“Don’t tell me you’re asking me to put this in the offering box…?”
“Yes.”
“I’d rather donate my own money.”
The man whispered urgently, but unfortunately, I heard every word.
“If you want to make a separate donation, feel free, but put that in.”
The money inside the white envelope must have been no joke, as the subordinate’s face turned pale.
“But…”
“Do I have to tell you multiple times?”
Having received the warning, the subordinate reluctantly placed the envelope in the offering box.
Watching his hands tremble made my heart race with anticipation.
Next time, I should provide an even better service.
“Thank you for your support. During today’s prayer session, I will wish for the well-being of Her Highness and your future.”
“To think you are wishing for my future; it’s quite reassuring. Let’s meet more often from now on.”
“Yes. Take care.”
When Princess Kanabi turned and walked away first, her entourage followed closely behind.
Bringing along that many people would seem tiring, but seeing how accustomed she looked, I realized not just anyone could be royalty.
Watching the gate to the labyrinth open may have been the most intense experience of my life.
The dark clouds that had completely obscured the sun were now pouring down rain like a waterfall.
The rain clouds, accompanied by thunder and lightning, made it difficult to see ahead.
Just as the eerie atmosphere reached its peak, the gate to the labyrinth finally began to open.
Cl-cl-cl-click.
“It… it’s opening!”
A faint light began to seep out from within the labyrinth.
Since darkness enveloped everything, the dim light emerging from within the labyrinth stood out even more.
Gulp.
When the gate to the labyrinth was finally fully open, no one dared to move.
Many people had been trembling since morning, having flocked to the temple out of fear that a monster might leap out of the labyrinth. Everyone kept their hands on their weapons, tense as they watched the labyrinth entrance.
“……”
While everyone held their breath.
The sky was rapidly changing.
People quickly noticed the shift in the sky.
The dark clouds that had denied even a sliver of sunlight began to clear, letting light fall onto the ground.
How can I put it?
‘I feel exhilarated.’
The greatness and holiness of the Sun God stirred my emotions deeply.
Without anyone needing to prompt them, people clasped their hands together in prayer to the god.
They say people only realize the importance of something once it’s gone.
We had briefly lost the ‘sun,’ and during that short time, we understood the preciousness of the sun we hadn’t realized before.
And so, when we regained the sun, everyone offered a prayer of gratitude to it.
The first place the sunlight shone was the entrance to the labyrinth.
It was as if the deity was showing us what we needed to do next.
“Thankfully, it seems monsters won’t be coming out of the labyrinth.”
“Phew~”
“Now that the sun’s out, it feels a little better.”
As the sun rose, the eerie, chilling atmosphere faded, revealing the familiar appearance of the labyrinth.
The only thing that had changed was that the labyrinth’s gate was now wide open.
‘The gate is really open.’
The labyrinth had opened again after 300 years.
No one knew how the world would change because of this labyrinth.
I felt considerable turmoil, but since my duty remained the same, I decided to wait calmly.
Murmurs spread.
“They’re going in!”
“A-are they really going in?”
Now that the labyrinth’s gate had opened, someone had to go inside.
The question was, who would enter that unknown world first?
Some groups aimed for a later entry to ensure safety, while others rushed to be the first inside, hoping to claim the “treasures” rumored to lie within the labyrinth.
As everyone watched with interest to see who would set foot in the labyrinth first, the initial entrant was confirmed.
“As expected of royalty.”
Perhaps she used her status to push her way in.
Princess Kanabi confidently strode towards the labyrinth entrance.
Everyone held their breath, watching her every move.
‘For someone who even donated after I subtly declined, she must be quite bold.’
Finally, Princess Kanabi disappeared inside the labyrinth.
Behind her, a crowd of knights and soldiers poured in.
I wondered how many of those who entered like that would return alive.
Hoping for her safe return, I prepared for any possible outcomes.
“Is everyone gathered?”
“Yes~”
“Yes!”
Since the labyrinth door was open, didn’t we also have our own tasks to perform?
“Today will be an incredibly challenging day for all of you.”
Our novice healers, braced for the ordeal, had serious expressions on their faces.
“Right now, there’s nothing for us to do, but things will get intense once people start coming out of the labyrinth. At that point, we must do our absolute best. What’s the first thing we need to do?”
“When the patients flood in, we should start with triage.”
As a final check, I shared every bit of knowledge I had with the novice healers.
Unlike my previous life, where too much information was overwhelming, this world had the opposite problem: people rarely shared the knowledge they had.
“It must have been hard for all of you until now, but thank you for following along without complaint.”
“Priest! We’re the ones who should be grateful. You’ve been teaching us even though we’ve hardly done anything for you.”
“That’s right. If it weren’t for Priest Arthur, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything, even with patients right before our eyes.”
To think these novice healers, who only followed instructions without knowing anything, had matured so much in just a few days.
It was moving.
I often found it hard to understand priests who hoarded knowledge to themselves with a smug smile.
Wouldn’t they just make their own lives harder that way?
Isn’t it with companions that you can delegate tasks and take breaks?
That’s why I generously shared my knowledge with them.
‘Time to enjoy some ease.’
After all, there would be plenty of patients.
There was no way I could handle everything alone.
So, sharing responsibilities with my companions wouldn’t reduce what I’d receive.
“Let’s give it our best.”
When I held out my hand, everyone eagerly placed theirs on the back of mine.
Gathered closely, we all cheered together.
This was a few hours before the beginning of hell.
“Please save him, Priest!!!”
“Aaagh! Arghhh!”
A patient emerged from the labyrinth.
Another patient emerged from the labyrinth.
Patients kept coming, endlessly.
It was hard to tell if that place was a labyrinth or a patient generator.
I wished I could seal the entrance again, but that was impossible, which was truly unfortunate.
I had anticipated something like this, but facing it in person shook my resolve.
Since no one knew the level of monsters inside the labyrinth, this was bound to happen.
If people had some idea of the difficulty, they would have trained accordingly before going in, wouldn’t they?
However, there was no information about the labyrinth, so anyone entered, resulting in this chaos.
‘It seems the representatives from each nation are still exploring, but those who entered later are causing trouble.’
The national “Labyrinth Exploration Teams” hadn’t returned, still delving into the labyrinth.
But after the large teams entered, smaller parties had gone in, and those were the ones causing problems.
Since the labyrinth was located in a neutral zone, the lack of entry restrictions seemed problematic.
‘I must suggest this.’
There were so many patients coming in and out that even the available beds were running out.
And then…
“We can’t go on like this.”
When goodwill continues, people start to see it as a right.
The fact that the labyrinth was profitable turned out to be true, and with information about the labyrinth also becoming valuable, people were flocking to it like moths to a flame.
The problem was that only we were the ones suffering from it.
After only three days, I confirmed that the novice healers were already struggling.
“When will the additional support arrive?”
I sought out Sir Rafael and asked him.
“The next batch of support will be quite large. So, I think it will address the part you’re waiting for, Priest.”
It was welcome news.
“At least double – no, quadruple – the current personnel needs to come. Patients are coming in continuously, and due to the shortage of patient beds, we even had to discharge patients who hadn’t fully recovered.”
“I’m aware of that part as well. I’ll make arrangements for additional space.”
Realistically, the influx of patients was inevitable during the initial stages of the labyrinth’s opening.
Over time, things would gradually stabilize, and as that happened, the number of patients would naturally decrease.
The issue was finding a way to endure until then.
Including myself, there were only nine healers tending to the incoming patients around the clock.
At this rate, if just a few more days passed, a healer would definitely collapse.
‘If one person falters, the burden falls on the remaining healers.’
It would clearly lead to a vicious cycle.
More healers had to come before that happened.
Fortunately, Sir Rafael had assured me that he would address the issues I mentioned right away.
At the very least, if the Holy Nation had any sense, they wouldn’t neglect the temple set up within the labyrinth.
Though they hadn’t entered the labyrinth yet, the Holy Empire was also actively preparing to tackle it.
Therefore, the temple was an invaluable stronghold.
“May I ask why, when every other nation has already entered, our Holy Nation is still only preparing?”
“I’m not entirely sure. However, there were apparently quite a few records related to the labyrinth from 300 years ago, and after reviewing that information, they concluded that there was no need to act hastily.”
Three hundred years was an incredibly long time.
If the records had been well-maintained over that period, they would have survived, but if not, they could have easily been lost.
In that sense, it seemed the Holy Empire had preserved the records from 300 years ago remarkably well.
“I believe there should be conditions for entering the labyrinth. What are your thoughts?”
“Conditions?”
Since the labyrinth was in a neutral area, implementing my suggestion wouldn’t be easy.
But it was absolutely necessary.
And for good reason.
“I think it’s too dangerous to let anyone come and go in the labyrinth as they please. At the very least, there should be a basic qualification test. If it continues to be left open like this, even ignorant children might insist on going in.”
My analogy caused Sir Rafael’s face to harden.