Chapter 31
*
A few hours later.
We were able to go back up with the head butler, who had received our call and come down to meet us.
“Head butler. Would it be all right if we stopped by the cathedral before we leave?”
“Understood, young master. I’ll explain things to Master and Madam for you, so take your time.”
As expected of the head butler.
I’d like to have one of those excellent assistants, too.
Just in case, I turned to Eri.
Rumble—fwooo.
Eri was sleeping with the happiest expression in the world.
She was even using my thigh as a footrest and sleeping as carefree as could be.
How was that supposed to be an assistant?
‘Expecting Eri to become like the head butler... is impossible, after all.’
Eri and the word delicacy didn’t seem capable of coexisting.
I shook my head and brushed off the silly thought.
Before long, the car arrived in front of the cathedral.
As soon as the black limousine stopped in front of the cathedral, the holy knight guarding the entrance politely spoke up.
“What brings you here, brother?”
“My companion is in bad shape from a curse right now. Would it be possible to treat him?”
“Understood. Lay the patient over here.”
The apprentice priests immediately loaded Otto onto a stretcher.
Then we were guided to the high priestess’s examination room.
Since we had come by car, the guidance assumed I was a noble.
‘Normally, senior priests would probably be by appointment only.’
But without any waiting line or reservation, we were able to sit down in the high priestess’s examination room right away.
Sad to say, even a religion that preaches equality and love cannot remain completely detached in the face of capital and power.
After laying the collapsed Otto on the bed.
I sat across from the high priestess of healing, with a desk between us.
A voice belonging to an elderly woman came from beyond the veil.
“Good day, young master. What kind of curse was the patient exposed to?”
“The curse of pus was slightly deflected.”
Strictly speaking, he had suffered a breakthrough infection, but explaining that would require introducing the concept of vaccines first, so I glossed over it.
If I started from vaccines, there was a chance I might end up getting burned at the stake.
“Fortunately, the patient’s own resistance was high, so he managed to avoid a direct hit. It seems to have stopped at severe cold symptoms, muscle pain, and a high fever.”
“Has pus formed?”
“It hasn’t even been a few hours since he was hit, so I don’t think so yet.”
“I see.”
Then the high priestess continued the consultation.
“Have you checked his urine?”
“The color was fine.”
“What about his breathing?”
“I didn’t hear any wheezing or wet sounds.”
“You’ve organized the symptoms very well. By any chance, are you aspiring to become a healing priest?”
“Yes.”
Strictly speaking, I’m a doctor.
“Understood. Based on what you’ve told me, young master, it doesn’t seem like any special healing magic will be necessary. Basic healing magic should have him recover in no time.”
“Thank you, priestess.”
“Then let’s move to the treatment room.”
The high priestess, Otto on the stretcher, and I headed to the treatment room.
Creeeak.
As the heavy door opened, a blindingly white space greeted us.
Even the marble tiles adorning the walls, ceiling, and floor.
It was a room painted over in flawless white, without a speck of dust or a single stain.
The faint smell of soothing oil tickled my nose.
“Please lay the patient here.”
Beyond the altar the high priestess pointed to stood a massive Y-shaped cross.
And a statue of a woman draped in sheer cloth hung from that cross with her arms spread wide.
At the statue’s feet, clear water was flowing down.
Starting from the place where the nails had been driven, thin streams of water flowed over the feet and gathered along grooves toward the center of the magic circle on the floor.
‘Mercy, sacrifice, pure white, purification... and harmony.’
Every instrument and arrangement filling this room had been tuned for a single blind miracle called “healing.”
‘Still, divine magic is magic too.’
Feng shui really is important, in its own way.
Especially in a world where you can’t even see the sun.
With practiced motions, the high priestess laid Otto beneath the Y-shaped statue, then slowly brought her hands together and began a prayer.
I took a step back so I wouldn’t interfere with the treatment.
“O you who bore the fruit of suffering upon the branch of mercy….”
As the divine power flowing from the high priestess’s fingertips seeped into Otto’s body, his ragged breathing began to noticeably ease.
Scratch, scratch.
I took out a notebook and pen from my pocket and started taking notes on the high priestess’s chants.
‘Maybe I can get some inspiration from this.’
In the end, divine magic is just an extension of magic.
The only difference is that the resource is divine power, but the importance of symbols and incantations remains unchanged.
But strangely enough, magic that heals people does not exist in this world.
The miracle of healing people was instead concentrated in divine magic.
So whenever I had the chance, I was studying the symbols of divine magic.
With the thought that perhaps I could reproduce that miracle with pure magic instead of divine magic.
Of course, there had been no progress for years.
Scratch, scratch.
That was when only the sound of my pen scratching across the notebook and the high priestess’s prayers filled the quiet treatment room.
“To try to confine a miracle within the frame of logic. What a daring notion.”
At the unfamiliar voice that suddenly came from behind me, I reflexively hunched my shoulders.
‘Shit, you startled me.’
Fortunately, thanks to the acting I had practiced since I was four, I didn’t blurt out an expletive on reflex.
I turned around.
There stood an old man with a coat draped over his shoulders like a cloak, looking down at me.
He was a dapper-looking old man, with a large scar visible beneath the eyepatch covering his right eye.
His remaining left eye was fixed on my notebook.
I closed the notebook I’d been writing in and opened my mouth.
“Excuse me….”
“Shh.”
The old man brought his index finger to my lips.
He gestured with his chin toward the statue beneath the Y.
“The priestess is in the middle of performing a miracle, is she not? Let’s lower our voices so we don’t disturb her.”
I nodded.
Then, lowering my voice as much as I could, I whispered in a mosquito-like squeak.
“Are you here to see the priestess?”
“Ah. I came by to pick up some holy water. It’s rare for a high priestess to be working at this hour, though. I didn’t expect to find anyone here before me.”
The old man answered in a hushed whisper as well.
“Holy water?”
“Yes. I’m also very interested in divine magic, just like you. I have some things I need it for in my research.”
I looked the old man up and down.
For someone who’d come to buy holy water, his clothes and atmosphere seemed far removed from religion.
If I judged from the “just like you” part, then...
“Are you a mage?”
“Hm? Usually people ask whether I’m a mage or a wizard, no?”
“There are bloodstains on your sleeve. I figured you’re the type who prefers the field over the laboratory. Am I wrong?”
“Hoho. Not only daring, but also a clever little wizard, I see.”
The old man’s gaze shifted to the notebook in my hand.
“Then I suppose I should apologize. I committed the rudeness of looking into a grimoire without realizing you were a wizard.”
To a wizard, a grimoire is no different from their life.
Peeking into such a grimoire without permission was an insult that could easily turn into a life-or-death duel between mages.
“As a fellow walking the path of magic, I should apologize.”
“Not at all. It’s not really something I’d call a grimoire.”
I shook my head and opened the notebook again.
“If you want to look, please do. It’s only notes for now.”
“Hmm….”
The old mage rubbed the stubble on his chin.
After emitting a low hum for a while, he opened his mouth again.
“Even a draft is still a grimoire. An idea is just as precious as a discovery.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
“Allow me to make amends. I happen to be doing research similar to yours. Would showing you my grimoire be enough of an apology?”
Oh.
What an unexpected stroke of luck.
At this sudden encounter with fate, I accepted without hesitation.
“Would you allow this foolish young wizard to take a brief peek at the wisdom of an elder?”
“Hoho. A wizard friend unusually mature for his age. Very well. I’ll give you my grimoire as well.”
He took a notebook from his pocket and handed it to me.
“This is….”
“Take it. It’s a copy of my grimoire. It’ll disappear in a week, so copy it somewhere else beforehand.”
I rubbed the notebook the old mage had handed me.
Only then did I feel the faintest trace of mana at my fingertips.
It meant this notebook had been duplicated by magic.
‘My God….’
I looked up at the old man with wide eyes.
Unless he was some unusual person, there was no way he’d carry a grimoire copy around in advance, so he must have duplicated it just now.
The problem was that I hadn’t detected any incantation or spell formula a moment ago.
‘Then...’
Goosebumps rose all over my body.
The old man’s rank as I sensed it now was Rank One.
Of course, I had considered the possibility that his rank was higher, but I began to suspect it might be immeasurably higher than that.
I froze in place, unable to hide my shock.
Then the old man gave a kindly smile and lightly tousled my hair.
“Don’t be too surprised, junior. It’s just a small trick brought about by age.”
“I’ve learned a lot, elder.”
“Indeed.”
The old man who had been ruffling my hair murmured,
“…Good eyes. They’re as clear and deep as the night sky, true to your name.”
Huh?
I almost asked back without thinking.
Night sky?
In a world where you can’t even see the sun, could the night sky be clear?
Isn’t that metaphor somehow off?
Besides, I never told him my name.
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not.
The old man only wore a meaningful smile.
Our subtle tension ended together with the high priestess’s prayer.
“…As the tears of the branch reach the roots, new leaves shall sprout from the roots.”
The high priestess lowered her hands as she finished the final prayer.
The faint white light that had been drifting through the treatment room also faded away.
I immediately checked Otto’s condition.
His rough breathing had become as even as a baby’s.
“Phew….”
The high priestess, who had been praying beneath the statue, also let out a long breath.
She stood up from her seat and turned toward us.
Spotting the one-eyed old man standing behind me, she flinched in surprise and immediately bowed deeply.
“My, elder. Today was the day you were coming, wasn’t it? Please wait just a moment.”
The high priestess welcomed the uninvited old man without a trace of displeasure.
“I think I’ll only need three bottles of holy water today.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare them right away.”
The high priestess began collecting holy water from the base of the Y-shaped statue.
Meanwhile, the old man took out a few silver coins from his robe and placed them on the altar.
“A donation.”
“We’re always grateful, elder. Ah, I’ll check on the patient first and speak with you again.”
“Sorry. I interrupted.”
After that, the high priestess informed me of Otto’s precautions.
Summed up, they were as follows.
— Just go home for now, and if you start coughing again, come straight back to the cathedral.
— For a few days, the divine power left in your body will make magic difficult to use, but it’ll all evaporate in two days, so don’t worry.
— On the way home, don’t pick up anything weird and don’t collect any strange dolls either.
I memorized the high priestess’s instructions and took Otto back to the car.
Before leaving the treatment room, I met the old mage’s eyes.
Wink.
The old man winked with his left eye.
“Take care. My name is written in the notebook. Let us hope our paths cross again if fate wills it.”
“Thank you, elder.”
I bowed to the old man and left the treatment room.
Then, just before getting back into the car, I suddenly remembered something.
‘Huh? Come to think of it...’
During that conversation just now...
I couldn’t remember the mage ever opening his mouth.
***
“Elder. What on earth did you talk about with that young master to make you look so cheerful?”
“Heh heh. It’s a secret.”
After Julian had left.
The two old men sitting across from each other in the high priestess’s examination room spoke.
The old mage, who had been called elder, crossed his legs and said,
“Chief Priestess—”
“I’m not the chief priestess anymore. I handed the position to my junior five years ago. Why do you still call me that?”
“Hm? Sorry. The older I get, the more five years and yesterday start to feel like the same thing.”
Hoho.
The old mage let out a hearty laugh and continued.
“Anyway, Chief Priestess. How are the black mages these days?”
“Their methods have changed. Instead of proselytizing like they used to, they’re scattering their grimoires around to make black magic easier to get into.”
“Are they hard to catch?”
“Even the church can’t stop people from self-studying.”
“Hmm….”
“That said, because it’s self-study, the quality is declining compared to the apprentice system.”
“But the quantity can’t be ignored. I’m asking you. Reclaim as many of the black mages’ grimoires as you can.”
“Understood, elder.”
The high priestess bowed her head.
Then, suddenly remembering something, the old mage added,
“Ah, and just in case, do not confiscate the grimoire of that child who just left.”
“Pardon? You mean the one you gave him, elder?”
“Not that one. I mean the black mage’s grimoire you just said should be reclaimed. There was a very blood-soaked one tucked inside that junior’s clothes.”
“…What?!”
The high priestess’s eyes widened as big as saucers.
“Th-then we should send the knights to confiscate it immediately...! N-No, elder, even knowing that, why did you just let him go? And you even added your magic to it!”
The old man burst out laughing at the startled high priestess.
“There’s something I need to verify. Trust me and leave him alone for now.”
“Elder….”
“I’m asking you. Don’t worry. If it looks like the child is going off the rails, I’ll stop him right then and there.”
The old mage turned his head and looked out the examination room window.
Far away.
A black limousine could be seen heading up to Sanctum Hill.
“Youth is a wonderful thing. Watching those fresh ideas unfold is one of the pleasures left in life, isn’t it?”
*
Meanwhile, at the same time, inside the limousine on the way back to the mansion.
By the flickering light from the car window, Julian carefully opened the first page of the copied notebook the old mage had given him.
‘Fitz, was it? What an unusual name.’
Julian memorized the name written in the notebook.
‘It doesn’t seem like his real name, but whatever.’
Because, by the conventions of the genre, this encounter probably wouldn’t be the end of it.