Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely Chapter 28

Published at 6th of June 2021 04:26:34 PM

Chapter 28: Jend and Ferris

Ferris: “[Merciful Goddess, please grant us the light of healing]”

And as Ferris chants the incantation that will trigger the spell, her bracelet, which is the spellcall stone she has equipped, begins to glow with a bright light.

Ferris places a hand on mine and says, “[HEAL LIGHT]”

My body is enveloped by light. The swelling from my broken arm and leg visibly lessen, and by the time the glow from the light faded, it was completely healed.

Henry: “Wow….that was amazing.”

I move my arm and leg around to check, but there is nothing wrong with them that I can tell.

…..there are very few people who can use magecraft of this level, and even among them, she’s probably at the top of her class.

Henry: “So you were a follower of the Goddess of Mother Earth.”

This magecraft type, the magecraft of salvation “Ningale’s Hand” is the technique solely owned by the church that worships the Goddess of Mother Earth Ningale. And without passing the church’s examinations, you are not even allowed to purchase the mage-crafted spellcall stones - they are that adamant about safeguarding their spells and techniques.

Some have called them out to share their techniques more openly, but if you fail at casting this spell, it can actually destroy the body they were trying to heal. If the wound worsens, that’s actually a better outcome because their body can mutate or rot and fall off. So because of that, they are resistant to spreading their techniques to more groups.

…..and I know of a saint who actually uses this to her advantage, and casts failed healing spells at demonic creatures to cause their bodies to rot and die.

If the church heard about this, I think she would be excommunicated.

Ferris: “Yeah, I have sworn an oath to the God of Grandes, but my main faith is with Ningale’s god.”

There are actually many people who do this. They will not only follow 2 but 3 or 4 other gods. I heard that there is a process when becoming a follower of other churches, but the god of Grandes does not reject any who come to him. I mean, he’s basically like, “Does it really matter if they’re killing demonic creatures?” so the bar is set very low if there is a bar at all. This confidence may stem from being the largest and most prolific religious group in the Kingdom.

Henry: “Well, anyways, thanks for healing my injuries.”

Ferris: “This is my job. No need to thank me.”

I thank her, and then wonder what we should do about this situation.

Jend: “H-Henry…if your injuries are healed, let’s go back...we still need to fill in those holes you made....”

Henry: “You don’t have to worry about that, Mr. Jend~. It’s not like we’re a part of the Knight Organization, and we weren’t obligated to train with them in the first place~.”

I bring my arm around his shoulder and whisper into his ear.

I make sure that my words only reach him and no one else.

Henry: (....look, I know this isn’t how you planned on things happening, but it happened so make up your mind.)

Jend: (.....make up my mind how? What are you talking about?)

Henry: (I’m talking about your confession - your confession of love. Look, the way she responded was not bad. If you push, I think she’ll give in.)

Ferris was a little troubled hearing Jend’s words, but she was not obviously disgusted or repulsed by the thought. In fact, she’s stealing glances at Jend as we speak.

Well~~~, I mean, if a childhood friend just suddenly appeared on your doorstep and spouted those words, of course you would be troubled.

Jend: (B---but Ferris’ problems are not…)

Henry: (Look, those things shouldn’t get in your way. Just convince her to come to Flowtier with you.)

Seeing her skills today, I would welcome to her to our party in Flowtier.

Jend will get to have the love of his life beside him. I will make a solid connection with a very skilled Healer. And I’m sure Cyril will jump up with joy at the news. No one loses.

Henry: (She’ll be able to pay off her debt in Flowtier. No problem.)

She is one of the few Healers in the Kingdom, but this is the Capital, the center of the Kingdom. You will be able to find other Healers.

And in comparison, the price of Healing will be higher in Flowtier. That place is a tourist location, so many rich people go there too.

Jend: (Look, I get what you’re saying but…)

Henry: (Why you... look at how gorgeous she is! If her father didn’t do those things, she would most definitely already have a boyfriend or may have been married by now…..if you don’t make up your mind right now, what’s going to happen the next time you see her~, huh~~?)

I put Jend on the spot, and let him envision a different kind of future.

This bastard. He talks all tough about winning her over by being strong, but he’s completely chickening out right now. I know it when I see this. I’m exactly the same type of guy.

I tell him to go for it, push him towards Ferris, and leave the clinic.

<<<<>>>>

Henry: “Sir Ezeal, thank you for your assistance.”

Ezeal: “Oh, hey, Henry. I see that Jend hasn’t returned, so was there some progress made?”

Henry: “Yeah, there might be something going on, but I don’t want to intrude and listen in.”

I could have acted like I left, and then hid myself to listen to the rest of the conversation, but I honestly had no intention of doing that.

Henry: “And so, I heard that she takes on quests from the White Dragon Knights as a Healer, but wasn’t there any problems after her father caused so many issues within that same organization?”

Ezeal: “Hmm? Oh, HA HA! Why you...are you the type to punish the child for their parents’ crimes?”

Henry: “Of course not. Just asking…”

Ezeal: “It’s just as you saw. That Healer had deep ties to the White Dragon Knights since she was little, and even after her father’s crimes were revealed, there were only Knights who were concerned for her well being. There were some who even invited her over to stay with them.”

Yeah, no doubt, she has the personality that any upstanding Knight would adore.

Ezeal: “Regardless, there were talks of offering her a position of Knighthood. It’s of course because of her skills as a Healer, but apparently, her swordsmanship is comparable to any Knight newcomers.”

Henry: “......yeah, that’s unbelievable talent…”

Ezeal: “But, at this point, her guilt will not allow her to accept such offers. She is intent on paying off her debts first.”

Wow, she is way too serious and straight-forward. She could have paid off her debts even faster as part of the Knight Organization.

Ezeal: “She has isolated herself and continues to work diligently. If it will help her be around friends and better company, please take her back to Flowtier. This is a message directly from Commander Beatriz to you. I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities for a Healer in the northern parts?”

They saw through me completely.

Henry: “What about the debt cosigner for her to move out of the city?”

Ezeal: “If she was to go, then Beatriz herself will take on the responsibility.”

…….if the Commander of the White Dragon Knights is willing to become the consignee, I’m sure no one would dare try to question or oppose her decision.

Well, I thought they might already have someone in mind. If not, I was willing to put my name out there too.

Owen: “He~y, Henry~. What are you and the Commander talking about?”

Henry: “Hm? Oh, we’re making bets on whether Jend will ask out the Healer who’s here today.”

I give Owen a general, vague answer. The details of this story are not for me to share and spread.

Owen: “What?! Are you serious? I was planning on asking her out to dinner after the training session, but someone already beat me to it....”

Jend, you are one really lucky bastard.

Owen is infamous for leaving many women in tears in Ligaleo. He’s gone out with multiple women and yet there is no bad rumors about him.

I guess this is what it means to be popular with the ladies. I guess. I don’t know. Shut up.

I mean, really. What’s so different between him and I……….

Henry: “Oh, Owen, if you have time, let’s do one actual combat match. I’ll give it my all.”

Owen: “Wait, hold it. When you say giving it your all, you mean…” Henry: “Of course, I’m talking about spear throws being allowed, and allowing me to use my Nyoiten Spear’s abilities.”

If it was close-combat with only magecraft, it would be an even fight between Owen and I, but if we include spear throws, I can sink him before he even gets close to me.

Owen: “You know that it would take one of our veteran Knights to be able to compete with that tactic…...you’re just asking indirectly if you can beat the **** out of me.”

Henry: “What? I’m not trying to imply that. I’m asking you directly. Let me beat the **** out of you.”

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Owen: “Why all of a sudden?!”

Kekekeke (evil laugh), you don’t have to know my reasons.

…...a small, very tiny piece of my conscience protested against beating up people I felt jealous against, but I completely ignored its advice.

<<<<>>>>

Owen also pulled off his savvy little shenanigans and called over 2 other young Knights, and we had a disgraceful 3 vs 1 fight. How dare they….I just barely won that round, and we ended our training session there.

Cyril: “I….I can’t…..move….one more step…..”

And during the entire session, I made Cyril run with breaks in between, but she was completely out of commission.

Teo: “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr………...I couldn’t even get one strike to hit.”

And Teo who was doing training with a few knights was not happy with her results at all.

………..I mean, every Knight in the Black Dragon Knights trains their pure combat skills and scouting skills, so there’s no way Teo would be able to defeat them. Even so, they looked impressed, and there’s rumors about Teo’s combat capabilities spreading.

Henry: “Here, Cyril, Teo, water.”

Cyril: “Ohhhh~~~ thank you~~~”

Teo: “thanks”

Henry: “Don’t chug it all at once~”

I’m also equally exhausted from the last fight. I let the water slowly absorb into my body.

Cyril: “Oh! Where’s Jend? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him since the middle of training.”

Henry: “Today, the Healer that came over was Ferris, so Jend is catching up with her.”

Cyril: “WHAT?! Miss Ferris is here?!”

Yeah, anyone would be shocked.

This is all old man Grandezeal’s fault for doing things so suddenly and abruptly all the time.

Teo: “She’s the one we saw at the Grandes church, correct? She’s a Healer…?”

Henry: “She’s got real skills. She fixed my broken bones in seconds.”

Even among the Healers I’ve dealt with in the past, she’s second to the “Saint of Salvation” (ROFL).

Cyril: “If Jend is speaking with Ferris....is it? Are they…?”

Henry: “I told him to go for it, but I don’t know what happened after that.”

I’m hoping that cornering Jend to that extent would force him to make a move.

But I have still about a third of doubt that I can’t get rid of.

Cyril: “Ohhhhh~ yes. Jend is usually a man’s man, but when it comes to Ferris, he tends to shrink into his own shell. It was like that when we were children, but I can’t believe he hasn’t fixed that...he told everyone he knows in Flowtier how much he likes her.”

I see. The knowledge and insight from a childhood friend.

But, I wonder how things will turn out. I gaze lazily at the clinic shack as we talk.

……..wait, are they gonna go wild in there once the dam bursts?! I mean, anyone can walk in with an injury at any given point so I would hope that….

Teo: “......Jend is coming back.”

Henry: “Got it.”

Just like Teo said, Jend walks out of the shack.

He’s not alone. Beside him was Ferris…..and you can tell that they were standing a little too~ close.

Both of their faces have this inexpressibly satisfied expression.

Cyril: “Looks like it went well~~~”

Henry: “Yup.”

…….did it wrap up really nicely?

<<<<>>>>

Ezeal: “Oh! Jend! I have a message from Beatriz to you!”

Jend: “Huh? What? Sir Grandezeal, who is Beatriz…?”

Ezeal: “If you have successfully stolen the heart of Ferris, you must come immediately to the White Dragon Knight barracks! That was the message. That Knight group has a lot of so-called self-proclaimed Ferris’ guardians. They want to be certain that you are a man worthy and capable of such responsibilities!”

Jend: “Wait?! The Knights of the WHITE Dragons?!”

Ezeal: “Do not fret, young one. I was the one who personally trained you! Have confidence! You have plenty of talent! …...but with your current skill level, you may get more than your fair share of affection from other knights though! HA HA HA!”

I watched Jend and Sir Ezeal talk.

Jend dutifully marched into the White Dragon Knights stronghold, and with very open, muscular arms, cracking knuckles, popping veins, and cold smiles with some predatorial teeth showing, they “welcomed” him with much overly zealous enthusiasm.

…….well, in the end, they accepted him as a worthy candidate so let’s just say all’s well that ends well.

Chapter end