I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 178
Did you get hooked and started binge reading too fast? IJWTAD has advance chapters now available on ko-fi! Check it out!
‘That person… the one who tried to speak to me and got slapped.’
The priest now walking past was the one who had grabbed the real Yeshion’s arm when he was staggering up the temple steps after being beaten by Baine. Startled, Yeshion had slapped him and shouted not to touch him.
‘And that one… just tried to offer help and got cursed at.’
There were many others who had suffered because of the real ‘Yeshion.’
He had blasphemed almost every day, and whenever someone tried to approach him with kindness, he’d start by cursing them out.
From the real Yeshion’s perspective, perhaps he acted that way to keep people from getting close, so they wouldn’t die. But to the priests…
‘He must have just looked like trash.’
Only now did Yeshion understand why they had avoided him.
‘And maybe I get now… why Matthew reacted the way he did when rumors spread about me and Eldis.’
Everyone who had been close to ‘Yeshion’ had died. Those who showed him kindness. Those who chased after him, trying to take care of him. That’s why he worried that Eldis might die too.
‘Well, Eldis is the Archpriest everyone respects.’
Back when he was locked in the underground prison, it had all felt terribly unfair. But now, after seeing the real ‘Yeshion’s’ past, he found himself thinking, ‘I can’t really blame them.’
“Now that I think about it… I haven’t seen Priest Matthew around.”
After that day, he’d heard that Eldis had punished him, but oddly enough, he hadn’t seen a trace of him in the temple since.
Not just Matthew, but other priests who had helped him, too.
‘……Surely he didn’t dispose of them.’
Suddenly, Eldis’s face, wearing a chilling expression, came to mind.
‘He couldn’t have killed a priest… right?’
Yeshion shook his head quickly and let out a habitual sigh.
It was one thing to empathize with the real ‘Yeshion’s’ situation through his memories. But after realizing just how many terrible things he’d done, Yeshion now felt hesitant to speak to anyone at all.
‘Will things improve with time…?’
If he got hung up on every action the past ‘Yeshion’ had taken, it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to get anything done.
Yeshion quietly closed his eyes and sorted through his thoughts. He would prioritize what had to be done now, and take things one step at a time.
Approaching the other priests would happen slowly. Even just showing them that he no longer acted like a tyrant would be enough. Eventually, they would accept him.
They had, once before.
Because they really had been kind people.
* * *
“Wow…!”
Looking down from the temple’s entrance, Yeshion’s eyes went wide.
The festival had begun, and the streets were awash in vibrant colors. Artisans who had hidden away for so long now opened stalls and began selling their crafts. Musicians played joyful tunes.
It was far more dazzling and more authentic than he’d expected.
‘Next time, I’ll definitely…’
Yeshion made a silent vow as he turned his head. Behind him, dozens of priests waited for his command.
“We’ll be divided into morning, afternoon, and night shifts. Once the Imperial Procession is over, those in the afternoon and night shifts are free to go enjoy the festival. The morning group, please go around and bring back anyone who needs healing—”
Supervising the priests was one of the basic duties of a senior priest. It was a responsibility the real ‘Yeshion’ had never been allowed to take on.
“Then, what will Senior Priest Yeshion be doing?”
As Yeshion assigned roles to each priest, a mid-level priest with a wry expression spoke up. He was one of those who had been hanging around Matthew, the one who had vanished just recently.
“I’ll be tending to the sick who come to the temple.”
“……The sick? You, Senior Priest Yeshion?”
He emphasized the words senior priest with particular bite. After all, none of them had ever seen Yeshion use divine power. They were reluctant to follow someone like that.
But Yeshion decided to be brazen.
“Yes, me.”
He answered lazily, and one of the priests standing next to the one who’d asked nudged him.
“Hey, quit picking a fight. Don’t you know? Matthew messed with Yeshion not long ago, and now he’s gone.”
