The gist was that the Dungeon had reacted to the Boss individual’s Mana Stone.
‘I can’t be certain, though.’
It was worth testing.
I looked at the Key resting in my palm.
Although it was now just an empty shell, its power drained when the original piece was recovered, it still served its purpose as a vessel.
Slowly, I channeled my energy into it.
Recalling the sensation from when I had infused the Symbol with energy.
Whoosh—
A brilliant light bloomed from my fingertips and flowed into the Mana Stone.
There was no reaction at first.
‘Was I wrong?’
Just as I was about to think that.
Thump—
A faint vibration pulsed in my palm.
Thump, thump—
It wasn’t my imagination.
The Mana Stone, lifeless as it was, began to beat like a heart.
At the same time, the dim red glow gradually sharpened into clarity.
‘I was hoping, but it actually works.’
Even after I withdrew my energy, the pulse didn’t stop.
I turned my gaze.
The Portal that had once formed the Dungeon’s entrance was fading.
It had been slowly dimming ever since the Boss died.
If left as is, it would vanish entirely before long.
Clutching the Mana Stone, I stepped through it.
In an instant, the scenery before my eyes flipped.
The traces of burning were gone without a trace, and a landscape no different from when I’d first entered unfolded.
‘The Dungeon’s collapse has stopped too.’
The Portal, once dimming, was regaining its clear form.
But it was too soon to relax.
Stopping the Dungeon’s collapse wasn’t the end. If Monsters started appearing again, that would be a problem.
Yet, as time passed, there was no sign of Monsters respawning.
“It seems to have worked.”
I said to Charlotte, who had followed me in.
“Really?”
“The Dungeon’s collapse has definitely stopped, and no new Monsters are appearing. Of course, I can’t be certain, so we should still post some guards.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than Charlotte’s face brightened.
Compared to her usual composed demeanor, it was a fairly blatant reaction.
‘Well, as the Lord’s daughter, that’s only natural.’
The distance from the city to the nearest sea was roughly 400 kilometers.
With that long distance eliminated, they could now harvest marine resources, so her joy was understandable.
For all I knew, they’d rake in no small amount of money.
‘If she has any conscience, she’ll make a donation to me too.’
Hiding such thoughts, I offered congratulations with a good-natured smile.
…
It was around lunchtime the next day when we returned to the city.
“Well then, I’ll be heading to the Healing Center.”
“How about coming with me to the Lord’s estate and having a meal first?”
Charlotte suggested as if she couldn’t just let me go, but I shook my head and refused firmly.
Good food was tempting, but I had no desire to choke on it.
‘The Lord is just too much to handle.’
His peculiar gaze was overwhelming, but above all, that fierce face was the real burden.
“I see. A pity, but very well.”
Seeing my stubborn refusal, Charlotte seemed to realize it was futile and eventually gave up with a disappointed look.
After parting ways, my destination was the Healing Center.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, a familiar voice reached me first.
“You’re back.”
Margaret let out a sigh of relief upon spotting me.
“I was worried you might never come back at all.”
“Surely not. Did you think I’d been hurt?”
“No.”
Margaret scoffed as if the very idea was absurd.
“I was worried you might’ve run off to another city.”
“…”
“Just kidding.”
‘That doesn’t sound like a joke to me.’
Margaret stared hard at my face, then waved her hand.
“Anyway, what’s this about coming to work the moment you arrive? Take the day off and come back tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s work I handled all by myself before you ever showed up.”
With that, she leaned back in her chair.
“And I’m not cruel enough to work a man to the bone right after a business trip.”
If that was the case.
There was no reason to volunteer for work.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Less than five minutes after stepping through the Healing Center’s door, I was about to head back out.
“Oh, by the way, I heard your Church is almost finished.”
I stopped in my tracks.
“Already?”
At that pace, wouldn’t it be shoddy construction..?
My brow furrowed naturally.
It had only been a few days since I’d agreed to take the Church.
Even if work had started that very day, it’d be hard to erect a building in under a week.
“They repaired an existing building and tore up the inside to make it usable as a Church, I heard.”
“I see.”
That made more sense.
“If you ask me, it’ll be done within the week.”
Even so, it seemed too fast, but this world had no labor laws, so I accepted it and moved on.
“Faster than I expected.”
“Think of it as the Lord being dead set on this.”
That wasn’t exactly a comforting thought.
I’d already said my goodbyes, so without adding anything more, I left the Healing Center.
‘Come to think of it, my room expires tomorrow.’
Coincidentally, the one-week period I’d booked was almost up.
‘I don’t like it, but I’ll have to throw myself on the mercy of the Church of the Earth for a few days.’
Margaret would grumble but ultimately agree.
Of course, if I explained the situation to the Inn owner, they might give me a few more days.
But I wasn’t shameless enough to ask someone who made their living from lodging to let me stay for free.
Jingle—
“Priest!”
As I opened the Inn door and stepped in, a familiar figure hopped up to greet me.
The Innkeeper’s daughter, who’d been wiping tables, tossed the cloth aside and ran over.
“Been doing well?”
“Hehe, yes.”
The girl beamed and nodded.
I’d only been gone two days, but the atmosphere was like welcoming someone back after a long absence.
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly reminded of something, the girl’s eyes went wide.
“Priest, Priest! A guest came for you.”
“A guest?”
Who would come looking for me?
If it were someone from the Church of the Earth, Margaret would’ve just told me herself rather than sending someone to the Inn.
And it hadn’t even been half a day since I’d parted ways with Charlotte.
That left very few options.
‘The Lord, then.’
But the person the girl named was someone I’d never even imagined.
At the same time, it was the very case I’d most wanted to avoid.
“It’s the Priest of Flowers, they said!”
“…”
For a moment, my mind went blank.
‘Did I screw up?’
That thought wasn’t unreasonable.
I could fool a Priest of a different doctrine, but I had no confidence in fooling an actual Priest of the Flower Goddess faith.
‘..Should I run, even now?’
The door was just a few steps away.
If the other party hadn’t spotted me yet, I could slip out quietly.
Just as I was seriously considering an escape route.
“Flower-patterned clothes!”
An excited voice rang from inside the Inn.
“It’s Priest Flawi, isn’t it!”
‘Damn.’
Too late.
‘Is this even possible?’
In this land, the faith with the fewest Priests and the fewest Churches.
And a Priest of that faith had come looking for me.
Not to mention, it had barely been a week since I’d started my impersonation.
This was bad luck of the highest order.
…
“Wow..!”
The Priest, who looked to be about middle school age, kept staring at me with wonder even after sitting down.
More precisely, she was staring intently at my clothes.
“So many flowers.”
“..Is that so.”
“Yes!”
In contrast, the girl’s outfit was rather plain for a Priest of Flowers.
Unlike my shirt, covered in beautiful floral patterns, she had only a single small Dandelion flower modestly embroidered near her chest.
If not for the Symbol hanging at her chest, I’d have mistaken her for an ordinary Village girl.
‘For a Priest of the Flower Goddess, her fashion sense is a bit lacking.’
A thought about adding about thirty Dandelion embroidery pieces flickered through my mind, but I soon shook off the idle notion.
That wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was getting through this situation smoothly.
‘First, she’s young.’
The saving grace was that the Priest looked young.
She still had baby fat, and her height barely reached my sternum.
At least I could breathe easy knowing it wasn’t an elderly Priest who’d come.
Being young, she was likely to have less accumulated knowledge and judgment compared to an adult.
Which meant there was room to deceive her and get through this.
“If you don’t mind, could I ask you something?”
“Yes! Please, speak freely, Priest.”
I had more than a few questions.
Among them, one stood out above all.
How on earth did she find out about me and come looking?
As I mulled over how to ask without raising suspicion, I fortunately found the right question.
“For one, coming all this way alone without a guardian—what reason brought you to me, and how did you hear about me?”
The girl flinched and glanced around nervously.
“I’m not interrogating you—I’m just worried as an adult. Please answer.”
For the record, I was totally interrogating her.
“Well, first, I heard about you being here through rumors.”
The word “rumors” struck me as odd.
It had only been about a week since I’d fallen into this world and started staying in this city.
In a world where riding a horse was the fastest means of travel.
Having a rumor spread to another region in just a week was hard to swallow.
“A Merchant who visits often mentioned it. He said an incredible Priest of Flowers had settled in Millers.”
‘A Merchant.’
That explained the method.
If there was a Merchant traveling between towns and cities, word could easily spread.
But even so, for a Merchant to spread rumors in another territory, for the girl to hear it, and then for her to arrive here—a week was absurdly short.
If she lived in a nearby Village close to the city, it wasn’t entirely impossible, but as far as I knew, there was no Church of Flowers anywhere in this vicinity.
I could confirm that much through Margaret, so it was a certainty.
“But from what I understand, there’s no Church of Flowers in the city, or even in the territory. So did you come all the way from a neighboring territory?”
“Oh, no, not a neighboring territory. There’s no Church, but…”
The girl flushed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed as she answered.
“..There was a Priest, though. I was recognized as a Priest by my grandmother too..”
“Without a Church?”
“Grandma called it something… a Priest without a post, I think. Yes.”
“…”
Without a post—meaning someone qualified but not assigned to any specific temple or role.
‘So there are Priests who live without a Church.’
They said the Flower Goddess faith was tiny, but it seemed some Priests operated with no Church at all.
I hadn’t considered this possibility, and it gave me a headache.
But not all my questions were answered yet, so I endured the throbbing and pressed on.
“By the way, there’s still something you haven’t told me.”
“Huh?”
“You still haven’t said why you came to find me without a guardian.”
I understood that she’d heard rumors.
I also understood that she’d been living as a Priest without a Church in a nearby Village.
But I still couldn’t grasp why a young girl would cross the territory alone to find me.
“Well, you see.”
The girl placed both hands neatly on her knees.
Then, with a face mixed with anxiety and expectation, she cautiously spoke.
“Priest Flawi, please take me on as your Deacon!”