It Wasn’t Healing, It Was Training Magic

After Soho coughed up blood and collapsed.
The scene was truly a cauldron of chaos.

“S-Someone has collapsed!”

Even though Marleon can be considered the stronghold of healers,
it’s not often that you see someone collapse while coughing up blood right before your eyes.

“What should we do? Leave her like this?”
“Why are you just staring blankly? Call a healer first! She might die at this rate.”

People became urgent.
The situation seemed that serious.

Coughing up black blood and screaming in pain,
who could ignore such a sight?

“I… I’m fine… ugh!!”

Even if she claims she’s fine, it certainly wasn’t.
From an onlooker’s perspective, it absolutely wasn’t.

Soho was having seizures, consumed by pain while coughing up blood.
The symptoms looked so severe that it seemed she might really die at this rate.

“J-Just a moment, please!”

Before the situation escalated further, I stepped forward.
Since people were surrounding her, I could only reach her after asking for permission.

“Heal—.”
“Hoo, haah…”

As the light of healing enveloped her, she stopped coughing up blood.
As her complexion gradually returned, Soho let out a sigh of relief.
After taking a few deep breaths, Soho examined her body here and there.

“Unbelievable… to think it could be healed at once. It was a curse I’ve had my whole life…”

She stared with wide eyes.
Unable to close her mouth.
Soho then grabbed my hand and apologized.

“I’m truly sorry. To have doubted such a skilled healer. I’m ashamed.”

And she bowed her head.
Holding both my hands tightly, she promised again.
To teach me every day.

“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure to teach you thoroughly! Hehe.”

In the end, I was satisfied.
I gained an opportunity to build a relationship with someone from the closed-off ‘Baekya’ family,
and I could prepare for the upcoming exam.

However, one thing that was bewildering was.

“Impossible! A male healer? Are you a high-ranking person from the church?”
“To heal such a serious illness at once! He must be a saint!”
“Hooray~! Long live the monotheistic church!”

As the result was outstanding, I received too much attention.
Until now, I hadn’t hidden my magic and used it freely when possible,
but this was the first time I used magic in front of so many people.

Perhaps that’s why.
All those people who were worried about Soho cheered,
and more people started gathering out of curiosity, wondering if there was something to see.

“What are you doing? Let’s run away quickly.”

Fortunately, with Soho’s help, I was able to escape safely before the crowd of people grew larger.

After that, I started meeting Soho at the library every day.
Our study sessions began immediately from the next day.

The main content of the written exam was about the church’s scripture, the holy book.

“God said, man shall not live by bread alone… Man must be born again of the Holy Spirit…”

What does this mean?
No matter how much I read, I couldn’t understand what it meant.
Should I say it’s like reading a completely different language?

Perhaps because I was originally non-religious from my previous life, I had difficulty accepting it.

If I had studied alone,
I wonder if I would have seriously considered giving up.

“Of course, it’s difficult. Becoming an official healer isn’t easy.”

It was as Soho said.
Becoming a healer was definitely not a simple matter.
In fact, I don’t think it had hit me this hard before.

Healing magic that can’t be learned unless you have an aptitude for it from birth.
Among those with aptitude, they say they undergo harsh training from a young age to maximize their abilities.

They say they hone their healing magic by studying the scriptures without rest.

The praise one receives upon officially becoming a healer afterwards was as great as passing the bar exam or medical licensing exam.
It truly means becoming the elite of the elite.

Hearing it directly from Soho rather than reading it in a novel made the weight of the exam feel even greater.

“But Zick-nim, who has the possibility of passing such an exam, is truly amazing. At least the practical test will be a guaranteed pass.”

As Soho said, my gratitude for the innate magic I possessed grew.
While I had the ability to heal anything at once in any case,
ordinary healers apparently exhaust all their power just to heal simple colds or bruises.

“I’ve never heard of such power except for the Saint.”

Soho briefly shared praise for the Saint,
then continued her explanation about the scripture.

Fortunately, Soho was as talented in teaching as she was confident.
I had to admit it.

Content that I would have struggled with alone became clear at a glance.
If I concentrate on studying for the remaining time like this, the written exam should be no problem.

However, there was one thing.
If there was something that bothered me.

“Huh? What’s the matter?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”

It was that Soho was subtly getting closer.
As we sat side by side at the table studying, I found myself looking at her right next to me,
and due to the nature of her clothes with the side chest exposed, her large bare breast would touch my arm.

At first, I tried not to be conscious of it,
but when the soft flesh pressed against me, it had an absolute destructive power that couldn’t be ignored.

She approaches, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Her scent tickles my nose.
Her hair brushes past and her neckline is exposed, emitting a fragrance.

“This part is…”

Soho gradually moves closer from her side.

It’s a bit burdensome, to be honest,
but I didn’t particularly avoid it either.
Given the characteristics of this gender-reversed world, I judged that such skinship initiated by women might be more tolerated.

And even if I felt burdened and tried to avert my gaze,

“Why, why, why aren’t you concentrating? Is there any special reason?”

She would make eye contact again.
So I decided to just enjoy it.
This level of skinship isn’t enough to interfere with studying anyway.

And maybe pretending not to know while gritting my teeth,
might be the polite thing to do.

“Well, let’s stop here for today.”
“I learned a lot thanks to you.”

We left the library and said our goodbyes.
As we were about to part ways, promising to meet tomorrow,

Thud—

Soho collapsed.
Her skin starts turning purple and her body begins to heat up.
Moreover, her eyes are slightly unfocused, and she’s groaning in pain, which looks like serious symptoms.

Seeing her flesh gradually melting away.
It’s certain that she’ll die if left like this.

‘I should have completed the healing then?’

This was the first time.
For a healed symptom to recur.

‘Was it not omnipotent after all?’

I wondered if I hadn’t healed perfectly even though I said I did.
Or maybe I didn’t check properly because I was healing her among the crowd at that time.

I felt a bit anxious,
but rather than that, I approached Soho to do what I could.

“Heal—!”

This time I used it with all my might.
So that this would never happen again.

“Th-thank you.”

Soho quickly regained consciousness.
She dusted off the dirt on her body and stood up energetically.

Seeing that, I asked.

“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ve troubled you again. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

With those words, Soho disappeared.
I had to part ways without even being able to ask about her condition, as she seemed unwell.

It was my first time healing the same person consecutively.
It was confusing since it happened two days in a row.

The healing magic I thought was omnipotent.
Maybe it’s not omnipotent after all.

Soho, on her way home after parting with Zick.
A bright smile spread across her face.

‘To think he could heal even that Medusa’s poison in one go! Insane!’

Soho clenched her fists and waved both arms.
It was a strange posture she unconsciously took when she was in a good mood.
In other words, her mood was at its peak.

‘He said he was a male healer, but he’s beyond expectations. What should I do? Should I really kidnap him?’

The symptoms she had before parting with Zick.
It was actually Soho’s act.
To be precise, she had administered poison to herself to test Zick’s healing magic.

Medusa’s poison.
She had administered a small amount of a sample she had for research,
but to think he could heal even this in one go, no matter how excellent a healer.

She was greatly impressed.

‘At this rate, he might be able to heal my sister’s body too!’

The reason Soho came to Marleon was simple.
To find a way to lift the curse placed on her entire family, including her sister and herself.

As the one with the weakest degree of curse, she had set out on a research journey.
And then she happened to meet Zick.

Having researched the curse for a long time.
Zick was like a ray of light for Soho.

‘But this might not be enough.’

In the end, it’s just healing magic.
Even looking back through history, it had its limits.
As such, there’s no 100% guarantee that it can heal the family’s curse.

That’s why she decided.

‘I’ll keep testing from now on.’

She needs to verify just how far he can heal.
It’s a body that would die anyway if the curse can’t be lifted.
Soho vowed to test even if it meant sacrificing her own body.

‘By the way, why is my heart pounding so much.’

Actually, it was hard for her while teaching Zick.
Just being next to him makes her breath quicken and her heart race.

Even though she’s next to a man,
she’s never felt like this in her life.
That’s why she denied her own feelings.

‘It… it must have been because of the poison.’

She insisted it was absolutely not because of Zick.
Rationalizing like that, Soho returned home with light steps.

‘I wonder what Zick-nim does when he returns to his lodgings.’

And even before going to bed after arriving home, continuously.
She didn’t realize that her thoughts about Zick were increasing.

Click, click, click, click.

Akasha’s ears perk up at the sound coming from beyond the corridor.
Her eyes, which had been closed basking in the sunlight through the window, automatically open.

A sound she’s heard so many times that it’s now familiar.
This is.

“Akasha, I’m back!”

It was the sound of Zick’s footsteps.
As soon as he arrived, Zick handed over the snack he was holding to Akasha.

The snack he brought was ‘chicken skewers’.
It was Akasha’s favorite snack.

“Thank you!”

Akasha excitedly received it and took a bite.
It was delicious.

Actually, more than the taste, it meant a lot that Zick had prepared it for her.
Even if Zick had picked up bread from the street or mud cookies, she would have eaten them happily.

“How did you spend your day?”

Zick, upon arriving home, always asks how Akasha spent her time.
It was because he felt sorry for Akasha who had to stay alone for his studies.

“I was also looking into my tribe!”

At Zick’s question, Akasha pulled out a book.
What she showed was a history book.
It was a book Zick had borrowed from the library for her.

“Is that so? Well done.”

Zick’s hand habitually patted her head.
And Akasha naturally snuggled up to Zick.

She loved this so much.
She loved this skinship so much that,
she spends all day thinking about how to get praise from Zick.

As Akasha smiled happily like that.

“Sniff sniff—.”

An unfamiliar scent stings her nose.
She should have covered him with her scent every morning,
so there shouldn’t be any other scent.

Today, an unpleasant scent wafts from Zick.

‘This is the smell of a female?!’

She doesn’t know who,
but the smell of some female bitch’s flesh is coming from Zick.

Akasha’s expression turned cold.