“You’re kidding, what’s a priest who only wields violence every now and then! Every time there’s a kid who doesn’t listen, he grabs them and leads them?”
Tom, who was rubbing his tingling back, and smirking, quickly hid behind Heren as Elica raised her sword with a stern look on her face once more.
Heron clicked his tongue slightly.
“Elika, do it in moderation. Still, he’s a test taker, but you shouldn’t mess with it if you get hit by mistake.”
“Yeah, it’s fair to say. If I ruin it because of you, I’ll curse you for the rest of my life.”
“You shut up, too.”
Elika sighed and threw the wooden sword to the floor.
“Let’s go to the chapel. You’re really going to break your head if you flirt one more time.”
“Hey, you’re scared.”
“Stop telling me to. Because I’m really doing it.”
It was about the time when the three who had been arguing were about to enter the building again.
“Oh, it’s Ethan.”
Suddenly, a man came out of the building and sat on a bench on the side of the yard.
Tom saw Ethan in the distance and waved his hand.
He also looked at the three of them and saw him raising his hand once.
“You often come to the fortress yard. Have you recovered much?”
“I see.”
Tom asked Elica.
“Hey, Elika. Are you still suspicious? Is he hiding something?”
“uh.”
“Hmm, to me, he’s just a blunt but kind man. Last time I saw that he was mixed with the nuns to help clean up.”
Elika was silent for a moment before answering.
“I don’t think I’m a bad person either. It’s just that I think I’m hiding something.”
“Oh, is that so?”
It’s been quite some time since he lived in this monastery.
However, none of the three of them had much conversation with each other, so we still didn’t really know anything about him.
There was also a reason why it gave off an atmosphere that made it difficult to talk to him by approaching him strangely.
“I wish I could just stay here in the monastery.”
At that time, a girl carrying a bucket passed by the three of them and helped out with a word. It was Kara, a friend of their age.
Tom asked, looking back at her.
“You want me to stay, what do you mean?”
“No, it’s just. You’re very handsome, so you have strong eyes. Aren’t you, Elika?”
“I don’t know.”
Elica responded briefly to her snarky question.
Tom said as if pathetic.
“tt
“What do you mean? Tom, every time you see Sister Raya, don’t spit and wipe your saliva.”
“What? What are you talking about, that!”
The girl stuck out her tongue and went on her way.
Tom glanced at Elica and made an urgent excuse.
“Hey, I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve never done that, Elica.”
“······So what?”
Elica turned her attention to Tom and looked back at Ethan.
Tom coughed and changed the topic.
“Anyway, when is Ethan going to leave? He seems to be very weak, so I don’t know if he’s going to fall again while walking alone.”
“no way.”
“Oh, how about that? If you leave, of course you won’t be passing by the nearby city? Then we’ll just take you there so there’s no danger!”
“Let’s go out to the city as an excuse for that? Are you an idiot? Can the priests allow it?”
The three of them talked and headed to the chapel.
***
‘I can hear everything, guys.’
I stood up after watching them disappear into the building.
I was just going to go back to my room and have breakfast.
Then I saw a priest passing by. It was Priest Thein.
“Oh, Mr. Ethan.”
He also found me and came over to greet me warmly.
“Good morning. You’ve been here since morning.”
“Yes, I was just taking a walk. How about the priest?”
“It was the morning worship service, so I was heading to the chapel.”
A sutra was in Tane’s hand.
He looked down at the scriptures and scratched his head.
“More than that, thank you once again for taking care of the sutras. You’re not feeling well, so I may have caused you some trouble…”
“All you need to do is move the pen, but what does it matter? And we’re almost done.”
“········Yes? It started yesterday, but are you saying it’s almost over already?”
He widened his eyes as if in surprise.
“Yeah, I think I’ll probably be able to finish it all by the end of this afternoon.”
“Huh… you’re really fast.”
“If there’s anything left, we’ll help more.”
“Oh, then… no, no.”
He was about to say something as if possessed, then shook his head quickly.
There was something else I wanted to do, but it seemed to be holding up.
It’s not that I’m in a lot of trouble, and it doesn’t matter if I do more.
“Now I will finish the rest. Thank you enough for what you did.”
He smiled as he thanked him again.
It was time to say goodbye and pass by.
“···········?”
I found a middle-aged man walking in the distance, and fixed my gaze on him.
Tane followed my gaze and turned around.
“Oh, you’re the manager.”
······· Manager? Abbey?
Looking at Tane, he continued.
“By the way, Ethan, have you not seen the director yet?”
“··········Yes, mostly in the room.”
“That is Dihord, the head of the monastery here. He is very faithful enough to be an example for all priests.”
I nodded and turned my gaze back to the manager.
He caught my eye for another reason.
【Lv. 64]
Because, the level floating above his head was not at all the level that the head of a monastery would have.
Encounter (7)
64 levels.
A level of strength that can be compared with high-ranking knights and wizards of the monarchy.
I stared at him and asked Thein.
“Maybe.”
“Yes?”
“Are you mastering magic?”
Raising the super sense, the director’s body definitely felt the magic that was worthy of the level.
Looking at his body type, he didn’t seem to have trained his body, so I wondered if he was a magician.
However, Tane answered with a bewildered look as if he was saying something out of the blue.
“No, I know you’re not going to learn anything like magic. You’re just a normal person.”
“······Is that so?”
normal?
It was as if the abbot was completely unaware that he was a strong level of power.
Does that mean the abbot is even hiding his powers from the people of the monastery? why?
A question arose for a moment, but I didn’t ask further because it seemed like I was asking a question.
‘Do you have any past you are hiding?’
I once again looked at the figure of the director who was far away.
***
Time passed and the day of the screening test.
Just in time for noon, some paladins, priests, and boys and girls gathered in the empty lot of the monastery.
The paladin of the monastery, who looked around the volunteers once, opened his mouth.
“Then, I will start selecting apprentice paladins from now on.”
The selection method was simple. If you have a battle with the paladin in charge of the examiner and have your skills verified, that’s it.
Tom calmed his mind and looked around.
The applicants were mostly boys older than his age.
It is usually those who are close to adulthood who are about to be baptized who challenge the position of apprentice paladin, and Tom is definitely one of the youngest of them.
Paladins, above all swords and armor, the denomination’s combat power to prove their piety.
Especially for boys full of blood, the existence of a paladin was much more admired than a priest.
If you become an apprentice paladin, you can formally establish a priestly relationship with the paladins of the monastery and receive a much higher level of instruction.
Meanwhile, children who did not apply for screening were watching the scene around them.
Among them were, of course, Elika and Heren.
“Look at his face, he’s really stupid.”
Elica, who was standing with her back against a tree, giggled and pointed to Tom, who looked nervous.
In the end, of the three, Tom was the only one who applied for the exam.
Heron glanced back at her, then turned his gaze back to Tom and opened his mouth.
“Elika.”
“yes?”
“I’m seriously asking. Do you really want to become a paladin?”
Elica looked at Heren with a frown.
But instead of shooting at him as usual, he was silent for a moment before answering softly.
“I have no particular reason to become a paladin.”
“It’s just that you’re too talented to become a priest. Even the lords always say that, you’re born.”
Some paladins who recognized Elica’s talent early on, like Tom and Heren, both wanted her to become a paladin.
If you don’t learn swordsmanship or magic and just become an ordinary priest, you’ll probably spend the rest of your life in this monastery.
However, if he became a paladin and further honed his martial arts, he could one day be recognized for his skills and move to the branch of a large denomination or to the headquarters.
He had no choice but to see the reactions of the paladins who taught Elika even a little. How great is her potential.
Heron felt bad about it. If a dear friend could receive great honor and recognition, of course it would have been a good thing.
“I don’t know. Anyway, I don’t have a heart yet.”
Does that mean it might change later?
Heron nodded and didn’t ask further.
Anyway, this is not the last time the screening test is done, and there are plenty of opportunities, whether it’s next year or the year after that.
“By the way, isn’t that a bit unsettling?”
Elica pointed to one side with a chin.
There stood a young paladin who was the examiner for this selection.
Heron also looked at him with a sad look.
Paladin Varian, because I knew he was always looking down on Tom.
it was nothing. He had corrected Tom’s swordsmanship posture once before, because Tom did not follow it and continued his swordsmanship training according to the teachings of other paladins.
From Tom’s point of view, he was just following a training method that he thought was more suitable for him, but from his point of view, his self-esteem was hurt.
“It’s a test, so I won’t mix personal feelings. And I’m sure I’ll still keep it in my heart.”
Soon the exams started.
The applicants who came forward one by one according to the name of each other competed against the Varian one by one.
“The overall basic foundation is still lacking. Unfortunately, it is a failure.”
“The stance is excellent, but the sword strike is too simple. Try to train a little more and aim for the next opportunity.”
“Passed. It’s great without any major flaws.”
Dalian was conducted with a non-bladed sword, not a true sword, and only 2 out of 10 people passed in front of Tom.
Then it was Tom’s turn, and he stood in front of Varian with his sword in his hand.
Varian looked at him with a strange look and said.
“Do your best to practice your swordsmanship.”
“Yes.”
After taking a deep breath, Tom rushed towards Varian.
Tung! Whoops!
The blunt iron blades with no blades collided against each other.
Darion stood still, dodging and blocking all of Tom’s sword attacks.
It was natural for the attack to fail, so Tom didn’t give up and focused on showing his best.
“stop.”
About a minute later, at Darion’s words, Tom stopped the sword he was wielding.
Exhaling a rough breath, he looked at Darion nervously with eyes full of anticipation.
But the decisive words that came out of his mouth were…
“It’s inconsistent.”
Tom’s face hardened.