The priestess was dressed in her usual clothes with just a cloak pulled over her head. It's just like she rushed in with a tame sword.

''Priestess!''
Oh, Jirou-san!　Everyone!　Thank goodness ...... you're safe.

　Safe and sound.
　When I ran in, out of breath, we were all laughing and having a drink together.

　Priestess collapses on the spot.
　She must have received a message from Diana saying "This is really bad" and flew in on horseback or by some magical means.
　And yet, this is what happened.
　Well, well, there's nothing wrong with it because it's all in one piece.

Well, come on, Priest, have a drink.
'Huh ......?　Ha, yes. I'll take it.

　The priestess looks tiny, but her real age is that, and I think she's OK with drinking.
　He may be thirsty, but he drank a lukewarm beer at once.
　Oh, he's got a great mouth.

Thank you, Jiro. Thank you, Jiro. Still, according to ...... Diana-sama, a human crane class thing has sprung up, but ....... Do you mean that ...... you defeated it?　It's all over now, ......?

Yes, sir. Here's the crew. We got lucky.

　There was quite a bit of luck.
　No, I guess you could say I was not lucky when that thing sprang up.
　In other words, it's called bad luck.

　The priestess looks around the room, muttering, "It's amazing ...... amazing ......".
　Everyone is drinking with the cute little priestess as a snack (it looks like).
　Priestess-chan's gaze hardens at one point.

''--?　Demon race!
...... hmm?

　Noticing Shamash-san, the priestess prepared herself with a bang.
　Oh...... I still have a mysterious conflict with the elves.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. I'm sure he has been drinking reasonably well, and is the type of person who gets exhausted when he's drunk.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it.　And ...... you'll be able to ...... jailbreak ......?

　Next to Mr. Shamash is Aeon, who has unreservedly exposed his prison crest. Indeed, at first sight, it could be said to be a rather intense combination.

　I guess I'll just have to explain this one.
　I'll have to have the priestess purge Aeon-san's prison crests as well.

　As expected, should we keep Aeon-san's identity a secret? There's still the possibility that he's a wanted man.
　Maybe Priestess Chan will keep it a secret if I ask her to keep it a secret, but even so, she's a civil servant. I'm sure he feels like he's employed by the state, and there's a chance he could be tipped off.
　No ...... If you say that, is it possible that the state has already given you a secret touch like "Princess Lucreon may come to exorcise the prison crests, so you must report it then"?
　Only elves can exorcise the prison crests. ......

''What's the matter?''　Mr. Jiro?

　The priestess tilts her head slightly.
　Her cheeks are a little red. Surprisingly, she might be weak to alcohol.
　Hmm.
　But, well, she's already seen Aeon-san. Now that it's come to this point, I'll just have to believe it.
　In the first place, the exorcism of the prison pattern may be obligatory to report to the top. It's better for your mental health to talk to them properly.
　...... No, to begin with. I don't need to explain it here and now.

"Hey, Priest. I'd like to discuss the details in private: ...... Have you decided on a place to stay tonight?
No?
'Well, can I have a moment tonight ......? I have something else important to talk about.

　I said in a hushed voice.
　You can have the exorcism of the prison crest done there as well. It's a private room at an inn. We've reserved a large room, and you can get another room if you want.
　I'm sure the priest isn't going to return to Elishe immediately either.
　It's also the one who called you out.

''Eh, um ...... that's a bit .......''

　He held the glass in both hands, glancing up at Deanna with both hands, noting her.

'...... I'm happy for you, Giraud, but I'll have to ask Deanna's permission.

　What do you say?

"Hey, Deanna. I'm going to ask you to come to the Priestess Inn for a little while tonight, okay?
Oh, yes. I don't mind, though.
Yes, are you sure?

　All right. Shamash and Aeon, because I'd like to get all of us in a quiet place for a little bit of consensus discussion.
　I don't know why the priestess is surprised, but ....... As I thought, Diana has a narrow image.

''Be that as it may, Priestess. Do you have a moment?
'What?　...... Yes, yes. Of course.
'How far can the Priestess' magic go in healing your injuries?'
''It depends on the extent of ...... but with ...... spirit stones, most things can be cured but .......''

　Is the spirit stone indeed necessary? But that much is to be expected.

''Has anyone been injured?''
'Yes. It's called an injury .......

　I look at Marco's sister, who is quietly tipping her glass with her chibi.
　His sister says he has a bad leg. She says that she lost the use of one of her legs due to an injury caused by a collapse years ago.

　The Spirit Stone is a miracle stone.
　With just one of them, you can do quite a few things.
　It can even make you young again. Orica's eyesight was cured in a flash. It's not a big deal to fix a leg that's a bit stuck, but it's a piece of cake to fix it.

　I'm not a particularly nice person, but now that I've made your acquaintance, I don't have a choice.
　I don't have the mentality to pretend I didn't see it coming when I can afford the means to do something about it. For better or worse.

''I want you to heal that girl's leg. I have a spirit stone.
I understand.

　The Priestess nods one nod and sits down beside Marco's sister.
　She exchanged a couple of words with the person in question and palpated her leg.
　I see that Priestess-chan is also a doctor in this world. It's a high-priced medical specialty, though.

Jirou-san. This will be no problem. We can treat you right away.

　I was relieved to hear that.
　If I couldn't heal him by giving him hope, I'd be a bit of a slimeball.

　I give one of the spirit stones to the priestess.
　Marco looks at me in a daze. Oh, this guy doesn't understand the situation.
　My sister is also drinking at her own pace, hardly paying any attention to it, probably because she is drunk.
　Oh well, I guess so.
　There's no way that they would suddenly and without warning use a spirit stone to heal you. What is he doing with his drunken head?　Maybe that's the extent of what I think.
　Well, I don't want to ingratiate myself in any weird way, and that's fine.

　The priestess chanted a congratulatory prayer with a spirit stone in hand.
　Instantly, an extraordinarily dazzling radiance spilled out. It's the brilliance of spirit magic.
　For a moment, the room that had been buzzing with noise became quiet. But the drunkards don't seem to care much about the details, so the original hustle and bustle soon returned.
　Aeon-san's eyes widen, as if it's unusual for me to have used a spirit stone without hesitation.

''Do you like ......?　Success?

　I ask the priestesses timidly. I'm not sure how to judge the success of magic.

'Yes. 'Of course it's a success.'
Oh,

　Marko and his sister still have a pouting face.
　Well, at a glance, it's hard to know what they're doing.
　You want me to explain it to you?

"Marco.
Yeah, yeah?　Hey, man, what are you doing?　Now.
'You've never seen it?　Spiritual magic.

　It's impossible not to have seen it.
　There's a temple attached to the guild, and they have a mithril refining operation, and if someone is injured, the elves over there will probably heal them.

'That's right, there's ...... but ....... But, what?　Is that spirit magic now?　What kind of ...... to my sister?

　Goofy Marco. You're so predictable.
　Should I have made a proper declaration and then fixed my sister's leg? No, that's a bit of a stretch. It's too much trouble for me to say no.

Well, anyway, your sister's leg should be healed now. You can thank the Priestess for that.
'Yes, Jiro. You're the one who put out the stone: ......
Without magic, it's just a rock.

　Marco is even more pissed off.
　Maybe he's too drunk to know what's going on. Shouldn't I have done this when I was drinking?　No, it's a good thing it's a drinking party.

"Sister. Your leg should be healed. Try moving it around.
...... Huh?　Really?　Speaking of which, yeah, yeah, it's ....... But yeah. I think my legs might be a little hot from earlier ......?

　As he says it, he tries to move his legs, which have been lounging around in the chair.

'Huh?'　Oh ...... moves. It moves!

　With a look of surprise on her face, my sister moved her legs more violently than I had imagined.
　She also stood up and said, "I'm cured!　I'm cured! And he started to walk around the area.
　He even started skipping around.

　Oh, I see. It's magic. Literally.
　All the minutiae of muscle strength and nerves and so on, I blew them away.
　I cured it (...) so it's already cured (・・・・・).
　It's amazing.

　Marco watches his sister with his mouth open.
　I wondered what he was going to say to his sister, but he just blew a bubble and turned over.

"Oh, hey!

No.

　I was on the verge of sinking the boat from drinking too much for free, and then my sister walked around and got a flat tire.
　I fixed her leg in a way that was a go-to, but Marco and I had a separate conversation about the metal in the example. Well, that can wait until tomorrow.

　Perhaps it was because of the way the dwarves drank, but we ran out of booze early, and after a while, the party was adjourned.
　It was a little past 8pm.
　It was a little after 8pm and we had drunk quite a bit.
　But we still had some important things to talk about.

　We returned to the inn with Deanna, who is still in a good mood, Marina, Rebecca, who is swooning, Elepippi, who is pale from vomiting, Etoi, who looks totally sober, Aeon, who has been grinning for a long time, and Shamash, who is still grinning, and Priestess.
　We only got one more bed added to the room. I simply could only fit one more in there.
　Well, if I packed them side by side and slept in them, I could handle it. And I can rent another room.



　◇◆◆◆◆◆.



　We get out of the bath and all sit down on the bed.
　Everyone looks sleepy. We've done a lot of exercise and a lot of drinking today.

Once again, thank you for your hard work today. So ......, let's start with ...... where shall we start?

　We have a lot to talk about.
　About Mr. Shamash, about Aeon, about the future. Most of all, it's about me.

But first, Mr. Jirou, ...... can I start?

　Priestess raises her hand.
　I nodded and stood in front of Rebecca.

'Rebecca. Give me your hand.
What, Priestess, what?

　Rebecca's hand is taken by Priestess, tilting her head slightly.
　She grasped Rebecca's hand with both hands, and then her face lit up like a flower opening.

'Congratulations, Rebecca. I sense a new budding talent.''
What ...... is that ......?
Yeah. It's a class change. I don't know what vocation I'll receive, but it's said that a class change always results in a more unusual vocation. What do you think?　Do you want to do it now?　Are you going to give it to me?

　Oh, whoa!　Rebecca, you're changing classes!　No, class up!
　It's true that Rebecca had killed quite a lot of monsters, and even Arguese was a bit of a thorn in the side.
　Even if she didn't, I'm sure she has some kind of experience from her time as a mercenary.

　So, what will it be?
　The priestess says it's a class change, but it's probably a substantial class increase. This is because if you say it's an up, it would be the same as saying officially that there is an "up" and a "down" in your vocation.
　So it shouldn't actually be a completely unrelated vocation.
　So, would either Rebecca's "knight" or "scout" or both be advanced ......?
　No, wait, ...... above the knight is "holy knight (paladin)"?

　I look at Rebecca's sword propped against the wall.
　The Holy Sword Ascalon.
　I feel like it's likely .......

'But first, can I have ...... a few minutes?'
'Yes. Oh, so you've changed classes, Jirou-san. Congratulations. To whatever vocation ...... and this was a breach of etiquette.
''No, I'll tell you about my vocation later. More importantly, ...... Rebecca-san's class change, what happens if you become a 'Holy Knight (Paladin)'?
......

　Yeah.
　It's something you should know about.
　Female knights can't be knighted in this country.
　But a holy knight is a different story. A holy knight can be hired in the country, even if she is a woman. Moreover, it's quite generous.
　Holy Knights are a fairly rare vocation, and only a few are born in the country every year, and all of them are basically working in the country.
　Apparently, cases like Isaac, who was leading a mercenary group, were quite rare.
　It wasn't just Rebecca, but all the women in the knightly vocation had been frustrated. Despite having a knight vocation, they were considered incompetent.
　But when you become a holy knight, all of that will be turned 180 degrees upside down. You'll have wealth and fame.

　I don't want to tie Rebecca-san, who has become a holy knight, to be tied up in this place of knighthood, and I want her to shine in a more glamorous place.
　I'm sure that Rebecca-san is kind enough to say she'll stay in the knightly corps.
　But that's no good.
　So--

''Priestess. When someone with a knight's vocation changes classes, don't most people actually become holy knights?
''Yes, yes. There are a few who have made the class change, but as you said, there are many who receive the vocation of a holy knight.
'What?　It's true, Priestess.
'It's true, Rebecca. You're going to have a high probability of receiving your vocation as a holy knight.

　I knew it.
　Hmm.

"Rebecca. If I was given a vocation as a holy knight--

　I can't get the words out ahead of me.
　Maybe Rebecca will be hurt if I say this.
　But I have to say it.

'Jiro. I don't work for the country.

　I was shot down before I could say it. It's really a good guess.

'But ......, even Rebecca, you've been frustrated by your knightly vocation, haven't you?　That would all be turned upside down if you became a holy knight, but even if you are in a placeholder knight squad like ours, there's almost no benefit to being in a placeholder squad like ours, or ....... Even the salary isn't paid out ....... No, I'm thinking of getting a salary at some point.

　Because you are.
　Just because we're friends, it's a lifelong problem.
　It's like keeping a big leaguer on a grassroots baseball team and letting him rot.

　But Rebecca shrugged her shoulders, "Oh dear.

'You're an idiot, Jiro. That's great, it's great to be a holy knight. You get a private room in the castle, you don't have to go to war nearly as often, and since you're a knight of the Kingsguard, you get to be close to the royal family. You'd be able to belong to the top group in the country. You've heard about Princess Lucreon at ...... as well, right?　Even if I didn't, it would be Isaac. There's no way I'd be a Kingsguard knight in a place like that.

　So ...... that was that too.
　No matter how well treated you are, to Rebecca, you are the very revenge of the person you had a crush on. There is no way you can work in such a place.

''I'm sorry, that was shallow,''
'It's fine. You thought I'd be tied to the squad and misjudged the choice, didn't you?　...... because Giraud is kind.

　It's embarrassing to see it through.
　But you're right.

　Even if it's not in this country, you could work in another country. If you're a holy knight, you're probably going to be able to pull it off.
　But Rebecca-san might not be thinking of going to a foreign country as expected either. Rather, it's more like a story that has fallen out of the sky. When I calm down again, maybe I'll have another option. For now, I just need to show that I don't have to stick with the Knights.

'Well, anyway, then let's have you switch classes. There's a chance you're not a Holy Knight.
"Uh-huh. Well - is ............ a priestess?

　The priestess glanced at Aeon with a difficult look on her face, glancing at him.
　And.

'...... Princess Lucreon?　The real thing?

　I muttered softly.


　◇◆◆◆◆◆.


''You mean to say, Priestess, you knew Princess Lucreon?

　I ask impatiently. 'It could be a quack snake, though.

No ...... I've only seen it from a distance. But I heard that you had eloped with him.
'Well, that's a long story to tell: ....... But first, I want you to swear that you're not going to let this slip out of your mouth. I may be talking out of my mind.

　I leaned closer to the Priestess.
　When I think about it, Priestess-chan has a spirit communication.
　While I'm doing this, "Breaking news!　Breaking news!　Princess Lucreon found! And there's a chance that they'll be blown off the airwaves.
　Well, if I actually did that, Deanna or Mr. Shamash would find out, but I don't think I could jam it.

'Oh, um, ...... Mr. Jirou. Okay, now that I understand, you need to calm down a bit and explain it from the beginning.
I understand.

　I explain to the priestess about Aeon and Shamash.
　No lies mixed in, just straightforward as it is. There's no way to fool them now, you know.
　Besides, from now on, the cooperation of Priestess-chan will definitely be necessary for living in Elishe.
　I asked Aeon-san to explain it to me. It would be better to speak from the person himself.

　Priestess-chan was surprised and tearful at the stories spun from Aeon-san's mouth.
　At least she seemed to be sympathetic.

'I see. ...... I understand the situation. Because I heard about the Scarlet Wedge 《Scarlet Wedge》 from Rebecca and Shero. ...... And besides, I am here today not as a priest, but as an elf. Don't worry ......, I'll keep everything I say here to myself.

　Priestess smiled at that.

　But the secret story is yet to come. When it's all over, I'll have you make a spirit contract so that you won't be able to talk about it. It's not that I don't believe in the Priestess, but if there's a betrayal, it's too critical for anyone.

''So, what do we do now?　You're going to exorcise the prison crests ......, aren't you?
'Yes. ...... No, could you please start with Rebecca's class change first?

　I don't really care which way you go.
　It seems easier to change classes. Even Deanna can do it, you know.

　Priestess-chan holds Rebecca-san's hand.
　Along with the usual blinding light, the class change was easily completed.

''How about ......?　Rebecca.
'I'm looking forward to it. I guess I'm a holy knight after all.
That's great, Tycho. Do you think Marina will be able to change classes one day?
...... become a holy knight?

　Everyone is excited with anticipation.

　Rebecca silently brings out the vocation board (though I can't see it).
　Then she quietly confirms her own vocation.
　Rebecca's eyes widen.

'How did you ......?　No, if it's hard to say, you don't have to say it: ......
'Yeah, um, yeah. It's not like that, but haha ....... I've lost my knightly calling and I'm changing classes.
Yes, sir.
It's a dragon knight.

　Seriously.