Crash!
“You bastard!!”
“Die!!!”
“W!^#@%!@##$!@”
The moment I opened the guild door, a glass shattered under my feet, and harsh curses pierced my ears.
If the knight hadn’t opened the door first and shielded me, that glass would have hit my face.
‘I almost died as soon as I stepped into the guild.’
I thought a guild was just a place where people lived, but it seemed I needed to adjust my expectations.
Honestly, I wanted to turn around and leave immediately.
“Fight! Fight!”
“Hahaha!!”
“Yes! Harder! Hit him!”
Isn’t it normal for people to intervene and stop a fight?
The people, who seemed to be mercenaries, were instead holding beers and cheering, encouraging the fight.
“What on earth…”
The knight, noticing my bewilderment, spoke to me.
“This is the usual state of a guild.”
The outside was calm, but inside, it was a battlefield. I was utterly stunned and couldn’t understand why they were acting like this.
“Why is everyone fighting like this? There’s blood splattering everywhere…”
Looking at their injuries, I could already foresee them coming to our temple later, begging for healing.
Just imagining it made my blood pressure rise.
Unless they had some extraordinary self-healing ability to recover instantly from such beatings, all of this was going to end up being my workload!
‘I thought mercenaries came to the temple so often because navigating labyrinths was tough…’
But now, it occurred to me that the wounds might not be from the labyrinth but from beating each other senseless. The thought made me even more frustrated.
‘This could all be resolved with a conversation…’
“If such elegant methods worked, they wouldn’t be mercenaries in the first place, don’t you think?”
That wasn’t the knight’s voice.
When I turned my head, I saw a female mercenary I’d never met before, standing with her arms crossed and looking at me.
The knight stepped in front of her and said sternly, “Don’t speak so carelessly.”
“You’re the priest, right? I know you’re someone important, but isn’t it a bit uptight to act like this? If you’re in the guild, you should follow its rules.”
“It’s fine, Sir Knight.”
How could I expect to hire mercenaries if I showed disdain toward them?
I believed it was necessary to demonstrate respect from our side first.
“Greetings. I am Arthur, a priest serving the Sun God.”
“…You don’t need to know the lowly name of a mercenary. But what brings someone of your stature to such a shabby place?”
“I’m here to commission a task.”
“A commission… What kind?”
“You don’t need to know that. Priest, let’s move on.”
“How prickly.”
The knight seemed displeased with the mercenary’s attitude and remained cautious.
There was no reason to go against the knight’s wishes just to continue the conversation, so I nodded to the mercenary and followed the knight further inside.
“May the blessing of the Sun God be with you.”
“Don’t expect the same courtesy from others.”
“Ignore it,” the knight advised.
As we moved further in, the fight that had left the place in chaos had already ended.
It didn’t matter who won.
Both of them had collapsed, unconscious.
‘I’d rather just let them handle it themselves and not get involved.’
But with so many eyes on me, I couldn’t simply pretend I hadn’t seen it.
Maintaining the dignity of a priest was a critical part of my evaluation, after all.
“Sir Knight, please wait a moment.”
“Huh? Why, don’t tell me…”
The knight’s expression hardened as he realized what I was looking at.
“They’re hurt. How can I, as a priest, turn a blind eye?”
“There’s no need for you to involve yourself, Priest.”
“I don’t know why they fought, but I can’t just ignore their injuries. Could you please allow me to assist?”
“Ha~”
The knight sighed and reluctantly agreed.
“If they do anything suspicious, I’ll intervene immediately. You must understand this.”
“Of course. I’ll listen to you if that happens.”
I was on my way to the counter but turned back again.
If the knight weren’t here, I might have pretended not to be a priest and gone straight to make my commission.
But since he was here, why not embrace my role as a priest?
“Excuse me. Since I’m a priest, would it be alright if I treated these two?”
The surrounding mercenaries, who had been laughing at the two unconscious fighters, turned their attention to me.
“Huh? A priest? What’s a priest doing here?”
“I came to make a commission, but it seems there are patients in need of help.”
“Hmm, if you heal them right away, they’ll just end up fighting again.”
To my surprise, the mercenaries didn’t seem pleased about me treating the injured fighters.
“Why not just leave them? They may look pitiful to you, but these two are idiots who got what they deserved. Once they’re healed, they’ll just start another fight.”
“Are their relations really that bad?”
“This is pretty normal.”
“Leaving wounds untreated isn’t good for the body. Please tell them to visit the temple for treatment when they wake up.”
“You’re a reasonable priest, aren’t you?”
It was an offer that allowed me to save energy while maintaining my image, so I had no reason to refuse and accepted.
“By the way, our priest said you came here for a commission?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me what it is. I’m the senior around here, so it’s easiest to discuss it with me.”
“Ah… it’s nothing major. I’m looking for a mercenary to buy some books on my behalf.”
“That’s a request perfectly suited for a priest. Follow me.”
I hesitated, unsure if I should follow the mercenary, and glanced at the knight. He nodded, signaling that it was okay.
It was surprising since he had blocked any interaction with the female mercenary earlier but seemed fine with this now.
I couldn’t figure out what the difference was between male and female mercenaries in his eyes.
Following the mercenary’s guidance, I entered a small room with a table inside.
“Take a seat. Hey! We’ve got a customer!”
“Yes~”
A woman with short hair and bright red lips appeared, chewing gum noisily.
She wore a short skirt and a top with a plunging neckline, her outfit boldly revealing her figure as she sat across from me.
“I was wondering why I was suddenly called to handle a customer, and it turns out you’re a priest.”
The guild staff looked me up and down, seemingly surprised by my attire.
“You think I’d bring just anyone here?”
“Of course not. Anyway, what brings a priest like you here for a commission?”
The room was small and shabby, but I began to suspect it might actually be the guild’s VIP room.
“It’s not anything grand…”
“When the client is a priest, does the grade of the request even matter? Please, go ahead.”
“I need to purchase books, but I can’t move around to do it myself.”
“Ah~! You’re looking for someone to buy books for you in the city.”
“Yes.”
“For tasks like book purchases, it’s best to hire a mercenary with high credibility.”
“I’ve heard the same advice, and it seems like a good idea.”
“Credible mercenaries are significantly more expensive, even among those of the same rank.”
“How much more expensive are we talking?”
As a senior healer, I was well-off enough to not worry about money.
Still, I couldn’t afford to seem naive, so I pretended to scrutinize the staff member’s suggestion carefully.
It was also important not to flaunt my wealth too openly as a priest.
“That seems manageable. Please assign someone with high credibility.”
“Please write down the titles and authors of the books you’re looking for on this paper. If there’s a specific location where you’d like them to be purchased, include that as well.”
I didn’t know exactly how many books related to Cardinal Caria were out there, so instead of writing, I explained my situation.
“I don’t have specific titles in mind. I want to acquire all books related to Cardinal Caria.”
“Ah~! In that case, the commission fee will increase.”
“That’s fine. Additionally, I need someone who can keep searching until I’m satisfied.”
Even I didn’t know when I’d be satisfied.
I intended to keep digging through records related to Caria until I found clues to new healing methods.
I also mentioned that I’d prefer someone with ample time for the task.
“It might take a while to find a suitable person. This isn’t exactly a small-scale commission.”
“Oh… is it a particularly difficult request?”
“It’s a long-term request, so there’s an extra fee. Plus, gathering materials on a specific individual involves an additional cost.”
“I understand.”
“How soon are you hoping to get started?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“That will also incur additional fees.”
Nothing came free.
The more conditions I added, the higher the total cost became.
“Let me calculate… Including the commission fee, security deposit, and the guild’s facilitation fee, here’s the total.”
She didn’t say the amount aloud but handed me a piece of paper with an eye-watering number written on it.
I’d heard mercenary guilds were all about money, but now I fully understood why.
“And here’s the success fee. Since this is an ongoing investigation, additional charges will keep accruing. Do you agree to these terms?”
“Yes, I agree.”
The staff asked me to wait briefly and quickly drafted a document before returning.
“Please review the document and sign it.”
After thoroughly reading through it, I signed and handed over a pouch of money I’d brought.
“You didn’t have to pay right away, but thank you.”
“Please take good care of it.”
Even if I paid a fortune for this commission, getting a mediocre mercenary could lead to wasted time.
“Don’t worry about the request. Since you’re protecting our mercenaries’ lives, the guild won’t assign just anyone to your task.”
The mercenary, who had been sitting idly while I handled the paperwork, reassured me.
“I’ll look forward to being introduced to someone reliable.”
Moments like this reassured me that my childhood choice wasn’t wrong.
If I’d chosen a different career, I’d never receive this kind of treatment from a guild.
This respect was only possible because I was a priest.
A sense of pride welled up within me as I reflected on the status I had painstakingly earned.
‘This is why being a healer-priest is worth it.’
Suppressing the grin that threatened to spread across my face, I stood up from my seat.