The Priest Wants to Retire

〈 Chapter 65 〉 Hero and Saint. Part 1 Complete. (Illustration added)

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Disguising oneself to appear larger than normal is likely one of the most common survival strategies among the lower-tier common folk in the food chain.

However, what is a desperate struggle for survival for those involved can appear quite trivial, even cute, from the perspective of humans at the top of the food chain.

A pufferfish swollen with water.

A tiny panda lifting its little arms over its head.

A baby penguin standing tall, craning its neck towards the sky.

Few humans would genuinely feel threatened by their pitiful attempts to intimidate.

But.

Huh!

Right now, my thoughts were engulfed in unprecedented fear.

The sight of a red-eyed girl with flowing white hair briskly walking toward me with her cheeks puffed out was utterly terrifying.

Thud. Thud.

Yes, it was enough to make the Jaws BGM echo in my head.

For someone who rarely expresses emotions, seeing her show such a pronounced reaction meant her current mood was beyond anything I could grasp with my feeble imagination.

Having skipped breakfast, I certainly expected her to be quite angry.

But even so, I never anticipated she would be this furious.

As the distance between us gradually closed, the dark fog enveloping my thoughts thickened even more.

Minor events like the appearance and collapse of a dungeon had long since faded from my mind.

At this moment, just thinking about why she had come here with whatever emotions she held and by what means was becoming overwhelming.

“Uh, Saintess…”

“A promise. If there’s no unavoidable circumstance, you must keep it.”

Gasp.

I couldn’t contain my shock.

Although the Saintess had recently expanded her vocabulary significantly, seeing her articulate such a perfect sentence was something I had never witnessed from her despite being close to her every move.

Moreover, that statement echoed the very importance of promises I had repeatedly emphasized to her.

The moment I tried to mumble some pathetic excuse, my mouth froze in place.

Yes, there were indeed unavoidable circumstances.

But explaining the tangled nature of that situation for the Saintess to fully understand was a feat beyond my capabilities.

“This.”

“Uh…”

Now standing right in front of me, the Saintess revealed the final page of her most cherished fairy tale book.

A warm illustration of a prince and princess sharing a sweet kiss.

A beautiful ending that satisfied all readers. The so-called happy ending.

The audacious scene she had begged to mimic once filled my narrow pupils with exhaustion.

“I will do it.”

A drop of cold sweat trickled down my back, signaling impending doom.

It was clear what the Saintess was demanding of me as a consequence for not keeping her promise.

Having avoided her requests to kiss me with various excuses till now, I realized I could no longer escape.

This stubbornness was anything but light.

If her usual stubbornness was like steel, this current insistence was surely comparable to diamond.

“Saintess? Priest? Is it correct to refer to this person as the Saintess?”

Right then.

The Hero, who had been quietly observing the situation behind me, couldn’t hold back his curiosity and suddenly asked me.

Before I could respond, familiar voices flew in from outside my awareness, slicing through the air like arrows.

“Hero! Are you guys okay?!”

“You’re safe! Regis, Priest!”

The identities of those voices were Apis and Sister.

Their emotional expressions resembled those of family members reuniting after a long separation.

Now that I think about it, the ground where the Hero and I stood was deeply cratered, as if it had just been struck by a massive meteorite.

Oh, right. I had just exited an unregistered dungeon.

They say that when a timid person faces significant hardships, there’s a slight delay in their emotions and memories. It seemed that was indeed the case.

With the heavy weariness and faint numbness swirling together, distinguishing between consciousness and dreams had become challenging.

Squawk, I will do it. Ah, ha. Ah~ ha.

But.

I could confidently state that this vivid tragedy unfolding before my eyes was not a dream.

I would rather it had been a dream, but—

“Uh, Saintess… Just a moment, just a moment… There are eyes… There are eyes on us…”

Casting a glance toward the Hero, signaling for him to wait, I determined my priority was to calm the Saintess’s rampage. I softly restrained her movements.

To curb the Saintess’s abnormal fixation on physical contact with me, I devised a simple rule after much contemplation.

Three times a day, physical contact was allowed on every part of my body except for my lips, but such actions were strictly forbidden in front of others.

The countless trials and errors I endured to enforce this simple rule need not be elaborated.

“Saintess, take a look around. There are so many people here. So, we’ll do it later…”

I prayed that my earnest heart would soften her arid emotions.

With both hands clasped in reverence, I earnestly appealed for a stay of execution, but—

Just then, an intangible wave from the Saintess swept through and crushed my glimmer of hope.

“It’s gone now.”

“What?”

It felt as though time had momentarily stopped.

Everything around me, except for the Saintess, suddenly froze in motion.

Apis and Sister hurried towards me.

The passersby were watching from a safe distance, keeping an ample buffer.

Even the Ranobel Priest, who seemed clueless as to why he was here.

Everyone around us was as if the play button on a video had been paused.

Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu washed over me.

The scene before me overlapped with memories of when the Saintess had turned the Ranobel Priest into human plaster.

“We, Welna!”

“Ah, ha.”

In a last-ditch effort, I called out her name hopefully, yet there was no sign of the Saintess’s bold momentum easing.

With a gentle touch to my cheek, the Saintess slowly pulled my head towards her.

The tickling sensation of her delicate hair against my skin. The sweet fragrance wafting through my nostrils.

It felt as if she was trying to strip me of all will to resist with her sensuous trick.

As my weary body, worn from constant labor, was played with without a single chance to resist, it happened.

Crash.

Roughly yanked forward, I was gently placed against someone’s soft skin.

Tight.

Feeling a slight pressure that took my breath away, I looked up instinctively.

The Hero had my face firmly set against his chest, glaring at the Saintess with eyes gleaming as if he were staring at his parents’ enemy.

“Who are you, and where do you live, daring to covet the Priest’s lips? I demand an explanation. I am about to lose my composure.”

Though he smiled, there was undeniable malice laced in his tone, indicating his emotions were running high.

And then.

As everyone in the vicinity remained frozen like statues, only the Hero was moving, and the Saintess, with an air of indifference, murmured in a cold tone that lacked any trace of life.

“Mine. Give it to me.”

Crack.

Despite the Saintess’s audacious claim of ownership, the Hero did not lose his original smile for even a moment.

But from the ominous ripples resonating in the space, it was evident she was desperately battling against her own tumultuous thoughts.

“The Priest is not yours. Humans cannot own each other. Slavery is strictly forbidden in this system. It’s a fact anyone, even a fool, should know. Are you a fool?”

“I don’t know… Just give it to me…”

“I repeat, I cannot hand over the Priest.”

“I hate you…”

“Is that so? What a coincidence. I’ve just come to detest you as well, having only just met.”

Hero and Saintess.

Two people who should maintain the closest relationship for the peace and well-being of this world were suddenly at odds.

Was it because I witnessed such an unprecedented event in the long history of this system, which boasts thousands of years?

Physically, mentally, both sides reached their limits.

I was about to lose my grip on consciousness just then.

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