The Labyrinth Has Opened (4)
The air felt heavy. A chill hung in the atmosphere, sharp enough to raise goosebumps along my arms. The constant tension crackling between the two men kept drying out my throat.
“You intend to take charge here simply because you’re the elder? Shouldn’t we weigh experience rather than age? For the record, my tenure as chief healer is considerably longer than yours.”
“Considerably? Anyone overhearing that would get the wrong impression! It’s a single year’s difference, yet you’re exaggerating wildly!”
The argument showed no sign of ending. The pair kept clashing, their words sharpening until they were practically tearing strips off each other. Even the normally icy Priest Ando, with real stakes on the table, refused to yield and met Priest Chillan’s stubbornness with equal heat.
It was too embarrassing to keep listening. I wanted to slip away, but the moment never arrived. Instead I sat there like a man on a bed of thorns, forced to witness their fight in uncomfortable silence.
This won’t do.
When I finally reached my limit, I intervened, claiming I was hungry and gently suggesting we continue the discussion later—after a meal. Having bickered for so long, both men seemed drained; they didn’t reject my proposal. Still, their evenly matched intensity made me suspect it would be a long time before a clear leader emerged.
“Why are you asking me that? Deal with it yourself. If you lack the ability, hand the matter to another priest.”
Priest Ando was so stunned by the absurd question that he was momentarily speechless. Anger arrived late, sharpening his reply into something curt.
“Ah… but…”
The junior healer couldn’t quite bring himself to apologize, and his bewildered attitude—why won’t you just tell me?—only made the situation more ridiculous.
“What exactly are you thinking, demanding I share my knowledge like this? You speak as if I’m obligated to hand it over, as though the information was entrusted to you. It’s absurd.”
And this was coming from a mere apprentice healer! Ando had tried not to show this side of himself, but when he had been an apprentice, he hadn’t even been allowed to walk in a chief healer’s shadow.
“I-I’m sorry. Priest Arthur answers every question I ask, so I assumed it would be all right to inquire…”
Priest Arthur had done that?
“……”
The moment Arthur’s name came up, Ando had to swallow the shout rising in his throat. With his current rivalry against Chillan over the management position, falling out with Arthur would only put him at a disadvantage.
“Then go ask Priest Arthur. This isn’t my responsibility.”
“…Yes, I’m sorry!”
Ando shook his head as the apprentice healer bowed deeply and fled.
“Kids these days, honestly… tsk tsk!”
At the time, he had no idea this would not be the last occurrence.
Bang!
“How many times is this now?!”
After experiencing the same thing several more times, Priest Ando learned that Priest Chillan had suffered identical encounters.
“It seems Priest Arthur has shown excessive kindness, but that is merely his personal courtesy. No priest should behave so rudely toward a chief healer. If you receive kindness, you should be grateful and move on. I cannot understand why anyone would assume others are obligated to do the same.”
“Ahem. I agree this is a problem. Priest Arthur has been extending far too much goodwill.”
“Shall we go speak with him together? I hear he’s still sharing knowledge even now.”
If it had been a one-off personal lapse, they might have let it slide. But since people were committing rudeness out of ignorance, a warning seemed necessary. Going alone risked earning Arthur’s dislike; approaching together would lessen the burden. Once they realized they had both hesitated to voice their discomfort directly to him, the suggestion was quickly accepted.
When the two men moved together, they found Priest Arthur taking a break.
“No way…”
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
The problem was the cluster of healers gathered cozily around Arthur. The books and papers clutched in their hands served as clear evidence.
They won’t even let a resting man rest and are harassing him?!
A protective urge rose inside both men—the desire to shield their innocent, unambitious junior. The earlier thought that Arthur had caused unnecessary trouble vanished completely. Instead, he now looked like the victim.
How much easier their work had become because he had willingly yielded the leadership role without regret! Of course the two chief healers were still locked in a tense standoff over that very position, but there was no denying that Arthur’s gracious concession had simplified matters considerably.
If only Ando weren’t here…
If only that unpleasant man weren’t here…
For a moment the pair glared at each other with open distaste, then abruptly looked away. They might dislike one another, but they now shared a common purpose and needed to act together.
“Priest Arthur.”
“Oh? What brings you both here?”
Arthur looked up at them in surprise. The priests surrounding him flinched and shrank back at the newcomers’ arrival. They had clearly sensed the disapproval radiating from the two chief healers.
“We came because we have something to say. I heard you were on break, yet it appears you’re still working.”
“I was resting.”
Apparently failing to read the room, Arthur answered with a bright smile.
“It doesn’t look like rest to me. You seem to be teaching the other priests.”
“I was sharing what little knowledge I have. The Labyrinth Temple requires a great deal of trauma treatment, and such experience isn’t easily gained, is it?”
The Holy Empire was in a fierce struggle to appoint new bishops. The two men belonged to rival factions and had been sent to the Labyrinth Temple to help secure it. They needed to claim the leadership position as quickly as possible, but the presence of the other chief healer—sent to check them—had complicated everything.
If I can bring Arthur to my side, controlling this place will become far easier. Given his personality, many priests already follow him.
Though Arthur himself had stepped down, his influence here would not vanish with a single word. If one of them could build a relationship with him and quietly absorb that influence, the other would have no chance of winning.
“No matter how I think about it, I cannot simply stand by. Stop this at once!”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly…?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. The two men had approached with menacing auras and shouted without warning. I was certain I had been living quietly without causing trouble—what on earth was the problem?
“What do you mean, why? Are you truly asking because you don’t know?”
“Did I make some kind of mistake?”
What could I possibly have done to warrant such a sudden scolding? A wave of injustice mixed with genuine fear that something serious had happened, and my heart sank.
“Right now, Priest Arthur, you are not resting—you are working! So of course I’m angry!”
Was teaching the juniors really that upsetting?
“I am deeply disappointed to see fellow priests disturbing Priest Arthur’s rest and acting as though nothing is wrong!!”
The little chicks’ eyes widened in shock. I still didn’t understand why these two were suddenly butting into my break, but at least I felt relieved that I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“U-us?”
“Yes! Why are you tormenting Priest Arthur like this? No matter how kind and gentle he is, and no matter how much sympathy he shows, you cannot exploit his goodwill in this manner! If this behavior continues, all of you will need to retake your legal and doctrinal education!”
A chief healer had the right to evaluate those beneath him. The fledgling healers turned pale and looked at me with desperate, pleading eyes. I couldn’t ignore their silent cries for rescue. Besides, they truly hadn’t done anything wrong.
It doesn’t seem like they’re doing this because they dislike me.
I had no idea why they were acting this way. Since the two men had no reason to pick a fight with me, the situation felt even more confusing. Then I realized their menacing glares were aimed at the junior healers, not at me.
The real target was the kids?
In that instant, I understood. I must have cherished those children too much.
Because everyone followed me so naturally, I hadn’t realized it could look like a problem to these two. I usually paid no attention to complicated politics, and that had led to this mistake. I had realized far too late that simply stepping down from a position did not erase all authority. The fact that the priests followed me must have been a major obstacle in their eyes.
It seemed they wanted to scold the children sharply to make clear who held the real power. If it were anything else, fine, but I can’t just stand by while they punish the kids because of me.
How much effort had we poured into maintaining the temple together? In that environment, camaraderie was inevitable. No matter what their intentions were, I had no choice but to step forward to protect the children.
“I enjoy teaching them.”
“Pardon?”
“What are you saying?”
Priest Ando and Priest Chillan clearly hadn’t expected meek little me to push back like this.
“It’s true. Perhaps because they’re all bright, they absorb lessons quickly. It became enjoyable, and before I knew it I was teaching passionately even during breaks. If there’s a problem, please speak to me. I will apologize.”
The two men owed me favors; they wouldn’t be able to press me too hard. As expected, once I voluntarily offered to apologize, they could no longer raise their voices. Still, they seemed unwilling to retreat completely.
“No matter how much you enjoy teaching, freely dispensing knowledge creates problems. Their manners have deteriorated, and they’re now committing serious rudeness toward others without shame.”
“Has something happened?”
It seemed there had been incidents I didn’t know about.
“They come without warning and ask how certain treatments should be performed.”
“And it hasn’t happened just once or twice.”
“Ah…!”
So that was why the two had joined forces and come to shout at me. The priests who had learned so much from me must have grown greedy.
“I had no idea such things were occurring. I will make sure to deliver a clear message. It won’t happen again.”
Deep down, I did think that if the information was simple, sharing it shouldn’t be such a big deal. When a young junior wanted to study, one should feel proud rather than guarded. But in this world, knowledge was treated as personal property. When someone you barely knew came demanding a share of your assets, it was only natural to feel displeased. Their anger was justified.
The priests, realizing their own fault, lowered their heads and watched me nervously.
Sigh… This is my fault.
Because I never hesitated to share knowledge, they had grown bold enough to try the same with others. But that hadn’t been courage—it had been recklessness.
“Since things have come to this, why don’t you stop teaching altogether?”
Priest Ando dropped the suggestion like a bolt from the blue onto the junior healers.
“There is still much left to teach.”
“Knowledge obtained too easily loses its proper value. Doesn’t this incident prove that?”
What I had handed over to them was the temple’s operating authority, not the right to decide whether I could teach the fledglings. My expression must have darkened noticeably, because Priest Chillan smoothly took over.
“Of course, whether to teach is ultimately a personal choice. However, we cannot continue watching our juniors exploit your goodwill.”
“The more a priest knows, the more lives he can save.”
I wanted to say that the knowledge the gods had granted believers was meant to be shared, not hoarded. But the moment those words left my mouth, the goodwill both men felt toward me would vanish.
“When the Labyrinth Temple first opened, there were only nine priests. Among them, only a handful possessed any knowledge of trauma treatment. Even those who knew something lacked the breadth to handle various injuries.”
“……”
“……”
Fortunately, both men listened carefully.
“It wasn’t done merely out of kindness. To treat patients, we had no choice but to share knowledge. Otherwise countless people would have died. Of course, we now have more personnel and many capable priests have arrived, so the situation has changed. But perhaps because of the memories of struggling together while sharing knowledge, everyone wants to learn more. And I could not turn my back on their sincere desire to save lives.”
I hoped my words reached them. Rather than simply arguing against the order to stop teaching, I had spoken from the heart. Since I could not force others to act, I had chosen to act myself. I did not want even that to be obstructed.
“After hearing Priest Arthur’s words, I realize I have been narrow-minded. If anyone should apologize, it is me.”
This was why people said a thousand gold coins of debt could be repaid with words.
“Now that I understand you were not trying to steal another’s property but striving to save lives, the priests who asked questions no longer seem so bad. In fact, I feel rather ashamed.”
“Priest Ando, do you really intend to let Priest Arthur continue teaching?”
It seemed Priest Ando had been persuaded by my explanation, but Priest Chillan had not.
“Everything Priest Arthur said was correct. It was an unavoidable situation. If the Holy Empire had handled things more properly from the start, these people would not have had to suffer.”
“That was then; the situation is different now, isn’t it? There’s no need to continue unnecessary work, so why insist on doing so?”
Accusing him of betrayal after they had agreed to work together, Priest Chillan fiercely criticized Priest Ando.
“You are the one who should abandon your prejudices, Priest Chillan. This situation arose because the young priests worked desperately to protect the Labyrinth Temple. For someone who has only just arrived to cause such discord the moment he appears is hardly a pleasant sight.”
Once Priest Ando took my side, Priest Chillan could no longer exert any pressure. Realizing this, Chillan quickly changed his tone.
“Priest Arthur, you understand my heart, don’t you? Everything I said came from worry for my junior. If I didn’t care, I would never have told you to stop teaching.”
The saying that the opposite of love is indifference came to mind. I couldn’t help smiling at Priest Chillan’s claim that his meddling proved he cared. He certainly spoke more smoothly than Priest Ando. Though after today, I could see that Ando’s own skill at maneuvering was nothing to scoff at.
Part of me wanted to side with Priest Ando right then and there, but I held back. Right now I needed to remain strictly neutral.
“Yes, I didn’t misunderstand. Please don’t worry.”
“Ha! I knew you would understand. I was only concerned for my junior— ahem!!”
Priest Chillan’s gaze slid toward Priest Ando.
At first I thought the louder Priest Chillan would hold the advantage, but Priest Ando is no pushover either.
Chillan was the type to spread his tail feathers like a peacock, flaunting himself and consolidating power. He excelled at mingling with people and building networks, turning those around him into his own. In contrast, Ando did not focus on socializing; instead, his outstanding ability and clean handling of work put those beneath him at ease. His talent was such that people naturally followed him. It was clear his lack of smooth speech was not due to poor communication skills.
Their personalities are so different that I can’t say which one has the advantage.
Everyone preferred different styles of superior, after all. One thing was certain: I had done well to step down from the leadership position cleanly instead of fighting them.
I’m not cut out for politics.
I could only hope that I would remain as little entangled as possible in their fight and that everything would conclude neatly.