I Need You

◈

“J-Jin-saaaaang! A-are you okay!?”

Luna-noona ran over and asked about my well-being.

“I’m fine, Luna-noona. Thanks to Ms. Physique catching me.”

“I-is P-Physique okay too!?”

“I’m fine because Brother Jin-sang healed me right away!”

“I-I-I see.”

“Customer Jin-sang!”

“Benefactor Jin-sang!”

Following Luna-noona, Jelbon and Ferguls also came over.

“I was trying to tell you beforehand, but you used it right away. Nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Ah, so he was trying to tell me.

But… I wasn’t listening?

Hmm~ that’s a bit embarrassing.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Well, you’re safe, so it’s fine. Besides… a man naturally wants to try such experiments!”

“Honestly, if I had a weapon like that in my hands, I would have done exactly the same as Customer Jin-sang! Hahahaha!”

“Right? I actually had the same thought while making it! Hahahaha!”

Since I was safe, the dwarf men started laughing together.

How hearty!

Hahahaha!

“J-Jin-sang!”

“Yes?”

“D-don’t do such things a-again! R-really…”

Tears were welling up in Luna-noona’s eyes.

Her ears were drooping too, showing how worried she had been.

That appearance… really made me feel guilty.

“Yes… I understand, noona. I won’t do dangerous things anymore.”

“F-for real?”

“For real.”

“T-that’s good…”

“Don’t worry! Even if he does, I’ll catch him again!”

“N-no. I said I won’t do it!”

Still, I felt reassured by Ms. Physique’s words that she would catch me again if I were to do it.

◈

When I was young.

I was an orphan.

My parents probably left me as a newborn baby in front of the temple.

But I never felt lonely or sad about that.

The priests who raised me from childhood were kind.

And I got along well with the brothers and sisters I grew up with.

Growing up in the temple’s orphanage, I learned the teachings of God like the other brothers and sisters.

Lady Rhea, the Goddess of Abundance and Prosperity.

Lady Rhea’s teachings involve being warm to people and valuing prosperity.

But what I liked most was:

The teaching that we must fight against monsters that harm people for the prosperity of humans.

Since I was strong from a young age, I liked being able to help someone with my strength.

That’s why I’ve always wanted to cultivate more strength and defeat monsters according to Lady Rhea’s teachings.

And when I was first selected as a battle priestess,

I was truly happy.

With even more enthusiasm, I trained daily to obtain stronger power! Stronger muscles!

But my body

Couldn’t handle my enthusiasm.

When did it start, I wonder?

There were times when I felt pain in my wrist when hitting training dummies.

But thinking this was due to my lack of training, I devoted myself even more to practice.

I realized my thinking was wrong when:

Bueeeerk!

“Aargh!”

“P-Physique, Sister!”

The moment the dummy flew away and simultaneously my wrist twisted in a strange direction.

Fortunately, there were brothers and sisters nearby, so immediate treatment was possible.

And the priest who raised me told me:

“Physique. It seems your strength is too great for your body to withstand.”

“T-that can’t be…!”

At first, I was shocked.

But I didn’t give up.

If my body was weak!

Then I should use weapons sturdier than myself!

That’s what I thought at one point.

Bueeeerk!

“Aaah! The hammer broke!”

Craaaack!

“Aaaack! The halberd shaft is crushed!”

Claaaaaang!

“Aaaaack! The gauntlet is dented and digging into my fingers!”

“Kyaaaa! Physique! Take it off quickly!”

But even with weapons, they couldn’t withstand my trained strength.

As a last resort, I tried wearing gauntlets filled with cotton, but that only resulted in me getting more injured.

So I returned to using my fists.

Fortunately, I could join with other brothers and sisters to hunt monsters together.

My role was the one-hit wonder.

I mainly stepped forward to break through monsters’ tough armor,

Or to completely defeat them.

But that was always just one hit.

After throwing one punch, my arm would break too, so I had to immediately withdraw from the front line.

I could endure the pain with a smile because of the joy of being helpful to my brothers and sisters,

And contributing to monster subjugation.

I could tell that the brothers and sisters included me because my strength was primarily helpful.

That’s why, wanting to be more helpful,

Wanting to deliver an even bigger impact,

I devoted myself diligently to training.

At the same time, to reduce the burden on the brothers and sisters who healed me,

I trained not only my body but also in holy arts.

However, I didn’t have much talent for healing holy arts.

At most, I could only heal enough to alleviate the pain I felt.

So I couldn’t recover and return on my own, always troubling brothers and sisters skilled in healing arts.

Still, since I was relatively good at holy arts for strengthening the body,

I trained in holy arts to increase my body’s durability.

But because of my ever-increasing strength, that could barely prevent my arms from breaking.

In that state, I had anxiety.

If my strength became so great that even my holy arts couldn’t contain it,

And I became more of a burden to the other brothers and sisters,

Would they eventually remove me from monster subjugation altogether?

Would I be unable to fulfill the divine teachings I loved,

And just become a hindrance?

That’s when it happened.

A monster subjugation request came to the temple.

An expedition request to go to a region far from Gallio for subjugation.

It was a long request that would take at least two months if we went.

And the brothers and sisters who accepted this request told me:

That I should sit out this expedition.

I understood.

After attacking once, I needed to rest for days due to after-effects even after receiving treatment.

It was natural that I would be a hindrance in this expedition, if not at other times.

I know the brothers and sisters spoke out of concern that I might get unnecessarily hurt while traveling in a state with after-effects, rather than considering me a hindrance.

That’s why I accepted their words.

But on the other hand,

I thought that what I had been anxious about had inevitably come in a different form.

The day when I couldn’t practice the divine teachings I loved,

When I, unable to properly use healing holy arts, would just remain idle.

The day when all I could do was clean the temple or carry luggage so as not to interfere with the other brothers and sisters.

Nevertheless, I thought I shouldn’t be depressed about being left alone.

Knowing well that gloomy thoughts are not good for people,

To dispel these gloomy thoughts,

I decided to train more by moving my body, since such days had not yet come.

So that when I met my brothers and sisters next time,

I could show them a more reliable appearance.

And then,

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

“Heugh! Hugh! Huff!”

I met Brother Jin-sang and Sister Luna.

At first, I was happy to have good exercise companions.

Sister Luna stutters a bit but seems kind and trains hard, a good sister.

Brother Jin-sang is a brother with a bright personality and an active character.

He’s an honest brother who sometimes smiles contentedly watching Sister Luna or me exercise.

It was fun because it felt like watching young brothers entering puberty!

When Brother Jin-sang first introduced himself as a healing mage, explaining his skills and offering healing,

To be honest, I thought Brother Jin-sang was a person who exaggerates a lot.

Even though he didn’t have a license, I knew his companion, Sister Luna, wouldn’t form a party with him if he truly lacked skill.

I thought he was a brother with skills but too much confidence.

But that thought of mine:

Completely vanished the moment I saw Brother Jin-sang heal Brother Ferguls.

At first, I just hoped that Brother Ferguls would be able to work in the smithy again, even if it took a long rehabilitation period.

That’s how serious Brother Ferguls’s injuries were.

“Heal!”

But the moment Brother Jin-sang used his healing magic,

Brother Ferguls’s injuries healed in the blink of an eye.

And perfectly at that.

It was healing so perfect that it could be considered a miracle.

The moment Brother Jin-sang completely healed Brother Ferguls’s injuries,

The moment Brother Ferguls stood up perfectly fine,

My heart thumped with anticipation.

Looking at Brother Jin-sang, I thought:

Perhaps,

Brother Jin-sang was,

The only person who could help me fulfill God’s teachings.

That’s why, when Brother Jin-sang and Sister Luna expressed their wish to defeat the Iron Golem,

“If that’s what you want, leave it to me! Brother Jin-sang! Sister Luna!”

I shouted loudly.

To catch the attention of Brother Jin-sang and Sister Luna,

To bring about the situation I wanted, even a little more.

And the moment I defeated the Iron Golem, I deeply felt it:

I need,

Brother Jin-sang.