I quietly closed the door to my room, trying not to wake Gale. He was still laying on his side, sleeping after last night. Before the door shut, I gazed at him for a moment. My heart quickened, and I felt my face heat. My fingers raised to my lips as they tingled, remembering the night’s activities. 

I bit my lip in annoyance. He really didn’t have to get that rough. Thirsty bastard. I walked downstairs, searching for a kitchen to make myself something to eat. I walked into a random room, and to my surprise, Mirabelle was seated at a small table, teacup in hand. A maid stood off to the side.

Mirabelle looked up at my entrance “Awake?”

“Hungry.”

She gestured towards the seat next to her, before looking at the maid. “Sit. Bring her some food.”

The maid bowed and exited the room in haste. I walked over and sat in the chair, looking at Mirabelle as I did. Her silver hair sat gently over her shoulders, complimenting the comfortable nightdress she’d yet to change out of. She looked towards me, raising an eyebrow. 

“I thought you had healed Atrax’s wounds?”

My face stiffened as I brought a hand to my neck. Damn it, Gale! I casted healing magic to make the night’s bruises fade away. “Must’ve missed one,” I said.

She smiled, taking a sip of her tea. “How were your accommodations?” 

“Comfortable. I slept well.”

“I’m sure.”

My face flushed. “Do you have to tease me?”

Mirabelle set her teacup down and smiled at me. “Whatever do you mean?”

I didn’t answer. I crossed my arms and looked at her in a new light. So that’s how it was! I cursed my luck in friends, before asking, “Have you heard anything from the city?” 

“With Atrax’s death, the enemies were routed. I assume his ability was the thin thread that held them together.”

My eyes opened in surprise. “He used his ability on them?”

“It was a measure of sharing information. I doubt they were afflicted with the nightmares you were.”

So that was it. I imagined not needing direct communication in a war would be quite powerful - it would be like having radio to communicate in a world without the concept. 

“How do you know?”

She smiled. “Call it intuition.”

“What do you plan to do now?”

She picked up her cup and looked at me before taking a long sip. “You’ve defeated one of the Four Demon Generals. Do you know what that means?”

I looked at her, confused. “What? It’s not like anyone knows, we killed him in the dead of night.”

Her calculating eyes stared at me. “The rumors suggest otherwise.”

“Rumors?”

“Rumors of a heavenly Saintess who healed a town’s worth of small-folk in one night, accompanied by a dashing hero in gleaming armor. A night later one of the Four Demon Generals was defeated. Word has spread both widely and with haste.”

Sweat dripped down my forehead. Surely it couldn’t have spread that far…?

She seemed to read my thoughts. “It has already reached Elanis. The Church is rumored to have already begun their investigation.”

“Investigation? Into what?”

“The return of the Hero, of course.”

I stared at her confused. She blinked a few times, equally perplexed. “You don’t know the tale of the Hero?”

I shook my head. She looked at me as if I’d grown a second head. 

“It is said,” She began, “That long ago, a Hero was brought to this world from another. His was a brutal war, long, arduous and with few companions. He took the mantle of Hero, bore a holy sword that could cut through darkness, and fought through to the heart of the enemy, slaying it in single combat.”

She took a sip of tea before continuing. “He and the Saintess, his companion, gathered together a group of people to bring order to the land. When he passed, the Holy Sword was enshrined in Elanis to await its next wielder.”

My lips twitched. This plot… really sounded similar to half the games I’d played in middle school. Holy sword? I imagined Gale raising a longsword to the sky, transforming into a bodybuilder in a flash of thunder. Hmm. Buff Gale? Not bad…

I shook the thought from my head. “Is there really a Holy Sword?”

Mirabelle nodded. “Each time a ‘hero’ is thought to be found, they are brought by the Church to try and wield it. None have succeeded.”

“What happens to them?” I imagined an edgy plotline of a false hero getting revenge on an uncaring world after being discarded. Was this my time to rise…?

“Served dinner and released shortly afterwards.” Mirabelle’s words dashed my rising hopes. 

Well, technically according to the system, Gale and I were a hero and a heroine. Would he be able to pull the sword? If the other demon generals were even stronger than Atrax, we’d need every advantage.

Mirabelle leaned forward, her face becoming serious. “Your healing magic defied my expectations. You deny your identity as a saintess, but I’ve never seen such potency. I have a favor to ask.”

I raised an eyebrow. She had saved my life, Gale’s life, helped us kill Atrax. I considered her a friend. So long as she didn’t ask me to assassinate someone, there was little I wouldn’t do for her. 

“Ask.”

“My mother is with ailment. I would ask you to cure her, if possible.”

Mira’s mother was sick? I nodded. “Where is she?”

“My father’s villa.”

A villa? Why did that sound so familiar? I nodded. “Of course. I’d be happy to help if I can.”

A tenseness I hadn’t noticed fell away from her face. She looked at me with warmth, smiling. “Thank you. If I could trouble you to try after we eat.”

I nodded. 

By the time I’d finished, Gale lumbered downstairs. I looked up at his disheveled appearance, face flushing when I noticed multiple familiar bruises across his neck. We looked at each other and my heart fluttered. I coughed awkwardly, sending a heal to him, hoping Mira wouldn’t comment. Thankfully, she only watched with a playful look. 

He smiled at me. “What’s up?”

“We’re gonna go heal Mira’s mom!”

His eyebrow arched. “She’s sick?”

I nodded. He ruffled his hair, trying to fix it, and walked to the door. He glanced backwards at us. “We goin’?”

It was a short trip; we walked along smooth pavement, and I glanced at the surrounding mansions like a tourist. I had never felt so out of place. I found myself walking closer to Gale and took his hand. My discomfort eased with his touch. 

We arrived in front of Mira’s father’s villa. I stood shocked at the sight. Villa?! More like castle! The building was as large as an apartment complex, with intricate stonework and gorgeous woods interspersed throughout it, like an artisan’s greatest work. I looked incredulously at Mira. Just who was she…?

At the gate, two guards stood at attention from our approach. When they saw Mirabelle, they bowed at a ninety degree angle and said, “Welcome home, Lady Mirabelle,” in practiced unison. 

She walked by without answering, leaving Gale and myself at her heels, speechless. We looked at each other. Gale shrugged.

The opulence of the manor was matched only by Mira’s uncaring attitude towards it. What I considered priceless works of art, she gazed past as if bothered by the sight of it. She seemed irritable as we ascended the stairs, her face tightening. What would happen if I couldn’t help her mother? Anxiety ran through me as I stepped upwards. 

We approached a set of double doors on the third floor. Mirabelle halted, glancing at me, before raising a hand and knocking. 

A deep, harsh voice spoke from inside the room. “I was quite clear I was not to be disturbed.”

Mirabelle bit her lip. “It is your Mira.”

Silence. 

“Enter.”

We walked in. A man sat in a chair besides a sickly woman, holding her hand. His eyes narrowed at our entrance, face becoming terse. “You disturb your mother’s rest with such nonsense?”

I frowned. Nonsense? I had just walked in the room…

“Would you see her wither and die?” Mira snapped.

He didn’t speak, but his eyes assessed me. I stepped forward, sweat dripping down my face. Damn! Her dad was intense. It was like I could feel killing intent rolling off him, like an oily, discomforting wave. 

My face stiffened when I looked at the woman laying in bed. A demon? Her hair matched Mira’s but had horns where her daughter did not. She was gorgeous. I demurely approached. 

She looked so sick… How was she not dead? What afflicted her?

[Would you like to assess this woman?]

My eyes widened. Right! The system was unexpectedly handy in these situations. I affirmed my consent.

[Severe lung cancer detected. Likelihood of recovery without intervention: 0%. Would you like to purchase the relevant skill?]

Lung cancer! My eyes softened. I had family die from that before my reincarnation. Yes, I would like to purchase it.

[The relevant skill requires 10,000 Hero Points to purchase. Are you sure?]

10,000 points?! I didn’t even have that much! Was this damn system teasing me?

[This system is capable of loaning the points to you. Any points you gain here on will be used to pay off this debt.]

I bit my lip. I couldn’t help but feel taken advantage of. I looked at Mirabelle. Her face was severe, but hopeful. I thought to my own parents. If I could have saved them…

Do it.

[Cure Disease purchased. Debt added.]

I felt a rush of information swarm into my head. I gasped. It was far more severe than the previous purchases had been. It was as if my brain received a comprehensive breakdown on every disease I could think of. I clutched my head, and felt something run down my nose. I heard someone speak, but I raised my hand and casted the spell. In an instant, my mana reserves were bottomed out. If previous spells were like filling a cup from a lake, this was like filling another lake.

I fell to my knees as golden power swirled from my hand, bands of gleaming light spiraling from my skin like streamers. They began to wrap around her, covering her like a cocoon. The man stood, moving to stop me, but Mirabelle was at his side in an instant, clutching his wrist with her hand. “Watch,” She said. 

The room was lit by gold, though I could hardly see it through my fading vision. Gale supported me by the shoulders. The golden cocoon hummed with power, before threads of the light began to split and float off into the air, disappearing like smoke.  ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel-fire.ɴet

The room watched in awe and anticipation as the cocoon dispersed completely. I shakily stood to my feet and looked down. My jaw dropped. Where before a near-corpse had lain, the woman had regained much of her promised beauty. Her skin, once tightened around her skull like wax, now had a healthy pallor. Her gentle breaths free of the sickly whistle from before. My heart tightened. Had it worked? Had it healed her?

[Confirmed. Target’s status is now normal. Probability of survival: 100%]

I sighed in relief. The man stared in shock. He raised a trembling hand, touched her face, then fell over her, tightly hugging her body. His chest rocked silently. 

Mirabelle walked towards me. I looked in her eyes and saw pure, overwhelming emotion. Her tears streamed like a waterfall, but she barely contained her joy behind her usual distant expression. Finally, the dam broke, and she cried out like a little girl. She flung her arms around me, tackling me to the ground in a hug. She sobbed into my chest like a child. I gently rubbed her back, a smile playing across my face.