First Night in the Labyrinth
My reply seemed to have dispelled his prejudice, and the realization was embarrassingly burdensome. On top of that, the way the man blushed and grabbed my hand right in front of me made my mood turn sour. Still, I couldn’t very well show my disgust. He looked so moved and happy that I couldn’t bring myself to pour cold water on the moment.
“I’m glad we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding. And there’s no need to worry—there won’t be anyone here who would try to harm me. Your concern alone is more than enough.”
I already knew corruption among priests had become a serious problem lately, sparking incidents everywhere. There had even been a huge uproar over it once. The corrupt priests causing trouble were only a minority; most followed the god’s teachings faithfully. Yet after “that incident,” every priest was painted with the same brush.
‘The key figures caused such a massive scandal that the whole country ended up humiliated.’
I hadn’t expected the fallout to reach this far. Even when the scandal was at its peak, patients still came to the temple clinic. I’d assumed it was someone else’s problem. Apparently that had been naïve.
‘Our little priestlings are so kind and devout.’
No wonder the person who had openly grumbled at me at first ended up talking to me the most.
“I look forward to working with you from now on.”
Thanks to these people, the party’s wariness toward me had eased considerably. Their open support encouraged several others to finally admit to ailments they had been hiding.
“Priest, you should stop healing for a while and eat something. You’ve been working nonstop.”
“Ah! Is the meal ready?”
“Everyone else has eaten, but you’re the only one who hasn’t.”
I hadn’t only treated wounds from the fight. Quite a few people had frostbite as well. When I asked why they hadn’t shown me earlier, they said they hadn’t wanted to trouble me and planned to wait until it got worse. Seeing them blush while looking at me had been unpleasant, but the conversations hadn’t been meaningless after all.
Only after finishing the treatments did I finally manage a single spoonful of food. While I sat on a rock, blankly filling my stomach, a few people quietly took seats beside me.
“Are you all right while eating?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Have you all eaten already?”
The food wasn’t delicious, but it wasn’t inedible either.
“We ate a while ago.”
The ones who had sat next to me were Sam and Gren—the very people who had declared they would personally stop anyone from touching me from now on.
“I’m worried we might be making people bother you too much because of us. Are you really all right?”
“Even if you said you were fine, some people just don’t know when to stop.”
“I’m really all right.”
“Our priest is too kind—that’s the problem.”
“That’s why we have to protect you.”
I still couldn’t quite grasp what exactly they thought they needed to protect me from.
“Haa~ You two, stop pestering the priest already. Just because he’s nice to you, do you think he sees you as friends?”
A woman smoking a cigarette approached and spoke to Sam and Gren.
“Why are you like this? Can’t we be friendly with the priest?”
“No, you can’t. So scram.”
What surprised me was that Sam and Gren didn’t argue and simply backed off without protest.
“Did you two fight because of me…?”
“No need to worry about those worthless idiots. I’m warning you—don’t get involved with them. You’ll only end up annoyed.”
Her tone was sharp, but I could tell she was speaking out of genuine concern. It was appreciated, yet I worried she might cause problems by being so blunt with her own comrades.
“I’m fine.”
“Those guys are the type who’ll try to use their connection with a priest for the rest of their lives. I took one look and saw your kind personality, so they immediately latched on.”
“What’s so special about being friends with me?”
“You’re not seriously asking that, are you?”
The ultimate connection was royalty. Right below that came priests who weren’t nobles. Once you hit your thirties, you realize how important health truly is. Having a priest as a friend meant you’d never have to worry about illness again—it would be far easier to find someone capable of curing whatever ailed you.
“Haha, by the way, I saw you fighting earlier. You were incredible.”
“Ahem! You saw that? Well, I did put on quite a show this time.”
I hadn’t fully understood what it meant to carry fire spirit blood until I watched her fight. She had been fire itself.
“Anyway, I came to tell you not to be too accepting of them. They’re not the end—they’re just the beginning.”
After giving her blunt warning, she stubbed out her cigarette and started to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“…I said what I came to say, so I’m leaving.”
“Please sit beside me for a while.”
“You want me to stay next to you while you eat?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I?”
“Please.”
I thought she might ignore me, but to my surprise she quietly sat down.
“What’s your name?”
We had introduced ourselves earlier, but there had been so many people to remember that I hadn’t caught hers properly.
“Nogi. I do have a family name, but I can’t use it officially. I’m the illegitimate child of a noble.”
An illegitimate child of nobility. Among nobles they were scorned for their tainted bloodline, while commoners envied and resented them for supposedly living an easy life. In other words, they were treated as outsiders by both sides. That was why almost no one wanted to reveal their illegitimate status. Yet Nogi had openly declared it herself, which was surprising.
“I figured it would come out eventually while we traveled together, so I thought it was better to say it myself than let someone else do it.”
“Ah.”
If that was the reason, I could understand.
“Anyway, I wanted to apologize for grumbling at you in the beginning.”
Nogi held out her hand. I took it with a slightly dazed expression.
“I never intended to get on your bad side to begin with. Getting on the bad side of the person who heals you only hurts the patient in the end, right?”
She was right. The one who suffered if relations with me soured was the patient. A priest was supposed to treat everyone equally, but since we were human, emotions inevitably crept in.
“If those guys keep bothering you, tell me anytime. Same goes for anyone else. Even if I’m an illegitimate child, people still watch their step around me because of my background.”
After chatting with Nogi while finishing my meal, I grabbed her wrist.
“Ah!”
“Did you deliberately leave this untreated?”
“…You really are a priest. How did you know? I didn’t show any signs.”
“Of course I know. I’ve seen plenty of sick people over the years. May I treat it?”
“This kind of thing heals after one night’s sleep. That’s why I didn’t get it treated.”
“Even one day less of pain is better.”
Nogi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Then please do.”
The moment I received her permission, I channeled my divine power. If I kept befriending people one by one like this, the day would surely come when I was close with the entire party. There were still those keeping their distance and watching me warily, but I decided not to rush.
The snow had stopped, but the labyrinth remained cold enough to worry about frostbite. We encountered and defeated several more of the monsters called “snowmen,” then walked deeper into the labyrinth. Since we couldn’t tell morning from night, we used the passage of time to estimate day and night, and eventually set up camp in a suitable spot.
Honestly, I wasn’t used to camping and found it quite uncomfortable. But if I wanted to keep exploring the labyrinth, I would have to get used to it.
“Priest, is there anything uncomfortable?”
Moreover, I was in a position where people were looking after me.
“I’m fine.”
“What about the temperature?”
“It’s warm enough with this covering me.”
At the very least, I wouldn’t complain. If I grumbled about discomfort while receiving such considerate care, how would the people sleeping in worse conditions feel? When receiving kindness, one should respond with gratitude and humility.
“If there’s anything uncomfortable, please tell us right away.”
“Yes. I will.”
After checking my sleeping arrangements, the person left, leaving me alone in the tent.
‘My first day in the labyrinth.’
It still felt unreal. Entering the labyrinth I had only heard about was strange enough, but witnessing people hunt monsters up close was even stranger.
‘If I close my eyes, I should be able to fall asleep right away.’
Despite all my preparations, the long walk and constant tension from monster encounters had left me exhausted. Princess Canaby had suffered so much from insomnia, yet I felt that after sweating it out in the labyrinth, I would be able to sleep like the dead.
And then, the moment I blinked—
Thud!
Thump—!
A flash of light burst before my eyes, and my memory cut off.
‘??’
When I came to, I was sinking into a strange space as if trapped in a swamp.
‘What is this?’
Normally one would feel panic or fear in such a situation, but I didn’t sense any danger.
‘Wait, is this how you put someone to sleep when they refuse to rest? Isn’t this too violent?’
I had thought I could fall asleep the moment I closed my eyes, but I hadn’t expected to be knocked out by force.
My confusion lasted only a moment. A splitting headache began to pound through my skull. This had happened before, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. All sorts of knowledge flooded into my mind, and there was no way to reject it. No one in their right mind would want to reject it anyway.
‘At least the second time feels a little more familiar… ugh!’
Familiar, my ass. My entire body twisted in agony from the torrent of knowledge pouring in.