Chapter 06
The vice-captain waved his hands in panic.
“M-me? No, I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“Yes, you are, Vice-Captain. I know.”
I quickly stepped in front of him and lifted the hair on the side where I had seen the bald spot earlier. A perfectly round, flesh-colored patch of scalp—like a boiled egg—was revealed.
‘Good. This size is manageable.’
Even if I wasn’t talented at healing others, treating a small patch of hair loss was no problem.
‘As long as it’s not completely bald.’
I suppressed the urge to grin and instead put on the most solemn, gentle expression I could manage. Slowly raising my right hand, I lightly poked the exposed scalp with my index finger.
“This is where it hurts, isn’t it? Of course, your scalp itself doesn’t hurt. It’s just hair falling out. But that unspoken pain you carry… I can feel it.”
“H-how did you even notice that? No, wait—are you really saying you can fix this?”
“Yes.”
I saw a thin thread of hope appear on the vice-captain’s face. At that moment, I spread my right hand and gathered my healing power.
“O God of lush hair, please take pity on this humble servant and let new sprouts grow upon this barren land.”
There’s no such prayer, of course. I just made it up, hoping it would look more impressive and maybe earn me extra points.
The vice-captain looked oddly moved, and seizing the moment, I infused a small amount of healing power into his scalp.
White light flowed from my hand into Damon’s scalp. A few seconds later, where there had only been bare skin, short hairs began to sprout like fresh grass.
‘Yes. Success!’
Of course, it would take time for those hairs to grow as long as the rest, but what mattered was that something grew at all.
“The god has answered. New sprouts have appeared.”
I said solemnly.
“W-what? Already? Really?”
The vice-captain raised a trembling hand to touch his scalp. His eyes widened dramatically.
“It’s really growing! How is this possible?!”
“For now, don’t scratch too hard. They’re still delicate little ones.”
“O-of course! Thank you so much. Ah—no, I mean… you’ve certainly proven your value. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain?”
At his words, my gaze instinctively turned to Calix. At that moment, I met his eyes.
He was staring quietly at me, saying nothing. My heart pounded.
‘Is it because the healing was too trivial? This won’t do. I need to say more.’
“Um—wait!”
When I shouted, Calix’s eyebrow lifted slightly. I didn’t miss the chance.
“I can heal more than just this! Minor wounds, headaches, stomachaches, colds—I’m really good at all of those.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes! Absolutely. Captain, do you happen to have any pain? If so, I can heal you right now—”
I took a step toward Calix in my urgency. He turned his head away and spoke calmly.
“I’m not injured. That was more than enough.”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
I returned to my seat.
‘Was that good enough? Or did I mess up?’
As I sat there confused, the vice-captain’s excited voice rang out.
“Wow, it’s really growing. This is real. Captain, come touch it—seriously!”
Calix stared at the fussing vice-captain with an indifferent expression, completely ignoring the head shoved toward him.
“The value demonstration ends here. The results won’t take long, so wait here.”
With that, Calix stood up and left the room. The overly excited vice-captain followed him out.
‘Did I pass…?’
I tried to calm my racing heart and stared at the door Calix had exited through. My palms were sweaty.
***
The captain’s office.
Damon stuck close behind Calix as they entered.
“They’re all decent, honestly. Especially that priest trainee—I had zero expectations, but she’s surprisingly useful.”
“Useful…?”
Calix turned back with a cold expression. Interpreting the reaction as disapproval, Damon hurriedly continued.
“Ah, of course, we were looking for someone with healing ability in case members are seriously injured, but—”
Calix continued to watch him in silence, as if telling him to go on.
Encouraged, Damon tried to persuade him further.
“Honestly, for serious injuries we can just call an official priest. But there are far more minor injuries, aren’t there? She could be unexpectedly helpful in those situations.”
Calix slowly nodded, recalling Riana’s sincere pink eyes.
“Fine.”
“Yes?”
“Accept her.”
“Pardon? Ah—yes! I knew you’d think the same, Captain! Then we’ll accept the priest trainee. What about the other two? We do need more combat types too—”
“That’s up to you.”
“Huh? Then… all three pass?”
“Do as you like.”
“Really? You mean I can go tell them all three passed right now? I’ll have a welcome feast prepared immediately!”
“Go ahead.”
“Understood!”
Damon left with an excited voice.
When the door closed and the office fell quiet, Calix stood by the window, gazing outside. The moon hung in the dark blue night sky, softly illuminating everything.
As he looked at the moonlit scenery, the corner of Calix’s lips lifted slightly.
It was a night when the Henes Mercenary Corps gained new members for the first time in a long while.
***
“All three of you passed.”
The vice-captain returned much sooner than expected, grinning broadly.
“What?!”
“……”
“Oh.”
The three of us reacted almost simultaneously.
Somehow, I had a feeling I’d pass. Purely baseless confidence—at this point, I wondered if my insane healing power was also restoring my confidence endlessly.
“Alright, you brats. Welcome to Henes!”
“Waaah! Thank you! Thank you!”
“I will repay this trust with my life.”
“Wow…”
I covered my mouth, unable to speak.
I really had passed. I was now part of the Henes Mercenary Corps—where Calix was.
As memories of tumbling, struggling, and heart-pounding moments flashed through my mind, a rosy future suddenly unfolded before me. It almost felt like I’d already awakened him.
‘What should I do first after awakening him? Oh, I should watch that theater troupe’s play I’ve been curious about. The lead actor is supposedly angelic. Then I have to see the sea. Is there really that much water?’
“Riana?”
“Y-yes?”
I snapped out of my thoughts to see the vice-captain’s face close in front of me.
“Were you so happy you spaced out? Haha. There’ll be a welcome feast soon, so go wash up and change. The other two already left.”
“Oh.”
“The clothes are right there.”
I looked down and saw clothes laid out on the chair.
“You can use that room over there. There’s a private bath inside. Wash up there, and once you’re ready, come to the building across the way.”
The vice-captain pointed out the window. Across the training ground, a building lit with orange lights had caught my eye.
“Yes!”
“Good. Then… um…”
Just as he was about to leave, he came back in, looking a little awkward.
“Well, uh… thanks. For this.”
He brushed his hair back slightly, looking embarrassed.
“Ah—oh. That? It was nothing, really.”
“Right. Ahem. Anyway, see you later.”
He probably didn’t realize that if he hadn’t had that problem with his scalp, I might not be here at all.
I watched the vice-captain walk away and offered a sincere thank-you in my heart.
‘Hair loss… thank you.’
***
The room he mentioned had a bathroom with warm water already prepared. After rolling and crawling around all day, I washed my filthy body clean and changed into the clothes provided.
It was a simple dress made of light sky-blue cotton. I found it a little surprising that a mercenary corps had something like this ready.
Stepping outside, I walked through the cool night air under the darkened sky. Orange lights hung at regular intervals along the building’s wall. As I got closer, I could hear people laughing and chatting inside.
Hearing that made my heart flutter.
Because before my regression—right up until I died—
‘I was bored to death.’
Valdier always locked me in my room, paranoid that someone at a banquet might ask me about the future. Even when people from the temple visited, I could only meet them in my room.
Thinking about it made me a little angry. Valdier… may you live long and suffer many illnesses.
‘Tonight, I’m going to enjoy myself.’
Just as I reached for the door handle—
A large hand reached out from behind and pushed the door open for me.
“…?”
I turned in surprise and found myself face-to-face—so close our noses almost touched—with calm blue eyes looking down at me.
It was Calix.
