How to Survive in a Good Small Guild - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive in a Good Small-Scale Guild
Chapter 44
True to schedule, the following Saturday I was appointed as a Junior Priest.
“Odret Lavendel, I hereby appoint you as a Junior Priest.”
It was Aria who conducted my appointment ceremony. The promotion from Intern Priest to Junior Priest wasn’t considered a major advancement, after all.
And as she conducted the ceremony herself, Aria was thoroughly pleased with herself.
“I should tell the High Priest that I’ve discovered new talent.”
Of course—having learned Park Geo-seong’s scriptures and adapted to this corporate hellhole, she performed the art of ‘taking credit for one part while making it sound like ten’ with remarkable efficiency.
“Don’t you regret throwing your lot in with my faction here at the Temple?”
“Of course not, Aria….”
She wore her Yellow Star-shaped Hairpin again today, and she linked her arm through mine with a satisfied smile. I froze awkwardly and let out a stiff laugh through vibrating lips.
“Why don’t you come have some tea in my office for a moment?”
“Yes, of course….”
I had no freedom to refuse, so I followed Aria inside.
Once we arrived at her office, she gestured toward the tea bags. Ah, so I was meant to brew it.
After I prepared the tea and brought it over, we both sat down at a small table and began talking.
“As I mentioned before, you’re not the only one who’s aligned with a faction.”
“Yes, High Priest Aria.”
“There are others who’ve aligned with the other High Priests’ factions. You need to be careful of them.”
“Yes.”
“The reason I brought you on is that there was a Junior Priest working under me before, but she was purged after being framed by someone from another faction.”
“Yes. …I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Well, apparently Etienne’s people fabricated charges against her and my faction was shaken for a while. I happened to need to rebuild my power base, and you caught my eye at just the right moment—so it worked out well for me too. Ha, though I have to say, you seem to have some brains in that head of yours.”
“Th-thank you….”
So I could be purged just as easily whenever, then.
Well, even in the original work, the factional conflicts between the four High Priests were fierce. The original heroine had even exploited that to shake the entire Temple.
“Um, but what about the other High Priests…?”
I was supposed to be ignorant about the other High Priests. So I asked cautiously, and Aria began to explain.
“Hmm, you really ought to know about this. There are four High Priests currently. However, two of them are so close-knit that they’re essentially a single faction.”
“I see.”
“Those two are Seraphine and Etienne. Seraphine is the woman who wears a Blue Headband, and Etienne is the man who wears a sky-blue jeweled necklace.”
The High Priests from the original work were still organized into their factions at this point, just as described.
“Seraphine and Etienne form one faction, and then I form another, with Matheus making up the last one.”
As she said this, Aria’s expression turned sour.
“He wears Green Earrings, and because he became a High Priest before any of us, his faction is the strongest.”
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And as for the office where you’ll be working… hmm, never mind. Forget it!”
“Pardon?”
“Ha ha, I want to see how you handle it yourself.”
So Aria wasn’t truly on my side either, then.
Having heard only the explanation about the High Priests from her, I left the office. As I stood wondering where to go next, Middle Priest Olson appeared as if he’d been waiting for me.
“I’ll show you the way.”
“Ah, thank you, Middle Priest Olson.”
I was guided to my new office by him.
The Junior Priests had assigned seats and partition walls dividing the workspace. But the office was empty at the moment.
“Another Middle Priest sent them on an errand. In the meantime, take a look around the Temple building, and introduce yourself when they return.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Since it would take time to greet everyone in the office, I decided to explore the Temple building.
Now I had the freedom to access most of the Temple.
‘This is storage, this is the conference room, this is the disciplinary chamber….’
As I wandered through various parts of the Temple, I stopped in front of the Document Storage.
I wouldn’t be able to see classified materials, but I did have the right to read general documents about the Temple.
I carefully opened the door to the Document Reading Room and stepped inside.
“Oh….”
The documents were in absolute chaos.
Ha, most organizations stumble along haphazardly without anyone really understanding how things work.
I pulled out a stack of papers at random.
Inside was the Temple’s annual plan—a sheet detailing when and what events would be held.
I checked through other bundles of papers, but there was no information that would be particularly helpful. Nothing I could immediately report to the Crown Prince, nothing that would justify my existence as a spy.
‘But at least I can say something about the High Priest factions.’
I decided I’d tell the Crown Prince about this next time, when the sound of the Document Reading Room door opening reached my ears.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I felt oddly guilty, so I spun around in a panic.
“……?”
What stood there was a young girl.
Black hair, and black eyes—rare in this world.
The child looked up at me with curious eyes.
“I’ve never seen your face around this Temple before!”
“…Hello.”
I knew from the source material who she was, but for now I pretended ignorance and greeted her politely.
“Oh, do you know me?”
“No, I simply judged that you held a higher position than I do.”
“Perfect! I like that attitude, sister!”
The girl grinned with obvious delight.
“My name is Stella Great!”
“Yes, Stella Great.”
“My father is the High Priest, you know!”
That was right. She was the one from the original story who became the heroine’s ally.
Stella Great.
“If I may ask, how old are you?”
“Nine years old! But I’ll turn ten after my birthday!”
Right, in the original I’d met her at ten.
In the original, Stella’s appearance was straightforward: she was written in to demonstrate the heroine’s brilliance, with the heroine rescuing her.
The original heroine rescues Stella Great, the High Priest’s daughter who has just fled the Temple. She then extracts information about the Temple’s inner workings from Stella, and works with the Crown Prince to play a crucial role in destroying the Temple.
If I could build a good relationship with Stella, perhaps I’d receive her help later?
“Is it alright if I call you Stella?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You seem to move around the Temple freely.”
“Of course! There’s nowhere I can’t go! I’m busy with lessons on weekdays, but I have free time on weekends.”
“Aren’t the lessons difficult?”
“Why would you ask that?”
Stella answered with obvious displeasure.
Hmm, but there’s no need to worry. I clearly remember the line the original heroine used to win Stella’s heart.
When you’re possessed in a novel that has an original story, isn’t it standard to take the original protagonist’s moments? I opened my mouth with confidence.
“But a child like you deserves to be loved. Stella Great, you can go anywhere and do anything.”
“What are you saying? You’re really strange, sister.”
Stella looked at me as if I were mad.
Damn, context was what mattered…. I thought it would all work if I just said it like this….
In the end, I gave up on winning Stella’s goodwill immediately. Still, I decided to find meaning in having made her acquaintance.
“Well then, I have things to attend to, so I’ll take my leave, Stella.”
“Wait, you’re leaving without even telling me your name? That’s stingy.”
“I am Odret Lavendel, a Junior Priest of the Temple. I was promoted quickly after distinguishing myself through Scripture Interpretation while serving as an Intern Priest.”
“Ah, I heard about that recently. So it was you who deciphered the scriptures?”
“Yes.”
“You really seem to be someone who has completely internalized the scripture’s way of thinking!”
…Wait, was that an insult? Being compared to Park Geo-seong felt off, but I let it slide.
“But sister, be careful from now on.”
“Yes?”
“Those who are promoted quickly tend to attract en-en… envy! That’s it—envy and jealousy follow as a matter of course.”
“Ah, thank you for the warning.”
I smiled faintly as I listened to Stella’s words.
Yes, that would be right. Even among the Junior Priests, there must be fierce factional disputes and struggles over promotion.
They would make me, who appeared suddenly, their common enemy.
But I’m someone who survived in Park Geo-seong’s cutthroat company.
Just wait. I’ll show you the real thing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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