A Sundae, a Scream, and a Divine Touch

Hours later.

Inside an ice cream parlor in Ames Town.

“Ah-woo.”

“Lady Iqiyah, how is it? Satisfied?”

“Mmm-hmm… It’s barely acceptable.”

“And your mood? Is it better now?”

“Hmm…” Iqiyah scooped up a large spoonful of the pristine white sundae, shimmering with strawberry jam, and swallowed it whole. “Considering you treated me to this sundae, I suppose I can forgive you.”

A sigh escaped Seraphina.

Relieved to have Iqiyah’s forgiveness, Seraphina wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.

From the moment she awoke, through their journey, and into the city, the stubborn little princess had remained silent, her lips perpetually pursed.

Like a professional operative on a covert mission, she would simply turn her head and refuse to speak, no matter what Seraphina tried to say. She even refused to exit the carriage, unmoved by Levian’s tearful pleas. Not until…

Not until Seraphina offered to treat her to a sundae—a strawberry-flavored, extra-large, and universally adored sundae—did Iqiyah reluctantly concede.

‘However… to win her forgiveness with just a sundae. Children are certainly easy to appease,’ Seraphina thought.

Just as Seraphina mused this—

“Ugh! Mmm! Mmm-mmm-mmm!”

One moment, she was perfectly fine; the next, Iqiyah suddenly clutched her forehead, her face contorted in distress.

“Ser-Seraphina! What’s happening!? My head suddenly hurts so much!”

“…You just need to eat a little slower.”

Clearly, Iqiyah had eaten too quickly, suffering a brain freeze from the sundae.

“Ugh… it must be those despicable humans, poisoning my sundae to try and kill me, to make me drop my gear…”

Despite claiming it was poisoned, Iqiyah couldn’t put down her sundae. Amidst her suffering, she fiercely scooped another large spoonful and devoured it.

“Ugh! It hurts so much! Seraphina, help me quickly!”

“…If you don’t eat slower yourself, I can’t help you…”

Ignoring Iqiyah, who was as stubborn as an ox, Seraphina propped her chin on her hand and gazed out the window.

Though only a little over ten days had passed since she last departed Ames Town, it felt as though an eternity had gone by.

The small town, the bustling shops, the throng of people… all of it brought back memories of her past life as Shulk.

While those days were certainly not fond memories for her, a nostalgic filter often colored one’s reflection on the past. Seraphina found herself feeling a pang of wistfulness for the days when, as an adventurer, she never knew where her next meal would come from.

‘Speaking of which, her former teammates… she wondered how they were doing.’

‘One of them had even paid a hefty sum to hire someone to kill her. She truly wondered where they got such money…’

“Well, no matter.”

Perhaps feeling indebted to Seraphina, Levian had not involved her in the tedious procurement tasks. Instead, she merely inquired about the locations of various shops and sought advice on acquiring certain luxury items before hurrying off with the maids.

Seraphina, meanwhile, was simply tasked with holding the considerable sum Levian had left behind, looking after Iqiyah, enjoying a Roman holiday, and subtly boosting Iqiyah’s favorability.

‘Phew, speaking of vacation, looking after little Iqiyah these past few days had been utterly exhausting. She really needed to seize this opportunity to rest,’ she thought.

With that thought, Seraphina stretched, then leaned forward, resting her head on the table, just about to drift off for a short nap…

Then, a piercing scream echoed from outside the window—

“Help! Somebody, help!”

‘Good heavens, what’s with all this noise in broad daylight?’

Seraphina opened her recently closed eyes, a frown creasing her brow as she peered out the window.

“Is there a priest? Someone is severely injured! Urgent medical attention is needed!”

‘Oh, a show’s about to begin.’

Perhaps it was the innate Chinese inclination for spectacle kicking in, but Seraphina, who had been feeling drowsy moments ago, suddenly perked up. She craned her neck to look outside, observing a crowd gathered in concentric circles around an old man in a suit. In his arms lay a bloodied, mangled young woman.

Judging by the young woman’s attire—light clothing and light armor—she appeared to be a scout. Though she didn’t look like any common fodder.

‘Hmm… This area is near the outskirts of Ames Town, very close to the Blood Manor. She must be an adventurer who just emerged from a dungeon.’

“Wow… Seraphina, did you see that?”

At that moment, Iqiyah also noticed the commotion outside. “That person… is injured so terribly. It looks like meat on a cutting board, finely minced into a paste…”

“Indeed. It seems I’ll have to reprimand the maids who were on patrol today for inflicting such severe injuries…”

“No, no, Seraphina, you misunderstand. What I mean is, with injuries like that, why didn’t they just finish them off…?”

Hearing this, Seraphina offered an awkward smile.

‘Right, Iqiyah is a dungeon BOSS. One can’t apply an adventurer’s mindset to her thoughts.’

“Make way, all of you! Let this old one take a look!”

Just then, a bald man suddenly emerged from the crowd!

Yet, unlike the traditional priests people imagined, this man wore a white undershirt and possessed a formidable physique. He looked less like a priest and more like a berserker…

“Brother, your…”

“No idle chatter! I hail from the East, having practiced medicine since childhood. Last year, I just passed the [Excellent] qualification; I am a proper priest!”

Upon hearing he possessed the [Excellent] qualification, the crowd erupted in gasps.

[Excellent] was a rank second only to [Epic], representing the pinnacle of achievement for countless priests in their lifetime.

Indeed, with an [Excellent] qualification, one could serve as a regional High Priest. And with an [Epic] qualification, one could even accept an invitation from the royal family to become a Royal Priest!

Pushing through the surrounding crowd, the bald man drew a staff from his waist. Though it was the same model as Seraphina’s, it appeared remarkably diminutive against his towering frame.

“Fear not, little sister! Your big brother is here to save you!”

[Excellent: Body Repair]! [Excellent: Life Restoration]! [Excellent: Status Purification]!!!

As he shouted, the staff in the bald man’s hand erupted with dazzling light, instantly enveloping the young woman’s body.

“This is—this is wonderful!” Seeing the surge of light, the old man in the suit immediately burst into tears. “With this, the young lady will be…!”

But before he could finish, the light around the young woman vanished. Her body remained as mangled and bloody as before; the impressive display of healing had yielded no noticeable improvement.

“Guh! What… what is this!?” Seeing his healing have no effect, the bald man’s confidence instantly evaporated. “This can’t be!”

“Indeed, what could be the matter?” Even the old man was utterly astonished.

“Um, I’m an adventurer!”

Just then, a voice suddenly called out from the crowd.

“I recognize this injury! It was inflicted by a Bloodkin within a dungeon and carries a very potent curse. Ordinary healing and purification alone cannot dispel it!”

“Gah! What are we to do!?” Hearing this, the old man cried out in anguish. “To find a higher-level priest, we would have to travel to the Royal Capital, but I fear the young lady won’t last until then!”

“Hmph, do not panic!”

Just then, another robust voice rang out. From within the crowd emerged yet another bald man in a white undershirt, looking identical to the first.

“My brother’s cultivation is lacking; he has made a fool of himself before you all!”

“Now, allow me, an [Epic] Priest, to save this unfortunate young woman!”

“Gah! Another master!?” At this, the crowd gasped once more.

“To think that this humble Ames Town harbors an [Epic] powerhouse! It seems this young lady’s fate is not to perish!”

“Make way! I am about to cast a spell!”

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the Epic bald man drew his staff and aimed it at the young woman—

“Gah! Magnetic Field Rotation! Five Hundred Thousand Horsepower! [Epic: Cellular Reconstitution]!!!”

It was [Cellular Reconstitution]!

The crowd erupted in another round of gasps. This was an ancient divine technique, capable of directly reconstituting the body at a cellular level, undoing most injuries and curses. Few in the entire empire possessed mastery of it!

Under the Epic bald man’s incantation, countless sparks of electricity danced across the young woman’s body.

‘This time, surely the young woman would be out of danger…’

But alas—

“Guh! Some force is pushing back against my [Cellular Reconstitution]!!”

The Epic bald man cried out in alarm. The young woman’s body suddenly convulsed, then began to emit a plume of smoke, accompanied by an unsettling odor.

“Whoa.”

Witnessing the smoke rising from the young woman, Seraphina quickly activated her [All-Seeing Eye].

‘This poor soul… originally, she could have held on for another fifteen or twenty minutes. Now, she only has three minutes left to live.’

“How truly pitiful…”

Observing the young woman’s dire state, even Iqiyah felt a stir of compassion. “Seraphina, are you going to help her?”

“Hmm…”

Through her [All-Seeing Eye], Seraphina scrutinized the young woman’s attire.

‘Hmm… mostly [Epic]-tier equipment. Quite wealthy indeed.’

‘Coupled with the old man beside her, who resembled a butler, perhaps this person is a rich kid…’

‘Let’s see her name…’

Seraphina scrolled through her screen, looking at the young woman’s personal information.

Then, she saw a name that utterly astonished her—

Claire Krieg.

The Krieg family, controllers of the Krieg Conglomerate, stood as one of the most powerful families in the Empire. They monopolized countless industries and sectors, holding the very lifelines of the imperial economy.

In the Human Empire, no one aiming for great achievements could bypass the Krieg family.

And this Claire, currently before her, was none other than the third young lady of the Krieg family.

‘If she could earn a favor from them…’

Seraphina was tempted.

“Iqiyah, I’m going to take a look.”

“Hmm… I want to go too.”

Taking Iqiyah’s hand, Seraphina walked out of the ice cream parlor.

“Excuse me! Please make way!”

“Huh?” Hearing someone trying to enter, voices of doubt rose again from the crowd. “Is there another master?”

Moving through the crowd, Seraphina stood before the severely injured young woman.

“Sirs, please allow me to try.”

“Where did this little one come from…?” Seeing Seraphina’s white priest robe, the two bald men looked slightly surprised. “What qualification do you possess?”

“I possess no qualifications…” Seraphina stated truthfully.

Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in boisterous laughter. The two bald men, leading the mockery, guffawed so hard they nearly fell over.

“Hahahaha… Even we two couldn’t help, so a little priest like you, with no qualifications, will likely only make her injuries worse!”

“Hmph, what an [Epic] Priest couldn’t accomplish, what could someone without qualifications possibly do!? It’s best if you don’t interfere!”

“That’s right, little sister, be careful. Don’t let these injuries give you nightmares!”

“Exactly, kid, why don’t you go cool off somewhere else!”

“…”

“Miss,” the old man said, maintaining utmost politeness even towards Seraphina, who was an unqualified priest. “Even an [Epic] [Cellular Reconstitution] proved ineffective. I truly don’t know what you could possibly do…”

“Heh heh.”

Facing the crowd’s doubts and sneers, Seraphina offered a faint smile.

“It’s quite simple, isn’t it? I’ll just heal her.”

With that, her aura was finally unleashed—

[Divine: Cellular Reconstitution]!!!