The Half-Puny Priest Hopes To Retire

206 – May God Smile on You

Consider sleepless nights as a gift from God.

Do not dare to deny the gracious silence that allows you to agonize over the sins you have committed and to endlessly contemplate the uncertain future.

A holy saying left behind by a prominent priest in the Vatican.

Beltane was also once a member of those who lived with that proverb in their hearts.

Yes, at one time.

”Whoa…”

Beltane let out a gloomy breath and leaned against the wall forlornly.

Although she suffers from chronic lack of sleep, it hasn’t been a day or two that she’s had trouble sleeping.

It was very rare for her to show any signs of agitation, even going for an unplanned night walk, leaving her sleeping saint in her bed.

Exhaustion due to unfamiliar wandering life.

Tension facing the great catastrophe of mankind, the manifestation of the devil.

No matter how much I asked for his understanding, I felt guilty forever shame staying at Haren’s house, where I had previously committed a major act of disrespect.

At first glance, a number of plausible reasons came to mind, but Beltane was vaguely aware that what he was feeling right now did not apply to any of them.

The life of an adventurer is tiring. It was an absurd statement.

It would be a lie if I said that I wasn’t at all uncomfortable with their rugged way of life, which was clearly far from purity.

There was no mountain of hard work, no suffocating rules, and most of all, the journey of being able to spend most of the day with his beloved younger brother was worthy of being called the best time for Beltane.

I mentally understood the seriousness of the current situation in which the devil had swallowed up the Holy See, but given the scale of the situation, it was difficult to realize it.

A place where I have lived for many years. Everyone I knew there.

The news that everything may have disappeared in an instant was too absurd for her, who had lived her whole life in a safe cage, to accept.

However, from that day on, it was clear that there was a deep sense of anxiety in the back of Beltane’s mind.

Right tomorrow. All hero party members, including Lazys, take on the task of subjugating the demon lord.

Leaving the saint and himself here.

If he cannot return from such a journey…

”····Ugh.”

Just imagining that ominous future for a moment made my heart tighten, and the smooth weather became noticeably worse.

The subject of Beltane’s current anxiety was so simple and clear.

I’m afraid I’ll lose the Reijis.

Since the hero’s protection rests on him, it is inevitable for the peace of this world for him to participate in the subjugation of the demon lord.

Beltane already knew that, as someone with a strong sense of responsibility, he would soon complete his decision, even if it meant some agony.

In fact, they hoped it would stay by their side forever.

The continuation of the Holy See. The lives of civilians. The world’s fortune.

All of those things felt like worthless props compared to his existence.

What a disgusting and selfish thought this is.

It was not an intention that a priest who served the will of God could have in his heart.

Nevertheless, the reason why Beltane was unable to stop such misguided thinking was probably due to his love for his younger brother.

If not.

”Rage’s Priest…”

”Did you call me~?”

”─!?”

A soft voice returned to the self-talk I had thoughtlessly muttered.

It was surprising enough that someone responded to something he didn’t expect, but what confused Beltane the most was that the familiar melody had a dark tinge to it.

”Rage’s Priest? Ho, are you drunk?”

”Ah, do you recognize me? As I was chatting with my senior after a long time, I realized that I didn’t know it~ but I ate it without realizing it~ without realizing it~”

Beltane couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Contrary to her gentle appearance, it was the first time that Reijis, who was known as a famous priest at her monastery, had seen her so drunk.

Contrary to the public perception that clergy would live in abstinence, the majority of male clergy were heavy drinkers.

That’s because producing wine, which is said to be the blood of God, was one of the main tasks of the priests under the leadership of the Vatican.

Whatever happens, do not compete with a priest in drinking.

In this system, it was a maxim that everyone in the know knew.

Among them, Lazys’ drinking capacity was particularly unusual.

Even now, Beltane still vividly remembered the sight of Lajis gulping down the drink without changing the color of her face despite the harsh treatment of alcohol by senior priests.

What on earth and how much alcohol did you drink?

Beltane was the car that had such thoughts.

”Huh, huh?”

”Rage’s Priest!”

Beltane hurriedly launched her body towards Reisis, who suddenly stumbled.

”Ahaha…”

”Ugh…!”

It was good that he was barely able to catch him when he almost fell headfirst to the floor.

However, the fact that he ended up being completely embraced by me was a completely unexpected situation.

”Hey, you’re out of your mind! You don’t have it! Because of his priestly duties, he drinks until he can’t control himself! Such a frivolous sight! What on earth are you going to do if the saint sees it and has a bad influence on you?”

”Ahaha~ I got scolded~”

Beltane cleared his throat in a more excited tone than usual.

However, despite Beltane’s irritating actions of hers, Reisis only occasionally swayed her body from side to side, and did not show even the slightest sign of giving her full answer.

It looks like he’s still drunk even when he’s drunk.

She was in doubt as to whether she knew who she was or where she was.

”Haa…”

If she had known this, when Priest Haren said she would have a drink with him, she would have at least given him a word of advice to drink in moderation.

It was clear that the past karma of scaring the Haren priest and digging into Raiges’ past was bothering him, and the fact that he could not speak strongly to him had become the root of the problem.

”First of all, just sit here quietly. Go to the kitchen and get some water─”

Shake it up!

At that very moment, Beltane’s vision suddenly reversed.

”Huh?”

Just a little while ago, he was holding up Reisis, who was on the verge of falling to the floor.

Just being swept away by his her power her for a brief moment, and the current situation where he was in a position of being attacked by him, was enough to paralyze Beltane’s reason

”Re, Raiges Priest…?”

”····”

Only then did his appearance her slowly come into view.

Hair soaked in sweat.

Sticky breathing as if the inherent desire is seeing out.

From the nape of his neck his, his pure white collarbone his was clearly visible.

”Oh, no…, No…, No…”

The reason why a series of rejections came out of her mouth was no different.

If you look at him face to face, his eyes filled with melancholy seem to swallow you up right now, as if you’ll just fall in love with him.

The alluring look in his eyes of her that forcibly brought up the memories that had been so hard to suppress in the box of oblivion was enough to make him doubt whether the man in front of him was the Reisis he knew.

Grinning.

”─!?”

Beltane’s eyes suddenly widened.

That smile, as if he didn’t know what to do because he was cute at his pitiful behavior of not being able to go anywhere, took Beltane’s breath away.

Gulp.

At that moment, Beltane could not easily tell whether the solemn sound that settled in his ears his was his his his his his his.

Sigh.

How long has it been since the pure white eyes, curved like a crescent moon, watched Beltane’s sad gesture?

His lips, which had a strong smell of alcohol, were slowly but surely falling towards Beltane’s lips.

”I can’t do it! Chi, bedroom! In the bedroom!”

Tuk.

”Eh…?”

As soon as his head his fell on his shoulder his his his, his whole body his his his fell helplessly on top of Beltane’s body, like a doll with its strings cut.

”Uh, uh…?”

Saeaksaek. The faint sound of peaceful breathing clearly indicated that Lajis was currently in a deep sleep.

”Hey, hey…!! Yiyit…!!!”

Beltane, who belatedly realized what he was trying to say, cursed in frustration for several minutes with a face full of tears.

Fortunately, there were no guests present who saw or heard such a deviation from a faithful nun.

After calming down for a moment, Beltane suddenly felt deeply relieved.

The first reason was that no one found out about the disgrace that he would carry to his grave.

”Just try not to come back safely… I will never leave you alone…”

The second reason was that such a cute warning was able to be hidden in the current quiet silence.

It goes without saying that Beltane stayed up all night that night, overcome with shame.

◈◈◈

The next morning.

The application for the hero party was decided somewhat earlier than expected.

It was partly because of Evan’s straightforward personality of hers, and partly because there was an unavoidable need to finish all of her work quickly while her saintess was asleep.

”Then I’ll just go. Husband. Be sure to strictly control the door. Even if a suspicious female entices you with snacks, you must never open the door.”

”Off… Yeah…”

Flap!

As Haren, who had not yet completely recovered from last night’s hangover, let out her moans of pain, using that small sound as a starting point, the majestic flapping of her dragon’s wings echoed across her sky.

”Krrrr…”

”Ahaha! Mom! It’s been a while since I saw you like that!”

”Mom! Leah too! Give Lia a ride too!”

The only people who could remain calm as Evan freed the polymorph were her two daughters and her husband Haren.

The rest of the guests were appreciating the detached appearance as if they were looking at a work of art, with their eyes shining with an unidentified emotion closely related to fear.

”This is the dragon…”

”Huh? What are your dark circles? Did you stay up all night?”

”····”

Among them, Haren suddenly spoke out with concern towards Bel Thane, who showed her most obvious expression of surprise, but Bel Thane ignored it.

”Please speak kindly to the saint… Sister…”

”Yes····. Please leave it to me…”

As they were in the middle of saying goodbye, Beltane barely managed to hold back the grumble that almost came out of his mouth.

If I let my guard down, I felt like I would grab him by the leg of his pants right now and cry and beg him not to go.

I decided to quietly hide such a trivial wish in a single prayer.

”May God smile upon you.”

”May God smile upon you.”

Even Evan, who is blind to human culture, stopped flapping his wings for a moment, so much so that he overflowed with feelings of love for the well-being of the departed person from that series of prayers.

”Then I’ll just leave.”

”Yes…”

A gentle smile that sees off those leaving and shows concern for those left behind.

That calm expression was distorted into an emotion of astonishment, right after it was discovered belatedly that the saint, who was supposed to be sleeping peacefully in her home, had secretly participated in the party to subdue the demon lord.