The Alchemist's Way
Piren flinched at Seong-il's sudden words, but as a seasoned corrupt priest, he quickly grasped the meaning and replied.
"Hmm... When exactly did you notice?"
"Haha... You were shouting at the top of your lungs. It would've been strange not to hear it. I have pretty good ears, you see."
Piren glared at him. "That was a secret room. Unless someone deliberately eavesdrops, there's no way to hear anything from outside."
Seong-il looked at the threatening priest with an expression of pure amusement. "And? Are you going to threaten me? Someone who might continue donating to the temple?"
At Seong-il's sharp observation that struck right at the heart of the matter, Priest Piren flinched. Then, as if the scowl had never existed, he smiled and answered.
"Haha... Of course I wasn't trying to threaten you, Brother Seong-il. I was simply startled and spoke out of turn... Haha..."
"Well... Fine. Let's drop the pretense. What exactly would I need to do for you to continue supporting our temple?"
Obviously, it's Sophia the nun.
But Seong-il hid his dark intentions toward her and continued the sly conversation, probing the priest's true thoughts.
"What can you offer me?"
Piren's blood boiled at Seong-il's smug grin, but since he was the one in need, he swallowed his anger and tried to appease him.
"Of course, the Church of Light will provide full support, along with holy water and holy artifacts whenever you need them!"
"Those things aren't necessary for me anymore..."
Finally unable to hold back, Priest Piren exploded in a furious tone.
"Are you mocking me right now? If you don't want to do it, just say so! Are you playing with me? How dare you?"
Even in the face of Piren's rage, Seong-il remained completely unfazed, smiling as he replied.
"Why are you getting so angry? Couldn't you offer something a little more... different?"
"For example, introducing me to a pure and beautiful woman..."
Only then did Priest Piren finally understand Seong-il's true intention. His expression hardened as he spoke.
"...Sister Sophia is far too devout. She would never accept such a request."
"That's not my problem. Isn't it your job as a priest to make it possible?"
With those words, Seong-il pulled a pouch from his inner pocket, placed it on the desk, and continued.
"Let's be honest, Priest. You need gold. I need a beautiful woman. If you cooperate properly, I'm more than willing to open my purse strings anytime."
"Hmm... Then I could introduce you to the highest-class brothel..."
At those words, Seong-il quietly picked up the pouch and made a show of putting it back into his pocket.
"I can visit places like that whenever I want without your help. You're not showing much sincerity."
Finally yielding to Seong-il, Piren grabbed the hand holding the pouch and spoke.
"I'll do it. Brother. I'll somehow persuade Sister Sophia. So please continue your support."
Satisfied with the priest's firm answer, Seong-il handed over the pouch of gold coins and said,
"I'm relieved to hear you say that. Consider this a personal gift, separate from the donation."
"!"
Seong-il placed the pouch of gold into the stunned priest's hand and continued.
"And... If Sister Sophia listens well, the sponsor is satisfied, and you introduce me to another attractive woman in the future, the donation amount might even double."
"...!!"
Having said his piece, Seong-il turned his back on Piren, left the secret room, and added,
"I'll visit again at noon tomorrow. Until then."
Once Seong-il had left, Piren muttered to himself.
"Hmm... His attitude is arrogant, but with that much donation, it's not a request I can't fulfill."
In reality, provincial branches far from the main temple often had nuns personally 'blessing' devout sponsors. While such things would never happen near the main temple where power was concentrated, in distant provinces where the main order's reach was weak, it was common for young and beautiful nuns to offer their bodies to nobles or wealthy commoners.
Due to the polytheistic system where churches competed for believers, temple income was always unstable. The constant comparison of superiority or inferiority in power compared to other orders made sponsors waver.
The Church of Lydian, Goddess of Love and Fertility, was notorious for using their young and beautiful priestesses—blessed by the goddess—to seduce and steal sponsors after initial missionary work.
Of course, in the capital or major cities with abundant population and finances, losing believers over such matters was almost unheard of. Adenheim, where Priest Piren served, was the kingdom's second-largest city, so it had plenty of believers and its financial situation wasn't bad at all.
The problem was Piren's own position. He had been a promising priest, but after losing out in the power struggles within the order, he had been pushed to a dead-end post. Only after offering an enormous bribe to the Adenheim archbishop had he barely managed to enter the southeastern district under the archbishop's influence.
Damn those penniless bastards.
The southeastern district of Adenheim was home to poor dockworkers and day laborers. While there were many believers, the amount of donations was not particularly high. Of course, their offerings alone were enough to run the local parish, but after paying the tribute to the archbishop, the southeastern parish barely had enough for operating costs, leaving almost nothing for Piren to pocket.
Right now I'm squeezing the parish dry to pay the tribute, but I can't keep this up.
Piren knew all too well that if the tribute decreased even slightly, the Adenheim bishop would abandon him without hesitation.
"Damn it... I wanted to stop playing pimp at my age."
Muttering to himself, the priest headed toward where Sister Sophia was.
The next day at noon, when Seong-il arrived, Priest Piren came out to greet him with a smiling face.
"Ah... Brother Seong-il. You've arrived."
"Yes, Priest. It's a good day. Have you given any thought to what I mentioned yesterday?"
At Seong-il's words, Priest Piren smiled benevolently, placed a hand on his shoulder, and led him into the temple. He returned the greetings of believers who bowed to him with a warm smile, then continued speaking to Seong-il.
"Of course! Sister Sophia has incredibly deep faith, you know."
"She was so moved by the devout appearance you've shown so far that she said she wants to give a 'personal' blessing alone in the same place where I gave mine yesterday. Hehe..."
The believers and employees conducting voluntary prayers nearby assumed the conversation between Seong-il and Priest Piren was related to faith, so they showed no suspicion and simply greeted them while making way.
After continuing their conversation, they arrived in front of the sanctuary. Priest Piren pushed Seong-il's back and said,
"Go inside and receive the nun's blessing."
"By the way, the interior is extremely well 'soundproofed,' so even if you make 'noise' in surprise at the miracle during the blessing, no one will be startled. Feel free to receive her 'divine grace' to your heart's content."
With that benevolent smile still on his face, Priest Piren emphasized certain words in strange places before quietly taking his leave.
Seong-il entered the sanctuary, his body wrapped in a strange, rising excitement.
There, before him, was Sister Sophia quietly kneeling in prayer.
"Ah. Sister Sophia?"
At his voice, Sophia's shoulders trembled slightly as she knelt in prayer. She soon rose from her spot, turned to look at him, and greeted him.
"Ah. Brother Seong-il, you've come."
She offered him an awkward smile. Looking at her, Seong-il sat down on the chair beside the desk where he had made the deal with Priest Piren yesterday. In an arrogant posture, he gazed at her and said,
"So... Sister Sophia. How far has the discussion with Priest Piren gone?"
At those words, Sophia's body flinched and trembled. She recalled the shocking conversation she had shared with Piren the previous day.
The previous afternoon.
"...Sister Sophia."
Piren called her with a hardened expression. Sensing a hint of foreboding from his demeanor, Sophia tried to calm her heart as she approached him.
"What is it, Priest?"
"I have something important to discuss with you in private."
With those words, Priest Piren led Sophia to the secret room.
Once there, he spoke to her.
"Sister Sophia. I'll ask you honestly. What do you think of our sponsor, Brother Seong-il?"
Sophia felt puzzled by the question but expressed her impression of him.
"Ah... While he isn't a believer of our faith, he is a wonderful person who has given us considerable support for the sake of our church."
"Good... I'm glad you think so."
Priest Piren spoke, then sighed and took a breath before dropping the bombshell.
"I want you to seduce Sponsor Seong-il with your body and make sure he doesn't leave us."
"!!"
Shocked by his words, Sophia raised her voice in confusion.
"Priest! How can you say such a thing to a nun who serves God!"
Piren ignored her sudden change in attitude—she who had always obeyed him meekly—and continued.
"Of course you'd be angry. But I'd appreciate it if you listened to everything I have to say before you judge."
"Speak, then. But if it's nonsense, I won't hold back anymore."
At her words, Piren nodded and began persuading her by mixing clever lies into the deal he had made with Seong-il.
"I'll be honest. Sponsor Seong-il says he can no longer support us. Do you know why?"
"Well... Isn't it because he no longer needs our help?"
Piren shook his head at her response.
"It seems his heart has been swayed toward the Church of Lydian, the Goddess of Love and Fertility."
At his words, Sophia flinched in surprise and stammered.
"Th-that... That would mean... he has received the teachings of that god..."
"Stop talking nonsense. You already have a rough idea, don't you? About how the priestesses of Lydian draw in sponsors who show hesitant attitudes."
As Piren had guessed, it seemed Sister Sophia had some inkling of the Lydian Church's missionary methods. When her silence continued, Piren began telling outright lies without hesitation.
"He originally intended to continue supporting our temple, but it seems he was recently converted through the body of a Lydian priestess and had his heart stolen by her."
"But here's the thing. From what I've learned, that priestess isn't even more attractive than you in face or figure."
At his blatant sexual evaluation of her, Sophia felt a wave of shame and replied,
"Priest...! How can you say such filthy things..."
"Be honest! Has our God ever forbidden priests or nuns from marrying?"
"The reason most clergy don't marry is simply to show complete devotion to God and to distance themselves as much as possible from worldly matters, becoming free from wealth and blood ties, isn't it?"
"However, with your devout mindset, I believe you wouldn't fall into corruption just because of marriage or sex."
"So I'm asking you. Please seduce Sponsor Seong-il so that his support can continue."
Caught in bewilderment, Sophia began making excuses in a flustered tone.
"B-but... There's no guarantee that he'll fall for my seduction, and if I fail, the honor of our church will..."
Mocking her naive excuses, Piren began telling her about the deal he had made with Seong-il.
"The matter with the sponsor has already been settled."
"...What?!"
Sophia, who had never imagined he would trade her purity for support, was struck with tremendous shock.
"The sponsor said that while he certainly respects the blessing from the Lydian priestess, if our temple provides the same serv— I mean, blessing, he would be willing to continue his support."
Then Piren pulled out a pouch of gold coins from his robe, placed it on the desk, and showed it to her as if flaunting it.
"Don't you need additional funds to stably operate the orphanage?"
Only then did her reason, which had been drowning in rage, embarrassment, and fear, slowly begin to return.
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I'll provide ten gold per month—half of the amount the sponsor offered—as a budget for the orphanage you run. 'Of course, the sponsor offered thirty gold, but shouldn't I, as the head priest of this district, take about ten gold for myself?'"
At the unexpected enormous sum, Sophia was so shocked she stammered.
"S-such a large amount? B-but... What you're suggesting, Priest, is n-not right..."
Seeing her waver, Piren pressed her with an ultimatum.
"Really? Then there will be no more support. And starting tomorrow, that orphanage will be closed."
"That orphanage was never at a level our poor parish could properly operate anyway."
"It had been the main cause of the temple's financial collapse for months, but I was moved by your dedication and helped you despite the strain."
"We had reached our limit and I was about to discuss closing the orphanage with you when this sponsor suddenly appeared and offered a large sum. Only with those funds was I barely able to secure operating money to give to you."
"Yet now you're trying to let that wavering sponsor leave without making any effort at all."
It was a contradictory statement, but Sophia couldn't refute it. Although it had been for the holy water, it was true that Seong-il had donated a large amount of money.
Seeing her hesitation, Piren drove the final nail in.
"Please help me. If you can't sacrifice yourself because you hate me, then do it for the poor children in the orphanage..."
Ruen, Elsie, Mirian...
The faces of the orphanage children who had lost their parents and struggled to survive in the back alleys flashed through Sophia's mind.
I can't send those children back to those alleys...
Yes... I'll be the one to sacrifice. If I sacrifice myself, everyone can be happy.
After agonizing for a long time, Sophia finally spoke with difficulty.
"I understand... Priest. I'll try my best."
"Thank you! Sister Sophia!"
Piren grabbed her hands and bowed his head in gratitude.