Time Healer Ceres

A few years ago, a terrible accident occurred. While Marquis Merial was inspecting a newly purchased mine, the mine suddenly collapsed. Everyone working there lost their lives, and the only ones who survived were Marquis Merial himself and—

“Is Bell doing well now?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

His grandson.

He had accompanied Marquis Merial to the mine to learn the business he would eventually inherit, only to become caught in the collapse. He suffered severe injuries, but fortunately, his life was spared.

“Bell has been wanting to see you as well, Your Highness.”

“Then you should’ve brought him with you.”

The two had spent nearly three years away from the capital to recover, and they had finally returned.

“I heard the three Dukes have also arrived in the capital.”

“Yes. It has been a long time since we’ve all gathered like this.”

Crown Prince Aseraian smiled faintly. The arrival of the three Dukes already caused quite a stir throughout the capital. After staying ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) out of the public eye for so long, their sudden return had everyone watching their every move.

And at the center of it all is one person.

Crown Prince Aseraian chuckled as he thought of Ceres, who had remained calm even while surrounded by the three Dukes.

“How is Lord Cheion?”

“He is the same as ever.”

Aseraian nodded at Marquis Merial’s warm question. Recently, even Aseraian could rarely see Cheion because he had become completely engrossed in the mana stone Ceres had given him.

“Miss Ceres said she would take the mana stone back if you don’t eat your meals. Should I contact her now?”

“I’ll eat! I’m eating right now!”

Remembering Cheion hurriedly stuffing bread into his mouth after being threatened by his aide, Aseraian shook his head.

“By the way, did you hear the rumors?”

“What rumors?”

“They say a Saintess has appeared recently.”

“Ah, we’ve received several reports about that as well.”

Recently, the discovery of bodies left behind by monsters appearing throughout the Empire had caused unrest among the people. Naturally, all kinds of strange beliefs and rumors had begun spreading.

Some claimed they could protect people from monsters through sorcery, while others deceived people by selling strange objects and claiming they carried divine blessings.

And now, a Saintess too.

When he first received the report, Aseraian had assumed it was another fraud. If a Saintess had truly appeared, the Temple would’ve been the first to announce it and make it known to the world. Yet the Temple made no move at all.

But...

The reports that continued to arrive were becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss. People suffering from serious illnesses had apparently recovered after receiving a visit from the Saintess. There were even reports of someone regrowing a leg that had been torn away by a monster.

If there were only one or two cases, he would’ve written them off as rumors. However, when similar reports continued to pour in, even Aseraian could no longer ignore them.

“Actually, the Saintess is one of the matters scheduled for discussion at today’s meeting. Someone from the Temple will also be arriving soon.”

“I see.”

“Will you attend today’s meeting?”

“I will.”

When Marquis Merial nodded, Crown Prince Aseraian rose from his seat.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The two left the office together for the meeting that was about to begin.

***

“A Saintess?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Ceres showed little reaction to Ersi’s words. Even back when she had lived as Grace, there were always people who claimed to be Saintesses.

Of course, most of them were frauds.

In many cases, they were just elaborate schemes between the patient and the “Saintess.” The patients themselves were in on the scheme from the beginning. There were also plenty of people who used drugs to manipulate their victims.

“I wonder what kind of Saintess this one is.”

At Ceres’s uninterested remark, Ersi explained the information he had gathered.

“They say she healed a hand that had been poisoned in an instant.”

“Anyone can do that with Ebros herbs.”

“They say she also restored the eyesight of someone who was slowly going blind.”

“Babrio petals are effective for eyes that are starting to lose their sight.”

“They say even someone with severe burns recovered immediately.”

“Par tree roots are very effective for treating burns.”

“They say a leg that was torn off by a monster grew back completely!”

“......”

Ceres, who had remained indifferent to everything he’d said so far, finally paused at those words.

“A leg grew back?”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure you didn’t hear that wrong?”

How could a leg that had been torn away simply grow back?

“That’s why the Temple is searching for her too.”

“She has no connection to the Temple?”

Long ago, the Temple had once created a fake Saintess. During times like this, when the Black Forest appeared frequently and people were growing restless, they’d created a Saintess in order to draw the people’s faith toward the Temple.

“They don’t seem to know anything about her. They looked just as surprised as everyone else.”

“I see.”

If the report was truly accurate, then this might really be the appearance of a real Saintess. After all, restoring a missing body part was impossible without an extraordinary amount of divine power.

“You could do it too, Master.”

Not just a leg. As long as someone was still breathing, his Master had the power to restore them completely to their original state.

“That was why you were called a Saintess as well.”

Perhaps remembering those days, Ersi suddenly burst out laughing.

“My Master being called a Saintess? Pfft!”

“......”

“When I first heard that, I laughed so much because—”

“Because it was funny?”

“Yes... No, wait! I mean...”

“Yes... no? What answer is that?”

Ceres rolled up her sleeve. It seemed this fool had developed a habit of mocking his own Master.

“Hahaha. I meant it was such a fitting title that I couldn’t help but laugh. It was simply too amusing.”

Ersi hurriedly added an explanation. Ceres stared at him before clicking her tongue, deciding to forgive him this once.

“You were called something else too.”

“...That’s right.”

Her power wasn’t only used to save lives. The same ability that brought miracles to some had brought devastating results to her enemies.

As if those memories had resurfaced, Ersi shuddered. It wasn’t for nothing that Grace had once been called a demon.

“But, Master.”

“Hmm?”

“...What is this?”

Ersi’s gaze shifted toward the table. A tiny creature sat there with its short arms folded, glaring at him.

[Bboo!]

As if shouting, “It’s Sooty!” the little creature let out a sharp cry and glared at Ersi even more fiercely than before.

“Sooty.”

“Sooty?”

“The one Artia left behind.”

That was all there was to explain. Ceres didn’t know much about Sooty herself.

“......”

Ersi stared at Sooty. His eyes briefly flashed red before returning to their usual deep brown.

[Bboo! Bboo!]

Sooty was the only one who noticed. It let out panicked cries and quickly burrowed into Ceres’s arms.

That human... he really is dangerous!

Even though Sooty already hid itself away, Ersi kept watching it with a strange smile.

“Darkness.”

The word slipped quietly from his lips as he looked at Ceres. A faint smile appeared on his face.

“Opposites have a way of attracting each other.”

“What?”

“I mean, it seems Sooty is very attached to you, Master.”

“Is that so?”

Ceres pulled Sooty out of her arms and lightly tapped its nose, as if telling it to calm down.

[Bboo.....]

Sooty rubbed its nose, glaring at Ceres with its tiny eyes before turning another wary gaze toward Ersi.

Tap, tap, tap!

“......?”

Just then, a familiar sound caught her attention. When Ceres looked toward the window, she saw a small red bird repeatedly pecking at it.

“...What now?”

The moment she opened the window, Jubelios flew inside at full speed. Ceres let out a quiet sigh.

Why does he come here so often?

[It’s an emergency! An emergency!]

“Everything is an emergency with you.”

[Herion is... right now... huh?]

Jubelios, who had been hurriedly blurting out his words, suddenly stopped. Seeing Ersi sitting across from Ceres, he tilted his head.

That face... Why does it look familiar?

His beak slowly fell open.

[Hiiiiik! Isn’t that him?!]

At Jubelios’s loud cry, Ersi moved closer to Ceres. After what happened with Kainel last time, he wondered if Jubelios might mistake him for a monster and attack him as well.

[Why is that guy still alive?!]

“I-I apologize for still being alive.”

Moving even closer to Ceres, Ersi greeted him in the smallest voice possible.

“It has been a long time, Lord Jubelios.”

[Hoho, is he really your disciple?]

“Yes. Apparently, he was alive.”

[So that’s why you were like that back then...]

When Ceres had suddenly mentioned his disciple at the training grounds before, Jubelios had wondered what she was talking about. It seemed she’d already known that Ersi was alive at the time.

“So? What happened?”

This guy always ended up getting distracted and going off topic whenever he came here.

[Ah...!]

After snapping back to reality at Ceres’s words, Jubelios flapped his small wings and cried out.

[Something happened!]

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