I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 19
Recently, Eldis had been in a bad mood. The reason was Yeshion.
“Priest Yeshion… don’t you think he’s been acting a bit different lately?”
“Are you seriously trusting Priest Yeshion? You never know when he’ll betray you. Be cautious.”
The temple was always abuzz with news involving Yeshion, but the recent rumors were different from those of the past.
People said Yeshion had turned over a new leaf after surviving a fatal illness and was treating those around him better.
Some said he had given up on his life.
Others claimed he was just pretending to be nice because there was someone he wanted to impress.
Normally, Eldis would have ignored such rumors. But this time, he couldn’t simply brush them off, because even he could see that Yeshion had changed.
He knew it was best not to get involved. No matter what Yeshion’s intentions were, it didn’t change the fact that he was still scum.
Whatever kindness Yeshion was showing was surely a ploy to eventually use Eldis’s weakness against him.
‘I’ll uncover the truth.’
After that, Eldis began assigning Yeshion tasks that he knew he would hate. Things like cleaning window frames or washing the priests’ robes—chores a senior priest would never normally do.
Of course, someone would help, but these were things that the Yeshion Eldis knew would never lower himself to do.
Before joining the temple, ‘we’ had done those tasks to the point of exhaustion. But Yeshion’s response was completely unexpected.
“It’s cold… Should I wash the clothes with cold water?”
“So, you don’t want to do it?”
“No, that’s not it… Oh, right. When I’m done with the laundry, could I go out for a bit?”
“…Since when have you needed my permission to go out?”
At the time, Eldis was certain. He assumed Yeshion would use the outing as an excuse to abandon the work and disappear.
But Yeshion did exactly what he said. He finished the laundry himself and only went out after the sun had nearly set.
‘He’ll probably stay out all night and return at dawn. He must’ve received his paycheck by now.’
But once again, Yeshion defied expectations. He returned to the temple in less than an hour.
In the end, Eldis summoned the child who had been monitoring Yeshion’s behavior.
“Any bad behavior from Priest Yeshion? Hmm… Not at all!”
The child’s eyes sparkled. When Eldis had first assigned the task, the boy had been terrified, but now he was enthusiastically speaking about how Yeshion was a good person.
“Oh, recently, he gave me some honey cakes. A worshipper gave them to him, but Priest Yeshion said he doesn’t really like sweets.”
“…He said he doesn’t like sweets?”
“Yes! Oh, and… it seems the rumor that Priest Yeshion is sick is true.”
Eldis’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He asked what the child meant, and the boy listed the rumors he had heard and Yeshion’s recent behavior.
“They say he sways on his feet every time he finishes a prayer. Oh, and once, he even threw up.”
After sending the child away, Eldis questioned other priests, wondering if Yeshion had somehow bribed them.
However, their responses matched the child’s.
One of the priests standing by Eldis quietly spoke up.
“Do you recall sending Priest Yeshion to the southern prayer hall, Archpriest?”
“I remember. Isn’t that the prayer room overseen by Priest Gillett?”
“That’s correct. Recently, there have been more worshippers visiting the southern prayer hall. Many have said that after receiving prayers from Priest Yeshion, they felt lighter and their bodies were healed.”
Eldis doubted his ears.
According to the previous report, the miracles occurring in the southern prayer hall were attributed to Priest Gillett.
Before Gillett committed his sin, he had been quite a skilled priest, blessed with the power to heal, and had a promising future.
If not for the incident over a decade ago where he committed the sin of denying the divine, he could have had a bright future, specializing in healing.
However, after his sin, his powers had gradually weakened. Lately, there had even been rumors that instead of healing worshippers, his prayers made them worse, leading to discussions about his potential expulsion from the temple.
Yet, according to the recent report, Gillett had healed four people. It had been assumed that God’s punishment on him had finally ended…
Eldis rubbed his chin and said:
“Bring Priest Gillett to me.”
It wasn’t long before Gillett appeared.
He stood before Eldis, filled with both excitement and hope at the prospect of meeting the Archpriest one-on-one.
“I’ve heard that God’s healing touch has frequently been present in the southern prayer hall lately,” Eldis said softly.
But Gillett’s expression hardened. There was a faint sense of anxiety on his face.
“And so, Priest Gillett, since the sin you committed was over ten years ago, and God seems to have forgiven you, it might be time for you to take the exam to become a senior priest. What do you think?”
Gillett couldn’t answer right away.
His lips trembled, and after struggling to find the right words, he finally fell to his knees.
“I’m sorry, Archpriest.”
