Epilogue
Hello there. I am Ruasha, a priest of the Wesleyan Empire.
“Are you almost finished over there?!”
“Ah! Please wait just a little longer!”
“Once you’re done there, come help over here!”
I am currently serving at the greatest temple of the Great empire.
Ever since the Saintess appeared, the Wesleyan Empire became known as a place where her roots remain, and as a priest, I felt nothing but pride in being an Imperial citizen.
That is, until just a few days ago.
“My child is dying! Shouldn’t you take care of us first?!”
“Aaaargh!! My leg, my leg!!”
“Please save me, priest. I’ve donated so much to the temple…”
It has only been a month since I became a priest.
Other than dealing with weaker demons, this was my first real mission, and I was doing my best.
“Priest, please, divine power…”
A noble family’s villa collapsed, causing many casualties, and as priests, we were tending to the wounded.
“Leave those people, take care of me first!”
The number of casualties was so great that half of the temple’s personnel came out to help.
“Where do you think you’re cutting in? I was here first!”
Even so, there were too few hands, and the situation became dire.
People began fighting amongst themselves, and some even grabbed innocent priests by the collar, yelling.
“Please wait in line!”
When will the Saintess come back?
If she were here, I wonder if this situation would’ve been resolved in an instant.
The Saintess left the Empire a year ago.
I heard she’s now staying in the Kingdom of Eseah, where she’s been saving despairing nations.
“Everyone, please calm down and wait your turn!”
It’s already hard enough for me to take responsibility for our Empire so I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be for the Saintess to look after several countries.
“Kyaa!”
“Please refrain from violence.”
I was chosen by God to receive divine power, and from that day, I’ve devoted myself to the country.
But I never realized how many beasts in human form there were.
“Ugh.”
Divine power isn’t infinite, and its usage must be accompanied by proper rest.
But when I saw the endless line of injured people, I couldn’t bring myself to rest.
Large buildings were still collapsing, and many had yet to evacuate.
It’s only thanks to the imperial mages holding the buildings up that things hadn’t gotten worse.
“Cough!”
Naturally, the priests, who had sacrificed themselves healing others for half the day, were exhausted.
Many of them had difficulty lifting even a finger so in comparison, I was doing fine.
Although I was a little tired too, when I thought of the lives we saved through our labor today, it felt like nothing.
“Ruasha, you look happy.”
“Huh?”
It was someone who had been working at the temple for over ten years.
It must’ve been that I was smiling without realizing it, filled with a strange sense of pride.
* * *
Lady Jessie is someone very important in the temple. She tends to Prince Yuina and is said to have the authority to command the temple servants, granted through the Saintess’ favor.
“Good job, Ruasha.”
“Ah! Yes, thank you.”
Lady Jessie is always kind, excellent at her work, and embraces us with warmth so many of us in the temple = admire her.
“Um, Lady Jessie!”
Of course, I’m one of them too.
Lady Jessie has been acting as the temple’s representative while the Saintess and the high priest are away.
She was good at everything.
Even the documents that need processing in the temple, she handles them effortlessly.
Although I hear the important documents are still sent to the Saintess on the other side of the continent.
“Hm?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing. Thank you for your hard work.”
The only one Lady Jessie serves is the Saint.
I’ve heard she was originally the daughter of a noble family from the Imperial faction. When the Saintess left to support other countries, many tried to persuade Lady Jessie to betray the temple.
“Mn. You’ve worked hard too, Ruasha.”
Lady Jessie remembers the names of all the hundreds of priests.
Even mine, despite me being newly appointed.
It was impressive, but what I find even more amazing is the Saintess, who leads someone like her.
One thing I’ve learned from living at the temple is that anyone who has met the Saintess even once can never forget her.
They say the Saintess has pink hair and red eyes.
Even I know how sincerely everyone follows her.
“You’re wondering what kind of person the Saintess is?”
There are many phrases used to describe her. God’s gift, God’s grace, God’s beloved…
But that is not why everyone follows the Saintess.
I have only ever seen her in portraits, so I wonder what the Saintess means to those who’ve actually met her.
“Ruasha, you better be careful. Don’t make eye contact with the Saintess for more than three seconds.”
“Be careful, Ruasha. When you get to meet the Saintess in person, don’t forget your manners.”
“You should be careful, Ruasha. If you carelessly fall for the Saint, you’ll be in big trouble.”
Everyone here is like family.
Whether by coincidence or not, there are no greedy or power-hungry people in the temple.
There are children from noble houses of high status too, but many of them treat someone like me, a commoner, like family.
“Lady Jessie, what kind of person is Her Holiness.”
Lady Jessie held up five fingers as if she had been waiting for that question.
“You’re the fifth, Ruasha.”
“Huh?”
“That’s the number of new priests who have joined since the Saintess was away and the number of those who have asked me that question.”
It seemed that every new priest over the past year has asked her the same thing.
But I can’t blame them. I’m just as curious myself, which is why I asked her the same question.
“She’s…someone who’s hard to describe with words unless you meet her yourself.”
Even so, Lady Jessie didn’t tell me much.
I heard that while the Saintess was in the Empire, she placed the Emperor beneath her feet and implemented numerous policies.
Some are still in progress, but all the completed ones were successful, and the quality of life in the Empire has significantly improved.
She didn’t stop there. She crossed into other lands and continued to fulfill her duties as a Saintess.
And I heard she recently chose the newly crowned King of Eseah as her companion.
“But she’ll be returning to the Imperial temple soon, so you don’t need to be too curious.”
“Because of the companionship ceremony?”
“No.”
A companion chosen by the Saintess whom everyone in the temple respects. I can’t help but wonder what kind of man King Eseah was.
“Because she promised to return.”
* * *
This time, I’ve been dispatched to the southern capital where a plague was spreading.
It was very difficult to treat a plague directly, but we still came to help. However, the situation turned out to be worse than we thought.
“You want to isolate the patients in the slums?!”
“That’s how we’ve always done this. Even if you complain to us…”
In the Saintess’ absence, Lady Jessie and the elder Priest Menel acted as the temple’s representatives.
Priest Menel was currently speaking with knights from the territory lord’s castle.
Isolating plague patients in an unsanitary slum was a ridiculous idea.
Thanks to Priest Menel’s efforts, we avoided having the patients forced out to the slums.
However, the place they offered instead was hardly any better. It was almost unlivable, just like the slums.
Since it was an infectious disease, the patients need to be isolated from the public but there were definitely still people living in that poor village.
“…Disgusting bastards.”
Unlike me, who had only recently become a priest, Priest Menel clicked his tongue at the dirty nobles who only care about their interests and looked familiar with the situation.
“To them, it’s just a way to kill off the useless people all at once. Happens all the time.”
“…”
“They only give us this place because the temple said so…otherwise, they would’ve just let the sick die in the slums.”
There were more patients than I expected.
The village doctors came, wanting to offer their help, but they were all turned away for fear of spreading the plague.
“Ruasha, can you go wet this towel?”
To think some doctors even volunteered. There might be bad people but there are also good ones among us.
“The directive is to kill them all?”
“Once the priests return to the temple at night, we’ll use that window…”
On the way to fetch water, I overheard a dangerous conversation.
Recognizing the voices as those of the knights who had confronted Priest Menel earlier, I pressed myself against the wall and quieted my steps.
“Isn’t the plague something even priests can’t cure?”
“If neither doctor nor priest can cure them, then they should just die.”
Kill them, they said. I had to tell Priest Menel about this.
“They said just set it on fire and make it look like an accident.”
The moment I heard that, my body moved on its own.
The sun was already setting, and some of the temple priests were already preparing to return.
“Who’s there?!”
Maybe I was too anxious because I got caught right after but strangely, I wasn’t scared.
“…It’s a priest.”
“Man, I kept telling you to watch your mouth!”
My mouth was shut before but once I heard that, I let my words fly.
I was so furious that these people wearing human skin could plan something so monstrous that I couldn’t stay silent.
“You little—!”
They couldn’t harm a priest chosen by God.
Still, the knight’s drawn blade glinting cold and it still felt terrifying..
Just as I closed my eyes tightly, a chilling voice cut through the air and a sweet fragrance followed.
“It seems no matter the country, you priests are all too kind for your own good and unable to tolerate injustice.”
I turned my creaking head, and the words of my fellow priests who had often warned me flashed through my mind.
I could recognize her at a glance.
“And you nobles are always so selfish.”
Pink hair and crimson eyes.
The moment I saw her, I finally understood why the other priests had warned me to be careful.
“Ah, I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
“…Ruasha…Your Holiness.”
“Yes, Ruasha. With people like that, you’ve got to say everything that needs to be said.”
Her dignified and noble presence left me at a loss for words.
“You’ve done well.”
Much later, far later in my life—
I realized it was the greatest fortune of my life to serve the Lady Emilone, who chose the wise King of Eseah as her companion and achieved more than any Saints in history.
Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth.
《Main Story: End》
- Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 139 - October 3, 2025
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- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapter 32 - September 30, 2025