“Emily, bring me that from shelf S-9.”
“Yes!”
When Catherine called out, Emily’s voice came from the back.
“Catherine, I brought it.”
“Thank you.”
Then Emily appeared with a leather attaché case. Catherine took it, placed it on the table for attendees, and opened it.
“Hey, hey, what’s inside?”
Rachel, curious about the contents of the attaché case, peered inside.
“This is… it contains various treatment tools and the like. We’ll need these for today.”
Saying that, Catherine took out a small wooden box from the attaché case.
“By inserting these special needles into the body, we can regulate the flow of magic power.”
“…Eh?”
Sophie’s face turned pale at Catherine’s words.
“…I… I refuse. I’m too scared to have needles stuck into me.”
“It only hurts a little at the tip, so it’ll be fine. Al, please.”
“Understood, Roger that.”
“Kyaaa!”
Sophie, who had stood up to flee, was suddenly entangled by vines that appeared from the floor and bound to a chair. Sophie struggled to escape, but it was utterly futile, and her resistance ended in vain.
“Actually, I only learned this in a lecture, and this is my first time practicing. Gufuufu. First, I’ll check the flow of magic power by palpation.”
“…Nn, aah…”
Catherine moved behind Sophie, who could no longer move, and placed her hand near Sophie’s neck, slowly moving it down to search for something.
“Hmm, hmm. I’ll shift your clothes a bit. Just so.”
Catherine unceremoniously loosened Sophie’s jacket, exposing her shoulder. Then, she lowered it just enough to reveal the top of her chest, exposing her skin.
“Ugh… Kyuu~”
“Lord Gordon has collapsed!”
“I’ll take him to the infirmary.”
Gordon collapsed upon seeing Sophie’s bulging chest, and Josette, who was nearby, let out a scream. Emily then picked up Gordon and carried him to the infirmary.
“Customer, you’re quite stiff. Oori, oori.”
“Aah, there, there, that’s good.”
Catherine noticed that Sophie’s shoulders were stiff and began to loosen them.
“But, my strength has reached its limit. Kent, can you massage me instead? I’ve figured out the magic flow, so please do it until I’m ready.”
“R-Right. Well then, Sophie, here I come.”
After Catherine asked him to take over the shoulder massage, Kent swapped places with Catherine and began massaging Sophie’s shoulders.
“Sophie’s skin is so smooth.”
“…Aah, th-that kind of thing, I-I don’t know!”
Sophie, enjoying Kent’s shoulder massage, occasionally let out a suggestive moan.
“That’s nice. I’d also like Kent to massage me later. When you’re large, your shoulders get stiff.”
“Whoa, a big person is saying something superior to a small person.”
“That’s true. Shoulder stiffness has nothing to do with size. My shoulders are stiff too, so I’d like Kent to massage me.”
Josette’s casual remark drew protests from Rachel and Caro.
“Kent, thank you. I’m ready now, so I’ll begin the treatment.”
Kent switched positions with Catherine, who was ready.
“…I’m scared, I’m scared.”
“Everyone is at first. You’ll start enjoying it soon. Here goes!”
*Thwack!*
“Ouch!”
“Ah, I missed the spot. Sorry, sorry. It’s my first time, so mistakes happen. Alright, let’s do it again, here we go!”
“Nooooo!”
Catherine inserted a needle into Sophie’s neck, but it seemed to be a mistake, as Sophie cried out in pain. She immediately removed the failed needle and inserted a second one. Sophie, still remembering the initial pain, let out a loud scream at the same time.
“It’s a success this time.”
“Huh? It doesn’t hurt.”
“Here we go, the next ones, here, here, here!”
*Thwack, thwack, thwack!*
The only pain was from the first failed needle; the subsequent needles inserted did not seem to cause any pain. Although many needles were inserted from her neck to her shoulders and back, she felt them but not the pain, and looked puzzled.
“All set. Now, along the flow of magic power, I’ll lightly tap the needles with my fingertips to correct them. Ton, ton, ton.”
Catherine’s initial movements had been clumsy, but as she gained more practice, her movements became smoother.
“Nnnh, aah, haan.”
Each time Catherine lightly tapped the needles with her fingertips, Sophie let out a sound.
“Ugh, ah, it’s painful to watch.”
“It looks painful from the outside, but it’s strange that she doesn’t seem to be in pain herself.”
Josette and Caro watched the scene with pained expressions, finding it difficult to bear.
“Hey, Older brother, this is acupuncture, right?”
“I think so. It exists in this world too.”
Rachel and Kent watched, thinking it was similar to acupuncture from their original world, even though the method was slightly different.
“The magic is starting to flow well. Just a little more.”
“…Yes.”
Sophie herself seemed to feel the changes happening in her body and no longer resisted, allowing herself to be treated by Catherine.
“Alright, that’s about it. Thank you for your hard work. Now I’ll remove the needles.”
Saying that, Catherine began to remove the needles from Sophie.
“Al, thank you. You can release the restraints now.”
“Understood, Roger that.”
As Catherine finished removing all the needles and spoke to Al, the vines that had restrained Sophie disappeared.
“Now, for the final check. The magic disorder affected your ears, right? How is it? Can you hear?”
“Please wait a moment. I’ll remove the hearing aids now.”
Catherine, while tidying up, announced that the treatment was complete. Sophie decided to remove the hearing aids she had worn in both ears to check if the disorder had disappeared.
“How does it sound?”
Kent, as their representative, asked Sophie.
“Y-Yes. I can hear. Thank you. Saintess!”
“I’m glad it worked well.”
Sophie could now hear without the hearing aids. She thanked Catherine, who replied in a polite tone with a merciful smile, as if she were a saintess.
“I’m glad it seems to be cured.”
“Congratulations, Sophie.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“That’s great, Sophie!”
“Thank you, everyone.”
Kent (Male) and his companions congratulated Sophie on her ears being cured. Hearing this, Sophie replied with a happy smile.
“Somehow, watching you, Catherine really looks like a saintess.”
“Rachel! That’s why I’m telling you, I *am* the real saintess!”
When Rachel said that as if to conclude, Catherine protested desperately.
“Ah, speaking of which, isn’t this temple a national facility?”
“It is.”
As Sophie and the others’ joy settled down, Josette remembered the jurisdiction of the temple. When she asked Catherine, it was confirmed that the temple was indeed under national jurisdiction.
“In that case, if Sophie can work here, wouldn’t that solve the problem?”
“…Y-Yes. But how can I start working here?”
Sophie accepted Josette’s proposal but had not done any prior research, so she had no idea what steps she needed to take to be able to work there.
“You’re the person in charge here, so I think you should ask Catherine.”
“…Ah, right. Saintess. Actually…”
Prompted by Kent, Sophie decided to ask Catherine if she could work at the temple.
“Ah, I already know without you asking, so it’s fine. Every morning, you come here to pray for your ears to get better and to find a place to work in the national institution.”
“Eh? I don’t recall saying that out loud when I prayed.”
“Ahem. The Saintess can see through everything!”
Catherine acted as if she knew what Sophie had prayed. She said it with a confident chest puffed out.
(Now that I think about it, the content of my prayers was broadcast through Hanako.)
Kent remembered that the prayers he offered to the goddess statue were reaching Hanako, the true god. He realized that Catherine knew what Sophie had prayed through this channel, but he decided not to reveal it to protect Catherine’s honor.
“…I’ll do any menial work, anything. Please, give me a job.”
“That’s a good attitude. However, I have no intention of hiring you for menial work.”
“…I thought so.”
Catherine’s words were exactly what Sophie had expected, but hearing it directly from the Saintess herself still shocked her.
