“Ohhh!..ssssssh!…mmmmm…good lord that feels good…don’t stop”

“You like that? Wait let me try something.”

“Oooo! That is nice! Deeper please.”

“Are you sure? I am not sure how much deeper I can do it. It might hurt.”

“I know, but I want it please. I know you can do it. It’s almost there!”

“Okay then, here it comes.”

*Crack. Pop*

“AHHHH!!!!”

“Are you okay John-Sama?” Nanaella asked, sitting on John’s legs while massaging his back. She was fully clothed this time, since it was only around lunchtime and she needed to get back to work soon. John was laying down on his bed shirtless, only wearing a loose fitting pair of pants. 

“Yeah I am great Nanaella. I think you managed to push everything back in place. I am just going to rest here awhile though. Thank you very much for helping me.” he replied

“Oh…it was nothing John-Sama, I am happy to help you whenever I can. Do you want me to take your laundry up when I go?”

“Would you? You’re the best, my little bunny. Come lay beside me for a moment, I want to kiss you but I don’t think I can move right now.”

She moved down beside him and they cuddled, sharing a few kisses and over the clothing touches.  After a bit, she got back up and gathered his dirty clothes.

“I’ll have these back here tomorrow. It will be done with the rest of the guilds laundry.” She said, then pecked him on the cheek.

“Sounds good. Dinner tonight?” John asked her. 

“Of course. See you soon!” She said cheerily and bounced off out of his room, a big smile on her face, her ears flapping adorably as she left.

He sighed, then jammed his face back into the pillow.

John’s morning was…intense, and it was only half done.

After Brod had dragged him up to the meal hall that morning, he nearly force fed him to the point he felt like he was going to explode. Then had Gulgar slam down another mug of that black ooze they called substance X in front of him, forcing him to drink it.

After talking with Alec about it, he was already planning on drinking it as part of his training routine, however he wasn’t expecting Brod to become the most intense personal trainer he ever met.  That entire morning he felt like he was in basic training again, except the physical training didn’t stop after a couple hours.

Luckily, this time his tongue didn’t become loose, so he chalked it up to a first time use of the…drug. That didn’t save him from being forced to jog around the training area, being chased by that monster of a man. Then, after what felt like hours (It was twenty minutes, John just hasn’t worked out in over thirty years) he couldn’t move anymore. 

Brod let him have like a minute to catch his breath (five minutes), then had him start practicing with his sword. It was nothing fancy, just a simple overhead slash, similar to how he was using the Bokken in the High School of the Dead world.  Brod would watch him, then make corrections, then made him continue.

John was sweating buckets. He had changed earlier as his leather clothing wasn’t ideal to work out in, the thin white shirt and loose fitting cream coloured pants soaked from his exertions. 

When they paused for another break, John finally asked what was up with this? He was here to be a healer, not an adventurer.

Brod just looked at him for a moment before saying. “The guild staff are all family to me John, and Nanaella would be like my youngest daughter. I won’t let my daughter be with someone who can’t protect her, so old injuries or not, you better start taking this training seriously.”

Jesus, this guy is intense. (Yes, yes he is. You don’t nearly become a SS-Ranked swordsman nicknamed “The Whirlwind” by being laid back)

John understood the sentiment though, always wanting what was best for his children. In this world, strength was what kept you safe, what gave you power, so Brod wanting him to be stronger was a good thing. He didn’t know the exact story as to why Brod felt that way about her, but it didn’t really matter right then. That was something to ask over a game of cards and a few drinks.

The sword training continued for another hour, adding both a side slash and stabbing motions, then they moved on to stretching. John thought that would be the end of it, a few nice relaxing stretches to cap off an intense workout, but apparently he wasn’t pushing hard enough for Brod, so the man starting contorting him into so many different shapes he thought he was a balloon animal. (Yoga isn’t easy)

That was also when his back decided enough was enough, and gave out on him, leaving him writhing in pain on the dirt floor of the training hall.

Nanaella came down just then to find Brod for a guild related matter, and upon seeing John laid up on the floor, she laid into him, berating the guild master for abusing yet another person in the name of training. The man looked guilty as sin as she laid into him, then helped move John to his room before making a hasty retreat. He did call out to tell him they would be doing the same thing tomorrow though.

An adoptive daughter laying into her adoptive father for abusing her boyfriend…that has to be a trope of some sort

And that’s how he ended up getting a back massage and chiropractic treatment from his new girlfriend.

After a few minutes, John rolled out of bed, his stomach growling despite the giant breakfast he ate. He will say one thing though, his body was definitely a lot stronger since he arrived at DEN. He was tired now, but he didn’t feel the need to take a nap (Substance X’s doing not DEN), rather he just needed that short rest and was ready to go again.

He got dressed in his leathers again, and made his way up to the chow hall.

The rest of the day went smoother. He had about fifteen ‘customers’ show up at his door, all with minor wounds or ailments.  He pocketed 40 silver from that alone, plus had time to study his new spell tome. Apparently cure was a weaker cure all type spell, and this tome had poison, paralysis, and sleep status recovery spells, which were more focused on those types of ailments.

Monsters can just put you to sleep and leave you unable to wake up? Is it like a forced coma or something?

He wasn’t sure, and really didn’t want to find out, though if he ever found someone in a coma in another world, he would try it out to see if it would work. (It just might!)

He then went and had dinner with Nanaella. They just stayed at the guild hall, which was free, but planned on going out on her day off for a date around the town. The conversation was mostly just small talk, two people asking questions about the other, learning some likes and dislikes. She did say not to let Brod bully him so much while training down there, which made him laugh.

“What is so funny?” she said, a disapproving frown on her face.

“You sound like my…well like someone who was very important to me. She said the same thing to me many times, so it was a bit nostalgic you know.” he said, some moisture forming in his eyes. His dead wife was who he was thinking of, normally super sweet, but had a fiery temper when it came to anyone trying walk over her husband, not that too many tried to do that to him, twice.

“Who was she? and, where is she now?” she asked, her frown turning to concern.

“Well, I was married before, but she died a couple years ago. Sorry, I wasn’t planning on hiding that from you, it was just a difficult time for me then, and well this has happened so fast, I didn’t have a chance to mention it.” he said, taking her hands in his. 

“Don’t worry about it John-Sama, I don’t mind. It isn’t like you know about my past either. I would love to know more about it sometime though if you don’t mind sharing it with me.”

“Another time, in a more private setting. I am a fairly private person and there are too many ears here.” He said, looking around. Several people quickly turned, going back to their meals or drinks, trying to pretend they were not listening in to the conversation between the receptionist babe and the guilds new healer.

He wasn’t sure if he would tell her the whole truth, but he didn’t want to lie to her either. It was something that once said, he would never be able to take back. 

They kept the rest of their conversation light, and then finished up their meal. She had plans with the other receptionist that evening that she couldn’t break so she would stop by his room later. Just as they were about to kiss goodbye, Gulgar slammed another mug of that vile drink between them, causing Nanaella to immediately run away in fear of her nose, yelling goodbye as she left the room. 

John noticed that the big man himself had small pieces of cloth jammed up his nose to prevent him from smelling it. “Drink up John, Brod’s orders!” he said, then backed away. 

“You guys are just cruel you know that. You could have at least wait until we were done!” John shot back at him, though he was smiling.

“No time for that. You have more customers, so drink that down and get back to work!” He heard Brod bark from the doorway.

“Relax man. I am going. Getting between a man and his woman like this is just rude you know. You would think this place was on fire or something.” John said, then pounded the sludge back. “God damnit it that shit stinks, did you mix your dirty underwear in with the recipe or something!” He said, then handed the glass back to Gulgar. The energizing and pain relieving effects kicked in almost immediately so John left the room with a noticeable spring in his step.

Gulgar and Brod shared a look. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. Their adorable little Nanaella had that man wrapped around her little finger already, even if he didn’t know it yet.

The rest of the week pretty much went like that. Training in the mornings, healing in the afternoon and evenings. At night, Nanaella would come to his room, and they would cuddle and sleep. They didn’t have sex yet, John wanted to wait until they had their date first. She did give him another couple ‘Happy Ending’ massages though, and she seemed fascinated with his testicles and cum, playing with both whenever she could. (4/10 Quest completion)

Due to his contract, he had a day off two days before Nanaella and him were going out on their date, so was planning to take the time to go explore the town, and see if he could learn a few things. Dressed in his actual armour and not his leathers, he arrived at the chow hall just after dawn as he normally did and sat down. 

Galba, the skinny wolfman who was the brother to Gulgar and vice-guild master joined him. 

“You are all armoured up today? Where are you off to?” He asked John, his mild voice just holding a hint of curiosity.

“Well, I want to hit the markets today, I am looking for other spell tomes from different magic schools. According to the healers guild, I have minor affinities to other magics, so I wanted to see if I could learn a few other spells. Plus, I need to find a ring*. After that, I was going to head down to the slums to heal again, as I promised the Lineage of the White Wolf that I would continue healing the poor there.” He said, gesticulating with a sausage on his fork. This was seriously some of the best food he had ever ate.

“Hmm…okay then. Well, you won’t find spell tomes at the market, however we have a few lying around in Brod’s office from adventures who left them behind for…various reasons. As for a ring, go see Adrix just across the square here, he is one of the nicer jewelers in town. Just tell him I sent you and you won’t need to haggle. 

As for going to the slums…” he paused then looked around the room for someone. “Libby, Taylor. Come over here please.” He called out.

A pair of Cat beast folk came over to the table. The man and woman looked like siblings, both with black hair, tanned skin and green slitted eyes. John was pretty sure he healed the man before, at least once. “Yes boss? How can we help you?” The woman said.

“You busy today? Good. I want you to escort John around town, and guard him while he is in the slums healing. Any issues with that?” He told them, not giving them a chance to say they already had plans. (They didn’t, Galba already knew that. He knows a lot.)

“Sure thing boss! We won’t let you down!” They said in unison, and bowed their heads towards John.

“I’ll meet you out front in twenty minutes, thank you for joining me.” He said. The twins nodded and left the table.

When the twins left, John looked over at Galba, considering his next words. “Worried about me being kidnapped?”

“A little, though I am more concerned that you might be making enemies at the other clinics since you are undercutting their prices so much. I haven’t heard anything substantial yet, but I didn’t get to where I am today without being able to make an educated guess or two. (Or run a massive information network)

Just be cautious when leaving the guild, and if you are going to the slums, make sure you have guards with you. I believe Bazaan said something along those lines to you before did he not?”

“Yeah he did. Sadly, I tend to be a bit forgetful at times, and well, I have always relied on my size to deter anyone from bothering me too much. If you do hear that I am being targeted though, you will tell me right?”

“Of course. Enjoy your day out and don’t worry yourself too much about it, they are both D-Ranks, and can handle themselves well enough. Speaking of, you should get yourself a guild card as well. With Brod training you, you are bound to get stronger. You might even get a chance to take a few jobs.” He replied

“I’ll think about it.”

They finished their food, and after he downed yet another glass of that godawful liquid, he gathered his two guards and left the guild.

It was going to be a good day.

* – I can’t recall from all the books in The Great Cleric, if they went over marriage customs of this world or not, and the Wiki is very sparse. However, the Church was founded by someone from Earth, and many Earth customs were adopted by the masses. Anyways, putting a ‘ring on it’ will have the same meaning as on Earth for the purpose of this story.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep