Elica clicked her tongue as she saw Tom chattering in complete excitement.
The reason why I failed the screening test was because I was somehow annoyed by the excitement I had already forgotten.
“What made you so excited?”
At Elica’s blunt remark, Tom spoke as if he didn’t understand.
“Then, aren’t you excited? What’s so rude about you? You’re a radiant knight? That’s Sir Zelel!”
“So, what is that Sir Zerel?”
Unlike Tom, Elica had no interest in the celebrities of the denomination.
I knew that the Brilliant Knights were great people, but I didn’t know anything about their respective information or anecdotes.
When Tom was about to die of frustration at her irritable reaction, Heren stepped in and explained it for him.
“You are the one who fought on the same battlefield as the hero in the final battle with the demons.”
The Brilliant Knight, Jerel Ragnis.
There was a reason why he was considered a particularly special figure among the Knights of Brilliance.
This is because he was the one who survived the final battle with the demons decades ago, the very great battle where the hero sealed the demon king.
“Yeah! He’s such a wonderful person! You’re saying that someone like that has come to our monastery right now?! You even hold your hand!”
Of course, that explanation did not change Elica’s reaction.
When the word “hero” came out, I flinched for a moment, but that was all.
Heron clicked his tongue at him as he continued to praise him passionately.
“Are you okay by the way?”
“·······Huh? What?”
“The test, you idiot. You tried so hard, but you failed.”
Tom shrugged skillfully.
“What else wouldn’t be okay? I didn’t really expect it to stick anyway.”
“You’re kidding, looking forward to it.”
“Noisy. Well, it’s already gone, but it’s no big deal. This isn’t the last time, we just have to work harder and aim for the next one.”
At the optimistic remark, Elica frowned and shot.
“It’s not that, you idiot, that bastard Varian dropped you on purpose.”
“Ah, no matter what, it’s a test, is it possible?”
“Because you didn’t see it, that bastard obviously laughed at you? Anyway, this idiot…”
“Hey, hey.”
Heren looked around hastily and dried her.
Where they are now is the wall in the backyard of the monastery. Even so, no matter how much anyone listened to it, it was a curse that would last for three months.
Tom chuckled.
“Anyway, thank you. Did you do that because of me earlier?”
“·············What are you misunderstanding? It’s not because of you, it’s just that I’m annoyed?”
Elika growled.
That was it, but neither Tom nor Heren had to risk falling further.
“So you’re doing it in the end?”
“What?”
“The paladin. Did you pass the test?”
Tom asked, his eyes bright.
There was a reason why he didn’t feel so bad when he failed the exam now.
It was Elika who applied for and passed the screening test.
He couldn’t help but be happy to know that his dear friend’s talent was about to shine.
However, after betraying that expectation, Elika blatantly responded.
“No, I won’t.”
“······yes?”
“I’m not going to do it. It’s annoying when I think about it. I’ll come back later and just say I won’t do it.”
“············”.
Tom stared at her and sighed.
“Hey, please…you’re going to say you won’t do it after passing all the exams? But what do you do when you’re out of sight?”
“It’s me, I don’t care.”
“Then what if I don’t even pass the next screening because I look hateful to you because of you?”
At that, Elica flinched.
It was a half-assertive story, but it didn’t make any sense at all. The three were famous three musketeers in the monastery.
For a moment, her expression became serious, and Tom changed his words shyly.
“No, I was just joking. Anyway, it’s been this way, so think about it again, huh?
“Are we going to be persuaded to say that? If he doesn’t want to, there’s nothing he can do about it.”
Elica, who was sitting with her back against the wall of the building, shook her head as if annoyed, and then lay flat on the ground.
“Eh, yes. What should I say?”
Tom and Heren also sat down next to him and looked up at the sky for a moment.
White clouds were gently floating in the blue sky.
Heren lowered her head again and suddenly noticed that Elica’s throat was empty and asked.
“Elika, where’s the rosary on your neck?”
“······uh?”
As if she had realized just then, she reached out and touched the area around her neck.
The necklace he usually wore around his neck had disappeared.
“Mister, where did you drop it?”
It was the moment she was about to jump out of her seat to look around.
“I’m here. The line broke and fell off when we were battling earlier.”
The three of them were startled by the sudden voice and turned to one side.
It was he who suddenly turned around the wall of the building, Zerel, the knight of brilliance.
“Je, Sir Jerel!”
Jerel motioned for Tom to calm down.
In his hand was a rosary with a broken cord.
A necklace made of wood engraved with the design of the church.
He approached Elika and handed it to her.
“Come on, take it here.”
After returning the lost item, Elica looked down at Rosario for a moment, then thanked her a bit late.
“Thanks for visiting, sir.”
“No, but rather, may I ask where you got that rosary from?”
“········Yes? I was just wearing what the priests gave me in the past.”
It was natural for the children of the monastery to wear things that symbolized the religion as ornaments.
Tom was wearing a bracelet, and Heren was wearing a necklace, though different in shape, like Elica.
Jerel smiled softly and nodded his head.
“That’s right. I asked because I was curious about the rosary because it has my personal favorite sentence engraved on it.”
Encounter (9)
At Jerel’s words, Elica glanced down at the small inscription on the back of Rosario.
Those who long for salvation, the miracles you have in your heart will not fade away in vain.
A handful of light will not go out in the eternal darkness.
Tom, who was standing next to him, glanced at Rosario and said.
“Isn’t that one of the words that the hero left behind in the final battle with the demons, sir?”
Among them, the most famous passage was the sentence engraved on Elica’s Rosario.
Those who desire salvation, the miracles you have cherished in your heart will never fade.
A handful of light will not go out in the eternal darkness.
Jerel nodded her head with a curious look as if reminiscing on the past, and asked Elika.
“I didn’t expect to see a Rosario with his words engraved on it. Do you respect the warrior?”
It was a meaningless question.
At least if it were humans, who wouldn’t respect the hero who protected their homeland and this continent?
Elica put Rosario in her arms, silent, without answering.
Tom, who was standing next to me, giggled and said.
“Of course. You’re the hero who saved the continent. He always says he’s not a kid, and he says he’s not, and he likes him a lot.”
“Hey… do you want to die?”
Elica, whose face was slightly red, glared at Tom as if to kill him.
Tom flinched and said to Jerel, who quickly burst out laughing.
“And I have great respect for Lord Zerel! To seal the Demon King together with the hero, that’s a great achievement!”
“Haha, thank you. But sealing the Demon King was an achievement accomplished by the hero alone, and I didn’t play a big role.”
In the final battle, the person who faced both the demon king and the original horses was the hero, and the rest of the assembly members just dealt with the demons.
Jerel was telling the truth, but Tom and Heren considered even him humble.
He turned his gaze back to Elika and said.
“More than that, kid, can you tell me your name?”
“········Yes? Elika.”
Elika answered with a puzzled look.
He then asked calmly.
“Yes, Elika. Do you have any plans to learn swords from me?”
Tom and Heren were astonished at that.
Both of them doubted for a moment if they had heard something wrong.
Elica’s eyes widened at his unexpected words, and then she asked again.
“Do you mean by any chance to become a disciple?”
Jerel nodded as if it was natural.
“Yeah, I’m asking if you don’t want to be my disciple.”
“My, my disciple….”
In disbelief, Tom mumbled in a muffled voice.
I had no choice but to do so.
The knight of brilliance, the highest and noblest paladin in the denomination, was now asking her to become a disciple directly.
Heren also looked blankly at Jerel, then suddenly came to his senses and looked back at Elica.
Rather, she, who received the proposal, had a calm look unlike the two of them.
“Why?”
Elika asked Jerel.
It was a natural question.
Establishing a relationship with a priest is not as light as the paladin coming and going to teach the children in the monastery.
It really means to pass on the proper teachings and to help you grow by leaps and bounds.
Now, Jerel, who knew nothing, was proposing to become a disciple to the woman whom he had met for the first time in his life today.
Jerel answered.
“I just watched your dagger for a while. It’s because I noticed your talent there.”
Elika had a slightly shaky expression on her face.
Of course, she knew that her talents were quite good.
But is that enough to interest a great figure like him? She didn’t think so.
“You must have seen a lot of people with far greater talents than me.”
Jerel smirked.
Usually, it’s not strange to lose consciousness when you hear a suggestion like this, but rather, you’re skeptical and thinking about yourself.
It wasn’t that he didn’t realize how big an opportunity this was because he didn’t have a realistic sense yet.
He thought he was an unusual child, and he spoke frankly.
“Yes. But I’m not suggesting you based on your talent alone.”
“···········?”
“I don’t know how it sounds, but… I have a pretty good sense of humor. So I often act according to my feelings.”
······persimmon?
The three of them blinked, wondering what this meant.
“That’s the reason why I stopped by this monastery without passing by. I suddenly had a feeling that I was going to have a good meeting here. That’s why I’m making this offer.”
It was a reason so absurd that I wondered if he was joking.
But Elika, who was quick-witted, could tell that he was talking sincerely.
Jerel smiled and asked again.
“So, can you give me an answer?”
“············”.
Heren, who swallowed his saliva, looked back at Elica.
Tom also urged her with his gaze.
Whatever the reason, this was a really absurd proposition. It will change her whole life.
To become a disciple of the Brilliant Knight, what kind of believer would refuse such a terrifying opportunity? However······.
“sorry.”
The words came out of Elika’s mouth after a moment of silence.
Perhaps he didn’t know that rejection would come, so Jerel’s eyes widened.
Tom let out a sigh involuntarily and grabbed Elica’s shoulder with a desperate expression.
“Hey…! are you crazy?!”
Elika took her hand off her annoyed face and continued.
“I have no intention of becoming a paladin. So, thank you, but I don’t think I can become a disciple.”
Jerel asked him, seemingly puzzled.
“I thought that the battle you conducted earlier was a test for selecting apprentice paladins, but maybe I was wrong?”
Elika answered with a little shyness.
“It was just a fever… I didn’t really intend to become a paladin just by taking the test.”
Jerel couldn’t understand what he was saying, but he didn’t bother to ask in detail.