"We have a healer among us. If you don't mind, you can accept treatment from us."
Letsa made the offer out of kindness.
She studied the wounds on Rayleigh's body for a moment and came to the conclusion that he had fought against a large number of enemies.
Judging from the types of injuries, the other side had to have been an armed group wielding more than a dozen different weapons.
The only thing she could not understand was how shallow those wounds were.
But if someone told her they were all just grazing injuries, that would be even more unbelievable.
At least in her view, calmly dodging while surrounded by enemies was simply impossible.
"Thank you for the offer, but there's no need. I can use healing magic myself."
Rayleigh declined Letsa's kindness.
Then, under Letsa's surprised gaze, he put on an act and chanted a few lines of a completely made-up incantation.
After all, using healing magic without a chant in this world was enough to give people a heart attack!
"Then I'll leave you to rest."
Letsa tactfully chose to leave.
Probing into another person's skills or magic was also considered rude.
After watching her go, Rayleigh confirmed her location again through Reiraku.
Once he was certain she had truly left, he stopped hiding anything and fully circulated Kaidō, rapidly healing his wounds.
After the injuries completely closed, Rayleigh was struck by a wave of exhaustion.
In truth, his Mind had run dry more than once already.
He had only forced himself to recover through Ruri'iro Kujaku's power, but the symptoms caused by repeated mental exhaustion had continued building up.
Now, they finally burst out all at once.
Rayleigh felt an overwhelming drowsiness.
Before falling asleep, he forced himself to set up a Kidō barrier to help keep watch.
Then he could no longer resist the fatigue and emptiness, collapsing onto the mat beneath him.
Even in deep sleep, his hand still rested on the hilt of his sword, as if he might open his eyes at any moment and launch a thunderous attack.
...
His consciousness sank into deep sleep.
He did not even enter his inner world as he simply slept all the way until night.
Crackle, crackle.
Outside the house came the sound of damp firewood burning.
Because the Development Ability Spirit Healing was working, Rayleigh did not sleep for several days straight.
Instead, he woke after only a few hours.
He looked outside through the ventilation gap and found that the sky had gone completely dark.
The swaying shadows cast by the firelight made Rayleigh realize there was a bonfire outside.
He stood up, intending to check his own condition.
But a blanket suddenly slid off his body.
Rayleigh picked it up, and immediately, a feminine fragrance drifted into his nose, making his body stiffen unnaturally.
Someone had covered him with a blanket.
And there had been no hostility.
The barrier had not been triggered, nor had it issued any warning.
Not only that.
Rayleigh also discovered that the dirt on his hands and face had been wiped clean.
There was even a piece of clothing hanging over the back of a broken chair!
Rayleigh picked it up and tried it on.
It fit him perfectly.
'Mm.'
'This was really...'
He smiled with a touch of emotion, then pushed open the door and walked out of the small house.
Creak—
The old wooden door gave a mournful groan as it drew the women's gazes.
The moment Rayleigh stepped outside, nearly twenty pairs of eyes turned toward him at once.
"Uh."
"Thank you all for taking care of me."
Rayleigh thanked them sincerely.
However, none of the girls from Artemis Familia reacted.
Or rather, all of them were staring.
Every girl there was fixed on the handsome face of the boy before them.
Artemis Familia forbade romance and it also forbade seducing men.
That was the principle of Artemis as their patron goddess, and it was also the rule she had set.
But rules were rules, and people were people.
Whether because of instinct or simple biology, the girls actually possessed an unusual curiosity toward men.
Some of them had even gone past curiosity and reached the level of longing.
Messy hair, deep eyes, a tall and slender body, firm lines of muscle.
And that unique air and presence around him... was this what people called hormones?
"Gulp.."
No one knew who swallowed.
But in this kind of silence, the sound was surprisingly loud, even overpowering the crackle of the flames.
In an instant, all her companions turned to look at her.
Even Rayleigh could not stop himself from glancing over for a moment.
"Hmph."
A cold huff sounded as footsteps followed.
Artemis appeared.
She was carrying two gray rabbits in her hand, and her stern gaze swept across the girls of her Familia.
Rayleigh found it rather funny.
He suppressed his smile and walked up to Artemis.
"Lady Goddess, thank you for taking care of me. My injuries have recovered."
Artemis pretended not to care, but in truth, she was observing the wounds on Rayleigh's body.
"I see. But you don't look like you're completely fine! You should still be weak so don't push yourself."
Hearing her say that, Rayleigh was certain now.
Although this goddess had been as adorable and innocent as a young girl when facing Bell Cranell, that was special treatment reserved for "Orion."
When facing ordinary people, her attitude and behavior were exactly as Letsa had described.
Proud, dignified, a little dishonest with her own feelings, cold on the outside and warm within.
"Thank you, Lady Goddess."
"Mm."
After exchanging only a few brief words, Artemis carried the gray rabbits away.
Rayleigh could tell that she did not intend to speak with him much.
Or rather, she had no intention of getting close to him.
Since their patron goddess did not scold them, the girls relaxed quite a bit and quickly gathered around Rayleigh.
A man.
And an extremely powerful man at that.
The rising star of Hephaestus Familia.
A miraculous swordsmith.
And on top of that, he was handsome!
Nearly every trait that could attract girls seemed to be stuck all over him from head to toe.
"Hey, hey, how did you get hurt?"
"Are you Level 3 like Letsa?"
"I've heard rumors about you!"
"Do weapons with their own consciousness really exist?"
The girls' enthusiasm left Rayleigh somewhat overwhelmed, but he still answered each question one by one and cleared up their doubts.
Just as the conversation was heating up, a girl with rare gray skin returned.
The moment they noticed her, the girls all stood to welcome her.
"Shesta!"
"You're finally back!"
"Thank goodness."
The girls were very concerned about the returning girl, Shesta.
Shesta, however, was slightly out of breath.
Faced with everyone's concern, she could not respond immediately and could only keep smiling.
But that smile froze the instant she saw a certain face!
Then, in just two short seconds, the expression on the girl's face changed completely into terror.
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