Even After Reincarnation, I'm Going to the Academy

Chapter 4

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Honestly, I was taken aback.

From their gazes, I could tell that the profession of 'priest' held a very negative connotation for them.

The perception of a priest, specialized in saving, healing, and blessing people, was this distorted?

'What have they done?'

Could it be that, without considering the context, they recklessly beheaded people in the name of blasphemy?

'Knowing them, it seems possible...'

Even though I'm a priest myself, there are many crazy ones out there.

They believe that anything is permissible in the name of God, that God will be pleased with their faith.

Though even God isn't crazy, so He doesn't like it when people recklessly behead others in the name of blasphemy.

"Please have a seat. Your wounds seem serious, and it wouldn't be good if they festered."

"Y-Yes..."

As if his previous ferocity was an illusion, the soldier became docile.

Sitting down obediently, he cautiously asked me,

"By any chance... are you here as reinforcements?"

"No. I was just passing by and saw that you were in danger, so I helped out for a moment."

"Ah..."

The soldier seemed relieved.

Perhaps he was afraid of being punished for mistreating a priest who came as reinforcements, but he seemed to fear the profession of 'priest' itself.

'Nothing is certain.'

I knew too little. Right now, all I could do was gather small pieces of information and make inferences.

Gathering information was the priority.

I would need a lot of knowledge to get into the academy.

'I need to meet the professor.'

Niphella Aoman.

Arcana said I would be able to meet him once I went outside...

'These people would know, right?'

I stared intently at the soldiers, then said with a benevolent smile,

"If you don't mind, may I heal your wounds?"

"Huh? But..."

"God is merciful. But she is also strict. So if I leave you all injured, my God will not forgive me."

"But..."

"There's no need for payment. Just allow me to help."

"Um..."

The soldier had a troubled expression on his face.

I maintained a benevolent expression on the outside, but inwardly, I was bewildered.

'Why aren't they accepting?'

I thought they would just take it?

It's free healing! Free? It's not a freebie that comes every day.

"...Please, let me help."

"Captain!"

Just then, the captain who was commanding the soldiers walked over.

Scars etched on both cheeks, a height that towered over me by a head, a build reminiscent of a bear.

'He looks like he's good at fighting.'

While I was inwardly impressed, the soldier grabbed the captain's arm and stopped him.

"Captain. You can't."

Then, as if trying to keep me from hearing, he whispered softly,

"Last time... that priest said he would treat us for free, and then demanded an enormous amount of money, saying that God required a proper offering..."

"But your lives are in danger now. I'll... I'll find a way to take care of the money."

Even though I could hear everything thanks to my excellent hearing.

'No wonder they're reluctant.'

I clicked my tongue.

It would be better if they beheaded people in the name of blasphemy. Extorting money? How much money could these soldiers possibly have?

Are there no real priests, only thugs?

'Well, it's true that being a priest is a good profession for extorting money.'

Even if your heart is split in two, a priest can save you as long as it's within a few seconds.

Priests can perform miracles.

It's ironic that miracles can be performed for money.

'Even if it's not a miracle, it's still a problem to extort money...'

It's no wonder the perception of priests has hit rock bottom.

The captain approached me. He took something out of his pocket and offered it to me.

"Priest. Please accept this. It's for the treatment."

It was a leather pouch filled with money.

Clink.

The sound of coins colliding could be heard from within.

"Captain! That's your personal savings!"

"Shut up, you brat. You said you're getting married when we get back, right? Think of it as a fee for retrieving your flag."

"Captain..."

Touched by their deep friendship, I shrugged.

'I'm happy to take the money, of course.'

But.

"My God does not covet money."

I returned the money without accepting it.

I had my own calculations. These were just soldiers, how much money could they have? It would be more beneficial to build connections and rapport instead of taking a small amount of money.

'Usually, people try to build friendships even when they're willing to pay.'

"However,"

"My God loves those with passionate camaraderie and loyalty. She loves me, but she also loves people like the Captain. If I were to accept this money, my God would punish me."

There are various gods on this continent.

The God of the Forest, the God of Light, the God of the Sea...

The most renowned god on the continent currently is the God of Light.

'Arcturus, the God of Light.'

I've never met her, but I've heard many stories from Arcana.

'She said she's not the type to persecute other gods.'

Therefore, even if I reveal that I serve a different god, I won't be branded a heretic.

Although I didn't explicitly state it, I did imply it metaphorically.

"I-Is that so..."

"Please bring me the person in the most critical condition first. I won't accept any payment. Instead, would you grant me a simple request?"

"Of course...!"

The soldier with a severe leg injury, which would be difficult to heal, was placed before me.

'Hmm. I can't just recklessly pour divine power into him, right?'

This isn't the temple.

My divine power won't recover immediately, so it would be impossible to heal him by recklessly pouring all my divine power into him.

'First, I need to stabilize the leg...'

I racked my brains, trying to find a way to conserve divine power and heal efficiently.

"I've brought reinforcements! Where are the goblins...?"

"......"

"......"

The reinforcements finally arrived.

The soldiers' cold gazes turned towards them.

I spotted someone at the very back of the group.

'The professor?'

Niphella Aoman.

The magic professor.

The one who said he would repay his debt to me for saving his life was among the reinforcements.

Not only that, but scattered among the reinforcements were those who appeared to be at least intermediate-level knights.

'Isn't this a bit excessive?'

He might have fainted from my knee kick, but he still seemed like a skilled mage.

It didn't make sense for someone of his level to come as a reinforcement to a goblin subjugation team.

'Or could it be...'

Was it related to the shaman I killed with a stone earlier?

'He must be above average.'

If the level of an ordinary goblin was this high, what about the other monsters?

They would definitely be stronger.

These soldiers wouldn't be able to stop them, and the average level of force would have increased for survival.

'The soldiers are just ordinary people who are good at handling weapons...'

So, there's definitely something special about these goblins.

In that case, it wouldn't be strange for a professor from a prestigious academy to come in person.

The captain's muscles twitched. Anyone could see he was clearly angry, his face contorted into a fierce scowl.

Thump, thump.

Every time he moved, I felt as if the ground was shaking.

"Why are you so late? It's been a while since we sent the request for reinforcements."

The gaunt man at the forefront of the reinforcements said, sweating profusely.

"Th-That's... The request for reinforcements arrived late, so there was nothing we could do."

"Don't lie. I received the signal that you arrived 30 minutes ago. It's not that far from here, and it took you over 30 minutes to get here without even encountering a single goblin?"

The captain's entire body was covered in muscles. His muscles twitched with rage, and the sight of his veins bulging was quite frightening.

'Can I get muscles like that too?'

"Ugh, ugh!"

"Ah, I apologize."

While I was distracted, I accidentally touched the injured area.

I apologized and focused on healing the wound again, while still listening to their conversation.

"Did you perhaps encounter a Goblin Slayer on your way here?"

"Th-That's... no. The path was quite complicated, so we were a bit late."

"Thanks to you, we almost died. We didn't even get proper orders, so we had to fight for about three hours without rest. It's a miracle that no one died! Do you understand?"

"That's..."

The captain, seemingly quite angry, didn't hesitate to speak harshly even to the reinforcements.

'Is the captain quite high-ranking?'

No matter how angry someone is, they usually control their anger in front of authority.

But seeing him speak like that and the other person cowering in response...

'He seems to be of higher rank than he looks.'

I'm glad I didn't accept the money earlier.

Small favors tend to come back around eventually.

Judging from how he cares for his subordinates, he doesn't seem like a bad person, and it's a gain in itself to have left a good impression.

"Did the young master send you late? Or did you make the decision personally?"

Perhaps sensing that things were getting increasingly awkward, he coughed loudly and changed the subject.

"There was a communication mix-up. We'll address that issue later. More importantly, where are the goblins that attacked this place?"

"...Their commander was killed, so they scattered."

The captain had a dissatisfied expression, but he eventually calmed down.

There was no point in further escalating the emotional conflict.

At the captain's words, the commander leading the reinforcements stroked his chin.

"You caught the commander? With this force?"

"We didn't catch him. This priest did."

"Priest?"

The captain pointed at me.

As the attention focused on me, I continued with the healing and turned my head.

"Is this your first time seeing a priest?"

"You're a new face... Which temple are you from? Identify yourself and your affiliation."

"He is our benefactor."

The captain tried to dissuade the commander, but the commander, who was cowering earlier, now had a stern expression.

"But we must thoroughly verify his identity. What if, taking advantage of this situation, a dark mage pretends to be a priest and infiltrates us? Information could be leaked, and we could lose him. So, I apologize, but you'll have to cooperate with the investigation..."

"Priest!"

Just then, Niphella emerged from the reinforcements and called out to me in a welcoming voice.

He looked much cleaner than when I last saw him.

A monocle over his left eye, a robe with a magical aura draped over his body, and neatly combed hair.

"Professor Niphella Aoman?"

I had seen him earlier, but I pretended to be surprised and widened my eyes. He burst into bright laughter and approached me.

"I was so disappointed after we parted ways, but to think we would meet again like this! It's truly a pleasure to see you again, Priest."

"It's only been a day since we last saw each other. More importantly, it seems you made it back safely?"

"Thanks to you."

The commander looked back and forth between Niphella and me with a bewildered expression.

He probably never imagined that I would be acquainted with the professor.

"Did you perhaps request his dispatch, Professor...?"

"Ah, no. He is my benefactor who saved me when I went missing for a while. I can vouch for his identity."

"...I see. I apologize, Priest. I've made a blunder."

"It's alright."

Considering his earlier cowering and how he seemed to be in awe of the professor, I decided to let it slide.

'It's already a hassle to heal, but...'

I cleaned up all the hindering parts and joined the severed sections.

After securing the leg with a wide branch and tying it with bandages, I infused it with divine power.

'Almost done.'

If I poured divine power into it for about two minutes, it would reattach itself.

'The nerves should be fine, and the severed skin and such will be a problem, but...'

Time would heal that.

If this were a battlefield, I would have healed him immediately, but this wasn't a battlefield, and it seemed like there were sufficient conditions for him to rest.

'But just in case...'

I infused a little more divine power and applied herbs that were good for wound recovery. And I also shoved some into his mouth.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

"Swallow it even if it's bitter. It's good for recovery."

I tied up the bundle again and scanned the other soldiers.

No one seemed to have any urgent injuries. The soldier who almost had his leg severed had the most severe injury.

"Have you healed everyone?"

"They should be fine with some rest. Please make sure they get plenty of nourishment so they can rest without strain."

"I'll take responsibility for that. First, let's get out of here. This place is dangerous."

I nodded.

Understanding the current situation was the priority.

'And get some information as a bonus.'

It's impossible to survive in the world without any information.

As we moved to the encampment, I asked the professor,

"What exactly is happening in this forest? I've been confined to the temple, so I'm not aware of the outside situation."

"A dark mage..."

The professor let out a deep sigh and adjusted his crooked monocle.

"A wanted criminal, a vicious dark mage who turned an entire village into an undead village, is present in this forest."