Chapter 98: Overheat (3)

The infirmary within the Hero Academy was a place mostly frequented by senior cadets who often got injured during sparring or practical combat classes. Private treatment rooms were also available in the infirmary. Although they were technically donation-based, everyone simply called them rooms requiring a hospital fee.

The most luxurious treatment room among them demanded the highest donation. Even nobles from the Empire, high-ranking clergy of the Holy Empire, and tycoons from the Republic would think twice before using such a lavish facility.

In that very room, a woman with soft pink hair burst inside in a panic. “D-Dale!”

Though she was called Iris, she was far more famous as the Saintess, a woman said to be blessed by all Seven Gods.

The moment Iris saw Dale lying on the bed, she gasped and clutched her mouth, her face turning pale. “D-Dale…”

His lips were swollen and cracked, his eyes unfocused. His breathing was so shallow it looked like it could stop any moment, and there were red stains around his mouth.

“No! No! Please, stay with me!”

She knew he possessed the Blessing of Resurrection, the ability to return from death. But when she saw him lying haggard and lifeless, all thoughts of that blessing vanished from her mind.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped his hand. “Who in the world did this to you?”

Perhaps hearing her voice, Dale, who had been limp until now, trembled and weakly pointed in a direction. “That… son of a…”

Where he pointed stood a towering man nearly two meters tall.

Iris furrowed her brows as she turned toward Berald. “What about you, Berald?”

“Haha, don’t worry too much, Sister Iris. Brother here just overtrained a bit and collapsed from exhaustion.”

“From overtraining? He doesn’t look just exhausted. He looks seriously unwell.”

“You know how medicine often makes you feel worse right after you take it? He only just had some, so that’s probably why. Nothing to worry about.”

“Is that so?” Iris finally let out a sigh of relief. She turned her gaze to me, her eyes narrowing with disapproval. “But still… how hard were you training to end up like this?”

Dale opened his mouth to defend himself, trying to explain that this was all a misunderstanding. “Well, it wasn’t really because of training—”

However, Yurina cut him off and said, “Hmph! Don’t pretend it wasn’t training. Dale, you’ve been staying in the training ground until 2 or 3 am every day, haven’t you?”

“Wait, until 2 or 3 am?”

“Yep. And then he would show up again at 6 am. Every day. Without missing a single one.”

Iris’s eyes gleamed coldly. She looked at Yurina, who was in Yuren’s disguise, and Berald before saying, “I’m sorry, but could I ask you both to leave the room for a while? Dale needs intensive treatment.”

“If he needs intensive care, shouldn’t we call a healer?”

Iris smiled sweetly, her eyes forming elegant crescents. “Oh my, have you forgotten who I am?”

A soft sound of realization escaped Yurina’s lips. “Ah!”

The academy’s resident healers were undoubtedly skilled, some of the best on the continent. But even they couldn’t hold a candle to the Saintess of the Holy Empire.

“Alright. Then we’ll leave Dale in your care,” Yurina said.

“Haha! If it’s you, Sister Iris, I can rest easy. Take good care of him!”

***

Yurina and Berald exited the room, and silence fell over the infirmary. Iris stared down at me with eyes that had gone cold.

I opened my mouth to break the awkward silence. “Um!”

However, her voice immediately sliced through the air, low and sharp. “Shut it!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her clenched fists trembled as she bit her lip. “Do you have any idea how scared I was when I heard you had collapsed? And now I find out it was because of overtraining? Staying in the training ground until 3 am every night?”

Iris slammed her fist down, not on me, but on the shelf beside the bed. “I told you before, didn’t I? You need to take better care of yourself!”

Seeing her eyes well up, I carefully reached out my hand toward her. “I’m sorry…”

While I didn’t know the backlash of using Ashen Flame would be this severe, I couldn’t deny that I had been pushing myself too hard lately.

She replied, “You really…”

Instead of finishing her sentence, she let out a deep breath and shook her head. Gently, she placed her hand on my forehead, and a soft warmth passed through her fingers. “You’ve got a bad fever.”

To reassure her, I replied, “If I rest a bit, I’ll get better soon.”

In reality, I had no idea how long this overheating condition would last. Although just lying here quietly had helped a bit compared to before, making me feel slightly better, I was still so weak that I couldn’t lift myself off the bed.

“I’ll cast a healing spell to help with fatigue recovery,” she said.

“Don’t bother. It won’t help much.”

After I had eaten that “health meal” Berald prepared, one of the academy healers had tried casting a healing spell on me, but it did nothing to improve the overheating symptoms.

Iris replied, “Still. You never know, right? It might be different with the Saintess’s magic.”

“Well, maybe.”

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. Even though Iris was a Saintess blessed by the Seven Gods, it wouldn’t be easy for her to heal the overheated flow of energy caused by the Primordial Flame.

Iris reached out toward me. “Then just lie still, please.”

She quietly chanted, “O Seven Gods, please lift Your child who has collapsed in exhaustion.”

Her irises turned iridescent, and a white glow gently seeped into my body. The heat in my body slightly subsided. It felt like drinking cool water after burning up with fever.

I opened my eyes wide and looked at Iris in surprise. It was actually working. Honestly, I hadn’t expected it to work even though she was the one trying it. As I stared at her iridescent eyes, I couldn’t help but marvel internally.

So, this is the power of the Seven Eyes.

“Hoo!”

Her eyes, once gleaming with rainbow light, slowly returned to their original blue. Perhaps because she had activated the Seven Eyes to perform healing magic, tiny beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

She asked, “How do you feel? Still not working?”

“No, it worked,” I replied and pushed myself up from the bed.

Just moments ago, my body was completely drained of energy, but now, I had regained some strength.

As I stepped down, trying to stand on the ground, my knees buckled, and I staggered. “Urgh!”

“Dale!” Iris quickly rushed over and supported me.

“Ugh, I still can’t walk yet.”

Although her magic had somewhat soothed the overheated energy, I could tell it would take more time before I fully recovered. I was like this even after receiving healing magic empowered by the Seven Eyes. Thinking of how long full recovery could take, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Laying me back down on the bed, Iris let out a thoughtful hum. She seemed to be mulling something over, then swallowed nervously and said, “Ah, now that I think about it… um, ahem!”

She cleared her throat awkwardly, glancing around like a thief about to steal something. “T-there’s… actually a way to enhance the effect of my healing magic.”

“What is it?”

“Well, a-hem

.” Blushing, Iris hesitated before continuing, “My healing magic is a bit… unique. The closer our bodies are, the more effective it becomes!”

“What?”

The effectiveness of her magic improved with physical touch? I couldn’t recall hearing anything like that in my past life. Well, thinking back, I had avoided receiving her healing magic in our previous life, insisting that she shouldn’t overburden herself without the power of the Seven Eyes. So, she had probably never talked about it.

She said, “Alright, then please turn on your side.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I told you, right? My magic works better the closer we are.”

Iris carefully removed her shoes and climbed onto the bed. She slid in behind me and gently wrapped her arms around my back. “So, if I hold you like this while casting the healing spell, it should be much more effective.”

I swallowed dryly without saying a word. An impossibly soft pressure pressed against my back. Her slender arms wrapped around my waist, and her long legs, clad in white stockings, intertwined with mine.

I broke out in a cold sweat, desperately trying to suppress the heat rising within me. This wasn’t about healing anymore. It was a whole different problem. Even though we had been lovers who had shared everything in our past lives, no, maybe because we were lovers, it was even harder to stay calm now.

With her breath brushing against my ear, she whispered, “Okay then. I’ll cast the spell again.”

A white glow radiated from her body, flowing gently into mine. It felt like I had taken a refreshing shower in icy water on a scorching summer day. The overheated energy within me cooled rapidly, and a hard-to-describe sense of warmth enveloped me. With that warmth came a wave of irresistible drowsiness.

Well, with Iris around, I guess I won’t have to worry about the aftermath of the Ashen Flame anymore.

That was my last thought before I surrendered myself to sleep.

***

In the dimly lit treatment room, now cloaked in nightfall, the door creaked open. A woman with long navy-blue hair tied in a ponytail stepped inside.

“Saintess, curfew’s approaching. I know you’re worried about Dale, but you should head back to the dorm soon—”

Camilla’s eyes widened her eyes in shock. On the bed, Dale and Iris were lying in an unmistakably close embrace. Camilla’s mouth dropped open, and she froze on the spot. “S-Saintess?”

Rubbing her eyes groggily, Iris sat up. “Ah, Camilla. You’re here? Hahh! I must’ve dozed off with Dale without realizing. Using the Seven Eyes is exhausting.”

“W-what on earth were you doing just now?”

Iris frowned. “Shh! Keep your voice down! Dale’s still sleeping.”

She stepped off the bed and continued, “Don’t worry, nothing happened. It was all just for treatment.”

“Treatment?”

“You know this already, don’t you? My healing magic works better when there’s physical contact.”

Camilla’s expression twisted slightly. “But… isn’t just holding hands enough? There’s no need to go as far as hugging.”

Iris’s voice sank low. “Camilla.”

Camilla flinched.

With a calm smile, Iris placed a finger over her lips. “Shhh!”

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