Chapter 11 : The labyrinth has opened (5)

Priest Chilans’s style can smoothly take control and gain advantage.
However, when meeting someone like Priest Ando, even a slight mistake could lead to losing all the control they had just seized—a fatal flaw.

“It seems you’re overstepping because the senior Priest Arthur has been treating you respectfully.”

“…….23”

Priest Ando delivered a final, fierce blow, cleanly securing victory.
Everyone nodded along to Priest Ando’s words.

Realizing too late that the situation was turning against him, Priest Chilan could only stand there, his face reddening, unable to say a word.

Ding, ding, ding~!
It almost seemed like the sound of a loud round bell was echoing from somewhere.

K.O –
Defeat.

Invisible text floated above Priest Chilan’s head.

Priest Chilan, with his gentle impression, was approachable.
On the other hand, the Priest Ando had a sharp look that made him unapproachable, not quite in line with a priestly demeanor.
Moreover, his voice was cold, and he wasn’t very expressive, making people feel a sense of distance rather than warmth.

Since the position of a priest is to lead and console the congregation, I wondered how he would manage.

‘Since he’s far more experienced than me, he should handle it well on his own.’

Priest Chilan and Priest Ando.
When they started running the temple, it was very different from when I was in charge.

The most noticeable change was that the working environment had greatly improved.
They were amazed at the poor working conditions I had somehow managed to endure.
The young priests praised me for helping them develop their skills, though I couldn’t help but reflect that my lack of ability had made things difficult for them.

Everything seemed to be improving.
…Or rather, I believed so.

A few days after I’d been moving about lightly, free from heavy burdens, an incident broke out.

“Why can’t you heal him? If you can’t do it, why don’t you call another priest? Where’s the priest who was here before?”

Someone came for treatment after a friend was gravely injured, but it was infuriating when the medical staff couldn’t treat him properly.

“Please don’t make a scene. Leave the premises.”

“I’m not trying to cause a disturbance—I’m asking for treatment! Treatment! Can’t you see he’s dying?!”

“Please wait. A new healer will be coming to handle it.”

“Can that person actually heal him?”

“We’ll find out soon enough. Please wait.”

Since not all healers share their knowledge, incidents like this happen often.

“How long do I have to wait?! It’s already been an hour!”

The issue was that finding a healer with knowledge of treating complex injuries took too much time. While some suggested that the Chief Healer handle it, unfortunately, not even the Chief Healer was proficient in all fields.

Even in our past lives, didn’t we receive medical training with specialized areas?
The Chief Healer was no different.

They could only excel within their specialty, and outside of it, they were not much different from regular healers.

The problem was that most of the healers sent to the Labyrinth Temple, had knowledge that was heavily weighted towards internal medicine.

‘This comfort I’m enjoying…’

The comfort I enjoyed was bought by someone else’s sacrifice.

‘To be precise, the patients.’

A system catered to the convenience of the healers only placed a burden on the patients.

At least while I was on duty, I’d take on patients no one else wanted to treat. But when I wasn’t there, they were neglected.

In the end, a patient who was refused treatment by the healers ended up dying.

While such cases happened occasionally, this time the deceased was an illegitimate child of a powerful family, which complicated things.

Of course, one might think that a noble from another country wouldn’t have any influence over the priests.

“It’s unfair!!”

“I understand that you feel it’s unfair. But since the situation is complex, we’re also helpless.”

The problem was that there was no ‘bishop’ in charge at the temple.

Those who had been waiting for a chance, didn’t miss this opportunity, ultimately holding Priest Ando and Priest Chilan accountable, forcing them to step down from their positions.

The issue is that aside from them, I’m the only other Chief Healer.

“They said there were no such unfortunate incidents when Priest Arthur was in charge, even with a smaller staff.”

“It was merely good fortune.”

No way!

As always, my ominous premonition was spot on.
“It seems, Priest Arthur, that you’ll have to manage this place until the Bishop arrives.

So many people were scrambling to grab onto this “honey pot.”
It seemed they concluded it was better to have me, someone who wasn’t part of any faction, as the person in charge.

Neither Priest Chilan nor Priest Ando raised any objections to this decision.
No, it wasn’t that they didn’t object—I realized that these two were actually the ones behind this whole setup to saddle me with the responsibility.

“In fact, I recommended you,” Priest Chilan said.
Priest Ando added, “And I agreed right away.”

They were busy congratulating themselves, but the important thing here was that I wasn’t happy about this situation at all.

“Hey, I didn’t agree to this, you know?”

“It’ll be tough, but please take on the responsibility. We thought it would be better for you to handle this rather than giving it to someone else. Besides, didn’t you manage things well before we arrived?”

It wasn’t that I managed well—I just barely held things together…
It looks like I showed too much competence.

They probably figured it would be better to leave things to someone like me, who showed no particular attachment to the position but had managed things decently, rather than letting some outsider take over the temple.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to take charge? If I do, things will change significantly.”

As a last resort, I tried putting up a bit of resistance.

“Do as you wish. If any brothers give you trouble, send them my way. I’m confident in my sermons,” Priest Chilan replied with a smug smile.

Then Priest Ando, not wanting to be outdone, said, “If you have too much on your plate, feel free to assign some tasks to me. I’ll help anytime.”

I didn’t feel grateful at all.

“So, Priest Arthur is taking charge again?”
“Looks like it!”
“That’s fantastic!”

Why are they so happy?

“Why are you all so thrilled? Didn’t you say things were incredibly tough when he was in charge?”
Exactly! That’s what I’m saying.

“Aren’t you here hoping to get a senior position, Sister?”
“Of course. Why else would I come here?”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m pleased too. Priest Arthur is an expert in trauma treatment.”
“…Will he really teach us everything he knows, as the rumors say?”
“Yes! Before you all came, he’d always do that. Whenever we had questions, he’d teach us.”

Lately, they haven’t been asking questions, though?

“Priest Chilan got really angry about it, so we stopped asking questions to avoid causing trouble. But now that Priest Arthur is in charge again, can’t we ask again?”

Ah~ So they didn’t stop asking because they had no questions—they were just wary of causing trouble?

“You don’t think he’ll only help the sisters, do you? We joined later, so we’re not that close. I’m worried we might just get scolded if we ask.”
“Not at all! If it’s the Priest Arthur I know, I think he’d be delighted. Take a chance and ask him!”

Are they novices?

“Um… it’s not that easy.”
“Then I’ll ask him for you. I’ll subtly ask if he’d be willing to teach you as well.”

After all the effort I put into teaching them, now they’re passing me off to my own teacher.
You guys know a lot by now! You could teach each other, so why keep relying on me?

“Really? Thank you, Sister!”

After overhearing the priests whispering together, I sighed deeply and quietly slipped away.

I felt a bit guilty for eavesdropping, but since they were talking about me, let’s just call it even.

‘I thought the priests who joined later would feel uncomfortable around me!’
Weren’t they all high-society snobs?

Since they came from the capital of the holy nation, I thought they’d find it distasteful to take orders from a backcountry guy like me.

Am I the only one here who feels like a jerk?

sigh

The world is relentlessly unfair to me.
Today, I asked the priest who came to deliver orders about when the bishop might be able to arrive, only to hear the disheartening news that it would take a bit longer.
Geez, couldn’t they just temper their ambitions a bit?

“Let’s pull it together. I can’t just sit here complaining and blaming everyone else.”

For now, I planned to scrap all the schedules created by the former senior priests.
Though I felt a bit sorry for Priest Ando, I intended to give full responsibility for prayer time to Priest Chilan and, in exchange, have Priest Ando oversee internal medicine.

‘Honestly, Priest Chilan isn’t that skilled at treatment. But he’s good at handling people, so I’m sure he’d do well leading prayers.’

Meanwhile, Priest Ando was impressively skilled in internal medicine.
However, he seemed a bit inexperienced in surgical procedures, perhaps due to a lack of exposure.
But over time, he would surely develop strong abilities in surgery as well. So, I planned to have him focus on internal medicine while gradually learning about surgical treatment.

‘And then there are our rookies.’
With the addition of new rookies, it was crucial to ensure their cooperation.
I thought that if any issues arose, it would likely be from them.

But…
‘Why is everyone so kind?’

Of course, being priests who serve in alignment with divine will, they were all generally more virtuous than malicious.
Still, as human beings, they are bound to have ambitions, and I thought they might dislike or feel jealous of me, someone of their age who gained a senior title earlier than them.

So, before officially getting back to work, I gathered all the healers.

“Is everyone here?”
“Yes, everyone is gathered.”
“I apologize for asking you to spare your precious time during this busy period.”

Their curious eyes focused intently on me.

“It so happened that I ended up standing here once again. It feels like a heavy burden, but with the brothers and sisters who believe in me, I’m determined to give it my all and start again.”

The response wasn’t bad.

“However, I cannot lead this place alone. I lack experience and ability. So, I hope you’ll consider that we will lead this place together rather than me doing it alone.”

Clap clap clap clap clap!!!
Thunderous applause erupted.