Episode 127: The Golden Sword
“The White Radiance Church’s legendary ‘Holy Knight’! Oswald Dime Bengaster!”
‘Hookclaw’… is that his name? The one shouting it is the blonde Elf woman.
…I’ve seen this woman somewhere.
Come to think of it… ah!
The Fourth Princess’s attendant, the Elf swordswoman!
Why is she here…?
“Answer me! Why did you leave the Church?!”
A metallic ting.
That high-pitched sound is the mark of the Magic Skill ‘Penetration’.
Magical Power, the inherent aether leaking from within the body, a technique to spiritually enhance an object by infusing it with the power defined as “Od.”
However, this woman’s skill is incredibly refined.
Among the warriors I’ve met, she’s one of the strongest, probably even better than Katrina, the leader of the ‘Blue Comet’…
I heard that Katrina was originally a Royal Guard Knight, meaning she was in the top tier of this country.
If she’s even better than that… well, it must be something like a ‘Holy Knight’.
“Collette-san, is it? It’s been a while. How about some herbal tea?”
The woman is pointing the tip of her Broadsword at him, right in front of ‘Hookclaw’.
Despite that.
‘Hookclaw’ has a cool expression and is offering tea.
Aah… I knew this guy wasn’t ordinary.
Was he not even sane?
Well, that’s right, he’s a ‘Holy Knight’, after all, isn’t he?
And… if I heard correctly, did she say “Oswald”?
Even I, who am ignorant of the common knowledge of this world, know that name.
The legendary Holy Knight, Oswald.
The genuine monster who, with only himself and a few dozen men, fought to a draw against a Barbarian army of over fifty thousand…
“Don’t joke around, Oswald! You… you! How many people’s expectations did you betray, how many people did you abandon?!”
That’s probably true.
The retirement of a legendary Holy Knight must have caused various problems.
The “Church” is the state church of this country.
And the “Holy Knight” is a guardian of humanity who does not depend on the secular world.
Even I know that much.
Unlike “Knights” and “soldiers” who protect the country or invade other countries, “Holy Knights” wield their power only against Barbarians, Monsters, and criminals…
An existence that possesses at least several times the ability of a mediocre Knight.
If the top of that group disappeared, well, it would be a big deal.
Because, you know… there are times when those Barbarians destroy and violate villages and towns while burning them down, then charge into larger cities.
Sometimes goblins and orcs, who have reproduced unexpectedly, get carried away as their groups grow larger and invade human territory.
Even in the Middle Ages, people are threatened by conflicts between people, thieves, and wild animals, and on top of that, there are those damn Barbarians and Monsters.
That’s why non-regular armed groups like the Strider and the Holy Knights, the allies of justice, are needed.
It’s not a “fantasy world!” that a child thought up; if strange existences like “adventurers” can exist as professions, there must be historical and geographical reasons for it.
And… while I’m hiding in the shadow of the debris of the blown-away desk, pretending not to be here, the argument between ‘Hookclaw’ and the Elf woman continues.
“…Collette-kun, listen. The current Church is getting too close to the secular world. It’s forgetting the Church’s true purpose of protecting the peace of all people.”
“Even so! There should still have been people who could have been saved! I was one of them! An Elf, a member of a different race, became a Holy Knight! …Wasn’t it you who told me to do so…!”
“I should have also said this, Collette-kun. Always, think well, virtuously….”
“…I don’t understand! Certainly, I understand feeling resentment towards the last order… to abandon the village of a different race and prepare for the Barbarian advance within the city walls! But after all, aren’t they heretics, and non-human ones at that?! Why, to protect those guys…!”
“No… that’s not right, Collette-kun. They, too, are the same as us, ‘humans’…. Why can’t you understand…?”
“I don’t understand! If you had followed the bishop there, your squad and thirty Holy Knights would have been spared!”
“Does a Holy Knight prioritize their own life and abandon lives that can be saved?”
“Isn’t it a matter of prioritizing the important over the trivial?! If you were still in the Church, the ‘Great Northern Monster Advance’ four years ago, the ‘Simultaneous Belobe Tribe Raids’ six years ago, the ‘Mazoku Mercenary Group Serial Kidnapping Incident’ twelve years ago… all of them could have been resolved! How many lives have you sacrificed to protect unnecessary lives?!”
“No, that’s not right. There are no unnecessary lives anywhere…”
Alright, alright.
There it is, the underground escape route.
Command rooms in fortresses like this always have these.
“…In the end, Andrews-kun is the only one who understood.”
“Andrews…? The ‘Sage of the Frontier’!”
Uwa! I’ve been found!
I quickly jumped into the escape passage and tried to dash away…
“Wait!”
I was easily caught…
My physical abilities are, compared to these monster-like people, only slightly inferior to a regular Knight!