episode_0072

“Ugh… .”

Ouch, my head hurts.

I looked around and saw that this was my dorm room.

Finally, as I recalled the last memorable thing, I couldn’t help but sigh.

‘I finally got here by hugging you.’

It happened so quickly that I couldn’t help it.

I got up from my bed and kicked my feet a bit, then drank some cold water and went to the bathroom to wash my face.

“Oh, it’s a lie.”

Come to think of it, I tried to heal myself with divine powers when I was drunk, but it failed.

I moved my divine power to try again.

“Wow, I should have done it earlier.”

The hangover goes away so cleanly that you will feel regret.

Of course, it is a task to detoxify the alcohol remaining in the body, so there is no way that divine power would not work.

I didn’t know because I’ve never used divine powers while drunk.

‘It was just like when I was young and practicing my divine powers.’

Now I use divine power as if I were breathing, but when I was practicing as a child, it wasn’t like that at all.

“Let’s go and pray.”

I came out and went into the prayer room, and Sister Melody was there.

“Did you sleep well?”

“… Yes. What about your sister?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t drink alcohol so I was fine. Are you okay with the hangover?”

“I treated you with divine power. I think I was rude yesterday because I was drunk. I’m sorry. ”

“No.”

“You even carried it to your lodgings yourself. Wasn’t it heavy?”

No matter how strong he was, it was an embarrassing experience for a woman to hold him like that.

“It’s not heavy. About that much. It’s heavier than what I usually lift when I practice.”

“Ah… Is that so.”

I think it would have been better to remain silent about this matter rather than mention it.

The more I talked, the more it harmed me.

“Are you going to eat after prayer?”

“Yes.”

“How about some spicy fish soup? I don’t know if you can handle spicy food.”

“Let me try it.”

After praying and eating with Sister Melody, I went into the treatment center.

I already greeted the priests who had arrived at work… .

“Priest! Is it true that you came here yesterday being hugged by a woman?”

“… You are saying words that make my heart flutter since morning.”

It was definitely late at night, but I didn’t think anyone would see it.

“Oh my, it’s true. Are you two really dating?”

“No way. That’s not it.”

If not, it would be more of a problem, the priest said.

“If not, you must explain it. This rumor is spreading rapidly right now.”

“What is this that is even spreading like a rumor?”

Not even a day has passed, only a few hours have passed.

But it’s ridiculous that it’s spreading so rapidly.

“It’s not someone else, but Father Arthur. Isn’t it inevitable?”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. What did I do?”

It’s unfair.

I just worked hard to run the temple… .

“I didn’t say it in a bad way. He’s so popular. It’s impossible not to be interested in him since he’s the first. Moreover, there are many people in our temple who rush to do Priest Arthur’s work.”

“Yes?? Me?”

Am I saying this right now?

“Since when have I been popular?”

The priest said with a look of absurdity.

“Aren’t you too indifferent to yourself? It’s all thanks to you, Priest Arthur, that our temple didn’t collapse and grew this far. Everyone knows that, so how can you not know?!”

“… No one told me.”

“That’s not all! You’re also very skilled, so you always take care of patients that others find difficult to treat, and if there’s something you don’t know, you kindly teach them. But you say you’re not popular?”

“Ah, why are you like this in the morning?”

I was already embarrassed because I got drunk and acted out last night, but hearing this makes me feel like I’m losing my mind.

“Ugh.”

Sister Melody, who was watching this situation from a little distance, looked at me with a strange expression.

“… Anyway, I think the important thing right now is the rumor, but can you elaborate? I don’t know what’s going on.”

“To put it simply, rumors have spread that the two of you are having an affair within the temple.”

“That’s what I brought you when I was drunk.”

I came into her room late at night, hugging her.

It was possible to predict that rumors would spread secretly linking the two of us together.

And, as expected, a rumor spread that was not out of the blue.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it… .”

“Ah… Actually, I thought there was a separate reason. The two of you didn’t give off that feeling at all.”

“Sister, you were just doing your job as my escort, so how upset would you be if such a rumor spread? Can’t you help me, priest, to put an end to the rumor?”

“Oh, of course it’s possible. I’ll try to spread the explanation as much as I can.”

“Thank you.”

I don’t know how many times I have to say no today, but I’ve decided to try my best to explain myself so as not to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

* * *

It seems like I spent all day trying to explain myself rather than focusing on working.

Thanks to that, by the time we had dinner, the rumors had died down and no one was looking at us two with suspicion.

But it’s something that’s already started.

I didn’t know that whenever he caught me, he would try to tie us up again.

“I don’t care, so don’t try so hard.”

Sister Melody, who couldn’t stand seeing me so anxious, told me that it was okay and that I could stop.

“We must root it out now. We must make sure that we never have to think like this again.”

“If you are concerned about your reputation, I will step in and take care of the situation myself.”

You’re not an idiot, what are you talking about?

“What good is reputation for a mere priest? What I’m worried about is you, sister. If an Inquisitor gets entangled with someone with personal feelings, won’t he be excommunicated or banned from his mission?”

“… How about that?”

“Who would it be? Of course, it’s the teacher.”

They must not create weaknesses as they must fight against heretics.

Since ancient times, evil spirits have loved to exploit people’s weaknesses.

And the weakness that comes from the act of making friends makes a mess of what they have to do.

“I don’t want to break up with Sister Melody over something like this.”

We finally got him to adapt to our temple and even developed good relationships with other priests.

The biggest thing is that she thinks positively of me.

‘Cleaning the sewer heretic corpse was a big job.’

Thanks to all that hard work, my relationship with her improved noticeably.

But now you want me to get to know you again by accepting another heretic inquisitor?

‘Of course, something like this can be passed off as a mere incident. But, when something like this sprouts, it needs to be rooted out.’

That way, we could prevent any unexpected situations.

That’s why I spent the whole day desperately trying to explain myself.

“I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d be uncomfortable if I told you that I already knew.”

“Yes, but this is not a big problem. So you don’t have to be so at a loss.”

“Yes, I’ll do it moderately.”

It’s time to moderate the rebuttal, as too much of a rebuttal can actually arouse suspicion.

Everyone also believed my explanation.

It seemed like it was going to subside more easily than I thought… .

“Father Arthur!”

“Yeah.”

“Joe, I like it.”

I confessed to him by accident… and accepted it.

* * *

“There was a rumor going around that you were seeing someone else recently.”

“Yes.”

“That’s when I realized. I had my heart set on you, priest.”

I had no idea that the incident would have such an impact and lead to something like this.

“I don’t expect you to accept my feelings. I don’t know the subject either.”

“Why do you say that? You are lovable enough to be loved.”

“There is no way that the priest will give you that love.”

“… … .”

I have no face.

Unfortunately, I never felt like she was a woman.

‘I called them chicks in my head, so how could I date someone like that?’

I had no choice but to reject her heart, but that didn’t mean she was any less of a person.

“I have many shortcomings. That’s why I couldn’t accept your heart. Don’t blame yourself and meet someone better than me. I’m sure you’ll be able to form a relationship with someone much better than me.”

“I don’t know. Can there be anyone better than you, priest?”

“Of course. If you open your eyes and look around, there are many people who are better than me.”

“Chi.”

Unfortunately, my words don’t seem to make any sense.

Still, I stubbornly tried to coax her.

“Do you know that? The harder you try to coax me, the harder it is for me to give up.”

“Ah… .”

I was just trying to appease her with a sorry heart because I had no choice but to refuse, but it seemed like my affection was actually working as poison for her.

“Then what should I do?”

I don’t know what to do since even the things I can do are being rejected.

She burst into laughter, probably amused by my clumsy appearance.

“I was sad because I was rejected just now, but I can’t keep being sad because of you, priest.”

If it were me in the past, I would have quickly bowed and accepted it, saying thank you.

But now I can’t find a lover.

Because there were things I had to focus on more than her.

‘I have to go into the labyrinth, so where would I have time for love?’

At least until Princess Canabi woke up, overcame the curse, and became healthy, it was impossible for her to look away anywhere else.

“Actually, I knew I would be rejected, so it wasn’t that big of a wound. I knew what kind of look Father Arthur had when he looked at me.”

“… Did I look at you guys strangely?”

“Rather than strange, it was more like looking at a lamb that needed to be taken care of?”

I think it’s similar in that it involves raising sheep or chicks.

He said he liked me, and it seemed like his feelings weren’t a lie.

“Did you feel uncomfortable?”

“I was more excited than offended. I wanted to be your lamb for the rest of my life.”

Oh! This was a landmine too.

I had to struggle, sweating profusely, until she, who had been enjoying the sight of me struggling for a long time, finally said that she was really okay and went back.