Confession

After apologizing to the guild staff for causing a brawl inside the guild—and since the other side had started it—I was released without any special punishment. Rebecca and I then left the guild together.

“Still, being able to aim for Second Rank is really amazing.”

“Those words made me really happy.”

Originally, I had thought I could reach Second Rank if I used the power of a divine servant, but being evaluated purely for my swordsmanship made me truly happy.

“I want to at least rise to Fourth Rank too. You and I are both Fifth Rank adventurers, but it feels like you’ll move up really quickly, Luca.”

“Rebecca, your skill with the bow is already impressive, and you’re good with knives too. I think you could reach at least Third Rank. But to move up, you need to secure time to take on requests…”

Rebecca lived in a small apartment with her sick mother and her still-young little sister. Because of that, she could only work as an adventurer during small gaps in her schedule.

Rebecca had always helped me, so this time I wanted to help her somehow…

—Come to think of it, with divine power manipulation I can use light magic, right?

Which meant I could use Heal now. I had heard that curing illness with Heal required continuously casting the spell until the disease was completely cured. Since assembling enough light magic users to maintain that level of healing required enormous wealth, curing diseases was practically impossible—something only royalty or high-ranking nobles could afford.

But since I had become a divine servant, I could use magic almost without restriction. Which meant… maybe I could cure illnesses.

“Lady Seremees, would I be able to cure diseases?”

“Fufu, that’s quite a sudden question.”

“Ah, sorry. It just suddenly occurred to me.”

“It’s fine. As for your question, the answer is yes. The Heal spell in this world becomes more effective the greater the caster’s magical power and the more continuously it can be used. Therefore, aside from illnesses that cause immediate death or diseases whose progression is faster than Heal’s restorative effects, a divine servant can cure them. The same applies to injuries. If the injury progresses faster than Heal’s healing speed it cannot be cured, but otherwise it can.”

So it really was possible…! Then maybe I could cure Rebecca’s mother. The problem was that if I cured her mother, I would have to reveal to Rebecca that I could use light magic—and that I could use it continuously enough to cure illness.

“Lady Seremees, thank you very much. Um… may I tell Rebecca—the girl walking beside me—that I am your divine servant?”

“Let’s see… Generally I would prefer that you do not reveal that you are a divine servant too often, but this girl should be fine. If it’s someone you trust, it’s acceptable. However, remember that if it becomes publicly known that you are a divine servant, you will inevitably be targeted by the servants of other gods. Especially the servants of the God of Destruction—you must be particularly careful of them.”

Being targeted by the servants of the God of Destruction… just imagining it was terrifying. I had to be careful and hide it as much as possible.

Fortunately, I had the excuse that my curse had been lifted. I could claim that I had always been capable, but the curse had suppressed my abilities. I wanted to keep my publicly displayed strength within the limits of what that explanation could justify.

“I’ll be careful.”

“As long as you understand the risks, that’s fine.”

After finishing my conversation with Lady Seremees, I leaned closer to Rebecca, who was looking at me curiously because I had suddenly fallen silent.

“Rebecca, I have something important to tell you. Can we go to your house? I absolutely don’t want anyone else to hear it.”

“…My place only has one room. My mother and little sister are there too. Is that okay?”

“I’d rather avoid that… Maybe we should rent a room at an inn. Ah, would it be scary for you to be alone with me in a room? If you don’t like that, we could sit in a corner of some restaurant or something…”

While I was worrying about how difficult it was to have a private conversation with Rebecca, she smiled happily and took my arm.

“If it’s you, Luca, an inn is fine. I know you’d never do anything I wouldn’t like. Besides, I… wouldn’t mind anything you did to me.”

“Huh? What? Your voice got too quiet at the end.”

When I tilted my head because I could not hear the last part, Rebecca’s face turned bright red and she shook her head vigorously.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so. Then let’s go to an inn—wait a second!”

I had just realized a shocking fact. I had gone to the guild to sell monster materials because I had no money, but the commotion with Adolf and the other adventurers had made me completely forget about it.

“Rebecca, I’m really sorry, but… could we go back to the guild? I have monster materials I can sell, but it seems I forgot to sell them…”

When Rebecca heard that, she burst out laughing cheerfully and nodded.

“O-of course that’s fine. Fufu, hahaha… this is just like you, Luca—always a little scattered.”

“I’m really sorry. I literally have no money right now unless I sell those materials. I’ll run back quickly, so please wait for me!”

With Rebecca seeing me off with a smile, I sprinted back to the guild at full speed, sold the materials, and obtained some money. It was not a large amount, but it was enough to live on for a few days.

Having money really did bring a sense of relief.

“Rebecca, seriously… sorry… haah, haah… thanks for waiting.”

As I tried to catch my breath after running at full speed, Rebecca smiled and took my hand.

“I asked the inn right over there if they had a room available, and they said one room was open. Is that okay?”

“Of course. I’d appreciate that.”

“Then let’s go.”

Rebecca, who seemed happier than usual, pulled me by the hand and we entered the inn. I had her sit on a chair while I sat on the bed facing her.

“By the way, is it really okay that you didn’t go home? What about dinner?”

“Yeah. I already prepared it earlier today, so it’s fine.”

“That’s good.”

Once my concerns were gone, I took a deep breath and looked straight into Rebecca’s eyes as she leaned forward slightly in her chair. Then I slowly opened my mouth.

“What I’m about to tell you might feel unreal and hard to believe, but it’s all the truth.”

“…Alright. I’ll believe you.”

Encouraged by Rebecca’s serious expression, I recalled everything that had happened since this morning—events I still could not fully believe myself. Then I spoke the most important part.

“You see… I became a divine servant. The divine servant of the Goddess of Peace.”