Am I dreaming? This really seems like a dream. For a moment, I had no doubt that all this is a dream and that the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my life is only the product of my imagination. 

Did I really die, and am I in heaven? No, the wounds on my feet, the severe headache, and my stomach twisting with hunger are ironically a blessing that remind me that this is the reality.I come to my senses and process her words.

“What? Can you use healing magic? Did I hear you right? That is an incredibly rare type of magic!”

To use healing magic It is an inevitable requirement to have the extremely rare holy affinity, It is the rarest type of affinity that a person can have, and when a child with holy affinity is born, it is considered a blessing.

Being born with that affinity means being chosen by the gods, but having holy affinity does not guarantee the ability to use healing magic, so with the limited knowledge I have, I know that only a few can use that type of magic correctly.

Only the larger temples and some nobles or high-rank adventurer groups can have healers, and it is beyond the reach of most people to receive treatment from a healer, which is always much more effective, faster, and almost without any type of side effect compared to using potions.

It would take me years to raise the money to pay for the treatment of a healer, that's common sense. It's also common sense that it's impossible to find a healer in the middle of the forest and in a place so far from the center of the empire, but here she is… like a dream come true.

I have no doubt anymore; this is a miracle. The woman in front of me is a divine manifestation, a gift from the gods themselves. She looks a little surprised by the effusiveness of my response, but I'm too excited right now to stop.

"Really! That would be wonderful; please, I beg of you. Try to help my friend! I will pay you whatever you ask!"

I tell her, completely leaving my manners aside.Without saying anything, she walks and stands next to Matze, gently approaching her hands, being very careful not to hurt him. Even though she does everything she can to avoid touching him and ending up hurting him more by accident. 

A golden light envelops her hands; it is so beautiful and warm that it is as if I were facing an angel performing a miracle.Little by little, Matze's body is enveloped by the golden light.

 After a few minutes under the divine light, he already looks much better, I can see new skin under his burns. I can see how his wounds heal before my own eyes. His haggard face has already recovered its color, and even his breathing is now at a constant rate.

This beautiful angel looks happy to be able to heal my friend; she must be a Saint; A beauty out of this world, a divine power capable of working miracles, and such a good, generous, and pure heart can only be granted by the gods.

"It's amazing! I've never seen anything like it! You must be a… No, I am sure you are a saint, a gift of the gods! Thank you, gods, for sending her!"

I am euphoric; I witnessed a miracle, and now my friend is safe. Tears fall from my eyes while my heart beats extremely fast.

My happiness is stopped in its tracks when I look at the saint's face. Lady Victoria looks exhausted, her breathing becomes irregular and is now choppy as her body shakes, and with one hand, she holds her chest as if something is hurting her heart.

How could I have been so inconsiderate to her? Using such divine power must be very exhausting. I immediately apologize for my lack of composure and inconsideration.

"I am so sorry, I apologize for my inconsiderate words. I only said them without thinking due to the emotion of the moment and the happiness of seeing my dear friend safe. I never wanted to be insensitive to our benefactress."

I can't be celebrating while our saint, who asked me for nothing in return, suffers for the immense favor she did to us.

Our eyes meet, her beautiful crimson eyes are wide and full of tears. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for her to perform that miracle. My gaze only reflects how guilty I feel for making her suffer by asking her for something so difficult.

"I know it must have been very difficult for you, I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been to obtain that power and how difficult it must be to live with it every day. But I want you to know that you are wonderful, and I will be eternally grateful to you!"

I bow to her. Such immense power must have a very high cost, and its use must cause a lot of stress on her body. My heart aches to see her suffer like this.

"It's okay... well... that... doesn't... matter anymore... thanks anyway."

Her gaze softened, and she gradually stopped gasping. She seems more relieved. Even though now many tears fall from her eyes, I feel guilty but it relieves me that nothing serious happened to her.

She dries her tears and then gets up. I see how she whispers something, but I can't understand her words. Without saying anything else, she leans against a nearby tree and closes her eyes to rest.

I bow to her again, and then I quickly approach Matze. I began to remove his clothes, I had to use a knife to cut the clothes that were stuck to his skin, and I carefully did everything I could to avoid leaving traces of clothes stuck to his wounds.

"Don't worry, you'll recover soon."

I took my canteen and tried to give him water to drink again, but now he was able to swallow it. I thanked Lady Victoria again in my heart for allowing all this.

While I was washing the wounds on my friend's body, I heard a sound in the trees behind where Lady Victoria Nightsun was resting. 

I run at full speed and prepare myself to fight.When I arrive at the place, I see a monster. My face turns pale. It is a twelve-foot type of snake monster, with large fangs and three evil amber eyes. Its entire body is covered in brown scales that have a metallic appearance. It is a "Crawler poisoner", a vile C-class monster.

Panic fills me; there is no way we can defeat this monster; its venom is very dangerous; a single touch to his fangs is enough to kill an adult man. Although he is not that strong physically, the leader always told us that if we saw one of them, we should immediately withdraw and report.

Now we can't do anything except run, that thing is going to kill us all. With all my strength, I screamed and tried to warn Lady Victoria, who opened her eyes, but the monster had already jumped towards her.

Without thinking, I channel all the mana I can into my legs while my muscles ache and burn from the enormous and sudden overload of mana, but that doesn't matter, I will save her even if I lose both legs.

I draw my sword and jump with all my might to intercept the monster. In the air, I change the flow of mana in my body, focusing it mainly on my arms. Another wave of strong pain now passes through the muscles of my arms.

My overexertion was worth it because I managed to get there on time, I hit the creature with all my strength on the head, sparks fly in the air, and there is a strong crash when the edge of my blade hits the monster's scales, it weighs a lot. I channeled all the mana I have in my arms, and finally I managed to make the enormous mass of the monster veer to one side away from our Saint.

The monster falls to the ground and rolls several feet, but then he recovers immediately. Its grotesque body curls up, preparing to jump again, but this time on me.I yell at the creature to make sure I'm his only target. I've made up my mind; I'll fight to the death.

“My Lady, I'm so sorry for asking you this, but could you please go with my friend Matze and take him away from here? I will do my best to buy you time.”

Lady Victoria silently extending a finger and fires what looks like a reddish energy pulse that traveled so fast that I was barely able to see it, it impacts and pierces the monster's head, leaving a smoking hole.

I feel a cold sweat on my back. She killed that monster in an instant, like it was an insignificant insect. She is definitely very powerful, and even so, it is my fault that she lowers her guard. She was exhausted and had to sleep in a place as unsafe as this after saving Matze.

She could have died if that monster had reached her with his fangs. The least I can do is protect her from now on. 

With determination, I put a fist on my chest, and at that moment, I swore to myself that I would protect her with all my life.