episode_0096

“Even if it’s temporary, it’s an order of knights… I’ve never even thought of joining a place called the order of knights.”

“Me too.”

After helping Sisulne clean up, I returned to the supply area and found out that news had reached Enin as well.

And both of them easily figured out that this wasn’t a very good situation.

“I don’t think it sounds very good. The fact that they gave us the name “Knights” on purpose doesn’t mean that they are using the name to force us to take on tasks that should be handled by the actual knights?”

“That’s right. Indeed, one day, there may be a question of whether we could not resolve such a problem even though we nominally supported the Knights. We are the Knights of Patterns. It looks like they really prepared in earnest to fuck you.”

Of course, our actual job so far is to stop the spread of heresy in this area.

Anyway, it’s just a matter of dealing with a group of apostates, but at least once the Gaia Church may ask you to handle something dangerous that isn’t a heretic.

In such a situation, we, who are a group of people with no magic power who are a Temporary Knights Templar on paper, in reality, will naturally fail, but to citizens who do not know what kind of conflict is going on between the Orders, the context will be cut out and only one thing will be remembered.

In the Deshade Church, even with the help of the relevant knights, the Gaia Church was unable to solve the problems it always solved. If such a story were to arise, it would be very tiring.

‘They’ll probably start complaining as soon as the number of cases arises.’

While I was thinking that, a man came in, lifting the tent.

“This is Military Chaplain Sergeant Charis. Is Supply Sergeant Enin present?”

A male officer wearing clothes with a cross made of feathers, a symbol of the Gaia Church, visited Enin.

Henin saw the officer and stepped forward.

“This is Sergeant Enin. What’s going on? Sergeant.”

The man looked down at the short Enin and snorted.

‘what? ‘That bastard.’

An act of blatant disregard for anyone.

The man did that on purpose, then took out a piece of paper tied with a luxurious ribbon from the small box he had brought in and flipped through it.

“This is an order issued by the corps commander. Receive it.”

When Enin accepts the paper, he continues to speak.

“Supply officer Sergeant Ennin and his two soul soldiers are appointed as temporary knights supporting the Deshade Church from now on.”

“Uh, oh, yeah! Supply officer Sergeant Ennin, I will follow the command of the corps commander!”

‘You do it very carelessly.’

I was wondering what kind of business I was here for, but the investiture ceremony suddenly started.

No matter how temporary it may be, the Knights Templar is the Knights Templar.

This is an act that makes one wonder if this is an issue that should be handled in a summary manner.

I don’t know if this was ordered by Helias to avoid offending the Gaia Church as much as possible, or if the Church is ignoring us.

The officer ended the investiture ceremony with that one sentence and then went on to his next business.

“And next, the Gaia Church has personally chosen the name of the Knights, so listen carefully.”

I had no choice but to rebel against those words.

“You chose the name yourself? Is that okay?”

Once the name of an order has been decided, it is unacceptable to continue with that name. The name of such an order is not someone’s name, and it is something to be discouraged from being decided so easily.

However, since it was impossible for us to have any special strength, the officer lightly ignored my protest.

“This is the name given to you directly by the elders and high priests of the church. Since you are an order of knights who help the Deshade Church, which has become a pillar supporting this wide frontier on behalf of the great Church of Gaia, we have given you this name as a sign of gratitude, so please be grateful.”

“We would like to express our gratitude to the denomination for its kindness. But I think it’s a little too much for us.”

Enin also tried to refuse because he didn’t feel good about it, but the officer seemed to have expected such a reaction from us and said something else.

“Then I have no choice. As the name of the Knights Templar suggests, he has asked us to grant you military funds, but if you refuse, this too must be cancelled.”

When the military chaplain snapped his fingers, two soldiers outside came in carrying a heavy-looking box.

thud-

When they placed the box in front of the officer, the officer took out a key, opened the box, showed it to us, and said,

“Total 500 gold.”

The box was filled with gold coins.

Money is one of the pillars of all things in the world.

Since we are well aware of the power that money has, we had no choice but to think about it.

“Let’s discuss for a moment.”

“Any amount.”

The man smiles at us and sits down on one side.

Until now, I wasn’t too concerned about money, but that has changed now.

If you become a knight, you will receive everything from equipment to salary from the organization you belong to.

Enin takes us as far inside as possible and starts talking.

“That’s money that needs to be received somehow. From now on, money is extremely important.”

“What is the reason?”

“From now on, we are a knight order, but we are a knight order belonging to the Deshade Order, not a legion. Since I am not a knight belonging to the military, everything from equipment to salary will be paid by the church from now on.”

“And the Deshade Church has no money.”

In the Kingdom Alliance, in addition to the knights belonging to the legion, there are many special knights in the form of contracts with other groups.

And those knights originally belonged to the Kingdom Alliance.

It costs too much money for the country to manage such knights all at once.

Therefore, the kingdom reduces costs such as maintenance costs and salaries by dividing the knights into several groups and delegating responsibilities by almost forcing them to contract with various organizations.

We, too, cannot escape the miserly, exotic form of knights of such a kingdom.

Of course, we also have to accept money from the Deshade Church.

“That’s right. Just like knights such as the ‘Golden Knights’ who receive support from a huge merchant or the ‘Guardians of Magic’ who have a contract with the Blue Magic Tower, we now have to rely on the church for everything.”

“Ah, I understand now. Is that why you went to such lengths to deliberately call us the Knights Templar? It looks like they really decided to completely stop him and kill him?”

“That’s right. So, for us, we must receive money to ease the burden on the Deshade Church. Even if you don’t like it.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to endure it for now.”

“You thought about it well.”

Would it be a good thing if we were given a choice in a situation where A and B are already clear?

The elders of the Gaia Church will probably hold the money hostage and chuckle when they hear that we have accepted it.

As Enin approached the military chaplain, he stood up smiling as if he knew the answer.

“I will accept the meaningful name given by the denomination.”

“It looks like you’ve decided. It’s a wise decision. Now, take it.”

The man takes out a piece of paper decorated with gold leaf from his pocket and gives it to us.

“You say you will give your knights the name ‘Shallow Grave’.”

‘tomb? Are you telling me to search everything?’

It’s a name that doesn’t seem to have good intentions. I wonder if Enin also had the same thought.

“… Can I hear the meaning of your name?”

“It’s the perfect name for you. Isn’t it a knighthood made up of only soul soldiers who can’t handle magical power and the officers who command them? Our church believes that although you knights may be inferior to real knights, you will not give up and carry out your mission until the end, as you are still alive even after death. In that sense, the higher-ups in the church gave it the name Shallow Grave, meaning that even if one dies, one will rise again. Isn’t it profound?”

‘Wow.’

The military chaplain said that and looked at us closely as if to check our reaction.

However, for me, the name is less impressive than I thought.

Did the elders of the church come up with this name and really laugh among themselves and think it was good?

It is a name that is not interesting, perhaps because it was chosen to suit the tastes of older people.

“I can feel that you have thought deeply about us. thank you. Then take this too.”

“Hmm? Uh, that’s right.”

Enin didn’t react much to the man, but put the gold-leafed paper on the box and brought the whole thing to us by himself, expressing his gratitude.

The soldiers who saw this were obviously surprised to see that Enin had carried away the box containing the gold coins that they had worked so hard to bring by himself.

“Thank you for visiting us despite your busy schedule. Now, let’s go do something else.”

The guy was a little taken aback by that lack of reaction.

“No, is there anything else you can appreciate? Something like I really liked the name.”

It looks like he needs to report how we reacted, so he keeps asking.

‘Unfortunately, I think that’s wrong with your naming sense.’

Henin gave the officer a cursory greeting and I pushed the officer’s back outward to send him out.

“I think it’s a really cool name. Let’s not disappoint your expectations. Okay then, Lee Rim. Take me to the beach.”

“I will, Sergeant. Now, do you have a knife, Sergeant?”

“It’s Sergeant Charis!”

“Yes, yes. You must be busy, so wouldn’t it be better to go quickly? I will go until this point.”

“Hmph! There is no need to be bland on the subject of soul disease.”

“Then how about you go?”

I hurriedly sent the officers and soldiers outside, looked outside to make sure no one was there, and then came inside.

Soon we locked the doors so no one could see from the outside and moved the boxes to the center of the barracks.

“Well done. Now that I look at this box, it looks quite expensive, so I think I will make some money if I sell it.”

“Sure. I heard that the money was rotting, but I never thought they would give it to me in a box like this. I have to sell it before they ask me to return the box.”

Examine the box containing the gold coins with your teacher.

The box itself is gold-plated, as if it was made directly by the church, and it looks like you can get a few dozen gold.

Unlike the rest of us who were so interested in gold coins, Enin began to think over what the officer said earlier.

Then he says, trembling with anger.

“… A shallow grave. Anyway, I think it is really in bad taste for priests, especially those in such high positions, to deliberately give themselves names like this.”

“Why? Is there any special tradition or something?”

“That’s not true… The name of the Knights Templar is so important that it comes up in people’s mouths, but it’s not normal to arbitrarily give something like that a name that reveals such an impure meaning without hiding it.”

I’m not sure, but maybe this is a stronger fight than I thought?

However, although it was a name used by the high-ranking members of the Gaia Church to make fun of us, it was a name that had no particular meaning to Master and me.

‘Because it’s true that we die often.’

We’ve been ignored or made into jokes like this for so long that it doesn’t even bother us anymore.

Enin, on the other hand, thankfully, seemed to think that treating a soul bottle like that would be a cause for great anger.

I told Enin that it was okay for him to stop being angry for us because I was grateful for his kind heart.

“It’s okay. Not for a day or two, and I think the name isn’t as bad as I thought. I was secretly nervous that it would be called something like a dog of a religious order or a fanatic knighthood.”

“Still.”

“Someday, if you achieve great feats in that name, there will come a time when you will be fucked by those guys. Don’t worry.”

After soothing Enin like that, he straightened up and looked inside the barracks.

Now that you have been officially appointed as a knight, you must, to put it in layman’s terms, leave the room.

“Anyway, since my affiliation has changed, I guess I have to empty this place now.”

“I guess so. It’s going to get really busy starting tomorrow, so today might be the last time I get to rest.”

“Do I have to vacate the accommodation as well?”

“I think it should be so. The place I’m currently working at is paid for by the military. I either have to find a separate lodging and move out, or I have to stay in the same lodging as the religious group. So, Lee Rim, could you please just pack up your personal belongings and first look for empty accommodations in the village? If possible, there are several places nearby, or a place that is large enough for many people to stay. Hwarim and I will organize the rest.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Enin finished speaking, we began to move quickly.

I brought a box and stuffed my belongings into it first.

At that time, in one corner, I saw the black vest made from the leather of the Black Serpent that Enin had shown me earlier.