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 41: The Strange Disease

Chapter 41: The Strange Disease

The moment I saw the pig-like face, I couldn’t help but scream inwardly.

—No way, an orc?

At the same time, an unsettling sense of déjà vu washed over me.

That’s right, ‘Uglification’. The curse that turned Medina and the women of the city into pig-faced figures. A spell that imposed what one considered an “ugly face” onto its target. If that’s the case… could this pig-faced man actually be Bulldog himself? The suspicion flickered through my mind.

“…Something wrong?”

“N-No. Tell me about your condition.”

Calm down. It’s too early to jump to conclusions. There’s no evidence to confirm that this pig-faced guy is Bulldog. For now, I needed to hear him out.

“I want this face turned back to normal.”

“…Huh?”

A dumbfounded sound slipped out of me.

“Pfft, just kidding. This face is how I was born.”

“…Give me a break.”

Don’t crack such unfunny jokes. It’s bad for my heart.

Mariel, standing behind me, didn’t show any particular reaction, so it seemed unlikely this guy was Bulldog himself.

“What I need is medicine. I’m here on behalf of a patient named Seira Clover. There should be a chart for her.”

“Mariel, can you find it?”

“Leave it to me.”

Mariel deftly rummaged through the bookshelf and brought back the chart.

“…Bedridden for months. A strange disease that gradually drains physical strength and mana. Without regular healing magic, potions, or medicine, there’s a risk of death from exhaustion… What is this?”

As my eyes scanned the chart, a chill ran down my spine. This was no joke—it was deadly serious.

“Just to check, the saint in the capital can use ‘Appraisal’, right? Can’t she take a look?”

“The saint is extremely busy. Besides, Seira herself is stubborn about not wanting to cause trouble.”

“A patient shouldn’t be so reserved… But if we could identify the disease, we might be able to make the right medicine.”

“I think so too, but there’s no record of this disease in medical history. It’s not something that’ll be cured easily.”

The pig-faced man seemed to be well over forty, with the knowledge and experience to match his age. If even he shook his head, this might truly be a rare disease.

“…Alright, got it. Medicine, right?”

I checked the prescription listed in the chart, pulled out the necessary pills, and handed them over.

The man took them carefully and headed for the door—but just before leaving, he turned back to me.

“You seem like an unusual monk. It’s rare for someone to listen so attentively in such a hectic place.”

“…Seeing a condition like that, how could I stay indifferent?”

I’m not a monk but a priest, though I didn’t need to clarify that.

Seira’s condition was, without a doubt, the most severe among the patients I’d seen today.

How could I not care? A disease that could kill her—it reminded me of Rikka’s illness in my previous life, cancer.

Eventually, the door closed, leaving just me and Mariel in the treatment room.

“—Shu. I have something to ask you.”

“Yeah.”

Here it comes, I thought, sighing inwardly.

It’s about my ‘Heal’, or rather, my ‘Perfect Clear’. But I had no intention of revealing my hand to someone from Bulldog’s faction.

“Your ‘Heal’ is extraordinary in both speed and power. You even healed a patient with joint pain, didn’t you?”

Mariel seemed to think it was all the effect of ‘Heal’.

“Yeah… I don’t know the details myself, but my ‘Heal’ seems a bit special.”

“…Fine. It’s your first day. I’ll learn more about you eventually.”

Mariel didn’t press further, though her suspicious gaze lingered behind her glasses. For now, I’d dodged the bullet.

“One more thing. I want to do a house call tomorrow.”

“For… Seira Clover, perhaps?”

“Yeah. I can’t judge from just the chart. I want to see her with my own eyes. This is a personal visit, so don’t charge any fees.”

“…But you’ll come back to work at the treatment center afterward, right?”

“Of course.”

Seira’s unusual condition wasn’t normal.

My gut was telling me—this wasn’t just a disease. It was something else entirely.

◇◇◇

As Iris had instructed, I stayed in a room at the back of the treatment center reserved for monks and sisters. Not everyone stayed, but it was common for newcomers to live on-site initially.

I shared a room with other male monks, all looking utterly exhausted.

“You the new guy? You seem pretty young.”

“It’s a long story. Mariel, that sister, brought me here.”

As I lay on my bed, a monk in the next bed struck up a conversation. He looked to be in his early twenties and carried the air of someone who’d worked at the treatment center for a while.

“Oh, Mariel-san? She can be a bit strict, but you okay?”

“I thought so at first, but she didn’t really complain.”

“I saw you. While other monks were dropping from mana exhaustion, you were completely fine.”

“Seems I’ve got a lot of mana.”

“Haha! You might just be this treatment center’s savior.”

“Savior’s not my style. Cut it out.”

The man laughed jokingly. Iris had said something similar before, but the word didn’t suit me. I wanted to help people, but I wasn’t after fame or titles.

Talking like this, I didn’t get the sense that everyone in Bulldog’s faction was rotten to the core. I didn’t know how much the treatment fees were, but the monk in front of me seemed to take his work seriously.

So, I decided to ask something that had been on my mind.

“—I came here without hearing much from Mariel about this Archbishop Bulldog… What’s his faction like?”

“Hmm. In a word, meritocratic. The Archbishop himself is keen on making money and aims to climb higher. So, his subordinates—us—get paid more if we work hard, and our ranks can rise based on performance.”

His tone suggested he wasn’t blindly devoted but rather saw it as a job with good benefits.

“Have you met him?”

“I’ve glimpsed him a few times. He doesn’t show up at the church much.”

“And your work still gets recognized?”

“Yeah. Evaluations go up through the chain of command and eventually reach the Archbishop.”

I see. At least on paper, it sounded like a system where effort was rewarded.

But if I couldn’t get close to Bulldog, I had no intention of staying here long. Gathering information would be enough.

“That said, I’m just here for the pay. But a lot of the sisters joined this faction because they admire the Archbishop.”

“Really? This might sound weird, but the Archbishop isn’t some pig-faced guy, is he?”

“Hahaha! Say that, and you’ll end up at an inquisition. …Kidding, of course. The Archbishop is famously handsome among the clergy.”

“…What?”

The answer was so far from my expectations that my voice cracked. Come to think of it, Iris hadn’t mentioned anything about his appearance.

“He’s got long red hair, a charming face, and refined manners. He’s wildly popular with women. They say that’s why this treatment center has more female patients than other districts.”

“…Now that you mention it, most of the patients were women.”

Many were elderly, but there were indeed fewer men.

Still, no matter how good-looking someone was, what they did behind the scenes was another matter. I figured people’s reputations were just surface-level.

◇◇◇

After everyone had fallen asleep, I got up to use the bathroom.

As expected of a profitable treatment center, the toilet was shockingly clean. It was a proper Western-style toilet, as if technology from my previous life had been brought here.

I pulled down my pants, sat on the seat, and was about to relieve myself—when suddenly.

“—Shu-sama.”

“Gah!?”

Iris appeared right in front of me.

She caught me mid-urination, front and center.

“Y-You! Don’t scare me like that! It stopped!”

“Oh my. You’re still shy, even though I’ve seen it plenty of times? How adorable.”

“It’s normal to stop!”

It felt like riding a roller coaster when your stomach drops—my flow had completely halted.

“You weren’t in your bunk, so I looked for you and saw you heading to the toilet, so I joined you.”

“Well… I did say to come at night… So, how’d it go with the Guildmaster?”

We were supposed to share information tonight.

“Yes. We secured his cooperation, though it’s limited to surrounding the mansion or church if someone tries to escape.”

“Well, without catching them in the act, an arrest is tough.”

“Indeed. So, I asked Medina-sama for help as well. Her ‘Stealth’ is impressive. I requested she investigate the underground facilities—”

“…Is that safe?”

Medina’s level was still low, and she likely had little combat experience. The custom weapon we ordered from the blacksmith probably hadn’t been delivered yet.

“I was worried at first, but it should be fine. How do you think I snuck into this treatment center?”

“Huh? Oh, right… the door was locked, wasn’t it?”

“—Medina-sama unlocked it.”

“…Assassins can pull off thief-like tricks too?”

I couldn’t help but frown. Incidentally, my pants were still down.

“That’s usually a thief’s domain. But for some reason, Medina-sama has those skills.”

“…Come to think of it, I don’t know what Medina was doing before she got caught.”

“She might be someone who’s left her past behind to live in the present. That’s not uncommon.”

“…Maybe.”

A cute girl like her having a job like an Assassin?

There had to be a reason.

Maybe, as the job name suggested, she was in the assassination business and got caught by Bulldog along the way—or something like that.

“By the way, I have a request.”

“Yes?”

“Can you use ‘Appraisal’ on someone named Seira Clover at this address? It’s unrelated to Bulldog, but she’s got a strange disease that’s slowly draining her strength and mana. You’re the only one I can ask.”

“Draining strength and mana…? I’ve never heard of that… Understood. I’ll look into it right away.”

“Sorry, I’m counting on you.”

I handed her the paper to have Seira checked.

She wasn’t my patient directly, but I couldn’t ignore such a serious illness.

“…By the way, Shu-sama.”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you going to continue?”

“Gah! Get out already! I can’t go with you here!!”

“Oh!”

I forcibly shoved Iris out of the stall and finally managed to relieve myself in peace.

But the shock of being seen must have tensed me up, because it took a while for anything to come out.