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I thought I would definitely crash into the ground, but the soft sensation on my head made me narrow my eyes.

*Squeeze—*

I slowly lifted myself up and looked at whoever was underneath me.

A woman with a black bandage over her eyes, blonde hair, and a white priestess robe lay sprawled on the floor.

“Who… is this woman?”

Who is she?

Given the circumstances, I guessed she was probably the ‘priestess’ Samuel had mentioned.

Just as I expected.

[The High Priestess of Gluttony, Miriam.]

Samuel\'s explanation made me furrow my brow.

…So this woman is the High Priestess.

This is the first time I\'ve ever seen a High Priestess.

So, I had some expectations, but to see her like this from the get-go…

Of course, this situation was our fault, so it would be premature to judge Miriam based solely on this.

Let\'s just wake her up for now.

*Squeeze—*

I nudged Samuel with my chin to wake up the collapsed Miriam.

It would be better for Samuel, who knows her, to wake her up rather than me.

As if accustomed to this, Samuel began to wake Miriam.

[Wake up.]

“…”

However, Miriam remained still, showing no signs of movement.

Then, an unpleasant thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Don\'t tell me.

“…Is she dead?”

Just as I was thinking that…

*Wiggle—*

Miriam, whose back I was supporting, reacted.

She was trembling.

However,

Because of the bandage covering her eyes, I couldn’t tell if she had regained consciousness.

Therefore, all I could do was wait until Miriam opened her mouth.

“I would appreciate it if you could remove your hand now.”

At Miriam\'s soft voice, I removed the hand that was supporting her body.

*Thud, thud—*

Only then did she rise, brushing off the dust from her body before speaking to me.

…Of course, since her eyes were covered with a bandage, I couldn’t be sure if she was looking at me, but her head seemed to be turned in my direction, so it was likely true.

As I stared at Miriam awkwardly, she spoke.

“Are you here for the holidays?”

*Squeeze—*

I glanced down at Samuel, who was attached to my wrist.

I guess she was talking to him.

Samuel opened his mouth to answer, as if I didn’t need to.

[Yes, we came to visit since it\'s a holiday.]

“Oh, I see… The reason you visited this place again must be because you missed me, right?”

[As if.]

At Samuel\'s words, Miriam puffed out her cheeks as if she was offended.

“Samuel, at times like this, you should say ‘Of course I came to see you.’ Why don’t you understand?”

[…Why should I?]

“Honestly, you’re not cute at all these days. You used to be so adorable, calling me ‘sister’ and following me around.”

[Quiet…!]

Miriam and Samuel’s conversation made me realize that they were quite close.

No, they actually must be close.

Samuel had said that going to Sytan was his first time leaving this place.

That meant he had spent a long time with Miriam here.

…So, Samuel also had someone like family.

I observed their interaction with a renewed sense of wonder.

Even though Samuel spoke harshly, it was a touching reunion, just like any other family.

Since it had been six months since they last saw each other, they must have a lot to ask each other.

“Did you enjoy school life? What about a girlfriend?”

[…It wasn’t fun, and I’m not interested in that.]

“You’re lying!”

[It’s true.]

Being nothing more than an outsider, I waited for their conversation to end.

The way Miriam and Samuel treated each other was reminiscent of a mother-son relationship.

Is this what a normal family looks like?

A somewhat warm smile crept onto my face.

It wasn’t bad watching this scene, so I just waited quietly.

After some time had passed…

“Ah, I’ve kept you standing for too long. Let’s go inside and talk.”

[Alright.]

“While we’re at it, how about holding your sister’s hand after all this time?”

[…?]

*Swoosh—*

Before Samuel could answer, Miriam grabbed my hand.

Then, as if she felt something strange, Miriam tilted her head.

“This touch… Oh my…!

[…?]

“…?”

Miriam was startled.

She even seemed to be holding back tears.

Neither Samuel nor I knew why she was reacting like this, so we didn’t dare open our mouths.

After shedding tears for a while, Miriam opened her mouth.

“Samuel… You must have had it so rough that you have calluses on your hands…!”

[No, that’s—]

…That’s my hand.

I stared at Miriam, who was kneading my hand, with a look of incomprehension.

I expected this since her eyes were covered with a bandage…

Don’t tell me she’s mistaking me for Samuel?

“Excuse me…”

I opened my mouth to correct Miriam’s misunderstanding.

But before I could say anything, Miriam pulled my hand.

“Come with me. I need to feed you first. You haven’t eaten, have you?”

[Well, that’s true… but there’s something more important.]

“Hush now. Come on.”

*Click, clack—*

Ignoring Samuel’s words, Miriam grabbed my hand and started running.

Unable to resist her force, I closed my mouth and ran after her.

Actually, I was quite hungry myself, so I figured we could talk over a meal.

***

And so, I followed Miriam deep into the Temple of Gluttony.

As expected of a temple dedicated to one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Temple of Gluttony was incredibly vast.

Moreover, countless statues of ‘thorny monsters’ were erected throughout the area, instilling fear in anyone who saw them.

…I’m guessing those represent the God of Gluttony.

Since this is a temple, they must have been built to embody the Demon God of Gluttony.

But still.

[…The number of bugs has increased while I was gone.]

“It can’t be helped since the people in charge of pest control are all away at school.”

[Hmph, I’ll take care of them soon.]

“Oh my, you’d go that far for me?”

[…That’s not what I meant.]

I looked around as I listened to their conversation.

There were bizarre-looking spiders, unidentifiable bugs crawling on the ground…

And even snakes with sharp fangs…

How can a temple be this creepy?

It was completely different from the image of a temple I had in mind.

I imagined something like the clean and majestic temples in Olympus…

This felt more like an ‘ancient underground city.’

Surely, Bares’ temple isn’t like this too, right…?

In the original story, the setting of the temples was only briefly introduced in the beginning and never appeared again after the Demon Realm was destroyed.

Therefore, I was as good as clueless when it came to temples.

So, to avoid getting lost, I had no choice but to follow Miriam closely.

After about ten minutes of walking…

[This room looks familiar.]

“I cleaned it all up.”

[…You seem to have expected me to come back.]

Miriam stopped in front of a room and talked to Samuel.

At Samuel\'s question, Miriam replied with a faint smile.

“God told me.”

[I see.]

Samuel nodded as if this wasn\'t the first time this had happened.

I tilted my head in confusion.

God told her?

Did that mean Miriam had some kind of ‘prophetic’ ability?

[Explain it to me inside the room.]

As if reading my curiosity, Samuel spoke up.

Samuel said he would explain, so I decided to wait patiently.

I nodded and followed Miriam into the room.

“Please have a seat. I’ll bring you some food right away.”

With that, Miriam left me and Samuel alone and went to prepare the meal.

Once she was gone, I asked Samuel a question.

“That person…”

[Her name is Miriam, a High Priestess. She took me in and raised me when the Gluttony Family was destroyed.]

“Is she unable to see?”

[Yes, she lost her sight after looking at God’s true form. I don’t know about other priests, but Miriam isn’t that strong-willed.]

“What do you mean?”

What does being strong-willed have to do with losing her sight?

I couldn’t understand, so I asked Samuel again.

At my question, Samuel let out a sigh before explaining.

[She gouged out her own eyes because she couldn’t bear to look at God’s true form. That way, she could still communicate without making direct eye contact.]

“…”

She was that afraid of God?

I couldn’t quite grasp it.

After all, I, in the Bares territory, hadn’t actually encountered the Demon God.

Thinking back, it was scary, but not to the point of gouging out my own eyes.

…Well, I guess everyone has different fears, but I couldn’t help but find it hard to understand.

As I was talking to Samuel about her…

“Come on, eat up!”

Miriam returned with two bowls of soup.

She placed one in front of her and the other in front of me.

As expected.

She still wasn’t aware of my presence.

…I guess it’s time to say something.

“Greetings.”

I addressed Miriam directly and paused, curious to see her reaction.

Would she be embarrassed to realize her mistake?

“Samuel, please don’t play pranks while we’re eating. Your voice is too high-pitched, it’s obvious.”

[…It’s not me.]

“Don’t joke around.”

[I’m serious. The one in front of you right now isn’t me. It’s Adel, a classmate of mine.]

“…?”

Miriam, who had initially dismissed my greeting as a prank, stiffened at Samuel\'s serious tone.

She swiveled her head back and forth, trying to locate the source of the new voice.

“Are you serious?”

[Yes. In fact, that’s why we’re here. I’ve lost my body and am currently possessing Adel. I need your help to return to my original form.]

“…”

Miriam remained silent at Samuel\'s words, her unseeing gaze directed at me.

When she finally spoke, her voice had taken on a chillingly serious tone.

“Samuel.”

[What is it?]

Samuel reacted to the sudden shift in Miriam’s demeanor.

Miriam replied with a soft, almost predatory, voice.

“Kill him.”

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