The next day, a few kids were waiting at the field, a good bit earlier than necessary. Brent must be really excited.

“So, are you ready?” I ask.

“Of course!” Another kid, Kelsey, said. I just smile as I give them my enhanced buff. They then started flailing around like idiots.

“What is this spell!?” I’m asked.

“It’s an extremely powerful strength buff that’s around twice as powerful as my old ones.” I announced. “Though, its increased power drains far more energy, and it doesn’t last as long.” I mumbled. “Behold! The genius of the Saintess!” Interestingly, the actual increase is based on the user. For example, those with more muscle, like Melly, get an over three times improvement, where others struggle to get close to a three times increase.

My linked buffs both increase and balance it between their body and mana, averaging a more consistent four times increase, while also being far more mana efficient, especially when idle.

Sadly, they were too distracted to notice my grandeur. They definitely weren’t just rolling their eyes at me.

After practicing for a bit, they eventually got the hang of it. They also practiced a bit more with some of my other buffs, before resting. A while afterwards, it was time to go to the central church to compete.

As we arrived, a decent amount of people followed us, probably because of me. We then met with the other team while our ‘audience’ went to watch, with those in the know explaining what’s going on.

“Brent.” The opposing leader said. “I see that you’ve somehow brought Elizabeth back. But, that won’t change anything. We will still be victorious!”

“We’ll see.” I smile before greeting the three supports. “How’s it going? You ready to lose?”

“I see that your travels have increased your confidence, but we won’t concede!”

“That’s good, everything is hopeless should the supports give up. So, even if you are going to lose, you have to keep on trying.” I say as I pat their shoulders and smile.

“Of course! We wouldn’t dare call ourselves supports if we ever gave up.”

I’m glad that they were taking my advice to heart.

The soccer game started soon after. My team, as expected, was demolishing the east. The other team decided to try to attrition us down, but sadly, I'm more powerful and experienced than they thought. So, despite having a similar amount of mana as just one of them, I was able to efficiently ration my mana without letting off the pressure.

In the end, we were victorious, but man, giving various buffs to eleven kids over an hour and a half, even while rationing, is tough. It’s a good thing my estimates were right. Not that we would have lost, but it would make me doubt my capabilities.

After getting used to my lack of mana, I headed over to the supports while the players were bragging. “Good job.” I say.

“But not as good as you. You were amazing!”

“Yeah, I planned it perfectly so I’d barely have any mana left.”

“Wow! How do we learn to do that!”

“Just figure out how much mana you have, how much mana your spells cost, and how often you cast your spells. Once you figure those out, you can do some math and estimates to figure out how much mana to use.” I start, before going on a bit of a rant, telling them some of the things they did wrong, how to improve, and how to practice.

“Elizabeth! It’s time to leave!” I was eventually called.

“I’ll be right there.” I replied. “Well, that’s enough for now. Good luck!” I say as I leave.

“Thank you, Elizabeth! We won’t disappoint you!” They shout in thanks.

“Hey, whose side are you on?” Brent asks.

“The healer’s side, of course. I’m just a hired merc, remember?” I joke.

“Ah, yes, you are.” We often joked that the services offered by healers are basically like hiring mercenaries, at least, it was to our childhood brains.

“Well, either way, thanks for the support, Elizabeth. I’m sure your party appreciates your skill.”

“That they do. And I plan on getting even better.”

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, a few people were interested in talking to you, so we’ll head back first. See you later.” He says before running away.

“Traitor.” I mutter. Haa, he just left me to deal with the aftermath. Whatever, maybe I can get some advice that will help me improve. That would be nice.

“So, I heard you wanted to talk to me?” I say to the crowd. I swear I could see their eyes glow, but that had to be my imagination.

What followed was a few hour conversation about various things about being a support. People did try to change the conversation, but I abused my authority and just ignored them whenever they tried, no matter how interesting the topic they brought up might be. Sadly, even lunch wasn’t enough to stop them, as they continued after everyone had eaten. I did, at least, learn a few things, so it wasn’t a complete waste. It did, however, completely drain me.

So, once I couldn’t take it anymore, I said. “I’m sorry, but I do have other things planned for today, so I have to leave now.” And then I left. Just like that. I almost couldn’t believe that worked. I mean, it was pretty rude, but I was definitely not in the mood to care about that.

I quickly made it back to the north church, having mostly calmed down. Haa, I see now why Gregory dislikes parties. While I’m not overly social, this might be the first time I was done with talking to people. Other than when I was getting scolded or just not feeling well, of course.

I ended up back at the field. “How’d it go, Miss Saintess?” Brent mocked.

“Annoying, but mildly useful, no help to you, traitor.”

“I just left after the contract expired, merc. I did nothing wrong.”

“Maybe, but counterpoint.” I turn to the kids and shout. “Brent abandoned me after I brought us glorious victory against the east, GET HIM!” Ha! He knew he messed up after I brought up the victory. The kids were on my side today!

Poor Brent, he didn’t last long before he was surrounded and pinned down.

“What now?” One of the kids asked. There was only one answer.

“He must pay for his crimes. I sentence him to,” I paused for dramatic effect. “tickle punishment!”

Brent, joining my act, made a fearful face and screamed. “NOOOO!” as the younger kids started to tickle him.

Sadly my victory was short lived, as his ‘loyal supporters’ snuck up on me and started to tickle me as well.

We spent the next several minutes rolling on the ground in a massive tickle war. A war where everyone was against whoever was winning at the time, which was usually me, as my tickle spell was just too strong. It also seemed to be more effective than before. Maybe becoming a saintess has enhanced it?

Eventually, a priest showed up and calmly yelled. “What is going on?”

Everyone got up and gave various excuses.

“Elizabeth started it.” Brent accused, a bit more seriously as he’s probably going to get in trouble.

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.

“You were in the mob, just like the rest of us!” Everyone nods. There are few things that unite people, making sure everyone joins the punishment being one of them.

“I don’t think I did. You see, if I did, wouldn’t I be covered in dirt?”

“YOU CHEATER!” HAHAHA! I wastefully used wound cleaning spells to clean my body, using an entire fifth of my total mana to clean myself. It is unbelievably wasteful, but it can be fairly convenient at times. Like now.

“Elizabeth.” The priest called. “I saw you rolling around with everyone and you casting spells to clean yourself. So, you are getting punished as well, right?” He asked. Genuinely asked, as I really could just get out of it.

“Right.” I submit. If I could sneak my way out of punishment, I would, as that’s just fair tactics, but avoiding punishment by using my position wouldn’t.

“Hmm, I see. Then, you are to join everyone as they clean the main hall. No dinner until it’s clean.” He said. Though that only applied to naughty and older kids. As long as the younglings tried, they usually could eat dinner on time regardless.

“Understood.” We all said at the same time. We then went to the hall to start cleaning. On the way, a few kids nodded to me or patted me on the back. Well, that’s all the confirmation I needed to know that my choice was the right one. Besides, as long as no one notices, buffs are fair game, and I am quite good at not getting caught.

The hall cleaning was pretty easy as a result of me giving buffs to whoever I could touch. While we did have to make sure to clean around anyone who was currently using the hall, we were still able to finish before dinner. Afterwards, I just hung out with everyone until it was time to sleep.

The next day, I decided to help out the studying healers. I was honestly surprised at how much I was actually able to help them. I mean, I’m not as knowledgeable as the priests in charge of healing, but I do have a good bit more experience than the kids, and I can see things from their perspective a bit better than the priests.

When we started training on actual patients though? I went right back to being a student. I had a few questions I had gained during my travels, so I was glad that I could get answers for most of them. I was slacking on my healing training in comparison to my buffing, I mean, I still am, but to a slightly lesser degree now.

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Sadly, I do have to return to my party soon, so today is going to be my last day here. While I doubt we would be leaving tomorrow, I want at least one day to discuss with everyone about what exactly we need. As such, I am leaving tonight.

So, after training with the healers until lunch, and playing with the kids for a few hours, I headed for the central church.

Shortly after I had arrived, I was led to the Cardinal.

“Hello, Cardinal Caitlyn.” I greet.

“Good afternoon, Saintess Elizabeth. How was your visit?”

“It was better than I expected. I’m glad I came.” I smiled.

“That’s good. I am glad that you enjoyed your trip. By the way, I’ve got the spells that you requested.”

“Ooh, I’m looking forward to seeing them.”

“So, the first one is fairly standard. Nicknamed Elise’s strength, it is one of the most powerful buffs ever created. It was personally made by Saintess Elise, who lived during Milo’s early life. While it isn’t particularly interesting, it is very well made, and buffs the entire body, so it should be useful for you.”

“Thank you. That it should.” It might even tell me more about the saintess’ power I have received as well, which should be useful.

“The second one is interesting. Called skeletal refinement, it enhances the target’s structure, so their skeleton, ligaments, etc, in order to give a qualitative increase to their entire being. Sadly, the improvement was minor at best, so it never became popular. It is still a decent defense buff, though.”

“That does sound interesting. I sometimes forget that older spells often enhanced multiple things at once.”

“Yes, current spells usually only improve one thing at a time, as spells just work better that way.”

“Yeah, it’s always interesting to see how spells have evolved throughout the ages.”

“That it is.” She agrees. “So, the third spell. This one is interesting in a different way. Currently called enhanced unity, it was made to link different buffs together, and to make buffs a bit more compatible with people, so that they only need to be designed for different physiques instead of for specific individuals. When you combine these features, you make it so that with only a handful of adjusted spells you could fully buff most people.”

“That sounds amazing!” That mostly solves most of the issues with preMilo buffs! “Why haven’t I heard of this spell before? It sounds like the sort of thing that would be universal with these sorts of buffs.” I ask.

“Well.” She starts. “The problem is, while this spell does predate Milo, it was fairly ineffective back then. It was also restricted for church use only, so you are unlikely to find it anywhere else.”

“Okay, most preMilo spells are ineffective, what made this one different?”

“The primary reason is that this spell was improved to its current form with the help of Saintess Elise, in order to ‘compete’ with Milo.”

“Inquisitors.” I say in realization.

“That’s right, this happened before the inquisition was finally disbanded, resulting in the more peaceful church we have today. Back then though, anyone that competed with the church, disappeared. They at least made sure to publicly defeat their opponents first though, so occasionally people like Milo would appear and become an immovable threat. It’s because of people like him that we were able to fix the church.”

“I see. That doesn’t explain why the spell was hidden though.” I continue.

“Correct. So, the main reason why it, and other things like it, were hidden was to hide some of the church’s dark past.” She sighs. “I know that hiding the truth is bad, but sadly it helps us keep the peace better. We do teach this information to most priests though, we just don’t tell the general public. In the future we will let all of the church’s dirty past be known, but right now we are still trying to expand our influence. As such, we are suppressing some knowledge about the inquisition. I hope you understand.”

“Well, I don’t care about that right now. I’ll decide my opinion after we defeat the demon lord.” I say before she could start to persuade me of anything.

“I… see. Fair enough. You definitely deserve your position. You are both skilled enough and focused enough that I honestly can’t think of anyone more suited to deal with the demon lord. It’s no wonder the Gods chose you.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to realize that myself.” I am pretty perfect for the journey, though the aftermath will probably be a struggle.

She smiles. “I’m looking forward to your growth, Saintess Elizabeth.”

“I won’t disappoint you.”

“So, in addition to those three spells, I also have a few mundane but high quality spells for you. These should help you fill in any gaps you might have, as well as save you time should you be trying to make your own spells.”

“Yes, that’s really helpful. Thank you.” I bowed.

“Now now, that’s not everything. I also have one last thing to give you.” She says before giving me a large, cloth wrapped object.

I unwrap it to find three things. First was an ID. “Elizabeth, wandering priestess, a few generous qualifications, this is the ID I asked for. Thank you, I was worried if I would get this.”

“It wasn’t difficult, besides, reducing the attention on you could be beneficial to your journey.”

“Yes, though it was definitely more of a personal request than a practical one.” I admitted.

The second item was a… necklace, circlet? I don’t know. It was a chain with ‘stars’ hanging off it at regular intervals. “What’s this?” I asked.

“That’s an anklet.” She laughs at my confusion. “You wrap it a few times around your leg. Once you do, it helps keep you calm. While you don’t seem to need it, staying calm is especially important for a healer, so this might be helpful.”

“Ah, you’re right. Thank you.”

The final item was a wooden staff that seems to have grown around a crystal.

“That is a healer’s staff. It can increase the power of heals while making buffs cheaper to cast, and improving them, if you weren’t already maxed or use preMilo buffs, so be careful with that. I noticed that you were still using a basic wand, so I figured a proper staff would be helpful.” She explains.

While staffs are similar to wands, as they both increase your control over spells, staffs also increase the power of your spells. Staffs, however, are more cumbersome, as well as require practice to use and needing to be made for the specific types of magic you use, or the staff will actually suppress your magic instead.

“That’s right. A staff will be useful. Thank you.” I thanked again.

“You are welcome.” She smiled. “Once you get stronger, we’ll give you better equipment. I’m sorry we can’t just give you some high-level equipment, but it has been proven to limit your potential and ability to grow.”

“No problem, that just means I have something to look forward to.”

“So, since that concludes my business, why don’t we chat while you wait for the gate to be ready?” She offers.

“Sure.” I agreed.

I spent the next hour chatting with her before she had to get back to work. Since I now had nothing to do, I started wandering around the church, until I got bored at least. Sadly, while this church is very impressive, and different from the standard layout, I’m not all too interested in architecture and sightseeing.

So, I tried asking where some high-level healers were to see if I could get some lessons. Luckily they agreed, as they were curious to how the saintess’s magic differs from theirs, especially at my low level. I did learn a decent amount, though the main things I learned were tips about training and the like, though I had already figured out that autopsies were useful.

Sadly, I wasn’t very helpful to them. It makes sense though, I’d only recently stopped being a complete novice, after all. Oh, there was an old man who was close to becoming able to fully restore wounds, so my healing might be able to help him advance further, even if it isn’t that likely. Soon though, it was time for me to leave, so I headed to the gate.

When I arrived, I was disappointed that the gate had already been opened. I still bowed to everyone in thanks, before heading through.

“Thank you for linking your gate for me.” I say once I’m on the other side.

“Don’t worry, we had to transport some things to the capital anyway.”

“I see, that’s good. Well, I won’t keep you when it’s getting late, goodbye.” I say as I start to leave. “Oh, also, if I don’t see the Bishop, could you tell him I thanked him?”

“Why don’t you thank him yourself?” I hear from behind me.

When I turn around, I see the Bishop staring at me with an amused smile. “Oh, okay. Thank you, Bishop, for opening the gate for me. It was very helpful.”

“No problem, I’m glad I was able to assist you.” He smiles. “Well, as you said, it is getting late, so I bid you farewell.” He said before leaving.

“Goodbye. And goodbye to everyone else as well.” I say with a wave.

______

I hurriedly walked back to the inn, hoping to be able to get a meal. Sadly, when I entered, I noticed everyone finishing their meal. “Aww. I wasn’t fast enough.” I sigh.

“Hello to you too, Eli.” Melly says.

“You got any extra food.” I ask to tease her.

“Yes, actually, we were told you would be arriving at some point later today, so I made sure to prepare a portion for you." The Hero said.

“Oh, thank you.” I’ll be nice and ignore the fact that they ate without me despite knowing I was arriving soon.

“So, how was your trip?”

“It was pretty nice. I managed to clear up a misunderstanding, I mildly improved my ability to heal, and I feel refreshed. So, all in all, I’d say the trip was quite worth it.” I answered with a smile.

“I see, that’s good." The Hero says. “Did you remember to prepare for our trip?”

“Of course! While I will double check with everyone just in case, I should have everything. I can trust the guys in the warehouse to properly prepare me for my journey.” I say. “Especially since we spent hours preparing.” I mumble.

“That’s good." The Hero nods. “So did you get anything interesting?”

The Hero is acting odd. “Yeah… I was given a staff and a few powerful preMilo spells.” I answer, paying extra attention to the Hero’s reaction.

“That’s good, I was wondering why you weren’t using a staff even though Gregory and even Hansen were.”

“That’s because I’d never used nor ever been given a staff.” I shrug. “Hopefully it increases my effectiveness.”

“Fair enough. That all? I know you were talking about getting a new ID”

“Yeah, I did.” Why does it seem like he wants to know about something else? “Look.” I say as I hand Melly my ID. Seeing the Hero stare at me, I decide to continue. “I also got an anklet." The Hero starts to smile. “It apparently helps you stay calm.”

“That doesn’t sound very useful to you.” Melly comments.

“Yeah, but every bit helps." The Hero suggests. “Better safe than sorry, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right, but it’s still mostly redundant. I mean, she was the fastest to respond after you blew everyone up.” Melly argues. The Hero just shrugged.

“Either way, it was a gift, and I don’t have any reason not to use it. Oh! Do we know when we are leaving?”

“The morning after tomorrow, as long as no problems arise.” Rapunzel answers.

“Okay, want to check my stuff to see if I packed properly then?” I ask.

“Of course. I'll make sure you aren’t missing anything that you might need. And we should easily be able to acquire anything you might need tomorrow.” Rapunzel responds.

“Let’s start as soon as you’re ready then. I’ve finished my food.”

“Okay, let’s head up to our room then.” I nodded and followed.

As she was checking my stuff, I thought about how the Hero was acting. It was… strange. It’s like he knew about the anklet. But why didn’t he just ask about it then? And obviously, how did he know? And if he knew, why did he ask? Wait, he was happy that I got the anklet, so was he uncertain that I received it? Does he have the power to see the future, just not completely accurately? What use is the anklet as well, that he was happy that I received it? Hmm, maybe it just proved something, so it itself wasn’t what was important.

Hmm, why does it seem like he wanted me to know that he knew though? It also seemed like he didn’t want everyone else to realize as well. That would explain why he didn’t just ask about the anklet.

If that’s true though, why? Why would he want me to know?

Sadly before I could continue my thought process, Rapunzel said. “Your bag is properly prepared. There isn’t anything I’d really change.”

“That’s good. Thanks Rapunzel.” I responded.

“It’s no problem, I’m here to help.” She smiles. She has been a lot more emotive as of late. I’m glad she seems to be happier now.

“So, Eli, how’d your trip go?” Melly asks. Ah, I didn’t notice that she was here.

“It was pretty good.” I say, before telling her a few things that had happened, like the soccer game and the tickle war. As I’m talking, I realize that I won’t be able to continue thinking about the Hero’s strangeness, so I decide that I’ll just wait and see.

I mean, I could just be over thinking everything. It is possible. As are my suspicions being right, to be fair, but that’s quite unlikely. Haa, only time will tell.