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 2: Past Life

Chapter 2: Past Life

“Hey, Shuji, are you listening!? This is wrong.”

“I’m listening! Damn, you’re loud… can’t you say it quieter?”

“I-I’m teaching you for your sake! It’s your fault for not listening properly!”

In a library where loud voices weren’t allowed, a boy and a girl sat side by side at a desk. I—Shuji Haijima—had failed my first high school midterms and was getting tutoring from my childhood friend and classmate, Rikka Kusakabe.

Rikka, always a top student and popular with everyone, was like an older sister who somehow always looked after me. I had a foul mouth, wasn’t great at studies or sports, and my only talents were manga and games.

Yet, she always stuck with me.

“…”

Rikka studied seriously next to me. Her profile was the embodiment of a beautiful girl, with long eyelashes casting shadows.

“What? …Why are you staring at my face?”

“…Your profile—it’s beautiful, is all.”

“H-Huh!? What’s with you saying that out of nowhere… that’s not like you, Shuji!”

Rikka’s face turned bright red, and she started hitting me lightly. To me, she was—always someone I admired. I thought she’d keep shining like the sun forever.

But fate was too cruel—

“Haha… I have cancer. Stage four! They say it can’t be cured.”

In a stark white hospital room, Rikka lay in bed, laughing like it was a joke.

“What… why the hell are you laughing… what’s going on!?”

I couldn’t understand why she smiled despite the sadness, so I yelled.

“Hehe. Sorry, Shuji. I can’t go to school with you anymore.”

“Damn it! Damn, damn it! Why… why you, who can do anything, and not me, who’s useless!?”

I genuinely hated God.

Rikka had a future. She was supposed to go to a good university, get a high-paying job, fall in love, and be happy.

God took all of that away. And left me, who could do nothing, behind.

“Shuji, live a lot for me too. Since it’s the end, I’ll say it… your rough way of talking, your rare smiles, your hidden kindness… I loved all of it…”

Rikka’s final words were both the greatest gift and a curse.

A month later, she passed away. Carrying that loss in my heart, I wiped away my tears and started studying.

To become a doctor.

It was a common reason. Wanting to save someone in place of the person I couldn’t save. So, I aimed to be a doctor.

But even after failing the entrance exams three times, I couldn’t get into medical school. I felt my own powerlessness deeply.

Maybe that’s why, in the end, I wanted to live for someone else.

That day, a truck sped toward a young girl crossing the street. I jumped out without thinking, pushed her out of the way, and took her place—

The next moment, a gentle voice, like that of a Goddess, reached my ears. I, who thought God could go to hell, somehow heard it.

“You, who wanted to be a kind doctor, will be given a next life.”

“Priest. That’s your profession in your next life.”

“I’ve given you a skill only you can use.”

“But, since it’s a truly special power, I’ve taken a small price from you.”

“Work hard and save as many lives as you can.”

“May God’s blessing be with you.”

When I came to, I woke up in an unfamiliar forest. I saw my reflection in a clear river nearby. It showed a twelve-year-old version of myself, with my hair changed from black to gray.

An elderly couple named Mileister, from a remote village called Iasis, took me in. Surrounded by their strict but kind love, I began a new life in this world as someone who saves others.