28 – Episode 28
#28
This medieval fantasy world can be expressed differently as the ‘post-apocalyptic’ era.
A situation where an incredibly advanced ancient civilization has perished, and the remaining survivors struggle against each other for limited resources!
In a stable civilized world, violence loses its meaning.
If someone tries to rob your house, just report it to the police. The police who received your report will fold the perpetrator into a pretty star shape and put them in jail.
But what if the country collapses and public authority dwindles?
The patrol that was on standby for you 5 minutes away is now gone. Both you and the thief know this. If the thief breaks your pot and robs you, it’s a time when you can’t do much about it.
In an era where you can’t live without getting blood on your hands, what really needs to be done to survive?
The answer is ‘Equip power’.
The priests of the Tianshin religion knew this well.
After the fall of the golden empire, the priests of the Tianshin religion became powerless victims in the post-apocalyptic era.
When the soldiers of the Golden Empire that protected the priests disappeared, the priests were casually robbed throughout the empire.
The weakened survivors were robbed by barbarians as usual, and the priests of the Tianshin religion were crying and searching for their mother.
“Ahh! Please help~”
The development of weak characters in apocalypse stories is largely divided into two types.
You either become the warm mother position, supporting other survivors with mental strength despite lack of abilities,
Or you get blood on your hands and adopt the corrupted position, saying, “In this cruel world, violence is essential!”
The Pope of Tianshin followed the first cliché.
When the founder of the Holy Empire, Emperor Bripford conquered the surrounding countries and rose as the loser of the continent, he quickly sided with Bripford and took over the role of the ‘spiritual pillar of the survivor group’.
The Pope was happy to gain a patron, and the Emperor was happy to receive the Pope’s approval.
As the Pope formed a party with the protagonist, the Holy Empire, his followers who were at their respective positions also cheered.
‘Wow! Holy Father! Now the Empire will protect us, right?’
‘Yes. The Empire will protect me now.’
‘…It will protect us too, right?’
Indeed, the Holy Empire had protected the Pope from the barbarians.
But they only protected the Pope.
Inevitably, even if it was the Empire, they could not protect all the Bi-religion believers scattered throughout the Empire.
The Bi-religion believers wailed like supporting characters betrayed by the protagonist character they had believed in.
‘Why, oh why, Holy Father! I believed in you, I was believing in you!’
‘hehehe. There’s nothing we can do, right? Those who live must survive.’
While the barbarians were secretly approaching, the Pope took the Empire’s hand and left for a distant place…!
The lonely believers shivered and grabbed their weapons.
As the zombies…no, the barbarians approach from all sides, wouldn’t it be impossible to choose suicide just because they were abandoned?
So, the believers swung their weapons at the barbarians.
‘Kekeke…don’t worry, you’ll be playing cute soon…koff!’
Surprisingly, the believers fought well against the barbarians.
From Noble mtl dot com
It was not just the believers who were under the threat of the barbarians. Travelers passing by, retired soldiers (knights), people who go into battle in the name of God…
As such people gradually gather in the churches, a surprisingly decent armed group was born.
‘Can… we be strong?’
They who realized their true abilities swung their weapons with only one conviction to ‘rescue the Bi-religion believers from the hand of the barbarians!’.
It was a cliché that abilities awaken after being abandoned in a survivor party…!
Those whose powers had awakened defeated the barbarians and saved the believers.
The Bi-religion believers who swung their weapons in the name of God.
They called themselves ‘the Knight Order’.
They obeyed the will of the heavens, but they were not priests, nor did they follow the will of the pope. They named their knight’s group after the saint who embodied the ideal they pursued.
The Knight Order of Saint Santiago.
It was the name of the monastic order that travelled with Ian.
#
The journey with the Order of Saint Santiago was extremely pleasant.
Unlike the typical warrior group, all the knights of the Order of Saint Santiago were comprised of individuals with high moral character.
Generally, warriors are rough around the edges. And there’s no reason for them not to be.
“If I’m strong, if I’m a gangster, why should I care what others think?”, this was the mindset typical of the average warrior in this world.
However, the Order of Saint Santiago was different. They had a reason not to be rough.
Because ‘improper behavior’ was not accepted…!
“Do you bully the weak? Why would you do such a heinous act?”
“Under the sky, all people are equal. The earth is merely a transient place, and when the time comes, everyone must ascend to the heavens.”
“We are all lives directly created by the sky. We all deserve respect, we all need to be loved.”
When the sun set and it was time to camp, the Order of Knights gathered with Ian at the center and recited teachings of sky-god religion.
Listening to the teachings of the sky-god religion, Ian felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
‘These guys… they’re really good people aren’t they?’
While traveling this medieval fantasy world, this was his first encounter with sincere religious individuals.
And so, Ian was perplexed.
Why… ? Why are they being so good?
Aren’t religious people supposed to become ‘corrupt’ as a default? Full of lust for alcohol, women… blinded by greed for wealth…
However, the minds of the Knights were vastly different from the average medieval person. The kind-heartedness that seemed to swallow Mother Teresa and Nightingale whole! Ian nodded his head.
These guys, they’re quite mad…
In One-eyed village, it’s normal for a man with both eyes intact to be considered crazy. If there’s anyone who wanders the world motivated solely by altruism in this selfish and savage world, it would be logical to call that person mad.
“Magician, have you ever read the Bible?”
A knight with remarkably shining eyes asked. His name was DeHitri.
“No,”
“Oh my!”
DeHitri reacted exaggeratedly as if he was in a comic book. The fact that this wasn’t an act but a genuine reaction was madness itself.
“Aren’t magicians supposed to explore mysteries? How come you don’t investigate the will of the heavens, which is the mystery itself!”
Ian replied while chewing on grilled meat.
“I do explore the heavens.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I also explore the wind, the clouds, and the stars…”
At Ian’s reply, DeHitri sighed deeply.
“That’s not the true heavens. It is merely the surface we can see, like claiming to ‘know’ a person by merely looking at their face.”
“So what is the real thing?”
DeHitri said gravely,
“The soul. The human soul.”
“…”
“It is not the sky you can see with your eyes that matters. You have to see the soul of the sky. The soul of the sky is the Almighty Himself. The method to see the soul of the sky is written in the Bible.”
Dehitri firmly grabbed Ian’s hand.
“Let’s study the Bible together!”
“…”
Ian was reminded of his nightmare from his college days.
He remembered being constantly bothered by obnoxious religious nuts who always invited him to study the Bible with them, making him utterly annoyed.
What was even worse was their tactics of wasting his time under the guise of seemingly appealing activities such as ‘psychological tests’ and ‘survey tasks’.
“I’m not interested.”
“Why not! Are you saying that the mystery of the Bible is not a mystery at all!”
“There are countless mysteries to explore besides the Bible. Why specifically the mysteries of the Bible?”
“That’s because the mystery of the Bible is great!”
“…”
When Dehitri kept whining, ‘Bible study~’, the other knights began to act like brats too, urging, ‘Ian, let’s study the Bible together~’.
Ian let out a deep sigh.
Seeing these grown-ups acting like brats was truly disgusting…
Ian realized one fatal drawback of traveling with the order of monks.
They incessantly tried to push their religion onto him!
“How about taking this opportunity to read the Bible a bit?”
“Are you a part of the monastic order too, Elder?”
When Ian asked, Elder replied with a chuckle.
“I’m just dipping my toes in.”
“You mentioned being a former mercenary?”
“Yes, I committed many sins in my youth, so I’m trying to act good, though it might be too late.”
There were many people like Elder in the Empire.
People who dined on danger in their youth, yet grew fearful of hell as they aged.
Even as death approached, the human desire to enter heaven allowed them to find goodness in their twilight years.
There were a lot of ethical concerns to contemplate, but the members of the religious order were always welcoming to these seasoned mercenaries in their retirement.
Their proven combatwisdom didn’t change.
“Ever wonder if you hear the voice of God? If you do, you could become a cleric of the Church.”
Within the Church of Heaven, there were magic-users called clerics.
The mysteries that the clerics command are those of faith. By hearing the voice of God and petitioning to him, they perform miracles.
But to become a cleric, one had to read the scriptures extensively and have a profound theological knowledge.
“Hmm…”
Ian was a bit puzzled.
When it comes down to it, God is also a kind of mystery. And Ian was a man favored by mysteries.
Hearing the voice of God… maybe it’s not that difficult?
God felt very different from other mysteries.
Maybe he could answer why Ian had to be reincarnated in another world, or what the status window Ian used was all about.
“Mr. Diheatry.”
“Yes?”
“About studying the scriptures… can I give it a try?”
As soon as Ian said he would study the scriptures, the knight-monks around him swarmed in like bees.
“Of course!”
“It’s an excellent decision, brother!”
Chills ran down Ian’s spine.
A gaze like the one reserved for fresh meat in the battlefield.
“Do you know ancient language?”
“Yes.”
Dihitri asked as he spread the book.
This medieval fantasy world was post-apocalyptic. They were still using the language of the golden empire that had long since fallen and disappeared.
In fact, that was the only language in use.
The reason was absurd…
Only the group that wrote were the followers of Cheonsin, rest all were illiterate!
“Ah, would miss Cassie also like to study with us?”
Cassie, no, Lucy smiled at Dihitri’s proposition.
“No, I don’t know letters.”
“…”
Ian glared at Lucy with a cold gaze.
What kind of noble doesn’t know letters? Isn’t it a given that nobles should know letters?
Ironically, this was not the case.
Majority of the nobles hadn’t studied letters. Why bother learning letters and strain your head when you could simply kidnap someone who knows.
People who knew how to read were mostly the priests of Cheonsin’s religion. So these priests naturally performed administrative support duties for the nobles.
In this era, the ability to read… was actually not that necessary.
Is there a book to read? No. Is there administration? No.
Most of the tasks were verbally managed. Only the results were documented, and the priests took care of that.
Of course, high-ranking nobles needed documentation… But they had professional administrators, so they didn’t actually need to read.
“What. Why? What!”
Being on the receiving end of Ian’s fiery gaze, Lucy defensively shot back a glare.
“You should study at home later.”
“Why should I?”
Lucy was right. In maintaining a countryside noble’s territory, one didn’t need literacy.
“But why does it sound so scheming, even though it’s not wrong?
“I’m a girl! Girls aren’t supposed to study!”
“But isn’t my teacher also a woman?”
“She’s different because she’s smart!”
Ian just shrugged his shoulders.
She doesn’t want to study and there’s no need to force her. She’s a noble, she’d figure it out.
“No issue. I’ll explain it in an understandable way.”
“No, I don’t want to do anything like studying…”
“How about considering it as a practice instead of studying?”
Lucy tried crying out ‘Is it okay for a woman to study?’ with teary eyes.
But there’s no way such a pathetic excuse would work on Dihitri, with his clear eyes.
“Does gender matter in learning the laws of heaven?”
“Nonsense…”
Eventually, Lucy sat beside Ian and studied the Scriptures.
Lucy was about to die of boredom, but studious Ian, who had intensely studied under Eledis, thought nothing of Dihitri’s teaching.
[That’s right. Good posture.]
“Thank you for your praise.”
As Ian mumbled, Dihitri tilted his head.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Wizard?”
“…Pardon?”
Ian also tilted his head. Without any reason, Lucy also tilted her head.
The scene of education in chaos.
“Just now, you were praising me for having a good posture…”
As Ian spoke, Dihitri’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t say anything! My god, wizard! What, whose voice did you hear!”
“You? Someone spoke to me out of nowhere…”
Ian abruptly stood up, interrupting his own words.
That just now, it wasn’t a human voice…!
[Well, would I be considered an entity that can’t be categorized as human?]
“[A god! You are a god, right?]”
[hehehe, perhaps?]
Ian was taken aback.
It was clear.
The divine being of the Celestial religion had just spoken to Ian!
Possibly, the very being who might have thrown Ian into this medieval fantasy world!
Excited, Ian spat out a stream of Maronius language.
Where is this? Who are you? Why did you reincarnate me into this world? And so forth.
But no answers came.
The god had left the spot.
“Come back! God! Come back!”
Is this jerk mocking me…!
Incensed, Ian spewed a stream of blasphemous words.
“Hey! God! You won’t come back right now? If I catch you later, you’ll die!”
“…!”
The monastery knights rushed over to calm Ian down.
“Calm down! Brother!”
“Bring the scripture! Have him recite the holy verses to ward off the cursed god!”
A commotion ensued, and the elder also rushed over to watch over Ian.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Why is the wizard behaving like that? Has he gone mad?”
There were many wizards who had lost their sanity after failing to navigate the mysteries of magic. It is not unusual for a wizard to suddenly go mad.
The Bordes brothers calmly explained with their arms crossed.
“Apparently, he heard the voice of God out of nowhere.”
“The voice of God?”
There was no way to prove whether Ean truly heard the voice of God.
However, since that incident, Ean had become unhealthily obsessed with memorizing scripture…
Lol. It was the voice of the author. Mocking the MC