I Became a Fake Priest the Saintess Is Obsessed With

7 – Is the Heavenly Sect supposed to be like this…?

Quietly observing the sleeping father and son, I dusted off my hands and got up.

“Phew… It sure took a hell of a time to get here.”

It took a whopping three hours just to escape the city and reach the outskirts.

In terms of distance, it shouldn’t have taken so long. But a dispute with the checkpoint guards took away a staggering amount of time.

“I’m going for volunteer service and they try to stop me somehow…”

There seems to be some law that prevents priests from going to the outskirts.

At the checkpoint, while waiting in line, the guards tried to forcibly drag me out.

“Damn imperial law against priests. I’d rather believe in the celestial god than some perverted goddess…”

What angered me more was that a priest of the Celestial Church, who was in line with me, was sent to the outskirts without saying a word.

According to the guards, priests of the Celestial Church are fine because they have the power to protect themselves… But I can protect myself as well.

Only after arguing with the guards for at least an hour was I able to emerge victorious and head to the outskirts.

“Muttering about this once or twice is enough now… I guess I will have to get used to it…”

Though the empire is severe with laws and discrimination, it’s been 12 years since I’ve lived here.

At this point, I decided to simply accept such shoddy treatment.

“Alright! Anyway, now that the quest is completed, let’s go~”

There was a pleasant sound of receiving PP.

The job is done. I got paid. Just as I was about to return to abide by the empire’s law of not wandering around late at night, someone grabbed my ankle.

“Who are you…?”

The owner of the voice was Kukulet Grid.

I thought she lost consciousness after the treatment, but it seems like she just fell asleep for a while.

I, a law-abiding priest, tried to ignore it and go my own way, but the strength holding my ankle was so strong that I couldn’t get out.

Even as I stared at Kukulet, there was no indication that she would let go, and given the impending curfew, I swiftly decided to answer and run away.

“I am a priest who came out for volunteer service.”

“Are you a priest? Then are you a apostle of the Celestial Church?”

“No? I’m just an ordinary clergyman who believes in the Earth Mother…”

“Ah… the Celestial God… To think she would send the Apostle for this foolish child like me… I don’t know how to appreciate your meaning…”

“No, I told you I believe in the Earth Mother.”

Somehow, Kukulet seems to mistake me for an apostle of the Celestial Church.

Perhaps, all she wants is to lean on someone.

Struggling and dying without anyone to treat her, a miracle happened. Maybe her faith just exploded…

“Apostle, I am truly grateful. How can I repay this grace to you?”

“No, I don’t need any more rewards. You don’t seem to have much to offer in the first place… And I’m not a saint, just an ordinary priest.”

“Ah… how do we deserve such a true saint… Just wait. I have nothing to give but I will give you this hair…!”

“No, no! Why the hair!”

I desperately stopped Kukleuret, who was grabbing her hair and trying to pull it out.

‘Is there a bizarre rule in the Heaven’s Religion to offer hair to a priest? I don’t need that at all!’

I really didn’t want anything else from her.

After curing this trending flu twice, I earned 1000PP which I thought was more than enough!

Honestly, I felt a little dizzy after the treatment and I thought that it was just a flu, but once I saw the family’s situation, I immediately understood.

Living in such a poor neighborhood, you could easily die from a minor illness.

If you’re a person with a lot, even if your body parts are cut off or if you’re cursed, you survive,

but these poor people can die from a mere flu.

Sadly, this is the grotesque reality.

The haves survive, and the have-nots die – this is the tragic duality of the Empire’s society.

After the treatment, I was alright after strengthening the passive in the shop, and I felt sorry for their situation and planned to leave without taking the treatment fee, how could she do this…

“Stop!!! Stop it right now!!!”

“I cannot!!! I must repay your kindness!!”

I tried to pull Kukleuret’s arms away from her head with both hands, but my strength seemed weaker than her thin, twisted arms.

Ah, how weak I must be.

Eventually, big chunks of Kukleuret’s fluffy hair began to be pulled out by her hands.

As a last resort, I firmly held onto a brick lying on the ground.

“Stop! Just stop it!!!”

Thud! Thud! Thud…

Several times I hit her hands with the brick I was holding.

“Why… why are you doing this…?”

Finally, Kukleuret stopped pulling out her hair when I beat her hands until they were bruised.

I threw the brick away and approached her, holding her hands.

“Huh… my god, I offer this body and soul to the Mother of Earth, please help the lamb rise again”

When I calmed my anger and recited the spell, her battered hands became fine and the pain came to me.

‘Oh no… Damn it… I must have hit her really hard…’

The tingling pain in both my hands was consuming, but with lips clenched, I managed a smile.

“Mr. Kukuret… Our mother beneath the earth bore us and nurtured us without asking for any kind of price in return. I as well, merely continued her will of doing good deeds. So please refrain from such radical actions.”

“Ah… But, but my son and I, we owe our lives to you today… If you refuse any form of repayment, I will live the rest of my life with a heavy heart, burdened by the thought that I could not repay your kindness…”

He clenched the hand that he had been tightly holding.

“Then repay me later. I promise that I won’t impose any special interest or unfair contracts on you… Someday, just buy me a meal,”

I gave him my typical persuasive speech to prepare for a quick escape.

Upon hearing my statement, he let out a series of ‘ahh’s for quite some time.

I released his hand and prepared to leave.

“Please, at least tell me your name!”

Kukuret desperately called out to me.

I turned to face him one last time.

Though Kukuret’s face was unattractive, streaked with tears and runny nose, I didn’t care and smiled, saying,

“I’m Ivan Aira, a mid-ranking priest of the Earth Mother religion.”

“Priest Ivan… I will definitely repay you. Even if it means reviving my fallen household, I will…”

Staring into his eyes filled with determination, I turned and walked away.

I know the journey to the star-filled empire in the sky is long and challenging, but I cheer for him.

I enjoy watching people challenge themselves with their determination ablaze.

[The Goddess has highly praised your action and rewarded you with 5000PP]

At least there was some reward in this melodramatic act.

I shrugged audibly at the unexpected 5000PP.

“But Goddess, when will you let me gamble with my PPs?”

[The Goddess is displeased with your speech and deducts 500 PP]

Damn it.

Angry at the goddess for giving then taking away, I swung my fist towards the sky.

However, only the pain in my hands inflamed further, with nothing else happening.

[Due to your inappropriate behavior, the Goddess has deducted an additional 5PP]

…A truly miserable, perverse goddess.

*

“I’m running late!”

As evening began to descend, I hastily ran down the path.

The strange law that exists within the empire.

The law that forbids clerics from wandering around late at night.

Even if I broke such a trivial law and received absolution from the clergy’s superiors, because my respect for the law was outstanding, from doing even a minor violation was something I did not want to do. So, I ran up the rocky mountain path.

“Huh? Is that the sound of people…?”

In between my hurry, from the depths of the mountain somewhere, I heard the chatter of a man and a woman.

Such a late hour and both a man and woman are in the mountains…

Could it be… they are having the so-called secret rendezvous?

There was a moment of hesitation, overcome by irresistible curiosity, whether I should go over or not, but then I saw the setting sun and realized.

‘It’s too late to be going at this time’

I’m sorry Sister Selena, Saint Amelia…

This humble child has to do a sleepover today…

During the end, I succumbed to my curiosity and carefully went towards where the sound came from.

By the time people started appearing from a distance, I hid among the thistles and observed them.

There were three people in total.

A young man with black hair, black eyes, wearing leather armor with a sword and shield, a seemingly ordinary adventurer, a brown-haired person, unconscious, carried by the black-haired man.

The remaining one, a woman with sky-colored hair and eyes like the noon sky where the sun at it’s peak, wearing white nun robes, opposite to my black cleric robes.

The man with black hair was shouting and ranting, while the nun simply watched him indifferently.

Something about the woman seemed familiar.

It was because that very nun had passed me earlier at the checkpoint, a cleric of Celestialist sect.