I Quit Being a Priest

Only after walking for quite a while with my heavy luggage did I finally arrive at the entrance of the Central City.

The unique atmosphere of the Central City, which easily overwhelmed a person just by standing in front of it, with a size incomparable to other villages, enveloped me.

It wasn’t my first time coming to the Central City. I had come when recruiting that damned Iris as a companion and had visited a few more times after that.

But no matter how many times I visited, I still couldn’t adjust to the atmosphere. The scene that looked clean on the outside, yet had what seemed like bloodstains deeply soaked underneath.

They might have thought they cleaned it perfectly, but they couldn’t deceive my eyes, which handled holy power.

It was when I took a few more steps into that gloomy atmosphere where dark red bloodstains could be seen if I concentrated a bit and looked at the ground.

The guard at the entrance approached me and said:

“I haven’t seen you before. May I ask your name?”

There was no need to be flustered. The Central City allowed free entry for travelers, but they always conducted minimal inspections.

As the capital, crimes occurred frequently, especially heinous crimes targeting travelers, which were both the most vicious and numerous, so I decided to understand them.

So, I placed one hand on my chest, trying to appear as normal as possible to introduce myself.

Even at that moment, the soft sensation felt by my palm was quite bothersome, but I ignored it with superhuman patience.

“Illi… ah.”

Fuck.

Unconsciously about to blurt out my name, I immediately covered my mouth. Priest Illis was dead. If I said that name here, I would undoubtedly be in a very difficult position.

I carefully observed his expression. He might have been offended because I started to speak but cut myself off midway.

While examining his somewhat puzzled expression, I racked my brain to somehow resolve this situation.

As I was thinking about how to respond, his mouth opened faster than the results of my thoughts could emerge.

“Illi…a?”

Fortunately, he seemed to have interpreted my words a bit differently. I quietly nodded.

It was an opportunity to slip through naturally, and I couldn’t think of a suitable name anyway.

“…Yes, I’m Illia.”

“I see. Then, could you show me your ID for verification, please?”

Damn, this persistent guy.

I thought I could get past this!

I inwardly sighed while trying to twist my lips into a smile.

“Actually, I lost my ID, so I came here to rest while getting a reissue.”

“Ah, I see. So this is your first time in the Central City? There’s only one office where you can get an ID issued in this vast place, so I’ll write down the address for you.”

I couldn’t show him Illis’s ID, so I made up the most plausible lie I could think of.

Come to think of it, to be recognized as a person in this continent, I did need to get a new ID issued.

I accepted a piece of paper from the guard. Actually, I could have said it wasn’t my first visit to the Central City, but since I hadn’t come here often, I didn’t know the approximate locations well.

“Well… thank you for now.”

I thanked him for his unexpected kindness and stepped into the village.

Unaware that in the guard’s notebook, I was marked as a strange person.

Before visiting the office, I stopped by a clothing store. The clothes created with holy power were a bit too large for me to wear comfortably.

Wearing clothes with sleeves so long that my hands couldn’t reach the ends would only make movement uncomfortable. It would have looked quite ridiculous to others too.

I could tell just by looking at the guard’s expression earlier. There was a strange look in his eyes as if he was looking at an idiot.

And… because of this body, I couldn’t wear any of the clothes I had, so I needed to buy a few sets.

Something that fit my body shape, was comfortable to move in, and preferably caused minimal embarrassment to others who saw me.

Of course, to meet the first two conditions, the options would be limited to women’s clothing, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky right now.

“Welcome!”

As I entered with a somewhat uncomfortable feeling, a staff member with a kind impression greeted me in a gentle voice.

Although the term “cute customer” was quite irritating to my ears, there was no malice in that voice, so I didn’t particularly mind.

I moved my heavy steps to where the women’s clothes were displayed.

“…”

I wanted to wear clothes with more masculine traits if possible, but with this body, such clothes would be too short in length, uncomfortable to move in, and could even lead to a loss of combat power if I had to fight in an emergency.

They probably wouldn’t suit me now, and I preferred not to attract unnecessary attention from others.

So I judged that it would be better to wear ordinary women’s clothes to completely hide my original identity.

“Do you need help?”

Having stood in the women’s section for a long time, glaring at various clothes, the staff member placed her hand on my shoulder and asked, perhaps concerned about me.

No, actually, it wasn’t just placing her hand. She caressed my shoulder with the tips of her fingers, then firmly grabbed it, massaging it with pressure.

“Ugh…!? Where are you touching…!”

I shouted while pulling away from the creepy sensation that ran through my entire body.

“Hoho… how cute. From what I can see, it seems you’re not wearing underwear. Perhaps that’s your preference?”

“…Not at all.”

I spoke in an intentionally curt tone while forcefully removing the sticky hand that was clinging to me. That woman was definitely crazy. I needed to get out of there quickly…

But I didn’t know when else I could get advice as a woman if not now.

It was knowledge I needed to live from now on, one way or another.

Enduring now would save me greater shame later. With that thought, I suppressed the urge to escape.

“Or is this your first time with these kinds of clothes?”

“Yes, it is…”

“That won’t do. A cute person like you walking around without proper underwear will only attract strange men. This… would it fit? Would you like to try it on?”

I was a man until just yesterday, how would I have tried it on?

I lamented inwardly while lowering my gaze. Honestly, I was annoyed, but what she said wasn’t wrong.

Even I would think a woman walking around the streets without underwear was crazy.

The staff member rummaged through the displayed women’s underwear and handed me what seemed like it would fit me.

I couldn’t ignore her sincerity, so I accepted the clothes while suppressing my instinctive aversion, but when I closely examined the underwear in my hand, I felt like I was losing my mind even more.

“Um… how do I…?”

“Ah, you put your arms through here and fasten the hook in the back. It might be difficult at first, but it’ll be fine if you do it while looking in the mirror. The fitting room is over there.”

I escaped into the fitting room, avoiding the staff member who was looking at me with a pleased expression as I accepted the underwear.

She was certainly kind, befitting a current service industry employee, but no matter what, the strange look in her eyes as she gazed at me was something I couldn’t get used to.

Inside the fitting room was a large mirror reflecting me, and only then could I properly see myself.

Snow-white silver hair hung down to my waist, and in my face, clear blue eyes reflected in the mirror like a jewel.

The staff member’s words weren’t just empty flattery; from my face to my moderately full figure, it was an appearance that could definitely be called beautiful.

“This is…”

Witnessing the reality with my own eyes, I wanted to deny it and pressed my hand against the mirror.

“Is this really fucking me…?”

To be honest, I didn’t dislike the appearance.

It was just that when I thought of it as my face, my head started to ache.

The unnecessarily beautiful appearance was only troublesome. In the end, it only increased the probability of being targeted by someone, and I couldn’t rule out the possibility of being involved in various crimes.

Of course, it was better than having an ugly appearance, but I hadn’t wished for a looks that deviated so far from normalcy.

I was already depressed, and after seeing it in person like this, I felt like I might cry a little… just a tiny bit.

“Excuse me, if it’s difficult to put on, shall I help you?”

After a while, when there was no sign of me coming out, the employee’s voice came from outside the curtain.

“…I’m fine.”

I flatly refused, remembering the employee’s creepy touch as she caressed me.

And if I delayed any longer, I might be treated as a strange person, so I looked down at the black underwear in my hand.

Probably, I need to wear this.

I took off the ragged clothes I was wearing, revealing my upper body.

In the mirror, a flawless, pale, and delicate skin was reflected. It was the first time I was seeing a woman’s naked body directly with my own eyes.

That body was beautiful, but I didn’t want to look at it. Thinking that the reflection in the mirror was me, I didn’t want to take in that image with my eyes.

Therefore,

With the thought of getting it over with quickly, I put my arms through the straps.

And,

It was the moment I tried to fasten the hook in the back. However, if there was one thing I overlooked, it might have been that I couldn’t see the exact location of the hook behind my back.

No matter how much I struggled to fasten it, the location of the hook that was out of my sight felt too far away.

“Eck… why can’t I reach… AAAH!!”

With both arms raised behind my back and my upper body tilted backward, my center of gravity shifted in that direction, causing me to fall over.

“See, I told you you’d need help…”

The employee’s words were cut short as she pulled back the curtain and opened the fitting room.

Her gaze was directed downward. No, to be precise, at me, sprawled on the floor with the underwear pushed up over my chest.

The expression on the employee’s face as she looked at me was clear.

Those eyes, as if looking at something trivial, and the mouth slightly covered with one hand.

It was unmistakably mockery.

From the first day of becoming a woman, I felt like I might cry a little.