Going out (5)
“Priest Rhys. I’m here!”
Ronan disappears and the church is empty.
Rosetta, who had just returned from an outing, said that and entered the church.
“Priest Rhys? Priest? What are you doing!”
Rosetta’s eyes were on Reese, who was leaning back in a chair as if she was exhausted, with a tired face.
“Where are you sick? Why are you sweating like this again? Shall we go to the hospital?”
Rhys, who had come to his senses thanks to Rosetta, still looked around with half-dazed eyes.
“Ah…Rosetta. You’re here.”
“What are you doing?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just…”
Reese, who was about to answer, felt his breath choke.
just…
The voice of an unknown child still lingered in my ears.
No, is it really a child?
Reese wasn’t sure of anything.
[Will you promise me that you will not lose your faith in Orion even if there are hard times in the future?]
That person was clearly seeing through his true heart.
Her own true feelings that her faith in the church, and furthermore in Lord Orion, is wavering.
Even after noticing that he had doubts, he left with just one word, saying that he hoped not to lose faith and disappeared.
Without affirming or denying the suspicion, he asked not to lose faith in Orion.
It was clear that at least he was not an ordinary person.
And how light is his own subjectivity, which is mercilessly shaken by that word.
To Reese, the church in his youth was everything to him.
Since I was young, I have lived a life faithful to the Order and believed that I lived for Orion according to the teachings of the Order.
Probably all of the majority of young priests are like that.
However, as you grow older, there are things that naturally become visible to your eyes. Things that were hidden by blood and blind teachings become visible one by one.
You come to realize that the world is not made up of the right things as you think.
By that time, the priests will all have a choice.
Start rationalizing that all humans have limitations, or become more and more blind to the church in order to ignore the truth.
Or rarely, doubting their own faith.
Maybe it’s not that rare. Everyone with that kind of heart must be hiding their true feelings.
However, the moment Reese had that kind of heart, he couldn’t help but lose his will.
Because through the eyes of Reese, who had developed a pessimistic mind, the church seemed to be watching a hungry ghost struggling to stand above others.
The higher the position in the church, the more shady and damp it felt, which was different from blindness or rationalization.
At least, it wasn’t the clerical sight that Reese herself thought of.
Why didn’t I see him in his prime? Probably because he was stuck in the middle of that crowd.
Since they were no longer faithful to the church, it was a natural flow to be pushed out of the mainstream of the church.
In this way, he lived like Bupyeongcho, unable to grasp the direction of his faith, and became a priest in charge of this church.
Forgetting all the personal things and just trying to live a life faithful to those around him, he himself would live in agony from his ever-wavering faith.
Reese was living the day with that kind of heart.
“I can’t do it. I’m going to the hospital right now.”
Rosetta said as if she was worried about Reese, who had stopped talking.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
It was true. After the man touched his shoulder for a moment for the last time, a warm energy spread throughout his body.
The pain in my knees and shoulders, which I hadn’t had since I got older, and my eyes, which used to sting often, didn’t hurt at all. It was a very refreshing feeling that I felt after several years.
“Are you really okay?”
“okay.”
“If you are sick, you must tell us right away. If Priest Reese collapses, our church will be in serious trouble.”
“Yes. Thank you for worrying about me, not the church. Has everything been okay outside?”
With an effortless bright voice, Reese brought up a question to turn the topic to Rosetta.
“It’s unusual to see what’s happening in the city these days. Suddenly, priests from all over the world gather, and the daughter of Duke Thorpe comes to visit. Isn’t that a young lady who has already given up on the Orion Church? Maybe she’s trying to borrow the power of a different race. . It’s really extremely sincere.”
As if Rosetta had been waiting, she talked about what was happening in the fortress city.
“Now that more and more people are famous, I think more and more people are coming to the city to see if they can get something to eat. Most of them will be homeless anyway. Prices seem to be rising a little bit. Anyway, that doesn’t help.”
“Rosetta.”
When the conclusion ended with gossip about the powerful people who had gathered in the city, Reese let out a stern voice.
“….sorry.”
Rosetta looked at Reese’s expression as if she was sorry and apologized quietly.
“I mean, no big deal! Whoops, why is there so much dust?”
Rosetta starts wandering around the church uselessly to lighten the mood with a cheery tone.
Rosetta, who was wandering around like that, inadvertently stopped in front of the statue of God.
“What is this… Priest Rhys?”
Where Rosetta’s eyes were directed, there was a corolla of flowers that bloomed as if they had just drank a lot of water.
Perhaps that was all, the elaborately intertwined stems gave off a well-organized formative beauty, as if a craftsman had worked with great care.
At first glance, it was not a simple corolla.
“that…”
Reese choked again.
The sight of the flowers still in full bloom and the stems growing was pleasing to the eye.
“It’s an offering from a believer.”
That was all Reese could say.
“This is an offering from a believer? It doesn’t look like it’s the work of an ordinary person, right?”
“It’s like a wizard.”
“You’re a strange person. A wizard believes in Orion-sama.”
“That’s right.”
“He seems to be a very sincere person. You can see that he put a lot of effort into it. Looking at him, you’ll have a sense of faith that you didn’t have before.”
At that, Reese went to Rosetta’s side and slowly looked at the corolla.
When I was wearing the crown with Anna, I couldn’t appreciate it properly because I was too focused on the unidentified person, but looking at it again, it looked really great.
It was made of flowers, but because it was made of flowers, it gave off a more mysterious atmosphere.
Perhaps because she was wearing such a garland, she felt more reverent at the statue she had normally looked at casually.
“It’s my heart that has changed…”
“yes?”
The clever priest immediately noticed that it wasn’t just because of the garland.
“Orion-sama…a lack of followers have lost their way.”
Then, an unknown person appeared in front of Reese, who was lost and wandering, and suggested faith. Just like the fate Orion arranged.
“I am willing to follow the journey you have arranged. Whatever you wish.”
At this moment, in Reese’s mind, there was no concern about the identity of the person wearing the robe, nor a consideration of the extraordinary level of holy magic that person had performed.
It was a sense that Reese had forgotten at some point.
The sense that God must have foretold my future, so I can just leave everything to that path.
“It seems that this blind follower’s eyes are opening a little.”
God did not reproach or deny his question. Just do not lose faith in God. He only said that.
He never once said to affirm the aspect of the Church that made him suspicious. Now Reese has learned how to separate God and the Church.
“?”
Rosetta, who did not understand the situation, was only questioning as she watched Reese suddenly begin to pray.
* * *
Ugh, sudden chills.
“…What is it? It seems my fanaticism sensor is responding now.”
Are there priests of different races around?
I looked around, but nothing caught my eye.
Are you tired of doing unplanned crowds?
Well, it was kind of hard to run from the church to the common carriage.
Today, it was a successful achievement within an early hour, but it was not leisurely to go back to the distance traveled by carriage with this body alone.
I didn’t have any money, so I didn’t have any reason to do anything else.
At least, even if I tried to find out about people’s trends, it would be better to go to a nearby restaurant than to hang out in a plaza, but I don’t have money, so what?
In the end, he rode the wagon and returned to the academy.
It’s hard the first time, but it’s easier when you go in.
Perhaps it was because he returned earlier than expected, and there was no sign that the knight outside the door had noticed it.
Perfect. Maybe I’m a genius at stealth?
After a while of self-praise and mental care, I began to consider my plan once again.
I thought secretly escaping the academy would be the biggest challenge, but it was much easier than I thought, and something unexpected caught me off guard.
money, his money.
After all, the world is all about money, damn it.
I had no idea where to get the money for the coronation.
Of course, there won’t be a corner to bring money if I want.
Am but I’m still a probationary saint, so if I said I needed money, wouldn’t there be someone who would lend me money?
If not, you can ask the princess.
The problem is that I’m too shy to reveal where I’m going to spend this money.
To tell you about it, I have to tell you about my illustrious double life, which I started today, but this is a complete turnaround.
However, if I receive money from outside treatment for patients, it will put a stain on my reputation, so I have to find another source.
Should I make and sell potions?
Then you should learn how to mix herbs. I should have learned herbalism.
But is it okay to just distribute potions?
Sometimes in novels, potions are passed carelessly, and then there is controversy.
Black market? How do you know where that is again? I don’t even know where to start looking for it.
Whew.
The more I thought about it, the more difficult it was.
Where does a wealthy aristocrat show up and don’t sponsor me?
Then, in moderation, I would try to spread it in the middle of the academy, and then I would spread it in the city, and I would try to focus on the church, especially in the city.
smart
While I was imagining the futility, a knock rang in my room.
“Come on in.”
Celia, the princess, and the knights who were guarding the door entered the room.
“Ronan-nim, I’m back!”
“How have you been?”
“Sure! I remembered everything I saw and heard today!”
Celia, whose face was still red as if she were satisfied with the outing, said that and quickly took her seat at the table.
“Ronan Saint. I heard you skipped lunch. It’s a bad habit.”
After that, the princess and the knights put two food plates on the table.
The knights had a somewhat apologetic expression.
Could it be that you were harassed?
“I said I wouldn’t eat it first. Thanks to Mr. Northern, I was able to pray quietly for the first time in a while.”
The princess looked like she was passing over casually, but the knights whose name was called couldn’t hide their delight.
This is a small, free, good impression point.
In an environment like this where there are superiors who cannot ask where they knew my name, the princess thinks that the knights revealed her name on their own, and the knights think that the princess or someone else told them, so they don’t have to make excuses.
“You can’t do that, Ronan-nim! He told me to eat three full meals at three o’clock!”
You’re a kid. It’s time to eat and grow.
…Oh, I’m a kid too, right?
“Be sure to eat your dinner.”
“Okay.”
At the same time, I was also hungry.
I didn’t starve at lunch because I wanted to.
“You’ve been rude this morning. Rest in peace, Ronan Saint.”
“Rest in peace.”
“Azalea-sama and Northern-sama rest in peace.”
“As soon as possible, I will definitely make sure that Ronan Saint can go out with him.”
I’m very happy to say that. But for the time being, I’m going to be a little busy working on famous works at church. You can take it easy.
“You don’t have to push yourself.”
This time, he was sincere, but seeing the princess’ burning emotions had the opposite effect. Why?
As the princess and the knights retreated, Celia was looking this way with bright eyes.
why.
“From now on, I’ll tell you everything!”
ah.
Come to think of it, that’s what I said. To be honest, I don’t think it’s going to be very helpful because I think it was only released around the central square.
“First, I went to a church that was so big that it could even be compared to the one built inside the academy!”
There you go. I was cut at the entrance.
“There’s a really big musical instrument there, and there are a lot of other priests and people… Ah! There were more people because the lady of the Duke of Thorpe was there. I heard that she had an incurable disease that she gave up on any denomination, but the priests of different races also He said he was trying to get help, but the clergy are holding him back…”
…Well, it doesn’t matter if we talk happily like this.
Recalling the memory of the kid I met at church during the day responding to my story, I genuinely joined Celia’s story.
……
You must have been very tired today.
After dinner, Celia, who was sitting next to Ronan, who had started to doze off, unraveled all the scenes she remembered today.
It was said that he skipped lunch and prayed, but it was difficult for Celia to understand how ardently praying would tire her body.
Even in the midst of being tired, Celia tried to solve all the stories while feeling numb at the way she responded to her story one by one.
…See you next time, Mr. Ronan.
Celia looked at Ronan asleep for a while before deciding to step back.
At that moment, Celia’s eyes caught Ronan’s holy clothes hanging on one side.
It was very close to coincidence.
There was no reason to go there.
uh?
Celia, wondering if she was mistaken, moved closer to Ronan’s holy robe.
“This…”
Celia, who had made a noise without realizing it, hurriedly lowered it in case Ronan woke up, and examined Ronan’s castle closely.
There was an unknown mark on the hem of Ronan’s right hand.
When I smelled it, I thought I could feel the smell of bitter grass.
?
It’s strange. Even if you asked about it during class, it’s clear that all the clothes you wore this week have been washed and are lying outside right now.
As I put my nose up close, I could smell the earth from the hem of the robe.
Celia carefully took out Ronan’s holy clothes and folded them.
Were there any clothes that weren’t washed? Or…
Many questions passed through my head, but I thought that the first thing to do was to do something about this holy garment.
“Good night, Ronan.”
Celia greeted the sleeping Ronan once again and cautiously left Ronan’s room.
way to the laundry room.
“Miss Celia. It’s time to go to bed soon. What’s going on?”
Celia, who was hurrying on her way, was noticed by a bishop passing by.
“Ah…I…”
Celia carefully hid Ronan’s holy clothes behind her back.
“What are you doing?”
The bishop stares at Celia with sharp eyes.
Celia said to the bishop with a puzzled expression.
“Well, today’s outing was so much fun that I ran around and my clothes were messed up…”
Hearing Celia’s words, the bishop stared at Celia in a pitiful way.
“Keep in mind that Miss Celia is here as the face of the church! What’s more, what if someone who also holds the position of servant of an apprentice saint does such a frivolous thing!”
“sorry.”
Celia lowered her head while repeating the words of apology over and over again.
“Anyway, I can’t take off my cheonmin belt…”
Seeing Celia like that, the bishop clicked his tongue and left.
“Heh. You can’t say a word in front of other people.”
The place where the bishop left.
Celia, who had made an apologetic expression until just now, stuck out her tongue toward the place where the bishop had left with a calm expression.
Celia, who had been staying at this inn as Ronan’s attendant and had seen the insolence the priests of the Orion Church had committed against the different races for the past few days, was no longer afraid of such bishops as before.
These days, those bishops were busy avoiding priests of different races.
Ronan-sama is good at talking to priests of different races. As expected, Ronan-nim is the best. All the church does is hinder Ronan-nim. I, too, should help Ronan-nim.
Celia moved diligently toward the laundry room again.
I had to hurry to wash the holy clothes while others didn’t care.
