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Samuel chuckled, a self-satisfied grunt following his terrible joke.

I shot him a frigid glare.

“…….”

[What’s with that look?]

Was he serious?

I shifted my gaze to the thoroughly cleaned bowls.

Not a single drop of broth remained.

The ingredients of that meal were enough to make my stomach churn.

And yet, Samuel had devoured my portion as well.

‘He truly is….’

worthy of being called the successor of Gluttony.

It was a mystery how that much food could fit inside those thorns.

How did he even digest it?

When I\'d asked him before, he simply said that he instantly broke down food and converted it into mana.

Of course, my knowledge was limited to the human realm, so I hadn\'t understood a word and let it go in one ear and out the other.

Anyway.

“Are you finished with your meal?”

[Yes, it wasn’t bad for snake soup. Especially after so long.]

— ….

Gu Poison, who had been peeking out from my chest, glared at Samuel with bloodshot eyes.

It seemed Samuel’s words had struck a nerve.

The little guy didn’t dare move from the safety of my embrace, only shooting daggers at Samuel with his eyes.

‘…so even you have something to be afraid of.’

Seeing him cower like this was a surprise.

When we were facing Terias in the Human Realm, Gu Poison had been so fearless that I’d thought he was completely oblivious to fear.

Watching him now brought about a strange mix of emotions.

‘…well, that’s neither here nor there.’

“…I feel a bit grimy.”

[What was that?]

“Ah, it’s nothing serious. I meant literally grimy, covered in blood from our trip.”

I’d had to cover myself in the blood of the birdmen in order to reach the temple undetected.

It was only natural to feel uncomfortable.

The confrontation with Miriam had been so sudden that I hadn\'t even had time to clean myself off.

[Hmm, why don’t you take a bath?]

“I’d prefer not to. Ms. Miriam might return while I’m busy.”

[Don’t worry about that. It will be a while before Miriam returns.]

What did he mean?

I tilted my head, confused.

I had no idea where Miriam had gone after leaving so abruptly.

As if reading my mind, Samuel explained.

[Every evening, Miriam goes to pray to the God of Gluttony. She’s probably in the chapel right now.]

“Ah, right. She is a priestess, after all.”

It was common sense for a priestess to offer daily prayers to her God.

Samuel was right; it would be some time before Miriam returned.

At least long enough for me to wash off all this blood.

However, there was another problem.

“Is there a place where I can wash up?”

[Of course there is. Don’t tell me you thought I lived here without bathing.]

“…Well, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. But I’d rather not encounter any more bugs or snakes like we did in the hallway.”

I shuddered, remembering the creepy crawlies we had encountered earlier.

Just imagining them appearing from the steam while I was trying to relax…it was too horrible to contemplate.

Samuel chuckled as he watched me tremble.

[Who knows? You won’t know for sure until you try it yourself.]

“Oh, so Mr. Samuel can\'t tell the difference between orc meat and vomit until he\'s tried it?"

[…You little….]

Samuel\'s voice crackled with annoyance as I retorted. Worried that I might have pushed him too far, I decided to make a quick escape.

Snakes in the bathroom or not, I needed to wash this blood off.

The sticky, dried blood was starting to make me feel even more uncomfortable.

“Where is the bathroom?”

[Leave this room and it’s down the hall to the right.]

I rose from my seat and followed Samuel\'s directions.

I soon found myself standing in front of the bathroom door.

*Creak-*

I cautiously pushed the door open, and my jaw dropped at what I saw.

I hadn\'t expected much, but the bathroom was surprisingly neat and tidy.

There was a faucet and, most importantly, running water.

‘…I thought I’d have to make do with a bucket and some well water.’

Unlike the rest of the underground temple with its bugs and snakes, the bathroom was surprisingly well-maintained.

It was certainly good enough for me.

But there was one problem.

*Splash-*

I turned the faucet, and a stream of water gushed out. The water pressure was good, but the temperature…

“…It’s freezing.”

[You complain too much.]

Samuel sounded exasperated, but this was no laughing matter.

I had a severe aversion to cold water.

I couldn’t stand it.

Whenever there was a power outage at home and I couldn\'t get any hot water, I would be forced to visit the public bathhouse.

As I pondered how to get the water hot, a solution occurred to me.

“This should do the trick.”

[And what is that?]

I pulled a small orb from my pocket.

The Orb of the Flame Emperor.

It was an artifact that could temporarily grant the user powerful fire magic.

However, using it also came with a hefty price.

It destabilized my mana control, and its raw power was still inferior to Black Rose.

Perhaps if Samuel modified it to better suit my darkness affinity…but for now, it was nothing more than a useless trinket.

But it should be more than enough to heat some bathwater.

The problem was controlling the Orb of the Flame Emperor’s output.

‘Just because it\'s weaker than Black Rose doesn\'t mean it’s weak.’

It was all relative.

I needed Samuel’s help for this.

“Could you do me a favor and adjust the heat for me?”

[…You’re only polite when you need something.]

“You wound me.”

Honestly.

I held Samuel in high regard, which was why I asked him for help with these kinds of magical tasks.

It wasn’t as if I enjoyed ordering him around.

But his reaction stung a little.

[Oh, alright, alright.]

Samuel let out a long sigh as I feigned a hurt expression.

[Give me the orb. I’ll take care of it.]

Excellent.

With a small smile, I placed the Orb of the Flame Emperor in my left hand.

I could feel Samuel’s mana flowing from his thorns and connecting with the orb.

Ever since my mana control had improved, I had become much more sensitive to the flow of mana in my immediate surroundings.

Samuel’s mana gently and meticulously caressed the orb.

And then, when the tendrils of his mana reached the deepest part of the orb…

*Hum-*

A searing pain shot through my hand as the Orb of the Flame Emperor rose into the air.

The orb had been activated.

But unlike the times I had used it, where I could barely control the flames, this time was different.

Perfect mana control.

Samuel had taken complete control of the orb’s power.

[Now, fill the tub with water.]

I followed his instructions and placed the tub under the running faucet.

The water gushed out with impressive force.

Soon, the tub was full.

[Now, throw the orb in. It’ll heat the water to a comfortable temperature.]

*Fwoosh-*

As soon as the Orb of the Flame Emperor hit the water, it began to bubble violently.

Once the orb sank to the bottom of the tub, the bubbling subsided.

I dipped a finger into the water to check the temperature.

“…Not bad.”

More than acceptable, even.

“I give it a 9 out of 10. It’s just a tad too hot. It’s fine for a grown man like me, but a child could get burned…”

[Just get in the damn bath.]

Ignoring Samuel’s grumbling, I quickly undressed and slipped into the tub.

The warm water soothed my tired muscles, enveloping me in a comforting embrace.

— *Chirp….*

— ….

“This feels amazing…”

Gu Poison and Sijo, who had also worked hard today, joined me in the bath.

As I soaked in the tub, I decided to ask Samuel about Miriam.

“Why do you think Ms. Miriam suddenly left to pray?”

[How should I know? Perhaps she sought guidance from her precious God?]

“Guidance, you say?”

[Yes. Being the priestess of the God of Gluttony, Miriam can receive pronouncements from him.]

“Really? You mean they can communicate whenever they want?”

[No, not quite.]

Of course not.

That would be too overpowered.

Even if the Gods weren’t truly omnipotent, being able to constantly converse with one would be game-breaking.

Which meant it must be some kind of ‘divine revelation.’

[The God of Gluttony probably summoned Miriam. I don\'t know what he wants, but it probably concerns you.]

“I suppose that makes sense.”

I agreed with Samuel’s assessment.

We had just had…a disagreement, to put it mildly.

And the fact that Miriam immediately went to the chapel afterward made it pretty obvious that I was the topic of conversation.

Which begged the question…

‘What does the God of Gluttony want to tell her about me.’

It seemed likely that Miriam\'s prophetic abilities were connected to the God of Gluttony.

I decided to ask Samuel about it.

[Whether her prophetic abilities are a gift from the God of Gluttony…that I cannot say for certain.]

“Hmm.”

[But I do know that her visions of the future are not crystal clear. They’re vague, open to interpretation. Miriam is the one who makes sense of them.]

So, while Miriam could get a general sense of the future, she couldn\'t see the specifics.

It made sense that such a powerful ability would come with limitations.

Our conversation came to a close, and I focused on scrubbing away the grime and blood.

Then,

[If you’re done, you should probably get out. It sounds like Miriam is back.]

Samuel, sensing Miriam’s presence from the next room, alerted me.

I nodded and rose from the tub. I had taken the liberty of soaking my dirty clothes in the bathwater to loosen the dried blood.

The water was now a murky red, but it wasn’t like I needed it anymore.

As I stepped out of the tub, I picked up the Orb of the Flame Emperor.

“One more favor, if you please. Could you dry my clothes?”

[…Honestly, you’re more trouble than you’re worth.]

Grumbling under his breath, Samuel nonetheless used his magic to dry my clothes.

Soon, they were as good as new.

I dressed quickly, then gathered up Sijo and Gu Poison, who were now clean and dry, and tucked them back into my clothes.

As I entered the next room, she said,

“You’re back.”

“I just finished washing up.”

Miriam was waiting for me.

Her expression was serious.

“I have received God’s reply,” she finally said.

The God’s reply.

My shoulders tensed.

What Miriam said next filled me with a sense of foreboding.

“The God…He wishes to speak with you.”

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