I Secretly Healed the Illness of the Twin Princesses While Wearing a Mask, and Now the Entire Kingdom Is in an Uproar ~Please Stop Trying to Expose the Street Healer~ - Chapter 5

The carriage rocked as we traveled along the road.

“…This is boring.”

“It is.”

“Tell me an interesting story.”

“Then I’ll tell you about the time you stepped in dog poop and cried half your face off―”

“If you want to go to hell, just say so, okay?”

“I’m sorry!”

With a smile, my sister grabbed me by the collar. Wow, she’s scary.

We were heading toward the royal capital to start our school life next week. At the academy, we’d be staying in a dorm with furniture, so we didn’t have much luggage.

It was kind of funny how our parents, just back from their trip, were so sad about us leaving that they tried to stop us until the very end.

“Hm?”

“What is it, Asuku?”

“I think I heard someone talking.”

“This is the forest? Maybe you misheard?”

No way.

Thanks to all the physical modifications I’ve had, my senses are extremely sharp. I can hear someone screaming from a few kilometers away.

“I’ll go check it out, big sister.”

“You change clothes fast.”

“The faster a hero transforms, the better.”

I pulled the plague mask and jet-black coat I had hidden in my suitcase and jumped out of the carriage in style.

I ran into the forest while following the direction of the voices.

“Maybe over there.”

After running for a while, I found ruins that didn’t really belong in a forest. I hadn’t expected ruins so close to the royal capital.

Hmm, I could hear voices again. Probably coming from the center of the ruins. I carefully approached so I wouldn’t make a sound.

“Could it be that the princess and the perfect sacrifice are walking through the royal capital without any guards? I panicked when I heard the sacrifice magic was gone, but the goddess hasn’t abandoned us.”

“Don’t talk about the goddess like that. If they hear us…”

“…I’m sorry. We should handle this before the knights notice.”

“I-Is that okay?”

“You’re new, right? Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it. This is our mission, our atonement. Understand?”

“U-um, y-yes…”

In the middle of the ruins’ open space stood a group dressed entirely in pure white robes.

They were the exact opposite of my own “Nightingale: Healers With No Restraint.”

I guess those pure white outfits could look cool, too.

No, that’s not right.

I don’t know what they were planning, but wasn’t that a princess?

“Is that Princess Victoria?”

She had a cloth stuffed in her mouth and was tied up tight with ropes.

…What on earth is going on here?

“Stare.”

“U-um, this princess is staring at us really closely…”

“Don’t worry. The White Church robes have a magic effect that blocks recognition. Even if she stares, she won’t see our faces.”

White Church? …Is that some kind of religion?

I usually don’t care about much, but I really hate religion. I could even say I despise it.

In my previous life, no matter how hard I prayed, no gods or Buddhas ever helped me. I truly hate them.

Well, believing is up to each person, but when I see someone overly devoted to a god or Buddha, I wonder if something terrible happened to them and feel like I want to help.

Still, in the fifteen years since I was reincarnated into this world, I’d never even heard of the White Church.

…No, wait a second.

Those all-white outfits, the strangely meaningful conversation…

No doubt about it!

This is the Middle-School Syndrome!!

In this other world, Middle-School Syndrome really goes as far as kidnapping princesses…

No. Absolutely not.

If I don’t stop them, they’ll act on their temporary delusions and leave lifelong embarrassing memories and guilt, like tattoos burned into their bodies.

I have to stop them. Someone has to stop them!!

Driven by my sense of justice, I stopped hiding and boldly walked toward the group in white robes.

“Wh-who are you!?”

“…I am Faceless.”

“Faceless!? The leader of the ‘Nightingale: Healers With No Restraint’!!”

Wow… even the Middle-School Syndrome group knows me. I really am famous.

“Why are you here… did you track us? There shouldn’t have been a single trace left behind!”

“No, it was just by chance… By the way, don’t you all have some kind of problem?”

“Huh?”

“For example, maybe a serious illness?”

“W-what are you saying…”

“I can tell just by looking. But what you’re trying to do goes beyond common sense. Release that girl immediately.”

I could understand if the Middle-School Syndrome got so bad that they licked a knife they bought online.

But licking a knife doesn’t mean you get to kidnap a princess!

I tried to speak as gently as possible, so as not to provoke them.

“It’s okay. I’ll help cure your sickness. So please, trust me.”

Healing magic can’t fix mental illnesses. But I could at least reduce the pain they feel when they remember their embarrassing actions later.

With that thought in mind, I stepped forward, but one of the white-robed group just laughed at me.

“Pfft, haha.. Hahaha!!”

“…What’s so funny?”

“Even if you are the great healing mage everyone talks about, you cannot lift the curse on us! The only way we can be freed from our suffering is to offer the worthy sacrifice to the ‘White God’!!”

“White God…”

Ugh!! Pain, pain!! What kind of painful god is that!?

No. I can’t falter.

As a healing mage, I have to help them live healthy lives! There’s no way I’ll abandon them here!

“I see. If you resist, then I have no choice. I’ll heal you by force.”

“Get lost!! A mere healing mage could never defeat us!!”

The first to attack was the one who seemed to be their leader.

A sword flashed, cutting across my body in a diagonal strike.

The blow was sharp enough to slice halfway through my torso.

Even my heavily modified eyes couldn’t fully follow the strike. Are these white-robed people actually that strong?

It seems that Middle-School Syndrome in this world has surprisingly high combat power.

“If you hold a grudge, blame yourself for plunging into the darkness of this world.”

“…I don’t know what kind of world you live in. That’s why I vow to stand by you.”

“!?”

The white-robed leader froze.

I guess they thought they had finished me for sure with that slash.

“Why are you…”

“I am a healing mage. What good am I if I can’t even heal a fatal wound?”

“A fatal wound is fatal because you die! What do you mean by that!?”

“The only thing that can kill me is time itself.”

Well, I suppose if someone smashed my head in, I’d probably die.

“Ugh, surround him and kill him!!”

“““Yes!”””

The white-robed group raised their weapons and attacked all at once.

Their movements were coordinated, precise, and even a casual observer could tell they were no ordinary people.

From front, back, sides, and above, the white robes closed in on me.

They were moving too fast for me to dodge.

But that was no problem.

Even if a sword pierced my heart, a spear went through my lungs, or a scythe cut halfway through my neck, all I had to do was endure it.

“You’re really fast.”

“Y-you don’t feel any pain!?”

“No, I do feel it. But it’s nothing compared to the pain I’ve experienced before.”

Much less painful than what I endured on my bed in my previous life.

And far less than the pain they’ll feel when they regain their senses in the near future.

“I’ve got you.”

“Ugh, my sword won’t move!?”

“I made your muscles contract.”

Well, they could just drop their weapons and step back, but I wanted this brief moment of opportunity.

I decided to try something.

“Extra Heal.”

A soft light wrapped around the heads of the white-robed group.

Middle-School Syndrome is caused by intense delusions. Maybe if I cast healing magic on their heads, it could cure them.

At least, that’s what I hoped…

“Ha, hahaha, as expected, you cannot lift the curse upon us!!”

“Damn, so it didn’t work.”

“Faceless, thanks to you, I understand again. The only way we can be freed from this suffering is to revive the White God!!”

“…I see. So your sickness cannot be healed, even with the most powerful healing magic.”

I had been arrogant.

I thought that mastering healing magic could reduce the number of injuries and illnesses, letting everyone live long, healthy lives.

I was completely wrong.

I feel embarrassed thinking I could save everyone in front of me just by mastering healing magic.

I need more power.

I have to develop an ultra-powerful healing magic that can cure any illness, any injury, even Middle-School Syndrome.

“…This time, I’ll retreat. I can’t fully cure your sickness yet. But I will heal every single one of you completely.”

I declared war on the white-robed group and slammed a palm-sized orb I had hidden in my pocket onto the ground.

The next moment, thick white smoke filled the area.

Good thing I had it ready for escaping adventurers or mercenaries aiming for the one-million-gold bounty.

Goodbye.

“Gwah!?”

“I-I can’t see anything!!”

“Calm down!! The princess… the princess is gone!?”

I grabbed Victoria under my arm and sprinted away from the ruins at full speed.

I had to get her back to the royal capital first, then leave her in the hands of the knights or the guards, and finally reunite with my sister.

“Phew. I’m so glad to see you again, Faceless-sama.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, Princess Victoria. But why were you captured by them?”

“I sneaked out of the castle to try some famous sweets in the royal capital, and I got caught.”

“You just got caught?”

“Yeah.”

I’m a bit reckless myself, but this princess is certainly free-spirited too.

“Faceless-sama.”

“Yes?”

“Marry me.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Please think about it calmly. I’m not as great as my sister Christina, but I’m beautiful. Every day, I could do all the (beep) I wanted (beep) this and (beep) that without limits―”

“Neck hit!!”

“Ugh.”

I had to knock Victoria out with a neck strike. Any more of her words could seriously damage the dignity of the royal family.

More important was the white-robed group.

I needed to develop a new healing magic that could cure their mental illness.

“Maybe the magic academy will have some hints? I hope so.”

I muttered quietly as I ran through the forest toward the royal capital.

…I had no idea that Victoria, barely conscious, could actually hear me say that.

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Afterword

One-Point Story

Author: “What does heal them completely even mean?”

A: “It means to heal them completely.”

If you thought, “Whoa, an enemy showed up!!,” “Healing by force is such a powerful phrase,” “So that’s the kind of princess Victoria is…,” please leave your thoughts, bookmarks, ★ ratings, or reviews.