Don't Make Me the Party Leader
Don't make me the party leader, okay? The church is assigning people to monitor the saintess, so one of them will have to stick with me at all times. Iris said she'd escort me, but I wasn't naive enough to take that at face value. I'd lived long enough to know just how dark the world could get.
One of Hamill or Iris had to stay with me. Hanbyeol was insisting on coming along no matter what. Each party needed a healer for emergencies, and at minimum, a tank and a healer. Melee warriors could pull double duty as tanks, which was fine, but the real issue was how much healing Iris and Hamill could provide.
For a small four- or five-person party, a single priest could handle healing alone. But could a half-baked class like a red mage cover heals for four people? Unless the tank had self-heals, I doubted it. It reminded me of those bridge-crossing puzzles, and I felt a pang of frustration. I'd already used my brain enough at work—did I have to do it in a game too? That's why I stuck to no-brainer puzzle games. And yet, here I was, studying raid mob patterns and plotting heal tactics for efficiency and high-difficulty content. The irony made me chuckle.
"Then Hamill joins the standby team. Iris, me, and Hanbyeol on the exploration team for now..." That locked in three women. Between Iris and Hamill, I'd pick Iris. Hamill gave me the creeps on a visceral level—his blank, unreadable face, brushing off his mistakes with a half-assed apology. If I were HR and he was interviewing, he'd be out the door. The guy's personality was rotten.
The last spot was for a tank. Or we could do three on standby and five on our side. Iris had a spear, so she was melee DPS at least, but with her slender frame in cloth armor, tanking was out of the question. Sure, some warriors wore cloth for magic resistance in certain raids, but for an unknown dungeon, physical defense was the standard priority. So we needed at least one Gae Saeng guild member.
Since I couldn't gauge their skills, I picked the one who seemed least intimidating. "Could you handle shield duty?"
"If you're asking, sis, of course!"
He'd only had a one-handed sword before, so adding a shield was no big deal? No complaints about weapon proficiency penalties either—he must be a newbie who hadn't settled on a main weapon yet. Despite his rough face, it made him seem kinda cute. Newbies are precious, game or no.
"Four like this. Four like that. Should work."
The guys on the all-male team grimaced without Hamill, but I had no interest in watching men whine, so I ignored them. Meanwhile, Jimmy joined us, slinging on his bag of throwing weapons, and got the rundown on the comp.
"Splitting you and Hanbyeol would be most efficient, but if that's not what you want, we'll roll with it."
I felt like I'd been shoved into the leader role against my will, but what could I do? Familiar faces were best. And I couldn't just ditch Hanbyeol. The older one had to handle the dirty work.
Everyone was assembled, no time to waste, so we'd hash out the rest en route. We set off toward the dungeon. It was too far for a carriage, but an hour's walk beyond the walls. If I was fine, everyone nodded they'd walk no problem.
Maybe the hot bath had eased my fatigue. Plus other perks, but anyway, trekking a bit wasn't tough. I wasn't worried about the others, though Hanbyeol might tire—I asked, and she just laughed and clung to me.
"With you, sis, nothing's tiring!"
Good thing everyone watched us fondly. If I were still a guy, anyone crushing on Hanbyeol would've glared daggers. Even Iris just smiled at us.
Passing stone medieval buildings, guard posts started appearing. Patrols were out despite the distance to the walls. Slave trading in a city this safe? Kinda sad. But slavery was legal here—what could you do? I wasn't some fantasy novel protag sparking a revolution. Every place had its laws. As a small fry, my own safety came first. If that made those around me happy too, great. I pitied the slaves, but I wasn't risking my neck to free them.
A bitter smile crossed my lips. Just days ago, I'd been slave-bound myself. I'd even called myself a "wage slave" in group chats with game buddies. Even in our "equal" modern world, classes existed. Best not to overthink it—kept things simple.
Lost in those thoughts, my face must've darkened; Hanbyeol looked worried. "Sis, you okay? Wanna rest?"
The guild guys made a fuss. "If you're tired, sis, I can carry you!"
"Who'd want a ride from an ugly mug like you? There's a rock to sit on up ahead!"
"I'm fine. Just spaced out."
I didn't want to linger outside. It wasn't my house, but I wanted back ASAP. That post-work "straight home" itch was universal. Still, no spreading gloom—I kept it light, teasing Iris. "FSM doctrine seems pretty lax, right? 'Love thy neighbor' and such?"
"You know your stuff."
"Then it probably says not to force faith on others. So who do inquisitors judge?"
Impersonating gods for sedition? Sure, purge 'em. But medieval inquisitors evoked witch hunts, innocents burned. Media painted them as zealot militants. As an innocent torture victim myself, I wondered.
"People think inquisitors are cold, merciless. That right?"
Not my call to make, I tilted my head. A guild guy piped up. "Thought they were creepy whip-crackers dragging folks off. Never dreamed such pretty, cool ones existed."
Iris laughed at the blunt flattery. "Other faiths' inquisitors might be. Haven't crossed paths, so can't say. But FSM is merciful even to other gods' followers. We judge our heretics—apostates, those scamming in the god's name. You got suspicion at first, so we investigated. Hanbyeol's loyalty cleared you."
"Ehehe."
Hanbyeol scratched her head sheepishly. Recalling it twisted my heart; I gazed at her pityingly. My tail, reading my mood, reached out to stroke her back gently.
"And corrupt high clergy..."
Independent from the Pope? I half-listened as Iris explained. The guild guys were hooked; she seemed to proselytize, reeling them in with pirate origins, lax rules. It veered into noodle praise, cracking me up. Maybe hit a good ramen spot post-dungeon. Iris would foot the bill anyway.
An hour of chit-chat brought us to the dungeon—a plain cave mouth, like most. Sudden appearance; city officially tapped Gae Saeng first. No report on prior Ivy/Hanbyeol flop—probably went rogue, off-books. So Iris came for resurrection fraud, met me instead of seeking her lost sis.
"Thought on the way: you're too combat-focused on comp, saintess."
Jimmy spoke up. I gestured go on, tilting my head.
"With Hanbyeol and the inquisitor's requests, yeah, only tank spot left. But dungeons need trap detection/disarm. Anyone here skilled?"
I glanced at Hanbyeol and Iris; they shook heads slightly. I mumbled, "Traps matter, but tank's safer."
"Expand exploration, shrink standby."
I'd considered it, but fewer people meant more burden. Voicing worries, Hamill thumped his chest. "I've got it. No one gets near the entrance."
Max level my ass, I thought, but a trap specialist was welcome. I nodded. Jimmy got envious looks from Hamill's standby duo as he joined us.
"We'll head in then."
Frontline: shield guy and Jimmy (assassin/rogue vibe). Back: Hanbyeol and me. Iris floated between as needed. Into the dungeon.
No ambushes at the mouth, but dark quick. I stopped Hanbyeol's light spell; Jimmy lit a torch.
"Save mana."
"I disagree. Torches are consumables. Mana regen."
"But combat could drop anytime."
"Then what if torches run out? Low mob density early—light spell first, torches later."
Entry spat already awkward. As de facto leader, mediating sucked. Both valid, but torch lit—I soothed Hanbyeol. "Already burning; bad to snuff. Bear it this once?"
"Hmph, only 'cause it's you, sis."
I smiled apologetically at Jimmy; he nodded, leading with shield guy. No rushing—trap risks. We followed his all-clear signals. Shield guy scanned with his torso-sized shield while Jimmy poked around.
Ten minutes in, Jimmy raised the torch. "Something there."
"Monster?"
"Not moving?"
Hanbyeol and I froze; others drew steel, approaching a slumped silhouette—humanoid?
"Clothes. No nearby traps, but could be trapped itself. Careful."
We edged up, keeping distance. Up close, it felt off. Too flat for a body. But the unease wasn't that.
Closer: two robes tangled on the floor. Like a person vanished, leaving garb. Bones would've held shape if dead. Empty robes in collapse pose...
"Hanbyeol... we said we were found naked, right...?"
"..."
Her face fell. Same thought? The "tangled bodies" silhouette: priest and mage robes. Huge knife gash, blackened blood on mage chest; priest's soaked in stains, ravaged head to toe.
"Sis... looks like us."
More like traces of the originals, pre-possession.