“I am but a tiny leaf serving the Goddess of Flowers, Lady Iris. My name is Kim Malza.”
For a moment, I was flustered.
There were other reasons, but most of all, it was because the girl’s name was one from home, completely out of place here.
And quite an old-fashioned one at that.
“…Your name is quite unique.”
For a second, I wondered if she was from the same hometown as me.
But her features were far from Korean.
Moreover, the naming style itself felt closer to the past than the present.
“My grandmother, who was a priest, gave me this name!”
“I see. I think it’s a wonderful name.”
I didn’t press further.
Digging deeper would only make me look suspicious.
“By the way, have you unpacked your belongings?”
“Um, no?”
Priest Malza shook her head side to side.
It seemed like she was pleading that she wasn’t that shameless.
And yet, she had come to the unfinished church and even cleaned up.
“Then let’s unpack first. The chapel still seems to be under repair, but the lodging looks mostly finished, so it should be fine.”
The lodging I entered with Priest Malza was two stories tall.
I couldn’t understand why the church’s lodging, prepared for just one person, was so spacious, but it wasn’t a bad thing.
If anything, it was a good thing right now.
“Since I’m older and my joints are weak, I’ll take the first floor. It would be best for you to use the second floor, Priest Malza.”
I wasn’t even in my thirties yet, so my knees weren’t exactly a concern, but I yielded the second floor out of consideration for the young girl, Priest Malza.
“I’ll go unpack my things as well, so take your time getting settled.”
“Yes!”
But the first thing I did upon entering the room wasn’t unpacking.
It was opening the Gallery to satisfy the curiosity I’d been suppressing while managing my expression.
Title: I have a question. How long have the victims summoned to this place been around?
Author: yea(123.123)
[I dunno?]
[At least several hundred years]
[Not sure, but it’s been a long time]
[Summoning probably happens pretty often too. About two or three people come into the Gallery per year]
ã„´[The problem is that’s how many disappear too]
‘It’s been around longer than I thought? That doesn’t mean I can’t accept it, though.’
Then I felt a sense of dissonance.
I figured out what it was right away.
‘If this phenomenon is so old and frequent, how could the people here not know about it?’
The question was answered quickly.
It was because the next reply addressed exactly what I was curious about, as if it had read my mind.
ã„´[For reference, the people here are somewhat aware that people get summoned to another world. It’s not common knowledge, but it feels like all the high-ranking people know?]
ã„´[Yeah, they know you’re not a demon, so they leave you be]
ã„´[Some of them probably let it happen because the knowledge or skills you bring, whether knowingly or not, are useful]
ã„´[Most citizens just see them as immigrants]
“Ha…”
‘I knew the Gallery had a lot of people, but still.’
I clicked my tongue at the unexpected fact.
But for someone like me who regularly read through the information tab, this was news to me.
[But why am I only learning this now?]
ã„´[(Nose…bleed?)]
ã„´[If you’re the main admin, please stop living your real life and moderate the gallery more!]
ã„´[Well, it’s because it’s something people talk about several times a day..]
“Ah.“
That was when I roughly caught on.
People don’t bother telling you that seawater is salty as a tip.
It’s something you naturally learn after spending a little time there.
This fact seemed to be the same.
[Honestly, with this many people in the Gallery, didn’t you think it was weird?]
I had only ever used the Gallery for learning, so there was no way I’d know.
But I couldn’t deny a small sense of unfairness.
If they’d written even one line in the Notice Tab’s Newbie Reading list, I wouldn’t have been so mistaken.
[Well, the reason they don’t put it in the notice is partly because of the newbies]
ã„´[Why’s that?]
ã„´[If they find out right away through the notice, most newbies quickly grasp reality and despair over their situation]
ã„´[Especially the more modern the era they come from, where otherworld stories are familiar, the stronger that tendency]
ã„´[Yeah, because you can’t have expectations if you don’t know reality]
ã„´[That’s probably why, when you browse the gallery, there are quite a few newbies who act like they’re the chosen hero lol]
That was a sentiment I found hard to understand.
ã„´[But that delusion is what makes them forget reality and hold onto hope. Thanks to it, some adapt quickly]
ã„´[Besides, even if it’s not in the notice, if you keep browsing the gallery, you’ll catch on soon enough]
ã„´[Of course, even after finding out, there are plenty who don’t know their place and think they’ll be different. Honestly, I was the same lol]
It was a statement that seemed understandable at a glance but wasn’t fully convincing.
[But if you’re that bothered, since you’re the armband man, you can just add it to the notice]
ã„´[You know all rules are written in blood, right?]
“…”
I turned off the Gallery and lay down on the bed.
It was an empty bed without even straw in it, so it was as hard as lying on the floor, but it was good enough to rest on.
‘It’s not like things will change now, and even if I’d known earlier, I doubt I’d have made a different choice.’
No other thoughts crossed my mind.
What actually bothered me was something else.
‘Of all names..’
I thought of the young priest I’d taken in as a new family member.
‘Kim Malza, of all things.’
I couldn’t help but be utterly shocked.
And for good reason. Those three syllables, Kim Malza, were my mother’s name.
That was the biggest reason I’d been flustered when I heard it earlier.
‘So I have to order around someone with the same name as my mother.’
Well, now.
I felt like an unfilial child.
…
Knock, knock-
‘Even the sound of knocking is starting to feel warm.’
When I slowly opened the door, I was met with Priest Malza.
I considered forbidding her from coming to the first-floor lodging unless it was urgent, but I held back.
‘It’s just the two of us, and as long as I don’t go upstairs, it should be fine.’
If the family grew, I’d have to be stricter about boundaries, but I doubted the church family would grow any more here.
“What is it?”
“Hehe, I noticed it was lunchtime, so I was wondering if you’d eaten.”
Had it already gotten that late?
“Then I’ll head down and get a meal..”
I stopped mid-sentence and closed my mouth.
I realized I was no longer staying at the inn.
So even if I went downstairs, there was no way to get a meal.
‘..I’ll have to go grocery shopping.’
The problem was that I didn’t have much money left.
Four and a half copper coins.
If one copper coin was roughly worth ten thousand won, then my entire fortune was less than fifty thousand won.
‘For now, I’ll buy some simple groceries with this, and ask Priest Margaret to advance me some pay.’
But the words that followed from Priest Malza made me quietly set aside my few remaining coins.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you! I figured you might not, so I prepared a meal for you too, Priest.”
I looked at her with a strange gaze.
‘Someone with the same name as my mother is making me food too? This is dizzying.’
But this dizziness didn’t last long.
The moment I saw the prepared table, I had to face an even greater dizziness.
On the table sat a pot filled to the brim with stew.
‘The never-ending slop..’
I couldn’t help but sigh at the all-too-familiar visual of the stew.
Just in case, I stirred it with a ladle to see if any meat was hiding at the bottom, but sadly, there was no meat to use as an excuse.
‘The day has finally come when I have to shove this into my mouth.’
At the very least, I should be relieved it wasn’t a porridge that had been boiled and reboiled for years.
“..From next time, I’ll do the cooking.”
“No, it’s fine! You took me in as family, so I should handle these chores!”
“No, I insist. Cooking is a hobby of mine.”
Of course, I had no such domestic hobby.
It was just an excuse I spat out because I didn’t want to eat the slop again.
Fortunately, Priest Malza seemed convinced and gave a gentle nod of agreement.
But the problem I’d solved was a future problem, not the one right in front of me.
“Then this stew might be both the first and last dish I ever serve you! Please enjoy it!”
I glanced into the pot.
‘Judging by the amount she made, we’ll be eating this until tomorrow morning.’
Afraid my distaste might show on my face, I forced my expression to stay calm and scooped up a ladleful.
‘Turnip, sweet potato, beans.. and is that an apple slice?’
The more I dug through the contents, the more new ingredients popped out.
The pinnacle was a sticky lump.
‘..Dough flakes?’
I’d thought the stew was oddly sticky compared to the amount of sweet potato, but it turned out there were flour dough flakes in there.
Turnips, famous for being tasteless, and dough flakes thrown in without a hint of broth.
The appearance was already enough to kill my appetite, but knowing the contents sent what little hunger I had plunging into the basement.
But maybe it would taste different once in my mouth. I carefully took a spoonful.
As I chewed on the slippery dough flake, it squished unpleasantly.
‘Was her grandmother British, by any chance?’
I couldn’t help but think so.
‘And I have to eat this until tomorrow morning.’
That was when a wicked thought crossed my mind, one a true priest could never have.
Of course, it was a scheme only possible because I was a fraud impersonating a priest.
“Come to think of it, the workers were toiling away on the chapel earlier.”
“Yes?”
“They must be hungry too. How about sharing the food with them?”
‘I can’t be the only one eating this.’
I swallowed my true feelings and suggested it gently.
Priest Malza seemed to think it was a good idea and immediately nodded.
“That’s a great idea! I’ll go share it with them right now!”
There was no need for her to leave mid-meal, but I didn’t stop her.
In fact, the moment Priest Malza took the pot and left, I hurriedly slipped away as well.
‘In this gap, I’ll run, I mean, go do some grocery shopping.’
No one was chasing me, but somehow my steps quickened.
‘Is this my second time shopping at the market?’
Actually, calling what I did the first time “shopping” was a stretch.
All I’d bought back then was an oak wood piece and a carving knife to carve the Symbol.
But not long after arriving at the market, I couldn’t help but be startled by an unexpected situation.
“Oh my, Priest! I’m only charging you the regular price, I swear!”
“No.. please, this is too much.”
The merchants were ripping me off.
To be more precise-
“Ugh, it really is the regular price. You must have been scammed before!”
They were going out of their way to rip themselves off.
I looked down at the ingredients piled up in both my arms.
‘How is this possible with fifty thousand won?’
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