The Labyrinth Opens (2)
It was hardly surprising that the priests running the temple were lining their own pockets. Princess Canaby had probably assumed I was one of those corrupt priests and acted accordingly. Rather than resenting her, I felt I should be ashamed of the priests whose behavior had created such an image.
“You mentioned this was prepared as an offering, correct? Would you mind waiting a moment?”
I stepped inside the temple, retrieved a donation certificate along with the offering box, and brought it out.
“What is this?”
Princess Canaby couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the offering box I presented.
“Since you said you wished to make a donation, I brought the box. As Your Highness has come in person, it’s only right that we provide this level of service.”
“…Do you truly not understand what it means for me to hand this over?”
“You said you wished to make a donation, so I brought the box. Is there any need to read some other meaning into it?”
A brief silence fell as our eyes met. Then she gave a small smirk and spoke.
“Put it in the offering box.”
“Pardon? All of it, Your Highness?”
When her attendant hesitated in confusion, Princess Canaby showed no mercy.
“Put it in.”
“I would rather make the donation with my own money. This amount is simply too…”
From the attendant’s deathly pale face, I could tell the sum she had intended to bribe me with was far greater than I had imagined.
“If you wish to make a separate donation, do so. But that one goes in.”
When Princess Canaby glared at him as if to say there would be no further discussion, the attendant could no longer protest. With trembling hands, he dropped the money pouch into the offering box.
The moment the pouch landed inside, the box grew noticeably heavier. It was clear his horrified expression had not been an exaggeration.
I spoke with every ounce of genuine kindness I could muster.
“Thank you for your generous support. During today’s prayer hour, I will pray for the peaceful future of both Your Highness and the people of the Deltrack Empire.”
“It is reassuring to know that a priest like you will pray for my future. Until we meet again.”
“Please take care on your way.”
Princess Canaby turned and walked away first, her attendant following close behind. Yet he kept glancing back at the offering box, clearly heartbroken over the fortune now inside it.
Once money entered the offering box, not even the bishop in charge of the temple could open it at will. In other words, the money she had prepared was no longer a bribe—it had officially become a donation to the Holy Empire.
She could have simply taken the rejected bribe money back with her, yet she had chosen to put it in the box anyway. It was clear she was no ordinary person.
‘I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me.’
Still, she was royalty from another country. What trouble could she possibly cause me? With that thought, I decided to take it lightly.
The square buzzed with noise.
“They’re going in!”
“R-really? They’re actually entering?”
“Whoa~ That’s insane. Are all those people?”
“Look at all the armor. How much money did they spend?”
Now that the Labyrinth’s gate had opened, someone had to go inside. The question was who would step in first.
Some groups waited for a safer position further back, while others rushed to be the first inside in order to claim the ‘treasures’ that lay within.
As everyone watched with keen interest to see who would take the first step into the Labyrinth, the first official entrants were confirmed.
“As expected of royalty.”
They must have used their status to push their way forward. Princess Canaby—the very same woman who had tried to bribe me under the guise of a donation—was striding confidently toward the Labyrinth entrance.
Clad in armor made of pure platinum, her dignified stride was enough to captivate the crowd. She was beautiful, and everyone held their breath as they watched her movements.
And then, at last, Princess Canaby’s figure vanished into the Labyrinth. Knights and soldiers poured in after her.
How many of those who had just entered would return alive?
I prayed that as many as possible would come back unharmed, and prepared myself for any possible emergencies.
“Has everyone gathered?”
“Yeees~”
“Yes!”
Now that the Labyrinth gate had opened, it was time for us to do our part.
“Today is going to be an incredibly difficult day for all of you.”
My little chicks seemed to have steeled themselves; their expressions were filled with determination.
“There is nothing for us to do right this moment, but everything becomes critical the moment people start coming out of the Labyrinth. From then on, we must give it our all. What is the very first thing we must do?”
“When patients start flooding in, we must begin triage immediately.”
Until the Labyrinth gate opened, I had shared every bit of knowledge I possessed with the priests without holding anything back. Unlike my previous life, where I had suffered from having too much information, in this world people did not readily share what they knew.
That was why everyone had studied day and night to absorb the knowledge I offered. Even though having knowledge forcibly crammed into their heads could be unpleasant, they never complained. I was both proud and grateful for their dedication.
“You’ve all worked so hard these past days without showing any sign of fatigue. Thank you for following along so well.”
“We should be the ones thanking you. You’ve given us teachings even though we’ve done nothing to deserve them.”
“That’s right. If Priest Arthur hadn’t taught us, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything even with patients right in front of us.”
“Thank you for teaching us. We will never forget this kindness!”
The little chicks who had once known nothing and simply followed orders had become this composed in just a few days! It was deeply moving and filled me with pride.
I realized that the once-awkward role of administrator had become rather familiar. They say position shapes the person, after all.
“I only did what I had to do. If you wish to repay me, please do so by healing the patients.”
Was it because I had come from a world overflowing with shared knowledge? I simply could not understand this world’s culture of hoarding knowledge and refusing to share it with others.
Didn’t that only make one’s own work more difficult? If colleagues performed well, my own burden would decrease. I couldn’t fathom why they refused to share.
I had heard that knowledge was considered a form of wealth, but I still couldn’t fully accept it. That was why I had not hesitated to share my knowledge with the priests.
‘Grow strong, little ones. That way I can slack off too.’
Patients would be overflowing soon. There was no way I could handle everything alone. Sharing the workload with colleagues would not reduce what I received.
“Let’s do our best together.”
When I held out my hand, they immediately placed theirs on top of it. We huddled together and shouted “Fighting!” in unison.
This was a few hours before hell truly began.
The first step is always the hardest; the second comes much easier.
Once one group had entered the Labyrinth, others followed without hesitation. Because there were no specific entry requirements, the number of patients injured by monsters from the very first day was staggering.
“Please save this one! Priest!!!”
“Aaaargh!!!! Uuuuugh!!!”
Were the monsters stronger than expected, or were the patients simply too weak to challenge them recklessly? An endless stream of injured people poured into the temple.
It was hard to tell whether that place was a Labyrinth or a patient factory. Part of me wanted to seal the entrance again. Of course, that was impossible.
And this volume of patients was surely just a drop in the bucket compared to what we would have to handle in the future.
The fledgling healer priests screamed under the relentless workload. Meal time? Rest time? There was no leisure to consider such things.
Turn around and there were patients. Look to the side and there were patients. No one could possibly say they were going to eat while surrounded by dying people on all sides.
“It’s too much…”
“We’re going to die from treating patients before the patients die.”
Some priests even shed tears from exhaustion. The only time they could rest was when their divine power was completely depleted and they could no longer treat anyone.
‘The official expeditions sent by each country still seem to be exploring deep inside, but those who went in later are like moths flying straight into a flame.’
The national exploration teams had yet to return. They were probably venturing very deep and would return only after thorough exploration.
‘Is the Labyrinth really worth that much money?’
I knew monsters could be turned into money, but I wasn’t sure it was worth risking one’s life. Moreover, allowing entry in this uncontrolled manner seemed like a terrible idea.
Priests were not machines. It was impossible to heal an endless stream of people. This was something that absolutely needed to be addressed.
Even if it was only temporary, now that I was in charge, I had to do something. But refusing to treat certain patients was out of the question. That would only lead to the Holy Empire being attacked by other nations.
Therefore, we needed to reduce the number of patients coming in altogether.
“This cannot continue. When will the additional support arrive?”
Since the Labyrinth gate had opened, Sir Lapel had become extremely busy as well. I hadn’t wanted to burden him, but the situation would only worsen if left unaddressed, so I had no choice but to seek him out.
“I’m sorry. I’ve heard how hard you’ve been working. The next wave of support will be on a much larger scale. Of course, many more healers will be coming as well. Please hold on just a little longer.”
What Sir Lapel said while apologizing was actually welcome news.
“We will need at least twice—perhaps even four times—the current number of personnel. The temple facilities are also insufficient. Patients keep arriving, but we’ve run out of beds and have had to discharge patients who haven’t fully recovered yet.”
“We will expand the temple further.”
If the Holy Empire had any sense at all, they would not neglect the temple built at the Labyrinth. As expected, the mention of insufficient facilities was met with immediate agreement to expand.
“The bishop will be coming as well, correct?”
“Ah.”
I had expected an affirmative answer, but his reaction was different from what I anticipated.
“Why that response? Having a bishop come to take charge of the temple is extremely important. Without a proper person in charge, how can the temple run smoothly?”
“Isn’t Priest Arthur managing everything without any issues? Because of that, it seems the dispatch of a dedicated bishop will take a little more time.”
“???”
This wasn’t the military—were they really going to pile more work on someone just because they were doing it well?!
“I am not suited for administrative work. You do know that I am merely the Chief Healer, right?”
“I am well aware that your abilities far surpass your age. Please continue exactly as you are doing now. I will assist you as much as possible. Just give me a little more time.”
Good heavens! My head was spinning as if I had been struck from behind.
“I am not such an extraordinary person.”
“Just keep doing exactly what you’re doing now.”
He wasn’t even asking for anything more—just to continue as before—yet I found myself speechless.
“Please speak well to the higher-ups for me. We need a bishop.”
“Understood.”
The way he avoided my gaze gave me no confidence whatsoever, but since I had no connections among the upper ranks, I had no choice but to leave the matter to him.
Burying the bitter reality, I changed the subject.
“By the way, are we not entering? Every other country has gone in.”
“You mean the Labyrinth?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know the details, but quite a bit of information regarding the Labyrinth from three hundred years ago remains. After reviewing those records, it seems the higher-ups concluded there is no need to rush.”
Three hundred years was an incredibly long time. Records from that era might have survived if well preserved, but they could easily have been lost if not properly maintained. In that regard, it appeared the Holy Empire had kept its records from three hundred years ago in excellent condition.
“Were there no entry conditions or similar details in the old records?”
“Pardon? Entry conditions?”
“There are far too many patients. Because anyone can enter, people with insufficient skill go in anyway and come out injured. If people continue entering without any requirements, the priests will collapse from divine power exhaustion.”
I understood how difficult it would be to impose entry restrictions on a Labyrinth located in neutral territory. But it was absolutely necessary.
It would prevent meaningless loss of life and reduce the burden on the priests—a solution that killed two birds with one stone.
“At the very least, there should be a minimum qualification test. If we leave it like this, even children who know nothing might insist on going in, wouldn’t they?”
At my analogy, Sir Lapel’s face hardened visibly.