Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 68 - C-Rank Labyrinth – Sanctuary of Restful Purification (1)

Chapter 68: C-Rank Labyrinth – Sanctuary of Restful Purification (1)

 

I stood in the central hall of a temple that exuded refined dignity.

A majestic space filled with nothing but immaculate white.

It was so solemn and sacred that even making a sound or drawing breath felt almost irreverent.

 

[C-Rank Labyrinth – Sanctuary of Restful Purification]

[This is a treatment facility established during the era when the disgusting churches of the righteous gods were carrying out a horrific massacre under the name of the “Great Holy War.” The place overflows with Artein’s presence, making it unbearably unpleasant. Please conquer it as quickly as possible!]

 

“Mom, what era is this?”

Bartimir, who had entered alongside me and was looking around the temple, asked.

“…Mom?”

Priest Lucius, who had entered ahead of us, flinched and turned to me.

“Ah, I neglected to mention it. I’m actually the mother of five children. I gave birth to them in my heart. I’m eighty-two years old this year, but as an inferior half-elf, death is gradually approaching. Before I pass away, I wanted to create memories that would let me rest peacefully, so I adopted children from an orphanage.”

“……”

Lucius merely moved his lips.

It seemed he had countless things he wanted to say, but couldn’t bring himself to utter anything so lacking in harmony.

“Oh! So that’s your story!”

Thanks to my high Charm stat, the backstory I improvised on the spot somehow worked perfectly on Valentin.

[Earnest Request: The Wise One wishes their followers to tease those around them with ※magic※. They are not satisfied with such trivial jokes!]

The reactions were delightfully satisfying, so it was a shame to stop here.

Still, now was the time to focus on the exploration.

I poked the side of Bartimir, who was blankly observing the temple.

Though pure-hearted, the demon was quick to catch on and immediately explained.

“Ah, he’s not literally my mother. It’s more like a nickname.”

“ He always takes care of every little detail people tend to overlook, so I started calling him that.”

“Captain… you somehow keep surpassing my expectations every day…”

Pendrick looked back and forth between Bartimir and me before chuckling.

Astrimiria had already been mentally sighing for quite some time.

As I wrapped [Radiant Faith], an item that would almost certainly be considered blasphemous if worn by a cultist around my neck like a scarf, I answered Bartimir’s earlier question.

“The time period represented by this labyrinth is the era of the Great Holy War. It was the age of the holy war, during which the churches of the righteous gods launched large-scale purges against demons, black mages, cultists, and monsters.”

[The Wise One recoils in horror and squeezes Their eyes shut!]

‘Crackle…!’

‘Wriggle…!’

The evil gods simultaneously suffered severe PTSD.

Naturally, they had every reason to complain.

All three of them had seen their faiths decline drastically during the era recreated by this labyrinth.

Lord Lriria, in particular, had fallen from being the chief deity of the evil gods’ faction to barely surviving as a minor god sustained by the most meager offerings.

No wonder the psychological trauma still lingered.

“And the setting itself is Sanctuary of Restful Purification, a temple of the Church of Protection, the predecessor of today’s Church of Harmony.”

“As expected of Sir Karr. That was such a perfect explanation that I hardly needed to add anything.”

Valentin nodded repeatedly.

“To elaborate… Sanctuary of Restful Purification was a healing center that treated patients from all across the continent. The Saint of that era wished for no compensation whatsoever, so every treatment was offered entirely free of charge.”

A Saint.

A priest personally chosen by Artein as their representative.

Back then, the Protector of All selected only young human women as representatives.

However, after rebranding the church as the Church of Harmony during the age of war, Artein stopped caring about age, race, or gender.

Thus, in the present day, a male Saint now serves in that role.

“Oh? If this is Sanctuary of Restful Purification… Does that mean the final Saint of the Church of Protection appears here?”

Holding his scabbard tightly against his chest, Pendrick cautiously asked.

“That’s correct. The renowned Saint Seraphina herself resides here.”

“Wow!”

The genius swordsman’s eyes sparkled.

“This is such an honor! When I was little, I practically wore out every fairy tale and biography written about her!”

“Is that so?”

“As expected of Sir Kar’s companion. You’re a truly admirable young man.”

‘Slither…’

The snake tattoo climbing up my left hand suddenly pulled a miserable face and shook its head frantically.

The overwhelming holy power possessed by the Saint somewhere within the sanctuary seemed to be making them whine about leaving immediately.

Unfortunately…

No one could leave this labyrinth until its completion conditions had been fulfilled.

“Saint Seraphina never abandoned the critically ill who traveled from every corner of the Three Continents carrying their final hopes.”

Valentin looked around the temple with an inspired expression.

“For that reason, our Church of Harmony regularly dispatches volunteers into this labyrinth in accordance with the noble Saint’s wishes. In fact, the volunteer work itself is tied directly to the labyrinth’s completion requirements.”

While listening to Valentin, I glanced at Bartimir.

The demon who collected calamities had eyes brighter than stars.

“A truly admirable place… No, a truly admirable Saint!”

“So even the demon explorer possesses such wholesome values!”

The part Bartimir approved of was undoubtedly very different from what Valentin imagined.

[This labyrinth is filled with every imaginable curse and disease. It’s certainly the kind of place that a demon whose sanity is perhaps thirty percent worse than yours would enjoy….]

And that wasn’t all.

He simply focused on curses and diseases because they were easiest to control.

He wasn’t opposed to other negative status conditions either.

‘I’ll carefully choose just a few for him to contract.’

Too much of anything was bad.

The wisdom of the ancients was always correct.

“Greetings.”

At that moment, a priest wearing pure white ceremonial robes approached with his hands clasped together and bowed.

“Greetings. I am Healing Priest Elion, an insignificant shield of Lord Artein.”

[Elion (Human, 59), priest of the Church of Protection, predecessor of the Church of Harmony. One of those fools following that idiotic Saint who even treats patients who don’t worship Artein free of charge. Had he remained at an ordinary temple, he could have become a bishop, yet instead he threw away his blessings and suffered in a place like this. A thoroughly pathetic fool.]

In summary…

He was an exceptionally devout and virtuous man.

If I had to choose someone to teach the siblings proper character…

I’d point to this priest without hesitation.

“May Lady Artein protect all of our journeys.”

“Greetings, Brother Elion.”

Was there any clergyman who disliked seeing someone display deep faith?

Apparently pleased by Valentin’s greeting, which had clearly been chosen with sincere care, Elion smiled gently and bowed.

“Greetings.”

He even greeted Bartimir and me politely.

The fact that he welcomed me, a cultist, one of the Church’s greatest enemies during the Great Holy War, and Bartimir, a black mage, without hostility…

Was due to what gamers called a labyrinth rule.

“Beloved brothers and sisters. Thank you sincerely for volunteering.”

Within the Sanctuary of Restful Purification, explorers became ordinary followers of Artein who had come to assist the Saint in caring for the sick.

Even I… A heretic.

Even Bartimir… A double heretic.

Inside this labyrinth alone… We were honored believers of the righteous god.

[:(]

“May Artein engrave your devotion upon the Heavenly Wall. The Protector of All wishes for every innocent soul suffering from pain to be comforted, regardless of race, status, age, or class.”

[Hypocrisy! HYPOCRISY! HYPOCRISYYYYYY!]

[Eyes That Perceive the Truth ] practically had a seizure.

Yet… There wasn’t any hypocrisy involved.

Even during the Great Holy War, the Church of Protection never carried out blind judgment.

Instead, they devoted themselves to protecting those unjustly persecuted.

Historically…

More than a hundred thousand demons had come to worship Artein after being rescued by them.

‘There’s a reason Artein became the chief deity of the righteous faction.’

‘Crackle…!’

Even the Exalted One reacted with intense rejection.

“…Brother.”

Apparently realizing I was a multi-faith cultist, Priest Elion took my hand and gently stroked it with sympathy. [True Believer] was an artificial constitution first created during the Great Holy War.

At this moment…

I was probably nothing more than a pitiful half-elf burdened by every misfortune in the world in his eyes.

Perhaps that was why.

Elion spoke with noticeably greater warmth.

“The journey here must have been difficult for everyone. You’re undoubtedly exhausted. However, beginning today, you’ll immediately begin nursing duties.”

Elion led us into a cramped room that served as both the priests’ break room and the volunteers’ waiting room.

It was where we were meant to change clothes.

The room was so narrow we could practically feel one another’s breath.

“…I’m sorry.”

Smiling awkwardly, the middle-aged priest fiddled with the owl-shaped pendant symbolizing Artein’s all-seeing eye.

“The number of patients continues increasing without ever decreasing. We’re running out of space.”

By now, even the priests and holy knights lacked proper living quarters.

They were sleeping in tents erected outside the healing center.

“Even the Saint’s own chamber is being used as a hospital room. This room was originally a storage closet.”

“So we’ll be sleeping outside too?”

“No. Though I’m afraid we won’t be able to provide comfortable accommodations…”

Apparently embarrassed, Elion couldn’t even meet our eyes anymore.

Bartimir glanced toward the middle-aged priest who had turned away.

“…Things really are rough here. Everyone’s working so hard.”

Rarely for him…

He was speaking with consideration for the listener’s feelings.

He lacked education.

Not manners.

“Has everyone changed?”

We changed into light ceremonial robes that allowed easy movement and put on masks covering our noses and mouths to prevent infection.

In keeping with the Church of Protection’s slogan of the era, Pure White Artein, everything was spotless white.

“…Brotther?”

Elion cautiously addressed Bartimir.

“I’m terribly sorry… But could you please remove those bandages? They may make the patients uncomfortable.”

“I wear these because of an illness.”

“Oh my! Then I’ll heal you immediately!”

“Nooooo!”

Bartimir shook his head violently.

“No! Don’t! My illness!”

“…?”

It was an unprecedented case of someone refusing medical treatment…

One that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in the Church of Harmony’s medical records.

Even Elion, who had served Artein faithfully his entire life, stared blankly.

Apparently, he’d never once encountered someone refusing free healing.

Before he misunderstood the situation…

I hurriedly stepped in.

“Brother. This child carries a deep emotional scar from being abused by an evil mage simply because he was a demon. I ask that you care for him with the same broad and gentle compassion as Lady Artein.”

“…So that’s what you’ve endured.”

Looking at the emotionally wounded demon with moist eyes, the priest brought over a pure white veil and gently placed it over Bartimir’s head.

Though the cloth had been thin and semi-transparent…

The instant it touched him, it became completely opaque and concealed his face.

 

[Masterpiece – Prepared for the Audience]

[A useless item whose only function is covering one’s face. It also makes Artein’s voice slightly clearer, though for a demon black mage that’s effectively meaningless….]

 

“It’s a gift. Please accept it.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“Not at all. May Artein soothe your heart….”

After placing a hand on Bartimir’s shoulder and sincerely wishing him happiness in the future, the priest briskly resumed walking and led us into a spacious hospital ward.

“This is Critical Care Ward Number Three.”

Pendrick looked around in astonishment.

“…It’s much bigger than I expected!”

He was right.

Critical Care Ward Number Three was so enormous that “vast” would hardly have been an exaggeration.

It was large enough to host an athletic festival involving every guild in Pletica.

Countless hospital beds stretched throughout the enormous chamber.

The sight was truly spectacular.

“Now then. I’ll explain the duties that you brothers and sisters must undertake.”

Labyrinths of C-Rank and above possessed a difficulty incomparable to lower-ranked ones.

Just look at how long and complicated the process of conquering Nightmare World had been.

Sanctuary of Restful Purification was likewise extraordinarily difficult precisely because it was C-Rank.

The hardship here…

Simply didn’t come through combat.

“From this point onward… For the next five days… You are to care for every patient in this ward who requires nursing.”

The completion condition of the Sanctuary of Restful Purification.

Provide uninterrupted care for nearly one thousand critically ill patients over the course of five full days.