Chapter 23: Saintess Candidate – 2

Orphanages.

They never had a good reputation.

And for good reason.

They were dumping grounds for those abandoned by people who wanted to survive on their own.

But here, things were a little different.

Especially in The Cradle.

The orphanages within The Cradle were well-funded and well-maintained.

Because of Gifts.

These mysterious abilities, said to be granted by the heavens, determined one’s worth.

No one knew how or why they were bestowed.

But at the age of twelve, every child used a Gift Card to discover their potential.

If their Gift was valuable, they were taken away.

Those with knightly talent were sent to the Empire.

Aspiring mages were sent to the Magic Kingdom.

Thieves were absorbed into the Underworld.

Those with divine abilities were trained within the Church.

Craftsmen and artisans were usually recruited by the Adventurer’s Guild.

They didn’t call this place The Cradle for nothing.

If you had a decent Gift, you could become an Imperial Knight.

A powerful Mage.

A revered Priest.

And if you possessed holy power, you were immediately taken to the Church for training.

‘That’s why orphanages here aren’t completely miserable.’

There were benefactors who supported them.

Even former orphans would sometimes give back to the system.

Gifts were that valuable.

They didn’t follow bloodlines or noble heritage.

They were purely based on individual talent.

‘Some noble families do claim to have hereditary Gifts, using them to establish prestigious lineages…’

But I had yet to see one myself.

Either way.

Because of all this, orphanages here weren’t like the miserable ones from my past life.

‘Not that they’re completely free of corruption.’

There were still cruel orphanage directors.

But those types rarely lasted.

Because once their former orphans awakened powerful Gifts.

They came back for revenge.

Thanks to those who received Gifts, I had heard that the conditions here weren’t too bad.

“…Welcome.”

Erme and I followed Theresa.

For some reason, Glasses had also invited himself along.

“If you’re all moving together, it’s practically a party gathering. I might as well join.”

Not that this was supposed to be a party event.

Then again… maybe it was.

Because right now, we were here to recruit a healer.

Going back a bit.

Orphanages had people who stayed behind.

Some of them belonged to different clans or organizations.

But others remained to help run the place.

Usually, the Church left behind some people to provide charity or manage personnel.

‘That’s why we’re here.’

Holy power didn’t grow the same way as other abilities.

Knights and adventurers leveled up by exploring the labyrinth.

Through that process, they strengthened their bodies and enhanced their mana.

That was how knights and adventurers grew stronger.

Thieves?

They honed their stealth and picked up various survival skills.

Mages?

They spent more time studying magic theory, which is why they weren’t as common in the labyrinth.

But priests.

Even if they did all that, their divine power wouldn’t increase.

Instead, they had to undergo a completely different kind of hardship.

‘And a lot of them ended up falling into corruption.’

They were revered by everyone, but their trials were brutally difficult.

As a result, finding a normal priest was nearly impossible.

I remembered what Erme had said when discussing our recruitment.

She had warned that our best candidate was an alcoholic and a gold addict.

Theresa and Glasses had actually sighed in relief.

They said that for a priest, that was about as good as it gets.

‘…Just how bad are they normally?’

That was supposed to be a good thing?

A part of me was curious.

But I didn’t need to ask.

I was about to see for myself.

And then.

Hic.

A woman lay sprawled on the ground, completely wasted and unresponsive.

“…That’s our new party member for today.”

Erme spoke with a trembling voice.

Theresa stared blankly at the woman on the floor.

Glasses calmly removed his glasses, wiped them clean, put them back on, and then.

“Hm. Now that I’ve taken a second look, she seems fine.”

“…?”

What kind of job was being a priest?

“Don’t think about it, Yuseong.”

Glasses warned me before I could even ask.

“If a priest only cries and begs the church to let them stay instead of going into the labyrinth, they’re already considered one of the better ones.”

“…What?”

“In a party I was in before,” Marcel continued, adjusting his glasses, “our so-called ‘priest’ got executed for getting high on drugs and assaulting a noble.”

“…Another one was standing right next to me, but when things got tough in the labyrinth, he ran—and died.”

I was at a complete loss for words.

Was this just… normal for priests?

They were treated like nobles, practically worshipped by society, and yet they were this messed up?

‘Aren’t priests usually known for their devotion?’

Something wasn’t adding up.

“Well, there are some decent ones, but their reputation is generally terrible.”

Erme admitted, her tone slightly evasive.

“Divine power varies by deity, and priests tend to inherit their god’s temperament, too.”

That sounded reasonable… but it still felt off.

Who is that woman?

Rishiel’s voice rang in my head as she eyed Erme suspiciously.

I found her strange before, but… those aren’t things ordinary adventurers should know.

‘She’s a Sword Hero Candidate.’

Even so, something isn’t right.

You should be careful, Yuseong.

That girl is hiding far too much.

‘…Yeah, I figured.’

I agreed halfheartedly as I turned my attention back to the drunken priestess.

Black hair.

Golden eyes.

She looked at the bottle in her hand with the kind of gaze most people reserved for their first love.

…Something felt off.

It wasn’t just that she loved alcohol.

It felt like she was pretending to love alcohol.

Like it was an act.

‘…Maybe I’m overthinking this.’

I had to be exhausted.

Two labyrinth runs, training the next day, and another dungeon dive right after…

My body was completely worn out.

‘No, it’s not just a feeling—’

It was definitely because of these damn iron rings Volcan had strapped to my limbs.

As I analyzed her, she suddenly latched onto Theresa.

“Oooh~ You smell nice. Hehehe.”

“Get lost.”

Theresa scowled and shoved her away.

The priestess staggered for a moment—then collapsed completely.

“…Snore.”

“…Isn’t this a bit dangerous?”

Glasses finally spoke up.

“Mmm… Oh, it’s Glasses.”

“I am not Glasses. I am Marcel.”

“…Glasses… Mmm…”

“…Fine. My name is Glasses now.”

His voice was already drained of all hope.

“…I mean, she’s better than the ones who do drugs, I guess… but honestly, wouldn’t that almost be better than this?”

“Drugs take longer to recover from, but alcohol? Alcohol heals you. That’s why she’s actually pretty reliable in the labyrinth.”

At Erme’s explanation, Glasses grimaced but backed off.

She was the party leader, after all, and her insights were usually on point.

“Hm? Hey, now that I’m getting a good look at you… Glasses, you’re actually kinda handsome~.”

“They say drunk women lower their standards. I guess it’s true.”

Erme shot back without missing a beat.

Marcel immediately bristled.

“I’ll have you know, I am decently good-looking.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t. But, well… he’s over there…”

“…Yeah, Yuseong’s the weird one here.”

“…?”

What the hell did I do?

Though, to be fair.

Even I was sometimes surprised by how good-looking I was.

The reason was simple.

I had spent hours fine-tuning my character customization.

“Heh. So, you guys are here to recruit me, huh?”

With a smirk, the priestess threw an arm around my shoulders, reeking of alcohol.

I instantly scowled.

Because she reeked of alcohol.

“What’s with that face? You frowning because of the smell? You know, guys who don’t drink aren’t popular.”

“You wouldn’t know.”

Erme shot back.

Then immediately looked like she regretted it.

…What was that about?

‘Wait… is she actually being protective of me?’

Interesting.

She cared more about her party than I thought.

“Let’s introduce ourselves properly. I’m Erme, and the guy you’re leaning on is Han Yuseong. And you are…?”

“The name’s Rozanté.”

She hiccupped and waved lazily.

“…Just call me Rozanté. Too much effort otherwise.”

Then, with a sigh.

She collapsed onto me.

“Well, I get it. A soft little fledgling like you wouldn’t understand the taste of alcohol yet. Hic.”

Rozanté spoke as she poured herself another drink.

And then—one-shot.

Hic.

She hiccupped again and stared at me with unfocused eyes.

“…Why is there a handsome guy in front of me?”

Her expression twisted into a drunken smirk.

“Hehe… Is this a gift from the gods for all my suffering? Hm, sharp features aren’t really my type, but…”

She started approaching me with a very dangerous look.

And then.

She leaned in, clearly intending to kiss me.

Smack.

I grabbed her face and stopped her.

“Mmph! Mmmphh…!”

Then, like before.

She started licking my palm.

I felt my soul leave my body.

I wanted nothing more than to bury my face in my hands.

But I couldn’t.

Because her spit was all over them.

‘…I give up.’

Recruiting a priest was proving way harder than expected.

Maybe if we climbed higher in rank, we’d find one who was actually competent.

Even Erme had hinted that somewhere out there, proper priests existed.

They were rare, but if we kept going, we’d probably find one eventually.

Just as I was about to say we should look elsewhere.

Ding.

‘…No. Don’t do this to me.’

A blue system window popped up in front of me.

[Encounter Quest]

You have met a Saintess Candidate.

You must either capture her interest or make her lose interest in you.

Reward: ???

Failure Penalty: None.

…Seriously, stop.

I resisted the urge to glare at the blue system window.

But the message was clear—Rozanté was important.

“Mmph! Puhah! Our little pretty boy~ You’re already clinging to me too much~.”

…Who’s clinging to who?

I wished she wouldn’t rewrite history like this.

“Hehe, so you do like me! Well then, how about you and I—”

“Uweeeh—!”

Midway through her drunken flirting, Rozanté suddenly doubled over.

And vomited.

Luckily, I had already taken a step back, sensing something very wrong.

‘She’s really something else.’

Our first meeting was somehow worse than I had imagined.

She was a complete disaster.

And yet.

Theresa and Glasses simply nodded, as if this was all fine.

“At least Yuseong seems capable of handling her.”

“Well, I’m all for it. Having a priest in the party is like having two extra lives.”

…Had we ever really been in danger, though?

I thought back to our most dangerous encounters.

First—Rishiel.

Then—The Hobgoblin Champion.

That was about it.

Still, if we wanted to climb higher as adventurers, recruiting Rozanté was necessary.

“So, what now?”

“I’m staying at the orphanage tonight.”

“That’s fine for you, Theresa.”

“Hmm…”

Glasses gave Erme a strange look—then smirked and casually gave her a thumbs-up.

“I’ll sit this one out. I’m a very perceptive support mage, after all.”

…What was that supposed to mean?

As he walked off, Erme beamed.

Looked like he had very perceptively decided to skip out on the hassle of recruiting a priest.

It did seem like a pain, after all.

“So, is there a place to stay around here?”

“There are rooms for sponsors who visit the orphanage,” Erme explained.

“Oh?”

“They’re overpriced and nowhere near reasonable, but still.”

I glanced around.

It looked like we’d have to carry Rozanté back.

‘…But carrying her on my shoulder?’

Not a chance.

She still had vomit on the corner of her mouth.

Glasses had cast a cleaning spell before leaving, but I still felt gross about it.

Thankfully, my bag had some spare cloth.

I used it to cover the back of her head.

Then lifted one of her legs.

“Yuseong?”

“Let’s go.”

Dragging Rozanté behind me, I headed toward the orphanage.

But there was one unexpected obstacle waiting for us.

“Hello there.”

The moment we arrived.

It wasn’t a priest, a nun, or an orphan who greeted us.

It was her.

A woman with a chilling smile.

Her hair wasn’t just red—it was the color of spilled blood.

Lucia Filihart.

The Villainess.

The one the system itself had labeled as such.

And she was standing right in front of us.

“…Why are you here?”

“Oh, it’s a little hobby of mine.”

She spoke lightly, but her eyes locked onto me.

Her gaze felt sticky.

Like obsession.

Since when?

Maybe since I shattered that training dummy with Dark Moon.

And now.

I looked at her again.

Lucia.

Besides Volcan, she was the strongest person I knew.

And still.

I saw nothing.

Normally, when I fought, I could see blue lines—indicators of whether I could cut my opponent down or not.

A Swordmaster’s Vision.

But against Lucia, I saw nothing.

‘She’s dangerous.’

The Execution Princess.

That title wasn’t given lightly.

And if she was looking at me like that…

She wants to recruit me into her faction.

Her obsession was definitely a factor.

And I was the unfortunate one holding the object of that obsession.

Lucia’s Obsession.

I had stolen it.

“Why is the Execution Princess, Lucia, here?”

“Oh, I just have a few connections. Starting from the nearby city of Reglac, for example.”

Lucia smiled sweetly.

“…I was the one who made connections in Reglac first.”

“Oh, you met him on the way here? Then I suppose I met him first.”

“If you ‘met’ him, then why do you two look so awkward? It’s like one of you is being threatened.”

“That couldn’t be the case.”

Lucia let out a soft, sultry hum as she turned her gaze toward Erme.

They were sizing each other up.

“And judging by the situation… I assume you’re here to recruit a priest?”

Lucia gestured lazily—toward Rozanté.

Still lying where I had dragged her, covered with the cloth I’d used to keep her somewhat clean.

‘…She’s sleeping that well?’

I stared at her for a long moment.

And saw her twitch slightly.

She wasn’t asleep.

She was pretending.

“Though, I believe your priest is already awake.”

“…Heh. Hehehe… Oh, hey, Lucia. It’s been a while.”

Rozanté shot up and laughed awkwardly, quickly reaching out for a handshake.

…What the hell?

She could act like this?

While I was still processing the scene, Lucia returned the handshake with a charming smile.

“It’s been a while, Rozanté.”

I crossed my arms and studied Rozanté.

Wait a minute.

If Lucia knew her, wouldn’t that make recruiting her way easier?

For a second, I considered using Lucia to secure Rozanté’s place in the party.

Then shook my head.

No.

She’d demand a massive price in return.

Using her obsession as leverage was one thing.

But she’d see right through me.

And she’d entangle me in a way that would be as annoying as possible.

…Should I just give up on recruiting Rozanté?

At the very least, I’d left an impression by dragging her across the ground.

The system would probably reward me for that effort.

I’d just settle for whatever I got.

That was the best option.

For now.