episode_0006

[In a state of revenge where not even a single finger will be spared, without considering the consequences, I’ll recklessly do this and that! Struggling with pent-up frustration, enduring three hours of sleep each day without weekends or vacations, I’ll coolly relieve my unvented passion on my beautiful body! I know it all. Even while studying to become a saint, I diligently accumulated knowledge in that area as well! If you thought I wouldn’t know, Mr. Stay, you’ve underestimated me too much!]

Having started with the conclusion out of laziness to explain, May Lwina’s delusion burst forth like a broken dam.

“Don’t let your guard down. Now that I know you can hear my inner thoughts, I might just shout and make a ruckus. You don’t know how loudly I can speak because I usually talk quietly and elegantly, do you? It would be wise to prepare yourself. Despite this situation, I’m still a saint!”

“No, no, wait a moment. It’s not like that, so please don’t get excited.”

“I don’t look upset? When Mr. Stay’s revenge could lead to the loss of a saint’s purity?”

Wait a minute, May Lwina is a virgin?

Caught off guard by the sudden declaration of virginity, I was momentarily stunned into silence.

But soon, I belatedly recalled that May Lwina was indeed a saint, and then I could accept it.

Until now, she had been acting out on me due to her stress from playing the role of a saint. Yes.

May Lwina was the kind of woman who only vented her built-up stress on me, playing the role of a compassionate saint, and it wasn’t so strange to think that she was a virgin. In fact, it might have been natural. After all, she was a saint first and foremost.

In this modern society, where even strong awakened individuals form relationships and leave their great talents for future generations, being a saint, one of the greatest heroes, doesn’t necessarily require maintaining purity. However, there is still an image of a saint being somewhat pure.

Mae Luina may not be the epitome of a saint to me, but in the eyes of the world, she was the very embodiment of the legendary saint, so much so that she was hailed as the light of humanity. With her strong desire to uphold this image, she was willing to cast aside anything she truly possessed if it meant not tarnishing it, unless she found someone she loved enough to disregard her purity. It was with this thought in mind that my startled heart finally calmed down after her sudden declaration of chastity.

[Go ahead and touch my body with your wicked and lecherous hands! I’ll shower you with curses. I’ll spew profanities until your fervor cools off completely! You know, right? What my true nature is like. If you want to live your life in fervent passion, come inside once!]

But this woman just wouldn’t stop her delusions. What on earth did “fervent passion” even mean? I might have been in the wrong for jumping to conclusions, but Mae Luina’s hypersensitive reaction to the injected words wasn’t normal either. Moreover, she dared to mention her true nature and even made threats. Clearly, her earlier apology wasn’t sincere. I didn’t expect or hope for genuine remorse and an apology, so I wasn’t particularly impressed, but it seemed unlikely that I would develop any fondness for this woman.

However, since I couldn’t just leave without explanation, I carefully voiced the reason for the injected words I had omitted earlier. “No, it’s not like that. The only way to lift the curse on you is through the injected words.”

“Huh? A curse? I became like this because of a curse? Oh, no, before that, how is it possible that you not only found out the cause of why I became a plant person, which even the Papal Court couldn’t figure out, but also know the solution? How is that even possible?”

After mentioning lifting the curse, Mae Luina stopped her delusions and asked me a question. She hadn’t paid attention to a word I said until then, but now that information she needed emerged, her attempt at conversation was quite characteristic of her true self.

It’s impossible to develop feelings in this kind of situation. Of course, I have no intention of developing any feelings for these women. However, in order to eventually escape from these women, I needed their cooperation once my treatment was successful. If I proceeded with the treatment alone and later became a victim of sexual assault, my life would be over if they exposed it. Therefore, I had no choice but to kindly answer Mei Luina’s question.

“Thanks to the status window, I knew. It’s also thanks to the status window that we can have this conversation.”

“Oh, the status window… Come to think of it, Stacey mentioned that you have that ability.”

“Yes, anyway, what made you like this is a curse called ‘Eternal Prison.’ Thanks to that curse completely annihilating the mana in your body, I can check your status window. And as a way to lift the curse described in the status window, it mentions the method of infusing positive energy.”

“I see… I guess that’s how it is…”

After hearing my explanation, Mei Luina seemed embarrassed by her delusional outburst and trailed off.

“It’s not right to look at someone else’s status window so freely… I know that, but it feels a bit strange.”

She’s really out of her mind.

After silently cursing her in my mind, I continued with what I intended to say.

“Before coming here, I made a contract with the Central Information Bureau. It’s a contract that makes it impossible to leave this place until the three heroes who will save the world, including you, wake up. Don’t ask why I made such an unfair contract; I didn’t want to do it either.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So, I have to treat you all. I don’t want to die while tending to plant people in a place like this. This is all strictly for my sake, so you don’t need to feel any burden about the treatment. Just accept it as your good fortune.”

“I see…”

I didn’t want to continue the relationship with the three heroes, including Mei Luina, after the treatment. Over the past four years, working in the emergency room, I’ve learned my limits and realized how precious an ordinary daily life can be.

In front of me stood a woman who was not only ordinary but also the furthest thing from the world, one of the greatest heroes who had saved humanity.

Setting aside her eccentric personality, the moment she entered my life, it meant that my everyday life would no longer be ordinary and peaceful.

“Well, I suppose a remarkable person like yourself wouldn’t feel grateful for receiving help from someone as insignificant as an F-rank Awakener like me, a mere caretaker.”

Of course, the likelihood of this masked girl in front of me feeling gratitude for receiving treatment from me and forming a bond with me is probably lower than the probability of me becoming an S-rank hero.

After all, we live in different worlds. The fact that we’ve ended up in this caregiver-patient relationship is merely a result of a coincidental occurrence.

[Oh, no, no! I do feel grateful! Besides, I am a saint! I know better than anyone how to express gratitude, having received so much of it!]

However, Mei Luina countered my statement.

It seemed as if she was irked by my assertion that she couldn’t possibly feel grateful.

Did I say something unnecessary? Perhaps I got annoyed because her apology didn’t seem sincere. Well, it was annoying. She admitted her insincerity just three minutes after apologizing.

But trying to counter Mei Luina’s words just because I got annoyed will only lead to pointless arguments.

“Then when the treatment is over, you can repay me for my debt.”

[Debt?]

“Since joining you guys, the only good thing that’s happened is that my salary has increased. If I save that, I can pay off my debt twice as fast, but even then, it’ll take me over two years to pay it off. You wouldn’t want to live as a plant-human for over two years, would you? So, if I succeed in curing you, you’ll repay my debt.”

So, instead of countering, I chose to eagerly await the method of gratitude that Mei Luina would offer me.

“Just that much? I’m a saint, you know. Saint Mei Luina. I know when to use what…”

“Alright. That’s enough. As I mentioned earlier, treating you is purely for my own benefit.”

[But still…]

Why are you being so sticky? Wouldn’t it be better for yourself if you had fewer cases?

“I said it’s enough. This conversation ends here. Any favor that repays my debt to me will suffice.”

[Ugh…]

I promptly cut off the inexplicable stickiness of Mei Luina.

“I will lift the curse on you, and as soon as you receive treatment, you will repay my debt. Our relationship ends there. Let’s make that our contract.”

“Yes, if that’s what Miss Stay insists, then I have no choice… It’s also a very good offer from my perspective. Alright, I’ll accept Miss Stay’s proposal. Let’s make a contract.”

As soon as I drew the line, Mei Luina finally accepted my proposal and agreed to the contract. However, since Mei Luina was in a plant-human state, we couldn’t formalize the contract and settled with an oral agreement (no evidence).

※

“So, you said I need to inject Yang Qi. Is that… what I think it is?”

“Probably? It’s written that the effects improve as physical and mental arousal increases, so wouldn’t that be the case?”

“A-as arousal increases… Hic!”

Can she hiccup while saying such things?

Feeling the oddity of Mei Luina’s emotional hiccup, I opened her status window.

=====

[Name: Mei Luina]

[Alias: Light of Humanity, Savior, Saintess]

[Gender: Female]

[Age: 22]

[Grade: S-Class]

[Abilities: Sacrifice (Legendary), Miracle Healing (Legendary), Revival Light (Legendary), Holy Singing (Legendary) …]

Possessing numerous abilities, information is restricted until the user requests confirmation.

[Current Status: Mana Starvation, Plant-Human, Extreme Loneliness, Depression, Despair, Regret.]

! The target is trapped in the abnormal status “Eternal Prison.”

Eternal Prison: A curse that seals the depletion of the entire mana and imprisons the soul in an eternal prison, causing the disconnection of the body and soul.

! It cannot be lifted voluntarily.

[Character: Mei Luina]

Title: The Eternal Prison – Property of Equivalence: According to the nature of the Eternal Prison, the method of relief is permanently imprinted on the subject’s body.

[Treatment Method: Infusion of Positive Energy]

The greater the physical and mental excitement of the subject, the more effective it becomes.

When the user of the status window desires, the imprint rises above the subject’s body.

The curse can only be relieved by infusing positive energy into the imprint.

“Right, infusion of positive energy. But what does it mean that the curse can only be relieved by infusing positive energy into the imprint?”

Previously, I couldn’t see it clearly because the notification window that I could hear my inner thoughts was up, but now I saw that it said the curse can only be relieved by infusing positive energy into the imprint.

‘When the user of the status window desires, the imprint rises above the subject’s body.’ … Should I give it a try?

I placed my hand on Mei Luina’s status window and hoped for the imprint to rise in my mind.

[User’s desire confirmed. The curse’s imprint rises above the subject’s body.]

At the same time, a translucent blue notification filled a corner of my vision.

Ssshh—

A pink imprint began to rise above Mei Luina’s body.