Chapter 96: Holy Blessing

As we were heading back to Ironburgh Town, we might have lost today and had to retreat, but the mood wasn’t bad at all, thanks to Sarah’s speech. The red-haired woman was leaning on Justine for support as she walked.

“Why are you still unable to walk on your own?” Justine complained.

“Hey, I’m kind of today’s hero. You should feel honored to help me,” Sarah said, puffing out her chest.

“Keep saying that and I’ll leave you here.”

As for me and Alicia, we were a meter behind them. Alicia smiled when she saw Sarah talking with Justine. Seeing Alicia in a better mood made me smile too.

We were walking side by side when our hands bumped into each other. I could see Alicia’s cheeks turning a bit red.

’Why are you so timid? It’s not like we met yesterday and didn’t have sex,’ I thought inwardly. ’Since my girl is so shy, I should take the first step.’

Thinking that, I took her hand and intertwined my fingers with hers. I could feel her soft skin shiver at my touch, as if a shockwave coursed through her body. Seeing her embarrassed face while I held her hand was so cute that I couldn’t stop myself.

“Your hand is so warm, Rick,” Alicia finally said, smiling, overcoming her timid self. “Thank you for what you said earlier. I got so scared of the Ghosts that I forgot my promise to you.”

“The promise about becoming the best healer?”

“That’s right. For someone who made such a big declaration, I was really pathetic,” Alicia said.

“Huh, do you think so? I think it could’ve been worse.”

“How so?” Alicia asked me.

I smiled, then pointed at Sarah. “Sarah may look like a great veteran in front of you, but the first time she fought a monster, she wasn’t anything like she is now.”

“Hmm? What was that adventure like?” Alicia asked. Her emerald-green eyes were shining with curiosity.

I leaned closer to Alicia’s ear and whispered, “Sarah would kill me if she knew I told you this, so I need you to keep it a secret.”

“I’ll take this secret to my grave,” Alicia whispered back.

“The mayor of our town asked us to kill a goblin that had been wandering around the outskirts of the city, spying on women and waiting for an opportunity to kidnap them. Sarah, Leo, and I went to the place, but when the goblin saw Sarah, it started chasing her. Sarah got scared and began running away from it while screaming. In the end, Leo managed to kill the goblin, but Sarah…”

“What about her?” Alicia asked, really wanting to know what had happened.

“She peed herself.”

“What?!” Alicia jumped at my words.

“Shhh!!” I gestured for her to lower her voice. “Do you want Sarah to hear us?”

I looked ahead, and fortunately it seemed Sarah hadn’t heard Alicia. I sighed in relief and continued our conversation.

“When Leo and I went over to her, Sarah was lying on the ground. The goblin hadn’t touched her, so she was fine, but when we realized she had wet herself out of fear, she was more embarrassed than she had ever been in her life.”

“I-I would never have expected something like that to happen to her.” Alicia looked at Sarah’s back, dumbfounded by the story she had just heard.

“Just so you know, after making that mistake she never allowed herself to act in such a pathetic way again. That’s my Swordmaster,” I said to her.

“She really is incredible. I want to be like her — not as a Swordmaster, but as a Saintess,” Alicia said with determination. I could feel her delicate hand gripping mine tightly.

I smiled at her and said, “I’m sure you will, Alicia. If you don’t give up, I’m sure you’ll become the best healer.”

Alicia looked happy, her eyes fixed on me. “Thank you, Rick. For everything.”

As soon as Alicia said those words, my HUD appeared in front of me, displaying the following message.

[ Alicia’s Affection level reached 20. As a reward, she gained the skill Holy Blessing. ]

“Eh?” I let out a surprised sound, looking at the unexpected gift.

“Is something wrong, Rick?” Alicia said, confused by my sudden reaction.

“It looks like you gained a new skill,” I said to her, still surprised.

Only a few things had happened recently, so I could guess why Alicia’s Affection level had increased.

’Hey, Brandish. Was it because I gave Alicia emotional support that she leveled up?’

’It seems so. The way Affection levels increase varies from Valkyrie to Valkyrie. It looks like Alicia is the romantic type, and having you support her while holding her hand worked,’ Brandish said.

’Well, let’s see what her new power can do—eh?’ I froze in place while reading about Holy Blessing, not believing I might have just stumbled upon a gold mine.

[ Holy Blessing: The user can grant holy properties to certain items. For weapons, the effect is temporary.

Cost: 10 MP ]

“Rick, are you all right?” Alicia asked, worried about me. From her point of view, I was staring into space with my eyes wide open. Because of that, Justine and Sarah had turned to look at us as well.

I grabbed Alicia by the shoulders in front of the others. Alicia looked at me, surprised by my abrupt movement.

“R-Rick?”

Impulsively, I kissed Alicia. Overjoyed because of the new skill she had received, I said, “I love you, Alicia.”

“Eh?!” Sarah and Justine reacted in shock at my statement.

“I-I love you too, but why did you do that all of a sudden?” Alicia asked, not understanding why I was so happy.

“Yeah, Rick,” Sarah said with an annoyed expression, clearly jealous of Alicia. “Why are you two getting so lovey-dovey?”

Unable to contain my smile, I said to them, “Sarah, Justine, I might have found the solution to our problems.”

“Eh? Do you mean—?” Sarah looked at me, dumbfounded.

“Yeah. You’re going to defeat that Ghost army.” I grabbed Alicia by the shoulder and pulled her closer to me. “And Alicia here is the key to our victory.”

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