Chapter 4
I was able to wake up early again this morning.
Since I had no intention of leisurely eating breakfast, I grabbed a single loaf of bread and headed straight outside.
The place I headed for was the market, not the clinic.
“How much for a piece of oak?”
“Half a copper coin.”
“..Give me my change.”
Since I didn't know what half a copper coin meant, I handed over a whole copper coin, and the merchant gave me back a copper coin cut in half.
‘So that's why it was half a copper coin.’
It was a method I never would have imagined in Korea.
Even if I did that in Korea, wouldn't I be lucky if I wasn't arrested for defacing currency?
‘Now all I need is a carving knife.’
The wooden pieces were easy to obtain, but the problem was the knife.
“..Are you sure this little knife is worth one silver coin?”
“Even though it's small, it's made of iron, and its blade has been sharpened. One silver coin is the proper price.”
I even asked the Gallery whether I was being overcharged.
[That's the proper priceㅇㅇ Iron is fucking rare here, and ironworking technology hasn't developed much, so everything made of iron is expensive.]
[They say sharp swords in particular are expensive regardless of type. Craftsmen control the number of weapons available and aren't willing to share their techniques, either.]
But when I was told I wasn't being overcharged, I could only sigh and pay the price.
It was a necessary expense, but as a human being, I couldn't help feeling stifled by how nearly empty my wallet had become.
Thinking it was fortunate that I'd found work so quickly, I trudged toward my workplace with heavy, listless steps.
…
“Fortunately, you came to work.”
Those were the first words I heard as soon as I arrived.
It was as though he had been worried that a slave might run away.
“..Were you suspicious that I might not come?”
“Would you really expect me to readily believe that someone capable of wielding that much power had been wandering around as a vagrant all this time? Especially when you have nothing to lose by leaving.”
I was, in fact, short on money, but I couldn't bring myself to show it.
Unlike yesterday, the clinic was quiet inside when I entered with the old priest.
‘Good.’
There was something I had to do away from people's eyes.
“I'll go out for a bit to familiarize myself with the area around the clinic.”
“You're not running away, are you?”
“Come now, have a little faith in me, Priest.”
I hid behind the clinic to escape the old priest's suspicion, which was starting to become truly tiresome.
‘There's plenty of sunlight, and no one can see me. Perfect.’
I found a suitable spot to sit, then took out the piece of oak I'd bought at the market and the dagger I'd purchased as a substitute for a carving knife.
Fortunately, dandelions were in full bloom nearby, so I could use a real one as a model while shaping it.
Scritch—scritch—
..Slice.
‘Hmm.’
Of course, I wasn't used to carving, so I cut my hand several times.
But I healed myself immediately and continued carving.
“So that's what you were hiding away doing.”
I stopped the knife at the voice from behind me.
When I turned around, the old priest was bent over, looking down at the wooden plaque in my hand.
He seemed to have come looking for me out of equal parts concern and curiosity when I left my post.
‘This is troublesome.’
Sure enough.
The old priest narrowed his eyes as he watched the shape of a dandelion slowly emerge on the wooden plaque.
“Isn't that a symbol?”
“That's right.”
“Then why are you making it yourself?”
An excuse spilled out before I even realized it.
It seemed that after doing this a few times, I'd become fairly skilled at making excuses.
“..I lost my belongings while fleeing after encountering an orc. I lost my symbol at the same time.”
“So you're making one yourself?”
“If the Church of Flowers were nearby, I would have had it reissued, but there isn't one anywhere around here.”
The old priest stroked his chin and nodded as though he understood.
“I suppose so. Unless you're in the capital or at the holy site, it's difficult to find a Church of Flowers.”
Fortunately, he didn't seem suspicious.
If anything, he seemed to think this was something a wandering priest could easily have experienced.
I continued carving while the old priest watched me, his suspicions dispelled.
‘..This is actually pretty fun.’
After cutting my fingers several times, I felt my carving skills improving by leaps and bounds.
..Though it hadn't even been an hour.
After a little more time passed,
a dandelion appeared on the round wooden plaque.
It was rougher than the photograph provided for reference, but it was unmistakably shaped like a dandelion.
The problem started now.
According to the explanation I'd read on the Gallery, a real symbol contained the distinctive aura of a miracle.
Simply carving the same shape wouldn't make it a symbol.
‘If it needs energy, I can just put some in.’
I placed my hand over the shaped symbol.
Whoosh—
The light that blossomed from my hand slowly seeped into the piece of oak.
“You know consecration.”
The old priest muttered in admiration.
‘Consecration?’
I was merely infusing it with Heal to make it look like a symbol, but apparently it looked like consecration to the old priest.
‘At least this means it isn't the wrong method.’
As I continued pouring power into it, reassured to some extent, the carved dandelion began to hold a faint light.
That was when
“It's already finished, so stop pumping power into it. Are you trying to die while making a holy relic?”
The old priest grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
“..I suppose I got carried away.”
“If you get carried away one more time, you'll really die making a holy relic.”
Only then did I withdraw my power.
Then I lifted the completed symbol and examined it quietly.
‘It's glowing.’
The carved dandelion emitted a gentle glow.
Whether it was my imagination or not, it seemed to smell faintly of flowers.
‘Did my power always smell like this?’
Naturally, this was the first time I'd infused Heal into a piece of wood.
It was a change I'd never seen before, but it wasn't particularly surprising.
I'd experienced countless things beyond common sense since the Tower appeared.
It wouldn't be strange if there were one more function I hadn't known about.
“Aren't you going to carve the name?”
‘The name?’
I glanced at the photograph of the symbol I'd left open for reference.
Sure enough, faint letters were visible beneath the recessed dandelion.
It was a minor detail I'd missed because the writing was so small.
‘This is troublesome.’
I hadn't learned the writing here yet, so I couldn't bring myself to carve a name.
Fortunately, there was an information post on the Gallery that had organized the letters.
After checking the pronunciation corresponding to each character, I carved the name one letter at a time.
Flawy
It was the moment the rasping tip of the knife finished the final letter.
The old priest stared at the completed symbol for a while before opening his mouth.
“Flawy. So that was your name.”
“Didn't you hear it from the other priest?”
“I did. But that wasn't exactly introducing yourself.”
He was speaking indirectly, but he was essentially urging me to introduce myself properly.
There was nothing difficult about that, so I made the sign of the cross and introduced myself.
“I am Flawy, a humble servant who worships Iris, the Goddess of Flowers.”
“I am Margaret, an old servant who worships Gaia, the Goddess of Earth.”
The old priest Margaret likewise made the sign of the cross and returned my greeting.
“I look forward to working with you, Priest Margaret.”
“Likewise, Priest Flawy.”
Come to think of it,
we had worked together all day yesterday, but today was the first time we'd exchanged names.
‘It was no wonder he'd been worried all day that I might run away.’
From Margaret's perspective, a priest worth putting to work had practically fallen into his lap, yet I hadn't even properly given him my name. It was understandable that he would be anxious about when I might run off.
…
“Then stop slacking off and come inside.”
“There aren't any patients anyway, are there? There's no need to hurry, so let's take our time.”
I'd come out to secretly carve the symbol in the first place because there were no patients.
Although I'd been hiding behind the building and carving, I hadn't heard any footsteps indicating that a patient had arrived, so it didn't seem likely that there would be one waiting now.
But Margaret chuckled and said,
“There aren't any patients, that's true. But something more troublesome than that will be coming soon.”
“Is someone I borrowed money from coming, then?”
“Hmm, something like that.”
Knock, knock, knock—
Speak of the devil.
Just then, hurried footsteps rang out in the hallway.
A moment later, the priestess I'd seen yesterday morning flung open the back door and came out with a pale, stricken expression.
“Priest Margaret!”
“What, has he already arrived?”
Margaret already looked thoroughly worn out, while the priestess stood frozen in stark contrast, her face pale.
Then, when I heard what the priestess said next, I understood why there had been no patients today.
“T-the lord has arrived!”
‘..No wonder no patients came.’
Regardless of the lord's conduct, no one would want to come simply because it was such a burden.
Wouldn't even the patients who had already been admitted have wanted to run away?
Of course, I was no exception.
“Then let's hurry, Priest Flawy.”
“..Am I going too? I'd rather sit this out because it sounds burdensome.”
“The lord came in the first place to see your face, so what good would it do for you to run away?”
“I see.”
I nodded as though I understood, but inwardly, I felt nothing of the sort.
‘Damn it.’
But running away would be ridiculous too, so I pretended to be calm and followed Margaret.
At the place we reached under the priestess's guidance, several soldiers stood alongside a middle-aged man with a vicious expression.
Judging by the situation, that middle-aged man was probably the lord.
‘He looks like the sort of man who would squeeze every last drop of blood from his subjects.’
Had he somehow guessed even that thought?
“He may look like that, but he's a good lord. Don't get the wrong idea.”
Margaret slightly tilted his head and whispered in my ear.
“Ahem, I can hear you perfectly, Priest Margaret.”
Apparently, the lord had heard him loud and clear as well.
“Come now, pretend you didn't hear that.”
“Haha..”
Rather than getting embarrassed, Margaret shamelessly doubled down, leaving the lord to let out only an awkward laugh.
But that lasted only a moment.
The lord soon composed his expression, strode toward me, and greeted me.
“I've heard so much about you, Priest Flawy! You have no idea how delighted we are that you've come to our city!”
“..Thank you for the warm welcome.”
But how should I put this?
Just from his looks, he had an utterly greedy and vicious appearance.
In reality, however, the lord's personality was completely different from his appearance.
“I had already been terribly worried that Priest Margaret seemed to be struggling all by himself.”
For one thing, he was more approachable than I'd expected.
“Now that Priest Flawy has come to us in this situation, I feel as though I've gained an entire army!”
He was also remarkably talkative for the master of a city.
“And I heard that you're staying at an inn. If you wish, I'll even build you a church where you can stay comfortably. I hope you'll consider this city your home and remain here for a long time. Ah, of course, I'm not forcing you.”
But what puzzled me most was something else.
The noble lord of the city was acting excessively deferential.
Title : Is a priest's status really that high?
The lord is being deferential, and I can't think of any other reason. Does anyone know why?
[Priests do have high status, but he doesn't act that way toward every priest.]
ㄴ[Then why is he acting that way?]
ㄴ[Probably because, from the looks of things, you're a priest who can use healing miracles.]
ㄴ[? Is that really enough of a reason?]
ㄴ[Well, they also tread carefully because they think that means you're close to god, but]
ㄴ[The biggest factor is that if a priest of that caliber is in a territory, the number of citizens dying from accidents or illness drops dramatically.]
ㄴ[So naturally, from the lord's perspective, he'd try to cling to them even if he had to grovel, right?]
ㄴ[I understand.]
[I, too, want to live a life where nobles grovel..]
ㄴ[It'd be faster to be reborn.]
ㄴ[Fuck off.]
At last, I understood.
From the lord's perspective, he wasn't simply groveling because of one priest.
He was groveling to bring a walking university hospital to his city.
Now that my question was answered, I felt much more at ease.
At least I knew he was acting for the sake of the city.
“Oh, and I heard from the soldier at the city gate that you lost your belongings after being chased by an orc.”
“Ah, yes.”
“As it happens, our soldiers exterminated a group of orcs yesterday, so it's only a matter of time before we find your belongings.”
…
‘But I don't have any belongings.’
My light heart grew heavy again before I knew it.