Level Up Saintess

After a bit more rest, Chella and I waited in the chapel until Ferr came to pick us up. It was wonderful watching Chella completely clam up as soon as Ferr arrived, and from the smile plastered on Ferr’s face, I’m sure she felt the same way. That smiling face quickly started filling up with tears though, and soon Ferr launched herself at the unprepared Chella, almost knocking her over from the force of it.

“Ugh, Chel, it’s been too long! We were all so worried about you!”

Chella grumbled out some reply to her that I couldn’t make out through the large tigress’s tight hug. It was obvious that she didn’t know how to handle the situation, but seeing her still hesitantly reach around to hug Ferr back made me extremely happy to see. Touching reunions are always great. We were too far back in time for TV or the internet, so this was some of the best wholesome entertainment that I was going to be able to get.

“Oh? Arissa, why’re you staying all the way back there? You’re a part of this too; Come get in here!”

Oh no, I’ve been caught. Why did she call me out too? I have nothing to do with their reunion! And I… Ooooh, I might be able to smile and think it’s great on the outside, but I have no clue how to handle any of this once I’m part of it! Only one person ever really hugged me much throughout my life, so I don’t really… Ugh…

I can’t win against the big sister type like Ferr, nor Chella’s burning glare from behind her. Fine, take me then. There’s nothing to lose from having 2 pretty ladies hugging you anyways!

~~~

On the way to the brothel, Ferr was practically brimming over with questions for Chella about her new life at the church. Most of them were about Chella’s wellbeing there, or if she’d had any hardships since she’d gone, but some of them were just questions about what it was like to be a priest’s apprentice in the first place, and how close Chella was to being promoted. Really, it felt like Ferr was going to ask her about anything and everything that had to do with her daily life, right down to what color socks she was wearing today. Well, no, that’s just a saying; Apparently the average person doesn’t really wear socks around here. Supposedly that’s only a specialty thing that people in certain jobs normally wear. You know, like overalls on farmers.

I listened to their conversation the whole walk there, paying attention just in case Ferr suddenly shifted her focus over to ask me questions too. I definitely wasn’t going to be caught off guard like last time! I studied that Saintess book like crazy after our last meeting, and I’m pretty sure I can vaguely remember most of the Saintesses now! If I can’t recognize them all by name, like with Saintess Seria, then I can at the very least remember them by their titles, like how she was referred to as the ‘Saint of Victory’! I’ll be ready even if Ferr quizzes me about the Saint of Remedies, or the Saint of Prosperity, or the Saint of War- Actually, that one’s really quite the misnomer, you see, because she-

“Huh, we’re already here! That walk felt short, don’t you think?”

Oh… Well I guess there’s still a chance that Ferr might ask me some questions later, too... Yeah, I’m sure she will later. Let’s just head inside for now.

Unlike my last visit, where Ferr had to assemble everyone together, this time they all seemed to be waiting at the front entrance for Chella’s arrival. The girls instantly swarmed around her as soon as she came into view, making Chella’s already slightly awkward face from talking to Ferr take a turn for super embarrassed. Many voices filled the space, and everyone had to push and shove around each other to get their chance at seeing Chella again. It’s wonderful seeing how much they all seemed to have missed her and worried about her while she was gone. And seeing all these pretty ladies gathered together in one spot having the second sweet reunion of the day-

Oh, well I guess some of them aren’t really ladies, huh? What was it, they’d all been called ‘girls’ last time, right? Sure then, seeing all these lovely girls interacting together was definitely a treat.

The madam was also here, although I distinctly remembered her being nocturnal, and she quickly quieted down the hoard of girls, parting them like the red sea so she could embrace Chella in a big, firm hug. Unsurprisingly Chella still looked awkward, but I could see that she actually looked quite comfortable and pleased as well. She must have truly felt like she’d come home now. Maybe she even thought of the madam like a mother figure, in some way. It wasn’t just me who teared up a bit at the sight of it.

…I won’t lie, I’m terribly envious of her right now.

Oh, but that’s enough about that. Lamenting over things I’ve never had is pointless, and it’ll only make me unnecessarily upset. I’m here to help my friend reconnect with her family and to do my job as a Saintess; I don’t need to complicate things further than that. If objective A doesn’t need me around for it anymore, then it’s time to get to work on objective B.

“Hey Ferr, where would be a good place to start healing?”

~~~

There wasn’t very much healing to get done, considering it had only been a week since I came here last time. About 3 of the girls managed to either get sick or catch something since the last time I was here, which, I won’t lie, is kind of amazing. I even needed to heal up some bruises or minor injuries 6 times, too. I guess they did usually take in their girls to get treated at least once a month, so they must have been racking up injuries and afflictions quickly enough to warrant going that often. They must be making good money here if they can stand to afford the church’s high rates, though. Crazy. Sex sells no matter where you are, I suppose.

Of course, there were the four girls who needed a [Regenerative Heal] from last time. One of the girls was missing a toe, one was missing a kidney, one was missing an ear, and the madam was missing a pinky. I won’t lie, the missing ear and pinky kind of sound like some sort of punishment from an underground society, or maybe some sort of religious punishment I’d never heard of, but I wasn’t willing to pry enough to find out what had happened. Hell, I don’t think I usually ask how anyone who needs my healing got hurt, so I’m not gonna start asking questions now. Just smile and heal, Arissa. It has nothing to do with you.

I asked the cute lizard person whose tail bone I’d healed if they wanted me to regenerate it for them, but they said no. Apparently the tail was already halfway back to full length already, and she said she liked watching it grow day by day, so no exp to be gained there. Boo.

By the end of my little healing session I’d made 205 exp, which is a tidy sum for how little time I’d had to put in to get it. The girls had all been very thankful, especially the ones whose parts I’d regenerated, and I’d even been given some hugs and a kiss on the cheek. Pretty girls, showering me with praise and affection, even if it was brief... I finally reached that goal post I set. I should have had a smile on my face. I should have felt like I was doing a good Saintess-ing job.

Yeah no, I guess I’m still just in a really crappy mood.

Agh, it’s so annoying when I won’t just let go of things and ruin what should be a good moment. I’ve been looking forward to coming back here and keeping my promise for the past week, and yet now that it’s actually happening, I’m letting my stupid feelings just get right in the way! Look! There’s happy, pretty girls everywhere! Ferr’s here! You like spending time with Ferr! And there’s even Chella! Adorable Chella! Just stand on the sidelines and have a good time like you promised you would, dammit!

Ugh, fine. Seems like I’m just gonna have to let my bad mood win out on this one and miss the rest of this sweet reunion time. Let’s go find Ferr and give her some excuse or whatever so I can bounce.

~~~

I told Ferr I had an appointment to go do some healing at the guild and left. Did she look like she bought it? No. Did I still leave anyways? Yes. They don’t need me raining on their precious parade with my stupid mood swings. This is for the best for everyone.

Maybe my mood was still a little muggy, but it certainly wasn’t as bad after I took a long slow stroll. Don’t worry, I made sure to use [Benediction] and keep a watchful eye on my surroundings, so I for sure wasn’t going to get gooned like I did last time. If anything, with the mood I was in, I half wanted to get attacked again, so I could vent out some of my anger before I could think better of it... So it’s quite a good thing that nobody showed up to test me.

When my feelings had simmered down enough, I finally bee-lined it to the adventurer’s guild. Lots of people looked over at me and seemed like they might come over to talk to me or ask for healing, but I mostly ignored them and looked around for the team from yesterday. They said they’d be here around now, and I could really use some relaxing time with frien- Oh there they are!

Hello new friends! Please, help me!