"Sigh, how many of these creatures are living in this narrow cave anyway?"
Boris complained as he wiped sweat from under his rough helmet.
We had already exterminated three groups of goblins. Even with Father's Blessing of Vitality, everyone was reaching their limit.
"Knights who were injured in the last battle, report to a healer immediately for treatment."
Tanya issued the command.
As one knight was about to approach Gis, Boris patted his shoulder and suggested, "Hey, why don't you try the young lord over there?"
"The young lord?"
"Yeah. He applied something to my shoulder earlier that works incredibly well. So refreshing. It only stings a little when first applied."
"Really? Might as well give it a try."
Following Boris's recommendation, the knight approached me. I immediately used Diagnosis.
...It doesn't activate.
'This isn't even a scratch, just some goblin blood on him. What a faker.'
There's always someone trying to fake an honorable injury.
Still, a quack doctor and a fake patient make a perfect combination.
Welcome, valued customer.
"You there, show me your stomach."
"Like this?"
I slathered the red medicine on the faker knight's belly with a brush. It glowed orange as the healing effect activated.
At least it provides minimal health recovery.
"Oh, it really is refreshing. Thank you!"
"See? The young lord's skills are quite good, aren't they?"
"Indeed, surprisingly so."
"'Surprisingly'? Watch your manners, that's rude."
Boris smacked the back of the knight's head. I tucked the red medicine into my chest pocket and asked him:
"Boris, you weren't exactly welcoming to me either. Why the sudden friendliness?"
"Well, I've been watching you and the Captain training every morning. I've had night watch duty this week."
Boris laughed heartily, his shoulders bouncing.
"I can see you're taking this exam quite seriously. As the eldest son of House Gotberg, your skills are certainly worth trusting."
"You're quite skilled at getting on people's good side, aren't you?"
Boris, I like you.
I'll remember your name.
"Haha, not at all. But now I understand why you've become so serious about this."
"Why?"
Boris grinned and whispered to me:
"Well, I finally saw Her Highness the Princess in person yesterday. She's already so elegant—she'll surely grow into an incredible beauty."
Why is Asella suddenly being brought up?
"If it were me, I'd want to be the personal physician to such a wife too. Even if it meant risking my life!"
"Don't talk so casually about risking your life."
Do you know how many times I've risked mine?
Too many to count.
"Oh, no need to be embarrassed. I have a fiancée too. We've been childhood friends—she's quite the tomboy, nothing like the refined Princess."
Boris excitedly began sharing stories nobody asked for.
"Actually, we're planning to have a small ceremony after we return from this expedition. Can you believe it? She's already pregnant!"
Whoa, hold on.
"I was planning to work as a knight for five more years and save up for a comfortable marriage, but this was quite sudden."
That's a death flag, you know.
"Be careful, young lord. Babies are like Fenrir. They're most dangerous when you least expect them. They just appear out of nowhere when you're not thinking about it."
"Captain Tanya, what's happened to the discipline in the Gotberg Knights?"
When I complained, Tanya, who had been watching us intently, tilted her head slightly.
"We're just a provincial knighthood, not the imperial or royal guard. They're skilled fighters, so please overlook this much."
"What the hell?"
I can't help but laugh in disbelief.
Well, this knighthood was formed by recruiting country boys who could swing a sword decently.
With Tanya being so proper, I'd forgotten that most knights tend to have rough mouths.
"Boris, refrain from personal conversations during operations."
"What, will I be punished under military law?"
"No, but I can dock your pay at my discretion."
"I'll be quiet."
Boris clamped his mouth shut and adjusted his helmet. Tanya, true to her role as captain, knew how to handle these rough men.
"We'll proceed to the next section. Stay alert."
The squad moved forward following Tanya's order.
The cave grew deeper and darker.
The lack of oxygen made it hard to breathe.
"How do they manage to live in a place like this? I want to finish up and get out quickly."
Boris grumbled openly. Just as he was about to say something more—
"Halt!"
Tanya shouted urgently, raising her fist.
At the same moment, BOOM! Flames exploded above our heads and engulfed us.
"Retreat! All units retreat!"
The rear squads began withdrawing along the path we came from.
But our forward squad was now cut off.
"It's magic. There must be a goblin shaman!"
"My lord, we need to get you to safety!"
"Mmm...!"
The escort knights surrounded Father, moving into a protective formation.
With a magic-using monster among the enemy, the healers in the rear were no longer in a safe position.
"We must eliminate the shaman immediately!"
"I can't see through all this smoke...!"
The knights were in disarray.
They couldn't swing their swords freely for fear of hitting allies.
"Cough, cough."
The oxygen was depleting, and the hot smoke flowing in wasn't doing my respiratory system any favors.
With their forces being pushed back, they must have lured us deep into the cave for an all-or-nothing attack.
Typical thinking for low-intelligence monsters.
"Time to use some of that divine power I've been saving."
I took a candy from my pocket and bit into it.
"To the wretched Goddess Pingchaeng I pray."
I offered a prayer with whatever words came to mind.
It doesn't matter. Prayer is just to maintain faith and facilitate the flow of divine power.
"Protect us from these raging flames."
But I must clearly state my purpose.
The holy skill tree that includes healing spells.
These skills use faith as their foundation and divine power as their resource.
The higher your faith, the more powerful spells you can use, and the same spell becomes more effective.
But just as you can't cast magic without mana, you can't use holy spells, including healing spells, without sufficient divine power.
'With my divine power at 22, I can only use this skill once.'
One use and I'm empty.
Conversely, one use is enough.
I was right to save my divine power in case we needed to counter magic.
"Blessing of Flame Protection."
—Flash!
Divine power spread from my body, enveloping the entire unit.
A gentle wave pulsed outward, increasing our fire resistance.
The heat subsided, and breathing became easier.
"What? This is...!"
"The young lord can use blessings!"
The knights who had been covering their noses and mouths with their arms were startled and resumed their battle stances.
'When fighting the Demon King's army, the Evil Attribute Protection Blessing was most effective.'
Unlike magic, holy spells don't require drawing sigils.
The sigil forms automatically when you pray while thinking of the spell you want to cast.
"The heat is decreasing!"
"We can charge now!"
"Let's smash that goblin's head in!"
The heat ignited not their skin but their hearts, and the knights charged forward with fire in their eyes.
"A blessing? How can you use such an advanced technique?!"
Gis asked me in an astonished voice.
"As an imperial physician, shouldn't this be a basic skill?"
"Wow! I can't even do that!"
Gis clicked his tongue and ran after the knights, casting healing spells.
I don't actually have blessings in my skill tree right now.
But thanks to using them countless times before my regression, my mind remembers them naturally.
Like riding a bicycle without consciously thinking about pedaling, the spells come to mind automatically when I channel divine power.
'Oh my, I'm dizzy.'
But there are risks involved.
My current body's divine power isn't sufficient to support high-level holy spells.
The memory of my terrible time with the Hero's Party made me nauseous.
"I see it!"
Boris shouted as he charged forward with momentum.
I could see it too.
Among a mass of goblins was an unusually large one waving what appeared to be a carved branch as a staff.
"Wearing rags doesn't make you a magician, monster!"
Boris cut through the smaller goblins, rushing toward the goblin shaman. He swung his sword wide, ready to cut it down in one strike.
—Grrrr!!
Swoosh—BANG!
But when the shaman swung its arm, Boris was sent flying with a heavy impact and crashed into the wall.
"Gaaah!"
Boris collapsed to the ground with an ugly scream.
The shaman was swinging a vicious club in the hand opposite the one holding the staff.
Boris must have charged in thinking he was facing an ordinary goblin.
The shaman may know magic, but as the leader of the pack, its size and strength are in a different league from regular goblins.
At best, you could consider it a weak ogre.
"Boris!"
Tanya entered the fray, swinging her sword with grace.
"Strike down the staff!"
Tanya immediately responded to my shout.
She knocked away the shaman's staff with the back of her sword, breaking its stance, then cut across its stubby body diagonally with a perfect form.
—Grrrrrk!!
Other knights followed her lead with their attacks.
Unable to cast additional spells, the shaman lost its means of defense and finally perished.
"We've exterminated it!"
"Success!"
The knights dealt with the remaining goblins.
It was time for me to do my part.
"Boris."
I rushed to Boris, who had taken a heavy blow.
"Ugh, damn..."
Boris was gritting his teeth, barely suppressing his screams through the pain.
I didn't need to use Diagnosis.
I could see that his left shin was broken, the bone fracture causing the skin to bulge.
"Y-young lord... if I don't make it back, please tell Nae that I loved her very—"
"Stop being dramatic. That's what you get for raising death flags."
I hit Boris's forehead to shut him up. It was to help him regain his senses.
It wasn't that strong a blow, but the angle at which he hit the cave wall was bad.
"I'll heal him!"
Gis rushed over and squeezed past my shoulder.
This was a serious injury—a chance to score big points. He wouldn't miss it.
Gis cast a healing spell, and it took effect immediately. Particles of light gathered around Boris's wound.
But then.
"Argh! Aaaaargh!!"
Boris began screaming, unable to bear the pain.
I could see the reason at a glance—during the healing process, Boris's broken bone was bending in the wrong direction.
The fractured surfaces were stabbing from within, causing unbearable pain.
"Can't take it! Can't—stop for a moment!!"
Unable to endure, Boris pushed Gis's shoulder and fell over. I caught him by the shoulder.
His breathing was labored, and his forehead was drenched in sweat.
"This is the goddess's blessing. Healing comes with pain—just bear with it a little longer!"
Gis scolded Boris instead.
Thwack. I stuck a stick to Gis's forehead.
"Huh? What's this?"
It was the remaining stick from the candy I'd been sucking on.
"I'll take over from here. Patients have the right to refuse treatment."
"Hmph, what difference will it make if you do it? That red medicine of yours hurts just as much..."
"I have something more valuable."
I pulled out a different medicine bottle from inside my clothes.
———————————
+2 Enhanced Willow Pain Relief Medicine
Effect: Almost completely eliminates pain for 5 minutes.
———————————
This is my secret pain relief medicine that took several hours to make.
You can visit my Patreon to read up to 50 chapters ahead of the public release. Every time one chapter is published here, the next chapter is released there as well.
Patreon.com/Asura555