“Anyway, I didn’t really think I would be controlled. And, even if I was, I trusted Eli.” Melly continued. I’m starting to feel bad about our constant interruptions. “Then, she tested out Elise’s strength. And, haa, I was not prepared. Not, even, close.”

She paused, lost in her memories. I got nervous, recognizing her tone.

Eventually, she continued. “So, when it did happen, I froze. Not only because of the spell, but because of, well, I don’t know. It wasn’t quite fear, but I was… lost. I didn’t know what to do. I trusted Eli though, so I didn’t immediately start panicking, but even that was starting to wane as time went on. Then, as I was about to freak out, Eli dispelled the buff.”

“How long were you kept in that state?” Cardinal Caitlyn asked with concern.

“Only a few seconds. Eli quickly deactivated it once she realized that something was wrong. It just, it didn’t feel like that though. I never realized how bad true powerlessness would be. It was vastly worse than even the most extreme prisoner binding. At least then you can technically control your body. That it did, at the very least, still fully belonged to yourself.”

“Why’d you ever go through that again then?”

“Honestly, it was because I wondered out loud if I could escape on my own. Eli then innocently asked if I wanted to try. At that moment, I realized that if I didn’t overcome this, it would create a scar.”

“Was it at least easier the next time?” Oh I really hope so.

“No, it was worse.” Oh. I, how, how do I even react to that!? “The next time came with another realization. It wasn’t that I couldn’t move my body, as if I’d been numbed or something. No, it now belonged to another.”

We paused at how intensely she said that, as Melly worked up her courage.

“It’s okay, take your time, I’m here.” I say as I give her a hug, similarly to how she helped me.

“Haa, it’s fine, I just reminisced a bit too closely. So… I panicked a little.” She bluntly admits. “I got scared, and fought to regain control over my body. Normally, Eli would have immediately dispelled the spell, but since I ‘wanted’ to break free on my own, she left me be.” Melly sighed.

“If you had stopped, I’d have immediately dispelled it!” I promised.

“I know, just at the time I was too panicked to realize that. Luckily, after several minutes of struggling I was able to break free. And, while I was severely injured in the process, I was satisfied. Both for the end of that day’s practice, and for the knowledge that, should I need to, I could free myself. That was all I really needed for me to continue training with it.” She laughed.

“Even after all that?” How? I would have given up.

“Of course! I’d gained so much power, I wasn’t letting such a grand opportunity go away because of some simple fear. Besides, the next time I realized that it was much easier to break free than I initially thought. I was just too busy panicking to realize. And, it was SOO worth it when we used it to finish off the dragon. Honestly, even if we never used it again, it was all worth it!” She all but cheered in joy.

“Haa, as long as you're happy.” I never realized how power hungry she was. Well, better late than never, I guess.

“Wait, you could have stopped yourself?” Cardinal Caitlyn harshly accused.

“No, I can free myself from Elise’s strength, not from skeletal refinement. That one just makes me more aggressive. I mean, I technically can remove it, it’s just, I’d never be in the right mind to actually do so. In addition, this time I was already pretty annoyed at Pallet, so the buff only increased what was already there.”

“Right, you weren’t exactly in a position to react calmly.” She sighed. “So, you are fine with the Saintess’ experiments?”

“Yes. As I want the power they bring, it is more beneficial than its cost. Besides, Eli won’t let me get hurt anyway.” I nodded in agreement.

“I understand, I’ll leave this be for now. Remember though, I’m here if you ever need help.” She promised.

“Thank you, though I really hope I don’t ever need it.”

“So, now that that’s dealt with, we need to discuss the Saintess’ punishment.” Cardinal Caitlyn declares. Ah, I forgot about that.

“Haa, okay, what is my punishment?” I ask formally.

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“Let’s go with helping out at the training ground until you are ready to attempt to wear the saintess robes. Sound good?”

“I guess?” That doesn’t seem like much of a punishment. If anything, it sounds more like advice.

“Good. I’ll leave healing Melly to you. Come see me should you need anything.” She said before leaving.

“Well, Let’s continue healing then.”

“How long do you think it will take to fully heal me?” Melly asks, a little worried.

“If I kept at it, we’d probably finish sometime tonight. It would have been way quicker if I hadn’t improperly healed you earlier, though. Sorry about that.” I bowed sadly. “Your other injuries will be healed in only a few minutes though.”

“Would rebreaking the bones help?” She offers. Haa, what can I even say to that.

“No, we’d have to break them in a dozen different places, at least. And even then, unless we were extremely lucky, such breaks would be imperfect, requiring corrective healing anyway. You really only rebreak bones for major, or oddly one dimensional, mistakes. Regardless, it always takes quite a while to fix improper heals.”

“Okay. Well, please just heal the minimum for now, I want to see how everything’s going and eat dinner.” Melly decided. “Oh, would a regeneration spell work?” She asks hopefully.

“Eh, not really. And it would take several days even if it did.”

“Why, wouldn’t healing me at all times, especially when I’m sleeping, be more effective?”

“Your arms are, according to your body, already healed. And, while I can set up a regeneration spell to correct the mistake, improperly healed wounds require delicate and precise changes, so I’d have to repeatedly remake the spell. Also, it wouldn’t work while you were sleeping, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I guess it won’t. That is annoying.” I just bowed. “I’m not blaming you!” She said as she stopped me. “Anyway, can I use my hands to fight?”

“Yes, they’re only a bit weaker than normal, not actually crippled.”

“Then, we can go to the training ground tomorrow. While it might take even longer, at least it would be more productive than just sitting here healing.”

“If that’s what you want. By the way, I’m done with the normal healing, so shall we go see when dinner’s going to be ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

We headed towards the kitchen, but we were well over an hour early. I guess we weren’t actually out for as long as I thought. Anyway, along the way here, we did get some odd looks, it was surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be, all things considered.

Anyway, having an hour to kill, we decided to head back to the training ground. Who knows, maybe everyone else was still there. I wonder if anyone even knows that something happened…

It didn’t take long for us to find the Hero, as he was currently sparring where Melly was previously. As soon as he finished, Melly called out to him.

“Huh?” I quietly exclaimed. He immediately looked towards Melly’s injured arms. Why? He didn’t even look anywhere else. It’s not even really noticeable. Why? Does he know? But, I only caused that within the hour. There’s no way he could have known about that without literally seeing the future. Right? But, that’s impossible. Haa, nothing about him makes any sense!

“Eli? Are you okay?” The Hero asks, interrupting me from my thoughts.

“Ah, yeah, I’m fine. Just lost in thought.” I say, giving him a weird look. He returns that with a knowing smile, sending shivers down my spine. Okay, I’m just gonna ignore, well, everything that just happened.

“If you say so. Well, what brings you here?” He asks.

“Since we can’t eat dinner yet, we figured we’d do some training.” Melly answers.

“Even after what happened?”

“If they have any problems, they can challenge me to a spar.” Melly laughed.

“Fair enough. Just don’t push too far, you still aren’t used to the heart yet.”

“I know. That’s the reason I’m sparring after all.”

“What about you, Eli? Are you fighting as well?” He says, smiling in amusement.

“I was going to heal people.” I shrugged. “I don’t want to hurt anyone with my amazing power after all.” I smile, as if I was doing something benevolent.

“Too bad, being able to fight is useful.” Uh oh.

“Is that, a recommendation?” I nervously asked.

“No, just general advice. Maybe after we defeat the demon lord, you could get some training. There is a style where you infuse some of your own mana into the enemy with every hit that seems particularly compatible with you.”

“Ah, you’re right. Well, another thing to study once we’re done.” I say, writing that down in a notebook. He looked amused at that. “Would you mind helping me?” I teased removing his smile.

“Ehem, well, I do plan on returning home afterwards, sooo, maybe?”

“Well, if you ever have some spare time. Besides, I’m confident I could put you back together.” I smirk. Remember folks, healers are scary when they want to be.

“Well, I won’t hold you up any longer. Have fun.” He says, escaping.

“Shall we?” I say, ignoring the fleeing Hero.

“Sure. Anyone want to spar?” She asks.

“I’ll heal you afterwards.” I add.

Huh, that worked better than I thought. I guess being healed by the saintess is pretty valuable. I mean, I do properly heal injuries, with no need to rest inbetween.

“Well, have fun.” I say as I pat Melly on the back.