WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

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◈ I Became an Undetected Priest Impersonator ◈

Chapter 15

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I Became a Building Owner (4)

Title: Common Knowledge of the Continent, Religion Edition

The meaning of each word.

.

.

Acolyte: In modern Catholicism, a deacon is a stage one passes through before becoming a priest, and refers to a priest performing service duties.

An Acolyte on the present continent, though, means something different.

Unlike in modern Catholicism, it refers to a disciple who studies under a priest, much like a squire to a knight, and for this reason it is not unusual for someone to be both a priest and an Acolyte.

In some religions where marriage is forbidden, an Acolyte is effectively treated as a godchild, so care is needed to avoid causing offense.

…

I fell silent at the girl's request to be made my Acolyte.

The Flower Goddess faith didn't forbid marriage, but even so, the meaning of an Acolyte was far from trivial.

‘I doubt a naive girl would see through me, but as a Priest Impersonator, I can't take on an Acolyte.’

If I got caught, it didn't matter much for my own sake.

At worst I'd run, and I was confident I could run without being caught.

An Acolyte was different. Even if she knew nothing, the moment I was exposed, the odds were very high that her life would turn miserable.

"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible."

Which meant the only answer I could give was a refusal.

"I haven't heard the whole story, but I have my own circumstances too, and I'd like you to understand that I'm not in a position to take an Acolyte."

At the plain refusal, the girl's head drooped.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and my heart softened, but since the choice was for her sake, I didn't change my mind.

Leaving that sight behind, I went up to my room at the inn.

‘..But what kind of circumstances would bring such a young girl all the way here alone?’

Curiosity suddenly welled up.

But I soon put the thought away.

Knowing wouldn't change the outcome.

Besides, if there turned out to be a sad story behind it, all I'd get was an unpleasant weight on my heart.

Still, there were times when you were forced to swallow something whether you wanted to or not.

Just like now.

"Um, Priest."

The inn owner's son, Sean, who had knocked carefully to call me, spoke up while watching my reaction.

"It's about that priest girl from earlier."

"…"

And the story Sean told me was more than enough to disturb the mind of a certain Priest Impersonator.

…

"I told you to go rest up, but it seems you didn't rest well."

Priest Margaret, whom I ran into as I came in to work, clicked her tongue.

"It shows, does it?"

Apparently the exhaustion was visible on my face.

"Could it be because of the young Flower Priest who came to town?"

"..How do rumors spread so fast around here?"

"It'd be funnier if rumors didn't spread in a small town like this. And what would a gate soldier know about keeping their mouth shut?"

Of course, it wasn't the kind of matter that should have spread this far.

If only the girl hadn't happened to be a Flower Priest.

"Well, you've become famous, so the girl, being a Flower Priest like you, caught some attention along with you."

"? Is there something famous about me?"

I was puzzled by Margaret's baffling remark.

"..If you ask me, you lack self-awareness. Flower Priest or not, just look at you wearing that tacky shirt day in and day out."

Tacky, this pretty shirt? It seemed to me it was Margaret, not I, who lacked an eye for these things.

But it felt wrong to argue with my elder, so I kept my mouth shut.

"So what's the trouble?"

As I poured her tea, my lips moved soundlessly for a moment before I finally spoke.

"She asked me to take her as my Acolyte."

"And?"

"I told her I couldn't accept, for personal reasons."

"Is that all?"

Margaret's eyes, how should I put it.

They were the eyes of a mother who had just witnessed her son's pathetic behavior.

"..I heard later that the girl lived with her grandmother, who was also a Flower Priest."

Perhaps it was that lukewarm reaction that put me at ease, because I spilled the circumstances out as if making a confession.

"Then her grandmother, her only guardian, passed away, and with another church newly moved in, she was losing her place to stand, and that's when she came to me, or so I'm told."

In other words, I was her one hope, of sorts.

Priest Margaret listened carefully, then scolded me for worrying over such nonsense.

"The church is about to be built anyway, so why not just take her there? I don't know her story, but as long as you don't make her your Acolyte, I don't see the problem."

"..How could I? In the end, if there's a single priest under me, to everyone else that's an Acolyte."

It was what they call hiding your head in the sand.

It amounted to no difference at all.

"If you're that worried, I'll act as witness."

Yet Margaret resolved the situation as though my worry were nothing worth mentioning.

It was only after a slight pause that I bowed my head in thanks.

"Then I'll gratefully accept your kindness."

"You don't even decline this time, huh?"

"Doesn't that just show how much I rely on you, Priest Margaret?"

"Flattery."

For the record, it wasn't flattery, it was the truth.

With Priest Margaret, who could talk down even to the Lord, I figured that even if my impersonation were exposed, the damage could be kept from spreading.

"Then I'll take a day of leave today."

With Margaret's kindness having settled my worry, I set down my teacup and left.

"You haven't even been working a week."

Margaret's bewildered mutter drifted out from inside the clinic, but I pretended not to hear.

…

"Oh, the priest girl left a while ago, though.."

But the timing hadn't lined up, it seemed, because the girl had already left the inn.

‘I'm too late, it seems.’

Just in case, I tried the city gate as well, but the soldiers on guard, who seemed to have just come off a shift change, only shook their heads and said they didn't know.

"I'm sorry, Priest. If it's important, I can have the previous shift called in so you can ask them."

"..No. I can't call back people who've already worked hard. The thought alone is appreciated."

Even if she had left, there was no way to know which direction she'd gone, so finding her would be hard.

‘Now I'm stuck with an unpleasant feeling.’

In the end, I gave up searching for the girl.

I had no hobby of clinging to what couldn't be done.

Instead, I went back to the inn.

Today was the last day of my stay, so I meant to at least clear out my belongings.

"Are you moving elsewhere?"

"My booking ran through today, after all."

"If it's you, Priest, you could just stay, you know."

The innkeeper, who was in the kitchen, said it with regret, but I only shrugged.

"If you hand things out that freely, you won't have anything left."

"That's not something you should be saying, Priest."

What a laugh.

No one was more money-minded than me.

But there was no need to deny a good image, so I smiled easily and finished my farewell.

"Still, Sean and Ivy will be sad."

‘So the daughter's name was Ivy.’

Come to think of it, I hadn't known her name until now.

I had the excuse of being busy, but the truth was mostly that I hadn't tried to take an interest.

"Partings are always sad, I suppose. I'm not leaving the city, so we can meet again as neighbors."

That being so, there was no long goodbye.

Starting tomorrow we'd be neighbors, and a long goodbye would only be awkward.

‘So that's the church.’

After packing, I headed to the church.

Not the Earth Church, but the one I'd been given through the Lord's favor, which was now my own.

‘They said it was nearly built, and it really seems so.’

The church seen from a distance had a fairly respectable exterior.

The weeds had been cleared and the outer walls looked freshly painted, so at the very least it didn't give a shabby impression.

‘Judging by where the noise is coming from, it looks like only the chapel hasn't been finished yet.’

In that case, the other areas should already be refurbished.

Swish, swish.

As I drew closer to the church building, I could hear the sound of sweeping in the yard, which had been drowned out by the noise from inside.

I was just wondering why anyone would tidy the yard while leaving the chapel unfinished.

"..What are you doing here?"

The young Flower Priest who had come looking for me was sweeping the yard.

"Ah..! Priest Flowie! Hehe, um, I was sweeping the yard!"

I'd thought she had gone out the gate and left, and I'd never imagined she'd be here sweeping the yard.

Annoyed at the time I'd wasted searching for her, a curt tone slipped out before I knew it.

"Let me say it again: I won't take an Acolyte."

"…"

At that, the girl's expression sank noticeably.

"However, I'll allow you to stay at the church."

Her face, which had looked about to burst into tears, froze as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard, then lit up.

‘I've heard that if you cry and then laugh, hair grows on your butt.’

It was a terrible joke.

"Come to think of it, I haven't even asked your name. Since you've become part of this church's household, let's hear it. For the record, as you probably already know, I'm Flowie, a worthless servant of Iris, the Flower Goddess."

I only heard the girl's name after she'd finally calmed down and stopped crying.

"A tiny little leaf serving Iris, the Flower Goddess..."

And when I heard her name.

I couldn't help being confused.

"I'm Kim Malja."

"..?"

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