107 episodes
Seeing Ethan’s expression on his face, Matilda was elated.
“You don’t know what this is, do you? This isn’t just a piece of stone… … .”
“A fragment of the round table for kings to sit.”
“uh? He, how do you do that?”
Matilda’s eyes fluttered in embarrassment.
Ethan asked, not paying attention to Matilda’s reaction.
“How did you get this?”
“How do you save it? I stole it!”
At that, Ethan burst out laughing.
“Oh, the noble lady stole?”
“I told you to prove your abilities! I do not intend to sit still and die.”
Even when I thought about it, Matilda was angry because her actions were not respectful.
Ethan murmured while fiddling with the fragments of the round table.
“I have no intention of dying, la… … .”
“At that time, many of the Dark Followers disappeared from New Zealand. But luckily I survived. But since the spell of soul-subordination has been broken and I can’t deal with Luisa, the superiors won’t trust me as much as they used to. So months have passed and no instructions have been given.”
“So you moved on your own?”
“okay.”
Matilda nodded heavily.
All the other comrades were busy, but no instructions were given to him alone.
So Matilda monitored the movements of the other comrades, and when their movements were suspicious, they moved to get fragments of the round table.
Ethan was genuinely admiring the action.
“You did a pretty useful job.”
Matilda sighed in relief.
‘You’re finally getting recognition from that picky guy!’
It wasn’t something I was just asking for a compliment.
Matilda brought up the topic.
“Let me ask you something. You, what are you?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“It’s like riding a boat. Isn’t that something you can ask?”
To Matilda, Ethan was a mysterious figure whose identity was unknown.
But there was no way Ethan could answer meekly.
“You don’t know the proverb that curiosity kills a cat?”
But Matilda wrinkled her eyebrows rather than being discouraged by those words.
“huh. Anyway, I did my own research.”
“… … ?”
That being said, there was no way anyone in existence would know the true identity of Ethan.
Ethan raised his chin, wanting to hear it somewhere.
“At first, I doubted that you were a real priest. Would anyone think so? It’s strange to be a priest who disrespects human life!”
“It’s fun. Go on.”
“But to say that, my actions after leaving Nouvel were too priestly. Wherever you go, you always put the weak first. Sometimes he healed the royal family or nobles, but all the donations in return were used to heal the weak.”
“ね.”
Ethan let out a sigh.
I forgot all about it, but again Matilda stabbed the sore spot.
‘Even if I just collected the things that came through donations at that time!’
Matilda continued.
“And as soon as I got to Central, I went straight to the temple to treat patients. Even if you’re playing a faithful priest, it’s impossible to do it so thoroughly!”
“So what is the conclusion?”
Matilda pointed at Ethan with a fan.
“You must be a priest of the Pars Church.”
Ethan lost his pulse at the natural sound.
But Matilda’s words weren’t over yet.
“It is also a priest of the papal organization secretly organized to deal with the dark followers. What is my guess?”
“… … .”
Ethan sighed.
‘What kind of bullshit is that?’
As far as Ethan knew, such an organization did not exist.
Even if there was, it wasn’t him.
Ethan shook his head and turned around.
“Come on, wait! So how about this? Aren’t you an ardent devotee of Saint Eileen?!”
It was better to go to the head of the investigation team when it was time to deal with such nonsense.
* * *
As soon as Ethan entered the master’s room, Earl Cozy welcomed him.
He held out his hand as if pleased.
“Thank you for coming here. Have a seat.”
Ethan glanced at the desk stacked with papers.
Count Cozy left the paperwork he was dealing with and welcomed Ethan.
As soon as I sat down on the sofa, the car was ready.
“Did you know that the kings of each country are gathering in Central this time?”
“yes. There’s a round table conference going on.”
It was information that he would not have known if he had just been riding in the carriage sent by the Count.
I thought it was good to stop by the tavern.
“You know, the story is fast. This time, our investigation team repeated discussions based on the information obtained from Velium, and it was concluded that what happened in Velium cannot be overlooked.”
The reason was obvious if I mentioned the roundtable first and then brought up this story.
‘I think we need more information or evidence to convince the kings.’
And, as Ethan expected, Count Cozy’s words were just that.
“However, solid evidence is needed to convince the kings at the Round Table, and to come to a consensus that will demand an active action against the Dark Followers by bringing up the agenda.”
Ethan clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Even if it’s slow, it’s too slow.’
Even though it had already been decided, he must have thought that it was not enough.
In fact, persuading kings politically has always been a thing of the past.
‘These are people with heavy ass.’
It was something Ethan could relate to because he had experienced it in his previous life.
Now it was dark under Count Cozy’s eyes.
It looked like there was a lot of work to be done.
“So we plan to send an expedition.”
“The expedition… … .”
“Among the information gathered in Central, there was also an area where an incident suspected of being a dark follower was triggered.”
“It doesn’t look like there is only one.”
Count Cozy’s eyes widened at those words.
‘I heard that he was just a boy who became a priest this year, but he understands the flow of the story better than I thought.’
Count Cozy nodded.
“yes. Knights, soldiers, and mercenaries are also mobilized, but there are not enough people to use because they are dispatched in a hurry. That’s why we’re also receiving resources from talented people in Central. Have you ever heard of it? People from the Dawn of Graben, a gathering of up-and-coming nobles, also volunteered.”
The reason why the sons of nobles participated in this expedition was simple.
Because in these times when there are no large-scale wars, it is good to actively participate in any action to build honor and achievement.
Moreover, it was good for the investigation team to have at least one more advanced manpower.
“It means that the expedition’s skills are not lacking.”
“yes. In any case, you have to have enough skills to join Graben’s Dawn.”
Earl Cozy was surprised by Ethan’s direct speech.
He wondered if he had touched Ethan’s heart, so he quickly added more words.
“Oh, this is not coercion. I am begging you.”
Although Ethan came to Central with the investigation team, strictly speaking, he was not part of the investigation team.
So I couldn’t mobilize Ethan at will.
In fact, Count Cozy was skeptical while making the request.
‘There is no way a person in a noble position like a saint cadet would jump into such a dangerous job.’
Hearing the rumors, it seemed that he wasn’t the kind of person who cared about himself.
But healing the sick and going on an expedition to a place where a dark follower might be are quite different.
So there was nothing strange about Ethan’s refusal of the request.
“I will go too.”
“yes. It’ll probably be too much. I fully understand.”
Ethan frowned at the wrong answer.
After a while, Count Cozy, who came to his senses, jumped on the spot.
“… You really want to go?!”
“Where is the expedition headed?”
It was only then that Earl Cozy realized Ethan’s intentions.
‘Once you join the expedition, you’ll pay your respects and avoid the most dangerous places!’
But for the investigative team, even that much was a huge benefit.
‘It’s good to have a talented person as great as a saint candidate to help.’
Count Cozy smirked and held out the map.
The parchment map was marked everywhere.
“Thank you so much for volunteering. Don’t worry, we’re not going to push Priest Ethan into a dangerous place either.”
Ethan did not understand Count Cozy’s misunderstanding.
‘What do you mean?’
He turned off the count and looked at the map.
I looked at the marked places, and there was one that stood out among them.
It was a swampy area in the south.
‘There!’
Ethan’s eyes twinkled.
Among the eight places marked on the map, one of them smelled of bait.
‘The rest are natural fortresses that you can defend yourself, whereas swamps aren’t like that at all.’
It wasn’t even a day or two that I had been the devil’s henchman.
Ethan knew from one to ten secrets that have been handed down since the days of the Old Empire.
It was not difficult to guess the behavior patterns of the Dark Followers.
Ethan pointed his finger at the southern swamp.
“I will go here.”
“yes? W, it’s a swampy area, so it’s humid, there are a lot of poisonous insects, and it’s full of various esoteric plants. It is the most difficult place compared to other regions.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Besides, this is a place for mercenaries, not knights, to go, so I wonder if it will be okay for the priest… … .”
He told me to come to the expedition and he was a talkative guy.
‘Are you saying this guy should join the expedition or not?’
In fact, Ethan had a plan to participate in the expedition.
‘If you raise your position, you can somehow get an excuse to attend the roundtable.’
After completing the calculation, Ethan answered firmly.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Count Cozy was greatly astonished by this.
‘Everyone is going to a place that is even a little easier, but this young priest is going to the most difficult place.’
Count Cozy reflected on his narrow thinking.
I thought he was a weak priest who only took care of his patients, but he wasn’t.
He was truly a faithful and zealous priest.
‘I’m looking forward to the day this boy will become a saint.’
That was when the general manager was thinking ahead.
Tickle!
“Ahh!”
“Damn!”
The door to the manager’s room suddenly opened and the two new models fell to the floor.
It was Chloe and Charlotte.
“you!”
Count Cozy rose from his seat and his mustache trembled.
“You asked me to put you in the expedition with such a large crowd, but this time you even overheard the conversation?”
But Chloe and Charlotte didn’t care about the Count’s anger and their eyes twinkled.
“It’s also Priest Ethan!”
“I thought it would be Priest Ethan!”
At the twins’ words, Ethan felt ominous.
“Did you know that? what is that… … .”
“yes! We also chose the Southern Swamp! I am really looking forward to the expedition!”
“… … .”
Did the saying that it was better to be with the twins than to be with Nyx turned out to be true?
Ethan cried inwardly.
‘That didn’t mean I was going to go with them!’