Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The Adventurer Somehow Survived
“...Fuck!”
At some point, I opened my eyes like I had been struck by lightning.
The last thing I remembered before my consciousness broke was me crying and clinging to Kaoli’s pants.
I didn’t even have time to think where I was.
I rolled off the bed with my aching body and hit the floor.
“Elain!”
That damn bitch.
Is she alive? She has to be alive.
Her smiling face flickered in my mind.
My injured leg barely responded. After a few failed attempts to move it, I gave up and started crawling.
I opened the door and dragged myself outside.
A solemn sound of organ pipes echoed through the air, mixed with people chanting prayers.
So this was a church.
Ignoring the surprised stares directed at me, I crawled toward the nearest nun.
“Excuse me. Is Elain safe? Ah, Elain is a blonde girl, a bit… mentally unstable, who was injured with me—”
“Please calm yourself, brother. The sister you are speaking of is safe.”
“…Ah.”
The nun folded her hands neatly and bowed slightly.
The moment I heard Elain was safe, my strength drained out of me and my head drooped.
“I will guide you. Please follow me.”
The nun walked ahead.
I followed by crawling.
Not even helping me. What a cruel woman.
“Uh, where are we going?”
Wasn’t the treatment room just back there?
Churches in this world doubled as hospitals.
They usually had healing prayer rooms that functioned like emergency wards.
But this nun was walking right past it, heading outside.
I had to question it.
“…Don’t tell me?”
Is Elain dead?
Was she taking me to a grave?
My anxiety spiked and tears welled up.
Did I lose my first party member like this?
“Here we are, brother.”
The nun led me to a resting garden outside the church.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a graveyard.
“Elain…”
And there I saw her.
Elain was alive.
Completely fine.
Crunch—
Crunch crunch—
“Ah, commander—no, leader! You’re here? Hehe.”
“….”
“The sister here ate two full portions of pork leg overnight. She has quite the appetite.”
She was way too alive.
“The food she ate is blessed church food. Total cost is 50 gold, brother.”
“….”
The problem wasn’t that she was alive.
The problem was that she had eaten my entire day’s income in one night.
“Commander, did you miss me? Were you crying for me?”
“Yes, I was crying.”
“R-really? Because of me?!”
“I was thinking… why didn’t I kill you back then. What a tragedy. You fat pig.”
“H-hey! That’s too much! Fat pig?!”
Elain sulked and put down the pork leg she was holding.
Thank god.
She was alive.
Elain being alive was very good news.
It meant I didn’t have to pay her penalty fee, which protected our party’s financial reserve.
“Brother.”
“Yes!”
But separately, I had a serious problem with the church debt.
My mind started clearing, and I suddenly felt alert.
This is insane. I got financially chained to a church.
Honestly, I should’ve sold my organs back then instead.
“Two rank-2 priests offered prayers for you this time.”
“Ah, yes. I am deeply grateful for the grace of God.”
Grace my ass.
These religious bastards were all scammers.
In most games, priests are special.
They heal, buff, and massively increase a party’s survivability.
This world wasn’t different.
In fact, they were even more important.
Their prayers could heal injuries regardless of type, and their miracles and blessings could multiply a party’s strength several times over.
So naturally, they were invaluable before dungeon raids.
But adventurers avoided them whenever possible.
Because…
“Total cost of the two priests’ prayers… is 300 gold.”
“…Oh my God.”
These bastards were insanely expensive.
Healing costs were absurd enough to make you want to smash your head into a wall.
A high-ranking priest could even restore missing body parts.
They were basically “name your price” merchants.
If they were just expensive, big guilds would’ve bought them outright.
But no.
These holy bastards refused to enter dungeons, claiming some nonsense about “universal compassion.”
The only priests who willingly entered dungeons were either excommunicated or battle-crazy holy knights.
“Three… three hundred gold?”
Elain started counting on her fingers, then foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
“You… you don’t intend to pay the divine debt?”
“Well… it’s not that I won’t.”
The nun narrowed her eyes.
If you don’t pay divine debt, you get punished.
Usually through forced labor.
That’s why churches were always full of people working instead of praying.
Look at that muscular man sweeping the floor with dead eyes.
That would be me soon.
“Don’t worry, Commander. I’m good at cleaning. I was a maid!”
“You smashing things and throwing them into a trash bin is not cleaning, Elain.”
“…Ah?”
While I hesitated, the nun calmly sipped her tea.
“Actually, there is no need for payment from you two.”
“…What?”
What the hell is wrong with this woman?
Is she dying soon or something?
“The debt was already paid. By Sir Kaoli.”
“…Ah.”
Right.
I had agreed to Kaoli’s request in exchange for church services.
But I didn’t feel relieved.
Kaoli was also an adventurer. He would demand something equally valuable later.
“Since it came up, you should meet him. Sir Kaoli requested to see Siu as soon as you woke up.”
“Understood. Thank you for your kindness.”
The nun smiled slightly.
“You don’t need to be polite. You’d rather punch my head in right now, wouldn’t you?”
“…Not at all.”
Damn it. She’s sharp.
We quickly left the church.
“Phew.”
My body wasn’t fully recovered, but I could walk.
“Elain, how are you feeling?”
“I’m totally fine. You, Commander?”
“I’m fine too.”
Even after being that badly injured, one night of rest made me functional again.
Priestly healing really was miraculous.
“What do you think Kaoli will ask for?”
“No idea. Probably nothing easy.”
“Yeah…”
While talking, we arrived at our tiny five-pyeong adventurer office.
No matter how shabby, it felt like home.
Even the broken sofa felt more comforting than the church bed.
“Glad you recovered.”
Kaoli arrived almost immediately after.
“Ah, Kaoli.”
We offered him lukewarm barley tea.
“Sorry it’s not much.”
“Ha ha! Don’t worry. This place has its charm.”
He drank it casually.
“How’s your body?”
“Thanks to you, I’m fully recovered.”
“That’s good.”
“You said you had a request.”
“Cough… you really don’t let things go, do you?”
“Sorry, I’m just like that.”
“That’s what I like about you.”
He pulled out a folded parchment.
“Read it.”
I unfolded it.
A quest report.
「Report: Goblin Plains Orc Tribe ‘Protruding Fang’ leader has been defeated. Dungeon downgraded from Red to Yellow. Public raid available from 832.03.09.」
My eyes widened.
Kaoli smiled.
“This…”
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
This wasn’t just a report.
Dungeons are freshest right after discovery.
That means the rewards are at their peak.
First-clear rewards go to the scouting party.
After that—
The real gold rush happens when a Red dungeon drops to Yellow.
“Why give this to us?”
“I told you. I like you. I want your party to cooperate with Carlos Guild.”
No reason to refuse.
For a small party like ours, a Yellow dungeon raid was a dream.
And a major guild was inviting us.
I closed my eyes.
Ten years as an adventurer.
That excitement you feel before danger…
You never really lose it.
“I’ll do my best to repay this trust.”
“Good! I knew you’d say that!”
Kaoli patted my shoulder.
“Rest first. We’ll delay the raid. Prepare properly.”
He left.
“Are we recruiting new members?”
“Yes. We have to.”
“I see…”
Elain looked slightly down.
“Elain.”
“Yes?”
“You’re doing enough already. Don’t overwork yourself.”
“…Okay.”
There was a lot to do.
Sell loot, repair gear, restock supplies, recruit members.
The next day—
“Nice to meet you, benefactor. I am Gye Rinshua. I heard you are recruiting new members…”
“Why the hell am I in this trash place?”
“…Why are they here?”