7 transmigration tips from the saint chapter 18

[Main Quest: ‘Purchase’ has arrived.]

[Buy one item.]

[Reward: Allowance, one of Erdian’s commendation stamps]

Seo Woohyun smirked at the quest window in front of him.

He felt like the messages used to be more detailed, but now they seemed excessively short.

“What’s so funny?”

“The explanation is really brief. Were you in a rush to send it?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you? I’m really bad at writing.”

Erdian’s openly sulking tone made Seo Woohyun chuckle without realizing it.

Finally, it felt like his face and tone matched.

Up until now, the young and beautiful god had spoken with an air so ancient and sacred that it felt surreal, but that version of him was nowhere to be found now.

In this moment, the man walking beside him with an arm over his shoulder along the shop-lined streets didn’t seem like the exalted god he was supposed to revere.

“There’s a candy shop over there. Want to take a look?”

“Candy?”

“You don’t like candy?”

“Not really, but I’d like to check it out.”

“Let’s go. Judging by the crowd, it seems pretty popular.”

As the two priests walked closely together, they felt the curious gazes of passersby.

Their priestly robes, made of pale lilac and vibrant yellow fabric, stood out even from a distance.

And with Erdian being so tall, attention naturally followed them.

But that was all. Since the territory was close to the holy city, it wasn’t unusual to see Erdian’s clergy around.

‘I thought people would recognize me after I fainted in the square and became a bit infamous, but I guess not.’

Seo Woohyun realized he had developed an inflated sense of self-importance after being treated like a saint in the Grand Temple.

He wasn’t particularly remarkable looking, yet he thought everyone would recognize him.

It was embarrassing.

“You can buy anything, and I’ll approve it. You learned the currency units well, right?”

“Yes.”

The fact that Erdian was explaining in person, making up for the brief quest text, felt considerate.

When Seo Woohyun had first seen the quest window, he thought he had somehow been transported into a strange, mixed-up novel with status screens and quests.

But once he learned the one showing him these bizarre quest windows was none other than the god standing beside him, his feelings had shifted.

‘Why is he being so kind to me?’

Erdian was hiding something from him.

That much was certain.

It felt like there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t. If not, the only explanation was that his personality was odd.

Looking back, Erdian had taken in a human who had died from overwork and given him a new life in this world, allowing him to live comfortably.

For that alone, Seo Woohyun felt grateful.

That’s why he couldn’t press Erdian too hard for answers.

As they approached the busy candy store, the sweet scent grew stronger.

Based on the feudal-like lifestyle here, Seo Woohyun had assumed sugar and sweets were luxuries reserved for the nobility.

However, the people leaving the shop with purchases were common folk.

This world shared some similarities with the medieval era Seo Woohyun had read about in books and media, but it wasn’t an exact match.

Seo Woohyun was experiencing those differences firsthand.

‘Well, this world has real gods after all…’

He gripped the coin purse in his hand tightly.

The unfamiliar weight of the metal coins felt strange.

It was still a time when metal currency like gold, silver, and copper was more common than paper bills.

His memories of a world where you could pay with a simple card swipe were still vivid, but now he had to buy things with actual coins.

‘It feels like playing house with toy money.’

The memory of playing with toy money with the kids at the orphanage resurfaced in his mind.

Just as his expression was starting to stiffen, Erdian, still with his arm around Seo Woohyun, joined the long line at the candy shop.

“Looks like we have to wait in line too. No special treatment for priests?”

Erdian’s lighthearted voice pulled Seo Woohyun from his thoughts.

A god waiting in line at a candy shop.

Seo Woohyun wondered what the shopkeeper would do if they found out.

“Do priests normally get special treatment in line?”

Erdian’s eyebrows wiggled playfully.

Since no one was offering to move aside or rushing out from the store to greet them, it seemed there was no such privilege here.

“Guess not. At least it’s not too hot today. If we had to wait in the scorching sun, I’d have turned around and left.”

“The weather is unusually nice today.”

The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. It was the perfect weather for a trip.

“Looks like my efforts paid off.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Who knows? What do you think?”

Seo Woohyun swallowed nervously as he glanced at Erdian, who was grinning mischievously.

His mind raced as he tried to remember if weather manipulation was one of the many powers associated with Erdian’s name.

He thought he’d heard something like that before, but he wasn’t sure.

‘Oh, now I get what he meant when he first introduced himself.’

The day they first communicated, when Seo Woohyun had asked for his name, Erdian had replied with:

‘My name comes with grand titles, but none of them are fit to be called a family name. Just call me Erdian.’

At the time, Seo Woohyun had thought it was a way of deflecting from revealing his full name.

But now, he realized there hadn’t been a single lie.

Erdian really was a god who governed so many aspects that it made Seo Woohyun wonder if it was even okay for him to be casually standing in line at a candy store.

Seo Woohyun whispered under his breath, glancing around nervously.

“Did you really change the weather? Just for this trip?”

“I told you I’d make it fun. Rain would’ve ruined the experience.”

The subtle tone in Erdian’s voice sent a shiver through Seo Woohyun.

He could sense the truth in Erdian’s words.

The god standing next to him, pretending to be human, had really manipulated the weather for their outing. There was no doubt about it.

Just when Seo Woohyun started to feel a little closer to him, Erdian would nonchalantly say something to remind him that he wasn’t human.

At that moment, a young boy in front of them turned his head sharply.

His hair was cropped short and curly, making him look like a chestnut. His face lit up with a bright smile.

“Oh, it’s the priests!”

The boy recognized them by their clothes alone.

Seo Woohyun recalled Sihero’s comment that you could easily spot priests of Erdian’s order from a distance.

When the boy caught Seo Woohyun’s eye, he pointed toward the shop.

“Are you here to buy candy too, priests?”

Seo Woohyun swallowed hard. This was his first conversation with someone outside the temple.

What’s the best way to answer while still maintaining the act of being a priest?

He racked his brain, but all he could think of were the grandiose, overly formal speeches of the priests and Erdian’s elegant tone.

Seeing Seo Woohyun hesitate, Erdian crouched down to the boy’s eye level. He gently tapped the boy’s chubby cheek.

“Yeah, we were just passing by and saw the crowd. What’s the best candy here?”

“The apple and ginger candies!”

“You’ve tried them all?”

“Of course! Apple is my favorite. My mom likes the ginger candy. I came with my brother to buy some.”

The boy puffed out his chest proudly, as if tasting all the candy made him an expert.

“Want me to buy you one?”

“Yes!”

The boy’s eyes widened in excitement at Erdian’s offer.

He looked so eager that Seo Woohyun thought he might drool.

Finally, the boy’s older brother stepped into the conversation.

“Philip! It’s rude to ask the priests to buy things for you. It’s okay, priests.”

“Well, I got such a good recommendation. How could I pass up on it? Don’t you agree, Ciel?”

Erdian looked up at Seo Woohyun, still not quite used to his alias, and slowly nodded his head.

He didn’t seem to find anything odd about Seo Woohyun speaking to him casually, indicating that the priest likely didn’t pay much attention to formalities when interacting with others.

Seo Woohyun made a mental note to jot this down in his notebook once he returned to the carriage so as not to forget.

“You don’t need to feel pressured, just take it.”

“No, really, there’s no need to buy it for me…”

Seo Woohyun’s brother hesitated briefly as if rejecting out of politeness, but he didn’t refuse any further.

After standing up straight, Erdian patted the boy’s head.

The boy, seemingly enjoying the affectionate gesture, clung tightly to Erdian’s leg.

“Priest, priest, did you know?”

“What is it?”

“You’re really handsome, Priest.”

“Hush, how many times have I told you not to say things like that…?”

Seo Woohyun’s brother, sweating nervously, scolded his naive sibling.

He tried to pull the child away, but the boy clung so tightly that Erdian’s priestly robe was getting crumpled.

“It’s fine. I like compliments about my looks. Hardly anyone tells me I’m handsome.”

“Still, I sincerely apologize, Priest. Please forgive what the child said.”

“It’s really fine.”

Despite saying it was fine, Erdian’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of a child who was trying to slip through the crowd, lifting him up.

“Hey! Let go of me!”

The child, probably around seven or eight years old, squirmed and screamed. In the boy’s hand, gleaming blue eyes and pale sky-blue hair, was a coin purse.

“Oh, wait, that’s my purse?”

Seo Woohyun looked down at his hand belatedly.

Sure enough, his hand was empty.

He hadn’t even realized when the hefty purse had disappeared from his grasp.

It was shocking to think it had been stolen despite him holding it tightly.

As Seo Woohyun opened and closed his empty hand in bewilderment, a leisurely voice echoed in his mind.

[Seo Woohyun, do you remember what I said in the carriage?]

Erdian, who had been using Seo Woohyun’s alias up until now, called him by his real name.

Seo Woohyun looked around hastily, but it seemed like only he could hear the voice.

It made sense—Erdian had gone so far as to change his hair and eye color and even his speech to maintain his disguise.

There was no way he would slip up now.

Seo Woohyun looked at the child, who was now shouting to be let go, and waited for the rest of the message.

[I told you I’d let you know if we met a dragon.]

“Huh?”

[Yes, this is the runaway hatchling I was talking about.]

The child looked like any ordinary human, so it was hard to believe.

As the squirming child dropped the coin purse, Seo Woohyun quickly picked it up, thinking to himself:

‘What kind of dragon goes around pickpocketing?’

It seemed like it would take more time to fully understand this world.