episode_0053

‘What kind of horrible thing are you saying…?’

Although this assignment was longer than planned, I am also someone who has lived in other places.

What if you tell someone like that, “You’re probably never going to get out of here again”?

“What’s so hard about this… .”

Since the other person started the fight first, I forgot to say thank you and ended up blurting out something rude without realizing it.

Fortunately, Father Cardon did not take my words badly and instead told me as if this were reality.

“There are few people who can stand this place. Why on earth did you create such a monster?”

“ Bishop Haman said he liked this and that he would continue to expand this system in the future.”

“In other places, I’ll make things easier for you, so you’ll like it.”

“If we continue to increase the number of people in our temple, things will get better.”

We’re continuing to add more people, so I’m sure things will get better someday.

“No matter how many people there are, how can you endure the patients rushing in all at once?”

“As the number of priests increases, the number of patients they can take care of will increase, and the number of patients returning to the person in charge will decrease.”

In fact, I really hope that happens.

“Well, I worked for a month, but the number of patients increased more than the number of priests, so it was useless.”

My heart ached so much from Father Cardon’s factual assault.

Was it really necessary to tell everything so honestly?

“I’m worried. I’m worried about Arthur Priest’s future.”

“… … .”

“I just hope that my brother’s future won’t be too difficult.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

All this time, I was waiting for the person in charge to come, but after hearing Father Cardon’s words, I wasn’t sure if my work would be finished even if the person in charge came.

Frustrated, I washed my face dry and came to my senses, deciding to tell Father Cardon what I should have said.

“Priest.”

“Yes, go ahead. By the way, I have to go back now.”

I guess you knew how to ask me to keep taking care of it.

I felt sympathy for him, thinking about how hard it must have been for him to work here.

“That’s not what I called you to say. It’s something that happened in the labyrinth, but I felt I needed to tell you.”

“What happened in the labyrinth?”

I told Priest Cardon everything about the altar to the evil spirits.

And he took out the offering that had been placed on the bridge.

“Although they have been purified, they have been under the control of the evil spirit for a long time, so they need to be melted down as quickly as possible.”

“The altar of evil spirits… I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”

“Yes?”

Perhaps because the topic of heresy came up, Father Cardon’s eyes were more serious than ever.

He also made strange sounds that were difficult to understand.

“There was something strange recently. I thought a demon had been summoned and was running wild nearby. There was a patient whose personality changed as if possessed by a demon and who showed aversion to divine power.”

“You might think the devil was summoned. In most cases, that’s the devil’s doing.”

Usually, these problems are caused by the devil.

Or maybe the heretics were up to something.

But unfortunately, this time, the evil spirit was involved.

And the expression on the priest’s face was not good because the evil spirit was harder to deal with than the devil.

‘The never-ending fight against something that cannot be killed is bound to be tiring.’

The devil is that if you remove the cause, things will be resolved.

But the evil spirit is ‘God’.

Just as there is a saying that even an evil law is a law, an evil god is also a ‘god’, so we could not kill its existence.

It just kept sealing and sealing again.

It’s like the body of an evil spirit was cut into pieces and sealed in various places around the world.

“If I hadn’t listened to the priest, I would have been completely lost.”

This time, it is not the devil being summoned, but the offerings from the altars of evil gods scattered throughout the labyrinth that are circulating in the market.

“It looks like the altar has already been excavated. I thought we should respond as quickly as possible, but it seems even that was too late.”

“Looking at the recent problem, it seems that the path of the labyrinth changed and the evil altar appeared. We didn’t see the evil altar when we went inside. We should report this to the church as soon as possible so that they can deal with it.”

“I’m already worried about how many victims the offerings released from the altar of the evil god will create.”

There is a high probability that there will be a sacrifice that escaped from the labyrinth city.

So, that means I have to travel all over the world to find sacrifices… .

‘It’s horrible to even imagine.’

However, it is not completely impossible to track down the sacrifices of evil spirits.

Since it is common to make offerings with precious items, it is often found in markets where expensive items are sold.

Either up for auction or scour the precious metals market.

If that doesn’t work, go find a nobleman who has been rumored to have suddenly changed recently and search his house. Most of the time, you will find an offering to an evil spirit.

‘It may sound easy when you say it out loud, but it’s definitely not.’

Obtaining cooperation from noble families, searching auction houses, and searching the market for valuables.

None of it was easy.

‘That’s why some people call us back-alley thugs.’

Because things are urgent, there are often cases where the authority of the church is used to push things through, and because of that, there are often people who protest.

◎ ◎ ◎

After the passing of Priest Kadon, I took over the temple again and was able to fully demonstrate my healing skills for the first time in a long time.

When I entered the labyrinth, the treatment itself wasn’t difficult, except for the difficulty of moving, but working in the temple made the treatment itself difficult.

‘They both seem equally difficult?’

As Father Cardon said, the overall number of patients seemed to have increased compared to a month ago.

Why, but it seems the mercenary turned his life around in the labyrinth.

‘Rumors are scary after all.’

I was able to hear more detailed information from the nurse priest.

“When the porter said he became incredibly rich by selling the items he found in the labyrinth at an auction house, everyone was shocked. If he could do it, what about me? That’s human nature.”

It seems that people were very agitated because it was not a mercenary with great skills who turned his life around, but rather a porter who hit the jackpot by chance by picking up an item.

“From then on, even if it seemed useless, if it came from a labyrinth, it was considered different. Some people even asked people to pick up monster poop and have it appraised. Hohoho!!”

“Shit?? Anyone can tell it’s shit.”

“That’s right. Isn’t it funny that he made a fuss while saying that it couldn’t be shit?”

To those who didn’t know the circumstances, it was a topic they could laugh and chat about, but to me, who knew the situation it caused, it was just something that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“That’s why there are so many people.”

An unqualified person was entering the labyrinth in hopes of making a fortune.

Do you know how foolish such behavior seems to me, having experienced the malice of the Labyrinth?

“Like moths flying into a bonfire.”

“Yes? Those patients?”

I was talking to myself, but the nurse was surprised and seemed to hear me.

“Aren’t there too many people chasing after illusions? How many people will die chasing after those illusions? Those who are receiving treatment like that now are fortunate, but it’s sad and regrettable to think of those who died without even that opportunity.”

“Ah~ I almost misunderstood.”

“Yes?”

“No. Father Arthur, there’s no way you would do that. Haha! Oh my! Look at my mind. I have to change the patient’s bedsheets. I’ll be going now, Father.”

The nurse smiles awkwardly and walks away.

“I think there was some kind of strange misunderstanding… .”

I don’t need to explain this, right?

Leaving the awkwardness behind, I focused on the temple work for the first time in a long while.

Maybe it was because I had been to the labyrinth that treating patients wasn’t as difficult as before.

The divine power itself also increased a lot, and it was thanks to seeing the monsters in the labyrinth that my composure increased.

“I knew that Arthur, the priest, was skilled, but his skills are beyond words. Are you sure that his skills have improved?”

I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought this, because the chick healers looked at me and showered me with praise and admiration.

No, isn’t this flattery rather than praise?

“I think my experience in the labyrinth will help.”

“Haa, I’m worried. Seeing how much Father Arthur has grown, I think it’s right to go to the labyrinth.”

“Are you scared?”

“Yes. I’m scared, so I’m confident I’ll faint if I see a monster.”

The chick healers were checking on my growth and considering applying to the punitive force.

If the new healers leave the temple, which is struggling with patients, it will be a burden to the remaining priests.

However, it was not possible to tell priests who wanted to grow that they could not go to the temple because it was busy.

And since they would be a great help to the temple when they returned after growing up in the labyrinth, it might actually be beneficial to go if you thought of it as an investment for the future.

Even if it’s difficult right now, it will be a good thing if you come back with improved skills.

“What do you think, Father Arthur? Should I apply for the expedition?”

The church will not be ignorant of the safety of its priests, so unless something really big happens, they will return safely.

Of course, a safe return is not guaranteed because there is a variable called a trap.

I explained that I couldn’t actively tell the chick healers to enter the labyrinth because I couldn’t be 100% sure.

“This is something you shouldn’t decide after hearing other people’s opinions. If you listened to me and went into the labyrinth and got seriously injured or lost your life, how would you feel?”

“Ah!”