Chapter 10
The sun quickly set.
Before long, the soldiers returned to their tents one by one.
“You've worked hard. Have some while it's warm.”
I poured the tea I'd warmed in advance into cups and handed it to the soldiers.
It was tea brewed from rosemary leaves I'd quietly taken from the clinic before we departed.
Strictly speaking, since I hadn't asked permission, I hadn't taken them so much as stolen them, but Priest Margaret would probably let something this minor slide.
“I'll enjoy it, Priest.”
“Thank you.”
The soldiers wrapped both hands around their warm cups.
Among them was the soldier who had promised to treat me to wheat beer during the day.
“Haha, I said I'd treat you, but I ended up being treated first.”
Calling a single cup of tea a treat was an overly generous reaction.
Still, perhaps the warm tea had helped more than expected, because the soldiers' expressions relaxed considerably.
Even so, there was still one soldier who looked anxious.
“Are you nervous?”
“Ah, n-no.”
The young-looking soldier hurriedly straightened his back.
Judging by both his age and his length of service, he was obviously the youngest soldier there.
“Don't worry. Nothing you're worried about will happen.”
“Wilson, I nearly died too, but the priest fixed me right up. Don't worry for nothing.”
…
The soldier who had said he farmed wheat added a word of encouragement, but the youngest soldier's expression only grew stiffer.
It seemed to have had the opposite effect.
“..Even so, if you're anxious, I'll pray to the goddess for your safe return.”
Of course, there was no way the goddess would heed the prayer of an impostor who wasn't even a real priest.
But there was a reason the term placebo effect existed.
I clasped my hands as if to pray and used a buff.
‘Power of Bless.’
As radiant light rose from my hands and added a convincing bit of theatrics, the soldier's tense expression gradually softened.
“So this is the blessing I've only heard about.. I really feel stronger.”
It wasn't just a feeling; he really was getting stronger.
But I didn't bother correcting his misunderstanding. I'd deliberately prompted it in the first place.
Of course, it did have a side effect.
“Um, Priest, could I perhaps receive a blessing too?”
After seeing the youngest soldier receive a blessing(?), the other soldiers began looking at me with pleading eyes as well.
“..Yes, of course. I'll do you one at a time.”
I was only able to sleep after praying for each of the soldiers.
“Have a peaceful night!”
It was anything but peaceful.
“Kueeeek!”
‘An ambush!?’
In the middle of the night, I jolted upright at the bizarre cry I heard in my sleep.
I tried to assess the situation while checking my surroundings, but the inside of the tent was strangely peaceful.
It didn't take long to find the source of the strange cry.
“Kuweeeek-”
My gaze naturally shifted to the space beside me.
One of the soldiers was snoring.
‘..I should've just accepted when they told me to sleep alone.’
It was a belated regret.
Had I spent the night tossing and turning? I greeted the morning with slightly hollow-looking eyes.
Clang clang clang-!
A metallic sound like a gong announcing reveille rang out around the tents.
Every soldier who heard it got up and formed ranks in front of the tents.
We ate breakfast only after the formation was dismissed.
The food consisted entirely of tasteless porridge made by boiling grains and bread as hard as stone, but at least there was no problem filling our stomachs.
‘Still better than pig-slop porridge.’
This was why people needed to see rock bottom at least once in their lives.
The knight I'd only heard about arrived while I was chewing laboriously on my remaining bread.
“Everyone, quiet!”
When one of the soldiers raised his voice, the surroundings fell silent.
Soon, a blonde woman walked out from the depths of the forest.
Her hair glittered unusually brightly in the sunlight.
‘That must be the lord's daughter.’
Her blonde hair looked remarkably similar to the lord's.
But honestly, everything else about her was quite different.
She was slender and seemed a little taller than those her age, but she wasn't imposing enough to intimidate anyone.
Most importantly, unlike the lord, the knight was beautiful.
‘Looks like she took after her mother.’
I couldn't help thinking so.
She quickly looked around as if searching for something.
As soon as she spotted me, her face brightened and she strode toward me. Apparently, I was what she'd been looking for.
“That flashy flower-patterned shirt! Just as I'd heard! It's a pleasure to meet you, Priest Flawy.”
“..Not Flower. Flawy.”
“I'm sorry, Priest Flower. Anyway, I've heard a great deal about you from my father.”
…
“Ah! I haven't introduced myself.”
She belatedly came to her senses and straightened her posture.
“I'm Knight Charlotte. I'll be commanding this dungeon expedition. I look forward to working with you, Priest Flower.”
I wondered how she could possibly keep getting my name wrong, no matter what she'd heard.
Still, I could glimpse a certain resemblance to the lord in her personality.
‘She's not authoritarian.’
She naturally greeted the soldier who approached her as well.
She didn't use formal speech, but both her tone and actions made it obvious that she was considerate of the other person.
‘Does she take after the lord in personality?’
She seemed to have inherited only her parents' good qualities.
Charlotte made a circuit of the camp to check the state of preparations, then approached me again.
“We'll enter the dungeon now. Priest, please wait here and treat anyone who comes out injured.”
Pulling the healer back to a safe place was an eminently sensible decision.
But I had no choice but to shake my head at Charlotte's request.
If I stayed behind, it would be difficult to analyze the dungeon.
“No. I'm going in too.”
“The priest, you mean?”
Charlotte opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“That would be difficult. Besides, if you were to get hurt, my father would give me a severe scolding.”
“Wouldn't the safest place here be at your side, Knight Charlotte? And treating the wounded at the scene should also improve their chances of survival.”
“..That is true, but..”
When I presented the justification I'd prepared, Charlotte looked troubled.
I added a few more words to reassure her.
“Besides, I've spent my life as a wandering priest. I can take care of myself.”
“All right. But you must be extremely careful.”
Fortunately, I succeeded in persuading her.
“Then we'll enter.”
Two soldiers carrying shields passed through the portal first.
Once they signaled that everything was fine inside, Charlotte and the remaining soldiers followed one after another.
I passed through the portal only after every soldier had entered.
Fwoosh-
‘Bright.’
The moment I stepped into the dungeon, an intense light poured down and washed everything before my eyes in white.
When I reflexively closed my eyes, I sensed a familiar smell instead.
It didn't take long to realize what it was.
‘Sea air?’
The salty scent of seawater and a damp breeze brushed against the tip of my nose.
When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a blue beach glittering in the sunlight.
“You're here, Priest. Apparently, this is what they call the sea.”
Charlotte, who had come over at some point, murmured in amazement.
“Is this your first time seeing the sea?”
“As you know, our territory lies quite deep inland.”
Was that so?
I briefly opened the Gallery and checked the map.
Just as Charlotte had said, the sea was extremely far away from the territory in every direction.
‘It really is deep inland.’
I checked the coordinates in case I could determine our location inside the dungeon as well, but nothing was displayed.
‘As expected, this is a separate space.’
I was reminded of the inside of the Tower, where GPS couldn't be checked either.
It wasn't enough to call it proof, but my suspicions told me that the dungeon and the Tower were connected.
‘If I examine the boss monster, I should know for sure.’
“Knight Charlotte, do you have a plan?”
“‘Knight’ is too formal. Please call me whatever you like. Hmm, ‘Charlotte’ is a family nickname, so..”
Charlotte hesitated for a moment, then clapped her hands as though she'd thought of a suitable nickname.
“Lotte should be fine.”
For a moment, my mind grew so hazy that I forgot all about the dungeon and the Tower.
“..Lotte is not okay.”
“Hmm, why not?”
“No, I'm sorry. Let's pretend you didn't hear that.”
It was a subject I couldn't bring myself to talk about.
“Anyway, may I ask what your plan is?”
Charlotte didn't ask any further. She examined the coast and the forest stretching toward the interior of the island in turn, then looked at the soldiers.
“It's embarrassing to admit, but today is my first time seeing the sea in person.”
Her expression grew somewhat awkward.
“Until I heard the soldiers' report, I planned to make camp on the coast, capture the orcs when they appeared, and strike their base. But I never expected the seaside to be this hot.”
The metal parts of the armor, exposed to the beach's harsh sunlight, were gradually heating up.
The soldiers wearing chain mail already looked exhausted, perhaps because sweat was building up beneath it.
‘Is the season different too? Unlike the city, where it was spring, the inside of the dungeon feels like late summer.’
The midsummer seaside was bound to have intense sunlight.
The sand, moreover, absorbed that heat and raised the temperature of the surrounding area even further.
Even with the wind blowing, wearing armor for a long time could only be grueling for Charlotte and the soldiers.
“Then may I offer a suggestion?”
“If it is the priest's wisdom, I will listen.”
It was an unusually aggressive suggestion for a priest, but I trusted her when she said she'd listen and spoke without hesitation.
“Let's set fire to it.”
“..Pardon?”
“I mean setting fire to the island.”
The portal, which was the entrance, was on the coast anyway.
Even if the flames spread wildly, we could simply escape through the portal.
Even if the orcs fled the dungeon to save their lives, dealing with wounded enemies outside wouldn't be difficult.
‘There's no reason to fight them on their own turf.’
“But can a priest who worships the Goddess of Flowers really set fire to a forest without a second thought..?”
Charlotte asked because she genuinely wondered whether that was acceptable, but the answer from an impostor who wasn't even a priest was never going to change.
“Land reduced to ash will hold fertile nutrients and produce beautiful flowers. Surely the goddess would prefer an island covered in flowers to one filled with orcs.”
I spouted the familiar sophistry.
The knight listening to me looked as though she wondered whether this was really right, but perhaps she couldn't think of a better option, because she eventually nodded.
“Considering the soldiers' safety, this may be the best method.”
Once the decision was made, the soldiers sprang into action.
The thought that they wouldn't have to risk their lives fighting orcs gave their movements an energy they hadn't shown before.
Soon, dry branches and fallen leaves were gathered together, and oil was sprinkled around the area as preparations were made to start fires in various places.
The fire only caught after most of the oil had been used up.
The small flames spread slowly but surely to the surrounding trees.
Once the trees caught fire, it didn't take long for the flames to spread through the forest.
Black smoke soon covered the sky, and the intense heat rolled all the way to the beach.
“Everyone, get outside!”
At Charlotte's command, the soldiers passed through the portal one after another.
I too watched the forest beginning to burn, then made my way out of the dungeon.
After that, there was nothing left to do.
The soldiers formed up and waited in case any orcs burst out, but there was no need for me to stand among them.
“I hope they all just burn to death.”
“If an island that size burns down completely, surely they'll either burn to death or suffocate.”
Charlotte wore an expression suggesting that it was a needless concern.
But having climbed the Tower for a long time, I knew.
I knew how fierce a monster's instinct to survive could be.
Sure enough.
Urgent shouts and strange cries rang out from beyond the portal.
“Kueeeek!”
“They're coming out!”
At the commotion, the soldiers all raised their shields firmly and drew their weapons.
Soon afterward, orcs covered in burns poured out through the portal.
Thud-!
The orcs sprinting outside to survive collided with the soldiers' shield wall.