Chapter 2: A Small Helping Hand 1

Even though the excommunication order had not yet been carried out, the holy knights Nunne and Tine were making a grandiose display of defiance by blocking my way with drawn swords.

Despite this supposedly being a grace period for me to make preparations before quietly leaving, the outrageous behavior of these two holy knight wenches brazenly threatening me with blades left me fuming with anger as well as deeply perplexed.

‘Damn…could it really be that I have to leave penniless as a beggar? The documents inside… no, if only I could take the money in the safe, at the very least…’

Setting aside the issue of my assets, it was absolutely impossible for me to set out without any travel funds.

Unlike the modern world with convenient transportation, departing a city without a single coin in this world was quite literally a death sentence. Even if I managed to reach another region somehow, having funds or not made the difference between heaven and earth.

In other words, if I was truly driven out from here empty-handed, not only would starting a new life or seeking revenge be impossible, but even mere survival would be out of the question.

However, from the looks of these two wenches before me, they seemed to have no intention of letting me enter peacefully.

‘What do I do… should I try to force my way through?… No, that might not be so easy… Above all, causing further commotion here would not be advisable in many ways.’

As outrageous and infuriating as the situation was, I could still calmly deduce the true reason behind their actions without much difficulty.

At first glance, it seemed like these wenches were acting out of a simple rejection of someone excommunicated from the holy knights.

However, I knew all too well that these two were not usually so devoutly faithful.

Despite bearing the title of holy knights, they disliked troublesome tasks while being extremely greedy for money. Wherever profit could be made, they would shamelessly latch on and suck up every last drop like leeches.

Until just a few weeks ago when I was earning profits without issue, these wenches had been clinging to me, ready to take anything and everything they could.

Now that I had been excommunicated, for them to suddenly start spouting nonsense about heretics and servants of the Lord, there had to be another reason.

And… as for what that reason was,

I could easily deduce it.

‘Could it be… because of that? No, it must be because of that. There’s no other reason I can think of.’

The reason these wenches were blocking my way with drawn weapons…

Considering their usual behavior, the answer was obvious.

Money.

More precisely, there was a high possibility they were after the considerable wealth inside my room.

For those who were excommunicated, the moment the order was carried out, all their assets were to be seized by the Church.

The lofty reasoning was that, as the possessions of a sinner who had committed a sin against God, the Church had the rightful claim to own those assets.

However, this only applied after the excommunication was officially carried out. Until then, although my excommunication was scheduled, I was still an ordinary civilian with the right to liquidate my assets into cash and leave for another country with the proceeds.

From the perspective of the archbishop who had undoubtedly schemed to seize my considerable wealth, this was something that had to be prevented at all costs.

‘From that standpoint… the orders these wenches received from that archbishop wench are obvious. To prevent me from liquidating my assets by any means necessary. And when the matter is resolved smoothly, a portion will undoubtedly fall into these wenches’ mouths as a reward.’

As soon as I assessed the situation, I was overcome by an even deeper sense of anger and found myself deeply troubled by the increasingly complex circumstances.

‘Damn it… what do I do… should I try to negotiate with them using the assets inside? But… I don’t feel like betting when I don’t even know how much they’ve raised the stakes…’

Judging from the audacious actions of these two wenches, who were clearly determined to carry out their scheme, they had likely raised the stakes considerably high.

However, leaving this place as a beggar was an equally unacceptable situation.

Thus, even if it meant suffering a significant loss, I concluded that I had no choice but to try to make a deal with the two of them, as much as I didn’t want to.

At that moment…

“What in the world is going on here?”

“Huh?”

“What’s your deal?”

The next moment, another woman emerged from the back door.

A girl with black hair and blue eyes.

And…

Appearing to be in her mid to late teens, with a somewhat youthful yet cute appearance… yet also giving the impression that she would undoubtedly blossom into remarkable beauty as she matured further.

Wearing the insignia of a junior holy knight, her appearance caused the faces of Nunne and Tine, who had been blocking me, to contort with annoyance.

“You must have heard the situation. Both of you, cease this disrespectful behavior at once.”

“Listen, this heretic has been excommunicated. We’re merely preventing a heretic from setting foot in the holy knights’ quarters.”

“Surely you’re not siding with this excommunicated evil heretic? If you want to continue your life as a holy knight comfortably, don’t interfere and stay out of this.”

Their words carried an implicit threat, but…

Despite their remarks, she…

A junior holy knight who didn’t even appear in the original work, but someone who had consistently shown an interest in my affairs and developed a personal rapport with me in this place.

Cazeros Sophia

Showed no sign of cowering, even in the face of the two menacing holy knights.

“You keep going on about excommunication, but by that logic, aren’t your actions here an abuse of authority? Even if excommunication has been declared, it is not recognized until the formal decree from His Holiness the Pope has been received. Surely you don’t consider your authority to be greater than that of the great Pope, seated upon the sacred throne of St. Romulus?”

“That… that is…”

Invoking the authority of the Pope, Cazeros spoke.

For a moment, the two were rendered speechless. Facing their silence, Cazeros continued in an unwavering voice:

“Of course, things will change after a week passes and His Holiness’s formal decree arrives. But until then, Lord Santana remains a rightful child of the Lord and a legitimate believer with the rights granted by His Holiness the Pope. Surely you, as servants of the Lord and subordinates of His Holiness, do not intend to unlawfully deprive him of those sacred rights?”

“Tch…”

Cazeros logically pointed out the absurdity of the present situation.

Unable to refute her words, the two holy knights could only maintain an indignant attitude.

If they had been more intelligent, they might have found an appropriate counterargument against Cazeros’s reasoning.

Fortunately for me, however, these two wenches were not particularly bright.

While their combat prowess ranked among the highest in the Order of Holy Knights, the term “blockheads” fit them perfectly.

Had I been the one speaking, they might have maintained an attitude like “There’s no need to listen to the words of a heretic” as they had before.

But at this moment, the one speaking was a fellow holy knight, albeit of a lower rank than them.

Being equals who could very well question their conduct, they could not simply dismiss her outright.

“You… we’ll see about that later…”

“We’ll see how well you can continue as a holy knight…”

Thus, the two ground their teeth in frustration and were forced to retreat. Cazeros then turned to me and spoke in a much gentler tone than before:

“Well then, please come inside, Lord Santana. There is much that needs to be done, one way or another…”

“Ah… yes. Th…thank you.”

As Cazeros spoke with a faint smile on her lips, I found myself unexpectedly flustered, my voice trailing off as I responded.