The Paladin Owns the Relic

1 – Demon Sword Surt (1)

I stepped into step with the old man. Inside the building, as expected, it was cold. It was stark, with little furniture to be seen.

The comforting thing is that it is quite spacious. Between the rooms, I could see children shivering from the cold.

Some were putting something in their mouths.

Bread that is hard and dry.

Is there anything to eat?

The old man stopped. He quietly opened the door.

“Not everyone can become a priest just because they have the stigma. It is only possible with certain rituals.”

“A ritual?”

“You can think of it as a rite of passage. It is a ceremony to determine whether your stigma is real.”

I stepped into the room.

The only bright spot in a shabby building. The sun that has not yet set shines through the stained glass. All other places are in disrepair, or places where the role of the church cannot be fulfilled… But this place is different.

The polished chairs are set at an angle. The sunlight broke brilliantly into many colors, and the air was cold, but no wind penetrated.

A strangely warm place. The heating was so good that it couldn’t be seen as a frontier city in winter.

…No.

Is this the power of the sun god Ra?

“Come this way.”

The old man took my hand and led me. He sat me down in a chair and walked into the back room.

When he came out again, he held a small bowl and water inside.

“Hey.”

An old man sat in front of me.

“What’s your name?”

“This is Zahard Barton.”

“You have a castle. Are you a son of a noble?”

“I don’t know. Her mother died before she could teach me.”

“…You’ve had a rough time.”

The old man stroked my hair carefully.

“My name is Meerkant. Feel free to call me priest. Child. Before the ceremony, I would like to suggest that there is another way for you.”

“Which way?”

“The majesty of the gods has left human beings, and we are afflicted with poverty. Any faith is bound to crumble in the face of reality. A mind like steel and a flame like the sun will eventually wither in pain… The cryers are gone, and all we are left with is the people’s contempt.”

“…The people’s contempt?”

“This…Is one of the branches of the Church of Ra, the sun god.”

Hearing what I’ve already heard again doubles my sense of despair.

Yes. There’s no way anything will work out the way I want. No matter how ruined the denomination is, one headquarters is still intact. It looks like this goddamn game again twists the setting a bit arbitrarily, and continues the story in its own way like a roguelike.

“The headquarters of the church dedicated to Ra, the sun god, is in the southern city.”

Overdone?! Mr. Ha!

If I had known earlier, I would have gone straight to the church headquarters and visited this place later…!

“That’s right…”

“My child. It’s a pity for you who walked all the way to the north with hope…But the situation in the Sun God Church is worse than you see.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Church Headquarters is selling the majesty of the gods without hesitation. It focuses on making money like a merchant, and there are rumors that it has colluded with some forces behind the Empire… It is fatal to the Church. “As rumors spread that the church was run by money, our prestige plummeted even lower than that of other churches. We began to be shunned as priests who surrendered to reality. Along with being called dirty hypocrites who sold their faith for money.”

Meerkant laughed forlornly.

“And this branch was corrupted once and even burned down. So I am the only official priest left… I have only two apprentice priests… It’s very hard to change one’s impression once stuck. It’s difficult. It’s easy when you commit it, but you have to work dozens of times more to get rid of that stigma.”

“…No. Why?”

“My child, I know. Your fairy tale is broken. But it can’t be helped. Reality is cruel, and sometimes it eats people.”

From noble mtl dot com

No what.

If you’re going to do it, you shouldn’t have been caught. You stupid kids

I couldn’t understand. Rather, I was angry.

If you can exchange it for money, you should exchange it all and stop pretending! If you don’t do anything conspicuously bad, what’s the point of exchanging money with the power you have?

Ugh. What are priests? I must have completely ruined it because I couldn’t do it properly.

I sighed. The old man glanced at me.

“My child. When you enter the Order, all kinds of uncomfortable eyes will follow you. Sometimes you will be blinded. You will be criticized for what you did not do, and you will have to take responsibility for what you did not do. Under the name of member, we must pay for the sins we committed together.”

“I see…”

“If you go north from here, there is an agency that introduces you to work. Before you get baptized, I want to let you know that there is a better way.”

It’s not what I want to say.

But what can I do? The skill I have is related to this church.

The fastest and clearest way to survive is right in front of you, but you have to work as a miner with no promise. That makes no more sense

I lowered my voice. He closed his eyes and whispered like a true believer in God.

“There may be an easier way in life, but it’s not necessarily the right way.”

“…Hey, think again…”

“The sun god chose me.”

I opened my eyes and looked at Meerkant.

“He calls, he only fulfills his responsibilities.”

Meerkant wept.

“My God… How could such a faithful child…!”

The ceremony continued. The stigmatization procedure was quickly completed. The water-soaked stigma glowed and felt warm.

“My child. Remember that power. It is the mighty light of a borrowed god. Even if darkness blocks your way, it will become a ray of light that will light your way.”

“Thank you, priest.”

“I’ll tell you what to do tomorrow. You must be tired from coming a long way, so go in and rest. You can use the room on the right. All the children who stayed are good-natured and kind, so you’ll be able to melt into them without difficulty.”

Meerkand stroked your hair. For the first time, a smile settled on his pale face.

“I am a child of the Sun God Church. I sincerely congratulate you on your joining.”

“…Thank you, priest.”

I opened the door and tried to turn around. However, a question I did not understand came to my mind and I stopped walking.

I looked back at Meerkant. He was writing something in a book he had pulled out. Perhaps, it is to organize the documents related to your enlistment.

“…Priest.”

“Do you need anything more?”

“I’m curious. Why did you want to deny my admission? From the church’s point of view, even one believer is more important, isn’t it?”

An apprentice priest is like a worker to a priest. Since they are trying to become priests, they do not run away or complain no matter how much work they put on them.

It’s like a crowd of workers who don’t want a paycheck.

That’s why I didn’t understand. Why would you reject a slave who dared to crawl on his feet?

Meer Kant took off his glasses. He smiled slightly at me.

“Isn’t it more important that one life not starve than one believer?”

“…….”

I could tell from those words.

That man…

You are a priest to the core.

. . .

As Meerkant said, I left the hallway and entered the first room on the right. Five or six children shivering from the cold.

The way he stared at me was not very nice. I trudged to take one of the empty beds and a large boy walked towards me.

“What are you?”

That’s terrifying.

He showed his stigma. The boy in front of me snorted.

“Who asked that? It’s my seat, so get out of the way.”

“Ah. Sorry.”

I moved my hips and sat down in another empty seat. But the boy persisted.

“That seat is mine too.”

“Where is this?”

“The place too.”

“…Where is this?”

“f*ck you. Are you an asshole?”

The boy growled. It hit the bunk bed next to it with a bang.

“Your seat is not here. So get out of here.”

“The priest told me to stay here.”

“Who do you think will listen to an old man like that? Say one more word. I’ll make it to the point where I won’t be able to eat for the rest of my life.”

It’s a typical brawl. I frowned. As if using muscles, the divinity was naturally wrapped around the body.

Skill blessing.

[Feels better.]

Great. There is nothing like this in mental care.

“Yes, then.”

“…What?”

“Isn’t that telling me to use another room?”

I got up and left the room. I heard swearing, but I ignored it. I went straight into the empty room.

A desolate room without even the pillows and blankets that were there. I got into a hard bunk bed. The boy who followed me glared at me.

“…Doesn’t my words sound like words?”

“Why again. I listened to everything you asked for.”

“This f*ck.”

He was big, but seemed about the same age as me. A tough but youthful face.

Since I’m being pushed back by the difference in size… Hmm. Lose if you fight will definitely lose

…Okay.

I had a good idea. Instead of being sick for a while, let’s touch Hidden Peace.

“Hey. What’s your name?”

“Do you think you can teach me?”

“It’s probably not a bastard with no name.”

“A bastard!”

Boom!

The fist was slammed down. My vision was completely wrong, and in an instant, I fell to the ground.

It hurts. This cub You use your fist quite a bit.

But it’s rather good. It would be revealed that he had been beaten only when his face turned red.

I banged on the furniture. He rolled over and screamed. He screamed with all his might, enough to make the boy in front of him flinch.

“Oops! People are dying!!”

“What, what are you doing?!”

“Oops! Oops!”

The children flocked. And among them, Meerkant was also mixed. He looked at me and the boy who was rolling on the floor and immediately shouted.

“Hector! Didn’t I tell you! Kill your temper!”

“Ha, but this bastard comes first…!”

“Shut up! I won’t tolerate your atrocities anymore! Go to the punishment room immediately! Don’t come out until I call!”

“Poetry, I hate it!”

“If you won’t listen to me in this place, I have no choice but to send you out! Go to the punishment room immediately!”

Meerkant hugged me. I looked up at him with eyes like a dying puppy.

“Yes, Priest…”

“As soon as I arrived, I saw a rough situation. It was because my teaching was lacking.”

“Okay, it’s okay… But… Not only him… The other guys were just ignoring me…”

Meerkant was furious. His smirking gaze burned like fire.

“These ugly things! Did I teach you to put up with injustice!”

The children whose eyes met flinched. I tugged at Meerkant’s sleeve.

“Staying…In the room…Is scary…”

“Let me go into another room.”

“I’m afraid the same thing will happen… Priest… If you’ll excuse me… Can I sleep in the prayer room?”

“What?”

Meerkand slipped me away.

“That’s not okay. Rules are rules. Not a single kid went to sleep in the prayer room.”

“Please let me stay until I get used to it. A week is enough. In the meantime, I… Will try to be friendly with the other children… Priest… Help me… I want to have a good time here…”

She tears his thighs on purpose.

“If God is with you…I think my surprised heart will calm down…”

The weak-minded priest sighed.

“I can’t…”

“Priest…”

“I’m talking right now…”

“The wound hurts so much…I miss the sun god…”

“…So the rules are the rules…”

“Ah…If I get hit again…It hurts so much I’m afraid I’ll die…”

“…….”

Meerkant sighed.

“It’s a week. Not more than that. It’s against the doctrine, so even if you insist on staying longer, I won’t allow it.”

“Thank you, priest.”

“Adapt quickly. I can’t protect you forever. Being friendly with your surroundings is one of the teachings of the sun god.”

Of course.

I’ll be able to eat rice cakes in a week.

I glanced at the children. Let’s leave it all It was all over in a week. Cubs.