Chapter 84
"I did it... I did it!"
A cry of joy rang out through the church, where adventurers and traveling merchants injured outside the city gathered for treatment.
Everyone turned to look. There they saw Alice pumping her fist in triumph, while Tina, David, and Kururu watched her with equally delighted expressions.
"Ho ho ho! Your hard work over these past five days has paid off. I'm as happy as if it were my own achievement."
"Thank you, David-san!"
Five days had passed since Alice resolved to learn healing magic.
For those five days, Alice had gone to the church after finishing work, where Tina and Kururu taught her magic and put her through rigorous training.
Even late at night, with the moon and stars shining overhead, Valman was always bustling with activity. The church, tucked away at the end of a street lined with homes, was no exception; it worked around the clock to care for injured adventurers like these.
The church also housed a small library where local residents came to study, and it was a gathering place for injured adventurers as well. It was the perfect place to learn healing magic efficiently.
A moment ago, Alice had offered to help an adventurer who had come in with an injury. She'd put what she'd learned over the past five days to use and successfully healed the wound with magic. That was why she was so happy.
"You learned attack magic right away, so I thought you'd pick up healing magic just as quickly, but it took a fair bit of time. Make sure you don't forget how it feels."
"Yeah, I finally got the hang of it. It's all thanks to you, Tina-san!"
Seeing Alice smile with joy from the bottom of her heart, Tina bashfully patted her on the head and murmured, "Well... I'll teach you again anytime, okay? ...Though I'm still training myself."
"You must have been tired after work, but... Tina-san, Kururu-san, David-san, thank you so much."
"It's all right. I wanted to do it. With Kagami-san away, my own training was on hold for a while... And it gave me a chance to properly study magic again for the first time in ages."
"I agree with Kururu-sama. Besides, if Alice-sama, who is always with Kagami-sama, becomes stronger, that will ultimately benefit everyone."
"Yeah. Thanks to you, I'll be able to help Kagami-san a little more."
In the past five days, Alice had learned three types of magic. One kind created flames, another produced explosions—the type Menou excelled at—and the third was the healing magic she'd just mastered.
Many demons used fire- and explosion-type magic. They likely had an aptitude for those types, much as humans had different aptitudes for the roles of Priest and Mage. Just as they'd expected, Alice quickly got the hang of fire and explosion magic and learned to use them.
Even so, learning three kinds of magic in such a short time was extraordinary. Although she shouldn't have had any aptitude for healing magic, she'd mastered even that in just five days, albeit at a beginner level. Tina and Kururu couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive, wondering, "Is this, too, a feat only a demon could accomplish?"
They began to wonder if, with continued instruction, Alice might master even the kinds of magic she had no natural aptitude for, become a tremendously powerful Mage, and turn into a threat to humanity.
Even so, Kururu and Tina taught her magic without hesitation.
They believed Alice would be all right, even though she was a demon. They trusted her that much. They accepted Alice as a person in her own right, not as a demon or a human.
"Rex-san praised your talent, too. He even said, 'Why can't I... do it?!' Of course you can't use magic by just relying on instinct without even reading a spellbook."
"Come to think of it, Rex-san isn't here today. I wonder what happened?"
"It seemed like he had something to take care of. He looked like he was in a hurry when he said, 'Go on ahead,' so it must have been pretty urgent."
As she recalled the scene, Tina sighed.
"All right, then. Before you forget the knack you've just picked up, let's treat the many injured people still here."
"Huh? I'm allowed to do that? I thought you'd only let me try this once as a special case."
"Of course! You can keep practicing healing magic on injured people who come to the church from now on, if you like. That way, things will be easier for me... and it'll help the church and the adventurers, too."
At those words, Alice's face lit up.
In every city, many of the sisters working at the church had the role of Villager. The church welcomed anyone who worshiped God and sincerely wished to serve, regardless of their role.
It wasn't only those born with the Priest role who had the right to work at a church.
That was partly because many people with the Priest role chose not to join a church. Instead, they became adventurers or tried to make a living using their healing magic.
As a result, only a limited number of people at the church could use healing magic, and churches that treated the injured for free were always short-staffed.
Even now, the number of injured people lying on the church's makeshift beds far exceeded the number of healers, and the sisters hurried busily back and forth.
Tina, who also helped out at the casino, devoted herself to treating the injured whenever she returned to the church after work.
"Well then, though I can't use healing magic, I'd be glad to help, if you'll have me."
With that, David easily lifted the upper body of a massively muscular warrior lying injured on one of the church's makeshift beds, then beckoned Alice over.
Seeing him, Kururu said, "I'll help too," and joined the busy sisters as they went to treat the injured.
"All right! Let's get everyone treated in a jiffy, then call it an early night!"
At her rallying cry, Alice, Kururu, and Tina began treating every injured person who came their way.