The Priest of Complete Dispel ~ Every Time I Save a Cursed Beautiful Girl with My Status Abnormal Cure Skill, For Some Reason Her Dependence on Me Maxes Out ~ - Chapter 13: Fugitive Iris

Chapter 13: Fugitive Iris

“—!? What was I…?”

The place where I woke up was a room I didn’t know, with morning sunlight streaming through a small window.

It seemed I had been sleeping in this room, which smelled of herbs.

“Hmm, you’re awake?”

“Ah…”

An old white-haired woman sat on a worn chair.

From her nun’s clothing, I could tell she was a sister.

If she saw my holy robes or staff, she might already know who I am.

“Iris Carnelia. A saint candidate, right?”

“Y-Yes…!”

I felt an aura that naturally commanded respect.

And there was this strange feeling, like she had something similar to me. What was it?

To find out, I activated my skill—

“<Appraisal>, are you using it?”

“H-How did you know…?”

“One of the conditions to become a saint is the <Appraisal> skill.”

How did she know that? How much did this old woman know?

Wait… that cross around her neck… I’d seen it somewhere before—

“No way!”

“You figured it out?”

“C-Could you be… the saint from two generations ago—Mizette Mileister!?”

“Hmph. That was a long time ago. I was still young back then.”

“Oh…!”

Mizette Mileister.

She was the saint from two generations ago, said to have been very beautiful.

There were stories of her saving many people and legends of her overcoming hardships and defeating great evils.

But that was over fifty years ago, so old you’d need to dig through ancient library books to know about it.

Standing before Mizette, I trembled with awe and knelt to take her hand.

But I couldn’t.

“Eh—”

As I got off what looked like a treatment table, my legs gave out, and I collapsed.

“It’s probably a side effect of the treatment. You’ll recover soon, but rest for now.”

“Treatment…?”

In that moment, my memories flashed back, and everything up to that point came rushing back.

—The city, underground, children, sex, rooms, the archbishop, the empire, demons, human trafficking, curses, escaping, being chased, a carriage, the forest, arousal… my consciousness…

“Ah, ahhh!?”

I remembered everything.

Everything from when I was conscious.

“Even under a curse, you should’ve been fully aware. You just couldn’t control your body or emotions.”

“!?”

I lifted my clothes to check my lower abdomen.

The mark that should’ve been there was gone, leaving my clean stomach.

So, that embarrassing dream-like event… it was real…

“~~~~~!”

I clutched my chest with both hands.

But the moment they touched, a jolt like lightning shot through me, and I collapsed again.

What was this feeling…?

—Kunikunikunikuni.

“Do you remember who treated you?”

“A gray-haired boy…”

“His name is Shu Mileister. He’s the one who fully removed your <Lewd Curse>.”

Oh, I see. That’s how it is.

This must be the guidance of Goddess Artemisia.

—Kunikunikunikuni.

I escaped to this place to meet him—Shu. This racing heart, the shameless state I was in, and the pleasure he guided me to—it was all real.

Then, my path is clear.

If I’m stuck in this place, I have one mission.

First, I must meet Shu—

—Kunikunikunikuni.

“Iris—”

“Yes, Mizette!”

“—Stop playing with your nipples.”

Kuni…

Unknowingly, I had been fondling my nipples over my holy robes with both hands—

◇◇◇

A night passed since then.

Iris still hadn’t woken up, which worried me a little.

I left the hassle to the old hag and was practicing swordsmanship with the old man early in the morning, as usual.

“—Shu! Shu!”

“Huh?”

While training shirtless, someone called my name, running toward me at full speed.

“No way—it didn’t fully break!?”

Maybe I got cocky.

I thought my <Perfect Clear> skill could cure any curse.

Because the person running toward me now had the same expression as yesterday’s aroused state—

“Hey!”

“Guah!?”

I struck Iris’s side with the wooden sword I was holding.

Iris collapsed easily, groaning as she hit the ground.

“Oh—sorry. I thought some curse was still left.”

“N-No… I’m the one who showed such an improper side… I couldn’t stay still after finding the great benefactor who cured me…”

Iris’s curse was properly cleared.

Now, at my house, the old man, the old hag, Iris, and I sat around the breakfast table.

Iris hadn’t eaten since entering the forest and was apparently starving.

So, we decided to eat together while hearing what happened, but Iris stared at the food without touching it.

“…Monster meat!? Oh, the vegetables… mandragora!? …Oh, this looks like a normal onion…”

She seemed to have complaints about the meal.

“What’s that? Got a problem with the food?”

“Not a complaint… but why do you eat monster meat and vegetables here?”

“Uh… huh?”

She said something I didn’t get.

“Normally, people don’t eat that.”

“What!? Old man, old hag! What’s that about!?”

I asked them to understand what she meant.

“Why’re you so loud? As you know, merchants rarely come to this village. So, self-sufficiency is normal.”

“Sure, the clothes we wear are always similar, and luxury goods are scarce, but…”

“Shu, don’t you always say it’s delicious?”

“Well, yeah, the old hag’s food is good…”

“Haha, that’s good enough. We enjoy cooking because you eat so eagerly.”

I felt like they dodged the issue, but the food being tasty was true.

From what I heard, eating monster meat and vegetables isn’t normal.

“That’s how it is. If you’ve got complaints, don’t eat, saint candidate.”

Gulp…

Iris’s hands trembled before the meal.

But with the cook right there, she had no choice but to eat—

“!? …Delicious.”

“Right!? The old hag’s food is the best! Wahaha!”

“Cough!? …Sh-Shu! I’m eating, so don’t slap my back…”

“Sorry, sorry.”

After I slapped her back, Iris nearly spat out her food and coughed.

“Now, tell us what happened.”

“Yes—”

As we ate, we got to the main topic.

Why was Iris cursed and how did she end up in this village?

“I’m a saint candidate. But I’m still an apprentice, lacking the achievements and character to become a saint. The current saint, Haramaria, pointed that out many times—”

Haramaria? That’s a name?

…Sounds like it could get someone pregnant.

“So, on Haramaria’s orders, I’ve been traveling to churches across the country, helping people and assisting with church duties.”

“Hmm. Seeing and learning about the world doesn’t sound bad.”

Some people say traveling the world changes their perspective.

I nodded along.

“But when I stopped by Hares, one of the four major cities, something happened. At night, while walking alone, I saw a little girl being led away by a suspicious adult man, despite the late hour.”

The story was getting dark.

Even in this world, a kid out late at night is unusual.

“I followed them discreetly. They went down stairs, deeper and deeper, until I reached a place where an unimaginable scene unfolded before me.”

From there, Iris told us everything—everything she saw, up to the moment she escaped.