Ch.78EP.22 – The Knight Seeks Growth (1)

Tap, tap tap.

“Urgh!”

“This is driving me crazy! Why did you come back with your body in such a wretched state again?!”

Tap tap tap!!

“Umm, y-you’re not putting emotions into it, are you?”

“How could I not?”

“Is that appropriate for a clergy member?”

“Clergy are people too.”

“…Fair enough. My mistake.”

“As long as you understand.”

CRACK!

“?!?!”

That one really hurt.

They say when pain is too intense, you can’t even make a sound.

Truly, no sound came out, and it hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“Ugh…!”

He could hear bones cracking, and his muscles felt like they were about to burst.

And indeed, the pain of broken bones and torn muscles overwhelmed him, making Ihan wish he could just pass out.

Sister Jessie, the clergy member, wiped the sweat from her brow and caught her breath.

“Whew, it’s been a while since I’ve had to perform such major healing spells for days on end. Usually when I use major healing spells, even knights tend to pass out, but Brother Ihan, you haven’t fainted once? As expected of a knight, your mental fortitude is impressive.”

“…You inflict all this pain and now you’re complimenting me?”

“I’m just stating facts. Lie down for a bit. I’ll bring you some medicinal tea.”

“You’re terrifying during treatment, but now you’re acting like a proper clergy again.”

“I told you, clergy or not, we’re still human.”

The nun left with a smile to prepare the medicinal tea, leaving Ihan lying there completely drained of energy.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve experienced this.’

Being exhausted from intense pain, that is.

Except for his childhood when he was subjected to human experimentation, he had never been this drained from pain.

‘I thought I’d developed immunity to most pain, but I was mistaken.’

He never expected to learn humility during the [Healing] process.

The Academy Recovery Room.

It was a place with the most expensive personnel in the Royal Academy, where even most nobles couldn’t receive the “Holy Law-Healing Arts” treatment.

Ihan usually relied on natural healing for all injuries rather than depending on holy magic, but the recent fierce battle must have taken a greater toll than usual, hence his current use of the recovery room.

Despite this being his seventh treatment, his body still hadn’t fully recovered.

That must indicate just how severely damaged his body had been.

‘I definitely pushed myself too hard….’

Thinking about it now, he realized he had been reckless with his body.

During the two-week semester evaluation period, he had devoted himself entirely to training, pushing himself to the absolute limit.

And that wasn’t all.

After resting for just one day without properly recovering from fatigue, he had engaged in intense combat against monsters, and even went so far as to simultaneously consume five potions, far exceeding the safe limit.

Even a high-ranking warrior would have died long ago treating their body so carelessly.

He had endured only because of who he was.

But the price of that endurance was substantial, as evidenced by the pale face of the priestess when she first examined him to begin treatment.

– Y-you endured in this condition? H-how…?

It was the first time he’d seen a woman’s face turn pale in real time.

And then.

– This will hurt a bit. …No, not just a bit, it will hurt quite a lot.

The priestess had firmly declared that the treatment process would be painful, and while he thought it couldn’t be that bad…

‘…That was a lie. It wasn’t just “quite painful” – it felt like my flesh was being torn apart.’

No joke, it was pain that could drive one insane.

He had always thought holy power just made a flash of light and healed people’s bodies, but experiencing it firsthand proved otherwise.

It was more like physical therapy or traditional medicine.

The difference being that while those practitioners use medical devices and needles, healing priests use holy magic with their hands.

The coolness that came when the holy magic touched his body felt nice at first, but the subsequent itching and burning sensations were unbearable.

It felt like breaking muscles and bones into puzzle pieces, then reassembling them.

What does that mean?

…I don’t know either, I don’t understand what I’m saying.

The pain was simply impossible to describe any other way.

“Whew….”

“Oh my, you’re already up?”

“I feel a bit better now.”

“Your recovery rate is truly remarkable. Five times? No, seven times better than the average person. It’s like watching our brothers.”

“Brothers?”

“The ‘Monk Brothers.’ They train in holy magic solely to strengthen their bodies and increase recovery. Their recovery rate rivals that of trolls. But Brother Ihan matches them. …Did you perhaps train with monks when you were young?”

“I’ve never even met one.”

“…Is that so? They would really like someone like you. Hmm…. If you’re interested, you should visit the monks. I can write you a letter of introduction.”

“Letter of introduction?”

What kind of random letter of introduction was this?

When Ihan blinked in confusion, the priestess gave a fresh smile and winked.

“Someone like you would surely be welcomed by them!”

“Ha, are you asking me to convert? Wait, do priests even recruit people?”

“There’s a talent shortage everywhere. Especially heroes who have saved countless lives are welcomed as top talent anywhere.”

“Good grief….”

It was a brazen offer, but he couldn’t dislike it.

If some pot-bellied noble had made such an offer, his fist would have flown long ago, but this was someone who was treating him, and moreover.

‘…I’ll let it slide because she’s cute.’

She resembled an idol he liked in his previous life, so he decided to give her a pass this time.

Still, he never expected this.

‘I didn’t expect to hear this pitch here too.’

Recently, many had tried to recruit him, but he never thought he’d receive such an offer from a temple.

The hero title must really have quite the promotional effect.

But deep down, harsh words he couldn’t say to the priestess lingered in his throat.

‘Am I crazy enough to attend temple while paying tithes?’

He barely managed to swallow his words, unable to speak harshly to someone who was treating him.

* * *

“Ughhhh!”

Once outside, Ihan stretched lightly as if loosening his body.

While the pain during treatment was terrible, he felt more energetic with each step.

Vitality. That’s what seemed to permeate his entire body.

‘I may not trust the temple itself much, but its convenience is outstanding.’

Of course, the kingdom has healing practitioners like doctors.

Holy healers are rare personnel, so naturally people seek alternative healing methods when possible.

But medicine is still a developing field.

Why, even 19th and 20th century doctors were better at killing people than saving them, weren’t they?

Bleeding patients to lower blood pressure, giving mercury instead of medicine, terrible hygiene…

Similarly, Pendragon’s medical standards were still at a dismal level, and temple healing arts maintained a more established position.

And now, Ihan was experiencing and marveling at the prestige of those healing arts firsthand.

Injuries that would have taken half a year to recover seemed completely healed.

“Three more sessions would be nice.”

Then his vitality would be properly restored.

No, not just vitality—he expected that even the internal injuries and minor wounds that had accumulated in his body would heal.

‘My body already feels light, but after complete treatment, I might just fly.’

Thud.

“Ah, I need to deal with this too.”

What snapped him out of his wandering thoughts was a fist-sized stone in his pocket.

He carried it in the pouch at his waist, and at a glance, it might be mistaken for a collected ornamental stone, but this was a treasure of astronomical value incomparable to any ornamental stone or gem.

The Demon King’s heart.

It was the only byproduct of the Demon King that remained after being burned by Aura the previous day.

Carrying such a treasure so carelessly might earn him accusations of insanity, but Ihan wasn’t particularly drawn to treasures.

– What’s happiness? It’s just being satisfied without worrying about others’ opinions.

In his previous life, he had saved money for retirement only to die without properly using his accumulated wealth.

Perhaps that’s why?

In this life, Ihan tended to collect wealth but spend it freely in ways that satisfied him.

Since he didn’t even dream of marriage due to his curse (impotence), he kept only minimal living expenses and spent the rest.

After all, what’s the point of saving if you’re going to die anyway?

…Of course, his frugal nature hadn’t completely disappeared, so he did save some, but he didn’t place much significance on treasures.

And if someone were to steal or rob this from him, it would simply mean his skills were only worth that much.

‘They say those unqualified to possess a rare treasure will only find misfortune.’

Isn’t that how it is in martial arts novels too?

The initial discoverer of a rare treasure inevitably gets killed by righteous or evil martial artists—it’s like an established rule.

So rather than hiding such treasures, it’s better to carry them openly and live without stress even if you lose them.

A positive mindset.

Perhaps it’s one of the attitudes for a healthy, stress-free life.

…Well.

‘I’m saying I’ll live positively, not that I’ll let myself be robbed.’

If someone tries to steal from him, they should be prepared to be plundered in return.

That’s one of the rules Ihan has established for this life.

He won’t just be a victim, and no one will control his life as they please.

If anyone breaks these rules, he won’t let them off easily.

As he reaffirmed this somewhat fierce resolve while handling the heart, Ihan once again pondered what to do with it.

‘Should I make equipment with it, or just eat it?’

He had no intention of selling it.

As he decided yesterday, he would use it as a stepping stone for his development.

However, finding someone capable of processing such a rare material was like searching for a lost contact lens in the middle of a sandy beach.

‘Among my connections, only big sis could process this…’

She likely had the personnel capable of creating mythical elixirs like ambrosia.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t ask her.

‘That big sis would probably swallow this whole.’

If Isis heard this, she would rage, “Are you suggesting I’m an unscrupulous ruler who covets others’ possessions?!”

But unfortunately, Ihan believed:

‘She would demand something in return.’

It was because he trusted her that he wouldn’t ask.

One of her life principles was [Equivalent Exchange].

If he asked for a favor, she would clearly take or demand compensation equal to the favor.

She would probably demand half of the Demon King’s heart, or make an even more vicious request.

So asking her for help was an option best set aside.

‘Then the next candidate is a spell craftsman… hmm, both options are equally problematic.’

The enslaved spell craftsman was hospitalized and groaning after the battle, so he was out of the question, and the second chick didn’t seem to have the skills to handle something like this.

‘She’s not the scholarly type, but rather intuitive like me.’

Priding himself on his ability to read people, Ihan knew that Irene Windler wasn’t much of a typical mage.

If he brought this to her, she would probably just break out in a cold sweat.

As he realized none of his connections could handle monster materials, his thoughts deepened.

Tap.

“…I might know someone who could.”

Stopping the finger that had been tapping his forehead, a face suddenly came to mind.

The one he had struggled to bring in as a transfer student…

“‘Assistant #2,’ recite what I want.”

“…Couldn’t you just call me Sooshim instead?”

Taechang, no, Derrick showed his first strong objection.

Saying that “assistant” was going too far.