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 40: The Treatment Center

Chapter 40: The Treatment Center

After sharing that Shu had been taken away by a church sister, Glen headed toward the guildmaster’s room with Iris and Medina in tow.

“Sorry, Guildmaster. Shu can’t make it. He used healing magic carelessly outside… and it seems the church took notice of him.”

Glen announced this, his brown hair swaying. At his words, the guildmaster, Berg Steak, deepened the heavy wrinkles between his brows.

“What’s that? Sounds like that guy’s a magnet for trouble. I was planning to meet him face-to-face and decide whether to lend him a hand…”

Berg’s expression grew stern, his voice rough. Facing his piercing gaze head-on, a petite girl dressed as an adventurer stepped forward.

“I’ve come to speak in place of Shu-sama. My name is Iris Carnelia. I’m usually called a saint candidate, but today I’m in disguise.”

“You’re the saint candidate?”

Berg’s eyes narrowed, his expression growing sharper. The mere mention of someone connected to the church made his body tense up reflexively.

“I’ve heard from Glen-sama that you harbor a strong dislike for the church. But this city is already on the verge of falling under the control of Archbishop Bulldog. Even now, countless women are being exposed to malice.”

Iris spoke with a clear, resolute voice, and Berg’s eyes wavered slightly. But soon, a sharp hatred settled in his gaze.

“I’ve seen it too many times. Comrades who could’ve been saved, left to die because of money…”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I despise the church. How can I forgive people who count coins instead of saving lives?”

His words stabbed sharply. Still, Iris didn’t flinch, meeting his anger head-on.

“You’re absolutely right. But I alone cannot change that. Lowering treatment fees requires the agreement of the church’s higher-ups.”

“I know. But… what do you think?”

The guildmaster looked down at Iris, who was as small as a child compared to him, and pressed her for an answer.

“I don’t believe everything about the church’s current ways is just. On Haramia-sama’s orders, I travel to various places, listen to patients’ voices, and keep advocating for improvements. For example, I believe we should use healing magic even for patients who can’t pay upfront, as long as they promise to pay later. But… as long as archbishops or cardinals control the region, it’s not easily approved.”

She was merely a saint candidate, not a saint. Her influence and political power were limited. Her efforts might seem like a drop in the bucket—but she believed that continuing to raise her voice wasn’t meaningless.

Above all, Shu was here now.

Iris genuinely believed his presence was the hope that could fundamentally change the church.

“You… seem a bit different from the other church folks.”

“Of course! I’m serious about making the church better! I may fall short at times… but still! And Shu-sama will surely lead us to resolve even this major incident, no matter if demons are involved!”

“You believe in that guy that much?”

Berg’s lips twisted into a smirk, and he nodded, swayed by Iris’s unwavering passion.

“Yeah, Guildmaster. I’ll vouch for him too—Shu’s the real deal. If he gets serious, he might take you down in a flash.”

“What? Me? A former A-rank adventurer?”

“You’d see it if you watched him fight just once.”

“…Then, once this incident is over, I’ll face him in the training grounds.”

“Guildmaster, that’s…!”

“Hmph. I’ll cooperate.”

Berg flashed a wide, toothy grin and laughed heartily.

Iris bowed deeply, expressing her heartfelt gratitude.

“But my help is limited. I can reach out to trusted adventurers individually and call on old friends for support. At most, we can surround the church facilities or Bulldog’s mansion if things go south.”

“Iris, is that enough?”

Glen turned his gaze to Iris, checking on Berg’s proposed level of cooperation.

“That’s fine. Thank you very much. Shu-sama will surely succeed in the undercover investigation. And… I have a request for Medina-sama as well.”

“M-Me!?”

Medina, who hadn’t even dreamed she’d be given a role, widened her eyes and raised her voice in surprise.

◇◇◇

“Hey, where are we going, Mariel?”

I called out to the sister wearing glasses as I followed her.

By the way, her name was apparently Mariel.

“You don’t think we’re heading straight to the cathedral, do you? This city has churches in each district. We’re going to the one in the East District. There’s a treatment center attached to it… and that’s where you’ll be assigned first.”

“I see.”

As I’d expected, it wasn’t going to be a straight shot to the cathedral.

The world wasn’t so kind as to let me get close to someone archbishop-level right away.

“Huh, a treatment center? My village had a church, but it doubled as a treatment place.”

“That’s likely. Treatment centers are only found in churches in reasonably large cities. In small villages, there aren’t many people who can use healing magic, so there’s no need to distinguish.”

“Yeah, that makes sense when you put it that way.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

When you thought about it, larger cities meant exponentially more patients.

More beds and staff would be necessary. It only made sense to have a treatment center attached.

…It was like the difference between a private clinic and a general hospital in my previous life.

“Here we are.”

After walking from the North District for a while, we arrived at the church.

The building before me was far larger than I’d imagined. It dwarfed the village church.

The treatment center next to it was just as impressive in scale.

The moment I stepped inside, my eyes widened.

“Next patient!”

“Healing magic can’t keep up! Hurry with the mana recovery potions!”

“What!? Not enough hands!? Someone, anyone, help!”

“Get out of the way! How long are you going to make the next patient wait!?”

It was a battlefield.

The exterior had been grand and serene, but inside was pure chaos.

Sisters and monks in religious garb ran around, shouting, always in motion.

“Shu, was it? How much healing magic can you use? Anything else you can do?”

“Up to low-level magic. I also dabbled as a village doctor, so I know a bit about herbs.”

“Got it. Let’s get instructions from the director.”

Mariel navigated the chaotic hallway with practiced steps and called out to an older sister clutching her head at the far end.

She had the air of a strict, no-nonsense woman.

“Megzly-san! I brought help!”

“Thank goodness! So, what can you do!?”

“He says he can use low-level healing magic and has some knowledge of herbs.”

“Hmm… that’s enough. Alright, you’re in charge of Treatment Room 3! Keep using healing magic until you drop and administer the right herbs! Mariel-san, can you assist him?”

“Of course, since I brought him.”

The decision was made without room for argument, and I was led to Treatment Room 3.

It was a small room with a desk, a chair, and shelves lined with bottled herbs. A treatment bed stood against the wall.

…This, I could work with.

“Let’s begin.”

I took off my robe, sat in the chair in my religious garb, and Mariel started calling in patients.

“I hurt my knee…”

The first to appear was a white-haired old woman. Her deeply wrinkled face suggested she was over eighty.

She lay on the treatment bed, lifted her long skirt, and showed me her injured knee. Blood seeped from it, a painful sight.

“Granny, is it just your knee?”

“I’m old, you know. My knee joints ache, and walking’s been tough lately.”

Got it—probably something like ‘knee joint pain.’

This might be something I could fix at its root.

“Alright, I’ll treat it—<Heal>.”

I held my hand over her knee and quietly activated <Perfect Clear>.

It looked like ordinary healing magic, but in truth, it treated the underlying condition as well.

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry about the details. Just watch.”

Normally, magic didn’t require touch. But following <Perfect Clear>’s instructions, I touched her knee, rubbing it while channeling mana.

Fifteen seconds later, the disguised <Perfect Clear> behind the <Heal> was complete.

“Done. Try standing.”

When I pulled my hand away, the wound on her knee had vanished as if it had never existed.

“Oh… the pain’s gone… hmph, hmph, hmph!”

“Grandma!?”

The old woman stood from the treatment bed and, unbelievably, started doing squats.

Mariel panicked, trying to stop her sudden movements.

“Ho ho ho! Even the heaviness in my knee is gone! My, what a skilled monk!”

“This is nothing. But don’t overdo it, Granny.”

The old woman thanked me cheerfully and left the room with a spring in her step.

“Shu… I have a ton of questions. But patients are piling up. I’ll ask later.”

“Do what you want.”

Mariel shot me a glare through her glasses but quickly called in the next patient.

The treatments continued. Mostly injuries and minor illnesses, few serious cases. Many could be handled with herbs alone, and I dealt with them one after another.

“We’re out of mana potions! Rooms 1, 2, and 4 are at their limit!”

A scream echoed from outside the treatment room. Monks and sisters were collapsing from mana exhaustion.

I locked eyes with Mariel and gave a slight nod.

“Send all remaining patients to Room 3! We’ll handle them!”

Mariel barked the order, and from then on, all patients were sent to me.

Come to think of it, I’d never experienced mana exhaustion. Was that another perk of my level? I didn’t learn magic until after I’d leveled up quite a bit…

Before I knew it, there were no more patients to treat.

“Phew… finally done.”

“It’s closing time. Good work, Shu.”

Mariel offered words of appreciation.

But right after, she checked outside the treatment room and said, “There’s one last patient.”

I shrugged and agreed to take them.

“Sorry for coming at closing time.”

The newcomer was a stocky, large man. His clothes were sloppy, his demeanor like he’d just rolled out of bed. Yet his tone carried an air of authority.

“No problem. One more’s nothing.”

I bantered lightly, looking up at the patient sitting in the chair—and froze.

His face was like a pig’s.

No, it was as if a pig had been forcibly stuffed into a human shape, an utterly bizarre appearance.

With his bulky frame, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself.

…This guy’s an orc, isn’t he?