Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 71 - C-Rank Labyrinth – Sanctuary of Restful Purification (4)

Chapter 71: C-Rank Labyrinth – Sanctuary of Restful Purification (4)

 

[Please, hang in there!]

[Time remaining until the completion condition is fulfilled — At last, 1 day.]

 

The fourth day of volunteering.

Now, everyone wandered around slowly with vacant eyes like zombies.

I was managing relatively well thanks to occasionally using [Ghoul’s Mobility] to raise my Stamina, but the other volunteers weren’t so fortunate.

“……”

Elion brought meals twice a day, quietly setting down baskets filled with bread before leaving.

Occasionally, our eyes met.

Whenever they did, he would avert his gaze and merely bite his lip.

He clearly wasn’t at ease.

It was only natural.

A priest who had even refused the rank of bishop in order to help the Saintess at the Sanctuary of Restful Purification could never look at the volunteers’ gaunt appearances without feeling guilty.

 

[There’s really not much left now!]

[Time remaining until the completion condition is fulfilled — 12 hours!]

 

Everyone had reached the brink of collapse.

No one had the strength to hold a conversation anymore.

Stagger. Shuffle.

Though we were inside the temple of a benevolent god…

Everyone had become like the undead.

Even Pendrick, that monster of positivity…

Even Bartimir, for whom this ward should have been an all-you-can-eat buffet as a demon who fed on negative emotions…

Both wore dark, exhausted expressions.

 

[It’s almost time…!]

[Time remaining until the completion condition is fulfilled — 10 minutes!]

 

There was truly very little time left.

“…Let’s endure just a little longer.”

At my words, the members of the Moonlight Expedition and the followers of the Church of Harmony gave faint nods.

Their complexions were on the verge of collapse…

Yet somehow they continued moving their bodies.

Everyone silently poured every ounce of strength into caring for the patients until the very end.

Then…

Fwaaaa

Light.

A brilliant white radiance suddenly burst forth, spreading throughout the entire ward.

[Aaagh! Please cover my eyes!]

‘Twitch!’

[Eyes That Perceive Truth] and the serpent tattoo on my left arm reacted violently.

A holy aura so sacred that even the fragments of the evil gods recoiled in disgust…

Gently soothed our utterly exhausted bodies and minds.

The strength left my legs.

As I leaned against the wall…

Someone carrying an overwhelming presence entered the ward.

“…You’ve all worked very hard.”

The ceremonial robes they wore radiated a sanctity incomparable to our own.

A pure white buckler rested in their left hand.

A heavenly being.

For an instant… That was the illusion the priest before us gave.

“Greetings.”

The priest entering the ward placed a hand over her chest and bowed politely.

“My name is Seraphina. The White Shield of Lady Artein.”

 

[Seraphina, the last Saintess of the Guardian Church (Human, 34). A high-ranking priest cherished by that hypocritical goddess. Honestly… even I have to acknowledge Seraphina.]

 

The noble representative personally chosen by the Protector of All.

The greatest cleric in history…

Whose achievements lived on through biographies, fairy tales, and stage plays.

The master of the free healing sanctuary had appeared.

“To meet the Saintess touched by Lady Artein’s glorious hand!”

Valentin and the other followers of the Church of Harmony quickly knelt on one knee in respect.

I immediately hurried over to Bartimir, who was simply standing there blankly, and forced him down onto one knee beside me.

“I would like to speak with all of you for a moment. Would that be alright?”

No one present possessed the audacity to refuse the Saintess herself.

“Of course!”

The white-toothed Holy Knight answered loudly on behalf of everyone.

Seraphina merely fidgeted with her clasped hands…

Then bowed deeply.

As the startled Valentin and Lucius exchanged confused glances…

The Saintess quietly spoke.

“Thank you. And… I’m sorry. I believe I’ve placed far too heavy a burden upon all of you.”

“Not at all, Saintess! Serving here at the Sanctuary of Restful Purification is nothing but an honor for us!”

“……”

Seraphina bit her lip while looking at me and the members of the Moonlight Expedition.

Even though the labyrinth’s laws made all of us ordinary followers of the Guardian Church…

She was looking precisely at the three of us who did not originally worship Artein.

“Especially to the three of you… I’m even more sorry.”

Her soft voice trembled ever so slightly.

“Thank you sincerely… For working so hard on our behalf. Explorers.”

“…Pardon?”

Valentin, who had been bowing his head, suddenly looked up.

His eyes blinked repeatedly.

For a Holy Knight… That was already an exceptionally dramatic reaction.

“H-how… How do you know the term explorer, Saintess…?”

During the era of the Great Holy War…

The profession known as an explorer didn’t exist.

 

***

 

The term referring to those who entered labyrinths had changed throughout history.

Because people’s understanding of labyrinth exploration gradually evolved.

In ancient times… They were adventurers.

Today… They were explorers.

At first glance, the words weren’t very different.

But their purposes were completely distinct.

Adventurers valued the experience itself.

Explorers devoted themselves solely to obtaining Mysteries Tomes and precious treasures.

‘If you really think about it… I’m closer to an adventurer myself.’

In the modern era, after countless in-depth studies…

Labyrinths had become little more than objects of exploration.

But thousands of years ago… During the Great Holy War… Labyrinths were merely exciting places for adventure.

In other words…

For the Saintess to call us explorers should have been impossible.

“Please forgive me… For being unable to reward your efforts with something equal to the burden you’ve borne due to our temple’s circumstances.”

After apologizing to us once more…

The Saintess looked toward the Holy Knight whose pupils trembled without pause.

A gentle smile promised to answer every question.

After hesitating for a moment… Valentin cautiously spoke.

“…Did you know… That we came from the future?”

“Yes. I have known for the past seven years.”

“…Lady Artein.”

“It seems I’ve startled you. My apologies once again.”

The Saintess bowed deeply.

To priests and Holy Knights whose positions were far below her own…

And to explorers who were merely temporary lay followers within this labyrinth.

Valentin hurriedly waved both hands in embarrassment.

“N-no! How could you apologize to ordinary volunteers like us, who aren’t even honored guests?!”

“No. You willingly came from the future to care for our patients. How could I possibly stand proudly before you? This insignificant bow is nowhere near enough to express how grateful I truly am.”

Still bent forward…

Looking toward the floor…

Seraphina continued speaking.

“Priest Elion told me. That you sincerely cared for the patients… Though to you, they are merely wanderers within the labyrinth.”

‘Wanderers within the labyrinth.’

That was the term used during this era for what people today call ghosts.

Unlike the modern expression…

Which reflected the tendency not to regard them as equals…

This older phrase carried a far gentler nuance.

Still… From the Saintess’s words, it was clear that even in this era…

People looked down on those preserved within labyrinths as little more than golems.

“We merely did our best in the roles entrusted to us.”

Her gaze seemed to dye one’s heart pure white.

Meeting it respectfully, I answered with proper courtesy.

“If we were to cut corners even in an act of kindness, such as caring for the sick… Wouldn’t Lady Artein be saddened?”

“……”

Curiosity flickered faintly in the Saintess’s eyes as she quietly watched me.

Meeting the eyes of a high-ranking cleric for too long would be discourteous.

So I lowered my head.

“Um… In the future… Can cultists praise a benevolent god without angering the evil gods they worship?”

[Of course not! >:(]

“Yes. They aren’t angered in the slightest.”

The moment I answered calmly…

A violent surge of electricity burst from the lightning tattooed across my collarbone.

The serpent tattoo on my left hand flicked out its long tongue in protest.

It didn’t matter.

As long as I possessed the [True Believer] trait…

The evil gods would never rebuke me unless I openly declared apostasy.

“…Saintess.”

After silently observing her expression…

Pendrick finally found an opening and spoke cautiously.

“If I may ask… How did you discover our true identities?”

“To be honest… It’s rather shocking.”

A ghost whose thoughts and actions should have been completely governed by the labyrinth’s independent rules…

Had seen straight through the identities of explorers.

It was impossible under normal circumstances.

Like a wingless race soaring through the sky without the aid of Mystery.

Even Valentin, Vice-Captain of the Spear of Order…

Couldn’t conceal his astonishment.

“I merely guessed.”

The Saintess answered with a faint smile.

“Places of great historical or geographical significance have an extremely high chance of becoming labyrinths. So I always wondered… If the healing sanctuary I operate, where people must work themselves to exhaustion… Might someday become a labyrinth as well. That’s why I realized it immediately.”

It sounded about as convincing as saying, “I wanted to fly, so I flew.”

Such flimsy reasoning made Bartimir’s eyebrows twitch violently.

“…That… doesn’t really explain it.”

Halfway through…

I pinched his waist, forcing him to remember to end politely.

“Does it not?”

Smiling softly…

Seraphina straightened the blanket of a patient who had been writhing in agony.

“The entire temple lies within the range of [Heaven’s Ear], a Mystery that allows me to hear every spoken word in the surrounding area.”

“……”

In simpler terms…

She had been eavesdropping.

“…Ah. So you possessed such a Mystery.”

Faced with such an anticlimactic truth…

Valentin finally laughed awkwardly and nodded.

Even for a historical figure…

It was extraordinarily rare for every one of their Mystery abilities to become publicly known.

They were far more important than something trivial like a resident registration number.

“The time until your completion condition is fulfilled is nearly over. Please rest until then. With my Mystery… I can keep the patients stable for about ten minutes.”

Without waiting for objections…

The Saintess walked to the center of the ward.

She sat down and closed her eyes.

Swoooosh.

Pure white holy energy flowed from the high-ranking priest’s body…

Blanketing the entire intensive care ward.

[Artein’s Touch].

A Ninth-Tier Mystery that fixed the vitality of every ally within range at its maximum while blocking the effects of all negative status ailments.

It consumed an astronomical amount of divine power.

She couldn’t maintain it for long.

But as she herself had said… Ten minutes would be no problem.

“…I can finally breathe.”

Bartimir immediately stretched out his legs and collapsed onto the floor.

His voice dripped like melted wax.

Valentin, who had been fidgeting awkwardly, approached me and whispered,

“It was already known that if none of the volunteers died… The Saintess would visit on the final day. But I never imagined… She already knew we came from the future…”

He was sweating so profusely that his face glistened.

“Could this have something to do with the Hidden Piece of Sanctuary of Restful Purification that you know about, Sir Karr?”

Lying down beside Bartimir…

I answered,

“No.”

“…No?”

The Saintess, knowing that the volunteers came from the future…

Had nothing to do with the Hidden Piece.

Back in the game… She treated players as nothing more than lay followers of Artein until the very end.

She never revealed that she possessed [Heaven’s Ear], either.

‘It changed again.’

A new piece of content.

No… That superficial description wasn’t enough.

The Saintess’s behavior had nothing to do with the intentions or design of whatever hidden force caused labyrinth changes.

“She simply… Suddenly felt like revealing the truth she’d kept hidden.”

A spontaneous confession…

That couldn’t be explained by any logic or reasoning.

“…It was because of what you said, Sir Karr.”

Lucius quietly spoke.

The Saintess smiled gently without opening her eyes.

“I heard you say… A rational person who carefully calculates profit and loss could never willingly perform volunteer work this difficult.”

The holy aura flowing from the high-ranking priest grew even stronger.

“That’s absolutely correct. I’m an irrational fool… Which is why I operate this healing sanctuary free of charge. Priest Elion is also a foolish man… Who abandoned the rank of bishop to struggle here beside me.”

Everyone gathered within the Sanctuary of Restful Purification was a fool.

Irrational idiots… Who willingly embraced suffering they never needed to endure.

“But… If fools like us did not exist… These patients would continue suffering until they eventually passed away in loneliness. So we shall continue being fools. Until Lady Artein guides our foolish souls to her side.”

“……”

Neither the Moonlight Expedition…

Nor the followers of the Church of Harmony…

Could find anything to say.

Silently…

They simply enjoyed the brief rest they had been given.

Bzzzt.

As silence settled over the ward…

A crimson gate suddenly appeared in its center.

[Congratulations: At long last, all five days have passed!]

C-Rank Labyrinth. Sanctuary of Restful Purification.

Conquest Complete.

“You’ve all worked very hard.”

Opening her eyes…

The Saintess rose and walked toward us.

“As your reward… I shall bestow a blessing upon each of you. I’m truly sorry that I can only repay your efforts in such a small way.”

Seraphina gently placed a hand upon each of our heads…

And cast a blessing.

[Comforting Rest].

A blessing that preserved the refreshing feeling of having slept soundly for several days.

Standing reverently with both hands clasped… Valentin carefully spoke.

“Saintess. We shall now take our leave.”

“You’ve all worked hard. I pray that you remain in good health until we meet again.”

Valentin respectfully bowed to the Saintess.

Just as he stepped toward the gate…

“Please wait.”

I raised an arm…

Blocking the white-toothed Holy Knight’s path.

“The exploration isn’t over yet.”

This labyrinth…

Had not yet been conquered in the proper way.

“We must continue this expedition.”

The first step toward fulfilling the Hidden Completion Condition of Sanctuary of Restful Purification.

Remaining inside the labyrinth even after fulfilling the completion condition instead of leaving.

“…You’re saying… We’re staying here?”

“Yes.”

Remaining inside a labyrinth after the exploration had already ended…

Was an incredibly foolish thing to do.

Which was exactly why… It had meaning.

“We shall remain here… And share the Saintess’s fate.”

Because explorers…

Were fools willing to stake their lives for whatever they believed truly mattered.