I Became an SSS-Class Extra in the Apocalypse

Chapter 34

 

I struggled frantically to break free from that hand, terrified.

“Who—!”

“Shh.”

At that moment, the owner of the hand smiled at me.

It was a boy with an unusually calm expression, unfitting for such an urgent situation.

Perhaps it seemed even more so because of the gray monk’s robe he wore, unsuitable for his age.

‘…Is he a novice monk?’

Seeing that his head wasn’t shaved, he seemed to be a young male trainee before becoming an official monk.

“Please follow me.”

The boy told us in a voice as calm as his expression.

It was a mid-low pitched voice with traces of adolescence, as if he had just passed puberty.

We followed the boy in a daze.

The boy seemed to know these alleys well, running here and there mysteriously, avoiding the guild members chasing us.

It was impressive how his calm expression didn’t change even in the midst of this.

Meanwhile, I was getting more and more out of breath.

Panting heavily, I barely managed to ask.

“Where are we going?”

“To a place where we can hide from them.”

“Huff, huff, but I heard Busan was already occupied by the Dowonhyang guild…”

To my anxious words, the boy replied in an extremely calm voice.

“Buddha always provides shelter for all living beings.”

The boy didn’t explain further and increased his speed.

Unlike his small and thin appearance, his speed was very fast.

As I struggled to keep up with him, I inwardly exclaimed.

‘How can there be such an old soul in a young body…?’

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“So the ‘shelter provided by Buddha’ was…”

I exclaimed in admiration as I looked around.

“A temple.”

What appeared when we followed the boy deep into the mountain was a serene Buddhist temple.

“Wow, it’s my first time visiting a temple!”

Sehun exclaimed, looking around curiously.

Actually, it was my first time at a temple too.

‘Built on a mountain where people rarely come and go, it naturally became a natural fortress.’

After all, monsters sense and gather towards human life energy.

“Thank you for helping us.”

When I belatedly expressed my gratitude, the boy smiled gently.

“It is Buddha’s way to help anyone in difficulty.”

I smiled back at him brightly.

Then, as soon as the boy turned his back, I whispered to Sehun in a very low voice:

“Sehun-ah. Please use ‘Evil Detection’ and ‘Lie Detection’.”

No matter how kind someone may appear on the outside, the human heart is harder to fathom than the depths of the sea.

[(Messenger) Indra laments your deep-rooted distrust in humans.]

As if I had never been suspicious, I put on an innocent expression and asked the boy.

“Are you… in training here at the temple?”

“Yes, that’s right. The day is already turning to dusk.”

The novice monk’s calm gaze fell on the sunset that was just beginning.

“The monsters become more violent at night. How about staying here tonight?”

“Well…”

We left the camper near the outlet.

As the boy said, it would be better to stay at this temple, at least for tonight.

I glanced down at Sehun.

The quick-witted child nodded rapidly.

It meant he had passed the detection.

Only then did I feel relieved and ask:

“Would that really be okay?”

“Of course. However, we need to get permission from the chief monk first.”

The boy answered, still sounding like an old soul in a young body.

“Please follow me.”

We silently followed the boy.

“This is the place.”

The boy who stopped in front of the main hall located at the center of the temple gestured.

We carefully took off our shoes and entered the main hall of the temle.

“Ugh.”

The first thing that greeted us was the incense smell filling the hall.

Sehun quickly grabbed his nose.

‘Even for a temple, the incense smell is quite strong.’

It was strong enough to make me cough.

Inside the hall, an old man with white hair was sitting face to face with a woman.

It seemed they had been having a quiet conversation.

Hearing our presence, they quickly turned their heads towards us.

“Ah, um…”

Is that old man the chief monk?

While I hesitated, the old man slowly got up and approached us.

“Oh my, we have more guests. Welcome.”

‘More’?

Then, is that woman also a guest at this temple?

Well, a woman with long hair tied in a ribbon wouldn’t be living in a temple where only monks stay.

To accept all guests as they come in this ruined world.

I stared at the old man who was smiling with an unbelievably gentle face.

‘There’s another person like Baek Yi-heon in this world…’

Baek Yi-heon, standing beside me, politely put his hands together and bowed his head.

“Hello. We were wondering if we could stay just for tonight.”

“Hoho. Of course. This too must be a connection (縁) made by Buddha, so please stay as long as you wish.”

“…Really as long as we wish?”

Even to my shameless question, the chief monk just laughed heartily with a kind face.

“Yes, yes.”

Still, I didn’t let my guard down and asked again.

“Um, but how is this place so unscathed? How did you manage food supplies?”

Unlike the compassionate monk, I’m a distrustful person with human trust issues.

Even to my bold question, the chief monk answered calmly without showing any discomfort.

“We have preserved food like pickles here, and there’s also a small field.”

After finishing his words, the old man turned his body and bowed deeply towards the Buddha statue.

It seemed he was offering thanks.

“Sometimes monsters come over the mountain, but then the monks go out with bamboo spears to drive them away or kill them.”

Then he started chanting a prayer I couldn’t understand.

This time, it seemed he was asking Buddha for forgiveness.

I took this chance to whisper very quietly to Baek Yi-heon.

“…Aren’t monks not supposed to kill living things?”

At that moment, the chief monk, who had his back turned, exclaimed in a clear voice.

“Patriotic Buddhism.”

Oh, that startled me.

The chief monk, who bowed his head once more towards the Buddha statue, turned his head and smiled at me.

“In our country, when there was chaos due to war, monks traditionally took up swords to fight.”

Did he hear my voice?

‘I spoke so quietly though…’

I scratched my head with an embarrassed face.

That’s when it happened.

“You! What kind of tone is that with the Chief monk?”

The woman who was sitting in the hall quickly approached and shouted in a sharp tone.

“Moreover, Chief monk! How can you let in unknown guests in this situation!”

Her gaze, scrutinizing us with suspicion, was extremely sharp.

‘…Even though she’s a guest herself.’

“Judging by your accent, you seem to be from out of town! Where are you from?”

“We’re from Seoul.”

Before I could open my mouth, Baek Yi-heon answered straight out.

‘Why are you answering so honestly here, you fool!’

At that answer, the woman’s eyes shot up to the ceiling.

“From Seoul to here?! The last news I heard was that a tower appeared in Gangnam!”

“Well…”

“So we escaped that and came here.”

I quickly cut in before Baek Yi-heon could give another textbook answer.

The woman’s sharp gaze scanned me up and down.

“…As I thought, something’s suspicious. Chief monk, we shouldn’t accept such suspicious people in the temple!”

“What…”

I wasn’t one to tolerate such words.

As I was about to lunge at her in anger, Baek Yi-heon quickly grabbed my wrist and patted the back of my hand as if to soothe me.

The chief monk, who had been uneasy in the middle of this tense conversation, quickly intervened.

“Haha. It’s alright, it’s alright.”

“But Chief…”

“Even if the world is harsh, we must love each other. Hell is not out there, but within our hearts.”

The old man’s cloudy eyes shone transparently as he spoke gently.

The woman’s sharp attitude softened a bit.

But her glancing gaze at us still contained deep distrust.

Then, as if to mediate the fight, the chief monk quickly called out.

“Hey, Yudam-ah!”

…Huh?

At those words, I forgot about confronting the woman and just stood there with my mouth wide open.

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