Ch.325EP.69 – The Knight Cheers for the Youth(5)

Thump! Boom!

‘I’ve moved up in the world. Even setting up dates with women.’

Boom! Boooom!

‘Well, half of those appointments are mostly just work talk, and the only serious one is probably with Gomsuni.’

Ihan is neither a fool nor a jerk pretending to be insensitive.

He’s been well aware of Gomsuni’s feelings for some time, but as he mentioned yesterday, those emotions felt complicated to him.

‘In a way, it could just be feelings stemming from gratitude and trust…’

A pure emotion arising from her youth.

Considering her age, when it’s difficult to distinguish between romantic affection and admiration, Ihan found it hard to accept those feelings as definite romance.

Rather, he thought it was closer to admiration.

That’s why Ihan neither hastily judged nor accepted those feelings.

He didn’t want to hurt those delicate emotions by carelessly acknowledging them.

‘Maybe when she’s older. But not yet.’

Only when his precious disciple matured, developed independence beyond her admiration for others—that would be when he could truly know the answer.

So Ihan, while aware of his disciple’s feelings, neither pretended to know nor took them seriously.

Even though he noticed, it was too much to take lightly…

‘She’s such a good and admirable kid.’

It wasn’t that he dismissed her due to her young age, but rather because she was such a fine young woman—almost too good for him—that Ihan had seriously contemplated and made this decision. Because of this, he wasn’t particularly excited about having appointments with women.

He simply resolved to take all matters seriously.

Kwaaang!

“Huff…”

Perhaps because his mind had been preoccupied with these thoughts rather than focusing on his exercise, Ihan exhaled heavily, feeling somewhat dissatisfied with his warm-up.

“This doesn’t even count as a warm-up.”

“Hoho, our brother is still as diligent as ever. Are you thinning the forest?”

“…It’s just exercise while earning some pocket money. But why is ‘Your Holiness’ here? Such an important person, I mean.”

“Hohoho! Please speak comfortably as usual, brother. When you address me so formally, I feel a sudden distance between us.”

“Oh my, how could a mere knight speak so casually to such an esteemed person?”

“Hoho, well…”

It was Ihan’s mischievous remark, and the newly appointed Pontiff Rafael laughed heartily.

* * *

In the vast eastern forest of the royal capital,

This densely wooded forest was also known as the “Black Forest,” a nickname it earned because the trees were so tall and numerous that it remained perpetually dark even during daytime.

The soil was extraordinarily fertile, making the trees grow at an incredible rate. This created risks of fires from trees colliding with each other and potential depletion of the soil’s nutrients. Though constant thinning was necessary, new trees grew faster than people could remove them.

However, at this moment, Ihan and Rafael were conversing in a bright environment despite being in the Black Forest.

The reason this was possible…

‘He’s still a monster.’

Even Judia Pierre, the secretary and guard priest accompanying Rafael, who was normally expressionless, couldn’t help but marvel at the scene before her.

‘There must be at least 1,200 trees.’

Trees had been uprooted.

Most were rotting or dead from lack of sunlight, but even dead, their weight and hardness were overwhelming. Their roots were deeply embedded in the ground, making each tree extremely difficult to remove.

And now, about 1,200 such trees had been completely uprooted, roots and all.

Yet despite removing so many trees, the man showed barely any fatigue, just a light sweat. It was almost nauseating to witness.

He had pulled out trees weighing at least 450kg each as easily as if they were weeds.

However, the person who accomplished this feat treated it as nothing special and continued the conversation nonchalantly.

“Have you been well?”

“Not really. At my age, suddenly having so much work is overwhelming. I’d like nothing more than to retire right away, hoho.”

“Couldn’t you retire? Even if you did, the temple would only collapse.”

“Hohoho! That would be terrible. That’s why I’m playing this ill-fitting role of Pontiff. If the temple were to fall, that would be disastrous.”

“So you’re suffering by choice.”

“That’s correct.”

Crack!

While conversing, Ihan casually broke a tree with his bare hands and made an impromptu chair for Rafael.

It was crude but showed respect for an elder, and Rafael nodded slightly in gratitude.

Thud.

“Oh, you’re quite skilled, brother. It looks roughly made, but it’s surprisingly comfortable.”

“I’ve done some carpentry work before. When I retire, I might make a living by… No, that’s not the point. Why are you really here, old man? Your Holiness, I mean.”

Ihan asked, sitting on a chair he had quickly made himself.

It seemed strange that the newly appointed Pontiff, who by his own admission was overwhelmed with work, would come all the way to this distant eastern forest.

“This is too far for just a stroll.”

He didn’t believe it was just a walk either.

There must be a purpose for coming all this way.

Sure enough.

“I should first offer my apologies.”

“…Let’s not do this? It’s really uncomfortable.”

Rafael deeply bowed his body, lowering his head.

His already frail body trembled as he bowed, and Ihan approached to help him straighten up, but the old man remained firm.

Ihan could have used force to make him rise, but that would be like ignoring his sincerity, so he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I know your mind is young, but your body isn’t exactly youthful. So let’s not do this, okay? You might hurt yourself.”

“I just wanted to apologize like this, or perhaps I wanted to ease my own conscience. The temple, no, we have committed many sins…”

“…The maid elder’s situation wasn’t your fault.”

Ihan immediately understood why Rafael was acting this way and shook his head.

In the past, over the last 50 years, the maid elder had requested help from the temple, but they had ignored her.

They dismissed it as trivial and ignored the matter because she was a low-ranking nun.

Well, the temple might have its excuses.

Perhaps they couldn’t approach due to the High Demon’s curse, or maybe it was difficult to dispatch someone based solely on her word—

“Those are all petty excuses. We could have at least verified her claims, and the temple had plenty of means to avoid curses.”

“……”

Yes, that’s right.

The temple has no excuse.

They simply ‘didn’t’ check.

Ignored. The temple had essentially denied its very reason for existence.

“You didn’t know about it either. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Not knowing is no excuse. A High Demon, a High Demon! To have neglected such a demon for 50, no, 300 years—it’s so shameful I can barely lift my head…”

“Hmm.”

“Our sin is too deep, too deep…”

Rafael was lamenting like a sinner confessing his sins, and while Ihan understood his feelings…

“Look, I get it, but why are you telling me? I’m not a priest taking confessions.”

He shrugged and spoke playfully.

It wasn’t an appropriate comment for such a heavy atmosphere, but Ihan didn’t mind.

After all,

“The more you apologize, the more the maid elder would dislike it. So let’s stop this gloomy conversation.”

“……”

“I heard you found her name and passionately advocated for her sainthood. Thank you. It would have been advantageous for the temple to delay, but you pushed through despite opposition.”

“…I only did what should have been done; it’s embarrassing to be praised for it.”

“I told you to stop that. I know you’re working hard, and that criminal knows it too. So stop apologizing. The real culprits died without apologizing. There’s no point in an innocent person doing so.”

“……”

“I’m satisfied just knowing the elder’s real name. It’s a beautiful name.”

“…Haha, Brother Ihan always teaches me something.”

“I’m not teaching you anything, just speaking my mind.”

“…That’s what’s remarkable.”

Rafael smiled gently and bowed his head deeply again, and Ihan tried once more to make him stop.

…Ihan was freshly realizing that when diligence becomes excessive, it can sometimes be more powerful than anything else.

* * *

Ihan and Rafael chatted for a while.

Since neither would have time to talk otherwise, they used this opportunity to share accumulated stories.

Thanks to this, Ihan learned various things.

The temple’s structural reforms, the establishment of a new education system, and even the creation of a theology department at the academy.

Besides that,

“Why did you bring that criminal, I mean, the red cuckoo?”

“…That’s an odd nickname?”

“He is a criminal. He betrayed you, Rafael, and keeps changing nests like a cuckoo.”

“……”

The fact that the “red cuckoo” Pierre had started over as a low-ranking priest after being an Inquisitor.

“It will probably take 10 years for the temple to fully normalize. Of course, that’s just the minimum; we’ll need to establish many more laws and principles to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

“Wouldn’t that take not 10 but 50 more years? So when will you retire?”

“Hoho, I must do it. I’ll live long enough to accomplish it, even if it takes not 50 but 100 years.”

“…My goodness.”

“In that sense, the temple could really use a righteous and brave Holy Knight. How about it, Brother Ihan, are you interested…?”

“No thanks.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. But whenever you change your mind, please come. The position of Holy Knight Commander will always be kept open for you.”

“Commander? What’s that about…”

He even received a recruitment offer.

“Ah, and about the statue.”

“……”

“The temple will take care of it. Priests will infuse it with holy power daily to transform it into a sacred relic. Once that happens, it will be designated as a national treasure that neither the temple nor the royal family can touch. Hoho.”

“Ahem, that’s good news. But why are you telling me? It has nothing to do with me.”

“Does it not? I just wanted to tell you. I thought you should know.”

“…Hmm.”

Even the future plans for the saint’s statue.

It was quite a meaningful conversation, and time had passed quickly, as evidenced by the fading light and approaching darkness.

This wasn’t the artificial darkness created by the dense trees, but true darkness as the sun set, signaling that it was almost time to part ways.

Observing the sky…

“…So, what did you really want to talk about?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did becoming Pontiff make you sly? You must have a favor to ask. That’s why you came all the way here.”

“……”

“You wanted to apologize, and genuinely wanted to talk. But there’s something else, right? Your main purpose.”

“…There’s nothing I can hide from you, brother.”

“I just have good ears and a good sense of smell.”

As soon as Ihan finished speaking, Rafael let out an embarrassed chuckle.

As if it had been a while since he’d been so thoroughly seen through.

As if feeling a bit ashamed.

…But the embarrassment was brief, and having cast aside his hesitation,

“Brother, would you help me?”

He shamelessly requested help.

From the most reliable man he knew.

“What is it?”

“I’ve obtained some information.”

“?”

“Are you familiar with the [Brass Knights]?”

“…In detail.”

“Hoho!”

As expected…

‘Coming to this brother was the right decision.’

The knight’s eyes gleamed brightly enough to pierce through the darkness as he answered confidently.

Like a furnace that could melt anything.