Chapter 270: The Deepening Secret of the Dungeon
Chapter 270: The Deepening Secret of the Dungeon
“Oh my, it’s been quite a while.”
The moment I entered the High Priestess’s room, I immediately got an earful, just as I’d expected.
No matter how much trust I’d built with her, my promise to stop by for my studies hadn’t exactly been nullified. I guess skipping out without notice was a problem after all.
For the record, I had already separated from Leia and Silvia, who had been clinging to my sides.
Even I’m not shameless enough to walk around the temple with a woman on each arm.
From my perspective, this place was like my in-laws’ home, and the High Priestess was basically my mother-in-law. I have at least that much common sense.
“I-I’m sorry.”
When I immediately apologized, the High Priestess looked perplexed for some reason.
“What? Ah, no. I wasn’t scolding you. I was simply saying that it’s been a while.”
“Oh, I see. Yes. It has been a while, High Priestess.”
It seemed I had misunderstood.
The High Priestess has a rather stern-looking face, so I guess I got scared for nothing.
“So, what brings you here? It doesn’t seem like you’ve come for your lessons.”
The High Priestess said this as she glanced at Leia beside me, and then at Silvia, who was standing a short distance behind.
A stranger was following us from behind, clutching her chest and letting out strange noises like ‘Hahh, huaah, heuk.’
It must have been a curious sight, yet she merely tilted her head for a moment before asking my business. Truly impressive. I could feel her adult dignity.
Come to think of it, I wonder how old she is? Leia thinks of her as a mother, so I imagine she can’t be young. But from her appearance, she looks like a beautiful woman in her early thirties.
It’s so hard to guess anyone’s age by their appearance in this world.
Well, it’s not like I’m in any position to talk, having Diana—the final boss of that particular field—by my side.
“High Priestess. Actually, Guwon-ssi came with me today regarding my class change.”
Leia spoke up with a gentle smile before I could answer.
But upon hearing that, the High Priestess’s expression sharpened for some reason.
This time, it was definitely not my imagination.
“A class change? Leia, I’ve told you before, you don’t need to worry about that. You are more devout than anyone. It is simply not yet time. The day will soon come when the Goddess acknowledges you. And you. To think you came here for something like that, bothering Leia…”
“N-No! High Priestess! It’s not like that!”
Realizing the High Priestess had misunderstood her, Leia hurriedly stopped her.
“I… I became a High Priestess!”
“…What? What did you say?”
At Leia’s confession, the High Priestess wore an expression of complete confusion. She furrowed her brow, tilted her head slightly, and began to mull over Leia’s words.
“I’m saying, I became a High Priestess.”
When Leia repeated herself, the High Priestess finally looked at her with an expression of disbelief.
“What in the world… No, how did you perform the ceremony? Did you ask one of the other High Priests?”
As she said this, the High Priestess looked a little sad.
Leia must have noticed, as she gently approached the High Priestess, took both her hands, and pulled them to her chest in an embrace.
So it really is a habit. She doesn’t just do it to me.
Still, I doubt she’d do it to any other guy, but I should probably give her a little warning later. I can’t let any other bastard experience that sensation.
“No. We didn’t perform a ceremony.”
“…Perhaps you could explain in detail.”
At Leia’s words, the High Priestess finally spoke with a look that said she had given up trying to figure it out on her own.
“Yes, well, you see…”
In a calm voice, Leia began to explain the circumstances of how I had helped her change her class.
As the story progressed, the High Priestess’s face became a mask of astonishment.
With a look of utter disbelief, yet also a look that somehow said she’d expected as much, the High Priestess stared at me intently.
I could understand the former emotion, but what was with the latter?
“So, to summarize, this was your power.”
“Yes. Leia was surprised too, but is it really that shocking? Other jobs…”
“The holy professions are different from other jobs. They are bestowed purely by the Goddess. And for you to be able to change such a job at will… you truly are…”
The High Priestess trailed off.
Then, with an expression even more businesslike than usual, she looked me straight in the eye.
“And so, there is something I would like to ask you.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“That power to change a holy professional’s class. Can it be used on people other than Leia?”
“High Priestess!”
The first to react to her question was Leia.
She cried out, reacting more intensely than usual.
But the High Priestess, while wearing an apologetic expression, kept her gaze fixed on my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Leia. I truly am, but this is something I must know.”
Looking at the High Priestess’s face, I could tell that she really didn’t want to be doing this.
Leia, who had known her far longer than I had, would know that even better.
Because of this, Leia’s expression fell, and she looked at me with anxious eyes.
It’s okay, Leia. You don’t have to look like that.
“So, what is the answer?”
“Changing the class of any priestess other than Leia is probably impossible.”
“Why is that? According to your explanation, the class change was possible due to a skill effect, correct? If that’s the case, shouldn’t it be usable on others as well?”
“The activation condition for the skill is quite strict. It won’t activate unless it’s for someone I truly love.”
I wasn’t lying.
I just didn’t explain who the subject of that love was. Does it activate for someone I truly love, or for someone who truly loves me?
The latter is the correct answer, so in truth, it could be activated by anyone who genuinely loves me, not just Leia. Silvia was already proof of that.
But I deliberately used ambiguous phrasing.
If the truth got out, a great many women would probably try to make themselves truly love me. And not just priestesses.
The old me would have revealed the truth immediately and enjoyed the situation.
But not anymore. I already have three people I genuinely like, with Silvia as a bonus. I don’t really have much desire to add more women to the mix at this point.
Hearing my answer, both Leia and the High Priestess let out sighs of relief at the same time.
It seemed the High Priestess also didn’t want a situation where I could indiscriminately grant class changes to anyone.
No, to be precise, it’s a bit different.
She was checking to see if I was capable of it. As a holy professional, the High Priestess probably hoped I could grant a class change to everyone.
But from her position as Leia’s mother figure, she wouldn’t have wanted that.
It’s probably correct to think of that sigh of relief as one she let out as Leia’s mother.
“To think there’s such a condition. The Goddess is truly wise.”
For some reason, the High Priestess’s faith in the Goddess seemed to have deepened.
Well, I guess it’s not wrong, since the Saint job itself was granted by the Goddess.
“Even so, what Leia said before might not be entirely wrong.”
“Huh? What was that?”
“That you are the Goddess’s proxy.”
“W-Whaaat?!”
I mean, Leia has been thinking that way more and more lately, but I never expected the High Priestess to say it.
Judging by her expression, she wasn’t entirely serious, but it didn’t seem like a complete joke either.
“Why are you so surprised? You seem to think it’s absolutely impossible, don’t you? Despite receiving so much of the Goddess’s grace.”
“Grace… Well, you’re not wrong, but…”
“Did you truly not hear anything from the Goddess when you came to this world? Is it possible you came here with some kind of mission?”
Finding my ambiguous attitude amusing, the High Priestess spoke teasingly with a slight smile in her eyes.
Even if she says that, I really didn't hear anything. I’ve never even seen the Goddess’s face… no. Actually, I guess I have seen her once.
In the opening cinematic when I first started the game.
I’m sure the goddess popped up in the opening cinematic and said something. What was it again? It’s been a while, so I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was something like, ‘Grow stronger through sex!’ It was some crazy line like that.
But they wouldn’t believe me even if I told them. “The Goddess sent me here and told me to have a lot of sex.” The moment I said that, who knows how they’d treat me.
In this world, sex is the means of growth, but paradoxically, it’s not like concepts of chastity don’t exist.
Even adventurers, who have the most indiscriminate sex for the sake of growth, tend to stick to one person once they find a partner.
So if I, a man who already has three partners, were to say, ‘The Goddess sent me to have a lot of sex,’ they would surely retort that the Goddess would never say such a thing.
So, there was only one thing I could say.
“No. I really didn’t hear anything.”
For the sake of the Goddess’s honor and my own, let’s not bring up that opening cinematic.
“Are you sure? Is it not possible that you’ve simply forgotten?”
I can’t completely rule out that possibility.
I believe I came to this world the moment I logged into the game, but it’s possible something happened in between that I’ve just forgotten.
That kind of plot development was pretty common in the various stories I saw back in my original world.
“As far as I can remember, there’s nothing.”
“I see. If only there were someone who could hear the Goddess’s voice at times like this, we could confirm it.”
“I take it there’s no one like that now?”
“…Come to think of it, we haven’t covered that in your lessons yet. The truth is, yes. It’s a shameful story for us holy professionals, but no one can hear the Goddess’s voice anymore. The method for hearing her voice was traditionally passed down through the generations of Saintesses, but…”
“So there is no Saintess right now?”
“Yes, that’s right. There have been a few High Priestesses who met the minimum requirements to become a Saintess, but none were chosen by the Goddess.”
The minimum requirements to become a Saintess… Ah, she must mean the job level.
And from the sounds of it, it seems a Saintess is a class change from High Priestess.
Then this is an easy problem to solve, isn’t it?
“If that’s the case, don’t worry! I’m sure I can make Leia a Saintess someday!”
We’ll keep going to the dungeon and she’ll keep growing. Eventually, I’ll be able to make Leia a Saintess.
“I see. That would be a very joyous occasion, but…”
Even so, the High Priestess still seemed unconvinced.
“Is there still a problem?”
“Even if Leia becomes a Saintess, it doesn’t mean she can restore a technique that has already been lost.”
The thought seemed to depress her, and she murmured with a slight furrow in her brow.
“But she can.”
“What? What do you mean?”
I hadn’t explained everything about the Apostle Appointment to the High Priestess, so she looked quite surprised.
But I was quite confident.
It makes sense. If a method for hearing the Goddess’s voice was passed down through generations, that means it’s a skill, right?
Then it’s a simple matter of investing points in it from the skill window.
Come to think of it, Leia hasn’t checked her skill window since her Apostle Appointment.
Right after the Apostle Appointment, Leia was just too seductive.
Ugh. Let’s not think about that right now. Getting hard here would be dangerous.
I suppressed the worldly desires creeping into my mind and opened Leia’s skill window.
Yes! I was right! It’s here!
And I was able to find the target skill quite easily.