episode_0063

The prince seems to be good at acting, but I am also quite skilled at acting.

I did my best as a priest whenever he visited without showing my true feelings.

So, it seems that the prince was mistaken in thinking that he was becoming friendly with me.

At first, he acted friendly, but soon he became comfortable talking to me and asked me for personal information without hesitation.

“What does a priest usually do? Whenever I come, he’s always in the temple. Do you never go out? Isn’t there a law that says a priest can’t go out and play? Even if he wants to do something like a hobby, he has to go out.”

What could be a hobby in this world?

I just need some time to relax.

“I usually pray or study during my break time.”

“… What a boring life. Isn’t there something you want?”

“When I see something I want, I tend to buy it right away.”

Since I don’t really want a lot of things, I buy them as soon as they come up.

As I have already mentioned, the priest was not in need of money.

Especially, senior healers like me who see a lot of patients make a lot of money.

As the additional fees received per patient accumulate, the money keeps coming in.

“Well, I heard he’s the youngest senior priest. I guess he doesn’t lack money. But since he’s a priest, I still don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to say he doesn’t want anything.”

“?”

Why does it make no sense to say that you don’t want something?

The prince spoke with glaring eyes, perhaps because I showed interest.

“Do you know how many things in this world stimulate your desire for possession?! This is clearly due to lack of experience. I want to let you know the feeling of satisfaction you get when you acquire one by one the things that stimulate your greed. How can you possibly have desires when you spend all day inside this boring temple and see blood?”

“… … .”

If I were a truly ordinary priest, I might have been a little shaken by the prince’s words.

Like a country bumpkin who wants to go to the city.

But I am a person who enjoyed a glamorous city life in my past life.

‘You’re saying he was born and raised in Seoul?’

There was no way that someone like me wouldn’t know the splendor of this world.

“How about it? Won’t you go out with me? If the priest wants, I’ll show you a taste of the new world.”

“… … .”

Shall we go out together and show you a new world?

At first glance, you might mistake this for a favor toward me.

But the prince’s proposal concealed a deadly trap.

Perhaps following him would allow you to experience the luxury and pleasures enjoyed by the nobles.

‘If it’s the first time you’ve tasted luxury and pleasure in your life, your eyes will spin.’

If you are an ordinary priest, that is.

I guess I have a rough idea of what kind of person the prince saw me as.

‘It must have looked like a blank sheet of paper.’

Maybe it was because he was a bad guy, but he seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of doing bad things.

The prince was desperate to somehow dye me black, a blank sheet of paper.

“When you realize that there is a world you don’t know about, you won’t be able to help but thank me.”

Yeah, it’s definitely fun and great when you enjoy it.

Even if I knew exactly what was going to happen, it would be difficult to maintain composure if I followed him and experienced the real thing.

Once you dip your feet in ink, you can never go back to a blank sheet of paper.

‘The reason why the corruption of priests is becoming a serious problem is because of these things.’

The priests who were raised in the temple and sent out into the world as children were so pure white that they quickly turned black.

And I had no intention of walking into a trap knowing full well what would happen.

“I’m sorry, but I’m so busy with work that it’ll be difficult for me to go out and spend some personal time.”

“Are you saying that priests can’t even have personal time? That’s problematic.”

I guess my gaze became sharper without me realizing it when I heard the words criticizing the religious system.

The prince suddenly raised both arms and said.

“I didn’t mean to insult the Holy Empire. I admit I made a mistake.”

“There is no problem with the country. It is just because I am lacking. I will work harder so that I do not hear such things.”

That meant I had to work so I didn’t have time to go out and play with you.

The prince took a step back as he looked at it with all that meaning in it, knowing that there was nothing he could do.

“That’s too bad. If you experience it just once, you’ll change your mind.”

Although he resigned obediently because of a slip of the tongue, it didn’t seem like it would end like this.

The prince who made people feel uncomfortable returned and Princess Rasiel came looking for him.

As many times as the prince visited the temple, Princess Rasiel did not stay still.

“Did that guy come and go again today?”

“Yes.”

“He’s a guy who never gives up.”

I wonder if Princess Rasiel’s persistence in following the prince’s whereabouts is also quite remarkable.

“I came to see you today for no other reason than to let you know that it is time to enter the labyrinth.”

It would have been more considerate to come and tell them in person, rather than sending someone.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t allowed to enter the labyrinth?”

“You can’t continue to suppress me with that order. The prince will soon lead the punitive force into the labyrinth. We will also enter the labyrinth around the same time. So I hope the priests will start preparing soon.”

Princess Rasiel, who felt nauseous just looking at the prince’s face, would not think of going into the dangerous labyrinth with him.

“We’re not going in together. We’ll go in after he does. In a different direction so we don’t meet him.”

“Ah~”

It would be more comfortable for us to move behind you rather than being caught behind you.

“Isn’t it possible that we’ll meet Prince Loras in the labyrinth? That would be very dangerous.”

Of course, there are still people looking inside the labyrinth, but it is a better environment for burying crimes than from the outside.

“That doesn’t matter. He was always trying to kill me.”

The explanation was that there was no need to be concerned about being in a labyrinth, since one’s life was always in danger outside.

It was definitely not something that could be said so casually.

But Princess Rasiel was saying terrible things as if nothing had happened.

‘It’s not natural to be threatened.’

As expected, I enjoyed helping these people.

It would be better for the Holy Empire if a seemingly normal Princess Kanabi became the Emperor, rather than someone so sinister.

“… Okay. Then, I’ll prepare to enter the labyrinth.”

“Okay, the next labyrinth conquest will definitely not fail. I’ve been studying a lot, so look forward to it.”

It is said that it will take a full two weeks for the prince’s punitive force to be ready.

We too will enter the labyrinth in two weeks.

“This time, I’m going to go as deep as possible. As you know, the labyrinth changes its terrain every three months. I’m going to use that to my advantage and head as deep as possible without considering the return time.”

Now, everyone knows that the labyrinth changes its terrain every three months.

And the punitive force was racking their brains to figure out how to take advantage of this.

“This time is fine, but you never know how long the labyrinth will be merciful. It’s not a good idea to plan around using the fact that it sends you out every three months.”

“Don’t use that convenience?”

The labyrinth’s mercy will not last forever.

The terrain changes every three months, and you send everyone out to avoid getting caught up in it?

If I had never entered a labyrinth, I would have thought it was fortunate, but remembering their malice so clearly, I instead wondered why the labyrinth would go through such trouble.

What would happen if everyone, like the princess, suddenly stopped being considerate when the terrain changed every three months and they were spitting things out?

You probably only took three months’ worth of supplies with you, so would you have enough left to use on your way back?

‘It’s ridiculous that I’m not even being attacked by monsters, but rather starving to death.’

Just as the witch in the fairy tale fattens the children she catches before eating them, the labyrinth may be waiting for them to get plump and plump so it can eat them.

“Is sending them out every 3 months a huge trap in itself?”

“Why would the labyrinth do something good for us? We are the saboteurs who destroy the monsters inside the labyrinth.”

“Surprisingly… it’s convincing.”

Fortunately, Princess Rasiel did not ignore what I said.

“I didn’t know a priest would give such advice… . I will seriously consider it.”

“Yes.”

“If it weren’t for what the priest said, I would have used it to plan things out often. And then one day, when the obvious became unintentional, I would have faced a crisis.”

“I’m just worried that many people will fall into the trap planned by the labyrinth.”

It would be foolish not to take advantage of something that was obviously beneficial to everyone.

‘Rather, it’s stranger that you seriously think about changing your plans as soon as you hear my words, like a princess.’

If you listen to what I say, most people will continue to use it with the mindset of ‘just this once, just one more time!’ and then they will get scammed.

The labyrinth is creepy because it uses psychological traps.

‘Prince Loras and Labyrinth are similar in that they pretend to be kind on the outside but are full of malice on the inside. I hope they last a long time since they fit well together.’

The longer the prince stays in the labyrinth, the less pressure will be placed on Princesses Kanabi and Rasiel.

“Are you going to tell other people about this?”

“I’d like to, but what would my words mean to them?”

I’m not that great, I’m just a senior healer.

Of course, to ordinary people, the Chief Healer is an incredibly high-ranking person, but to those in power, he is just a Chief Healer.

‘It’s a way to conserve materials and maximize efficiency, so it would be ridiculous to advise against using it.’