The Priest Wants to Retire

〈 Chapter 66: Brilliant Strategy 〉

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That day, the system was especially bustling.

From early morning, busy pedestrians flowed through the streets, adorning the village with resplendent flowers and lights.

The children, seemingly indifferent to their parents’ fuss, were huddled together enjoying their hero games.

However, the disdainful glances at the childish behavior of those kids were so rare that you could count them on one hand even in the crowded village square.

Rather, the expressions of the passersby, filled with contented smiles, exuded a relaxed vibe that felt distinctly different from usual.

The excitement of the long-awaited celebration was infusing the once bleak streets with vibrant life.

For those living in this system, it was truly a momentous occasion that could not help but lift spirits.

The day of the blessing ceremony.

The sacred day when the saint blesses the hero was just the next day.

It was only natural that the crowd, who could catch a glimpse of the legendary hero’s triumphant rise up close, struggled to contain their overwhelming emotions.

But, as with all situations, there were exceptions; not everyone was happy.

This man was an example.

On a lofty bell tower, overlooking the village scenery, leaned a worn-out middle-aged man.

His name was Robert.

He was the owner of a famous inn for travelers in the area. Once, he was the head of a family.

Yes, he used to be.

Just a few weeks prior, an absurd dungeon disaster struck without warning and pinpointed his inn for its attack.

The inn he had poured all his retirement savings into had vanished without a trace; he was perhaps the most unfortunate man in the world.

On top of that, the compensation money, which an anonymous someone kindly provided due to his plight, had been taken away by his wife.

If you were to say what remained to him now, it could be nothing less than his emaciated body.

“Goodbye… you filthy world…”

Now, he was attempting to abandon even that sole possession.

The capital of this system, home to the saint’s meeting room, had been a sanctuary where dungeon disasters had not occurred even once for millennia.

Merely the occurrence of a dungeon disaster in such a sanctuary was a major disgrace.

That the disaster had completely reduced only his inn to ashes, while leaving all other buildings untouched, was incomprehensible.

The depth of despair Robert felt was inexpressible.

Complaints from fellow merchants who raged about the plummeting land value felt utterly ridiculous.

Just a few weeks ago, when an unknown rich man appeared out of nowhere and rented out his inn at several times the market price for a few days, he never could have imagined such horrible misfortune would strike him.

“In the next life, I hope to be born in a peaceful world where there aren’t any dungeon disasters…”

As he clutched the railing of the bell tower more firmly than before, he made that sorrowful wish.

“Whoaah!”

Below the very railing he was holding, startled Robert plopped down on the ground as he caught sight of a person bizarrely perched like a gargoyle.

“What are you?! Why are you here like that?! Are you trying to die?!”

Whether a person about to die had any room to say such things was another matter, but his logic was undoubtedly sound.

Sitting on the outer side, not even the inside of the bell tower railing, could be seen as fearless, bordering on suicidal.

“W-what?! Are you… a priest?”

Once he regained some composure, Robert slowly examined the strange man’s appearance.

A solid build. A broad frame.

He looked sharp enough to be a worthy opponent in his younger days.

He seemed to be in his late twenties, but thanks to his completely white hair, it was difficult to ascertain his actual age.

However.

From the luxurious embroidery on his garment and the expensive jewelry hanging from him, it was easy to guess he held some degree of high status, likely a high priest.

“Hey, uncle… if you have the time, could you listen to my story…?”

“What?”

What nonsense was this, coming from someone who just resolved to die.

If it were the usual Robert, he would have responded like that.

However, perhaps it was because those pale eyes of the man seemed so pitiful, gazing somewhere far away.

Robert felt curious to hear what the man had to say.

Lately, his own sickly face he had seen in the mirror every morning seemed vibrant in comparison to the bleak countenance of this man, whose appearance resembled a near-dead corpse.

“If you’re not going to listen, then I understand. Of course, no one under this vast sky is on my side. Thank you. Because of you, I’ve resolved something. I’ve enjoyed the sight of the cloudless, blue sky, so now I can leave with no regrets…”

“Ah! I’ll listen! There’s no reason you can’t talk! Young man, you can’t be thinking such terrible thoughts already! C’mon!”

Even though Robert felt rather absurd for trying to save someone while he himself had just passionately climbed to die, he thought he should at least get a story for the afterlife.

◈◈◈

The man introduced himself as Regis Lowville.

According to him, his persistent boss’s sexual harassment had recently escalated to an unbearable level, pushing him into distress.

“I’ve told him I didn’t want it so many times, but he never listens and just forces himself… Yesterday, he even held his breath because I wouldn’t sleep with him…”

“Oh, that wretched woman deserves a curse…”

Covering his face with both hands, Robert slowly patted the back of the weeping man, who looked like a heartbroken girl.

For someone to react so horrified it must mean that boss was quite the piece of work.

Understanding his situation, Robert sighed a damp, pained sigh as if it were his own problem.

“In that case, just quit! Why stick around for that?! Just man up, shove that resignation letter in your cheap boss’s face!”

“I want to do that, but I can’t quit for some unavoidable reasons right now… But using that as an excuse, it seems my direct superior is trying to make sure I can’t leave by handing me results I don’t remember…”

“Oh, good grief… what a bunch of lunatics…”

Robert had somewhat suspected from the report of a priest named Nobel that the Vatican was corrupt, but seeing the reality was something else entirely.

He was speechless, unable to close his mouth for a while in shock.

“What? No one else in the surrounding area tried to help you until it got this bad? Not a single person tried to stop it?!”

“Well, there was one former coworker who tried to help, but… how should I put it… they were too aggressive, and it made me worried…”

“What?”

“There was a kid related to me that I briefly took care of before. After learning of my situation, they said they would support me until they have kids of their own and keep pestering me to quit my job whenever they can…”

“Hah! That’s a commendable relative! So, why not just live with them?”

“I did something significantly wrong to them in the past. Even now, I find it hard to look at their face… Moreover, at my age, living off someone younger than me would be quite…”

“Oh, that’s understandable!”

Even if he had no luck with friends, he seemed to have some luck with relatives.

If only his son, who left home long before his wife did, had only half the merits of that commendable cousin!

Just then, as Robert chewed on such gray memories of regret…

Flash!

A flicker of bright electricity struck his mind like lightning.

“Ah! How about this! Priest Young Man!”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Just say you’ve found someone to marry!”

“Eh…?!”

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