“It’s been a month since we’ve seen you. I came to see you off.”
“Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye to us? That’s a little hurtful~”
“That’s right! Priest, have a safe trip.”
“Travel safely and stay healthy!”
I can’t believe how much the novices have grown.
They chirped while trying to send me off, and I was both proud and touched, so I exchanged handshakes and hugs with them.
“I’ll be back soon. Everyone, stay healthy.”
“Just a moment!”
“We’ve been saving a little money among ourselves to buy you a gift. We wanted to help with your long journey.”
“A gift?”
I was surprised by what they had prepared, something I never would have imagined.
“It’s nothing big. We just wanted to prepare something that could help you on your travels.”
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
Although I didn’t know exactly what it was, the heartfelt gift from the little healer priests moved me deeply. With their warm send-off, I left the temple and headed for the meeting place.
“Sorry for being late.”
The people I was supposed to meet had already arrived.
It seemed like Princess Lasiell had rented the entire store, as there were no other customers besides our group.
Considering the size of the hunting party, the number of people felt insufficient.
But not only hunting parties ventured into labyrinths. Mercenaries and ordinary people formed their own teams to go in, so our team had a relatively large number of members.
That is, our group was bigger than normal teams, but not as large as a hunting party.
Someone might call it an awkward size, but gathering this many people was no small feat.
‘I promised to form a team with only those I could trust, and I’ve gathered this many.’
They say that if you can find one person you can completely trust in your life, that’s a huge achievement. So, considering this, I’ve lived a good life.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Priest Arthur.”
“We finally meet.”
I had been worried that everyone might be too young, given that they were friends of Princess Lasiell, but unexpectedly, their ages were all different.
The expressions on the faces of those welcoming me were just as varied as their ages.
Some looked happy, some were cautious, and some looked somewhat cold as they regarded me.
“Nice to meet you.”
While Princess Lasiell was the leader, it seemed that the responsibility for leading the group didn’t solely fall on her shoulders.
I greeted the woman who appeared to be the leader.
Princess Rasiel, sensing my awkwardness, spoke to the leader on my behalf.
“He’s a precious priest we managed to bring here, so please take good care of him.”
However, the response didn’t come from the leader but from one of the group members.
It was the person who had been looking at me with discontent earlier.
“Of course. The princess made us wait for days for this priest, so we should treat him with respect.”
If there was a sharp edge in the words, it was precisely those.
While they said they’d treat me with respect, the tone was sharp enough to almost hurt.
“I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”
“…It’s fine. I didn’t ask for an apology.”
Maybe my apology worked, as the sharp look in their eyes seemed to soften slightly.
Princess Rasiel looked at me with wide eyes. She probably didn’t want to openly scold me in front of her, since it was clear she had gone to great lengths to bring me here.
“Don’t just stand there. Please sit, Priest.”
“Yes.”
The leader pointed to what seemed to be my seat, and I sat down.
“I thought we were heading straight into the labyrinth. Wasn’t that the plan?”
“Don’t you think we should greet each other first?”
“We already met and greeted each other a long time ago. You just haven’t had the chance to see our faces yet, Priest.”
“Now that we’ve met like this, I’m sure we’ll become friends fast.”
Being a priest doesn’t mean that you’re always treated with respect wherever you go.
It’s not like everyone welcomes priests with open arms. Because of the impressive (or perhaps infamous) deeds of some of our senior priests, there are people who dislike and even distrust priests.
If I were to scold someone for being rude to me in front of such people, what do you think would happen?
I’d end up ruining relationships with the villagers.
At times like this, it’s best to remember: “No one spits at a smiling face.”
The best course of action is to smile.
“I’m the fool, I’m the Buddha, I’m the saint of the Sun God!” — that’s the mindset I take when facing any attacks, smiling in the face of them.
If the other side doesn’t respond properly, even those who have been glaring at me and gathering strength will eventually tire out.
What’s the point of shadowboxing alone?
It’s the clap of hands that makes the sound, after all.
After that, I had a chance to introduce myself to the group.
I hoped that, just as Princess Lasiell was confident, they all had good skills.
The better their skills, the safer I’d be.
‘A magician from the Magic Tower, a warrior from the Kaiman Empire, a knight from the Deltrak Count family…’
Princess Lasiell’s acquaintances had impressive backgrounds from the start.
There were some ordinary people, but quite a few had very unique backgrounds.
What surprised me was that almost half of the people came from the Deltrak Empire or other foreign lands.
‘Maybe it’s because they’re from other countries that they can be trusted?’
They had no vested interests in the Deltrak Empire, so the likelihood of them being spies was probably quite low.
“I’m Priest Arthur. I’m the chief healer and have been living in Palmore, but I was temporarily dispatched to the labyrinth temple. And somehow, I’ve been working here ever since.”
I would eventually have to return to Palmore, but I wasn’t sure when that would be, which was a little awkward.
‘Maybe I should write a letter to the bishop.’
Since my return to Palmore might take longer than expected, it would be a good idea to send a message, so I wouldn’t be nagged too much when I go back.
“Now that the introductions are over, shall we start moving?”
The leader suggested to Princess Lasiell.
“Great! The timing is perfect,” Princess Lasiell replied, standing up as if she’d been waiting for the signal.
Everyone said it was their first time entering the labyrinth, so there was a lot of excitement in the air.
‘I need to get dressed for this.’
Before entering the labyrinth, I decided to start putting on the gear I had prepared.
Rustling sounds—
“Hey, Priest, what are you picking up to wear? You’ll turn into a bear at this rate.”
The current temperature in the labyrinth had dropped to below freezing, winter-like conditions.
This was because the ice region had shifted closer to the entrance due to the changing path.
I predicted that it would take at least a month to get through the ice region.
And I had prepared a lot of items to survive the ice region.
“How much did all of this cost? Isn’t this fur ridiculously expensive? You can even see the shine on it.”
“It’s supposed to have excellent insulation, so I decided to splurge and get it. I really hope it works well.”
The sight of me covered in white fur must have looked pretty ridiculous.
I didn’t pay attention to design at all, as it was a choice made purely for performance.
“It should be fine since you’re a priest. How’s the defense?”
“Yes. They say it’s hard to penetrate with a sword.”
I’m glad I’m not the one who has to fight monsters directly. If someone who had to fight were to wrap themselves in fur like this, they would definitely get a good scolding.
After putting on the ice cleats to prevent slipping, I felt that I was fully prepared.
“Did you buy that because you got scammed or something?”
Though the tone was a bit blunt, it was clearly coming from a place of concern.
It was surprising that the person who had been giving me a hard time earlier was now worried about me. Meanwhile, others were too busy preparing to pay attention to such things.
“I didn’t have much of an eye for those things. Do you really think that fur is that expensive?”
“Is it really that rare?”
“Most attacks should be blocked by this. You’ve prepared well for this trip, Priest.”
There were some in the group who knew the true value of the fur I was wearing.
Honestly, the fact that this fur coat could only be purchased by exchanging a large sum of money was already strange enough.
However, it wasn’t like it had been overpriced due to design, like an 80,000-won luxury item. Its cost came purely from its capabilities.
“I guess I was worrying for no reason.”
“Thanks for your concern. But… isn’t the coat a little too thin? Aren’t you cold?”
I realized that she was concerned about my outerwear because she herself hadn’t properly prepared a coat.
Considering how cold the labyrinth was, I wondered if I should lend her the coat I had prepared.
“Ah, I don’t need that. I have a high body temperature, so I don’t really need to wear one.”
“Really? If you catch a cold, don’t come asking me to fix it, okay?”
“It’s fine. If you catch a cold, please let me know. I can’t have someone in our team being sick without me knowing. I’ve taken responsibility for everyone’s health, so you all need to tell me if anything’s bothering you, even the smallest discomfort.”
“…You’re more responsible than I expected.”
What kind of image do these people have of me?
There was a reason I joined late, but I didn’t want to explain it in detail.
Anyway, the misunderstandings would be cleared up naturally as we continued working together.
When the entrance to the labyrinth opened, I had already expected it to be a place that would feel disrespectful, considering the sun was blocked from view.
Hoo-wooo~ Woo-woo-woo~
But the labyrinth I saw with my own eyes was far more horrifying than I had imagined. It felt ominous and deadly.
People said that the special items found in the labyrinth made people go crazy and venture in…
“Can’t others feel this malice?”
“Huh? Priest, what did you say?”
A chill ran down my spine.
The cold wind that rushed through the labyrinth created eerie sounds, almost like wailing.
The cold seeped into my bones, and the malice… It was unsettling that I had to walk into this place willingly.
“There is so much malice here. Everywhere, there’s a murderous intent aimed at intruders.”
Even the most common stones would move if they could, and they would surely try to kill someone.
It was strange how people could wander around this space without any sense of danger, not just because of the cold.
“Can you not feel this? Am I the only one who senses it?”
I looked around, but everyone seemed completely unaware of what I was talking about.