With each passing road, nothing gets better. Just slightly less run down.
The residents of the town get by with the farm land, but the produce harvested isn't the best quality. Chicken pens appear to be the only source of meat that they get, so it doesn't surprise Mary that the team grabbed at the job to kill a boar when they saw it.
"This is the Adventure Guild," Marc introduces as he gestures to a small building.
As the group enters, they spot maybe two or three other teams of adventurers in the room. The job board is practically empty with only herb gathering jobs posted.
"Lyla, can you cancel the boar hunting job?" Orissa asks once they approach the receptionist's desk. "The boar's appearance is due to it giving birth, so it took refuge in the forest. It shouldn't cause an issue as long as it's left alone."
"I see," the receptionist responds with almost a saddened expression. "I guess that's all we can do about that. I'll notify Lord Valmont of the job cancellation. Thank you for your hard work."
The group turns to head out, but the receptionist catches a glance at Mary and Jacob and immediately stands up.
"Um! Excuse me!" she calls out.
Turning around, Mary's midnight black curls fly in the air as the sudden noise startles her. "Y-yes?"
"I haven't seen you in this town before," the receptionist says with widened eyes. "Are you from the church?"
Mary shakes her head confused on the sudden question until she remembers how she's dressed. "I'm not from the church," she answers with an awkward chuckle. "I happened to be traveling to this town when I ran into them, so they guided me the rest of the way. I'm sorry to disappoint you."
Collecting herself, the receptionist pulls herself back. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that maybe Lord Valmont sent someone to help our town's clinic."
Curious, Mary walks over to the receptionist. "Do you mind telling me more?" she asks, setting a warm hand on the receptionist's small shoulder. As she does, Mary activates her Service with a Smile skill, calming the woman down.
The frail woman takes in a deep breath as if life is flowing back into her. Overwhelmed by the long lost feeling of relief, she drops into her chair in tears. Tears full of sadness and grief. Tears longing for such a luxurious feeling.
"Our Saintess!" she whines through her snot covered hands as she ineffectively wipes her face. "You're finally here!"
"Saintess?"
Whispers bounce around as the other scattered adventurers in the room witness something akin to a miracle. Mary weakly smiles as she has realized that her title will never leave her now. She turns to the team behind her for advice, but they just joyfully smile at her.
"Do you think you can show me to the town's clinic?" Mary finally asks after a long sigh. "It seems like there might be people there that need immediate help. Right?"
The receptionist nods her head as she rises back up to her feet. "Please, follow me!" Her swollen red eyes and slightly running nose don't stop her from quickly rushing out of the Adventure Guild.
Due to the small nature of the town, it doesn't take long to reach the clinic. Ushered in first, Mary scans the room filled with people who look like death has already paid them a visit but left without finishing. The smell of human excrements stings her nose, causing her eyes to water.
"Please, wear this," the receptionist suggests as she hands Mary a handkerchief big enough to tie around her head to cover her nose.
"What's happened here?" Mary finally questions as they reach the halfway point of the clinic.
"The poor harvest quality mixed with the unfortunate living environment has caused many of the residents to get sick," Razel comments, clenching his fists. "The bare minimum aid that Lord Valmont sends gets picked around by the corrupted vessels that he chose to maintain the town which barely leaves anything for the residents."
Angry, Mary focuses her eyes at the scene in front of her. She activates her Appraisal skill when she's suddenly hit with a sharp pain in her head. Taking a step back to catch herself from falling, she grabs her head and lightly rubs it.
What was that?
She opens her eyes back up and is greeted by the most gruesome data.
Cancers, necrotic tissues, pulmonary exacerbation, and all sorts of dangerous conditions shower the room inside of the patients.
"Where's the doctor?!" Mary shouts with tears wanting to slip from her eyes. "Why isn't he doing anything?!"
"There isn't one," Marc replies between his clenched teeth. "Orissa has been doing what she can to try and provide some sort of relief with her healing magic, but it can't do any more than temporarily make the pain go away."
"Lyla comes in the mornings before opening up the guild to get them to drink some water," Orissa comments as she grabs the receptionist's small hands. "She also tries to come in the evenings to give them all a bath so that they can sleep clean."
"Family members come in throughout the day to help out as well," Lyla adds, pointing over to one patient with a couple of people next to him. "But we can't do anything to help the underlying issues. Doctors with the right tools are too expensive, and royal healers who have the mana power to spare to heal the patients can only be used by nobles."
"Everyone out," Mary mutters, biting her lip in frustration. When no one moves, her fury grows more. "I said everyone out! Now!" she demands.
The building shakes as her anger manifests in mana spilling out from her body. Terrified from the sudden change in aura, the trio grab Lyla and hurry out of the building.
"Jacob!" Orissa shouts when she notices that the little boy isn't with them. "He's still inside!"
Getting the nod of approval from her leader, Orissa dashes back inside. Quickly surveying the room, she spots the boy walking over to his mother. "Jacob! You have to come with us!"
Not hearing the woman, Jacob continues over to the rageful woman. "Momma?" he calls out as he gets close. Noticing that she's answering back, he reaches out to grab onto his mother's dress when Orissa suddenly swoops him up before getting too close.
"You can't touch her!" she scolds as she holds him closely. "That amount of mana could slice your finger off!"
"But Momma's not happy!" he reasons, trying to slip out of Orissa's arms. "Momma needs me!"
"Right now, you need to get to safety!"
Frustrated from her uncooperation, Jacob bites Orissa's arm, causing her to let go. Once freed, Jacob runs over to his mom. "Momma!" he calls out again. "Don't be angry, Momma! It's going to be okay!"
He realizes that words aren't getting to her. He knows that she's angry. He's seen anger like that before. Back when his mother was still alive.
Reaching out, Jacob's hand slips past the raging mana and grabs onto Mary's white dress. "Momma!!" he screams as tears roll down his sunken cheeks. "Momma, calm down! Please!"
The echoes of her son's voice ring through Mary's head. She glances down and sees him crying which stops all her anger as if it never happened. "Jacob, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"
"No," he whimpers, trying to stop his tears from falling. "Momma was angry. It made me really sad. I don't want Momma to be angry. I want Momma to always be happy."
Pulling her child into her arms, Mary rocks him slowly. "I'm sorry, Jacob. I didn't mean to make you sad."
As the pair reconcile, Orissa watches astonished with mouth agape.
He was able to touch her… He was able to bypass the mana without getting hurt… Not even a scratch… Who are these people?
"Orissa!"
Snapping out of thought, the cleric looks up and finds Jacob running over to her.
"I'm sorry for biting you," he apologizes once he's in front of the woman. "Momma needed me. I hope you aren't angry with me."
Orissa shakes her head and laughs. "I'm not angry. You did a great job."
"Momma said that we need to leave so that she can tend to the people here," he relays with a big smile after hearing that Orissa isn't mad at him. "She gave me some money and said that this is for us to go out and eat and to come back before dinner."
Standing up, Orissa turns to face Mary who stands with a proud smile.
With the help of wind magic, Mary whispers, "Hunt the biggest animal your team can find other than the large boar. There will be a feast for dinner. Take the bag as payment for your troubles."
Eyes filled with hope, Orissa catches herself from crying. She simply nods her head and scurries out of the building.
Now alone with the patients, Mary tightens the handkerchief around her face. "Time to get to work!"