The Priest Wants to Retire

〈 45th Episode 〉 Uncle

*

Since that day, I took care of the kids again, but no more letters came to me.

It’s not like letters could come. I changed my face and name.

To be precise, I had asked a trustworthy acquaintance I knew back then to be my nominal guardian.

It was quite a silly ask, and he seemed rather annoyed, but he couldn’t turn down my sincere request as I knelt down to him.

“Thank you. Senior.”

“Who’s your senior?”

Even now, I occasionally keep in touch with him.

Half of our conversations are about how he can’t live because of his wife, and the other half are complaints about the kids driving him crazy.

Seeing him still messages means he’s alive, I guess.

“Don’t do it.”

“What should I not do?”

“Just don’t.”

I’m not sure why, but that peculiar exchange with my senior often floated in my mind.

Unlike before, earning support funds became quite a hassle.

Back then, there were no empty-headed noble brats left to suck dry around me.

Thanks to the curse, I was damaged beyond repair; even being an apprentice priest using Prayer Theory once in a few days was hard.

It was due to this that I started doing the adventurer job one would refuse even for a hundred billion gold if they were sane.

It didn’t suit my nature, which appreciated a leisurely life, but since I had my life on the line, the earnings were quite nice.

On days I captured a rare monster or harvested rare materials, I allowed myself the luxury of having meat with wine for the day.

So, this is what gacha is for.

Of course, I could only do that after countless mistakes and close calls.

In the beginning, I was constantly trembling just from holding the sword, and I had to hide behind the shoulders of my older brothers who took the same request, treated like a human potion refilling every few days.

“Hey! Red potion! Stop crawling and walk quickly!”

“Wha— Hah… Hah… Y-Yes…”

Red potion. That was my nickname back then.

Not my favorite nickname, but I thought it accurately represented my traits at the time, so I didn’t get too mad.

Sometimes I wanted to get angry, but seeing those burly muscles on my older brothers soothed my temper automatically.

And so.

After throwing away the academy, I had been juggling my duties as an apprentice priest and adventurer, sending money to the kids for several years.

One day, I received an urgent message from my senior.

“Hey. Your little brats have started adventurer work.”

It was the moment I could indirectly experience the feelings of parents when their children, whom they worked hard to send to university, suddenly ride motorcycles and go crazy, believing happiness isn’t based on grades.

◈◈◈

“Nice to meet you. I’m Regis Lowville, a middle-aged priest currently working as an adventurer.”

“Nice to meet you too! I am Triana Abigail, the talented person who will be a great hero in the future! Oh! And this is my younger brother Bigtim!”

“····”

“Haha! Sorry! I’m naturally taciturn!”

“Haha····.”

Trying to smile while my lips trembled like there was an earthquake was no easy task.

Reuniting with the kids was the worst.

It was an unexpected and unwanted encounter.

Honestly, I wanted to never see any of them again for the rest of my life.

No one in this world would want to face their embarrassing past directly.

Nevertheless, the only reason I had to lift my shameful head and heavy feet was that I wanted these kids to live comfortable lives, free from hardship.

I wished they could live slowly down the not-so-far path from happiness, even if they weren’t rich.

It wasn’t common in this system for many kids raised in orphanages to become adventurers without special distinctions in their jobs.

Having felt the cruelty of this profession, to my selfishness, I sincerely hoped these kids could escape such a brutal cycle.

Fortunately, neither of them seemed to know who I was.

I had pretty much expected that.

Childhood memories are hazy and ambiguous, like heavy fog.

Moreover, that day’s meeting took place in utter darkness where not a speck of light touched.

The probability of the kids recognizing me as that weird person back then was essentially zero.

“I’ve heard a lot from your guardian, Haren Priest. I came today to discuss the future of sisters Abigail and Bigtim at the request of Haren Priest. You both want to become adventurers, right?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

“····”

“Bigtim says so too!”

“Ah, yes····.”

Banging on the table with both hands, her voice ringing bright and clear, stirred my consciousness briefly.

Her blonde hair brushed the waist, shining like it contains the sun, and it fluttered with her movements, signaling her vibrant energy.

Her blue eyes looking directly at me sparkled like they were showing off a brilliance surpassing the purest fluorite.

Her figure was plump, with sturdy arms and flawless white skin with no common blemishes.

Standing tall with her back straight, there was not a trace of the frivolity of those times left.

Her overly lively and somewhat silly demeanor, which I had thought little of back then, now seemed like a glaring attempt to emphasize her personality during her adolescence.

Time really makes people grow and change like this.

Feeling a tinge of smugness, even though I didn’t deserve it, I couldn’t help but smile at the kids’ growth.

Moreover, with Bigtim, who seemed to have shot up to be a whole head taller than I was back then.

They had grown up well without troubles.

I vaguely remembered feeling choked up with emotion rising from deep within me.

Thus.

“I oppose.”

I wanted to stop them by any means.

“As you know, this job is dangerous, and you never know when you might lose your life. It’s on a different level compared to hunting wild animals.”

I was aware of how ridiculous and presumptuous my actions were, but that hesitation didn’t dim my intentions.

“Monsters are cunning and sly, and sometimes they show unimaginable wisdom we never expected. Wisdom solely aimed at killing humans. There are times when you think dying would be better, ending up in miserable situations. For instance, among my former acquaintances…”

I tried to scare them with grim tales made up of the reality I had experienced and the potentially dangerous future they might face.

However.

“Indeed! A seasoned person like you has given me invaluable advice! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! But worry not! I shall become a hero someday! I’m not afraid of such hardships and adversities! I’ll turn them into my experiences and lessons!”

“Ah, yes····.”

Fueled by childish overconfidence, Abigail didn’t get scared upon hearing my words; instead, her fiery enthusiasm flared up.

Bigtim seemed disinterested in stopping his sister’s rampage.

“Ha····. I see····. Then at least let me accompany you on your adventures for a while.”

“Huh! You’ll be our colleague! Thank you!”

“I am not your colleague. My actions are based purely on the consideration of your safety. I owe an immeasurable debt to Haren Priest. It would be unforgivable to lead his adopted children into danger with my eyes wide open.”

“No matter what! You are joining us on our adventure! Thank you! Thank you again!”

“By the way, do you often hear people say you don’t understand what others are saying?”

“Wha— How do you know that!”

“····”

Thus, with a half-hearted sense of resignation, I set off to follow the kids’ adventures.

Hoping that their hopeful hearts would somehow begin to wane during the first adventure.

I had a trauma so bad I couldn’t eat for a while on the day I first set off to hunt monsters.

The kids, who had lived peaceful lives in the orphanage, wouldn’t be all that different from me back then.

Although low in rank, monsters with flashy appearances and loud screams would lure them into their den, wanting to awaken them to reality.

If anything happened, I figured I could throw myself into danger to protect them.

At that time, I was a mid-tier adventurer with some experience.

By then, I had also regained enough Divine Power to use Prayer at least once a day without any problems.

But.

“Splash─!”

“I defeated it!”

“Ah, Sister Abigail! There’s still monster guts hanging on your shoulder! Ugh, ugh!”

These kids were braver than I expected.

Looking at the gruesome spectacle of blood and intestines fluttering like autumn leaves, while I was busy retching, instead of freaking out, the kids joyfully painted monster blood and fat onto the once pristine white sword as if it were a coloring book.

It was indeed a huge underestimation.

And this great mistake began a journey that would span 1 year, then 2, and 3 years.

With the growth of strength and wisdom through hardships and adversities, we managed to recruit like-minded allies, and eventually, we gained a scale and power that couldn’t be overlooked, and before long, we were called a “Hero Party” by others.

Soon after, the whispers which started as a mere breeze was officially recognized by the royal family as a reality.

“Priest····. I have something I wish to say····.”

One fateful night that was reminiscent of a certain memory, another colleague had passed out from drunkenness, leaving only the Hero and me in a quiet room when he suddenly spoke to me.

“Hero. If what you’re about to say is about going for a 5th round because I’m not feeling well, can we do this another time····.”

As I tried to get up to drink some water before our conversation, being in a similarly intoxicated state, at that moment.

Hug.

Something hugged me from behind.

“····”

“····Hero?”

Just then, when that eerie silence soberly aligned my elusive consciousness for a moment.

“····Uncle.”

At that moment, the piercing call left my brain blank.

Not giving me time to process, the strong arms that had held me from behind clutched my right hand.

“Ugh···· Uncle····!”

Finally reuniting, as if trying to assure they wouldn’t let go again.

“Ugh! Uncle··· Ugh! Uncle···!”

Without needing to listen closely to the serenade echoing in the night’s stillness, I easily realized she was clinging to my back, crying.

But I didn’t know what to say or what expression to wear.

At that moment, I couldn’t discern whether this was reality or a dream.

“Ugh! Uncle! Ah, Uncle····.”

Her sobs, seemingly pleading for a response, poked at my back and soaked my clothes, yet I could only maintain a cowardly silence.

The surrounding sounds became muffled, as if water had filled my ears, and my vision blurred, making the sensations dull.

Thud.

In the end, until she became too exhausted to cry, I could give her nothing in return.

No voice, no gestures, not even the courage to meet her tear-stained eyes.

“····”

That night, I.

Left their side.

No.

I ran away.

*