Doctor, I saw you shaking your head and sighing at me, and with the new ability

Le茶 definitely did not expect that he would use the [Sacrifice] skill so soon.

He even suspected that once one gets involved with a cult, one inevitably falls into a certain law of the universe.

That is to say, becoming a cultist means you are bound to run into other cultists.

After all, Le茶 had never laid eyes on those two fellows before.

And the Black Fog Church was truly something else; they started talking about killing, killing, killing without exchanging more than a few words. Otherwise, had Le茶 just healed them, collected a fee, and sent them on their way, it would have been a win-win for everyone.

With a wave of his hand, Priest Le茶 dispersed the black fog.

The black fog was part of the ritual. Once the black mist filled the room, the preparation for the ritual was declared complete.

What level were those two assassins?

Le茶 had no idea either.

However, since the cultists of the Black Fog Church had fallen into the ritual of the black fog sacrifice, their lives and deaths could literally be decided by a mere word from Le茶.

Before long, the black mist completely dissipated. Charlie's Clinic's treatment room, which had always been clean and hygienic, remained just as it was.

Le茶 grumbled inwardly, "We talked about a sacrifice, but you didn't even leave me a single copper coin?"

Note to self: remember this for next time. When performing a sacrifice, loot collection must come first.

Outside the window, the sun shone brightly, and no one knew what had just transpired in this room.

Le茶 went to wash his hands, then sat down to drink some tea and rest.

Performing a ritual naturally could not be done without a cost.

Right now, he felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded.

He brought up the system interface, but nothing had updated.

In other words, sacrifice and trade were mutually exclusive. He could only choose one; he couldn't eat his fish and have it too by exploiting a bug.

"At the time, I only had the choice of sacrifice. The combat power of those two fellows was unknown, and although they mistook my identity and knelt before me, they never explicitly said they were selling me their lives."

If Le茶 wanted to add the two cultists to his trade list, he would have to sign an agreement with them first.

For an important figure in the church to have nothing better to do than sign agreements with two small fry would be too abnormal and easily arouse suspicion.

Therefore, operating on the assumption that they probably wouldn't dare to resist, Le茶 chose to complete the ritual.

The ritual succeeded.

The rewards given were quite decent.

"20 points of skill proficiency, 20% experience value. Averaged out, that's 10 per person."

Comparing horizontally, if both of them were level twenty, selling them as a bundle to the system probably would have yielded a similarly good harvest.

"Forget it. Since I've already embarked on this class path, the proficiency of my professional skills definitely needs to be farmed up anyway. No loss there."

Having a good mindset was one of Le茶's virtues.

Opening the door of the treatment room,

Doctor Le茶 returned to his exclusive little sofa,

And called out to Susan, telling her to continue massaging his legs and then his head.

Susan: "......"

She had words she wanted to say, but didn't dare.

Le茶 said, "Those two men were cultists from the Black Fog Church, and I've already taken care of them. This afternoon, Military Intelligence will send people to collect the bodies."

Susan: "Oh, yes, Doctor."

Since Doctor Le茶 was an officer in Military Intelligence, this clinic naturally served as one of Military Intelligence's outposts.

Those blind cultists came here courting death, so they deserved what they got.

That also explained why Susan had found those two men so strange.

In truth, Nurse Susan was far more concerned about the progress of her admission notice to the magic academy.

She was trying her absolute best to scrape the money together, and within this week, the remaining thirty-odd gold coins should be paid in full.

How much longer would she have to wait for the notice?

Ten days, half a month, a month?

If it took too long, Susan might not be able to hold on.

After holding back for a long time, Susan's cheeks flushed slightly as she said, "Doctor, my chest has felt a bit tight these past two days. Could you take a look at it for me?"

Le茶, who was still replaying the sacrificial ritual in his mind and organizing his knowledge regarding sacrifices: "???"

Was this Nurse Susan issuing a challenge and inviting him to a duel?

When did this girl become so bold?

However, Doctor Le茶's title as the "Miracle Worker of Andrology" had already resounded throughout the entire city of Saint-Anne. If he were to hesitate over such a small scene, he might as well just close shop and go out of business.

......

An hour and a half later,

Susan changed back into her aristocratic young lady's silk dress and left with a satisfied expression.

Le茶 once again: "???"

He felt as though he had been used as a tool to relieve psychological stress.

What the actual hell.

Even though his current identity was technically that of a psychological doctor,

Susan wasn't a patient; she hadn't paid him!

"No, she did pay. She has already spent 178 gold coins at Charlie's Clinic."

Le茶 had no intention of returning the money. Whatever Susan handed over counted as consumption.

Thinking of this, Le茶's mood improved a little.

Looking at the time, it was about time for lunch.

So Le茶 took off his white lab coat and changed into yesterday's formal suit and top hat.

Since he had already accepted the quest to become a Magic Swordsman, he was now one of the inheritors of the Magic Sword lineage.

As a senior sister of the same lineage, it was entirely reasonable for Freya to treat him to lunch.

Walking down the streets of Saint-Anne,

There were pedestrians, carriages, and shops and vendors lining the roadside.

Today was still a workday, and most of the figures Le茶 saw were bustling by in a hurry.

However, "It feels like something is different."

Le茶 frowned and murmured.

Upon arriving in Saint-Anne, his primary goal had been to integrate into this world.

By now, Le茶's words and actions had improved significantly.

Old residents of Saint-Anne could still tell at a glance that Le茶 was not a local.

Yet if Le茶 were to say he was a transmigrator, people would definitely think he was joking or pulling a prank.

"Doctor Le茶."

"Good afternoon, Doctor!"

……

When Le茶 first arrived in Saint-Anne, absolutely no one would have greeted him of their own accord.

"Hello, Mr. Raymond."

"Good afternoon, Madam Gaultier."

……

Facing the friendly greetings, Le茶 lifted his top hat and smiled in return.

Whether it was due to a copycat effect or something else, more and more people greeted Doctor Le茶 along the way.

Suddenly,

A middle-aged gentleman asked, "Eh, Doctor Le茶, why are you sighing?"

Le茶 replied, "I wasn't."

The middle-aged gentleman insisted, "No, I saw it. Just now, you shook your head and sighed at me."

"......"

The man decisively pulled Le茶 aside and lowered his voice, "Doctor Le茶, you noticed it, didn't you? Lately, my lower back has been aching terribly. I know your clinic is fully booked, but if I drop by during a less busy weekday, you can squeeze me in, right? Do you think I could come over tomorrow morning?"

Well, then.

Le茶's sigh had simply been a normal reaction to tedious formalities, but it had unexpectedly netted his clinic a new order of business.

He didn't recognize the middle-aged man opposite him, but judging by the gold, silver, and agate rings covering his hands, this was clearly someone who was not short on cash.

Sure enough,

Before he could even reply, the man shoved a small handful of silver coins into his hand.

[Le茶's assets +12 silver.]

Indeed,

If you want to do good business, you have to rely on big clients.

After agreeing on tomorrow's meeting time, Le茶 continued walking toward the direction of the Inner District.

As for the "something different" Le茶 had mentioned earlier, it had zero percent to do with business.

His enhanced mental strength had sharpened his five senses, allowing him to perceive things ordinary people could not—there was nothing strange about that.

Yet what he couldn't perceive here seemed to be... emotions.

When someone hurried past in a rush, Le茶 could sense their anxiety.

When someone wore a smile on their lips, Le茶 could sense the sorrow hidden deep within their heart.

Because of a certain person or a certain event, they weren't truly happy at all.