Corrupted Priest-Chapter 34

An Accidental Encounter

The door of the inn creaked open. Some of the people drinking on the first floor reflexively turned their gaze toward the woman who walked in.

Hair and eyes as blue as ice. A face so beautiful it drew spontaneous admiration.

Those who had let out small murmurs of awe quickly noticed the sacred priestly garb and sword she wore, and turned their heads back toward their drinks in haste.

Priests weren't inherently people to avoid, but they also weren't people you wanted to get involved with without reason.

The law was always distant, but fists were close. It was obvious what would happen if someone got too friendly just because of her face and ended up offending someone with divine authority—there'd be a funeral. Or several.

The woman ordered a simple meal and sat down, waiting for her food to arrive. The noisy chatter of the people dug into her ears.

"You hear about this?"

"What now?"

"This is from a merchant I met recently..."

"Stop dragging it out and just spit it out!"

The man rattled his empty mug. His friend frowned deeply and shouted, "One more beer over here!" before glaring at him.

"Happy now?"

"Heh heh. Of course. But don't be too shocked. Apparently, not only our kingdom but also the Eastern Dragon Kingdom, the Western Desert Kingdom, and the Northern and Southern Empires are all seeing wild activity from the worshipers of the Evil God. Seems like those bastards have gone completely insane!"

"Haven't we already seen Kelton and Eradico suffer devastating losses? Honestly, with all this happening in the east, I wouldn't be surprised if our city's next on the list."

The man took a big gulp of the beer handed to him by the innkeeper and smiled broadly.

"But they say our kingdom's among the least affected. In Kelton and Eradico, someone happened to be there at the right time—someone who wiped out every last one of those Evil God bastards."

His friend grinned too, finally recognizing a story he was familiar with.

"You mean Marnak—the Adversary of the Evil God and Savior of Eradico!"

"That's right! It's thanks to people like him that folks like us can drink in peace! Long live Marnak!"

They clinked their glasses and downed their drinks. The friend, after emptying his glass, ordered another and leaned in to whisper.

"But you know... if that Marnak guy says he's coming to our city, don't you think we should start packing? It feels like trouble always follows wherever he goes..."

A warm dish was placed in front of the Blue Flame Priest who had been quietly listening. She stopped eavesdropping and murmured softly.

"Marnak..."

She hadn't met him in Kelton because he disappeared, avoiding attention. But now that he had appeared in Eradico as well, it seemed his path and hers weren't so different after all.

The capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Algor—Pruina.

She hoped to run into him by chance on the way there, and with that thought, she began her meal alone.

We passed through two more cities after leaving Eradico. The capital was drawing nearer.

Time had passed, and the harsh chill of winter had eased a little, making it clear that spring was slowly approaching. Though the snow still fell without warning.

[Divinity: 3379]

We'd cleared out a few bands of bandits who had recklessly attacked us along the way and collected their corpses, so I'd gathered a decent amount of divinity. My mother had been trying to extract it from the orb each time we stayed in town and she took on the girl's form, but since it wasn't originally her divinity, there hadn't been any real progress yet.

"Priest Marnak."

While we were walking, Dakia came up beside me and spoke in a friendly voice. After walking all day, the only thing we could do—within the limits of our stamina—was talk. Dakia always had something she was curious about. Especially with me.

She'd just finished bombarding Sagitta and Carmen with questions, and now it was finally my turn.

I smiled gently and replied. freёweɓnovel.com

"What is it?"

Her golden-melted eyes sparkled as she carefully opened her mouth.

"This isn't criticism, I promise. I really don't want you to misunderstand. I'm just asking out of pure curiosity!"

"What kind of question are you about to ask?"

She licked her lips slightly with her pink tongue before continuing.

"Priest Marnak, every time we run into bandits, you never let a single one of them live—even when they surrender and beg for their lives. Can you tell me why? Really, I'm not blaming you."

After the first kill in Eradico, she seemed to have hardened her resolve and no longer hesitated about killing. That didn't mean she enjoyed it.

I chuckled softly and answered.

"Did you ask Carmen and Sagitta the same thing, and now you've come to me last?"

She nodded with an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah. When I'm walking and spacing out, all kinds of questions come to mind."

"Murder!"

My mother's sharp voice rang in my mind: "When your belly is full and your back is warm, you start having useless thoughts." Of course, Dakia couldn't hear that voice.

"Carmen said that if we let bandits who would even attack armed people like us live, they'd surely just go back to harming innocent civilians—so she can't let them live. Sagitta said she's being paid, so she kills to earn her money, but if I wanted her to, she'd try to spare them from now on. What about you, Priest Marnak?"

So why do I not show mercy to even those who've surrendered?

I gathered my thoughts briefly and answered.

"I believe in human potential."

"Potential...? What do you mean? If you believe in people's potential, then you must believe those bandits could become good people too. So shouldn't you not kill them?"

She looked so innocent and curious—it was endearing.

"As you said, Princess Dakia, I do believe there is a possibility for those bandits to repent and live virtuous lives. People can change."

She still looked confused, so I smiled gently and added,

"But, Your Highness, possibility is not reality. Grown people don't change easily—especially those who've already committed crimes. Possibility is just that: a possibility. That's why I kill them."

She gave me a playful grin and threw out another question. Dakia truly enjoyed having conversations on all sorts of topics.

"Even though there's a chance they might repent?"

"Yes. And I believe there's a far greater chance that those who have committed evil once will slip back into it again, rather than truly repent. After all, it's always the first time that's the hardest."

She pondered for a long time before asking me:

"But do we really have the right to judge them however we please? The gods of the heavens don't really speak to us unless it's through a rare oracle. And even then, those oracles tend to be vague and open to interpretation, not about granting us that kind of authority."

"Kill!!!"

Mother shouted, "I gave him permission! I told Marnak he could do whatever he wanted!" But, of course, Dacia couldn't hear her voice.

Smiling, I answered her:

"I'm not killing them because I believe I have the right to judge evil. I'm simply taking responsibility for my own choices."

"Responsibility?"

"If I were to let a wicked man go free, and he ended up causing another innocent to suffer... if tears of blood fell from someone else's eyes because of my inaction—that would be my responsibility. On the other hand, if I kill him and cut off even the slightest possibility of redemption, that too is my responsibility. Between those two, I've chosen to bear the latter."

I paused for a moment before continuing.

"Naturally, I have no right to judge them. Someday, the price of all this indiscriminate killing may come to claim me. But even so, I've chosen to live this way. Because nothing is more unbearable than seeing someone I spared murder someone else."

I spared Riverkel, a villain—and Santus died because of it.

That day, as I buried Santus's mutilated body, I made a vow.

If I couldn't bear the full weight of the consequences, I would never spare an evildoer, no matter their potential.

It was a twisted ideology—but one I chose to live by.

Dacia quietly looked into my eyes. Then, very gently, as if afraid of hurting me, she spoke.

"Would you... tell me that old story sometime? Only if you're comfortable with it, of course."

I chuckled. Once, I couldn't even bring myself to say Santus's name. But now that I'd split Riverkel's skull in two, the story no longer felt so hard to tell.

"I could, but perhaps that tale should wait for another time."

"Huh?"

"Look over there."

We had come out of the woods and arrived at a fork where two roads merged. On the opposite path, a long merchant caravan was bustling forward in the same direction as us.

Dacia looked where I pointed and widened her eyes.

"They're coming toward us?"

Two men on horseback broke away from the caravan and quickly approached. Carmen called out to me:

"Marnak! You see that?"

"Yes."

As they came closer, one of them spoke.

"Seems like they're headed the same way. Judging by our gear, they're probably going to ask us to travel with them."

Our bone-forged swords were tucked in their scabbards and not so visible, but Sagitta's bright white bone spear was definitely eye-catching.

It looked like the large merchant caravan had mistaken us for mercenaries.

It wasn't uncommon for big caravans short on manpower to hire mercenaries they happened to meet on the road.

The riders stopped their horses in front of us, and one of them asked politely:

"Are you mercenaries by chance?"

Dacia answered for us.

"I hired all of them."

The man smiled easily at her reply.

"Then, everyone here except the lady must be a mercenary. Perfect! Would the four of you be interested in meeting with our caravan leader? I'm sure he'll make you an attractive offer."

"Just a moment, please."

"Of course."

Dacia trotted back to us and asked:

"What do you think?"

Sagitta, who had been quiet until now, spoke first.

"I think we should at least hear them out. With a caravan that size, there's a good chance we could find some rare supplies. Even if they hadn't approached us, we would've needed to talk to them eventually to restock."

Sagitta had probably been thinking this through ever since she spotted the caravan and had just waited for the right moment to speak up.

Carmen smiled at her and nodded.

"I agree with Sagitta, milady."

"So do I," I added.

With all of us in agreement, Dacia nodded.

"Then let's meet them."

The riders told us to follow the procession visible ahead and galloped back to inform their leader.

Dacia watched them go and murmured:

"Should we each buy a horse in the next city?"

I smiled.

"I don't know how to take care of a horse in the winter."

Truthfully, I didn't know how to care for one at all. And horses didn't like me much either—as a priest of decay, they instinctively avoided me.

Carmen, standing beside me, nodded.

"Neither do I, milady."

Sagitta also nodded silently, signaling the same.

Dacia smiled gently at our reactions.

"Same here. I guess we'll just keep walking."

Leaving behind all regrets, we quickly moved to join the caravan.

A merchant lord in splendid red robes warmly welcomed us.

[Welcome! On the road, anyone who isn't a bandit is a friend!]

His voice sounded mechanical, almost like a person pretending to be human. His head and body gleamed with golden metal.

The man, who introduced himself as Aurelius, was a member of the Golden Race.

Most merchant lords of large caravans belonged to that race, so it wasn't too surprising. Judging from the amount of gold in his metallic body, it was clear that this was a well-funded caravan.

Aurelius clacked his golden jaw as he greeted us warmly.

[Now, now, don't just stand there! Come inside before the food I prepared gets cold!]

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