I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 50

CHAPTER 7. Uncomfortable Companionship

It’s already been half a year since I shed the label of novitiate. There were still some awkward aspects, but having spent all four seasons in the temple, my classmates and I had begun to look quite like priests.

Even Leila, who had failed her first test, recently passed her retake and barely made it. Though she missed the main ceremony, she proudly received her priesthood and became a trainee knight in the Holy Knights, an uncommon path for a priest.

Prim chose the purification path as in the original story, and I, after persistent persuasion from Pete, took the path of a healing priest.

In truth, Pete’s persuasion wasn’t the only reason. In the original story, Duna Valorem became a purification priest like Prim and was constantly pushed into second place, suffering humiliation. Since I couldn’t be sure that miracles like the one during the ordination exam would continue to happen, I decided to safely choose a different path from the novel.

“Can you help stop the bleeding here?”

“Yes.”

Life at the hospital attached to the Great Temple was not as busy as I had expected. Most minor injury patients were filtered through other hospitals in the capital. The minor injury patients who came here were mostly priests who got injured during training within the temple, amounting to about twenty a day at most.

Severe patients requiring surgery were assigned to senior priests, and since I wasn’t skilled enough to perform surgeries yet, I had quite a bit of personal time when I wasn’t assisting in surgeries.

However, this also meant that new or mid-level healing priests like me were often dispatched outside the temple. Sometimes we went to low-income neighborhoods or rural areas for volunteer work, and if unlucky, we were sent to areas with epidemics or battlefields with many injured.

Thus, healing priests often lived by the motto:

“Enjoy it while you can. You never know when you’ll get dragged away again.”

Senior priest Rancho, who had just asked me to stop the bleeding, was no exception and always had that saying on his lips. I responded half-heartedly to his daily advice, which he repeated with a weary face.

“To be honest, it’s not that bad. I haven’t been to a battlefield, though.”

“Was it okay when you went to Mundren last time?”

Last month, I stayed for two weeks at a treatment center in an underdeveloped region with eight other priests, taking care of patients.

Most of the patients, being from low-income backgrounds, were not in good nutritional health, and it was rare to find someone clean. The place was so understaffed that we had to handle various chores in addition to treatment, and to be honest, it was a grueling experience. After just one day of work, I worried about collapsing the next day from exhaustion.

But.

“Yes. It was rewarding.”

“Really?”

It was heartwarming to see people, who had been languishing, regain their health. Except for a few cases that required complex surgeries, most illnesses could be cured with sufficient use of holy power.

If I’m going to be drained anyway, isn’t it much more rewarding and better than dealing with monsters, which I don’t even want to look at or create barriers against?

“You’re more modest than I thought. Pete is planning to recommend you to the royal palace.”

“Really?”

Becoming the royal family’s medical priest would certainly make life easier. In the past, I would have jumped at the chance without a second thought, but now I hesitated slightly.

Is this what it means to be too comfortable?

“At this rate, you might end up staying in the temple and even getting ordained.”

“…No way.”

In the original story, Duna Valorem does that after her mandatory service ends, aiming for the position of Great Saint.

But I…

If I can’t become the Great Saint anyway…

“Oh, Molten is calling me. See you later.”

Rancho, who had been called by a senior healing priest, waved his hand and disappeared. I waved back and sat on the empty bed where the patient had just been lying.

“Great Saint, huh.”

My thoughts turned to Prim, who was actively working as a purification priest. Unlike a newly ordained priest, she was making achievements without hesitation, even in dangerous areas.

While I was glad I didn’t choose the same path, I also felt a bit of regret. Combat or purification was more advantageous for making a name for oneself.

It felt like I had given up before even trying properly.

“She really lives up to being the protagonist.”

It was as if she was making up for not being the top student, constantly bringing good news to the temple and even catching the Pope’s eye. She’s like a battery commercial from my previous life—where does she get such insane motivation?

“Ah!”

At that moment, someone blew on my ear. Startled, I turned around to see the curtain around the bed closing on its own, blocking my view.

“How have you been, Du?”

“……”

The handsome face I hadn’t seen in a month was smiling cheekily in front of me. Letting out a sigh of disbelief, I slapped away the hand of the man who was trying to affectionately touch my cheek.

“Are you crazy? I’m not the only one here. I told you not to come again.”

I wasn’t trying to hide this person. I was just careful because if his presence was discovered, it would cause trouble for me too.

Whether he had finished his business at the temple or something else had come up, Keene, who had been visiting less frequently lately, sometimes showed up at the hospital to surprise me like this.

“But I got hurt.”

He said, showing his forearm with an uncharacteristically sullen expression. Part of his white skin was red and swollen, with blisters here and there, suggesting a second-degree burn. Although it wasn’t a severe injury, the wide area and the obvious pain made it hard for him to hide his discomfort.

“Ugh, how did this happen?”

“I let my guard down and got hit by a purification priest. Your classmate has quite the strong hand.”

“…Did you come from Rotricia?”

Prim was currently in Rotricia. Even if I didn’t want to know, her achievements were frequently reported, making it impossible not to know.

Keene smiled and nodded. Subconsciously biting my lip, I tried to keep my expression neutral to hide my agitation.

“If it’s my classmate, is it the one with pink hair?”

“That’s right. Despite being a purification priest, she’s good at offensive magic too. She wouldn’t be out of place in the Magic Tower.”

“……”

Why did his praise of Prim bother me so much? And for some reason, the fact that she had overpowered him and left him in this state didn’t sit well with me either.

Feeling a sudden surge of annoyance, I avoided his gaze and snapped.

“Why did you come here? Anyway, you’re a dark mage, so I can’t treat you. Go to another hospital instead of hanging around here.”

Given that he had dealt with monsters before, he was undoubtedly a dark mage. And dark mages, with their magic similar to dark energy, couldn’t receive holy power. Even if it was healing magic, if it was based on holy power, it would have adverse effects.

Since childhood, I had deep-rooted prejudices against dark mages, so even though I knew it was pointless, I secretly hoped he would deny my assumptions. But Keene didn’t deny anything. Instead, he acted even more cheekily.

“But no other hospital has a beautiful and skilled healer like you, Du.”

“……”

So, he really is a dark mage.

A wave of disappointment washed over me. Then I realized how ridiculous that feeling was.

What exactly was I expecting?

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

Annoyed by his old habit of joking, I responded with a pout and tried to get up. But he grabbed me and pulled me close, sitting intimately beside me.

“Please, at least wrap it with a bandage. It’s been a while since we last met.”

“Could you… move away a bit?”

Keene had closed the distance so suddenly that my shoulder was touching his body. Just a slight change in angle and it would look like a back hug, causing my heart to race.

“Didn’t you miss me? I hurried over because I wanted to see you.”

“……”

“I couldn’t stop by Mattnum Possun in my haste, but I’ll bring you some next time.”

That darn Mattnum Possun.

He always brought one every time he came, and now my room was filled with more tea tins than I could ever drink.

“Enough, just go—.”

“Ah.”

In my irritation, I turned sharply towards him and accidentally hit him. Realizing that my hand had touched his injured area, I took a small breath.

“Ah… See, this is why you should’ve left when I told you to…”

I sighed and muttered in resignation. In the end, I would have to treat him.

I mercilessly poured disinfectant over his skin and spread burn ointment with a wooden stick. Even though I didn’t hold back, he just kept looking at me with a big smile.

Could it be that he was faking it earlier?

His heavy groan sounded genuinely painful, but seeing how well he was enduring this made me suspicious. After wrapping the bandage one last time, I looked down at the crooked knot and grumbled.

“You like this sloppy job? You should’ve let someone else do it.”

“Since you did it, I already feel much better.”

“……”

Once again, I was the one to surrender to his baseless flirting. Feeling embarrassed, I grumbled even more.

“My strength lies in healing magic, you know. You can’t even get proper treatment.”

“Actually, just seeing your face earlier made me feel a lot better.”

“……”

I should stop talking. No matter how thick-skinned I become, I can’t beat this man.

Then, as he fiddled with the uneven knot, he suddenly said something strange.

“Actually, I was a bit surprised that you became a healing priest.”

“…Why? I’m good at magic. I told you earlier, my strength is healing magic.”

As I snapped back defensively, he chuckled and shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant. Usually, with that level of holy power, one would go into combat or purification.”

“Holy power?”

The measurement results from half a year ago were ‘highest.’

It wasn’t a result far off from my expectations. It was one of the qualifications for being a Great Saint candidate. I was just relieved that it was at least as good as in the original story, but I didn’t feel much else. After all, even within the ‘highest’ tier, the gap between me and Prim was significant.

“Didn’t you know? You have considerable potential. If you had become a purification priest, the Magic Tower would have had to rethink their plans.”

“…Nonsense.”

I thought he was suddenly spouting nonsense, but it seemed like this perceptive man had noticed my low mood and was laying the groundwork. How embarrassing. He must have realized it was related to Prim.

“I’m serious. You don’t believe me again.”

I shook my head at Keene, who kept pushing his already exposed hand. It was time to end this unproductive conversation.

“Just go. If I keep sitting here with the curtain closed, it’ll look suspicious…”

But at that moment, a name that stopped me in my tracks came from outside.

“Sir Peidos is here!”

“……”

My eyes widened, and my lips lost their strength.

…Peidos Carmel? Has he returned?