Chapter 6
“At the very least, I can fight better than most ordinary soldiers.”
“Really?”
I prided myself on being better than the soldiers who got beaten by mere orcs.
But perhaps that answer had been unexpected, because Sean's eyes lit up.
“Then do you know swordsmanship too?”
“Swordsmanship?”
“Dad says it's dangerous, so he won't teach me. He's really good with a sword. He says he learned swordsmanship at a guild for three whole months.”
I wondered whether three months really warranted the emphasis on ‘whole,’ but there was definitely a difference between having learned something and not having learned it.
Even if he'd only learned a single move, he'd still be better than someone who knew nothing at all.
The problem was that although I knew how to deal with monsters, I didn't know swordsmanship.
“I don't know swordsmanship.”
“Huh?”
Disappointment was plainly visible on Sean's face.
“You really don't know any?”
“That's right.”
No matter how often unexpected situations arose inside the Tower, there was never any reason for a healer to run around wielding a sword.
“I can teach you unarmed combat, at least.”
“Er, that's okay.”
“..I see.”
However, Sean shook his head firmly and refused.
Apparently, unarmed combat didn't appeal to him nearly as much as swordsmanship.
He had no idea how precious the opportunity that had practically rolled right in front of him was.
…
After returning to my room, I immediately opened the Gallery again.
Now that I'd dealt with the minor issue, I planned to finish studying theology.
[Vice Tower Master of the Blue Mage Tower sentenced to death on suspicion of researching demon summoning]
[NSFW) An elf with an insanely hot body]
[Is the Gallery running on a potato server? Why is it lagging so badly?]
“Hmm?”
But when I opened the Gallery, I couldn't resist my curiosity about the few posts that caught my eye, and clicked one.
Perhaps because of the attached photo, it took a little while to load.
Title : NSFW) An elf with an insanely hot body
(A picture of a diminutive, green-skinned, bipedal monster wearing a bikini)
[You son of a bitch]
[Fuck, seriously, don't run into me while you're walking down the street]
[MOD!!!!!!!!!]
‘Hmm, had elves been some kind of orc-like monster?’
I soon lost interest and returned to the post I'd been reading in the information tab.
‘Finding the part I'd already read again is a pain.’
Since it was so long, finding the last part I'd read had been quite a hassle.
If there had been a search function, maybe it would have been different, but since there wasn't, I couldn't stop scrolling until I was almost at the very end.
‘Still, I'd read almost all of it.’
The content had already reached the final stretch.
I could say that reading it bit by bit whenever I had time had paid off.
With only a little left, I thought I'd finish it before dinner tonight—and was about to move on to the next sentence when
-Gallery access is restricted due to unstable server conditions.
‘..This is a problem.’
The Gallery server, which had been stuttering for a while, had finally crashed like a potato server.
Fortunately, the post I already had open seemed unaffected, but I wouldn't be able to open any other information posts until the server was restored.
‘It can't be helped. I'll have to do something else while the server is being restored.’
Of course, that would be after I finished reading the post I was currently on.
Scroll, scroll.
I slowly scrolled down and continued reading the transcribed scripture.
Even though I scrolled carefully, the scrollbar quickly reached the bottom since there wasn't much left.
Soon afterward, the old comments at the end of the post came into view.
I'd finally read it all—the entire scripture.
‘Now all that's left is to study the pan-theology covering the twelve religions.’
I had memorized the content of the Goddess of Flowers' doctrines, regardless of interpretation, so if I studied only general theology, I should be able to imitate a fairly convincing priest.
But studying theology would have to wait until the Gallery server was restored.
-503 Service Unavailable
I clicked another post just in case, but all I got in return was an error message.
With no reason to wait for the server to recover, I closed the Gallery and stood up.
There was still time before dinner, but I thought it would be better to do something rather than lie idly on my bed.
‘Come to think of it, there was a church.’
While looking for something to do, I suddenly thought of the Church of Earth.
At the very least, a church would have a theology book—or at least a relevant scripture.
And considering that the Goddess of Earth and the Goddess of Flowers were mother and daughter goddesses, even another religion's scripture was sure to be useful.
‘It would still be better than doing nothing.’
It did feel bothersome and tedious, but if I thought of the trouble now as comfort later, it was manageable.
“Priest, it's almost dinnertime. Where are you going?”
“I'm going to stop by the church. I'll be back before it gets too late, but if I am late, please save me a loaf of bread.”
“I will!”
With the innkeeper's daughter seeing me off, I headed outside.
I didn't know which direction the church was in, but finding it wasn't difficult.
Religion occupied a larger part of society than I'd expected, and even on weekdays, I could often see people heading to churches.
Put simply, I followed someone.
As I entered farther into the courtyard, I saw the back of a priest who was cleaning.
As I approached to speak to him, the priest turned around first, apparently sensing my presence.
“Did you come to pray? Wait, that outfit..”
The priest gave my clothes a cursory once-over, then his eyes widened.
“A flower-patterned outfit! Are you perhaps Priest Flawy?”
‘Word travels fast.’
But that was even better.
It meant I wouldn't have to launch into a long self-introduction for no reason and convince him.
“Yes, I am Flawy, a humble servant of Iris, the Goddess of Flowers. I was wondering if I might read the scriptures of the Church of Earth.”
“! Please, come in. I'll show you the way.”
The priest readily offered to show me around, as though there were nothing to think about.
“If you'd like, you may borrow it as well. We make copies frequently, so we have plenty of spares.”
Sure enough, the bookshelves inside the chapel were packed with transcribed scriptures.
Enough that no one would notice if one disappeared.
I bowed my head gratefully at the priest's easy willingness to lend me the scripture.
“Then I'll gratefully borrow it.”
“Since Iris is Gaia's daughter, it's only natural.”
‘Do religions care about blood relations too?’
It was a blasphemous thought that no priest would dare even entertain.
“Then please take your time reading.”
The priest who had guided me bowed his head and left the chapel.
With the person who might disturb my studies gone, I was finally able to open the scripture in peace.
And then my eyes widened.
‘..I don't understand a word.’
For the record, I mean that I truly didn't understand it.
Unlike the Gallery post, which had been uploaded in Korean translation, the body of the scripture was written in the original language.
I could barely decipher it here and there by recalling the pronunciation chart from when I'd carved the name into the symbol, but even reading a single page took quite a while.
‘I suppose I have to count this as studying the written language too.’
In the end, I tucked the scripture of the Church of Earth into my robes and stood up.
I planned to return to the inn and read it slowly at my leisure.
On my way out, I happened to meet the eyes of a statue of the Goddess of Earth standing in front of the chapel.
I held the goddess's gaze for a moment, then gave her a slight bow.
“Please don't be too angry.”
It wasn't as though I wanted to impersonate the goddess.
I confessed an excuse to an audience that wasn't there and left the church.
I returned to the inn after the sun had completely set.
Despite my late return, I thanked the innkeeper's daughter for saving me a meal and was filling my hungry stomach when a message in a familiar font blocked my view.
-The Gallery server has been temporarily restored.
‘It was restored at just the right time.’
Still, I couldn't help being bothered by the word “temporarily.”
‘The administrator will take care of it.’
It was irritating, but as an ordinary user, there was nothing I could do about it.
I put aside the utterly useless worry and focused on the rest of my meal.
I reopened the Gallery after finishing my meal and being left alone in my room.
“..?”
The temporarily restored Gallery was blazing over a new hot topic.
And as I skimmed through the posts, I realized this incident was never something the head moderator could have resolved in the first place.
No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn't even attempt to resolve it.
[From now on, Kyaru rules this place]
[The head mod is dead?? What the hell happened]
[The vice master of the Blue Mage Tower was the head mod???]
[What do you mean the Gallery's being shut down]
[People live here!!!]
[May the deceased rest in peace.]
[No successor head mod??]
.
.
.
[Gallery Closure Notice]
I hurriedly clicked the newly uploaded announcement.
Title : Gallery Closure Notice
Author : Gallery System
The death and absence of the administrator who was in charge of the server have been confirmed.
A temporary server has now been activated. It will remain active for 24 hours, and if a new administrator is not appointed within that time, the Gallery will be permanently closed.
If you wish to back up posts, we recommend transcribing them by hand.
Only then did I understand the hot topic.
I was sighing and wondering where I could find paper or a wooden board to copy everything onto when
-A user who meets the conditions has been detected.
-Would you like to become the Gallery's administrator? (Y/N)
-23 hours remaining until closure.
“Hmm.”