The Priest Wants to Retire

EP.240 A Song for the Remaining Ashes (11)

Uugh…

Was it the aftermath of that thrilling aerial stunt with the Saintess?

Everything inside the cabin spilled out into the open.

Even when I was a rookie adventurer, dragged through the sky by a wyvern like a dandelion seed, I don’t think I felt this nauseous.

Contrary to her angelic appearance reminiscent of biblical angels, the abysmal feeling from the flight was unbearable.

…

…

In my blurry vision from motion sickness, I could see the Hero and the Saintess glaring at each other like they were ready to kill.

There were no words exchanged between them, but just observing their fiery stare was enough to feel the tension radiating from them.

How long has it been since they told me to stay safe while they took care of the rampaging monsters outside the city walls?

The fact that the Saintess literally flew me here to this perilous place was likely very annoying to the Hero.

“I came to help, in case you were struggling.”

Creak!

With her arms firmly crossed over her waist, the Saintess confidently spoke, causing an oppressive air to surround the Hero.

I could tell there was not a shred of malice in her words, but the Hero might not have felt the same way.

Though his face was beaming with a bright smile, it was clear that veins pulsating with lava-like rage were protruding around his brow and mouth.

Swish. Clank.

Bigtim calmly restrained the Hero, who was reaching for his sword.

Swish. Clank. Swish. Clank. Swish. Clank.

How long has it been since the Hero’s sword was repeatedly drawn and sheathed?

“Stop playing around! Just get over here and help!”

Thanks to Apis’s fierce orders, our temporarily stalled time began to move once again.

“Everyone, back off─!”

Just as Apis’s shout ended, Dawna unleashed massive magical power she had gathered in the front.

KWAAAAAH!

The fierce gale generated from Dawna’s hands brushed past my head.

The chill was so intense that just a slight touch on my hair made every hair on my body stand on end.

CRASH! BAM!

Turning around slowly due to an ominous sensation coming from my lower back, I witnessed a colossal monster that was about to attack us frozen solid in Dawna’s freezing spell.

“Gah!”

“I’m s-sorry! Lowville! I miscalibrated the power since I didn’t have my staff! You’re not hurt, are you?!”

Unable to mask my shock, I stood there with my mouth agape as Dawna, who looked utterly exhausted, hurried over to me.

“N-no problem! I’m alive thanks to you, Dawna.”

“Phew…”

Seeing Dawna’s hand drop to her chest with relief as I struggled to convey that I was fine was rather touching.

“Get out of the way!”

At that moment, Apis lifted her voice as she aimed her bow forward.

Guh!

I instinctively ducked.

Then Apis’s fire arrow pierced right through my frozen silly hair.

Ping! KWAANG──!

The monster hit directly by Apis’s Explosive Bow staggered backward.

It was hard to see through the heat haze, but the power felt like it could have blown the monster’s head off without a second thought.

But my naive judgment was quickly corrected by Apis’s muttered words.

“Damn it…”

Thud! Boom!

The monster, casually readjusting its stance with one hand over its face, made movements that were far from lifeless.

“Tch! This is why the humans’ bows and arrows are useless! A toothpick from a pub would be better!”

Suddenly, Apis exploded, gnawing her teeth in frustration, but as the monster lashed out again, she immediately repressed her emotions.

“Everyone, dodge──!!”

Whoosh! KWAANG─!!!

The deafening blast and the ringing in my ears assaulted my senses, and countless chunks of rubble swirling like petals stole my sight.

At that moment, the only thing I could feel was a strange sensation of weightlessness as if someone was lifting my body from below.

“Priest! Are you alright?!”

“Y-hero?!”

I barely managed to respond in a daze to the Hero’s urgent call.

It was only moments later that I realized I was literally being cradled by the Hero like a princess.

In the span of just a few seconds after arriving on the battlefield, I’d already experienced that dream-like phenomenon twice.

If I played my cards right, maybe I could even break my personal record today?

I cautiously predicted.

“Ugh! That scrawny brat is at least twice as sturdy as the fatso from earlier!”

“Binding it with magic only lasts about a second! Damn! If only my staff was intact…!”

As my comrades passionately debated how to take down the monster in front of them, I was locked in a fierce battle with my own feelings of incompetence.

Even if it was unintentional, I had still blundered right into trouble.

“What the hell! I told you to hide! Why did you jump out here! You idiot!?”

“Ugh!”

“A-Apis! Violence is not allowed!”

“Calm down! Apis!”

Apis’s punching made my head throb, leaving me speechless.

The Hero and Dawna who looked like they were about to cry stopped Apis, but I found myself thankful to her.

Thanks to her, my vision, clouded by self-loathing, was a little clearer.

“I told you to stay put! We still need to manage the monsters that will pop up around the city soon! Why are you causing more trouble! Damn it!”

“Ack! Apis! Just, wait! Listen to me! Aah!”

“Apis! If it’s about corporal punishment! I’ll take it instead of the Priest! So, please cool your anger!”

“S-Stop fighting!”

I tried to explain the situation when suddenly, a voice of pure clarity echoed above us, like a divine revelation.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Flap!

The source of that voice revealed herself, once again spreading the wings she displayed when she lifted me up—the Saintess.

One of the highest miracles recorded about Saintess in the classical scriptures—flights of wings.

I instantly wondered if it was appropriate to use such a sacred miracle like this in front of so many eyes, but I could hardly voice my doubts against the Saintess.

Snap!

A sound of another blood vessel bursting around the Hero’s brow echoed.

The reason was simple.

The ground the Saintess was standing on was right above the Hero’s head.

The earlier comment was unintentional, but this one was undoubtedly deliberate.

“What…?”

Even Apis was momentarily speechless at the audacity of the Saintess’s words and actions, which naturally drew our attention to her.

“The bad monsters are starting to rise, but you don’t have to worry about that. We just need to deal with that thing.”

“Wha!?”

“What do you mean!?”

Apologetic phrases from the Saintess threw Apis and Dawna into visible confusion.

Even Bigtim, despite hiding it well, was nervously biting his lip.

It was only natural.

Years of dungeon-crawling experience led me to believe we would have at least a few dozen minutes before the monsters appeared, but now it seemed they were already there.

Which meant, it was clear that there were plenty of civilians remaining in the city, prey to this carnage.

“Why are you saying that now! You idiot! This isn’t the time for this! Shit! We need to split up and rescue the civilians!”

“Stay calm! Apis! If we divide our forces here, it’ll just make it harder to take down that monster!”

“Grr!”

Apis bit her lip angrily at Dawna’s cold reasoning.

Seeing them both distracted, it seemed they didn’t catch the latter part of what the Saintess had said, affected deeply by the shocking information.

“You both need to calm down. Yes, the monsters have come to the city, but you shouldn’t worry about that.”

“What…?”

“Huh?”

As I stepped in to mediate the situation, both of them tilted their heads in parallel.

“The situation is a bit complicated, so I can’t explain it right now, but you don’t need to worry about the safety of the citizens. That’s the one thing I can guarantee.”

After a brief silence, they both opened their mouths again.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier? Alright then! So now we can focus on taking that thing down?”

“Phew. Then I can relax.”

Had I ever realized the importance of good behavior as acutely as I did right now?

Just moments ago, these panicked individuals regained their composure simply from my words, and I found it surprisingly remarkable.

Well, it seemed that all our tangled issues were being neatly resolved.

There was just one problem remaining, and that was…

“How long do you plan to stay on top of my head?!”

Whoosh─!

“Wow. The puppy is angry. Angry.”

The question was how to complete the monster extermination safely with these two…