The Sun God's Whisper
The reason our priest looks so listless is simple. Patients keep dying.
“So many patients are dying. If I were as capable as Priest Arthur, maybe I could have saved them. The way they clutch my hand and beg me to save them… I can’t forget it. It even haunts my dreams.”
“The recent increase in deaths is because they ventured deep into the Labyrinth. They return with wounds no one could reasonably survive. How could we possibly save them all?”
“Still, if I had tried harder…”
“The Labyrinth has been open long enough for us to know exactly what monsters appear inside. Yet people still enter, all because there’s money to be made.”
“…You’re right. No amount of money is worth risking your life, so I don’t understand why they do it.”
Quite some time had passed since the Labyrinth opened. The constant influx of people had transformed Labyrinth City day by day. What was once little more than a village was rapidly growing into something the size of a proper city. Markets appeared, a mercenary guild was established, and restaurants, general stores, weapon shops, and inns sprang up one after another.
Where people gather, money flows. Where money flows, people gather. Once proper infrastructure took shape, countless individuals poured into the Labyrinth. Many pushed themselves too far out of greed and either lost their lives or returned with grievous wounds.
“From what I’ve heard, the entrance has already been mapped and cleared. Now explorers have no choice but to venture into uncharted territory, which means going deeper and deeper.”
It was only natural that the Labyrinth grew more vicious the farther one went.
“Deeper in, of course the monsters become more dangerous. There’s no need to blame yourself. None of them entered the Labyrinth without some degree of preparation.”
Listening to the patients’ tales, even the occasional trap could prove fatal if mishandled. The problem wasn’t that our skills were lacking; it was that people were entering dangerous areas without adequate preparation and returning with life-threatening injuries. We priests were already doing everything we could. I wished they would stop tormenting themselves over it.
After a long while spent comforting and reassuring her…
“Thank you for listening. I feel a little better now. Since it was their choice, I suppose I don’t need to take responsibility. Still, I want to become a healer who can cure any wound, no matter how severe, once people reach this temple.”
Honestly, I was shocked. How could she make such a bold and admirable declaration?
Who raised this kid?
It was me. I raised her! Pride swelled in my chest. To my eyes she was still a tiny chick cheeping and hopping about, yet without my noticing she had grown into someone remarkably mature. They say children grow up fast—apparently it’s true.
“That’s impressive. You’re already better than me.”
“No! That can’t be true! Not when you’ve given me so much!”
The chick waved both hands frantically, her face turning pale at my words.
“Let’s keep learning together. If you keep working steadily, you really will become a healer who can treat any illness that walks through these doors.”
“Yes! I pray every single day.”
Hm? Prayer? I looked at her curiously, wondering why she’d brought that up, and she explained.
“I begged the Sun God to grant me more knowledge so I could save more people. You never know—maybe He’ll think I’m sincere and actually give me some.”
It was a rather clever idea.
“Haha, you’re right. In that case, I’ll join you today.”
If I kept teaching them, I would eventually run out of knowledge myself. When everyone was so eager to improve, what kind of teacher would I be if I had nothing left to give? I couldn’t afford to stay complacent.
A teacher has his pride, after all!
So we decided to pray together. Would the god truly answer our prayers? One thing was certain: if I wanted to keep teaching them, I needed more knowledge.
◎ ◎ ◎
…Mi…a…ya…
Someone was whispering in my ear. At first I couldn’t make out the words. The soft, persistent murmuring annoyed me, and I felt my brow furrow. It was disturbing my sleep—getting irritated was only natural. Yet the whispering continued, repeating the same phrase over and over, as if demanding I remember it.
…… Stop it.
…… It’s too loud!
I heard you, all right?
…… What on earth are you saying?
The voice gradually grew clearer.
My head hurts.
The endlessly repeating sound was forcing something into my mind.
Fine! I got it! Now stop.
The presence refused to release me until I memorized everything, so I had no choice but to commit every whispered word to memory. The throbbing in my head intensified. The more knowledge was crammed inside, the worse the headache became. Still, I had to obey. If I didn’t, I felt I would never escape this place.
Enduring the pain, I finally finished memorizing every last whisper.
I jolted upright.
“Hah! Hah!”
I woke from the dream gasping for breath. My breathing was ragged. My entire body was damp with sweat. The dream had been so vivid that goosebumps rose along my skin.
“What was that?”
My throat was dry, and my head throbbed.
“Ah…”
I had clearly been asleep, yet my body still felt heavy, as though the fatigue hadn’t lifted. I wanted to lie back down, but the damp sheets made that impossible. I wiped my face with dry hands, got up, splashed cold water on my face, and wiped away the sweat clinging to my body. The chill of the water sharpened my mind.
With my thoughts now clear, I recalled what had happened in the dream.
“It’s not like rocket delivery. Why is the effect of prayer so fast?”
I grumbled at the ceiling. Of course I was grateful for the gift, but wasn’t the method a bit too crude?
“Forcing it all in at once is why it hurts. Couldn’t You have given it in smaller portions? Ow, my head.”
My skull had nearly split from receiving everything at once.
“Ah, not that I’m complaining, of course.”
I hurried to add the disclaimer, worried that voicing my grumbling might make the god withhold future blessings. Still, the pain really had been excruciating—I couldn’t help protesting a little. I was genuinely thankful for the flood of knowledge. Treating patients would be far easier from now on, and I now had plenty of material to teach the chicks, so my worries had vanished.
That aside…
“How strange.”
I had heard from senior priests that such things occasionally happened. Sometimes the Sun God directly imparted knowledge to a priest.
Never thought it would happen to me.
This had to mean He approved of what I was doing. Otherwise, the Sun God would never have delivered knowledge so directly.
Feels good to be praised.
It wasn’t just anyone—it was the Sun God Himself publicly acknowledging that my actions pleased Him. My heart felt considerably lighter.
I was worried I might be overstepping, but…
The bishop’s decision was already delayed. If word spread that I had received a reward from the god, the competition for the bishopric would only grow fiercer. So I decided to keep it secret for now. They always say that if you win the lottery, you shouldn’t tell anyone. This was the Holy Empire that worshipped the Sun God; plenty of people would try to move mountains if they thought it was divine will. Receiving such a direct blessing was extremely rare, so the news would cause an uproar. I had no desire for unnecessary attention, so I resolved to hide the fact that I had received knowledge.
◎ ◎ ◎
Although considerable time had passed since the Labyrinth opened, the large-scale subjugation parties that had entered on the first day still had not returned. They had gone in ahead of everyone else to uncover the Labyrinth’s secrets. With so many people and supplies, they likely wouldn’t emerge for at least a month.
Around the time the Labyrinth had been open for nearly a month, an enormous procession finally emerged from its depths. The news reached our temple almost immediately. Being located near the entrance made it easy to hear the latest rumors.
“Priest! Priest Arthur!”
“What’s going on? Why are you so worked up?”
“P-people came out of the Labyrinth!”
“People came out?”
“It’s the imperial family! The Deltrack Empire’s subjugation force has returned! They brought back the corpses of enormous monsters!”
“I see.”
So that was why everyone had been making such a fuss—the large expedition had returned.
I listened to the priest’s report without much thought until a sudden chill ran down my spine.
“!!!”
Realization struck late, and goosebumps erupted across my skin.
This was no time to be lounging around!
“Get up right now and summon every healer you can find!”
“Pardon?”
“Hurry! There’s no time to waste.”
“Y-yes! B-but why so suddenly?”
The return of a large expedition meant a large number of patients would soon be transported here. No wonder there had been strangely few patients today!
“There’s no way that many people came out unscathed! Their injuries must be severe. If they all flood the temple at once, what do you think will happen?”
“Eek!”
The priest finally grasped the situation and paled.
“Emergency! This is an emergency!”
“Emergency?”
“Did you say emergency?”
“Patients are about to pour in! Everyone, stay sharp and prepare!”
“Patients?”
Today had been unusually quiet, so everyone had been enjoying a rare moment of rest. The sudden shouting about an emergency left them bewildered. Still, considering what was coming, they needed to be shaken awake somehow.
“An enormous number of patients will arrive soon. We must prepare before they get here. First, we need to make space.”
When dozens of patients flooded in, the first priority was triage—sorting them by severity of injury. After that, we needed places for them to wait until treatment. We also prepared hemostatic agents and other emergency supplies.
Not long after, my prediction proved correct.
“We have patients here!!”
“W-what is this?”
A booming voice rang out as dozens—no, nearly a hundred—people surged toward the temple entrance. Only then did the other priests realize why I had been panicking alone. Their voices trembled as they asked,
“Are all those people coming here patients? Please tell me they’re not.”
“Unfortunately, they are exactly the patients we need to treat. The Deltrack Empire’s subjugation force has returned after finishing their expedition. Since they went deep inside, their injuries are bound to be extensive.”
“No, even so, bringing this many at once is too much.”
“What can we do? They simply want their wounds treated.”