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 54.2: Seira’s Return ※

Chapter 54.2: Seira’s Return ※

My face brightened without thinking, but then I felt a twinge of worry.

“But tomorrow is too soon, right? Your body is not fully recovered yet.”

“No, I want to grip my sword right now. I am itching to purge the evil.”

“If you say you are fine, then okay, but tell the old man first.”

“Yeah, of course.”

And finally――I confessed what I had kept hidden deep in my chest.

“…There is one thing I need to apologize for.”

“What. For humiliating me? I have not forgiven you for that yet.”

I hurriedly stopped Seira as she started to say it with her face bright red.

“No no. …I am not officially affiliated with the church. Working at the clinic was to gather info on Bulldog.”

“…Hmm. Go on.”

“So, I quit the clinic today. Also, my registration is as an adventurer. Job is priest.”

“…………Off to the Inquisition, then.”

Seira stated it with a serious expression at my revelation.

“――Just kidding.”

“Do not say it with a straight face…”

I shrugged, and Seira took a sip of tea before speaking quietly.

“…Did you treat me just to gather information?”

“No, that’s not it. The old man happened to come to the clinic by chance, and I saw Seira’s chart.”

“Then, you are just a good-hearted fool. I belong to the church. So I do not like adventurers, those barbaric types. ――But, Shu. You are different.”

Those words made a small heat stir deep in my chest.

“Your actions were not fake. So I will not hate you over one little lie.”

“…Thanks. Deceiving people does not suit me.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling.”

A calm air flowed.

I stood from the chair and turned my back to Seira as I headed for the entrance.

Then she stood too and saw me off to the end.

“…Shu. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Take care of yourself.”

“Hmph, who do you think I am.”

Her face was no longer that of the woman eaten by the curse.

What dwelt in her eyes was the pride of a temple knight and the light of resolve to walk forward again――

Finally, the real Seira had returned.

◇◇◇

“Nn――Who are you…?”

The moment I left Seira’s house, a burly shadow appeared right in front of me.

“Ah… Old man.”

“Were you meeting Seira?”

“Yeah. Nothing to do with the clinic. Personal business.”

The pig-faced man――a father figure to Seira.

Come to think of it, I had not told him I was coming here.

“How was Seira?”

“――Her illness, no, curse is gone. She is back to full health.”

“…………!”

At those words, the pig-faced old man’s eyes flew wide open.

His thick shoulders trembled in small shakes, and his clenched fist made a quiet creak.

“She probably wants to see you. Go show your face soon.”

“Shu… was it.”

“Yeah.”

“…Thank you.”

For that instant alone, the pig-like face softened just a bit.

It looked like a human, gentle expression――no, that was probably his real face.

I let out a small breath and turned my back.

“――Wait. Tell me your name… your family name.”

He called me back, and I stopped.

“My name is Shu Mileister. A perverted crap priest raised by a crap old man and crap old lady in the East Forest.”

I left behind words that did not land right no matter how I thought about it, and parted from the pig-faced old man.

◇◇◇

“――Seira.”

“Pig un…!”

The moment the door opened, Seira shook her light blue hair as she jumped into his giant frame.

The one person in this world she could act spoiled toward.

Not connected by blood, but bound by heart like a father――that was Alaster.

“You are well again… huh.”

“Yeah, yeah…!”

She should have cried just a bit ago, but new tears spilled down already.

――These were tears she could finally shed from the heart.

“That guy, Shu… he cured me…!”

“I passed him outside just now. …Seira, you did well.”

“Uuh… Kuh… Uh…!”

Seira clung tight and cried out like a child.

But before wiping her tears, she had something to tell him.

“Pig uncle… I have something to say. Something I must tell you no matter what――”

“Yeah, I know. About Bulldog, right?”

“…How did you?”

“I met the guild master yesterday.”

Alaster too had news he needed to tell her.

“A comrade you fought with long ago…?”

“Yeah. There, I heard a bit about Shu too.”

“I see…”

To Seira, who had caught her breath a little, Alaster quietly asked.

“Can you move? You just recovered. Do not push yourself… though I know it is pointless.”

“As expected of Pig Uncle. You know my personality well. ――I return to the unit starting tomorrow.”

Seira was the type to act the moment she decided.

It came less from a sense of duty and more from her nature of liking to move her body.

“――Yesterday, I contacted the Hares branch. Shared the info too. Sent a letter to His Holiness the Pope. Coordinated with the vice captain, and the purge operation date is set.”

“…No way.”

“The operation is in three days. We detain Bulldog as a heretic and seize all his facilities in Hares at once.”

“――As expected, Pig Uncle.”

At those words, Alaster lifted the corner of his mouth just a bit.

That night, the two sat shoulder to shoulder for the first time in a while and chatted idly until the sun set.