I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 23
Yeshion, unaware of the truth, simply nodded. At this point, his only choice was to deceive Eldis somehow.
“You say you don’t remember anything?”
“Yes… I don’t remember.”
Yeshion cautiously studied Eldis’s face.
He seemed to be contemplating, almost as if he was trying to understand why Yeshion wanted to leave the temple.
‘Could it be…?’
If he persuaded Eldis just right, maybe Eldis would let him go.
If he could show that he had no ill intentions and explain that he was essentially useless at the temple, Eldis might agree.
After all, in the original story, Eldis wasn’t one to hesitate when it came to cutting people off.
“Yes. That’s why I was planning to leave the temple. It doesn’t make sense for a priest who’s supposed to heal others to be sick themselves…”
Yeshion continued to explain why he intended to leave the temple.
He woke up one day and found himself as a priest but didn’t know much about the gods. Even as a priest, he lacked any special abilities. And once he came to his senses, he realized that everyone around him disliked him.
“And… I heard a rumor. That I hold your weakness.”
“…..”
“That’s the reason I haven’t been expelled from the temple.”
Eldis’s face twisted at that. He hadn’t expected to hear those words come from Yeshion’s mouth first.
His expression turned fierce for a moment, but Yeshion continued speaking without stopping.
“I don’t think I’m suited to be a priest. So…”
Yeshion lowered his gaze, choosing his words carefully. He made his expression as pitiful as possible, furrowing his brows and drooping the corners of his mouth.
“So, please let me leave the temple.”
Eldis silently observed his face. It was the face of someone who genuinely wanted to leave. It seemed pure, without a single trace of a lie.
Eldis reached out and placed his hand on Yeshion’s forehead. A warm sensation lingered there—not because of magic, but simply because Eldis’s body temperature was higher.
“I understand what you’re saying. But… you have a fever.”
“What?”
Yeshion, who had been waiting for Eldis’s response, made a dumbfounded sound. It was obvious that Eldis’s hand was hotter than his forehead, yet Eldis was claiming that Yeshion had a fever.
“I can’t send away a sick person.”
“…Excuse me?”
Eldis withdrew his hand from Yeshion’s forehead and moved in closer. Startled, Yeshion’s body trembled, and Eldis reached out to steady him.
“And, you said you don’t remember my weakness, correct? In that case, I’ll tell you.”
Yeshion doubted what he had heard.
This was the man who used to grit his teeth in fury at the mere mention of his weakness. Now, he was suddenly offering to reveal it?
“…Have you lost your mind?”
Eldis had always been incredibly strict with himself.
He was someone who carried the burden of a sin he had committed long before becoming a priest. Because of this, Eldis never revealed his past, not even to the Saintess in the original story.
The only person who knew his past was Yeshion.
But now, with Yeshion claiming to have lost his memory, there was no one left who knew Eldis’s secret.
Shouldn’t Eldis be relieved? Why was he now offering to share it?
“Because I’m curious.”
Eldis’s hand, which had been gripping Yeshion’s arm, slowly moved to wrap around his waist.
It felt as if a large snake was coiling around him, tightening its grip.
“Before you lost your memory, you used my secret to blackmail me.”
“…..”
“So now I’m curious. With no memory of my weakness, how will the current you react when you hear it?”
Eldis smiled.
And Yeshion realized something instinctively.
Eldis didn’t believe a single word he had said. He was only pretending to be convinced, nodding as if he understood, but in reality, he hadn’t accepted any of it.
As Yeshion parted his lips to speak, Eldis continued.
“You said your memory is incomplete, and you’re not well due to illness. So, from now on, you’re forbidden from going outside.”
“…What?”
“And you mentioned that you don’t remember much about the gods either. Then you’ll need to relearn that. Starting tomorrow, don’t attend the priest’s schedule. Come to my office instead.”
Yeshion’s lips trembled faintly.
But Eldis only smiled wider.
“Archpriest. You didn’t believe a single word I said, did you?”
