~Chapter 8~
As expected, my feeling was right.
“Tia, are you listening?”
“Yes? Sorry, I was thinking about something and didn’t hear you.”
Even though I heard everything, I pretended I didn’t.
“Tia, I’m really sorry, but I want you to leave the temple.”
He says sorry but tells me to leave. How could it get any more unfair than that?
And why do I suddenly have to leave? I don’t think I broke anything or did anything to upset the assistant priest.
I asked honestly.
“Why?”
“Do you really not know?”
“Yes. If I knew, would I ask?”
First Lucy, now the assistant priest—why does everyone ask questions like it’s obvious?
The assistant priest opened and closed his mouth a few times, then finally stayed silent.
It seemed like he heard something about me and decided I needed to leave.
The most likely reason? Probably the rumor Lucy told me about—me and Yushen doing something bad.
This is really embarrassing. Before making such a big decision, shouldn’t he ask me first if the rumor is true?
“…You’re not going to say that dirty rumor is a lie, are you?”
So that’s really why he wants me gone. His voice was sharp, like a knife.
Honestly, it would be strange if he didn’t know the rumor, since everyone’s been talking about it.
“Rumor? I don’t know many people here, so I don’t really hear any rumors…”
But I had no plan to let him know I’d heard about it.
“Is it… a really bad rumor?”
The assistant priest narrowed his eyes, trying to see if I was lying.
What should I do? I’m pretty good at acting.
I looked up at him with innocent eyes, like a poor girl in a drama.
The assistant priest tried to calm down. Maybe my reaction wasn’t what he expected, and he looked a bit embarrassed.
He lowered his hand and spoke again.
“…Tia.”
His voice was suddenly softer.
“You know I cared about you more than the others, right? Since I was the one who took you in?”
No, I came here by myself. And I never felt like he cared, but whatever.
“Of course. I’m always thankful.”
I wanted to say something sassy, but I answered sweetly. Grown-ups love to hear stuff like that.
He smiled, clearly pleased.
“Thank you for thinking that way.”
Yeah, yeah. Can we get to the real reason now?
The longer this took, the more I was running out of patience.
“I’m just asking because I’m worried about you.”
You don’t have to butter me up so much. I already know what kind of person you are.
Even a dog could guess what he wanted to ask—he was going to ask again if I really did something with Yushen.
“Go ahead.”
“Are you really… in that kind of relationship with the captain of the Luche knights?”
So, first he asks me to leave, then he checks if it’s true. That just means the rumor must be pretty detailed.
Whoever started this rumor, I hope they end up writing novels in front of me as punishment.
“No.”
“Put your hand on your heart and say it. Is it really not true?”
He sounded like he wanted it to be true.
Like I’d ever say yes to that. Of course it’s not true, but even if it was, I’d still deny it.
“Yes, it’s not true.”
“Tia.”
“Please, assistant priest. This is a holy place, just like you said. Why would I do such a thing?”
“……”
“Or… are you testing my faith because I’m new here?”
“……”
The assistant priest seemed lost for words. He was probably confused.
I’d always behaved well here, so the rumor didn’t match up.
After a moment, he nodded.
“…Alright, I’ll believe you about that.”
All my effort to look nice finally paid off!
Now he just had to take back what he said about making me leave.
But… even though he knew the rumor was a lie, he still didn’t look satisfied. Maybe he had more to ask.
“Then how do you explain the rumor about black magic?”
“…What?”
I was so surprised, my voice came out weird.
Why are they suddenly talking about black magic again?
“You did black magic to seduce the captain.”
This is so dumb. If I could do black magic, I’d wish to go back to my real world, not mess with Yushen!
But of course, nobody here knows that.
I let out a big sigh.
“Do you really think I’d do something so bad?”
“Are you denying it?”
“Yes, it’s not true.”
Why does this black magic rumor keep popping up? Who started it? Why do they want to ruin my life?
I waited for the assistant priest to keep talking.
“I think I should check right now.”
“Assistant priest?”
“If I check now, I’ll feel less guilty about kicking you out.”
He stood up before I could stop him and went somewhere.
…So I’m definitely getting kicked out? Is there no way to change his mind? Can someone running a temple really be this easily swayed?
Soon he brought back a big bowl and set it on the table. I could tell right away the water inside wasn’t just normal water.
Even just standing close to it, I felt something holy around my whole body. It was holy water.
And he filled the bowl so full it almost spilled.
“Put your hand over this.”
“On the surface?”
“Yes. If the water spills when you put your hand over it, it means the holy water reacted to your black magic.”
“What? That doesn’t even—”
“Just do it!”
I should have argued, but the assistant priest was too pushy.
Is this a temple or some weird cult? Even a kindergartner would know the water would spill if anyone put their hand on top of it.
“You go first, assistant priest.”
“Why should I?”
“So I can trust you. Show me there’s nothing wrong with the holy water.”
He stared at me, then nodded.
“Alright, you’re right.”
He put his hand over the holy water without hesitating. The water didn’t even move.
…Does this trick really work?
He took his hand away quickly.
I copied him and put my hand over the water.
Unlike before, the water spilled over the bowl.
“I’m sorry, Tia.”
He said that like he’d been waiting for this. That’s when I realized I’d just been tricked.
Suddenly he had a white handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes, pretending to cry.
“If I was a better person, maybe I could forgive you even for using black magic…”
I bet my pinky finger there wasn’t a single tear on that handkerchief.
He kept talking after that, but in the end, he just told me to leave the temple.
I realized I couldn’t stay any longer and left his office.
When the door closed behind me, I took a deep breath and tried to think.
Let’s think positive. My ancestors said, “Even if the sky falls, there’s always a way out.”
‘…Wait, there isn’t just one temple in this area, right?’
Korean ancestors are wise!
I don’t have to cling to this place. There must be other temples in other towns.
He didn’t say I had to leave right away, so maybe I can check for a map before I go.
I remembered there was a small library here. Maybe there’s a map there?
I shouldn’t waste time.
Just as I was about to go find the library, someone blocked my way.
