Translator: P411

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 153 – A Prayer

But why was a church person doing charity work here? I wondered if there was some hidden motive. But this guy seemed to be doing it out of goodwill, so I didn’t think he was that kind of person.

“Thank you very much, Nicole-san.”

A deeply moved villager took the man’s hand and shook it.

On the contrary, the man in the robe looked pale and weak, and muttered quietly, “I’m relieved.”

Did he run out of magic at the last minute? Perhaps he’s someone who doesn’t have high MP.

After seeing off the villagers who had taken their potions and left looking energized, the man collapsed on the spot.

“I’m sorry… for showing my pathetic side so many times. I don’t have much magic in me, so I can only heal about two to three people at a time. Furthermore, I passed out for the whole day yesterday… How pathetic. It took me this long to heal the villagers.”

“No, it was such a wonderful prayer. To me, getting rid of the corruption so effectively was amazing.”

The only things I had against the corruption were this fire liquor and the potions I had used on the gatekeepers, and those potions were still a work in progress. 

“Then again, that magic from before, it’s not the same as recovery magic, is it?”

“Yes, it’s called holy magic, and it’s only taught by the church. It’s different from recovery magic.”

“The church… as I thought.”

When I responded with a guarded tone, the man had a sad smile, as if he understood.

“Please rest assured, I’m no longer a member of the church. The current teachings of the church are just too much for me to accept, so I parted ways with them…”

The man lowered his gaze and muttered to himself, but after a moment, he seemed to regain his composure and stood up, saying, “Well then.”

“There are still people recuperating at home. I have to go there and cleanse the corruption.”

“By any chance, is one of those Fondia-san?”

When I asked the man who was stretching, he looked surprised and turned to me.

“Did you know each other? He said he couldn’t stay here any longer as he was worried about his wife, so he went home.”

“Well, I handed him the fire liquor, so I think he’s probably fine.”

Crash was also there, so I’m sure all the corruption should have disappeared already.

Hearing my words, the man’s expression relaxed, clearly relieved.

“Thank you so much for what you did for us earlier. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know how long it would have taken to heal everyone.” 

The man bowed deeply. 

We both went into a smaller back room, where the player had gone into earlier to log out. 

The hall where the patients were was difficult to relax in, so the man led me into the back room and offered me some tea at a table next to the bed where the player’s avatar was sleeping. 

Ah, this was evening primrose tea. Delicious.

“Someone who came to the city asked for my potions, and I decided it would be better to come in person. And I wanted to visit this village anyway. I’m glad everyone could be healed.”

The man smiled at my words.

I couldn’t believe that the man sitting in front of me, who looked so saintly, grew up in that church, so I decided to ask him something that had been bothering me for a while.

“Is holy magic something that only people from the church can use?”

“Well, basically, everyone raised in the church’s orphanage learns it from a very young age. Some remain in the church and serve God, but there are also people who leave to travel around, so I wouldn’t say it’s only limited to church members.”

“I see. So that means, um, you’re also one of those who left to travel?”

The man then gave me a surprised look.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Nicole. I’m just a villager who’s pretending to be a priest in the village.” 

A mere villager? Pretending? Certainly, I didn’t see any church-like buildings in this village.

I also introduced myself, replying, “I’m Mac, a Pharmacist,” to the smiling Nicole. 

“The potions from before worked very well because you’re a skilled pharmacist. Truly, I was saved. I’d like to thank you in some way.”

“Even if you say that…”

I started to refuse, since I wasn’t here for a reward, but then a sudden thought came to me. I wondered if I could ask Nicole-san to teach me [ Prayer ], since he used it to cleanse the corruption.

“Um, Nicole-san, would you be able to teach me [ Prayer ]?”

“[ Prayer ]? Don’t worry. It’s quite basic, so you can learn it quickly. Then, as the reward, shall I teach you [ Prayer ]?”

“Yes, please! “

I did it! I was able to learn [ Prayer ], although in an unexpected way.

Nicole-san said something like, “Are you really okay with this as a reward?” But I didn’t know how much I’d be ripped off if I took a course from the church, so I was really grateful.

And so, next to the player’s avatar, who was motionless like a corpse, I ended up training to learn [ Prayer ]. It was surreal.

This training session, which lasted almost 2 hours, went over how to hold your hands, the proper posture to pray, how to recite the prayer, the state of mind you should have, and then, how to channel a full state of concentration, all of which were quite challenging. At the end of it, something appeared in the skill section.

Could it be…

“Then, shall we do a rehearsal?”

“Those who watch over us from the heavens, we thank you for cleansing us from all the worldly impurities and bringing us peace. We thank you for giving us the strength to live each day with peace of mind.”

Holding my hands, imagining there was a God above me, I prayed in earnest.

When I prayed, my MP went down rapidly. My stamina also dropped. It wasn’t like that at all until just now.

Could it be that I activated [ Prayer ]? 

“Please grant me the strength to replace hatred with love, sorrow with joy, and despair with hope. Please grant me the strength to protect this love of mine, which desires the happiness of only one person.”

I chanted in unison with Nicole-san. Vidello-san was the one who came to my mind when I heard the words ‘happiness of only one person.’ The more I recited those words, the more I thought of Vidello-san, and I was grateful that I could fully concentrate without getting bored. I really wanted the power to protect my love. If it’s for Vidello-san, I could pray many times over.

I clasped my hands together, closed my eyes, and prayed with all my heart.

“Yes, you did very well. I’m sure Mac-san is praying with all of his heart.”

Nicole-san’s voice suddenly brought me back to reality.

I nodded in response and quickly opened the skill section. There I found the word [ Prayer ] clearly written.

I did it! I learned it! But it’s level 1, obviously.

I guess this meant I couldn’t get a high-rank holy water unless I prayed a lot and raised my level. I still had a long way to go…

“Thank you very much.”

“No, thank you too. It’s already late. If you don’t mind, would you like to stay here?” 

It was very gracious of Nicole-san to offer, but I had to put it on hold because I also had an offer from Vidello-san and Crash.

As I walked out into the hall, I saw Vidello-san standing by the door with his arms crossed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I make you wait?”

“No, I’ve been here listening to your prayers the whole time, so it’s okay. It touched me very deeply here…”

And Vidello-san touched the left side of his chest.  

I had been praying non-stop with Vidello-san’s face in mind, so maybe I sent some kind of psychic signal? Just kidding! But, if my prayers had reached Vidello-san, I would be a little happy.

“Shall we go to Crash’s place? Speaking of which, Nicole-san asked me if I wanted to stay here, so should we take him up on his offer?”

“We’ll decline his offer. I’m sure he’s tired, so he might not be able to rest if we’re here.”

“I see. That’s true.”

If Crash is staying at the Fondia’s couple’s place, then Vidello-san and I can take our time and walk back together as a night date. I’m definitely going to sleep in tomorrow.

I told Nicole-san we wouldn’t be staying over. After thanking him, we left the building.

As we were walking along the deserted street, we saw a group on horseback approaching from the other end.

In the lead was the player who had come to Tre before us. 

When he spotted us, he came up to us and dismounted from the horse.

“Sorry, I’m late. What happened?”

“Well, all those affected by corruption have been healed and gone home.”

“I see, that’s good to hear… Thank you. By the way, what happened to my partner?”

“He’s now logged out at the back of the building over there.”

“Thank goodness. And I have to log out as well. A couple of Tre’s guards have been dispatched to this village, so I can log out in peace.”

Maybe the person who was with Blossom-san was one of the guards. Thank goodness.

“Until now, this village has been able to live peacefully without being attacked by monsters. Is there a secret to this?”

“There are plants that grow around this village that monsters dislike. Some of the plants have withered, so I think this might be the reason behind the attack. But I don’t know the full details.”

“So if we don’t replant them, the monsters will come again. “

“It seems that way.”

Wow, that was pretty serious.

What plants do monsters hate anyway? I was a little curious. I wonder if they can be cultivated?

As I was fidgeting, Vidello-san suggested, “Why don’t we go there and have a look? “

“If I don’t go, a certain herbal pharmacist will be in tears.”

So we went to the outskirts of the village facing the eastern forest.

Vidello-san had apparently come this way when he went to defeat the monsters. I walked alongside Vidello-san, who guided us at a steady pace, and arrived in front of a place of interest.

There was an old tree there that had fallen to the ground with brown leaves scattered around it.