“Hehe.”
Miriam let out an eerie laugh.
Seeing that eerie smile, I was reminded that this place was a fantasy world far removed from modern medicine.
‘What is she trying to do….’
Fear crept up on me.
“Now, shall we begin?”
The place Miriam led me to was a room with several boxes.
Miriam rummaged through a box and pulled out bandages, medicine, and tweezers.
Then she lifted a bottle that smelled sour and,
Glug-. Glug-.
Started pouring it on my hand.
“……!”
The sudden, intense pain overwhelmed me.
I winced, my shoulders trembling, but I couldn't pull my hand away.
Miriam was staring at me with a bright smile.
“You have to bear with it. I'm disinfecting the wound.”
“……Alright.”
I clenched my teeth, trying to endure the pain.
Who could I blame?
It was my fault for punching the floor in anger and breaking my hand.
All I could do was endure the pain…….
Click-.
Soon, Miriam stopped disinfecting my hand.
Then she picked up the tweezers and started bringing them closer.
But then,
Pinch-.
Miriam pinched the open wound with the tweezers!
I almost foamed at the mouth.
“I-I’ll do it.”
I stammered, unusually flustered, and took the tweezers from Miriam.
“It can't be helped since you can't see well. But please make sure to remove all the stone fragments.”
“……Alright.”
I barely managed to take the tweezers from Miriam.
If I had let her continue, she might have ripped off my flesh.
‘It hurts even when I’m doing it myself….’
I winced.
As Miriam had said, I was in the middle of removing the stone fragments embedded in my hand.
Even though I was trying my best to avoid the flesh, the pain was overwhelming.
However, if I left the wound untreated, it could get infected.
So I endured the pain and continued to remove the stone fragments.
And when I finally removed even the tiniest fragments,
“Well done.”
Slide-.
Miriam reached out and placed her hand over mine.
And then,
Clank-. Clank-.
She grabbed my mangled hand and started to apply pressure.
As she did, some kind of power emanated from her hand, tightly gripping my hand.
Just as I was about to cry out from the pain,
“It's done…! Huu, I've used too much of this power today. Samuel too... Why do you all keep getting hurt?”
“…….”
Miriam said, wiping away the cold sweat that had formed on her forehead.
I looked down at my hand.
‘…This is unbelievable.’
Chills ran down my spine.
Truly,
The broken bones in my hand were all aligned.
How was this even possible?
Even Sytan's medical instructors would have a hard time doing this,
‘Ah.’
I realized that I had momentarily forgotten Miriam's true identity.
Miriam was a priestess of God.
Although she probably didn’t have any professional medical knowledge, she must have used some kind of divine power, just like when she healed Samuel's body.
Even if I asked her how she did it, she probably wouldn't tell me.
As I was staring at Miriam with a renewed sense of awe,
“What are you doing?”
Miriam asked me, sounding baffled.
What was I doing?
Taken aback by her sudden question, I frowned and asked,
“What do you mean…?”
“Apply the medicine and wrap the bandage.”
“Oh, right.”
I hurriedly applied the medicine to my hand and wrapped it with the bandage.
Thanks to Miriam's power, the bones in my hand were all set.
But the wound wasn't healed yet, so I had to apply the ointment.
…I must add, applying the ointment was also incredibly painful.
Swoosh-. Swoosh-.
Pat-.
After perfectly wrapping my hand with the bandage, I got up from my seat.
And I bowed deeply.
“Thank you for treating my hand.”
At my polite words of gratitude, Miriam waved her hands dismissively.
“It's nothing. I've already decided to help you, so this much is no big deal….”
But Miriam couldn’t finish her sentence.
Cough-.
She coughed up blood.
A dark red clot of blood landed on Miriam's hand.
My pupils shook violently.
“Are you alright?”
I asked, supporting Miriam, who looked as if she was about to collapse.
She gave me an awkward smile and said,
“I used up too much power. Plus, I used my divine power to read your fortune and….”
Thankfully, Miriam's breathing stabilized after a while.
She groaned as she got up and started walking.
“Please get some rest today. ...You'll have to share a room with us, I hope that's alright?”
“Well, I saw quite a few rooms, is there a reason why we have to share?”
Relieved that Miriam looked better, I asked why.
I was sure I saw countless rooms when I first entered the Temple of Gluttony.
It was spacious enough, so there had to be at least one spare room.
“That’s…”
Miriam blushed and hesitated to answer my question.
What was the reason for her reaction?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Miriam finally spoke up.
“Actually, ever since Samuel left, I haven’t cleaned anywhere except the chapel and my bedroom… So the other rooms…”
“…I think I’ve heard enough.”
I nodded in understanding.
The reason?
It was simple.
Miriam not cleaning meant the rooms weren’t maintained.
It probably meant the other rooms were filled with bugs and snakes like in the hallway…
‘Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl.’
Of course, I had no desire to sleep with bugs.
But there was one thing that bothered me.
‘Sharing a room with Samuel is fine…’
But sharing with Miriam made me uncomfortable.
She was a mature woman, so it made me a bit hesitant.
Samuel was used to sleeping with Miriam, so it wouldn’t be a problem for him.
‘…As they say, men and women shouldn’t be too close after the age of seven.’
Was it really okay to do this except in special circumstances like the human realm invasion?
But I had no intention of going back to the chapel.
What I saw there was so horrifying that I didn’t want to step foot in there ever again.
‘…Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine.’
I decided to accept Miriam’s offer and started walking.
Following Miriam inside, I saw Samuel looking at me.
“Is your hand healed?”
“Yes, thankfully it seems to be better than before.”
“…Your bandage is bleeding through.”
Ignoring Samuel’s comment, I looked around.
Samuel had laid out the bedding while I was getting treated by Miriam.
“It’ll take time to clean the other rooms, so it’s best to sleep here today.”
“I already told him that!”
“A lot has happened today, so get some rest. We need to leave tomorrow, right?”
I nodded at Samuel’s words, blatantly ignoring Miriam.
As Samuel said, we had to head straight to the Bares’ territory tomorrow.
Just thinking about going to face Crete makes my stomach churn…
I knew Crete had no intention of killing me, but it was still frightening.
I was about to meet someone who could crush me like a bug if he wanted to.
And the thought of Rene’s unsettling gaze right before we parted ways made my head throb even more.
Maybe,
Staying at the Temple of Gluttony wouldn’t be so bad…
With that thought in mind, I lay down on the bedding.
Naturally, there was no luxurious bed in Samuel’s room.
It was a shame, but I was grateful to have a place to sleep.
…It was a hundred times better than sleeping in a bug-infested hallway.
“Then I’ll blow out the candles.”
“Okay!”
Samuel extinguished the candles that illuminated the room and slipped into the middle of the bedding.
Since sleeping next to Miriam made me uncomfortable, I had chosen the furthest spot.
Men and women shouldn’t be too close after the age of seven.
This was a rule not to be broken.
The room was plunged into darkness.
I closed my eyes for a while, then opened them again.
‘…I can’t sleep.’
My body felt incredibly tired, but I couldn’t fall asleep.
Was it psychological?
I was still worried and afraid of what I had lost and what I would lose.
…That was why I couldn’t sleep.
I tried to pretend to be optimistic, but my mind was still in turmoil.
I had thought that everything would be fine if I could just uncover the secret that the six great families were hiding.
But the closer I got to the answer, the more it seemed to mock me, slipping further away.
And it bothered me.
Damn it…
Flip-.
I tossed and turned, turning my body to the side.
And I froze, startled by the warm breath I felt on my skin.
How?
Since when was she here…?
As if she had teleported, Miriam appeared before my eyes.
Her eyes were still bandaged, but somehow, I knew.
Miriam was looking directly at me.
“What…”
I tried to speak, but,
Swoosh-.
“Shh.”
Miriam pressed her index finger to my lips, silencing me.
All I could do was watch in silence as she moved.
“Be quiet. You’ll wake Samuel up.”
“…”
I hadn’t even said anything yet.
But the strange aura surrounding Miriam made me nod silently.
I was powerless against this type of woman…
Miriam opened her mouth and began to speak.
“Thank you.”
“What do you mean?”
Miriam’s words caught me completely off guard.
I tilted my head in confusion.
What was she thanking me for?
Miriam answered me.
“…You know why I tried to kill you before.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Miriam believed that I was someone who could change fate, and therefore, I could be a threat to the Demon Realm.
So, she had ordered Samuel to kill me.
But after my conversation with the God of Gluttony, her attitude had changed to one of favor.
So, what exactly was she thanking me for?
Miriam continued speaking.
“Back then, I thought we shouldn’t go against fate. But at the same time, I was grateful to you for changing Samuel’s destiny. …Although I couldn’t say it out loud because of my position.”
“I see.”
It wasn't difficult to understand.
Miriam was trying her best to fulfill her duties as a priestess, but she couldn’t suppress her gratitude for me helping Samuel.
And she thanked me once again.
“Thank you for saving Samuel, my benefactor.”
“…That’s a bit embarrassing to hear.”
Benefactor, huh?
It wasn’t a bad word, but it felt unfamiliar.
Miriam chuckled at my reaction and continued.
“I hope you continue to have a good relationship with Samuel. He… might find himself in danger because of his wisdom. And I hope you’ll be there for him then.”
In danger because of his wisdom?
It didn't quite make sense to me, but I decided to hear her out since I would be relying on Samuel a lot in the future.
“Alright…”
Just as I was about to nod,
“…?”
Miriam suddenly vanished from my sight.
I flinched in surprise.
I quickly sat up and looked around, and there she was, fast asleep in her spot.
Honestly,
She was still an incomprehensible woman.
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