My Villains Episode 299
54. Paladin (7)
Another 10 days have passed.
Since the work was roughly finished, he wanted to leave for the west, but the priests of the Church of El Ganore begged him to wait until the soldiers to protect the monastery arrived.
At first, I thought it was a little annoying, but since I had already been given the wonderful title of ‘Guardian of the Holy Land,’ it wouldn’t be bad to stay for a few more days to solidify it.
The mercenaries under his command seemed quite pleased with the news that the break between the tides had increased a little.
Thanks to this, our party celebrated the New Year in the year 764 of the Luminous calendar at the Seteniora Monastery.
Monastery people were busy preparing for the new year. Of course, since less than 15 days had passed since the undead army swept through, it was not a situation where a grand festival or dinner could be held. According to the tradition of Gwangmyeonggyo, after bathing in cold water, they gathered at the church and worshiped. After the service, we had hot drinks.
“It is a process to shake off the unclean things that have been buried throughout the year and purify the body.”
I was sitting with my party in the corridor next to the cathedral when a middle-aged man wearing a black hood smiled and handed me a glass.
“Thank you, Priest Okan.”
“Hehe, didn’t I tell you already? Brothers are enough.” Upon accepting the large, crude ceramic cup, the middle-aged monk Okan tipped the bottle and filled it. The hot sake that steam rises warms the hand holding the glass.
“I will pray that the blessings of the Lord come upon you in the new year as well. Seriously.”
“I hope the protection of the Lord will be upon your priest-no brother.”
Even though he returned the favor moderately, Okan did not intend to leave and stood in front of him, fiddling with the bottle.
“……Hmm.” Heila, who was waiting for her turn next to me, clutching her glass tightly, cleared her throat. However, Okan, as if lost in thought, did not notice the silent prompting.
…What is this man? do you have something to see?
Just as he was about to pull out his pocket, wondering if he should make an offering, the monk opened his mouth after hesitating.
“I heard your story.”
“What are you talking about?”
Okan looked around for a moment, then lowered his voice.
“The revelation left by the Holy Son… and the calling of the Lord.”
Revelation and calling?
Oh right. I said that because I didn’t want the Elganor Church to know the contents of the dream.
“Looks like you heard from Lord Kabar.”
“Yes, that’s right. Oh, don’t worry if the story will spread. This is a story that I was able to hear because I was in a position, albeit a small one.”
As the story seemed to be getting longer, Heila, who had cleared her throat several times, finally put her glass down quietly.
“Oh dear. I’m sorry, sister.”
It was only then that the priestess, noticing Heila’s gaze, refilled her cup. Black pearl-like eyes twinkle through the rising steam.
There was a faint reluctance in Okan’s eyes as he glanced at the heila. If you are a comrade who defended the cathedral together in the last battle, why are you doing that?
Okan, who entrusted the bottle to a nearby monk, continued talking.
“There is something I would like to tell you about that matter.”
“…which?”
“I want to accompany you on your journey. If it’s okay.”
“yes?”
When I opened my eyes wide at the completely unexpected words, the middle-aged monk quickly added.
“I know very well that the revelation is an order and mission given only to you.”
Ungchi, who was overhearing the story across from me, took a sip of alcohol unconsciously, and then wept bitterly.
“But Sir. No matter how young and strong a knight may be, he is in danger if he ventures into the wilderness alone.”
There is very strong and concrete evidence for the existence of God in this world. It is divine power and authority.
The authority exercised by priests, cathedral knights, or paladins is no different from the exercise of God, and those who witnessed it have deep and solid faith.
If ordinary people are like that, how about the clergy who directly wield divine power and authority?
“As those who follow the will of God, even if they are clumsy, we cannot leave those who bear the burden alone and pursue peace.”
Gray brown eyes flashed.
It was not the eyes of an easy-going monk. Those were the eyes of a fanatic who was willing to lay down his life for his faith.
“It is said that it is not the duty of a shepherd to herd sheep without a whistle and staff. I dare to be like one and look for the path of the Lord.”
“…But as I said already, the priest or brother, the position in this monastery has been” “resigned.”
“yes?”
“Because the original duty of a monk is self-mortification and diligence, not church organization and ministry.”
…No, what should I do if I write my resignation first. What if I refuse
“Still, Bishop Hecabenko has passed away in a fatal accident-”
“The neighboring feudal lords will send soldiers and appoint a new bishop from the capital. Don’t worry, the monastery will stabilize soon. Oh, of course, I also asked permission from Priest Masel.”
Even the mercenary crossbowman Gidon had a fanatical side, which caused conflicts from time to time, so even though he was a monk, he was a little reluctant to accept a priest as his companion.
While I was thinking about it, Heila, who was sipping a drink next to me, suddenly opened her mouth.
“Please take care of me.”
“yes?”
“Heyla, Lord Phoenix’s fiancée. I said hello before.”
“Ah yes. Well, I hope the Lord’s protection will be with you too.”
Okan looked back at me with a puzzled expression. Heila also stared at me, and I read the meaning of her gaze and nodded.
Right after Okan walked away, the young monks served a large pie.
Sharing a baked pie as big as a human torso is said to be the original northern custom. It’s the food that the greatest gangster in the history of Middle-earth and the founding king of Milanol, ‘Je Ott of Zeore’, enjoyed eating.
Instead of admiring the conquistador who left his mark across the country, I looked back at Heyla and narrowed my brows.
“Why is that? I wanted to think about it a little more.”
“He is the one who left the responsibility of the monastery. There’s no need to waste your time and hurt your mood.”
“That’s not wrong either… So what kind of person do you think you are? You have fought together, so you know roughly, right?”
Instead of answering, Heila took a mouthful of pie.
The pie baked with nuts, raspberries, and sugar in high-quality wheat dough was fragrant, but too sweet for my taste.
However, Munchwi, who had been biting his tongue for a long time at the bitter taste of alcohol, ate the pie with a bright color.
Hayla is no different, and her eyes look languid every time she licks her mouth. Aren’t you tired of eating four pieces already?
She opened her mouth only after drinking a warm drink.
“Looks like a typical monk. Nothing to add or subtract from.”
“Ability?”
“There is no need to doubt your abilities. It is rare for a monk to be ordained a priest in the Church of El Ganore. It seemed to me that he was good at exorcism and had a good understanding of healing.”
“Hmm?”
Yes, it wouldn’t hurt to have a priest join the party. Let’s think positively.
“…But how many cups have you had?”
Heila blinked at my sudden question before answering.
“Six cups.”
“Six? stop drinking I will take it.”
“You should drink 12 cups to welcome the new year.”
“It’s wine and the glass is small.”
Heila, who was sipping alcohol from a glass as large as a decent tumbler, had a red flush on her cheeks.
“I’m already drunk. Look at that red face.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“Drunk. Now, let’s go back.”
“I still have six drinks left. The doctrine of Gwangmyeonggyo”
“Since when did you keep that? Did you take a warm bath in the morning too?”
I was arguing with Heila when I suddenly looked out of the church window.
At first glance, a communal house can be seen in the distance. On the other side, the Paladins of the Church of Calandari and Princess Theodora were supposed to be worshiping among themselves.
Theodora, who entered my dream and confirmed the saint’s revelation, asked for a moment. I’m going to check what God’s will is through prayer.
Maybe the answer is fixed?
Due to the revelation left by the saint and my relationship with Ulkar, Theodora and I had to share a fate for a while. To be precise, I induced her to think so… but it’s the same thing.
Following Monk Okan, if Theodora joined, there would be no more suffering from undead or injuries.
I’ve been staying in one place for quite a while, so I’ve received two letters for some reason.
One was a letter from Ulkar that arrived after a week’s journey.
He stays in High Castle, an element of the border (要所), and is operating an army in the Western Highlands and Abiden, and as rumor has it, he is fighting against the electors of the Mittergerland Empire.
Recently, the king of death and the undead army he leads were wondering, but he was surprised to hear that the holy place on the cliff was attacked.
Well, who would have known that the undead would attack the Holy Land?
Saint Abel met his death by the death knight’s strange power, but if it wasn’t for that, he would have been reduced to ashes like a gnat jumping into a bonfire.
Well, thanks to the support of me and Theodora, it really did.
Also, at the end of the letter conveying the current situation and regards, Ulkar recommended joining him.
-I heard that something happened in Raven’s Cliff. If my prediction is correct, the ‘task involving Miss Ellen’ that the lord said has been completed. If that’s the case, I hope you come back under my curtain and lend me your strength. The undead and fish-man forces retreated for a while, but dark clouds still hang over the west. I need your strength.
I was planning to go to Ulkar as soon as I left the monastery, so I sent a reply with the will of consent.
I’ll be reuniting with him before January is over.
The main purpose was to prevent the corruption of Ulkar and monitor him, but in the process, defeating the Elector Counts of Mittergerant would have been quite meaningful.
It is because I do not know what kind of harm the war-torn kingdom will do to my future journey.
The second letter was completely unexpected to me.
A letter enclosed with five gold coins and fifty silver coins arrived after a month and a half.
The sender was Merle Dae Buni, the vicar of Lavalton.
