Chapter 29 - That Definitely Means Time in the Punishment Cell

“What are you?”

He had become the youngest paladin in the Church’s history. People called Chris “a blessing bestowed by the Goddess.” Had Daywin never joined the paladin order, Chris would probably have held that title until the world ended.

Only fifteen. For someone who had become a full-fledged knight at fifteen, the world was far too easy a place. To Chris, then, the divine power pouring from Daywin was like a record of mistakes he could not possibly make sense of. This was what it felt like to come face-to-face with a true genius.

“I heard nothing about any paladins coming here besides us.”

Chris glared at Daywin, his eyes wide.

Daywin wore the refined clothing typical of a noble. Above all, his clothes bore no emblem of the Church.

“Then are you a heretic?”

Raised in the Church since infancy, Chris saw divine power as order itself. For someone outside the Church to exude such a superior presence was an impossible aberration. Yet the power he sensed from the man before him was immense enough to be unsettling, and sublime at the same time. Enough that he had briefly mistaken him for his commander.

“Identify yourself.”

As Chris spoke, drawing on his divine power, the air around them grew heavy. The pressure would have left an ordinary person unable to breathe. Yet Daywin stood without so much as blinking.

‘Ah... Right.’

Daywin recalled something Chris had said in his previous life.

[“When I was young... I was an ignorant little brat.”]

[“Everyone around me kept praising me as a genius, so I thought I was someone important. I acted like a complete lout.”]

[“Though I was still well-behaved compared to you, Commander.”]

Even the strict, serious Chris had an embarrassing past. And the youth Chris had spoken of was right now. In other words, he was currently in his teenage edgelord phase.

“If you refuse to answer, I will consider you a heretic.”

Daywin let out a breathy chuckle. Chris, who had followed him everywhere in his previous life, was now blocking his way and picking a fight with talk of heresy.

“How amusing.”

029

“Who I am is none of your concern. But, young paladin, isn’t blocking my path like this plainly discourteous?”

Chris’s face twisted at my words.

“I will decide whether it is discourteous. Identify yourself.”

“Well, if you’re that curious, I’ll tell you a couple of things. My name is Daywin Hasgard. I’m staying in the marquisate as a sponsor of the academy.”

“Daywin?”

Just as surprise began to change Chris’s expression, I recalled his words.

[“I’m truly ashamed when I think of how I was back then... Someone should have stopped me, even if they had to beat some sense into me...”]

“And I believe I’m exactly the person your insolent teenage years need.”

I stepped closer. I let a little killing intent seep out to frighten him, and Chris immediately reached for his sword hilt again. He was struggling not to be swallowed by fear.

In the end—

SHING!

A chilling metallic sound rang out in the middle of the street. Chris had finally crossed the line. A knight of the Church, away from home, had drawn his sword on a civilian who was neither a monster nor a heretic.

Poor bastard... That definitely meant time in the punishment cell... A deep sigh escaped me.

While I was worrying about his future, Chris’s ash-gray eyes began to shine blue.

RUMBLE...

Then the air began to vibrate around him. This was different from ordinary divine power. Its form was far sharper, colder, and more aggressive.

Above Chris’s head appeared a blue halo so vivid it hurt the eyes. Its color was unmistakably different from the golden divine power that symbolized paladins. This was his unique magic, proof of why he had been called a genius at such a young age.

CRACKLE!

Chris swiftly adjusted his grip on his sword, and a noise like arcing high-voltage electricity filled the street.

A blue ring of light. It hummed, radiating a deep blue glow as though superheated plasma had been compressed into a ring. A cold light, contrasting with my gold.

“Oh.”

A short exclamation of admiration slipped out before I knew it.

I had seen it often enough in my previous life, but had he really been this good even at this age? He certainly was a genius. Though Laward would have been even better had he grown up in the Church like Chris...

WHOOSH!

Chris swung his sword, sending a crescent of blue sword aura hurtling from its tip. The slash tore up the ground as it came. He deliberately aimed the first shot wide of me.

And I knew that wasn’t the end of Chris’s sword attack. The instant the sword aura flew out, his halo flashed brilliantly, and the sky above my head turned blue.

CRACK!

A blue beam as thick as my torso plunged straight down from the clear sky. The sword aura and the beam from above intersected precisely at my feet. Crossfire. A blast of sword aura, followed by another strike from the sky.

BOOM!

Unable to withstand the successive attacks, the ground exploded. Dust and blue sparks scattered everywhere. Two explosions of mana. The very air around the blast site burned, giving off an acrid smell.

“Aaaah!”

“Wh-what’s happening?!”

Passersby screamed and scattered in panic.

“Hmm.”

Threatening not only me, but numerous civilians... This was serious indeed. Was he trying to break my unprecedented record of six months in the paladin order’s punishment cell?

Recalling those harrowing memories, I lightly grasped the sword at my waist.

“I haven’t even taken the price tag off yet...”

CLACK.

I pulled the sword free, scabbard and all.

At that same moment, repairs were in full swing at the monastery near the academy.

Someone had smashed its perfectly sound ceiling during the previous semester, so the townspeople as well as the priests had rolled up their sleeves to help with the work. Among them was a boy silently carrying heavy marble materials on his shoulder.

With the sword Daywin had given him secured carefully on his back, Laward diligently helped with the labor. As usual, he was doing volunteer work that would never appear on his school record, but today an unfamiliar face suddenly spoke to him.

“What an admirable boy!”

It was a middle-aged man he had never seen before, hauling supplies with dust and dirt caked all over him.

“The Goddess will be pleased!”

“Who the hell are you?”

Laward glared at the tall man.

The man had addressed him out of nowhere. Despite looking like a stiff, he spoke with hearty exuberance.

“We’ve never met, so don’t talk to me like—”

“L-Laward! Do you have any idea who this is...?! Watch your mouth!”

Strangely, the chapel’s priests clapped their hands over Laward’s mouth the moment he spoke.

“Who is he, then? He’s just a laborer... M-mmph.”

“W-we apologize! This boy is an academy student. He may talk like this, but he’s a g-good person!”

“So it seems. You can tell at a glance that he’s working harder than anyone here. Hmm, this work isn’t exactly easy for me, either!”

“Yes... Lord Blash... Please be understanding...”

“Of course! I heard the only monastery here had collapsed, so I came to help. This isn’t an official visit, so there’s no need to stand on ceremony, Brothers!”

“Ahaha... O-of course. Thank you for com—”

“Student! What is your name?”

At Blash’s impatient question, Laward irritably pushed the priests’ hands away.

“Your mo—”

PATTER-PATTER!

Laward’s slum manners persisted. Once again, the priests’ hands latched onto his mouth like magnets. Then they promptly dropped to their knees, dragging Laward down with them.

“C-Commander! He really is a good person, even if he acts like this sometimes! Laward is the most upright child I’ve ever met!”

“Yes...! Laward is deeply devout. He never misses a service, and he’s training to become a paladin... He’s also the best first-year at the academy...”

“I understand. I understand, so please take your hands away. I’d like to talk to this interesting student.”

Blash casually sat down on a long bench, meeting Laward’s eyes. With anxious looks, the priests slowly removed their hands from Laward’s mouth.

“Phew...”

Free to speak at last, Laward exhaled and glanced at Blash.

“... Commander?”

“Yes, Laward... This is Commander Blash, commander of the paladin order... To think you didn’t even recognize him. Good grief...”

At the priest’s answer, Laward’s eyes filled with shock. The pinnacle of the order. A living legend admired by everyone who aspired to join the paladins. That very Blash was now sitting before Laward, laughing heartily as he brushed off the dirt.

He had discarded his armor and was carrying stones around in shabby clothes, so Laward had assumed he was just a laborer.

“The Brothers tell me you want to become a paladin. If so, you’ll need to learn some manners.”

“I... I’m sorry...”

As Laward bowed his head, the priests stepped forward to defend him. They explained that there was a place in the marquisate called the Seventh District, that it was even rougher than the Sixth District’s pleasure quarter, and that he had grown up there and still had much to unlearn.

Having watched Laward for nearly a year, the priests did not want Blash to leave with a bad impression of him. He was a child burdened with sins, but that was precisely why the Goddess had given him a chance at a second life. That was what they believed.

They believed that if Laward grew into an upright man, he could become a source of hope for the children of the Sixth and Seventh Districts, and even those beyond the marquisate.

“Hahaha! Now I’m curious. I’d like to visit sometime!”

“It’s not... really a place to brag about.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Blash looked at Laward with interest.

“Then you must have experienced it, too.”

There was a trace of nostalgia mixed into that interested gaze.

“Praying desperately from the lowest depths to the highest heavens.”

As Blash regarded him with deeply serious eyes, Laward lowered his head, overwhelmed by his presence.

“... I have.”

“I thought so. Hmm, then you have every right to aspire to become a paladin!”

TAP!

Blash gave the bench a light slap and smiled in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Laward recalled why Daywin had given him such an expensive sword. It had been for this very moment. The paladin order was coming. He had to make a good impression on its commander. He had spent the first semester and summer vacation preparing for that.

“Commander, I sincerely apologize for my earlier rudeness. I’m truly sorry.”

“Hmm? Forget it. It was a refreshing experience. Coming out here really does bring new experiences!”

“And, Commander, I made a promise.”

“A promise?”

Laward reached behind him and gently wrapped his hand around the sword on his back.

“The day the Goddess saved me, I promised I would become a paladin. I have an esteemed mentor who saved my life. He taught me the Goddess’s will and showed me the path ahead.”

“Hmm, whoever he is, he sounds like a good man! Very well, Laward. Keep striving!”

“Thank you. But I didn’t tell you that just to receive encouragement. I heard that the order was visiting the academy in search of talent. And I believe I’m the person you’re looking for.”

Laward spoke with an unwavering gaze.

“Oh... Such confidence. Laward, was it?”

“Yes, sir. Laward. Just Laward.”

Having heard Laward’s name clearly, Blash nodded slowly.

“I see. Laward. Laward...”

Blash repeated the name several times, as though determined to remember it.

“Laward, my name is Blash. Just Blash. But I’m afraid I owe you an apology.”

Then he spoke in an awkward tone.

“You aren’t the person we’re looking for.”

“Yes, I... Pardon...?”

Laward’s eyes widened. More than simple surprise, he felt a surge of anxiety at the thought that he might fail to keep his promise to Daywin. He had even received an expensive sword for his meeting with the paladin order. He couldn’t let Blash get away like this.

“You’re right that we came in search of talent, but it isn’t you, Laward.”

“Then who on earth...?”

“Not even a student, as it happens. I’ve been sending letters persistently since the Subjugation Festival, but perhaps his address changed or something. I’ve had no reply at all. All I heard was that he sponsors the academy, so I came here on the off chance.”

Blash shifted slightly in his seat and folded his arms.

“We’ve come looking for a man named Daywin Hasgard.”