The Priest of Corruption

RATIONAL JUDGMENT

The group made their way through the snow that fell the previous day, accompanied by the sound of their crunching footsteps. My position was somewhere in the middle of the group. Thanks to Galad’s consideration, I wasn’t standing at the front or back of the formation.

Of the ten mercenaries gathered, six, including Galad, were personally brought by him. They were a new mercenary group with a total of six members. They said their name, but it didn’t seem noteworthy, so I already forgot.

“Priest Marnak.”

Clear eyes, innocent-looking face, but a build that didn’t match it. A man who was somewhere between a boy and a young man. He was the youngest member of their mercenary group that Galad had assigned me for any errands I had.

I answered with a kind smile.

“Yes?”

Did he say his name was Pierre? He was born in a village near Guise. Galad, who recognized Pierre’s innate abilities, had a good deal with his family and paid a great price for his enlistment. How did I know about this?

“I’m sure you’re from somewhere other than Guise. Can you tell me what the scenery is like there? If you go down this road, you’ll see the village where I used to live, but I’m not sure if my mom and dad are doing well. Of course, thanks to the generosity of Mr. Galad, I’m sure they’ll have a good winter, but what’s this feeling that makes me a little worried?”

Pierre was talkative. He wanted to tell me a story I wasn’t even curious about, searching for an excuse to talk more. They weren’t trying to be considerate of me but just wanted to keep this chatterbox away, right?

“You know what? Priest?”

Now, without even asking me a question, he began to tell his story. The way he whispered to me with a seemingly solemn expression was funny since it didn’t match his innocent face.

“What?”

Pierre glanced at Galad and whispered.

“Actually, it’s rumored that it isn’t people or monsters making the farmers walking this road disappear, but ghosts.”

In this world, the term ghost was used in a slightly different sense from a monster with a mass of negative energy. Although the image wasn’t very different from the ghosts, we knew in our world.

“Ghosts?”

“Yes, a ghost.”

I quietly grinned.

“If the culprit is a ghost, it would be very difficult.”

Pierre looked at me with twinkling eyes.

“Why?”

Was he expecting a story about magical powers? I’m sorry, but that’s not what I meant.

“If the culprit is a ghost, everything will probably be in vain, and then we won’t get paid for our success.”

Then it became difficult. If there was no success reward, the reward was one silver coin. It was the same amount of money I got paid yesterday after a scolding from the receptionist lady. This was the same as saying that my ninety-coppers situation would not improve. It was really difficult.

Pierre looked at me, slightly disappointed, as if he was expecting something great.

“I think it would be difficult to get paid if the culprit is a ghost.”

“By the way, does Mr. Galad think the culprit is a ghost?”

As if waiting for my question, Pierre glanced around with that gigantic build, then whispered to me in a low voice.

“Actually, I don’t think Captain Galad thinks he’s going to catch the killer. When I heard him talk to the others before going to bed last night, he said he was just taking on the job because he didn’t have any work. He’s not even sure if there’s a culprit really harming passersby in the first place.”

So my pocket situation wouldn’t get any better after all. It was discouraging. Pierre continued to say what he wanted, not interested in what I was thinking. It was kind of like walking with the radio on.

“Really, Captain Galad always complained that there’s no work these days because the great Lord Thredon is taking care of Guise so well that there are no longer any problems. But thanks to him hiring us, our mercenary group has been paid more this month than those in the mercenary guild or laborer office.”

The laborer’s office was an institution under the direct control of the lord. When the lord needed manpower, he arranged for a job in return for a reasonable price. This system, similar to a modern employment office, was originally a place for the players of jobs that had difficulties hunting in the early game to find work.

In the end, should I work as a laborer, not a mercenary? The mercenary was much better, in my opinion. It was about killing, brothers-in-arms, back-stabbing, getting rich, and collecting divinity if I collected it from the corpses that inevitably piled up in the process of killing.

“But isn’t someone with a lot of natural talent like Mr. Pierre excellent at such a job?”

At my use of honorifics, Pierre laughed awkwardly.

“The only person here who doesn’t speak informally to me is Mr. Marnak. I don’t mind if you talk to me comfortably.”

“I’m comfortable with this.”

Kindness was a useful tool unless the opponent ignored me. Having a good image was advantageous in more ways than I first thought, especially in getting on someone’s good side.

“If that’s the case, then I have nothing to say.”

“Pierre!”

“I guess I’ll have to go for a while. I’ll be back soon!”

Pierre bowed to me as Galad called from afar and headed across the snowy road to meet him at the front. As Pierre, who had been chatting beside me from morning till afternoon, disappeared, only my slow breathing and the beating of my heart kept me company.

‘Kill!’

“Mother, why do you keep telling me to kill them all? If they all die, I’ll be in big trouble. You don’t have anything to say when we return to Guise, do you? Thirty silver coins. No, one was paid in advance, so the reward is 29 silver. Your son desperately needs these 29 silver coins. I want to spend this winter in warmth.”

‘Kill…’

With a slightly drooping voice, the Mother of Corruption was easily convinced and stepped down. Our corrupt mother had no knack for making money.

I tapped her hand in my pocket.

“I think I was a little harsh. Poverty must have eaten a little of my bright reasoning. Don’t be so discouraged by this stupid son’s words. Actually, I don’t mind staying a little cold, and it’ll be warm on its own when spring comes.”

‘Kill!’

The Mother of Corruption was quick to express her feelings.

It was starting to get dark. Seeing Galad rushing the group up ahead, it seemed that there was a little distance left until we reached the campsite chosen in advance. Pierre, who returned from Galad’s side, remained silent, and I smiled at him.

“What did you hear?”

Pierre, who glanced at me, hesitated and said.

“I’ve heard from the captain not to bother the priest too much. He said it must have been annoying to chat at you from morning till night.”

It was definitely a little bothersome, but it was still better to have a chatty radio than not having one.

“I’m really fine. Don’t worry.”

Pierre’s face lit up. He reminded me of a baby bear smiling.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

A sudden wind swept past. Something caught my perceptive senses. I pushed Pierre down reflexively.

Puck.

Two arrows bristled from my stomach and shoulder. The culprit making travelers disappear was not a ghost but a human. Was it bandits?

“P-priest?” A-are you alright? Ar-arrows!”

I calmly assessed the situation. Galad, who was walking in front of me, was already lying on the floor with one arrow in his head. Among the group of ten, five of them had been hit. This was a frighteningly sharp aiming skill and too sharp to be a surprise attack from a single bandit.

‘Kill!’

The Mother of Corruption wanted me to pretend to be dead on the floor after being shot. Surely that was a rational decision. Now that it wasn’t clear how many enemies there were, it was right to wait until the enemy showed themselves before doing anything.

I glanced behind me. Pierre was shivering despite his size. Apparently, it was his first fighting experience. If I pretended to be dead here, I was sure everyone else would die.

‘Kill!’

“I know, Mother. I know very well what the benefits are.”

This was a game. This world itself was a game. They were just NPCs, and I a player.

“But you know what, Mother?”

With two arrows stuck in my body, I stood up. I pulled a sword from the waist of the nearest body and jumped forward with a shout.

“This is how I do things!”

I swung the sword, and blood splattered. A thief’s head, hiding in dark clothes nearby, fell to the floor. The enemy wasn’t one. I looked around, my eyes penetrating the darkness to find the next foe.

Yeah, I used to play games like this. Keeping what I wanted to protect close because games are all about doing what you want.

Belkir was a Ranger deserter. He could not adapt to the hard discipline-filled Ranger life, so he deserted. He managed to escape his pursuers and hid in a mountain village. There, Belkir trained a few like-minded bastards to form a bandit group. A bandit group based on Ranger training was a natural disaster that farmers could never escape.

Belkir systematically raided only suitable groups of farmers and collected their wealth. If you tried to steal a lot in a short time like some bold bandits, you’d soon lose your neck. However, as their theft continued, the lord eventually gathered mercenaries and began to pursue him.

Finally, it was time to make a big fuss and relocate the base. Belkir chose the mercenaries sent by the lord as his last prey before leaving. It was far more profitable for him to sell the goods from those mercenaries than robbing more peasants. Even if he preemptively ambushed them, the seven men he raised would not lose to only ten mercenaries.

That was what he thought. Everything went as planned. The sun slowly set, and the mercenaries were relaxed, moving in a long line. Holding his breath, he sent a quiet firing signal to his men, who were ready to bite into their prey’s throat.

The surprise attack was very successful. Five out of ten people were shot down with arrows. The supposed leader died immediately, and the mercenaries had yet to locate him.

The problem emerged as a beast in the form of a priest. The mad priest pulled a sword from a corpse and then rushed to one of his hiding men, chopping his head off.

Belkir cursed involuntarily as he watched the berserk figure charge into his ranks.

“Crazy bastard!”