“Stop for a moment. Let me first sum up what you just said,” requests Gottfried-san, as I laid down a lot of our current circumstances. “These rings are the result of a curse. This curse binds and marries you to Katsuragi Kenta, and while it may affect both of you mentally to some degree, it's not like Katsuragi controls you directly, as he's a victim as well... Pontiff, would you mind?” The old man asks the possibly even older man for something. If it weren't for the wizard, I'd presume that Feuerberg sent only their veterans, even if some are beyond their expiration date.
The pontiff, even if he's on the fat side, is certainly looking like he shouldn't step outside his house when possible. Yet he takes my hand carefully and looks at the ring. “*Gasp* Hrr... *Cough*” Please don't sound like that. “This is intertwined with her very soul! Certainly outside of what I can remove, we need to get them to Pontiff Glanznacht for this. Marriage and curse, what an abomination.”
“Are they still married?”
“From what I can tell, yes.”
“I see. So the boy still lives.”
“Maybe it's for the better, because I don't know if there will be a backlash... to be honest, I can't tell anything, this curse... It's like tangled skeins, I can't make out anything yet. I will keep looking at it during our travels, but won't take any risks.”
“So you won't divorce them then either?”
“If we were in the church, sure. There we'd have the knowledge and people to work on it. On my own, I would rather only interfere if there is no other choice.”
Time to make a move. “I don't believe you have much choice. The curse is dormant, if we all are close to Ken, but now it will awake again and Ken will lose his SP,” ah, terms they don't know... is that how Ken feels when explaining!? “He will become weaker and in his current state, he won't survive for long.” Therefore, we have to turn around and save Ken.
“How do you know about his current state?”
“The ring tells me.”
“I see.” Wait, is he ignoring me!? “Pontiff, would you please check Stupid Disciple #1 as well?”
The pontiff looks at Rine-chan's ring as well. After a while, “Excuse me,” he also touches her stomach. “Also cursed. Not pregnant, though,” he sighs in great relief.
“Married, but it is only a curse. No child,” Gottfried-san sighs as well. The wizard looks as confused as me about that.
“Why is that so important?” I ask, as this makes me somehow angry: “Wait, is this because of that dated 'Have to be virgin'-stick to be married off!?” Maybe because this absolutely ignores Rine-chan's wishes? She won't defend herself, currently, so I have to do it in her place!
“Quiet, girl!” Gottfried-san lashes out, while the pontiff, who also seems to know about the reason, is a lot more helpful: “Not for this reason, but we can't tell you why.”
With a disgruntled voice, Gottfried-san continues: “Now go on with the explaining. So you can look at the condition of Katsuragi from afar, what else does this curse do?”
I need to hold on, the more they know, the better it may be. “We can amass points by doing stuff like holding hands, more or less everything lovers would do, and then spend those points on other benefits. Like connecting our [Inventories]. You know, the specific backpacks with the pocket dimension that heroes have. Let me show you. Rine-chan, put this into your backpack.” I tell her, while giving her my ss'rak knife.
She puts it into her backpack and I show them mine, which is seemingly empty. I put my hand inside and choose the knife from the [Inventory] and retrieve it.
The older men seem to be impressed, though I don't like Gottfried-san's look at all. Yet the wizard asks in wonder: “How can that work? I mean, Princess Katarine is not a hero, so therefore she shouldn't have such a backpack and hers looks different from yours.”
“Oh, I forgot!” For me, this is a small detail, for them it'll be breaking news: “The curse also turned Rine-chan into a hero.”
Suddenly, everything moved. Rine-chan jumps back and draws her sword while sweating, the pontiff falls on his ass and shivers, Meldorn suddenly vanishes, and the wizard lifts his arms to guard his face. I feel my trembling hand on my dagger, as I had the feeling that I almost died.
The source of it is Gottfried-san, who only raised his eyebrow, but for a fraction of a second I'm sure he wanted to kill me, and I also know that if he intended to, I could have done nothing to stop it. "This was unbecoming of me," the old knight admits, "I apologize."
This is the second greatest fear I ever felt, only beaten by when I faced off Muaotef, a dragon whose whole existence seems to be fear and terror. In this short moment, Gottfried-san wasn't a human, but a natural disaster.
"W-w-w-w-what d-d-d-do w-w-w-we d-d-d-d-do?" The still shivering pontiff asks Gottfried-san, who is the source of this panic attack.
"This is not a decision I can make. We have to report this to the king. Everything just changed... We go to bed and rise early, we need to get to Esse as fast as possible. I'll rest now, I have spent a lot of energy."
"Wait!" I demand of Gottfried-san: "What was this about?"
"Sigh... The problem is not whether Kati is a virgin or not." The thing about earlier? What does it have to do with this? "It's about mixing heroes and Feuerberg’s royal blood." He then goes into his earthen tent-replacement, sits down and closes his eyes.
The problem wasn't about Rine-chan being a virgin... it was about whether she carries the child of a hero or not. Given this surge of deadly intent, I'm sure he would have made her lose that child. This was what he expected...
What he didn't expect was that Rine-chan would be a hero herself, and how he would have almost killed her in an instant.
I look at my friend, who is still on her guard. “Rine-chan,” I mumble, “what will happen to you?”
Yet this quietness also opens up the possibility to change the pace. “How about dinner? We have enough ingredients to share, and while we were fighting each other, it's not like we are mortal enemies, right?” Befriending them will be helpful. Not only when Ken will come to create a better position to bargain, but also to learn what I can from them.
The wizard seems baffled, but Meldorn nods, while the pontiff answers: “I humbly accept that offer.”
“Let's do some stew. It will take a while, but after some preparations we can just leave it cooking. This is exactly what I need after today, and we can reheat some for breakfast tomorrow.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I'll help,” offers the pontiff without hesitation: “You too, young Rotfeld.”
“Wait, I'm-”
“Oh, so your name is Rotfeld-san? I'm Momokawa Kyou.”
While cutting the vegetables, I learn a little about two of our captors. Pontiff Reiner Kassus, a priest in retirement, who has stayed at the church in Esse half his life, healing the sick and wounded. August von Rotfeld-san comes from low nobility, but is a genius at magic, that's why he's about to become an archwizard.
I don't know why, but I expected more complicated backgrounds, those two are basically cardboard cutouts of what you'd expect. I'm sure that they're complex people, but for a first impression...
Pontiff Kassus seems to be a kind man, though he's definitely not the kind who would stand up when something is wrong. He would condemn it, maybe feel sorry for those on the wrong end of the stick, but he's certainly no man of action.
Rotfeld-san seems like someone who 'wants' to do something, but is easily overwhelmed and out of his league. A talker, but hesitant whenever it's about doing something, which divests him from any chance to contribute outside what others ask of him. Yet there is a big amount of dissatisfaction buried here.
Overall, there is enough to exploit here. Just look at them, how they seem to be easily swayed by a good meal. I can basically see them softening up while observing the stew brewing, which certainly only takes some basic knowledge to make. I can practically see their mouths watering, and I can understand that, as my cooking is that good, even if I don't put much effort into it.
Meldorn checks his arrows, I have no idea why he culls some of them and removes their arrowheads and sometimes even fletching. Somehow, he has an aura around him which makes me very cautious to approach him during this. No wonder Ken has some respect for that man, he may be an expert loner.
Gottfried-san is still napping, and Rine-chan does practically nothing. I hope she's just that deep in thought and not out of place. “Rine-chan?”
She turns to me, I don't like her eyes, they seem hollow, her face is pale, and she misses the radiance that she usually musters: “I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you.”
“You sure don't seem fine.”
“How can I say... It was inevitable, and I feel bad for making you go through it, but there is nothing I can do about it. Yet if we just follow, everything will be fine.”
I have my doubts. “I'm going to ask the pontiff to teach me that healing-spell he used on Arako. Maybe you should use the opportunity to ask Rotfeld-san to teach you magic.”
“Why?”
“Because he's an expert and we have nothing better to do until Ken comes, so we should prepare ourselves.”
“Kenta... He should just head straight to Zethtrin. Without me, he can travel much safer. Kenta is smart, so he will know that-”
“Rine-chan, sorry to interrupt you; Ken may be a lot, but is not really smart. I give him some cunning, maybe even some intelligence, but he will come, because he's unreasonable and stubborn.”
“Then... then I will tell him myself! I mean, look what I've brought him. I... I...” She's about to burst into tears.
However, this is where I disagree, Rine-chan. He brought this upon himself, and we all helped. I can't imagine him being actually mad at Rine-chan, he will certainly complain and whine, but Ken will see it as his own fault.
I'm about to tell her that, but I can stop myself from doing so, as this may trigger Rine-chan's stubbornness, which would complicate things unnecessarily. “Maybe it will help.” In the best case, Ken may agree to accompany us to Feuerberg and to have the curse let be removed by experts with the backing of the king, who has much interest to see his daughter being freed from it. Though one of the ways may actually be to kill Ken, who is the source of said curse. “Nonetheless, it seems like we have some boring evenings before us, and if I can improve, I'll take that opportunity.” With these words, I head towards the pontiff, who is still ogling the pot.
When he notices me, he tears his eyes away and smiles guiltily: “My apologies, it just smells that good, and I may have become weak with age. Momokawa-dono, you want to talk with me?”
“I want to learn the [Rejuvenate] spell.”
“Oh. Erm, this may not be possible. Don't misunderstand me, but it's a rather particular spell.”
“I'm a hero, so I should be able to learn it.” I just ignore the fact that Arako is sure that a [Skill] or [Spell] has to be fitting for a hero.
“This may certainly help. Which spells do you already know?”
“In [Divine Magic], it's [Heal], [Stamina], [Torch], [Protect], and [Exorcise].”
“Oh, [Exorcise]? I have never learned that one myself. However... none of your spells comes close to [Rejuvenate] in its function.”
“Please teach me.” He's just making me more curious.
“I think I can try. It's always good to have more people in this world capable of healing grave injuries. Especially given the burden you've been entrusted with.” This man became just more likable. “Let's sit down by the fire. Good, now how to begin...”
I can't help but feel distracted by Rotfeld-san's attention. Can't he just go away? I mean, he doesn't say anything, but...
“Hm... For your spells, you send a prayer into the Vastness and receive the understanding on how to manipulate your magic in the ways the gods taught us in addition to the power itself, which intertwines with your own magic to cast the spell. That's the core of [Divine Magic]. In [Rejuvenate], however, you first touch your patient and with your prayer, you also send something else... Each body has a plan to grow. Every baby grows into an adult, it follows that inner plan. You send this plan to the Vastness with your prayer to restore the body to its original form.”
Wait, wait, what does it all mean!? The Vastness was the place between this world and the world of the gods, even though there seems to be gods who are also walking the world. Well, nevermind that.
A usual spell would take power from the Vastness, form it into a spell, and throw it at the target. For that, you have first to send a prayer into it.
[Rejuvenate] however, needs not only a prayer, but what I guess is the DNA-information of the target as well.
Seems like I got it. “This isn't all though?”
“A usual [Heal] is a gift from the gods. Additional power directed to cure small wounds quickly or at least bring them into a state that makes them heal quickly. On the other hand, [Rejuvenate] is a subjugation of your patient's body, forcing it to rebuild itself. This means that the [Divine Magic] has to be infused into every bit of their body, which, depending on the state of the patient, can drain all of its power, leading to a death by exhaustion.”
“So you can 'kill' someone with this spell?” Wouldn't that make it a weapon as well?
“Only if the damage they have is dire enough, and the rebound would also usually kill the caster. When someone channels so much power this is to be expected. Maybe death is the more merciful end for the greed of wanting to return those to life who are about to die.”
I feel my throat drying as I imagine it. Casting the spell on someone, only to kill the person with it and yourself as well. “Is this why the light returned to you again and again? The rebound?”
“Actually, it's the opposite. Instead of just flooding your patient with [Divine Magic], you take what is needed, close yourself off the Vastness, and then concentrate it on the patient for some time, take it back into your own body so that the patient is relieved from that power, and then you push it back. In a perfect spell, you cycle the power through your patient and yourself, sharing the stress, and allowing you to stop before you accidentally kill the one you sought to heal by using a [Stamina]-spell on yourself. Though even after that, you'll still feel weak.”
“So let me repeat it... First, I send my prayer and information about the target's body into the Vastness. Second, I receive the power to use the spell. Then I shut myself off from the Vastness, and then push and pull the power in and out of their body?”
“That's how it's done. The amount of power is tied to how much the body alters from their targeted growth, so healing a cut and repairing some organs is taxing, but to make a limb regrow is something I wouldn't recommend. If you're lucky and it's cut cleanly, then you can just put it onto the stump, merge the skin and muscles superficially with the [Heal]-spell and use [Rejuvenate] to do the rest.” Why do his eyes look so dead right now!? How many times has he had to do it already?
Also, this spell sounds scary. In a sense, it's the ultimate healing, as it basically restores the body to its intended form. However, it may kill you, if you want to heal too much. “What happens, if you cast it on someone who has been missing a limb for years, but you only want to heal a stomach wound?”
“This is when your expertise with magic is required, it's your knowledge about arcana.” So the [Arcana]-ability? A specific [Skill]? “If you can control the power you take from the Vastness and can channel it only through the stomach, you can heal that specific part. If not, then you will take everything you need to heal everything.” Which can potentially kill the patient and myself in the process, because depending on their condition, it may be too much for me to handle.
There is still another question looming in my mind: “Do many [Divine Magic]-users know [Rejuvenate]?”
“In Feuerberg, several know it, as that country has its share of wars. I expect other countries to be the same, but most wandering and local priests won't.” I can see its use for soldiers, that's also why I want to learn it, but this certainly doesn't sound like a spell that can or should be used in battle.
However, this seems to be the best spell I may ever learn. “How do we begin?”