The Priest Wants to Retire

EP.189 The Promise Left Unsaid

The origin and identity of the dungeons remained shrouded in mystery.

Some claimed they were the cracks of the hellgate spewing forth all sorts of unclean things.

Others said they were divine trials from the god to test humanity.

Among them, there were oddballs who suggested it might be a dimensional portal leading to another world, but that theory wasn’t widely accepted.

Of course, only renowned scholars, drowning in money and time, could freely chatter about such hypotheses.

For the average citizen, who made up the vast majority of the population, dungeons were just terrifying natural disasters, unpredictable in when and how they might unleash their horrors upon families.

And personifying that fear was none other than the Demon King.

Appearing once every few centuries, a dungeon of the highest danger level that threatens the very foundations of this world.

The arch-nemesis of humanity, and the sworn enemy of the Hero.

To drive that embodiment of evil out of this system could be said to be our mission as the Hero Party.

Yet even we, in our right minds, seldom uttered that name recklessly.

This was a natural consequence.

There’s a saying that the mouth is the source of all evil, and it held true within this system as well.

The Demon King appears where his name is most frequently spoken.

While it might sound like a mere rumor to scare children, casually uttering the name of the Demon King was considered a serious crime, one that even the most esteemed nobles couldn’t escape with a slap on the wrist.

So it made sense that we were reacting in such a bewildered manner.

“So you’re saying you’re the legendary Ultima, and because you were upset with the supreme deity who has bestowed upon you the body of a plush toy, you tried to claim the body of the Hero based on dungeons created with the Demon King’s power. Is that right? Right now?”

“Upset? How vulgar! Stop it at once! I merely felt pity for the Hae-gye who couldn’t bear the beautiful flower of my name. I just wished to dedicate a moment to this world! There was no selfish desire involved! So, release me from this outrageous restraint immediately! Treat me with respect! Hae-gye In!”

“Phew… sigh…”

It took me a moment to realize that the gloomy breath escaping my lips was indeed mine.

It was such a series of absurd statements that no one in the room, myself included, would have been surprised by a collective sigh.

At least the Hero had a bright smile on his face, but judging by the question marks floating above his head, it seemed he wasn’t able to follow the conversation either.

I should have caught on since the moment that strange individual claimed to be the Archangel Ultima.

How could the Archangel, who was supposed to protect humanity, deliberately manifest the Demon King to take on a human form?

If there was any part of the story that made sense, maybe I would have pretended to listen.

I was dumbfounded and speechless.

Surely, even a three-year-old could string together words more coherently than that.

“Apis. I’m feeling kind of tired, could I ask you to handle the follow-up?”

“Sure, it seems to be getting lengthy. Leave this to me, and you guys can go on with your tasks.”

“Wait! Hold on! Did you not hear what I said?! If you bow your heads to me right now and present the offering calmly, I would graciously forgive your sins! Why are you trying to leave!? Excuse me! Over here! This way…”

Thud. Thump!

With each crunch of my throat being silenced by Aapis, who was horrifyingly relentless, we all headed out of the room.

Clearly, interrogation wasn’t my forte.

What I had gleaned from a lengthy questioning session ended up being nothing but worthless drivel.

I felt a moment of despair but didn’t fall into hopelessness.

Everyone has their suitable role.

While I had no talent for rough business, Aapis, who was experienced in threats and coercion, would surely extract the hidden intentions of that suspicious character.

Handing it all over to Aapis from the start would have been the most effective method. What a futile trip I made.

“Phew…”

I ran my hand through my hair and took a moment to gather myself.

Perhaps I had gone through too much in such a short span.

My noticeably weary mind was pleading for rest, but I decided to ignore it.

The dungeon disaster that had once swallowed the Hero, and the current large-scale dungeon disaster that had invaded the Vatican.

The very essence was a fragment of the Demon King.

Even though it was an absurd rumor that made me chuckle unexpectedly, it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.

No matter how nonsensical the gossip, if it involved the Demon King, we, as members of the Hero Party, couldn’t just turn a blind eye.

“Hero, could you help me look for a transportation griffon around here with Bigtim? I’ll prepare to leave this place.”

“Yes! Understood!”

“……”

“Leave it to me!”

With a shared glance and but a word whispered, everyone present sprang into action in perfect unison.

Having spent years together made confirming and merging our intentions as straightforward as this.

“Could you wake up the Saintess who’s taking a nap, Sister?”

“Huh? Y-yes, I’ll do it…?”

Sister, who was struggling to keep up with our already-concluded conclusion, let out a decidedly puzzled response.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I lacked some explanation, didn’t I?”

In that moment, I realized our behavior might appear somewhat disorganized from an outsider’s perspective.

Unlike us, who knew each other’s intentions with just expressions, the outsider Sister needed a more specific explanation of the situation.

“Sister, we’re heading to the Vatican from now on.”

“Excuse me?”

◈◈◈

Even while hurriedly packing, the sense of unease filled with thought only grew larger.

It felt as if I was missing something.

An unpleasant sensation like a giant fish bone lodged in my throat occasionally twisted my brow.

“The angel who serves the call of God… is deliberately creating a dungeon… let alone a Demon King-level dungeon. There’s a limit to madness…”

Every time my hands threatened to pause, I shook my head vigorously to dispel the distractions.

It was nonsense.

It was complete, unfounded, and utterly ridiculous empty talk.

Dungeons are supposed to occur randomly without identifiable reasons—cataclysmic phenomena.

There shouldn’t be any will involved, nor should there be.

To suggest otherwise would be an affront to the achievements of past Heroes who fought desperately to safeguard this world from dungeon monsters and the holy sacrifices that protected them, as well as an insult to the wishes of the people who admired them.

To think that humanity’s struggle to survive was merely the act of stepping lightly on an insignificant chessboard laid down by someone else…

That was an exaggerated tale, wasn’t it?

‘This place resembles the Meeting Room…’

I halted.

In the midst of my turbulent thoughts, I suddenly recalled a memory I had temporarily forgotten.

Right, I remembered now.

To rescue the Hero, who was caught in a sudden dungeon disaster, I had squeezed myself into that black pillar.

At that moment, I briefly superimposed the Meeting Room beyond the endless darkness I could not see through.

At the time, I had shrugged it off as just my imagination, but looking back, it all seemed strange.

Why?

Why hadn’t I found it odd back then?

That pure white, absurdly vast, unclear space whose existence I didn’t know how long it had been there and who had created it…

Why hadn’t I…

“Ugh!”

A sudden headache hit me, clutching my head tightly.

Maybe this was a kind of revelation telling me to stop overthinking and simply focus on moving my hands.

Despite my head and innards still feeling muddled, I decided to think that way for now and focused on what I was doing.

“Priest! Are you alright?!”

“Yes, I’m fine. Hero. Just a bit of a headache… Why are you here…?”

The Hero’s voice, coming like an arrow from outside my consciousness, stirred my awareness.

Normally, the Hero should be out searching for transport with Bigtim right now, but there he was, cheerfully talking right next to me.

“I’ve left the task of finding the mount entirely to Bigtim! I hurriedly came to help the Priest!”

“Ah…”

Sending Bigtim, who distinctly lacked verbal prowess and would faint at just holding a girl’s hand, on such a harsh task seemed a bit too much.

It may be somewhat troublesome to meddle in others’ family upbringing, but seeing these siblings, whom I’ve nurtured like nephews, brought about a bit of that clucking grandmother feeling in me.

“Oh! By the way, Bigtim said he would generously do this for you!”

“R-really?”

“Yes! He’ll handle finding the mount himself! In the meantime, he suggested you should relax and stay close! This is the perfect chance to hasten your progress!”

“……….. Well, how fortunate you are to have such a commendable sibling.”

“Yes! A sibling anyone would be proud of!”

My Hero’s bright response, in contrast to my cynical jabs, was delightfully cheerful.

Bigtim’s admirable intention for his sister deserved praise indeed, but why was there no thought at all about my situation, which ought to be preserved in purity?

I had even helped Bigtim write a pen pal letter to the lizard beastwoman he had a crush on.

My affection for Bigtim internally dropped by about 5 points. No, maybe 3.

Clank.

“Y- Hero? Why did you suddenly lock the door…?”

At that moment, the Hero unexpectedly locked the door tightly and approached me like a graceful doe.

Crinkle.

In his delicate hands, a small piece of candy was held.

Oh no. I had temporarily forgotten.

Between me and the Hero, there was a strict promise that we would share that adorable sugary treat in a way no one else could understand.

“Are you serious, right now…?”

Nods.

The mix of my pitiful sighs and the Hero’s sticky breaths soon blended together.

---