Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 28: Fate and Bonds

I must face Grimudo once more.

However, to accomplish this, I must prepare myself.

So, I prayed to the Lord. Steeling my resolve. This time, I must put aside my resentment and hatred and ask him for guidance.

“My Lord. I will leave soon.”

Making the sign of the cross, I knelt down.

The only one I kneel before is my Lord alone.

“I’ll follow your Will even if this body shatters.”

If the Lord has commanded salvation, I will simply follow.

I don’t know how I, a mere human, came to bear such a heavy burden,

And honestly, I don’t know exactly what I should do yet, but the Lord’s will is not hard to understand.

If I just do what I can, the answer will naturally reveal itself.

What must be done is not important. Only what can be done is important.

If I do the things I can do now, someday I will face the future that He sees. That is the privilege of being His priest.

“Roka...I must go on a long journey, but you will stay here.”

“M-Master...A-are you abandoning Roka...?”

“No. I’m saying this because it seems like it will be a dangerous journey.”

The Lord will guard me.

The reason I was able to survive in Yurinel’s party and stay by their side was not due to my ability alone, but because the Lord made up for my shortcomings.

As long as the Lord is behind me, I do not fear even the Ancient Demon King.

But Roka is different. No one protects this child.

Even if I die, there is an afterlife for me, but Roka will only live once.

If my life ends, I will ascend,

The Lord will take me, but this child will simply die. I could not take her to a dangerous place like the North Star Fortress.

No, even the journey there would be too much for the child to handle.

“I’m going to the North Pole. I’ll have to see with my own eyes what comes from there.”

“Saint. You don’t have to do this by yourself, you know?”

The Princess smiled,

It was a confident smile. She was truly a completely different person from a few days ago.

“After I finish my business in the capital, I will accompany you, Saint.”

“Pardon?”

“You saved my life, Saint. More than that, you gave me a second chance. So, I want to live this new life as you said, helping others.”

“Are you sure? I must see Grimudo, the Ancient Demon King.”

Ahh...This is troubling. When I travel, I simply believe that the Lord will safeguard my way.

But that’s only when I’m traveling alone.

“The ancient Demon King? Are you really... really going to seek out that legendary being in person? That’s a reckless and dangerous thing to do.”

The princess was surprised and grabbed my hand, pulling me close.

Roka’s gaze sharpened as she stared at us. Her expression turned sour too...

“Saint. For now, let’s go to my family’s home. Although our family has fallen greatly, it is still a household that holds many things. I’m sure we can be of help to you.”

The princess’s family home is the imperial palace...

I wanted to say I couldn’t impose on them like that, but suddenly a thought came to mind.

Perhaps the reason the princess and I met was because the Lord wanted this current situation.

Only He himself knows such things. This humble Priest cannot gaze into his divine plans. However, there is a good chance that this is true.

“Master, you absolutely can’t go alone with that woman.”

Roka grumbled while tugging on my pants.

Is it just my imagination? Her nails seemed to be slightly out.

“Please take Roka with you.”

Sigh...Perhaps the Lord also intended for me to take Roka as well? Back then, the Lord gave me those apples, which resulted in me meeting Roka.

The two women in front of me were brought before me by the Lord.

Perhaps from the moment, the apple tree bore fruit, not even before that, He may have been looking at this day.

Even if I can’t take these two all the way to Grimudo, could it be that I need them for the journey up to the middle?

Or maybe they need me. Anyway, there is always meaning in the Lord’s actions.

“Okay...Let’s go together Roka.”

If that is His will,

I will simply obey.

“Princess, is that alright?”

“Bringing along one child is no problem at all.”

She smiled at me. But her smile seemed a little brittle now. It must be my imagination.

“Then let’s go, Saint. Right now I’m penniless with nothing to my name, but soon I will repay the kindness of all who helped me. Surely, your Lord allowed me to live this second life to do so.”

“Ah! Before we go...”

Suddenly, I remembered something and blurted out.

“Let’s stay one more day before departing. There’s something I want to say to Mr. Rubert and Ralph at the poorhouse before leaving. Will you come with me, Princess?”

“I’m immensely grateful and want to express my thanks, but right now I have nothing to repay the kindness with since I’m empty-handed. I want to visit him later when I have enough to offer in return.”

“That’s fine.”

Come to think of it, the princess was still wearing only an oversized coat with no clothes underneath.

We didn’t have any suitable clothes for an adult woman in our house, so she wore my vests and pants, but it looked awkward.

To begin with, the sizes didn’t match so it looked baggy.

“This money was originally prepared for your travel expenses. It’s not much, but it should be enough to get equipment and supplies. Buy some warm clothes too, and come back after getting ready. Let’s rest one last night in this house and depart tomorrow.”

While we’re gone, this place will be empty,

So I plan to tell Ralph to use it if needed before we leave.

It’s regretful that I didn’t have time to even sow some seeds in my garden, but I offered a small prayer, asking the Lord’s blessing to permeate this soil.

The clinic is also closing now, but there’s an alternative.

“As long as the candle of this holy place remains, this will be a sanctuary, and that spring will be holy water. If patients come, tell them to come here, bask in the candlelight, and drink from the spring, will you?”

“Saint...You’re leaving so suddenly...Do you not plan on returning?”

“Who knows...I simply live according to the Lord’s will. Should he allow it, I may return one day.”

I exchanged farewells with Mr. Rubert and his young son as well. I hope it wasn’t our last goodbye, but for now, I couldn’t guarantee anything.

The threat lurking in the North Pole is too important to ignore.

“Ralph. Now there will be several pieces of unused furniture and beds in a house no one will live in. If the poorhouse needs them, please take and use them.”

“Sell them for money and use it yourself instead, Priest! We know you’re not someone who lives in wealth, so how could we take and use those things?”

“Hahaha...The Lord will provide for me, Ralph, there’s no need to fear for the future.”

I simply smiled. The Lord was behind me, and that was enough.

“Roka...I will ask this one last time. Are you really going to follow me? I know you’ve lived a difficult life so far, but this journey may be even more grueling and challenging than your past.”

“If I don’t follow you, Master...”

Roka lowered her head and whispered,

“Will you abandon Roka?”

“I’ll take you to my hometown.”

The place where Yurinel and I were born is the Pumpkin Vine Village.

Yurinel was embarrassed and reluctant to even mention it, but I always liked the name of my hometown. Pumpkins are rather useful you see...They kill weeds as they grow, and there’s no need for much care, they were one of my favorite crops.

Although I left the village to bestow the Lord’s favor unto others,

While also helping Yurinel exact revenge,

The Candle of Sanctuary and Reviving Spring I left in the village must still be serving their purpose.

“The people living there are kind, they seek to help others even after suffering greatly. You too can live as a member of the village there.”

I do not bestow the Lord’s favor on others just to receive a reward. In the first place, this power is not mine, but the Lord. So how could I ever try to steal the glory that was rightfully His?

Even so, it is true that the villagers greatly appreciated my virtue.

If I ask them to accept this child as a member of the village, they will not refuse.

“But you won’t be there, Master.”

Roka, sweet and beautiful Roka, raised her head and stared at me intently.

“Master, wolves don’t run away from their decisions. No matter what you say, I will follow you. Even if it means going to meet the Ancient Demon King.”

I realized that I was receiving such great trust from both the Lord and this small child.

If this was Roka’s decision, then so be it.

“Alright then. Let’s go together. In this Journey of mine, we will find things that my strength alone won’t solve, so I’ll be counting on you, Roka.”

Helping others is like a light in the dark. A connection that links people.

The Lord derives great pleasure from seeing the things that are born from such connections.

“If we’re not alone, we can still do more.”

Of course, no matter what, I can’t let this child face Grimudo.

But the future where I shall be forced to part ways with this child is still a bit far off.

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For now, let’s enjoy the present.