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 31: To the Adventuring City of Hares

Chapter 31: To the Adventuring City of Hares

We set out from the last village.

As we spent more time together, the nature of our journey naturally began to shift.

Initially, I took down every monster we encountered, but one day, Glen made a serious proposal.

“—Shu, you’ve been handling everything behind our backs, haven’t you? Could you at least let us fight too? Since we’re involved in the Hares incident, it’s only natural we contribute. It wouldn’t hurt for you to see what we’re capable of.”

“…Got it. Since monsters will probably keep coming at us, why don’t I leave them to you guys for a while?”

“Thanks. Honestly, I was getting rusty from too much downtime.”

That conversation happened a few days ago.

Since then, it became our rule to let the Silver Blade party handle any monsters that appeared.

“—Green Lizards! Four of them! Battle stations!”

We were a day’s distance from Hares.

Glen, at the coachman’s seat, spotted the monsters and shouted to his comrades while leaping off the carriage.

Green Lizards—creatures resembling wingless, downsized wyverns.

Boasting bodies nearly twice the size of a human, their sharp fangs and massive tails were weapons in themselves.

“—<Protect>, <Strong>!”

Erina, the cleric, cast light-element defensive and offensive support magic.

“Here they come, Garo!”

“Raaaah!”

Two Green Lizards charged head-on. Garo, the tank, met them with his great shield raised.

With a resounding crash, the two were repelled, while the other two dodged to the sides, rushing toward Risia.

“Not so fast!”

Glen sprinted forward, weaving with sharp footwork to slip into one’s guard, then swung his treasured sword, slashing its foreleg.

The staggered lizard collided with its companion, ruining their charge.

“Glen, get back! —<Flare Bomb>!”

With Risia’s chant, a searing fireball formed.

A mid-tier fire spell far surpassing the basic <Fireball>.

The massive fireball engulfed both Green Lizards, incinerating them in a blaze of flames.

“—!!”

With a final roar of agony, the two dissolved into black smoke and vanished.

Only the two repelled by Garo remained.

“—Here I go! <Holy Lance>!”

Erina raised her hand to the sky, conjuring multiple spears of light that shot toward the enemy.

A brilliant flash pierced one, killing it instantly, but the other, though bleeding, avoided a fatal wound and attempted to flee.

“No escape—!”

Glen gave chase, but the distance was still too great.

In that moment, he raised his sword and muttered lowly.

“Mystic Art—<Void Blade>.”

The next instant, as if space itself were sliced, the Green Lizard’s body split in two and collapsed to the ground.

“Whoa, what the hell was that?! That’s cheating, man!”

Watching from afar, my eyes widened at the sight.

It was an invisible slash that ignored the sword’s range. A blade of pure magic…!

“Good work, everyone. Nice moves.”

Having finished the battle, Glen praised his team and returned to the carriage.

“Hey, that technique… how’s it work?”

“You mean <Void Blade>? It’s a mystic art that extends the sword with magic, forcibly stretching its reach to strike.”

“But I couldn’t even see the blade.”

“Magic isn’t naturally visible. It only becomes visible when manifested as a spell. Mystic arts are imbued into the body or weapon, so they’re generally invisible.”

“…It looked like it reached over five meters.”

“Yeah. My limit’s probably six, maybe seven meters.”

—That’s insane.

My <Air Slash> can attack from a distance too, but being a wind spell, it’s visible as a green slash.

<Void Blade>, though, is a completely invisible strike. In terms of ambush potential, it might even surpass mine.

“Just so you know, Shu, mystic arts aren’t something everyone can use. Unlike magic, they’re completely original… dependent on personal training and talent. Glen’s <Void Blade> is the result of years of hard work.”

“Huh… so that’s how it is.”

“Exactly. For someone like me, who can’t use magic, it’s the peak you reach through relentless effort. Someone with magical talent like you, Shu, wouldn’t normally need it.”

Risia’s explanation was met with a quiet nod and added words from Glen.

—An original technique. A strike unique to each person.

My chest stirred with excitement.

This means… if I train, I could develop a mystic art only I can use.

…Sounds fun.

Might be worth giving it a shot.

◇◇◇

After that, we continued on, occasionally taking down monsters, and advanced for a few more hours.

We were almost at our destination, the adventuring city of Hares.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, mind if we make a quick detour? We’re almost at Hares, so a little side trip shouldn’t hurt, right?”

Risia, grinning mischievously, steered the carriage to the left.

We exchanged glances but followed along. After about thirty minutes, we arrived at the base of a large mountain.

“Risia, how far are you taking us?”

By now, we’d strayed from our urgent schedule and had some leeway. But being led into the mountains without explanation was enough to make anyone question.

“Hehe, just follow me quietly. We’re almost there. You’ll be amazed, I promise.”

She’s such a tease. But sensing no danger, I figured it wasn’t anything bad. With a heavy sigh, I decided to follow her lead.

A few minutes later—

The moment the view opened up, I felt the air temperature rise slightly.

“Shu! We’re here!”

Risia’s voice was full of excitement. Following her gaze, I couldn’t help but shout.

“Whoa, a hot spring?!”

White steam rose in clouds.

A milky-white spring, about twenty meters in diameter, quietly emitted steam.

A natural hot spring—I never thought I’d encounter one in this world.

“Hehe, let’s take a dip before we hit Hares. Feels better to arrive refreshed, doesn’t it?”

“You’re the best, Risia!”

In villages, we bathed with water heated by fire magic or washed in rivers…

But hot springs were something special to me.

With a large rock in the center separating men and women, Risia decided, “Shu’s here, so we don’t need a lookout.” And so, we all soaked together.

“Ahhh… this is paradise…”

“You didn’t know, did you, Shu?”

Next to me, Glen soaked up to his shoulders. Beside him was Garo, his massive muscles like a beast god’s statue as water cascaded over his rock-like arms and chest.

“Hot springs like this are scattered in remote spots… but if you go to the Water Garden City of Lagua, the whole city’s full of natural springs.”

“What?! A city like that exists…?”

“Haha, but it’s full of temptations. The kingdom’s biggest red-light district, casinos, shady solicitations… stories of travelers losing everything in a single night are common.”

Like Kabukicho or Las Vegas, maybe?

Sounds like a city full of temptations. I’d be fine just enjoying the springs.

“…Iris, they’re really huge. How’ve you lived normally with those?”

“Hehe, I’m a saint candidate, so…”

“Does that have anything to do with it?”

Voices from the women’s side drifted over the rock. Apparently, Risia was marveling at Iris’s busty chest.

Having seen it myself, I get it. It’s practically a treasure of humanity. The size is obvious, but the whiteness, the smoothness, the faint sweet fragrance…

“I-I want to grow bigger soon too…”

“Don’t worry, Medina-chan. You’ll get there in no time.”

“Erina-sama’s are pretty big too. I’m jealous.”

“A-are they? Mine are just normal…”

“What’s with that humblebrag? I’m about the same size as Medina even at my age!”

“Risia, you’ve got a cute face. Breasts are just a part of the body.”

Sounds like the women were having their own chest-focused conversation.

“Haha, women care about that stuff too, huh?”

“When the difference is that stark, yeah.”

“But in the end, love’s what matters, right? Size doesn’t.”

Glen started gushing about Risia, so I opened my mouth to change the topic—

“Eek?!”

“What the?!”

A sudden scream echoed from the women’s side. It was Erina’s voice. Then—

“Kyaa!”

Medina’s scream.

“Emergency, Glen!”

“Got it!”

I instantly activated <Air Boost>, wrapping myself in wind and leaping over the rock to the women’s side—

“Kyaaaaa?!”

The moment I landed, I saw—four naked bodies.

It was unavoidable, but I’d seen Risia and Erina too.

…Sorry, Glen.

Apologizing inwardly, I shouted.

“What happened?! You okay?!”

“S-spider! A big spider on the rock…! I-I can’t handle bugs!”

I froze at the anticlimactic reason.

Bugs are everywhere, aren’t they?

“Oh, this?”

I plucked a small spider off the rock and flicked it far away with <Air Boost>. There’s that superstition about not killing spiders, after all.

“All good now?”

“Y-yes… thank you…”

Erina’s face turned redder by the second.

Glen, nearby, seemed a bit embarrassed too, probably from seeing Iris’s chest.

“U-um…”

“If you’re done, get back over there, you idiot!!”

Erina couldn’t tear her eyes from my lower half, blushing and shrinking back.

Risia, face red, slapped my cheek in a burst of uncontrollable impulse.

I could’ve dodged easily if I tried—but I didn’t.

As penance for seeing Glen’s lover naked, I let myself take the hit.

◇◇◇

After leaving the spring, the carriages headed back toward Hares. The separate carriages kept the awkwardness to a minimum.

And then—a few hours later.

“Ah…”

Ahead, a towering city wall and massive gate came into view.

“That’s… the adventuring city of Hares.”

As one of the four great cities, its scale was overwhelming even from a distance.

This is where it begins—the incident surrounding Archbishop Undir Bulldog.

To fulfill Iris’s wish, I finally set foot in this place.

What awaited—I couldn’t imagine.

But my heart was racing.

My journey in this other world was only just beginning.

The trials ahead wouldn’t be easy. But with companions by my side, there was no reason to fear.

Thinking of far-off Iasis Village, I straightened up and strode boldly toward the gate of Hares.