Corrupted Priest-Chapter 28

"I do! I totally believe you!"

The purple-haired woman's eyes, the same color as her hair, sparkled brightly.

"But! But if! If they don't show up here, you're dead meat! I'll crush you slowly and thoroughly with my own hands!"

After washing up thoroughly with the water the innkeeper provided for free, I went down to the first floor. There, Dakiya was bombarding Sagitta with questions. Sagitta was calmly answering every one of them with polite patience, even while eating.

I sat down beside Dakiya and ordered a meal. Come to think of it, having run around since dawn on an empty stomach, this was my first meal of the day.

As soon as I came downstairs, Dakiya stared at me like she was trying to burn a hole through my head.

"Is there still some blood you didn't wash off?"

"Nope. I washed quite thoroughly."

There was a sharp edge in her voice. I had a pretty good idea why she was so irked, but first, I decided to deal with my curiosity.

"So, Your Ladyship has decided to hire this fist-swinging mercenary?"

"Yes. We agreed on a fair payment."

Very short reply. Dakiya kept making it abundantly clear that she was seriously displeased with me.

Murder!

My mother, upon seeing Dakiya, had grumbled that she seemed like a thoroughly bothersome woman. Honestly though, compared to when my mother really got going, Dakiya's fuss didn't even come close...

I quickly cut off that blasphemous train of thought. Mother's fussing was, of course, the lovable kind.

I gave Dakiya a soft smile.

"Is this because I left without saying anything?"

She narrowed her large golden eyes at me, clearly annoyed that I had guessed correctly.

"Very perceptive. I thought that our heartfelt conversation last night had deepened our bond, but I suppose that was just my misunderstanding? And didn't you tell me I should consult with you before doing anything rash? Yet you went off without saying a single word to either me or Carmen."

Her point was painfully valid.

"Your Ladyship."

"Yes?"

She answered curtly, like she was daring me to try defending myself. I looked into her eyes and began to speak.

"Have you ever killed someone with your own hands?"

She replied in a slightly deflated voice.

"No..."

"That's why I went alone. I judged that this situation might require a more forceful approach. As you saw earlier, it really did end in bloodshed."

Dakiya took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying.

"But still, you could've at least given me a heads-up. I woke up this morning and had breakfast without the slightest idea of what happened."

That was exactly why I went alone. Just then, the innkeeper brought over a plate of warm food. I gave him a polite nod of thanks, then turned to Dakiya.

"I'll make sure to inform you in advance next time."

I could've argued back with a mountain of points, but I hadn't come down here to get into a debate with her. I came here to eat.

At my concession, Dakiya softened and smiled.

"Then let's call this even with what I did yesterday when I stormed out without a word."

Tearing off a piece of warm bread with my hands, I replied casually,

"How lucky we both had something to trade."

As I chewed on the utterly tasteless bread, Dakiya's eyes sparkled as she asked,

"But what exactly happened? I kept asking Sagitta, but he just told me you'd explain everything yourself."

Sagitta, who had been quietly eating, glanced at me and then turned his focus back to his meal. Clearly, he thought it was a bit too sensitive to explain on his own. Just as I was about to start explaining, someone burst into the inn. It was Carmen.

"Lady Dakiya! Marnak went off alone to negotiate with the mercenary group that picked a fight yesterday! We need to gear up and—"

Then Carmen saw my face and blinked in surprise, saying in a bewildered voice,

"You're already back?"

He plopped down in the seat next to Sagitta with a dazed look.

"If I'd known you were already back, I wouldn't have run all the way here in such a rush... Anyway, who's this?"

As I sliced my ham with a knife and popped a bite into my mouth, I answered,

"A new mercenary hired by Her Ladyship. Go ahead and introduce yourselves."

Sagitta gave a polite nod first.

"Sagitta Forgon, son of Gilta Forgon."

"Forgon?"

"You probably haven't heard of it. The house is already ruined."

Carmen nodded and responded courteously.

"I'm Carmen Baltas, son of Enthis Baltas. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

After a brief greeting with Sagitta, Carmen asked me:

"So, what happened?"

Thanks to Carmen showing up, I was spared from having to explain it twice.

I explained everything to Carmen and Dakia — that the "Red Bear" mercenary group had come to this village targeting Dakia, that the one who ordered them was someone named "Ilehe," and even that Sagitta was the former leader of the Red Bear mercenaries.

After hearing the full story, Dakia subtly scooted closer to me and cast a wary glance at Sagitta.

"Can you really be trusted?"

Sagitta tried to explain himself earnestly but stammered and eventually gave up, sending me a silent plea for help. I couldn't help but chuckle at how consistent he was, even after just a short time of knowing him.

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"You can trust him. As I mentioned earlier, he's been cast aside by the other mercenaries."

Dakia glanced at me and then addressed Sagitta:

"For now, I'll trust you out of respect for Priest Marnak, but I hope there won't be any cause for unpleasantness between us."

Sagitta responded with a relieved look:

"Yes."

Carmen smiled gently to lighten the mood.

"I'm just glad to have such a dependable companion with us."

Carmen didn't object to how I had handled things alone or to the fact that I brought Sagitta back. He seemed to trust that I would handle matters properly.

"Well then, I should head back to the village blacksmith. I was in the middle of selecting arrowheads when I heard the news and came running. Since it's already late, how about we leave early tomorrow morning?"

We all agreed with Carmen's suggestion and took the rest of the day to rest before setting off again.

Dakia stared intensely at the pile of firewood, more serious than ever. As she murmured a low incantation, magical energy stirred and responded to her spell.

A small spark ignited among the wood, and that spark quickly grew out of control and exploded.

Boom!

From a distance, Carmen patted Sagitta on the shoulder and said,

"Let's go collect more firewood."

Thanks to his natural sociability, Carmen had started talking comfortably with Sagitta over the past few days. Sagitta nodded silently and replied briefly:

"Alright."

While the two of them went off to gather more firewood, I moved to perform my usual role — cheering up a dejected Dakia.

She crouched beside the explosion's remains, looking disheartened.

"I really thought it would work this time..."

"Didn't the explosion seem smaller than a few days ago? If the scale of the blasts keeps decreasing like this, you'll surely be able to spark a proper flame soon."

"I can't believe I'm a mage who can't even light a fire..."

Though Dakia was a mage, she wasn't good at handling magic — more precisely, she wasn't used to using it. In fact, she was far more skilled with a sword than with spells.

This was because, as a noblewoman, she had deliberately avoided magic during her upbringing in order to focus on refining her manners and etiquette.

She only started practicing magic again because a few days ago, unaware of her circumstances, I casually asked if she could help set up camp using magic.

Since then, after the disaster on the first day, she seemed driven by sheer stubbornness — repeatedly attempting magic and getting frustrated each time.

As a result, comforting a failed Dakia had become entirely my job.

Still, a small explosion like this was a major improvement from the first time, when she nearly caused a forest fire.

Murder! Murder!

I gently patted my mother, who was gleefully mocking Dakia for being a mage who couldn't start a campfire, and resumed comforting Dakia.

"Lady Dakia. Everyone has times when they're inexperienced."

She replied in a gloomy voice:

"I used to be good at magic when I was younger. I deliberately avoided it, yes, but I never imagined I'd be in this bad a state. Seriously."

True — I'd never seen a mage this bad at magic before. For mages, using magic was as natural as breathing.

Honestly, I was amazed by how stubbornly she had avoided magic for the sake of etiquette until she got to this point. Is this what nobles have to do to be considered refined?

"I'm sure you'll improve little by little."

Dakia slowly looked up at me.

"You really think so?"

"Yes."

She brushed herself off and began preparing camp again. Even though we constantly told her she didn't need to help and should just rest, she insisted on contributing, saying she couldn't slack off while traveling with others. And aside from her magic, she was quite handy with everything else.

Just as Dakia and I finished preparing the camp, Sagitta and Carmen returned carrying a load of dry firewood. As the campfire crackled to life and we all sat around it, Sagitta began cooking with the ingredients he had prepared.

Since I had no sense of taste, I couldn't cook. Dakia and Carmen weren't any better at it either. But perhaps thanks to his long mercenary career, Sagitta was quite skilled in the kitchen, so the cooking naturally fell to him.

While we were eating around the fire, Dakia spoke up.

"We'll be arriving in Eradico tomorrow, right?"

I nodded.

"Yes. Tomorrow, we can soak in some nice hot water."

Murder!

My mother, delighted at the prospect of a hot bath, hummed joyfully, saying there's nothing better.

Carmen smiled warmly and added,

"Still, we can't let our guard down. We never know when Ilehe might target Lady Dakia again."

There had been no further attacks from Ilehe on our journey to Eradico.

It would've made more sense to ambush us while camping like this, rather than causing a scene inside a city.

Attacking a noble inside a city would be a direct challenge to the ruling lord. To appease the lord afterward, the attacker would have to pay a hefty price to restore his honor — and even then, there's no guarantee the offended lord would accept it or forgive the insult.

Dakia's relaxed attitude showed that she was well aware of this.

Still, as Carmen said, we shouldn't let our guard down completely.

The next day, we reached the gates of Eradico and were greeted with a frenzied welcome.

To be precise, I was.

One of the guards, who had caught sight of the priest's robe under my coat, ran out with a bright smile.

"Priest! You're a priest, right?!"

I blinked in surprise and nodded.

"Yes. I am a priest."

The guard clung to me with a desperate expression.

"Please, Priest! I beg you — could you tell that 'Trumpeter of Rest' fool to stop raising the dead? He won't listen to anyone, not even the lord! We'll reward you handsomely!"