Chapter 28 : Blacklist (1)

Isn’t he a mercenary? His voice is refreshing and elegant.

‘An annoying voice.’

The tone of his voice reminded me of what happened this morning.

No matter how much I drink, my mood refuses to lift.

I grabbed the glass in front of me and downed it all in one go.

If you keep ignoring someone, most people will give up and walk away.

It’s not that there are no women mercenaries, it’s just that I don’t need to hang onto someone as little as him.

“I’m not in the right mind to deal with you, so get lost.”

“Did something upset you? Is that why you’re drinking so much?”

“…

“Did I say something too harsh? But at the time, there was no other way. I wasn’t alone, you know.”

He had been babbling on for a while, but nothing was getting through to me.

I didn’t want to listen to anything or even speak.

No matter what he said, I had no desire to respond.

“Are you drunk? Can’t recognize people? If that’s the case, it’s a bit troublesome.”

I wanted to be alone, but with the constant interruptions, I started wondering if I should just buy more alcohol and go somewhere else to drink.

“How’s your wound? Just wrapped with a bandage? Didn’t apply any medicine? Haven’t you heard that drinking when you’re injured is bad for you?”

“Shut up. Get lost. Can’t you tell just by looking? I’m in a bad mood. Why do you care so much about other people’s business? Whether I’m hurt or not, why should you meddle? Stay out of it. If you don’t want to end up dead early from a knife wound, shut up.”

It shouldn’t have been visible, since I covered it with my clothes, but somehow, he noticed the bandage.

Just as I was about to refill my glass, the man sitting next to me snatched the bottle away.

“What are you doing..!!”

It was like adding fuel to an already blazing fire.

I couldn’t hold back the surge of emotion and jumped up, trying to grab him by the collar.

But the moment I saw his face, I froze in shock.

The person sitting there was someone I never expected to see.

“How much trouble did you go through to get here, just to treat me like this?”

I had hoped for a miracle, but the one who had crushed my hopes was now looking at me and smiling.

Thud—
Was it because of the alcohol? I felt my strength drain, and I slumped back into the chair.

“How, how are you here?”

This was a place full of problems for someone as valuable as him to be in.

The hygiene was poor, and the scent of sweat from mercenaries filled the air.

Add to that the sour smell of alcohol and the occasional coarse swear words that could be heard.

He was someone who didn’t belong in such a rough place.

He probably didn’t even know such places existed in the world.

Yet, here he was, coming to meet me.

He knew what it meant for him to be here, with me.

‘I have to catch him.’

I was stunned by the situation, but I couldn’t miss the miracle right in front of me.

Maybe because I was determined to not make the same foolish mistake again, I reached out and grabbed his hand.

“W, we, Eina…”

My body moved as I intended, but what came next was the problem.

His sudden appearance briefly sobered me up, but soon the drunken haze returned, making it hard to move.

“I know. I know what you want to say. Do you think you can stand up?”

“Wait a minute… please wait.”

There was a glass of water with ice in it, so I splashed it on my face.

Splash—!
The cold water hitting my face instantly cleared my mind.

“I’m sober now. I can go. You’ll do it, right? You came here to help, didn’t you?”

A priest had snuck out of the temple at night and came to a bar where mercenaries hung out.

And he came alone.

It was absurd, dangerous, and yet he came to find me.

‘He’s probably trying to keep a low profile. The reason I rejected him back then was because there was a knight next to me!’ I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

I had to catch him.

Priests are known for their mercy and kindness to everyone, but there was no mercy for someone like me who had been blacklisted.
“Shh— I don’t want to attract attention. Can we move quietly?”
“Really, thank you. I’ll repay this debt with my life.”

I didn’t dare to say the word ‘priest’ out loud, fearing it might bring trouble, and thanked him in the quietest voice I could muster.

I quickly paid the bill and left the bar as fast as I could.

The priest, who had pulled his hood down, spoke.

“Can you guide me first? There are too many people here.”
“Mm… okay. Thank you!”

I walked toward my home with the priest following behind me.

I needed to get my senses back, but the alcohol kept rising inside me.

I slapped my cheek, but when that didn’t work, I even touched the wound.

The sight of blood seemed to bring me back to my senses.
“Phew, can we walk a little faster?”

“I’m fine…”
“I’m fine too. I’m sober now. Let’s go.”

I felt embarrassed as we had to walk into an increasingly dark alley, but there was nothing I could do.

Once you’re on the Blacklist of the temple, you have to give up many things, including not being able to do anything that could put your life in danger. While my colleagues could go to the temple for healing after fighting monsters, I was forbidden from even entering.

That’s why, despite having enough skill to fight, I was reduced to working as a porter in the labyrinth.

“This is it. It’s a bit shabby, sorry.”

The house was at a level that would be embarrassing to show to anyone else.

Once inside the poorly built wooden house, I saw my younger sibling sitting, wide-eyed, waiting.
“What are you doing, why aren’t you sleeping?”

“You didn’t come home.”

“If you’re waiting and I don’t come, just sleep!”

“Did you drink?”

“Yeah, a little. And I told you to keep the light on at night! It’s freezing in here!”

My younger sibling was too cold.

Even if they kept their body warm, it wasn’t enough!

‘Honestly, if I don’t take care of them, no one will.’

If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have drunk.

‘No, wait?’
If I hadn’t drunk, I wouldn’t have met the priest, would I?

Drinking tonight had been a stroke of luck.

When I turned the light on, my younger sibling’s eyes widened as they noticed the priest behind me.

“Sis, behind you…”
“Do you know who I’m with?”
I asked, unable to calm the excitement in my heart.
“Who is it? Could it be that you finally… Should I call him your brother-in-law?”
Cough.

The unexpected words caused me to cough violently in surprise.

I pretended not to hear and quickly pulled off the hood I had pressed down and removed the robe.

He probably wouldn’t realize I was a priest since I wasn’t wearing priestly robes.

But I thought it would be less suspicious than having my hood pressed down tightly, so I took it off.

‘She’s so thin. How old is she? Is she much younger than me?’

Looking at my younger sibling, whose body was so frail compared to mine, I felt they must have gone through a lot.

‘I wish I could cure whatever illness they have…’

While I was concerned about my sibling, the mercenary explained our relationship to them.

“You fool! We’re not like that! She’s just a little thing, acting all wild!”
“Ah, I had my hopes up for nothing.”

“Why did you even expect that?”

“Then who is it?”

“The priest who’s here to heal your sickness.”

“…A priest?”

At the mercenary’s words, my younger sibling’s face hardened.

“Why did you bring a priest? I don’t want him. Tell him to leave.”

“Tell him to leave? What nonsense are you talking? You need to get better! I know what you’re worried about, but this person isn’t like that. He’s really kind. This time, you can trust him.”

“No! I told you to stop! Why are you bringing a priest again, trying to take something from me?! I won’t receive treatment!”

At the mention of the priest, my younger sibling started having a seizure, and the mercenary was desperately trying to calm them down.

There was no way my younger sibling’s rejection wasn’t justified.

‘Why did I end up on the blacklist?’

The blacklist isn’t something anyone can end up on, so it must have been for a serious reason.

But if the perpetrator had been on the blacklist, my younger sibling wouldn’t have shown such a reaction.

And I wasn’t unaware of the issues in the temple.

‘Corrupt priests.’

Could they have ended up on the blacklist because of a corrupt priest, unjustly?

“Hmmm, may I ask you something?”

“Oh! Sorry. Don’t take it to heart, what my sibling says. They’re still young.”

The mercenary seemed desperate, probably hoping I’d change my mind.

“Yes, of course. But hearing what your sibling said, I have a question. Could you tell me why you ended up on the blacklist?”

“Uh? That’s…”

It wouldn’t be easy to admit what they did to end up on the blacklist.

Though, I wasn’t sure whether they really did something bad or not.

“If you don’t want to answer, there’s no disadvantage in receiving treatment. Don’t worry about it. You’ve come all the way here, so there’s no way you’re refusing treatment, right? Of course, even if you say something, there will be no refusal of treatment.”

“…It might be better not to listen to him. What good is there to hear?”

“The priest tried to assault my sister!!”

The mercenary hadn’t wanted to say anything, but my sibling acted suddenly.

“It’s the priest who did something wrong. Why does my sister have to suffer like this?! Because of that incident, she’s been banned from entering the temple for life!”

“Hey!! Stop it!”

“The priest’s the one who did wrong!!”

I had thought they might have been caught up in something and ended up on the blacklist, but hearing the truth, it was worse than I imagined.

“I was the one who did wrong. I could’ve just beaten him, but I killed him.”

“!!”

When they said they killed the priest, everything finally made sense.

Honestly, it was lucky that the blacklist just ended there.

If I had killed a priest, there was no way the temple would let me continue mercenary work without repercussions.

‘It must mean the priest did something serious enough for them to be left alone.’

It could have been quietly buried, but making the victim part of the blacklist was full of malice.

Maybe it was a warning to stay quiet and not make things worse.

“So that’s what happened.”

“If you say no now, it’s too late. I won’t give up.”

I nodded at the mercenary’s words.

“Of course. I’ll treat you.”

The mercenary let out a sigh of relief and then scolded the younger sibling.

“Stop it now! This priest has nothing to do with those people. He came here at great personal risk to treat you. If you act like this, what’s the difference between him and the people who treated us badly? Just like we didn’t deserve their scorn, this priest has no reason to tolerate your bad attitude.”

My younger sibling’s eyes welled up with tears, likely from frustration.

Seeing that, rather than feeling disgusted, I felt sympathy for how much they must have endured.

The resentment they carried wasn’t something that had built up in a day or two.

It was clear what they must have gone through, so hearing their anger didn’t bother me.

‘Honestly, I’m embarrassed.’

As a priest, I shouldn’t have engaged in such disgraceful acts.

What was I thinking, exacting revenge over something so petty?

I should be apologizing for my shameful actions and making amends, not making things worse.

And if I knew what had happened, I should’ve quietly apologized, not made things worse by putting them on the blacklist.

I was so ashamed that my face burned with embarrassment.