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 32.1: The Flower Seller Laura ※

—This is the story of one particular woman.

On the outskirts of the adventure city Hares.

In a room of a fairly well-off mansion, a young man and woman sat facing each other fondly.

“Osman, good luck with work today too…”

“Yeah, I’m heading out, Laura.”

They were not yet married. But they were in a relationship with marriage in mind—in other words, lovers.

It had been a year since they met.

The young merchant Osman was in the prime of his working life and was about to open a new store.

Laura, meanwhile, was the poster girl at a flower shop. When she delivered flowers to celebrate the new store, Osman was captivated by her pure appearance and, after a desperate courtship, they began dating.

As their meetings deepened, their bond grew stronger, and they came to love each other as irreplaceable partners.

When they spent nights together, their hearts and bodies melted into one another.

—But Laura carried a secret she could never speak of.

“Bring the money! Hand it over quick, you stupid girl!”

“Father, stop! That money isn’t for drinking or gambling!”

It was the existence of her father.

Her only blood relative, the one person who had raised her since childhood.

In the past, he had worked earnestly, and the father and daughter had lived modestly but happily together.

But—a crushing defeat at the casino in the Water Garden City Lagua had ruined everything.

He was saddled with massive debt, drowned in alcohol, began showing up late and making mistakes at work, and eventually lost his job.

Her father became obsessed with gambling. No matter how much he repaid, he borrowed more elsewhere and let the debt grow.

Laura’s wages from the flower shop couldn’t possibly keep up, and the debt snowballed higher and higher.

(If this keeps up… I’ll cause trouble for him… for Osman…)

Left alone in her lover’s house, Laura clenched her trembling fists and murmured to herself.

As long as she carried this debt, marriage would remain nothing more than a dream.

If she told Osman, he might help her—but she absolutely didn’t want to drag the man she loved into this.

“……What should I do…?”

◇◇◇

One evening at dusk.

After closing the flower shop and walking through a dimly lit alley, a voice suddenly called out from behind.

“—Miss. Or rather… should I call you Madam?”

When she turned around, a man stood there with his black hood pulled deep over his face.

His face and age were impossible to tell; only an eerie presence lingered.

“I’m not a madam…”

“But you will be someday, won’t you?”

“Who… are you?”

As the man slowly closed the distance, Laura instinctively stepped back.

“I heard you’re troubled by debt.”

“…How do you know that?”

The man didn’t answer; he simply stated calmly.

“Information flows. What I learned wasn’t about you—it was about your father’s debt.”

“My father’s…”

“If you want to marry, all you need to do is clear the debt. That’s all there is to it.”

Suspicious. Far too suspicious.

But Laura couldn’t walk away. Clutching at straws, she ended up listening to the man’s words.

“Details are this way.”

“…If it seems suspicious, I’ll leave immediately.”

With unease in her chest, Laura followed a few steps behind him.

Before she realized it, she was walking through an unfamiliar maze of alleys in a city she had lived in for years.

They descended a staircase leading underground and arrived at a heavy door. When it was knocked, a low voice answered from inside.

“Come in.”

It was a reception room lined with luxurious furnishings.

Seated on a sofa across a long table was a man dressed in black vestments, wearing a purple zucchetto and a white stole around his neck.

“Bulldog, Archbishop…!?”

A high-ranking cleric of the Misia Church, renowned even in the Einfilia Kingdom.

Overwhelmed by awe, Laura’s voice cracked and she involuntarily dropped to her knees.

—Clink.

What was placed on the table was a bulging cloth bag.

Gold coins spilled from the opening, glittering in the candlelight.

“You’re in trouble, aren’t you?”

“Th-this is…”

“Do you not need it?”

“It’s not that…”

“Hmm. I heard someone was struggling and thought to offer it out of kindness, but it seems I was mistaken. —See her out.”

“W-wait, please!!”

When Laura stubbornly refused to accept it, Bulldog waved his hand to signal her dismissal. But Laura stood up reflexively and desperately stopped him.

“What is it?”

“…To take this money… there’s some kind of price I have to pay… right?”

“Hmm… you seem to understand how things work.”

She had known from the start, deep down.

There was no way it would be free.

“It’s simple… come with me.”

Bulldog rose calmly and opened another door leading deeper inside.

The room had a large bed in the center and looked exactly like a bedroom.

“…So the price is…?”

“Look at the bed. …Put it on.”

“…………Huh?”

For a moment, Laura doubted her ears.

Then she looked at the bed and froze.

What lay there was underwear that could barely be called fabric—more like strings.

It was made solely to provoke shame.

Laura understood what she was expected to offer.

“Y-Your Eminence doesn’t need someone like me… there must be far more beautiful and wonderful women—”

“You’re underestimating your own worth.”

“Eh…”

“Glossy long hair, large eyes and long lashes. A small face and a perfectly proportioned body that carries the scent of flowers… you’re like the very spirit of a flower. The moment I saw you earlier, I was certain. You are a special woman.”

“I-I’m not… someone worthy of such high praise…”

While working at the flower shop, she had been approached by men many times.

But she had never imagined receiving such direct compliments from someone so far above her in status and position.

“Now, what will you do? I’m a busy man. You know that too. Unfortunately, I can only wait ten seconds.”

“Eh, eh…”

A sudden countdown.

Laura’s mind went blank; her thoughts wouldn’t come together, only confusion accelerated.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…”

“W-wait… eh…”

“Five, four, three… two………… one.”

Just as the final number approached, the words burst from Laura’s mouth—

“I’ll do it!! I’ll do it!!”