章節 147: Chapter 147
The shepherd was a young boy, appearing to be around 16 years old.
Ian was reminded of Bernard, the young baron of River Hill.
Sitting them side by side would make one feel like a middle school teacher.
"Thank you so much!"
The shepherd's name was Pael.
He was a shepherd from Artisan village, an unfortunate boy who had been attacked by undead while tending his flock.
"Artisan, you say?"
"Yes, my lord!"
Sir Leshach was indifferent.
He had no need to know the names of such rural villages.
Nevertheless, Sir Leshach decided to head to Artisan village.
"We didn't see any sign of the necromancer. They're either hiding somewhere... or in the village."
Sir Leshach was certain of the necromancer's existence.
He decided to visit the village to investigate.
Ian had come to the exact same conclusion.
"Are, are you going to our village? Then I'll guide you!"
Pael quickly volunteered to be their guide.
It was a natural decision, as traveling with Sir Leshach and his soldiers would make it easy to fend off undead attacks even if they appeared again.
Using Sir Leshach as a shield wasn't just Ian's idea.
"Sir Leshach. Would it be alright if I accompany you?"
Seeing Sir Leshach on the move, Ian quickly latched on.
Time to hitch a sweet ride on the knight bus~
"I don't mind. Just don't get in the way."
"As if I would."
Ian joined with a friendly smile.
Ian hadn't given it much thought, but Belenka was wary of Sir Leshach.
"It seems that monk was right."
"Monk?"
"Isilla from Blue Key Monastery."
Ian recalled a certain shrewd old man.
Monk Isilla.
A cantankerous old man, but respected by the other monks.
"He warned about the secularization of Heaven's Faith."
"Ah."
"And now we see such a well-armed church army..."
Ian had only thought "Wow, cool~" when he saw the well-armed church forces.
He had no reason to think deeply about it.
But Belenka, as a knight, saw traces of power in the well-armed church forces.
Ian decided to think like a knight as well.
"Sir Leshach said it himself. That black wizards are roaming about."
Heaven's Faith doesn't recognize 'evil' magic like demon magic, transmutation, and necromancy. They call such forbidden magic 'black magic' because it comes from a black and murky heart.
So 'black wizard' isn't an occupation, but a term for criminals.
Murderers, rapists, black wizards, thieves... they're all heinous criminal bastards.
So anyone who introduces their job as black wizard or thief should be thrown in jail on sight.
How can someone's job be thief or black wizard?
"It's a convenient excuse for the church to build up its army."
"I was thinking the same thing."
Originally, the church doesn't possess an army. The church is a religious organization, not a combat unit.
But...
Whether Monk Isilla is wary or not, the Empire's Heaven's Faith is clearly becoming secularized.
It means the wealth accumulated by the church has increased.
In medieval times, wealth means food, land, and population.
As the church's assets grow, it's only natural for their army to gradually expand.
But when the church builds up an army, it obviously looks suspicious.
Aren't you religious folk? Why are you building an army?
Nobles have the beautiful excuse of "protecting the people and supporting our lord."
But such excuses don't work for the church.
Clergy are supposed to care for the souls of believers, not collect taxes and throw their weight around.
So it's extremely tricky for the church to build an army.
But if black wizards are roaming about, that changes everything.
They now have the beautiful excuse of "smiting demon worshippers!"
"So the Pope's knight has come out."
Sir Leshach was, in a sense, a PR ambassador for Heaven's Faith.
Our church built up an army, and look how many black wizards we've smashed~
Aren't we great? So we'll keep building up our army!
That's the message he wants to spread as he travels around.
If the Pope's knight actually goes around helping people, Heaven's Faith's popularity will naturally rise.
They can resupply at any roadside temple, and monks eager to share in the glory will help enthusiastically, so the results should be quite fruitful.
The only people who would dislike Sir Leshach are black wizards and local lords.
"Catch black wizards to raise popularity. And while they're at it, pressure the lords to believe in Heaven's Faith..."
"Quite the busy schedule."
Ian and Belenka whispered from behind, making sure Sir Leshach couldn't hear.
It was a rather political conversation, so Ian wasn't particularly interested.
Ian is a wizard.
He barely has enough time to travel and hone his skills, let alone care about nobles squabbling over power.
'He's a knight of Heaven's Faith. I should make good use of him.'
Whatever the Pope's intentions in sending out Sir Leshach, the fact that he's useful to Ian remains unchanged.
Isn't it great to be half-immune to annoying attacks?
"Sir Leshach!"
Ian matched pace with Sir Leshach while riding his donkey.
Sir Leshach's horse looked like a glossy, well-bred steed, incomparably more handsome than Ian's donkey.
"What is it?"
Sir Leshach replied in an apathetic voice.
He didn't seem to care about Ian at all.
"It's nothing much. I was just wondering, have you caught many black wizards?"
"I've caught all the ones that stood out."
Meaning he's crushed every one he's come across.
Ian took out a signet ring from his pocket and showed it to Sir Leshach.
"I happened to pick up something like this..."
Sir Leshach examined the signet ring, then frowned deeply and said:
"Where did you get this?"
"I picked it up on that ancient road over there."
"Picked it up? This isn't something you'd just find lying on the road..."
"I picked it off a corpse."
"A corpse? What kind of corpse!"
"One I made myself."
Made by Ian.
Hearing that, Sir Leshach wore an expression of disbelief.
"So... you killed a black wizard and took his signet ring?"
"That's exactly right."
"... Then you should have said so from the start!"
Ian replied shamelessly.
"I thought you might get angry if I did."
Trembling...
Sir Leshach's hand shook slightly as he spoke.
"You... seem to be a very skilled wizard..."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because if your skills were mediocre, you would have been killed long ago!"
Ian clicked his tongue at the trembling Sir Leshach.
Your hands are shaking badly at such a young age. Eat more nuts.
"Well, my skills are decent enough."
Then one of the soldiers walking alongside them spoke up.
"If it's Ian Eredith Raven, he's quite a well-known wizard."
What? Me?
Ian blinked in surprise, but that didn't change the soldier's words.
As Ian traveled this medieval fantasy world, his reputation had spread quite a bit.
"Not many people around here would know, since he was active in the Duchy of Araz."
The 'Duchy of Araz' the soldier mentioned referred to all the territories of nobles who pledged loyalty to Duke Araz.
A noble's territory is no different from a country, so it's a term medieval people use habitually.
So if you ask "What exactly is a duchy?", you'll only get a "Dunno?" in response.
"He helped the Knights of Saint Santiago hunt monsters and rescued Golden Finger Takarion."
"... His skills must be quite good indeed."
Sir Leshach acknowledged Ian's skills as soon as he heard the names 'Knights of Saint Santiago' and 'Takarion'.
The Knights of Saint Santiago, sure.
But acknowledging Ian based on Takarion's name is a bit...?
"Sir Leshach, have you perhaps read the Gospel of Marcus?"
"No. I've only heard about it. They say it's a beautifully devout gospel."
"..."
Sir Leshach. Please, just keep imagining based on rumors, don't actually read it...
I admit Takarion's book is a page-turner, but there are some parts that are a bit embarrassing to show others.
Light novels are like that.
"So, you say you killed a black wizard?"
"Ah. Yes."
Sir Leshach examined the signet ring Ian had handed over once more.
"This is a ring symbolizing membership in the [Golden Rule Society]."
"Golden Rule Society?"
It was a name Ian had never heard before.
Sir Leshach stared at Ian for a moment before asking:
"Do you know the history of the Empire?"
"To some extent."
"Then you must know that the Holy Empire has nothing to do with the Golden Empire."
Ian nodded.
The Holy Empire was a country founded by northern barbarians who had recklessly invaded the fallen Golden Empire's territory.
"Come to think of it, we're descendants of barbarians."
"... You know quite precisely."
Leshach was slightly displeased that Ian knew so accurately.
A proud Imperial citizen is actually a descendant of barbarians?
It's bound to be an unpleasant point.
But Ian calmly spat out this chilling fact.
'As expected of a wizard?'
Such a cold rational individual should be fine to talk to.
"But you seem to have inherited a purer ancient bloodline."
"Pardon?"
Sir Leshach pointed to Ian's hair.
"That black hair. Did you know many ancient people had such black hair?"
"...?"
He did know.
Ian's jet-black hair was rare but occasionally seen in the Empire.
But things change as you go down to the southern Coral Sea. Black curly hair is very common around the Coral Sea.
And the southern Coral Sea is where the capital of the Golden Empire was once located.
Meaning he's a descendant of true Imperials.
"I thought you might be of mixed Golden Empire descent."
"..."
Ian had never given much thought to his relationship with the Golden Empire.
Then what about the jet-black hair?
Of course... he thought it was because he was Korean!
But thinking about it, Sir Leshach was closer to the truth.
"I suppose that could be the case."
Ian still didn't think deeply about his hair color.
What does hair color matter, be it blue or yellow?
He was grateful enough that his head wasn't pink.
"The [Golden Rule Society] is an organization formed by those who claim to be descendants of the ancient Golden Empire."
"Descendants of the Golden Empire...?"
Ian found it absurd.
What's with claiming to be descendants of a country that disappeared hundreds of years ago?
"They're lunatics who think they're the true rulers of the Empire."
Wait.
Ian felt an ominous sensation and looked up at Sir Leshach.
A gleam flashed in Sir Leshach's eyes.
"You've already figured it out? What the [Golden Rule] means."
"The Golden Rule in other words is... 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', right?"
That was the law of ancient Heaven's Faith.
If you harm someone, you must pay an equivalent price.
And now those claiming to be descendants of the Golden Empire have risen up, brandishing the [Golden Rule].
"That's right. Those lunatics think the barbarians from the north stole their empire."
... It wasn't entirely wrong.
The Holy Empire was indeed a country created by barbarian invasions.
Then the purpose of the Golden Rule Society is clear.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
"Are they... trying to take back the Empire?"
Sir Leshach nodded.
"A preposterous delusion."
Sir Leshach praised Ian's courage.
Choosing to fight despite knowing his opponent was a demon wizard was certainly admirable.
"This ring. Do you need it?"
"Why?"
"If you don't need it, would you sell it to me?"
Sir Leshach wanted the black wizard's signet ring.
It would surely help his performance as proof of vanquishing a black wizard.
It wasn't a bad offer for Ian.
The black wizard's item would only invite strange misunderstandings if he kept it.
Ian handed over the signet ring in exchange for gold coins.
It was a satisfactory transaction for both parties.
"Sir Knight! We've arrived!"
The shepherd boy shouted.
They had already reached Artisan village.
The village's welcome was extraordinary from the entrance.
"I am Leshach. A knight of the church."
"A, a knight of Heaven's Faith?"
"What a blessing!"
The villagers enthusiastically welcomed Leshach's arrival.
"Sir Knight! Please help us!"
"What's the matter?"
An old man who looked like the village chief knelt down and cried out.
"We've caught a necromancer, but we don't know how to deal with them!"
"...?"
Sir Leshach and Ian wore similar expressions.
The villagers... caught a necromancer?
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