Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 17: The Princess on a Donkey

With spring approaching, the Winter winds presented their last struggle as a cold wave swept the continent.

The potato flowers withered and faded, and in their place, potatoes emerged.

While digging up the potatoes, I was amazed. Why did the Lord give me potatoes?

And in this bitter cold, no less.

“...Blegh...It tastes bad.”

Ah, my meat-loving wolf doesn’t like the potatoes.

Well, I guess that meant we only needed enough potatoes for one person in our house.

These potatoes are surprisingly plumb and they have such sturdy bulbs...

Despite growing in a corner of the vegetable garden, the potatoes had deep roots.

It could only be the Lord’s will.

There are so many. Why did the Lord give me such a gift?

The sight of dozens of potatoes hanging from those roots was truly astonishing.

I took those potatoes to the clinic and shared them with the people receiving treatment. I gave some to Mr. Rubert and also distributed them to those in need while going around the neighboring houses.

I made potato salad to prepare potatoes for myself to eat, and boiled potato soup to cover three meals with it.

While Roke ate meat, I ate potato soup. Roka felt a bit embarrassed and guilty, but I managed to calm her worries. I don’t feel much hunger to begin with.

“Hello, sir. Nice to meet you for the first time. I am...”

“Oh? I was wondering who it was, but it’s you, Priest. You’re the owner of that clinic, right? I’ve heard a lot about you...But may I ask the reason you visited this humble poorhouse...?”

“I received quite a lot of potatoes as a gift, but it’s too much for me to eat alone.”

I took several sacks of potatoes and donated them to the poorhouse.

The people at the poorhouse were grateful. This place helped the poor and needy, however, they didn’t receive much support or donations.

“I...Thank you! I was just talking with the others not long ago...Truth is, our situation is not good, we were almost running out of food...”

“Indeed, I don’t know who is the kind person who gave you so many potatoes, Priest. But we’re grateful. Thanks to this, many brothers won’t go hungry on the feast day and can fill their stomachs with at least soup made from potatoes. In the name of the Goddess, I express my gratitude.”

“There’s no need to thank me. May God be with you.”

“May God be with you too, Priest.”

Even if we serve different gods, the intention is the same.

The Trinity Church also preaches about love and compassion. And my Lord also speaks about love.

Come to think of it, the feast day of Saint Beorodo is approaching.

Although he was just an ordinary priest who served the Goddess Hillai, he devoted his entire life to healing and helping the poor.

Now he is revered as a Saint.

The day that his feats were commemorated was approaching.

Because of the Trinity Church, this day was no different than a continent-wide holiday.

Although I don’t worship Hillai, this man was worthy of my respect.

There is also no reason for me not to joyfully celebrate the feast day commemorating him.

When the feast day comes, should I try praying to the Goddess?

The Lord does not mind if I offer prayers to other Gods.

It’s not like I would change my faith, so trivial matters like offering a single prayer are left to my discretion. It is an excessive amount of trust for this small being.

All I needed to do was to work hard and repay the Lord by understanding his Will.

“Roka, do you believe in God?”

Shake, shake-.

My little wolf, who was struck next to me, shook her head.

“I don’t. They are all fakers.”

“Haha...”

“My tribe worshipped Epirna, the Goddess of the Plains. I did too. Not anymore.”

“I see. That is also true. The only thing you really need to believe in while living is yourself.”

I am essential, and God is a choice.

If you don’t even believe in yourself, if you deny even your own possibilities, and only serve and worship God, would He think well of it?

At least my Lord would not be like that.

“Master. Can’t I believe in the same one you believe in?”

“Roka. The Lord doesn’t need our faith.”

But if you don’t give up until the very end,

If you continue having Hope.

Then you are already believing in Him.

If you don’t succumb even when faced with difficulties,

If you don’t lose Hope.

Then you are already believing in Him.

Praying together doesn’t mean you believe in God.

Memorizing scriptures doesn’t make you that either. You only become a believer when you live according to His teachings.

I, too, am often confused about whether I am a believer or not.

“If you keep Hope within your heart, and follow His teachings, then He may accept your faith. However, Roka, there is no need for you to follow the Lord, just because I do.”

There are many gods on the continent, including the Trinity.

She can worship any of them. Faith cannot be forced.

Roka just needs to serve the one she wants to serve.

Worshipping a God just because I do?

If she does that, her heart won’t be sincere. And the Lord won’t accept half-baked worship.

Roka has to believe in something by her own will. Otherwise, it’s meaningless.

“Actually...The one I serve is...”

Roka started saying something, but she quickly closed her mouth.

Then, she smiled.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.

Hm? Did she grow a little bit?

It seemed her eyes were a little bit higher.

Although she wasn’t my height, it feels like the gap is getting shorter?

I heard beastkin grow fast, and it’s truly the case.

If this keeps up,

Roka’s childhood would pass faster than mine.

“What do you want to do on the feast day?”

“Whatever you desire, Master.”

“Then for me, it’s whatever you desire as well.”

“In that case, I want to walk together with you, Master. Just like we’re doing now.”

This kid. She is surprisingly simple.

“As you wish.”

So on the feast day, I decided to go out and have fun with Roka. Well, even though I say go out and have fun, it’ll probably just be walking around the festival.

*****Who in their right mind would be riding a Donkey on this dark, cold night?

The figure wore a wooden mask.

The poor donkey was exhausted, already foaming.

But who could this person be?

It was none other than Princess Ardein. The one who was once called the Iron Princess. The Empire’s own War Hero.

But now, she was just a slab of rotting flesh.

All her brilliant achievements have now faded away.

Her magnificent white steed had disappeared somewhere.

All she had as a mount now was a single Donkey.

There’s no other way.

Her body could not endure the time it would take for a normal journey.

When the horse got tired and couldn’t run, she sold it and bought a worse one.

When that horse also got tired, she bought one used for farming. When it was time for that one to get tired too, she chose this donkey. Seeing the foam coming from its mouth, this one is also slowly reaching its limit.

“Larpentia......”

Using her last bits of mana, Ardein managed to move her rotting body.

Even a healthy person would be exhausted by this journey.

Ardein’s rotten body was moments away from crumbling.

“Haha...”

Nothing. Her mind was blank.

Her thoughts were vacant.

She felt like she could collapse from exhaustion at any moment. Her tired heart was almost giving out.

Ardein was already half dead. The Reaper had put the noose on her neck a long time ago.

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With each moment it tightened more and more.

How much longer can she endure? A day? Or two?

Even she herself cannot guarantee it. Her life was as precarious as a dying candle.

But to a person on the verge of death, and to a healthy person, hunger approaches equally.

Hunger was akin to a relentless bastard who wouldn’t be satisfied even if one ate the most luxurious feast.

When the time comes, even if one quench the other desires, Hunger will show itself again.

The Princess’s stomach twisted in painful knots from hunger.

‘I’m a fool...Even in a time like this...The first thing that comes to mind is that I’m hungry.’

She could no longer feel the cold. Because her skin had already rotten away. But even if she can’t feel the cold, she felt the hunger.

While coming here, she relied only on dried grains and jerky, without having a single proper meal.

The princess was hungry.

She never knew before that being hungry could be this terrifying.

In the palace, needless to say, a single flick of a finger would summon snacks.

Even on the battlefield, it was unthinkable for her, a member of the imperial family, to miss a meal.

Even when soldiers marched clutching their hungry stomachs because supplies weren’t properly delivered, the princess was able to march while drinking honey water.

This was the first time in her life she was this starved.

For now, let’s rest at the inn.

She didn’t have the energy to inquire about the Priest.

No,

The princess just wanted to have her meal.

Whether it would be her last or not, she couldn’t know.