episode_0036

In the Holy Empire Expeditionary Force, I was particularly drawn to a familiar face.

Bishop Raphel, Bishop Haman, and even Priest Cardon.

Besides them, there were priests gathered together, talking with serious expressions, whom I had never seen before.

“Father Arthur.”

“Yes?”

“Shouldn’t we go back? There are so many people out there… .”

“Ah!”

The labyrinth spit out all the people to change the map.

This means that all the people who were holding on and enduring injuries inside the labyrinth have come out.

‘Isn’t this not the time for me to be leisurely?’

It was a situation that could be said to be a disaster for priests, not for anyone else.

“Let’s go. Now is not the time to be like this.”

“Yes!”

I had to hurry back and prepare before they came to their senses and stormed the temple.

◎ ◎ ◎

I had a crazy day.

But the good news is that Bishop Haman supported the priests in the treatment center.

The skills of the priests who came to support were far better than I expected.

The priests at the treatment center were astonished by their skills.

“They are different, perhaps because they are priests dispatched from the capital of the Holy Empire.”

You could also sense that the young priests were becoming gloomy, perhaps feeling deprived by their skills being better than expected.

Even in my opinion, the skills of the priests that Bishop Haman had sent were so overwhelmingly good that there was nothing I could do about the chicks becoming gloomy.

“If our priests work hard, they can become like that.”

“Yes.”

Judging by the lack of strength in his reply, it seemed like my consolation wasn’t very effective.

Bishop Haman visited the infirmary when it was somewhat organized.

“Bishop!”

“Haha, how have you been?”

“Yes. Are you okay with entering the labyrinth?”

“There’s no way there’d be a problem with the knights watching over us. We finished everything safely.”

Although he seemed to still be fatigued, his body did not appear to be seriously injured.

“I didn’t know the labyrinth would spit out all the people.”

“This is probably the only mercy the labyrinth shows to humans.”

“Are you going to keep sending people out every three months as the road changes?”

“Yes, it will be.”

“Then, if you want to conquer the labyrinth, you absolutely have to do it within 3 months.”

You have to solve a labyrinth of uncertain length within three months.

“You may think that it is a hindrance to the labyrinth strategy, but on the contrary, it is also a good way to minimize missing people. And if you try to avoid it, you can do it. However, it is dangerous and not recommended. You never know where you will go deep because the path changes.”

If you stop and do not follow the path the labyrinth guides you through, you will see that the path inside the labyrinth changes.

If this fact becomes widely known later, I think the punitive force will be formed in the form of a 3-month punitive force, a 6-month punitive force, etc.

“There may even be a party that uses the moving labyrinth.”

“That’s right. You’re smart.”

“Can I ask you in detail what happened in the labyrinth?”

“Of course. But I remember you weren’t interested in mazes last time, so why did you suddenly change your mind?”

I spoke honestly about the current situation in response to Bishop Haman’s sharp observation.

“Oh, the path has already changed, so it must be hard to find that monster.”

“Yes. So maybe I should go into the labyrinth too.”

“It seems like you have a lot of affection for the patient.”

I immediately responded to Bishop Haman’s sharp remarks, which seemed to see right through my thoughts just by looking at his eyes.

“I don’t think I can say no.”

“Yes. Our priests are all kind and sincere in treating patients. I used to be like that too. I was really passionate.”

It seemed like his old memories came back to him when he saw me.

“Looking back now, the patient I remember most is the one I had a hard time treating. I was so proud that I was able to send him back alive, even though I had to go through a lot of hardships.”

I felt much better when he sympathized with me and said that Princess Cannabi was like that to me.

“I think I can feel that way if I discharge him.”

“Moreover, he was born with a special bloodline, so if the treatment is successful, it will be good for our empire. There is no reason to oppose it.”

Fortunately, Bishop Haman didn’t seem to think that my spending time saving Princess Canabee was a waste.

“And actually, even if it wasn’t because of the patient, I was going to suggest to Father Arthur that he go into the labyrinth.”

“Am I in the labyrinth?”

Everyone else was so good that I wondered if they really needed me, but Bishop Haman seemed to think that the labyrinth would be a great help to my growth.

“Have you seen the skills of the priests I sent you to support?”

“Yes. They are all amazing.”

“Before entering the labyrinth, it wasn’t like that. It’s a skill gained through growing through various experiences in the labyrinth. It’s not known yet, but growth is faster in the labyrinth. It’ll be about 3 to 4 times faster than training here.”

“4 times?!”

I came to my senses when I heard that it wasn’t even 2x, but 3x or 4x.

‘I expected it to have some effect, but I didn’t know the difference would be that great.’

After hearing Bishop Haman’s story, I immediately understood what the situation was.

Just as hunting in a dungeon in a game allows you to level up faster than hunting in a regular hunting ground, the labyrinth will likely have the same mechanism.

I was proud of being the youngest chief healer, but I began to feel a sense of crisis when I realized that I might be eliminated if I didn’t enter the labyrinth.

‘High risk, high return is inevitable, but isn’t 4x a bit too much?’

Bishop Haman said that it would be rare for there to be a 4x case since there would be individual differences, but doesn’t the fact that there are differences mean that some people could benefit from the 4x event effect?

‘I tried going through the labyrinth, but it was too dangerous, so I decided not to go in anymore… .’

Can I really ignore the temptation of quadrupling?

I tried to live a more comfortable life in my second life, but I wonder why things only get harder as I go on.

“If this fact becomes known, everyone will try to enter the labyrinth.”

“If there are many brave priests, then it will happen.”

I knew that the introduction of the Labyrinth would change a lot of things, but I didn’t know it would change this much.

‘If you don’t keep up with the changes, you’ll be pushed out.’

I’m still in my 20s, I can’t be pushed out already.

“Thank you for your advice. I will think carefully about joining the expedition force and make a decision.”

“Yes. I will be in charge of the next expedition, so it won’t be hard to adapt.”

“Bishop, what do you think about individual priests being assigned to a team and entering the labyrinth? Would the church dislike it?”

“I recommend joining the expedition force because it is overwhelmingly safer. However, if an individual priest wants to risk his life and enter the labyrinth, I don’t think they will necessarily stop him.”

Since Bishop Haman’s opinion was likely to be the opinion of the church, I was reassured by the positive answer.

I am confident that it will not be difficult to obtain permission from the church.

◎ ◎ ◎

The path of the labyrinth has changed!

Everyone who had worked hard to create the map was at a loss.

Not only did the path change, but even the monsters that appeared changed, and what was more surprising was that even the surrounding environment changed.

“There are a lot of frostbite patients these days.”

“They say a snowfield has appeared inside the labyrinth, but I guess the environment is worse than I thought.”

Since I had never been inside the labyrinth myself, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the idea that the labyrinth’s environment had changed 180 degrees, but seeing the number of patients coming to the treatment center with frostbite have increased significantly has made me realize that the change in the labyrinth’s environment is having a subtle effect on us.

“My sister is wavering these days. If it were before, I would have told her not to say anything, but she listened to how I was preparing. It was good that she listened to you.”

Princess Rasiel tapped her foot while munching on chicken skewers, perhaps pleased that Princess Canabi might listen to her.

It was a dizzying experience to have someone working right next to me eat something delicious and talk to me.

Someone might blush and say it’s cute, but I, the one being targeted, can’t help but feel choked up.

But he wasn’t so angry that he took it out on the princess.

Moreover, there was no reason for the princess to sympathize with the workers’ hardships.

“I think the change in the labyrinth situation made my sister very flustered.”

“Then, you will be able to get permission soon. Are you ready?”

“Of course! I’ve got all the team members. You, the priest, just have to join! ”

Princess Rasiel acts like everything is already resolved, but we must keep in mind that the most important thing is still unresolved.

Although it is wavering, Princess Kanabi’s permission has not yet been granted, and the cooperation of the religious kingdom is not yet certain.

“I’m not lying. I’ll really be able to get permission from my sister soon. It doesn’t seem like much time left. But are you ready?”

“Of course. It’s difficult to ask me to leave right now.”

“You can’t leave right now? Why?”

“The bishop who will be in charge of the Labyrinth Temple will be coming soon. Until then, I must stay here and guard the temple.”

The bishop of the Labyrinth Temple has finally been decided.

It was truly an incredibly hasty administrative action that the bishop was not appointed until after the Labyrinth Expedition returned.

‘I guess that’s the case everywhere.’

Still, it wasn’t a bad thing because we got our money’s worth thanks to that hasty administration.

I could run the temple as I pleased.

Furthermore, it is said that because of Bishop Haman’s good leadership in leading the punitive force this time, a person who is friendly with him was selected as the bishop of the temple of the labyrinth.

Since Bishop Haman coveted my talent, it was a great advantage for me that a bishop on his side came.

“Are you completely free when the bishop comes?”

“Complete freedom is nonsense, but it is true that freedom comes at some point in time.”