister?”
Her sister was at the treatment center?
“Take me to her.”
The girl, clearly raised with grace and nobility, had an air of refinement. The priests spoke to her with utmost courtesy, knowing that treating her recklessly could cause trouble.
“Uh… pardon me, but what is your sister’s name?”
If she had just briefly visited the center and left after her treatment, the girl’s visit would be in vain. However, if her sister was still a patient, they could guide her.
“That, I cannot say.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s unthinkable to tell anyone my sister’s name! I will never reveal it.”
Without the name, how were they supposed to find her?
“If you do not tell us her name, we won’t be able to find her for you.”
“Isn’t it obvious if you look at my face?! I resemble my sister! I’ve heard that all my life. You should be able to recognize her right away!”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t find her just by appearance.”
If the patient was as beautiful as the girl, it might have been possible, but sadly, none of the priests here could recall anyone with a face similar to hers.
“Have you ever seen such frustrating people?! Since you can’t understand me, there’s nothing I can do. Bring the person in charge immediately!”
The girl, whether she was a noble’s daughter or not, certainly had been raised in a very strict household.
The priests were at a loss, not knowing how to handle her attitude.
‘Should we just kick her out?’
‘She clearly seems to be from a noble family. What if we cause trouble for the temple by doing that?’
‘Let’s just hand this over to someone higher up. This might be out of our hands.’
In the end, the priests decided to report the situation to someone higher up, though not the head priest, someone with equivalent authority.
‘Since Priest Arthur is busy, let’s find someone else.’
‘It’s probably better to speak with Priest Ando.’
There was also Priest Chilan, but he probably wouldn’t handle it as calmly as Priest Ando would.
So, the priests decided to go with Priest Ando.
Unfortunately, one of the priests, now assigned to lead, had the mysterious girl following behind as they headed to where Priest Ando was.
After returning from treating Princess Kanabi, Priest Ando was about to continue seeing other patients, but he noticed the priests huddled together, talking.
Knowing that Priest Ando often called for me during my shifts, I approached to let him know I was back.
“Did you find your sister?”
“Priest Ando must have handled it well.”
“I thought it might have been better to ask Priest Chilan for help instead of Priest Ando.”
“I’m here now.”
“Ah, Priest Arthur!”
“What are you talking about so amusingly?”
As I made my presence known and approached, they started discussing the ongoing topic.
“The girl came here to find her sister?”
“Yes. I wonder if Priest Arthur knows her. He knows the faces of all the inpatients, right?”
“Of course, I do.”
“She seemed to have been raised very well. She said she couldn’t just tell anyone her name.”
It was only natural not to tell strangers one’s name, especially since revealing it could lead to dangerous situations like kidnapping.
However, not telling her name at a treatment center seemed odd.
“There were no attendants around. She seemed like a younger sister who had sneaked away to find her ill sister.”
“So, where is she now? You didn’t just let her go, did you?”
“No. She insisted on staying until she found her sister, so I informed Priest Ando. He’s probably looking after her now.”
They had left the girl with Priest Ando, someone as cold as him? It might have been better to leave her with Priest Chilan…
The thought of the girl potentially being mistreated made me hurry to Priest Ando’s office.
Knock, knock, knock—
“Priest Ando, this is Priest Arthur.”
“Come in.”
At Priest Ando’s invitation, I opened the door, and the first thing that caught my eye was the girl.
“Ah, you’ve arrived just in time.”
“Yes. I heard you’re looking for family members. Is that true?”
“I came to find my sister!”
As soon as the girl’s face entered my line of sight, I knew exactly who she was looking for.
She was the one who had been so secretive about her name, and up until now, I wasn’t sure if I would recognize someone coming to look for her based only on their face…
“I see who you’re looking for now.”
“See! I told you! Didn’t I say you’d recognize me?”
How could I not recognize her?
Her face and mannerisms were strikingly similar to her sister’s.
The girl beamed at me, as if she had finally received the confirmation she wanted.
“Could you really tell just by looking at my face?”
Priest Ando seemed surprised and asked, “Is that so?”
“Yes. Would it be all right if I take her with me?”
“Let’s go! I should have met my sister sooner, but it’s been so late!”
“Of course. Take her now.”
Priest Ando, clearly relieved to be rid of the troublesome girl, nodded eagerly.
The girl sprang up from her seat and rushed past me, bursting through the door.
“Why are you standing there? Hurry up and lead the way!”
“…Yes.”
Indeed, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Actually, looking at her, it seemed the younger sister was even more audacious than the older one.
As we walked, the girl seemed curious about me and asked a question.
“From the way you recognized me right away, it seems like you’ve seen my sister often. Are you the priest in charge of her treatment?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then why is my sister still not fully healed?” she asked with a hint of frustration.
“It’s best to hear the details directly from her.”
Since I didn’t know the exact relationship between the girl and Princess Kanabi, I couldn’t speak carelessly about her condition.
After all, the girl was probably part of the royal family too. Without knowing the full details of their relationship, I couldn’t reveal any private information.