episode_0044

“Well, I’m just cold. You?”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

I guess everyone was a little embarrassed by my disgusted appearance.

“Maybe I can feel it because I am a priest.”

The labyrinth must have been wearing a mask, cleverly.

If even ordinary people felt the malice, wouldn’t they not have tried to enter the labyrinth?

I didn’t know what the items in the labyrinth meant, but now I think I know.

‘It was bait.’

A bait to keep people coming into the labyrinth!

When I realized that, my heart sank.

Didn’t I also fall for that bait and enter the labyrinth?

I couldn’t shake the feeling of being caught in a spider’s web.

“Are you okay, priest?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

The leader quickly checked my complexion and said I was okay.

“No, it’s okay. I can move.”

“Shall we take a break?”

“It’s really okay.”

The malice I felt when I first entered the labyrinth gradually faded over time and soon subsided to the point where I couldn’t even feel it.

The body that was giving me goosebumps from the creepiness is gradually returning to normal.

While I was pacing around, the guide was busy finding his way through the labyrinth.

When entering the labyrinth, a guide was one of the essential companions that had to be present to avoid getting lost.

“We will move. Everyone, please watch your step as you move. Please stand in formation.”

The group moves swiftly following the leader’s orders.

I stood quietly next to Princess Rasiel with a bewildered expression, and was soon guided to my seat.

“Priest, please follow me from here.”

“Yes.”

My seat was in the center of the large group.

Even if a monster suddenly appears, it seemed like a place where the people around me could protect me.

“You never know when a monster will appear, so everyone should move with maximum caution. Be especially careful because they might pop out from the ground.”

floor?

The ground covered in pure white snow.

I was shocked to hear that monsters could pop out from the floor.

But I guess I was the only one who was confused, everyone else’s reaction was indifferent.

‘Does everyone have a lot of experience in this area?’

So, leaving the questions aside, we all started moving together.

Walking on snow requires several times more strength than walking on flat ground.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that I’m wearing something that keeps the snow from falling in thanks to the tool I had attached to my shoe.

‘It looks like there were more people passing by than I thought.’

Although the path of the labyrinth had not been changed for long, several footprints were visible.

Even though the labyrinth’s environment has changed, people steeped in greed do not hesitate to enter the labyrinth.

‘You went in further than I thought. Inward. What happens when you run into other people in the labyrinth?’

When I met a group of strangers in this lawless area.

I had a feeling that we wouldn’t be able to have a conversation while laughing with each other.

Sabak- Sabak-

I was walking, listening to the sound of my feet stepping on the snow like music.

“Huh?”

“Is this snow?”

Suddenly, snow began to fall from the sky.

“It’s snowing here? There’s no sky?”

It seems I’m not the only one who’s confused by the current situation.

Groan groan-

Everyone was so embarrassed that they stopped walking and just stared up at the sky.

The entrance to the labyrinth is above ground.

As you enter the entrance, the first thing you see is a downhill road.

Just keep going down that slope.

Then, a real maze will appear before your eyes.

So it was nonsense to think that it would snow in this place where all sides were blocked and there was no sky.

‘No matter how much of a labyrinth it is, this is a phenomenon that makes no sense.’

Common sense doesn’t work.

Who created the laws of the world?

It’s God.

The labyrinth carelessly ignores such divine laws.

‘How impious. How impious.’

I don’t understand how there can be a place that blatantly denies God like this.

“Everyone, wake up and walk. There is a long way to go.”

The group, who had been looking up at the sky, regained their senses at the guide’s shout.

It was obvious that the walk ahead would become more difficult because the snow was not just falling, but was also bringing strong winds.

The guide’s urging to go quickly is not without reason.

We concentrated on walking again.

“Hoo, hoo.”

My breathing is getting harder and harder.

My legs were sore and my face was so sore that I couldn’t help but sigh.

‘What kind of wealth and honor can I enjoy?’

As expected, entering the labyrinth was the wrong choice.

There were many reasons to enter the labyrinth, but going through all this trouble made me come to my senses.

Power is good, and the desire to improve is good, but isn’t living comfortably the most important thing?

‘I’ve prepared so hard and it’s still so hard…’

If I had told them to endure this cold with their bare bodies, they would have been a burden to the group from the start, since they were able to endure it thanks to the expensive coats that were worth a pound of gold.

I was muttering to myself, thinking that there was no suffering like this when buying a book.

A person wearing an unusually thin coat caught my eye.

‘You’re holding on like that? Aren’t you getting frostbite?’

Even though I had prepared a lot, I was barely able to endure the cold, so I was worried about the health of my companions who were wearing much thinner coats than me.

In fact, some people even took out an extra coat from their bag and put it on.

However, the only person who kept catching my eye was standing tall despite wearing a thin coat.

“That brother?”

“Why?”

I tried to ignore her, thinking that I shouldn’t bother her, but then I realized that it wouldn’t work, so I ended up talking to her.

The woman who had looked down on me when she first saw me was enduring the cold with only a thin coat on, perhaps intending to keep her word.

Common sense tells you that this sight makes no sense.

“If you don’t have a coat, I can lend you mine.”

“… I never asked to borrow your coat, sir?”

“You look cold. It’s not good to force yourself to hold it in. What are you going to do if you get frostbite?”

You shouldn’t make fun of statues.

If you neglect it and miss the opportunity for treatment, you may end up having to amputate the frostbitten area.

“Priest, are you worried about my body right now?”

“You shouldn’t take statues lightly.”

“… I feel a little embarrassed because it feels awkward for others to worry about me.”

The person next to her, who didn’t seem to have any intention of putting on another coat, joined in the conversation and said.

“He was such a prickly guy, why are you worrying about him like that?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get out. Ahem, anyway, I’m fine, so leave me alone. If you still don’t believe me, hold my hand. If you hold this, you’ll know why I said I was fine.”

She took off her gloves and held out her bare hands to me.

I wondered what kind of confidence she had, so I took off my gloves and held her hand.

“!!”

“Is it warm?”

A warm hand with hard calluses on its touch gently melts my cold body.

“Yes, it’s really warm.”

“I was born with the blood of the fire spirit, so I have exceptional cold resistance.”

“Just holding hands makes my body warm.”

It makes no sense to expect that you can endure this cold weather by taking off your gloves and holding them with your bare hands.

But surprisingly, the warmth from her hands was warming my body.

I wanted to keep holding on, but I couldn’t, so I let go of the hand I was holding.

She said in a sly voice as she put on her gloves.

“My hands are cold, can you hold them for me, Father?”

“It’s okay.”

“Tell me whenever you need it.”

“Me?”

“Why do you keep meddling?”

puck-!

“Evil!”

The woman who interrupted our conversation earlier and we were close friends, bickering and fighting with each other.

How long did it take to walk like that?

“I’ll take a break.”

At the leader’s words, the group sat down and fell to the floor.

When everyone was letting go of the fatigue that had built up over a long time, I shouted in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Let me check your health! If you have any discomfort, please come over here.”

I was too tired to go around and cure each patient, so I asked the sick people to come to me.

Those people have more stamina than me, who has trash stamina.

“Uh- I can’t feel my toes.”

“Take off your shoes. Oh, your socks are too thin. Don’t you have thick socks?”

“Ugh, I forgot to mention socks.”

“I brought an extra pair of socks, can you give me those?”

Even though socks may not seem like much, they have an impact that cannot be ignored in situations like today when we have to walk for long periods of time.

“Everything else looks fine. Please put them on after your feet are completely dry.”

“Yes, thank you.”

It wasn’t frostbite, but it was close to that, so it got better quickly after treatment.

“Oh, it’s nice and comfortable to have a priest. It must have taken several days for my frostbitten feet to heal, but I can’t believe they’re healed so quickly.”

“Thanks to the princess and the priest, I am living in luxury.”

Everyone who received treatment from me gave me rave reviews.

Yeah, that’s what healers do to feel this feeling.

I had to force myself to keep the corners of my mouth from curling up.

“If you want to know how comfortable it is, make sure everyone serves the priest well.”

Princess Rasiel also said a few words to the group in response to my performance.

As praise for the healer pours in from all around me, my shoulders rise up without limit.

As I was getting my face painted like that, something suddenly occurred to me, so I decided to ask.

“But when do monsters appear?”

I’m just suffering from the falling snow and cold.

The monster that was the biggest problem in the labyrinth was nowhere to be seen no matter how hard I looked for it.

“There were no monsters until now because it was the entrance. They would have run away because of the sound of people. However, you really need to be careful from now on. The monsters wouldn’t have retreated this far, and they must be hiding nearby.”

I didn’t realize it because there was a lot of snow around us, but it seemed like we had walked quite a bit longer than I thought.

Everyone nodded at the leader’s words and checked their weapons.

I had to do something, but since the priest had no weapons, there was only one thing I could do.

‘Let’s pray.’