When you're thinking, you should make a stew.
　I thought someone once said something like that, so I decided to put the carefully prepared demon meat into a small pot and stew it with vegetables.
　I made the so-called bouillon.
　As long as I kept an eye on it, it wouldn't fail, so it was just right for me to do some thinking.
　Well, that wouldn't satisfy my hunger, so I took a ready-made one out of the magic bag and ate it, but....

　The bouillon in the skillet pot is completed, and I just guzzled it down until it was finished, carefully removing the lye so it wouldn't boil and waiting for the flavor to condense.
　When I first learned this from Granz-san, the master of the Holy City's Adventurer's Guild, I remember being scolded because I didn't understand the difference between the lye and the umami ingredients.

　''Having an amateur figure out the difference between lye and umami ingredients, now that I think about it, I feel like I was pretty spartan.
　I chuckled to myself and thought about the future.

　The information that Elinus-san told me was indeed not at a level that I could ignore.
　The fact that rumors are circulating in other countries means that the entire St. Schrul's Cooperative Country must be aware of it.
　If that were to happen, wouldn't there be a risk of being hung up by the Inquisition if it was done poorly?　
　If that were to happen, could the bad healers I destroyed retaliate and even abolish the guidelines I was involved in?
　Wouldn't the life of Master and Lionel, who had just saved them in the first place, be in jeopardy if they were pursued for the cause of losing the Holy Attribute Magic in the first place?
　


　Wait, didn't the Pope tell you not to contact me because there would be a wiretap?
　So why not take it the other way around?
　I immediately took out the magic ball from my magic bag and reminded the Pope.
　Then, the Pope replied immediately.

　''What's wrong, Luciel?　You told me that when you were in Nerdal, you were in danger of being intercepted.
　His tone was a bit angry, which I felt was unusual for the Pope, but he spoke with the intention of guiding the conversation.
　''Pope, that's not the point. There seems to be a mixture of truth and strange rumors going around about me. And that's in another country, too.
　What... what do you mean?
''I was surprised to happen to hear the researchers over here talking about it, and it was rumored that my job as a healer had disappeared, and it was rumored to be divine punishment. On the contrary, there were rumors that I couldn't use Holy Attribute Magic, and I thought that perhaps it was prevalent in the Holy City as well, so I hurried to contact you.
　...from another country.
　With the Pope-sama's muttered reminder, I noticed that this rumor was already circulating in the Holy City.
''Pope-sama, regarding my job, perhaps I should have disclosed that I have been elevated from a healer to a sage, after all. My purpose in coming to Nerdal was to acquire other attribute magic other than Holy Attribute magic, but if we don't kick the rumor out that it's just a rumor, there could be a disturbance in the air.
　...did it work?
Yeah. Well, you can put the rumors to rest. More importantly, there seems to be a demon tribe commotion going on, and no matter how kind the Pope is, I couldn't believe my ears since he didn't contact me about the church's crisis.
　I remind myself to make sure my voice is as cheerful as possible.
　''........Luciel, will you return immediately then?
　His voice was different from the one he had just heard, and it was a voice full of the Pope's joyfulness.
''I understand. I will report this matter to Mr. Orford, the master of the Mages Guild, and return promptly.''
　It's a pleasure to work with you.
Ha!
　So I cut off the communication.

　At that moment when the communication ended, Nadia and Lydia came out of the hermit's coffin.
'I see you're awake.
Master Luciel, are you all right?
It smells good.
　Nadia's spirit was pulled out of her when she met Ssangryu, and Lydia was nearly overwhelmed by all sorts of things when I defeated Ssangryu, but it looks like they're both fine.
I'd like to hear what you two have to say, but before I do, I'll let you know what I've decided.
　I waited for the two of them to nod, and then told them about the exchange we had just had.


''Well, that's why I'm looking forward to exploring the city of Nerdal, which means the next time I'm looking forward to exploring the city of Nerdal, but I'll definitely make the opportunity to bring you back again, so please be patient.
Well, if that's the case, I suppose that's the way it has to be.
''If you can bring me back again, I will be patient this time. More importantly, Luciel-sama I'm hungry.
　Lydia said that with a blush and shyness on her face, and I felt myself naturally smile as I decided to eat.

　I put the cooking pot away in the magic bag, and to replace it, I take out the ready-made dishes and arrange them.
　And now we listen to the two of them.

　It seems that Nadia, as per her title of Dragon God's Priestess, has been able to meet with the Dragon God and turn the dragon into a subordinate, and a dragon mage has been added to her job.
　And Lydia had learned the Great Spirit Summoning so that she would not be ashamed of the Spirit King's blessing.
'It seems that I just have to fight the dragon and make it give in.
''I don't have enough magic or skill level to use the Great Spirit Summoning.
''Well if the new power was that easy to use, no one would have a hard time with it, right? Well, each of us has a new power in us, so let's work on it and make it our own.
Yes, sir.

　After we finished eating and cleaning up, we headed to the guild master's room.
　Lydia and I, who have received the spirit's blessing, were able to proceed without being blocked by anything, as if we were in possession of a free pass for the Mage's Guild.
　Nadia once tried to go up the stairs behind the reception desk, but was blocked by an invisible wall, but by holding hands with Lydia, we were able to get up the stairs.

　As he came to the front of the guildmaster's room, he knocked and heard a voice from inside.
''Who is it?''
'This is Luciel, and I would like to take a moment of your time, if that's okay with you?'
Come in.
Excuse me.
　Permission to enter was granted, and I opened the door, but it seemed that there was a visitor ahead of me.

'What is the matter with you?'
　It was also difficult to decide whether it was the Wind Spirit or Mr. Orford, but more importantly, I was puzzled to talk about the main topic when I didn't know who this prior guest was.
'You had an earlier guest?'
Yes. But if you came here, you must have been in urgent need of something, no?
　Either way, I want to talk to you in a place where there is no one else in sight, so as I try to revise the time, the man who was facing Mr. Orford gets up from his chair and opens his mouth as he looks back at us.
''It's because I'm here, isn't it, Luciel-sama, the S-class healer... or did you cease to be a healer?　Then it's just Lord Luciel now?
　The owner of the voice would have been a man, but his face was hidden by a mask and I couldn't see it.

　What bothered me was the way the man spoke, the way he acted as if he knew me, and more than that, I had a feeling that he was directing his hatred at me.
　I didn't think I'd ever done much to be resented, but the Empire?　I straightened my posture and decided to assess where and who this opponent was from.

'I admit that Job is no longer a healer, but an S-class healer is selected by the Healer's Guild to begin with, and it's like a title. For that matter, I'm not supposed to know anyone who wears a mask and doesn't show their true face, but who are you?
This is a new researcher from the Kingdom of Louvrek, what did he say his name was?
　It seemed a bit contentious, but Mr. Orford served as a cushion.
　Apparently it wasn't a wind spirit.

''........Encounters are really cruel things. It's not that you did anything to me, but I still feel hatred for you.......I'm a pathetic slave who was bought and ruined by you in Yenis.
　The masked man admitted his faults and told him so.
'A slave in Yenis?
'You remember me, even though we only met once. So, once again, I am Maxim von Wisdom, the newly appointed Baron of the Kingdom of Louvrek.
So what's your reason for hating me?
I thought that you, the greatest healer in the world, might be able to cure this.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family.
　It's not just the miasma, but also the miasma that leaked out from the robe he was wearing.
''........What is that?''
They say it's a cursed magical imprint. The body was tampered with by the Empire's experiments on the human body, and a magical stone was implanted in it. Well, it looks like he passed out from the intense pain, but he was deemed dead and found himself in a pile of corpses.
...and there wasn't anything in the Kingdom of Rubruk that could cure it?
''Yes. It was fine until I managed to pierce back the demon stone, but since the miasma was emitted from his body, he must have become close to the demon race. There were no healers who could cure this. However, if you are the best bearer of holy attribute magic in humanity, I wanted to put my trust in you, thinking that...
　I suppose he understands the reverse resentment completely and still can't get in without hitting me, who was the only person who had the potential to fix him.
　I'm sure that my resentment against the empire was so strong that my negative emotions broke through the limit, and I may have come to resent the world.
　And it's probably the anger, which has no place in the world, that has led to the attitude you just described.
　Well, just because I know a little bit of that feeling, I decided to save him just this once.
　The fact that I couldn't save him back then was somehow bothering me as well.
　I believe that the reason I met him again here is because of the fate that Gounan Sensei led me to....

''Hmm. It seems that Lord Wisdom is mistaken, but I can use holy attribute magic, right?
What?
　A moment ago, his face was a mixture of sadness and insanity, but his time stopped with that word.

''No, so since I'm now a sage instead of a healer, I can use holy attribute magic without any problems... strictly speaking, I can power up and use it...''
Well, then what are the chances of this body healing?
　He was in a hurry, which was unlike him, who had a melancholy, black aura.

''Well, whether or not I can heal you, if you're an undead, I'll let you die instantly, but if you're alive, I'll definitely save you.
　I nodded emphatically at that.
'I'll pay whatever the price is. I will never lose my grudge against the Empire, but I will also endure revenge. Please, please, please treat me.
　What was to stop him from taking the revenge he was so adamant about?　I just wanted to make a pledge, so it was just fine. But still, you're suddenly being respectful........

''Then please swear to it. The price for this treatment is the disclosure of all information you know and that you will not be hostile to me for the rest of your life.
...Is that a state secret?
'As long as it doesn't involve the St. Schuler Cooperative State and me, fine, but I'll be happy to hear everything I know about the darkness of the Empire.
'Then I swear it. I, Maxim von Wisdom, in return for your treatment, swear to disclose information and to refrain from hostility to Master Luciel for the rest of my life.
　Then a light shone down on Maxim.

'Well then, it may hurt a bit, but please hold your temper.
　I activate my magic in the order of Dispel, Recover, Sanctuary Circle, Extra Heal, and finally Purifying Magic.

　Maxim looked like he was going to endure the pain at first, but when I activated the Sanctuary Circle, it already seemed like he wouldn't feel any pain.
　But here was the problem.
　The moment I activated the Extra Heel just to be sure, he lost his balance and fell down.
　And both arms, his left leg, and his eyes rolled one by one onto the floor.
　Apparently he had a prosthetic hand, a prosthetic leg, and an artificial eye.
　His face was startled and trembling with astonishment, but it was clear that it was not anger.
　He checked his hands and feet over and over again, tears streaming from his eyes as he returned again.
　Then he cleaned him up with cleansing magic and the treatment was complete.

'The cure is done. You did well.'
　He paused on one knee in prayer as he tried to spin the unspoken words.
　At that moment, I wondered if Lionel and the others had done the same thing in Yenis, and, a little like déjà vu, the memories of those days came back to me.

'Mr. Orford, I think I'm going to return to earth once, but before I do, may I have the pleasure of hearing him?'
Huh?　Oh, of course. You might as well take this room.
　Thus, he would have one more job to do before returning.