Ch.93Chapter 93. The Seven Holy Knights (3)

Chapter 93. The Seven Paladins (3)

“From now on, I’ll move quietly.”

Lakye announced our arrival at Martva while muffling his footsteps.

Getting closer to Hanna meant getting closer to the monsters of the Black Coral tribe, including Asha. Being careful couldn’t hurt.

I tried to ignore the voice echoing in my head while watching Lakye move as silently and nimbly as a leopard.

‘Lord Malak. Can you hear me? Please respond.’

‘It’s me. Asha of the Black Coral tribe. Please tell me when you’re coming. I’ll prepare a grand feast for the servants who have served Lord Malak until now.’

‘Lord Malak? My prayers should definitely reach you…’

‘Are you perhaps avoiding me? Why? …I don’t understand. You and I are destined to be together.’

‘I will show you my devoted and unchanging love. I will love only you.’

‘Please answer if you can hear me. I am desperately searching for you alone.’

Tsk. Asha has been trying to contact me continuously. Being a god, or rather handling Roa business, isn’t easy.

Having to listen to the nonsense of such a malicious believer. It felt like receiving a barrage of texts from a clingy ex-girlfriend.

‘My husband who will defeat the servants of demons and goddesses and walk the path of tyranny, please respond.’

What path of tyranny? I have no intention of walking any path of tyranny or pedophilia. I won’t fight alongside a monster bride and her cannibal legion.

And husband? When did we get married? She must be building a whole life with me in her imagination.

She might even be creating monster babies in her mind—half dragon, half crab hybrids. Dragon-crabs.

Is there no way to block prayers? It would be nice if I could turn them off or on through the status window. While I was trying to ignore Asha’s voice:

“Lord Malak, is something wrong?”

Lakye whispered softly. Maybe I showed my discomfort too obviously.

– It’s nothing. Just a minor issue.

…I had something I wanted to ask. Earlier, I didn’t get the timing right because I was explaining about Hanna, Dina’s special forces, and my fake identity as Paladin Sans.

The path Lakye is walking now is a barren plain with nothing around. It should be fine to talk a little.

– Has Roa Rakan ever contacted you?

Like Tuga who encouraged Asha, other Roas might be up to something behind my back.

I was curious if that wolf had been saying unnecessary things to Lakye. Even though they don’t get along (Lakye unilaterally dislikes him), they’re still father and daughter.

“Rakan?”

As always, Lakye didn’t add “father” or “lord” when referring to him.

“No. Never. If that had happened, I would have told you immediately, Lord Malak.”

– I see. I wasn’t doubting you. I was just curious.

Lakye, who had been surveying the surroundings, spoke again.

“…This is from my childhood, but I did feel someone watching me sometimes. In places where no one should have been. At the time, I thought it was him.”

So he does care about being a father after all. It seems he wasn’t completely indifferent to Lakye. Rakan… it’s still ambiguous whether to consider him my enemy.

We moved silently for several more hours. Fortunately or unfortunately, we didn’t encounter any sea monsters.

“We’re not far from the location that female paladin marked.”

Lakye stopped in front of a reed field. The reeds were at least 2 meters tall. It looked like the perfect place to get lost if you entered carelessly.

It must look incredibly eerie at night. It wouldn’t be strange if there were disappearance rumors about this place. I can understand why the sea monsters couldn’t find the Martva residents and Hanna.

Not long after, we discovered a village hidden in the reed field. It wasn’t an ordinary medieval village.

It was a makeshift settlement with buildings that looked hastily constructed inside a crude fence made of wooden planks. Perhaps a village created after the destruction.

“I see civilized people.”

Lakye surveyed the village with superhuman vision.

– Wait a moment.

I sent a message to Hanna, telling her we were near the village and asking her to come out to meet us.

Shortly after, we could see a red-haired female knight coming out beyond the fence, looking around anxiously.

Hanna, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looked quite haggard. The spirited and feisty appearance she had when we first met was nowhere to be found.

She must have been through a lot emotionally. This might partly be my fault.

“Hello.”

Lakye stood before Hanna with confident steps. She can now engage in basic conversation. She learned quickly, probably because she’s smart.

Until now, she simply hadn’t felt the need to learn the language. This was a moment when my efforts to use civilized people to teach the imperial language to barbarians finally paid off.

Lakye is just over 180cm tall, while Hanna is around 160cm. Perhaps because of the significant height difference, Hanna naturally ended up looking up at Lakye.

The corners of Lakye’s mouth turned up slightly as she looked down at Hanna, somehow appearing pleased.

“…It’s been a while.”

Hanna sighed weakly and looked Lakye up and down. I think I knew why.

“You changed your armor?”

Lakye is currently wearing gladiator armor, but the armor she first wore belonged to Hanna.

Yes, that corroded armor from the underground demon extermination.

“Ah, that?”

Lakye snorted lightly and continued.

“It was worse than I expected. It broke after a few uses, so I threw it away.”

No, Lakye. Why are you picking a fight from the start? This is concerning.

“You…!”

Hanna’s eyelids trembled as she frowned. Not a good sign.

– Paladin Hanna. I’ve heard a lot about you.

I stepped in to stop this meaningless battle of nerves. Hanna, who had opened her mouth wide as if to snap back, shifted her gaze to Totem #3.

“Are you… Lord Malak?”

– Nice to meet you.

Hearing “Lord Malak” from Hanna feels really unfamiliar. I feel like a hero hiding his identity.

“Nice to meet you too. …Is this really a totem? It’s glowing?”

Hanna blinked several times in disbelief.

– It’s still in an immature state. May we enter the village?

“Ah, yes.”

We entered the village under Hanna’s guidance.

“Her skin is so white. She doesn’t look like a barbarian.”

“Isn’t that gladiator clothing?”

“She must have killed someone and stolen it.”

“…I said many times they shouldn’t be let into the village.”

The villagers watched Lakye with anxious eyes. Some were even glaring at her.

Hmm. It seems Hanna failed to convince the villagers. The reason they still let us in is probably because she’s a paladin.

They might be thinking, ‘I’m nervous, but surely a paladin wouldn’t harm us?’

Lakye, undaunted, scanned the faces of those glaring at her one by one.

“Ugh…!”

None who met her bright yellow eyes could maintain eye contact. Those are the eyes of a half-human. It would be strange not to be intimidated.

I didn’t stop her because I thought this level of intimidation was necessary.

“Paladin, is this person…”

A middle-aged man with an impressive mustache stepped forward. Probably the village chief. Before Hanna could speak, Lakye raised the totem.

“All of you, bow your heads to the great Roa Malak who has descended to earth.”

“…”

Perhaps because they’re civilized people, the reaction wasn’t good. They hesitated, but no one knelt.

“What are you doing?”

Lakye’s voice sank coldly. One minute before the Meteor Sword gets drawn.

“Chief, these people came personally to save us. As I said, that totem is a sacred object inhabited by a god. So…”

Hanna stepped in to mediate.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, Paladin…”

The chief, glancing nervously at Lakye, had a brief conversation with Hanna.

Summarizing without the formalities, it was something like: ‘How can we believe it’s a Roa? To us, it just looks like a glowing statue. And we are followers of the Goddess. We may not be as devout as you, Paladin, but conversion is not a simple matter.’

I wanted to say ‘You’re all about to die anyway, why are you being so picky?’ but I decided to hold back. Let’s try to understand them.

Yes, they’re facing a barbarian of unknown identity and a self-proclaimed god of another religion, invited by an outsider paladin. It might be natural for them to be wary.

I need to speak up.

– People of Martva. My name is Malak. I am also known as the God of Wind and Rain.

People’s attention focused on the talking totem. I looked around, feeling their gazes.

It’s easy to dispel their doubts. I just need to prove I’m a god in an effective way.

– Your fields are dying. You tried to grow crops, but it didn’t go well?

Good. Found something. The chief nodded in agreement.

I used the blessing “Power of the Wind and Rain God” on a small field. The dying crops began to grow rapidly.

“Ah, no!”

“Did the potatoes grow instantly?”

“It’s the power of a god!”

People showed various reactions—dropping what they were holding, covering their mouths and sitting down, slapping their foreheads, or spreading their arms and cheering.

This pattern seems familiar. It’s like “Roa Malak, praised by paladins, feared by demons, and making Charon nervous.”

“I believe you. You truly are Roa Malak.”

The chief, whose attitude changed dramatically, welcomed me. This direct approach works.

Lakye and I received lodging and food through the goodwill of the villagers who had become believers.

Now all we need to do is get the magic stone and then work with Dina’s special forces to deal with Asha. Sigh, just thinking about it seems difficult.