This time, too, I was able to open my eyes early in the morning.
Since I had no intention of leisurely eating breakfast, I grabbed a single loaf of bread and headed straight outside.
My destination wasn’t the Healing Center, but the market.
“How much for the oak wood block?”
“Just half a Copper Coin.”
“..Give me my change.”
Not knowing the concept of half a Copper Coin, I handed over a whole one, and the Merchant gave me a cut coin.
‘So that’s why it was half a Copper Coin.’
In Korea, that would be unthinkable.
Even if they did it, wouldn’t you be lucky not to get arrested for defacing currency?
‘Now I just need to buy a knife to carve with.’
The wood block was easy to obtain, but the problem was the knife.
“..This small knife really costs one Silver Coin?”
“It may be small, but it’s made of iron and the blade is sharpened. One Silver Coin is the fair price.”
Just in case I was being overcharged, I asked the Gallery.
[That’s a fair price. Iron is damn rare here, and smelting tech isn’t developed, so anything made of iron is expensive]
[Especially sharp blades are pricey regardless of type. Craftsmen control the number of weapons and refuse to teach the techniques, so they say.]
But at the words that it wasn’t a rip-off, I could only sigh and pay the price.
It was a necessary expense, but the air catching in my throat at my nearly empty pockets is an inevitable human reaction.
Thinking that at least I was lucky to have found work early, I trudged toward my workplace with weary steps.
…
“I’m relieved you showed up.”
That was the first thing I heard upon arriving at work.
As if he was worried I might run away like a slave.
“..Did you suspect I wouldn’t come?”
“A man who can wield power like that has been wandering around all this time—how can I trust him? Especially when he has nothing to lose.”
I was actually a man short on money, but I didn’t dare show it.
The inside of the Healing Center, where I entered with the old Priest, was quiet unlike yesterday.
‘Good.’
I happened to have something to do away from people’s eyes.
“I’ll step out to familiarize myself with the area around the Healing Center.”
“You’re not planning to run away, are you?”
“Come on, have a little faith, Priest.”
Escaping the old Priest’s suspicion that had grown tiresome, I slipped to the back of the Healing Center.
‘Good sunlight, and no prying eyes.’
I found a decent spot, sat down, and took out the oak wood block I’d bought at the market and the Dagger I’d purchased as a substitute for a carving knife.
Dandelion flowers happened to be in full bloom around me, so I could use the real thing as a reference to shape it.
Scrape- scrape-
..Shhk.
‘Hm.’
Of course, being unfamiliar with carving, I cut my hand a few times.
But I immediately healed myself and continued carving.
“Wondered what you were hiding out here doing.”
At the voice from behind, I stopped the knife.
Turning my head, the old Priest was bent over, looking down at the wooden plate in his hand.
When I left my post, he must have come looking out of half worry, half curiosity.
‘Troublesome.’
As expected.
The old Priest looked at the Dandelion shape slowly emerging on the wooden plate and narrowed his eyes.
“Isn’t that a Symbol?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then why are you making it yourself?”
The excuse tumbled out before I even knew it.
Seems I’ve gotten pretty good at making excuses by now.
“..I encountered an Orc and lost my luggage while fleeing. The Symbol was lost with it.”
“So you’re making one yourself?”
“If the Church of the Flower had been nearby, I could have gotten a replacement, but there isn’t one in this area.”
The old Priest stroked his chin and nodded in understanding.
“True enough. Unless it’s the Capital or a Holy Site, seeing a Church of the Flower is difficult.”
Fortunately, there was no sign of suspicion.
If anything, he seemed to think it was just the kind of thing a wandering Priest would go through.
With his suspicion cleared, I continued carving under the old Priest’s watchful eye.
‘..Come to think of it, this is kind of fun.’
Having cut my fingers a few times, it felt like my carving skill was improving by leaps and bounds.
..Though it hadn’t even been an hour.
And so, a little more time passed.
Before long, a single Dandelion flower revealed itself on the round wooden plate.
It was sloppier than the reference photo I’d pulled up, but at a glance, it clearly had the shape of a Dandelion.
The problem was what came next.
According to the explanation I saw in the Gallery, a true Symbol carries the unique energy of a Miracle.
Simply carving the same shape doesn’t make it a Symbol.
‘If energy is needed, I just put it in.’
I placed my hand over the shaped Symbol.
Whoosh-
Light bloomed from my hand and slowly seeped into the oak wood.
“So you know Consecration.”
The old Priest murmured in admiration.
‘Consecration?’
I was just pouring Heal into it to make it look like a Symbol, but in the old Priest’s eyes, it apparently looked like Consecration.
‘At the very least, it’s not the wrong method.’
Gaining some confidence, I continued to pour in my power, and the engraved Dandelion began to emit a faint glow.
That was when it happened.
“It’s already finished, so stop pouring so much. Are you trying to die making a Holy Relic?”
The old Priest grabbed my wrist to stop me.
“..I must have overdone it while focused.”
“If you get that focused twice, you’ll really die making a Holy Relic.”
Only then did I withdraw my power.
I picked up the completed Symbol and examined it closely.
‘It’s glowing.’
The engraved Dandelion emitted a soft light.
Whether it was my imagination or not, I could faintly smell the scent of flowers.
‘Did my power always have this smell?’
Of course, this was the first time I’d poured Heal into a piece of wood.
It was a change I’d never seen before, but I wasn’t all that surprised.
Ever since the Tower appeared, I’d experienced countless things beyond common sense.
It wouldn’t be strange if there was one more unknown function.
“Aren’t you going to engrave a name?”
‘A name?’
I glanced at the Symbol photo I’d left up for reference.
Sure enough, there was a faint inscription beneath the engraved Dandelion.
It was such tiny lettering that I’d overlooked it—a minor detail.
‘Troublesome.’
I hadn’t yet studied this world’s writing, so I couldn’t carve a name.
But thankfully, there was an information post in the Gallery that organized the letters.
After checking the pronunciation corresponding to each letter, I carved my name in, one character at a time.
Flawi
The moment the scraping knife tip completed the final letter, the old Priest stared at the finished Symbol for a while before speaking.
“Flawi, so that was your name.”
“Did you not hear it from the other Priestess?”
“I did. But that wasn’t a proper introduction, was it.”
He was speaking around it, but it was a nudge to introduce myself properly.
There was nothing difficult about it, so I drew the sign of the holy and introduced myself.
“I am Flawi, a humble servant of the Goddess of the Flower, Iris.”
“I am an old servant of the Goddess of the Earth, Gaia. They call me Margaret.”
The old Priestess Margaret replied, drawing the sign of the holy back at me.
“Please take care of me, Priestess Margaret.”
“Take care of me too, Priest Flawi.”
Come to think of it.
We had worked together all of yesterday, yet we’d only exchanged names today.
‘It’s no wonder he was worried I’d run away all day.’
From Margaret’s perspective, a Priest worth exploiting had stumbled in, but he wouldn’t even reveal his name—so of course she’d be anxious he might flee at any moment.
…
“Enough loafing around. Let’s head inside.”
“There are no patients anyway, are there? No need to rush, let’s take it easy.”
The very reason I’d snuck out to carve the Symbol was because there were no patients.
I’d been carving while hidden behind the building, but I hadn’t heard the sound of any patient’s footsteps, so there probably weren’t any now either.
But Margaret chuckled and spoke.
“There are no patients, no. However, something more troublesome than that is coming soon.”
“What, is it someone coming to collect a debt?”
“Hm, something like that.”
Thud thud thud-
Speak of the devil.
Just then, urgent footsteps echoed from the hallway.
A moment later, the Priestess I’d seen yesterday morning burst through the back door with a pale, stricken expression.
“Priestess Margaret!”
“Well, looks like she’s already here.”
Margaret’s obvious dread contrasted sharply with the Priestess’s frozen, ashen face.
And at the Priestess’s next words, I understood why there had been no patients today of all days.
“Th-the Lord has arrived!”
‘..Perfect timing.’
Regardless of the Lord’s conduct, just the burden of it would make anyone want to avoid a visit.
In fact, wouldn’t even the existing patients have wanted to run away?
Of course, I was no exception.
“Then let’s go quickly, Priest Flawi.”
“..I have to go too? I’d rather sit this one out, it’s too much pressure.”
“The whole reason the Lord came was to see your face, so what’s the point if you run away?”
“I suppose so.”
I nodded as if I understood, but my heart was anything but.
‘Damn it.’
Still, running away would be ridiculous, so I feigned composure and followed Margaret.
At the place we arrived, guided by the Priestess, stood several Soldiers and a middle-aged man with a fierce countenance.
Judging by the atmosphere, that middle-aged man was probably the Lord.
‘He has the look of someone who’d squeeze his subjects dry.’
Perhaps he sensed my inner thoughts.
“Even if he looks like that, he’s a good Lord. Don’t misunderstand.”
Margaret tilted her head and whispered.
“Ahem, I can hear everything, Priestess Margaret.”
Apparently, the Lord had heard it loud and clear.
“Come on, just pretend you didn’t.”
“Haha..“
Faced with Margaret’s shameless attitude, the Lord could only manage an awkward laugh.
But that didn’t last long.
Composing his expression, the Lord strode up to me and offered his greeting.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Priest Flawi! You can’t imagine how glad I am that you’ve come to our city!”
“..I thank you for the warm welcome.”
But how should I put it.
His appearance was nothing short of greedy and fierce.
Yet the Lord’s actual personality was completely different from his looks.
“I was quite worried, thinking Priestess Margaret was struggling all alone.”
At the very least, he was… informal.
“And now that Priest Flawi has come in this situation, I feel like I’ve gained a mighty reinforcement.”
For the master of a city, he talked quite a lot.
“I also heard you’ve been staying at an Inn. If you wish, I’ll have a Church built for you to stay in comfortably. I do hope you’ll consider this city your home and stay for a long time. Ah, of course, this isn’t a demand.”
But what was truly odd was something else.
The Noble, master of the city, was being excessively deferential.
Title: Is the status of a Priest really that high?
I can’t think of any other reason for the Lord to be this deferential. Does anyone know?
[Priests are a high status, but they don’t treat every Priest like that]
ã„´[Then why?]
ã„´[Probably because, on the surface, he’s a Priest who can use healing Miracles]
ã„´[? Is that a reason?]
ã„´[Well, they also tread carefully because they think he’s close to the gods]
ã„´[But the biggest thing is that if a Priest of that caliber is in the territory, the number of subjects dying from accidents or disease drops massively]
ã„´[Of course, from the Lord’s perspective, wouldn’t he crawl on his belly to keep him?]
ã„´[I understand.]
[I also want to live a life where Nobles grovel at my feet..]
ã„´[Reincarnating would be faster]
ã„´[Fuck off]
Finally, I understood.
From the Lord’s perspective, it wasn’t simply about one Priest.
He was crawling on his belly to attract a walking university hospital to his city.
Now that the question was resolved, my heart felt lighter.
Because at least I knew it was for the sake of the city.
“Oh, and I heard from the City Gate Soldiers. That you lost your luggage while being chased by an Orc.”
“Ah, yes.”
“As it happens, the Soldiers subjugated a group of Orcs yesterday, so finding your luggage should only be a matter of time.”
“…”
‘That doesn’t exist.’
My light heart had, once again, grown heavy.
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