"Mii!"

Boom!

Ivy, now sized large enough to carry me, unleashed a powerful thunderbolt. The size of her attacks typically corresponds to her body size at the time of use.

Although she could focus or disperse her attacks if she concentrated, she rarely bothers. When Ivy, who’s been around three years now, attacks, the lightning is about the size of a fist.

The lightning shot toward the ogre at a blinding speed, striking instantly.

The ogre, hit squarely in the chest, coughed up blood. When the light dissipated, it left a gaping hole as if its flesh had been devoured by the light itself.

Thud!

The ogre collapsed, and silence fell over the scene.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ena, Sarah, and Aisha all stood there, jaws dropped.

I remember making a similar face when I first saw Ivy’s power; it brings back some nostalgia.

It seems that, against something like an ogre, Ivy's one hit is enough.

They did say that ogres were considered upper-fourth rank creatures, so for now, Ivy’s abilities should be sufficient.

"I once saw a dragon’s breath attack, but this is something else. In fact, this might even be stronger."

"I mean... we barely had time to do anything," Ena added, looking bewildered.

Both of them seemed a bit deflated by how anticlimactic the battle had been.

Only Sarah, who'd been wearing a serious expression all along, didn’t change her demeanor.

"...Hey, there’s something I need to discuss with you on the way back. It’s pretty serious."

With that, Sarah turned and went back to the carriage, leaving the ogre's remains behind.

It’s probably about Ivy, just like during the recovery magic discussion earlier.

"Alright, come over here, Bruno. I’ll teach you how to dismantle a monster," Ena called out.

"Oh, right. Coming," I replied, refocusing on Ena and running over to where she’d already begun cutting into the ogre with her knife.

On the Return Journey

"They might come for Ivy."

On our way back from Carter to Akoup, Sarah, still serious, dropped this bombshell.

By "they," she meant the church—specifically, the Holy Church, this country’s official religion. This has to be about Ivy’s healing magic.

"But Akoup’s Adventurers' Guild despises the Holy Church as if it were their sworn enemy. Aren’t you overthinking things a little?" Aisha said.

Sarah shook her head, making it clear she disagreed.

"People talk, Aisha. Even if the full details don’t get out, news of an adventurer with a familiar that can use healing magic will reach the church within months."

"…Are you saying they might try to take Ivy?"

The problem, it seems, is that Ivy, a creature, can use healing magic.

For the church, which tries to keep healing magic a secret—even if not entirely successfully—a creature wielding it might be seen as a threat to their doctrine.

High-level magic like healing is usually beyond monsters’ abilities. Dragons, griffins, and other high-ranking creatures possess what are called unique magics specific to their species, but according to Sarah, Ivy’s healing magic is plainly recognizable as conventional healing magic to a trained eye.

Sarah seemed deeply concerned about word getting out and reaching the church.

"If the church comes after her, things could get ugly. At worst, they might consider her an enemy and try to kill her. Or maybe... they’d treat her as some sort of prized pet for the rumored Saintess. Imagine—‘the Saintess’ turtle can even heal!’"

I’m not very religious myself. Growing up on a farm, we only offered prayers twice a year to Diante, the god of harvest, during seeding and harvesting.

So I know little about this Holy Church or its deity.

But if they’re after Ivy, I’ll have to do something.

According to Aisha, it’s not an immediate threat, but still, it’s something to keep in mind.

"Is there bad blood between the Adventurers' Guild and the church?"

"Oh, there is. There was a bit of a clash in the past, and adventurers have hated them ever since," Aisha explained.

Apparently, it all started when the Earl of Endor tried to expand his western forest. The church opposed it, citing the forest’s sanctity, which made the earl furious. He banned the church, restricting worship and missionary activities in his territory except in certain cases.

The church also had some run-ins with adventurers working on the forest project.

It seems that no adventurers in Akoup like the church.

Aisha’s story sent a chill down my spine; apparently, the church still has considerable influence in the capital.

Choosing Akoup instead of the capital was the right decision.

With all this risk, maybe I should have confided fully in Jennifer about Ivy’s powers. It’s too late to second-guess now, though.

"But that Earl is quite the radical," I mused.

Banning a religion is extreme, even if it’s annoying. Doesn’t that mean losing all the church followers’ spending money? The region must have good resources to stay prosperous despite that.

"Yeah, the earl’s a bit of an oddball. He reduced trade with the capital to boost transactions with other regions and even developed local specialties using monster materials. He’s always trying weird things, though about half of them fail."

"He sounds interesting."

Using monster materials for local specialties? I can’t even imagine what that means, but it might make for good gifts for my parents.

As I thought about my future trip home and chatted with Ena, Sarah cut in, "Hey, this involves you too."

She was relaxed, twirling her hair as she took off her hat.

…She’s probably right.

The earl is the ruler of this city, which draws in strong people, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he took an interest in Ivy.

Wait, that reminds me—I haven’t sent that letter to him yet.

I didn’t know where to send it, so I left it unsent. Maybe I should hand it to Andre, who knows the earl, next time I’m reporting a job.

…Actually, is that really okay?

The earl sounds extreme. A wrong move could end in more than just a reprimand.

"Excuse me, Sarah. How should I properly deliver a letter to the earl?"

"Huh? Just give it to the guards to pass to the steward at his manor. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"Actually, someone told me to send the earl a letter, but I forgot about it. I thought today might be a good day to do it."

Apparently, giving it to Andre isn’t the right approach.

I’m glad I asked—I almost made a careless mistake.

"Wait, who’s the letter from? If it’s just a village head’s greeting, the earl might get angry. He hates meaningless formality."

"I’m pretty sure he’d know him. It’s from someone named Jennifer..."

"Jennifer!?"

Whoa, that surprised me.

All three of them look shocked.

…Jennifer must be pretty famous in this town.