Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 23: All Thanks to My Efforts and Sweat

"You...you won?"

"Is the monster... dead?"

"Is it over already?"

Don't make promises you can't keep!

When Duster and the others said that without thinking, Charlotte shouted excitedly.

The beginner killer is just too powerful. I really don't want to fight the boss that enters the second stage, not to mention how smart and vengeful it is.

Out of caution, Charlotte said, "Chiss, shoot an arrow."

"OK!"

As Kisla nocked an arrow, with a whoosh, the arrow struck the novice assassin precisely in the eye. If he were feigning death, he should be howling in pain and getting up to retaliate by now.

However, it does not.

The group looked at each other and waited for a while before finally confirming that the monster was completely dead.

"Phew, that's great."

I can finally let my guard down.

The group rubbed their sore arms and approached the novice assassin's massive body with relieved expressions.

The monster lay lifeless on the ground, its body blasted to pieces, countless tiny iron filings falling on its flesh-colored burn wounds.

Taylor complained, "This monster is too strong! I can't hold on much longer."

"And this is with it already severely injured. Who knows what would have happened if it were at its peak?" Keith wiped the sweat from his forehead, still shaken.

"No, normally it shouldn't be that strong, and with such a large amount of bleeding, it hasn't collapsed yet, there's definitely something wrong."

Duster looked serious.

He looked particularly professional at that moment.

Keith and Taylor, who probably sensed something, did not tease him for pretending as they had before.

Then, without any hesitation, Duster pried open the monster's mouth, saw some food residue on its teeth, picked off a piece to examine it closely, and even smelled it under his nose—

"It's an iris."

"I see, it's an iris."

……Um???

Why did everyone accept the name "iris" so readily upon hearing it?

What are the effects of irises?

"Oh, didn't you know? Iris flowers can stimulate the body's vitality when consumed, and are usually used in bone-setting surgery. But the side effects are also severe; it causes intense pain and is toxic, and without preparation, one can die very quickly... We're really unlucky."

In other words, even if left unattended, the beginner killer would die quickly, but they just happened to run into the monster during its final berserk phase.

Also, how come he didn't know that irises have such effects?

However, considering that cabbages fly in the sky, bananas are caught in rivers, saury are planted in fields, and tulips can roam freely in this world, it's acceptable for irises to have such an effect.

Charlotte also knew that, in terms of cultural symbolism, the iris flower also has the unique meaning of a death flower, which might be related to this.

"Ouch—that hurts!!!"

A sudden howl startled him.

"Dust!?"

"I... I accidentally got some flower oil on the cut on my hand, and it hurts so much!!"

I was speechless.

I just thought Duster was very professional, but now he's acting so funny. This isn't how you create a contrast.

"Oh no!" Lynn exclaimed anxiously, "We need to get rid of it quickly... Water magic can cleanse wounds, but I can't do anything about the part that's already inside the body. Charlotte, please! Just a simple purification spell will do."

"I don't know how," Charlotte shook her head. "It's that unspeakable secret from before; besides healing magic, I don't know any other high priest skills."

"Haven't you started learning yet? Damn it, what bad timing."

"No, it's that I can't learn it."

"……what?"

This sentence caused Lynn's mind to go blank for a moment.

Taylor quickly said, "Then let's take Duster back to town immediately and find the other priests!"

"It's okay, I have a way."

"Does Charlotte carry holy water with you? Holy water has a purifying effect, even the lowest grade should be enough."

"No, not at all. Did you know that the human body also has a metabolism? A moderate increase in metabolism can promote cell renewal, nutrient delivery, and waste removal, thereby accelerating repair. So..."

Charlotte's smile grew increasingly sinister.

"Take this! 100-shot healing combo!!"

"Aaaaaahh ...

The plains echoed with Dust's pitiful howls, which even Lynn couldn't bear halfway through, but she covered her ears and walked away until she could no longer hear them before her expression returned to normal.

The kind-hearted female adventurer couldn't bear to see her companions suffer, so she chose not to meet them.

The treatment lasted a full half hour.

When it was all over, Duster lay on the ground, his body trembling slightly, staring blankly at the sky, as if he had been completely ruined.

Keith and Taylor swallowed hard, feeling a pang of sympathy; they probably wouldn't have been able to handle it either.

But at the same time, the two were also shocked.

"You actually used healing magic so many times, just how much magic power do you have?"

"That's an exaggeration."

Healing magic is a basic skill for priests. Even so, each use requires a lot of magic power and energy, but Charlotte is still full of energy after using it so many times, which is really incredible.

"Heh heh, this is all thanks to my hard work and sweat!"

"...The effort was evident; wasn't the sweat on Duster's body?"

Qi Si's rant.

Together with Taylor, he lifted the limp Duster and secured him to his body with ropes so he wouldn't fall.

The group returned to town.

They went straight to the guild, presented the adventurer card with the proof of defeating the beginner killer to the receptionist, and received an incredibly generous bounty, far exceeding the price of a typical beginner killer.

In this world, bounties are calculated not based on the monster's strength, but on the extent of trouble the monsters cause to humans.

The more trouble you cause, the more reward you get.

It's just that the stronger the monster, the more trouble it causes.

Unexpectedly humane.

The group ordered a lavish spread of food and drinks and began to feast without hesitation.

Today's energy expenditure was really high.

The intensity of the battle was different from that of the battle against the giant toad. For Charlotte, it was a significant step forward, and it even came in handy at the end of the battle, so she spoke excitedly.

"So, how's it going? What score would you give me this time?"

"...If I had to rate it, I'd give it 5 stars."

After a long silence, Duster gave this score.

Charlotte's eyes lit up.

"Really? Such a high score!?"

"Of course it's 5 out of 100! What standard are you using to measure that?!"

"football……"

"idiot!!"

Duster slammed his fist on the table. He'd had the worst day ever, so he had every right to be angry. Keith and Taylor stifled their laughter, while Lynn also wanted to laugh but was holding it in, her expression betraying her barely suppressed mirth.

Charlotte lowered her head in disappointment.

...By the way, the people at the next table have been chattering non-stop since just now, it's so annoying!

"Kazuma, you big idiot! My 'Divine Light Fist' clearly hit that monster, why are you still dragging me along to run away!?"

"Don't joke around, you idiot goddess! I'm just the weakest adventurer; I have no desire to fight those terrifying monsters!"

"What did you say, you cowardly NEET!"

"Stop being so long-winded! I value my life very much!"

……

Thinking of the unnatural indentation on the chest of the novice assassin, Charlotte lowered her head silently.

Yeah, let's just relax and drink.