Chapter 7: Treatment

“…I’m sorry, Miss Priestess. Please, have a look at her. This mage is the patient.”

Coming back to his senses, Eric hurried to let go of her hand. He looked at the young priestess before him with a pleading gaze, the worry in his eyes completely genuine.

“Eric, didn’t I already say I’m not getting treated!?”

However, Tina suddenly grew anxious. She pushed past Eric and bowed deeply to Lintis.

“Miss Priestess, I am very sorry that my partner wasted your time, but we really don’t need treatment. I am truly sorry!”

‘Huh? I’m not needed anymore?’

Lintis was stunned. She turned her gaze toward Eric, as he was the employer and the one paying.

Meeting Lintis’s eyes, Eric shook his head. He then took a step forward and swept Tina off her feet, picking her up in a princess carry.

Ignoring the girl’s shy reaction, he placed her on a chair. When she tried to say something, he covered her mouth with his hand, staring straight into her slightly resentful eyes.

“Don’t say another word. How could I ever agree to give up on you? Tina, just sit still and accept the treatment. Leave the rest to me. Isn’t a man supposed to shoulder these kinds of things?”

“Besides… I’m really happy that you just called me your partner!”

After saying that, Eric gave Tina a smile. He clenched his fist as if to prove he was capable of protecting the one he loved.

The youth’s words struck Tina’s heart. she slowly lowered her head, the tips of her ears turning red, yet the smile on her lips was impossible to hide.

Seeing them about to get lost in their own world again, Lintis pursed her lips.

“Alright, alright. You, sir, stay over there and be good. If you delay any longer, even I will get angry!” Lintis put her hands on her hips, feigning anger.

“Uh… sorry…”

With that, Eric retreated to the side.

Seeing him obey, Lintis nodded in satisfaction. She then carefully observed Tina, who was sitting somewhat awkwardly on the chair.

“Oh~ So it’s a case of corruption. No wonder you’re looking for a priestess~”

“Um…” Tina looked up, feeling a bit embarrassed by how the priestess was scrutinizing her. “Miss

Priestess, can it be cured?”

Hearing this, the corners of Lintis’s mouth curled up. She half-knelt in front of Tina and used her small hand to lift the mage’s robe, revealing the bandaged abdomen beneath.

The white bandage on the right side was soaked with blood, and a layer of dark red energy floated on its surface.

Seeing this, she reached out again to slowly unwind the bandage. During this process, the dark red energy tried to infect her palm, but when it came within 1 centimeter of her, it dissipated into black smoke as if being burned.

Once the bandage was completely removed, Lintis’s brow furrowed slightly.

She had thought it was just a minor bit of corruption, but the young mage’s abdomen was already covered in red sarcomas. These meat-tumors were wriggling on the girl’s belly as if they were alive.

This had been dragged out for at least several months!

Why did they wait until now to find a priestess?

Lintis didn’t understand, but now was not the time for further delay.

Having identified the target, she silently channeled her Holy Power. A silver-white light extended from her palm, gradually enveloping all the tumors.

The tumors under the light seemed to sense danger and suddenly began to wriggle violently. However, they were all blocked by the silver-white glow, and with every touch, parts of the tumors dissolved into black smoke.

“Ah…”

Tina suddenly cried out in pain, then immediately bit her lip to shut herself up, worried she might interfere with the treatment.

Her originally rosy complexion turned visibly pale, and cold sweat poured down her face. She seemed to be experiencing intense agony.

Focusing on eliminating the filth, Lintis did not check on Tina’s condition. At this stage of corruption, those tumors were practically a part of the girl’s body.

What she was doing was no different from using a knife to cut flesh from the girl’s abdomen; it just wasn’t as visually terrifying.

This kind of reaction was inevitable. In fact, the fact that there was only this much of a reaction proved she was an adventurer accustomed to fighting monsters.

As the silver light wiped away the tumors, the girl’s abdomen returned to its original state. The bleeding wound on the right was healed along with it.

Once everything was finished, Tina released her lip and exhaled slowly. Her complexion began to improve little by little.

Throughout the entire process, Eric had been watching without blinking. He had never sought treatment from a priest before and didn’t know the skill level of the priestess he had brought, so he was extremely worried.

However, seeing that Tina was clearly much better, he laughed from the bottom of his heart. Just as he was about to apologize to the priestess who had already stood up, he met her expression, which was somehow angry.

“Miss… Miss Priestess?” Eric spoke up hesitantly.

“Tch…” Lintis clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, her brow smoothing out as she said crossly, “Speak up. Why did you wait so long before thinking about finding a priest?”

“If her symptoms had been delayed for another month, her body would have started rotting and mutating. You have the nerve to say you like her?”

Admonished, Eric lowered his head in shame. Tina, beside him, wanted to explain something for her boyfriend, but the priestess shot her a glare too.

“And you! Don’t you know your own body? To drag it out even after being infected by filth… Don’t you know you could die?”

“Uh…” Tina was speechless.

Looking at the two of them standing side by side with their heads bowed submissively, Lintis pursed her lips. She snorted and held out her hand.

“Forget it, I can’t be bothered to manage you two pigs! Give me my payment, I’m leaving!”

At these words, the two lowered their heads even further. Finally, Eric met Lintis’s gaze and looked up, taking a pouch from his pocket and pouring everything into his hand.

In total, there were over a dozen silver coins and several copper coins.

Not quite daring to look at the priestess’s face, he handed it all over.

“I’m sorry! Miss Priestess, this is all the money I have right now… For the rest… could you please let me owe it to you for a while? I will definitely pay you back later! I can write a promissory note!”

At this moment, Eric was extremely worried that the priestess would refuse his proposal and report him to the Church. If that happened, what awaited him was life in prison.

But… he really had no choice. Hiring a priest cost at least one gold coin, and that was for ordinary treatment. Whenever filth or corruption was involved, the price would skyrocket.

Some experienced elite adventurers would only seek a priest once or twice a year, and that single visit was enough to consume nearly half a year’s worth of adventuring earnings.

How could a rookie like him, who had just started his journey, afford such a sum?

In fact, most corrupted adventurers simply considered it bad luck, enjoyed the rest of their lives as much as possible, and eventually found a corner to die in silence.

But how could he be willing to let his lover die like that?

That was why he had left the farewell party originally intended for Tina and tricked this priestess into treating her by claiming he could afford it.

In that case, the worst-case scenario was just him going to jail while Tina got to live.

But now that the moment had arrived, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. After all, he had deceived a priestess.

While Eric was brainstorming, Lintis tilted her head. She then took five copper coins from his palm, tucked them carefully into her pocket, and looked satisfied.

This was her first “bucket of gold” earned as a priestess!

As for Eric?

Lintis blinked, feeling a bit confused.

“What kind of pigheaded talk are you saying? It’s just five copper coins. Don’t you have them right there?”