Saint Marigold

12.

Living diligently is truly exhausting.

Lancel knew, deep down, that he could never live as earnestly as he had in his third life, no matter how many times he died and was reborn.

They say there’s a finite amount of effort one can expend, and he figured he’d used it all up back in the days when he was known as the Knight of Dawn.

Now, no matter how hard he tried—unless something truly extraordinary happened—he wouldn’t be able to become as strong as he was back then.

In the end, all he’d gained were tricks and know-how.

How could he achieve maximum skill with minimum effort? How could he achieve maximum effect with minimum Magic Power?

Right now, Lancel was the most efficient Magic Power user on the continent.

“Holy… Saintess’s… blessing…”

“Why are you so lacking in confidence?”

Lancel had been pressing Marigold, who was stammering, for what felt like the hundredth time today.

“…I don’t really know what a blessing that makes people stronger is…”

She looked like she was about to cry.

“Believe in yourself. And believe in me. You have real talent.”

In truth, Lancel didn’t expect Marigold to suddenly awaken her White magic and unleash Divinity. He just wanted to make it seem that way.

In that sense, the fact that she was blind was, though he hated to say it, a bit of a blessing.

Because he had to deceive Marigold herself first.

“In the name of the Saintess.”

As Marigold recited the prayer earnestly, exclamations of awe rippled through the surroundings.

“D-Did something really happen?”

“Light! There’s light!”

Those were the reactions of Baron Ibil Shen and Hesti. Their reactions were genuine. He hadn’t told them to overreact beforehand.

Sure enough, a faint light was emanating from Lancel Dante’s sword.

This light was the secret to why he was called the Knight of Dawn. It was probably only a hundredth of the brightness it had been back then, but light was light. It illuminated the darkness of the blade with just the right amount of holy feeling.

“Huh? Huh?”

Marigold, unaware of what she had done, looked around in confusion.

“See? You can do it, Mary. I feel stronger thanks to you. Look at this. Oh, you can’t see.”

It wasn’t a lie. After all, people do feel a little stronger when they’re cheered on, right?

It was like how you can lift more weight when you smell ammonia at the gym. That’s the principle. That’s it.

“D-Did I really… do it? Do I really have that Divinity… thing?”

Marigold seemed genuinely moved.

She was feeling a sense of relief and happiness, thinking, ‘I’ve finally accomplished something!’

“I told you, you have talent.”

After that day, Marigold seemed to get hooked on something, reciting prayers for Lancel and the people in the mansion whenever she had a spare moment.

“I’ll share my strength with you! Trust me, everyone!”

Of course, no one saw a visible effect like Lancel did, but for some reason, the mansion’s servants and Baron Ibil Shen…

“It’s really amazing. I really feel stronger. I should visit the Saintess Church when I have time. I used to think it was better to earn even a penny more than to believe in God, but now I don’t know.”

“I think my shoulder hurts less too. Maybe Mary is more amazing than we thought, Young Master.”

…started talking as if Divinity was actually working on them.

Lancel dismissed it lightly, thinking it was probably just a placebo effect.

“Mary, are you ready?”

“Yes, Saint!”

And so, the day of the Demon beast hunt arrived.

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It was truly difficult not to freeze up when a Demon beast’s eyes gleamed in the darkness of the forest.

—Krrr…

A wolf, swollen to several times its size, brimming with thick Magic Power.

The black mane rising along its spine rippled as if one with the shadows of the forest, and viscous fluid dripped from its wickedly long fangs, foaming as it fell.

It was so huge that it could swallow an adult whole.

It was only natural that the knights of the Pilgrimage, who had come so confidently, were sweating bullets.

“Monster…!”

“F-Form ranks!”

“Bring people over here, quickly!”

The Pilgrimage’s formation became chaotic.

Everyone was panicking when…

“Lancel Dante, you are strong now. Bring back the enemy’s head.”

Bang!

One knight cut through the Pilgrimage. He rushed towards the Demon beast in an instant.

“In the name of the Saintess.”

The sword in his hand burst with light.

A light that illuminated the darkness of the forest.

—Keeeong!

The Demon beast, sensing danger, bared its teeth and leaped up. It was almost simultaneous with the dazzling line that cut across its torso.

Leaving behind only the chilling sound of flesh being torn, something flew into the sky. It drew an arc and fell in front of the Pilgrimage.

Thud!

“…!”

The Pilgrimage belatedly realized that it was the Demon beast’s head.

The wolf’s form, which had been baring its teeth menacingly just moments ago, was now stiff and rolling through the mud.

The headless body staggered off somewhere on its own before collapsing with a thud.

The man was carefully sheathing his sword, which was free of even a single drop of blood.

“Saintess, today we have purified another evil.”

Quiet silence.

Behind him, the blue cloak fluttered as he instantly defeated the Demon beast.

It was the moment when Lancel Dante was etched into the memories of the Pilgrimage’s knights and Clerics, the hunters who had acted as guides, and the residents of the nearby villages.

13.

“We acknowledge the merit of the Demon beast subjugation and will bestow a small reward upon the Church of Marigold.”

The Imperial Family sent the Church of Marigold a flag. It was a flag certifying them as a ‘formal denomination.’

It was a bitter pill for the Pilgrimage, which had been robbed of the credit, but it wasn’t so painful as to be unbearable.

After all, it was just a flag that even denominations like the Salvation Church possessed. There was no reason for the Martyrdom Church to envy such a reward.

But the Imperial Knight Tournament was a different story. This involved money.

“All knights, forward!”

Ten knights rode out into the vast open space.

Most of them were knights who had the Martyrdom Church’s wing emblem engraved on their armor, but one was different.

An emblem depicting neatly folded palms inside a round halo. It was a knight who had the Church of Marigold’s mark engraved on his cloak.

“Only one knight who remains unhorsed until the end will advance to the next main round. Prepare!”

Eyes darted back and forth among the Pilgrimage’s knights in an instant. Even among them, this was a competition. In the end, only one would remain.

But at least one agreement was clear.

‘First, we’ll knock Lancel Dante off his horse!’

The knights’ gazes fell upon the man with a wooden lance resting on his shoulder. Lancel Dante of the Church of Marigold. Target number one. Their competition would begin after that guy was knocked off his horse.

“Begin!”

Bang! Ten horses kicked off the ground of the prairie at the same time.

A noisy roar erupted from the spectators beyond the fence.

“If I lose my money, I won’t let you knights get away with it!”

“Audley! My entire fortune is on you!”

Even those who wouldn’t normally be able to meet a knight’s eyes were different here. They held wooden plaques with their odds written on them and shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Please, if you fall here, we’re bankrupt, Lancel.”

Baron Ibil Shen was among them. He licked his parched lips as he looked at the wooden plaque with a large sum of money written on it.

Lancel Dante was quite well-known as the knight who had defeated the Demon beast, but he was the biggest underdog here.

It couldn’t be helped.

First of all, he was too young, and among the knights, the majority of whom were from the Martyrdom Church, there weren’t many who thought he would win.

Ibil Shen might have been the only one who had bet a large sum of money on him.

“No!”

Baron Ibil Shen’s expression turned pale as he saw the nine cavalrymen surrounding Lancel.

“Get him!”

Cavalrymen rode close to Lancel’s sides as he galloped across the open space.

Lancel didn’t even pay attention to those who were targeting him.

Instead, he spurred his horse on, chasing after one of the Pilgrimage’s knights.

“K-Knock him off! Quickly!”

“Too late.”

Lancel’s wooden lance struck the fleeing knight’s shoulder blade.

The tremendous strength literally grabbed him and threw him away.

“Aaaaaagh!”

The cavalrymen passed by the guy who had flown far away and rolled on the ground. They desperately clung to Lancel.

Lancel didn’t defend against or confront the attacks of those who were chasing him. He just kept running away, chasing after another prey.

“Hiiiing!”

Bang, another person fell off his horse with a thud. As many as four people had fallen in the same way in quick succession, and a sense of crisis spread among the knights.

They might have felt it in their bones. That the prey being chased might not be him, but themselves.

“You’re slow.”

Lancel’s quiet voice.

“No… Kuaaagh!”

The fifth knight was thrown out of the saddle.

“Go practice some more.”

The Pilgrimage’s knights felt a cold sensation run down their spines as they saw the smile on Lancel’s face.

The moment fear took hold, the result was as good as decided.

In less than ten minutes, there was only one knight left on horseback.

“Winner, Lancel Dante!”

Baron Ibil Shen, who had raised both arms in the air, jumped into the arena and shouted.

“I’m rich! Lancel, you’re a god!”

Lancel lightly passed by Ibil Shen, who was running towards him. He approached Marigold, who was under the shade of a tree.

Amidst the loud cheers, the horse carrying Lancel and Marigold galloped out of the arena.

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Fame Event: Knight ‘Lancel Dante’ of the Church of Marigold has advanced to the main round. Everyone in the Imperial Capital is paying attention to the Church of Marigold.

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“Are the Pilgrimage’s knights only this good! Is there still no one who can surpass this Lancel Dante of the Church of Marigold!”

His provocative voice echoed in the minds of the Pilgrimage’s knights, who were sitting on the ground, for a long time.

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—Fame Event: The eleventh church has been built!

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

—Fame Event: The twelfth church has been built!

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

—Fame Event: The thirteenth church has been built!

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

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—Fame Event: The thirtieth church has been built!

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

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Several months after Lancel had been stirring up trouble here and there.

Just a few months after rumors had quietly begun to circulate that Marigold was a Cleric who bestowed blessings.

The number of Saintess Statues erected in the Imperial Capital Rodniss had exceeded thirty.

“Pathetic bastards.”

Duke Meriril Dunn’s face turned red as soon as he heard the news.

Every time the Pilgrimage’s knights performed poorly in the tournament, his reputation began to suffer.

—It wouldn’t do for someone else to take the festival for the Martyrdom Church, would it?

The words of the Imperial Archbishop, who had called him, still lingered in his mind. He had spoken softly, but to put it simply, it meant, ‘Am I not the one responsible for this? If you didn’t like it, you should have won?’

The problem was that it was difficult to deny it outright. Duke Meriril Dunn himself was the one who had gathered all the knights and formed the Pilgrimage, wasn’t he?

The Pilgrimage too.

The Demon beast subjugation too.

The Knight Tournament too.

All of them were things he had agreed to.

All of them were achievements stolen from under him.

Since he had volunteered to be in charge, he had to achieve the best results no matter what. If a game was started, he had to win.

That was the law of the Martyrdom Church.

“Make sure he’s knocked off in the next match. By any means necessary.”