“Ruins or open air?” asked another.
“I don’t do small shit.”
I deliberately gave them all a fearless grin. “The boss of the demons.”
When I said that, some of the adventurers went silent for a moment. I cast my eyes over them all. “The leader of the demons that are running wild in the western part of Beast Woods. He’s thought to have beasts under him. He is our target.”
“Big one...” the bearded man who had first spoken to me said, thinking aloud.
“Yes, it is,” I replied.
“Location’s unclear... It’d take some work to even find him.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“And if we get ambushed while we’re searching, they’ll kill us in a blink.”
“I imagine so.”
“Long story short—this sounds like a stupid, full of risk, fun-as-hell adventure.” He laughed, as if at death. “If there’s a spot for me, I’m in. Just need food and a place to sleep and I’m good. If there’s some pocket change in it for me, even better.”
“Me too.” “And me.” Other voices quickly followed, saying the same thing.
“Of course. You will have them. And payment as well.”
A cheer rose from the group.
“But before that,” I said.
“What?”
I smiled and extended my hand to the man.
“Would you all tell me your names? I’m Will. William G. Maryblood.”
“Reystov.”
Something that Bee had once said resurfaced in my mind.
— Oh right, have to pick something. Of the recent songs... Reystov the Penetrator is overplayed right now...
“The Penetrator?”
“Get called that,” the bearded adventurer replied gruffly.
Those days in Whitesails went by quickly.
“I, the Duke of Southmark, Ethelbald Rex Southmark, confer the honor of knighthood upon thee.”
The temple’s church was majestic. His Excellency was standing at the far end, with crowds of attendees on either side. Beside him was the vice-bishop, who would bestow his blessing upon me. He had thin, kind-looking eyes and a gentle face shape that was quite memorable.
I walked slowly towards them.
To tell the truth, I wanted to have Bishop Bagley bless me since he’d done so much for me already, but when I asked him, he refused point-blank. He said it would cause him problems to publicly show himself being pious and having a deep connection with the gods; during his many negotiations, it was important that he be able to lead the other person into thinking he might do something a pious priest never would. He was very thorough about it, even going so far as to offer half-hearted prayers in front of others and then pray anew when he was alone.
It was a real shame. I had expressed this to the vice-bishop, and he concurred with me, saying that he, too, was disappointed such a great man would go unknown to the world.
I found the vice-bishop to be a very nice person.
I reached where I was meant to stand for the ceremony. The duke took a sword from where it rested on the altar and said, “May he become the guardian of this temple, of the needy, and of all who place trust in the good gods, and stand against the gods of evil and their atrocities.”
The sword was handed to the vice-bishop, then passed to me. I put the sword into the sheath that had been arranged for me beforehand, and then, following the ceremony as I had been instructed, I drew and re-sheathed it three times. The clear sound of the sword’s motion against the sheath echoed around the church.
The duke continued his speech. “To you, the one who will now become a knight: You must defend the teachings of the good gods and protect the temple, the needy, and all those who pray and work in earnest.”
I dropped to one knee, adjusted my hold on the sword so I was holding the sheath with both hands, and presented him the handle. His Excellency drew the sword, and with the side of the blade, he lightly tapped my shoulders three times.
The sword was then returned to me. I accepted it, stood, and placed it back in its sheath, the sound once more filling the church.
The vice-bishop used the blessing of Sanctification, and a holy aura filled the air. “I beseech thee, my guardian deity Enlight, god of knowledge, that through thee our voices may be heard! May the blessing of Gracefeel, god of the flame, be with this man always and forever!”
The god of knowledge, Enlight—he was the aged god with one eye, the god of learning, who could perceive both what could be seen as well as what could not.
“Hold fast to your oath, respect your god’s teachings, and protect the vulnerable. May you be a light unto the world!”
He shouted the end with arms spread wide, and cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.
“May you be a light unto the world!”
“God bless the birth of our new knight!”
“May the light shine on the frontier!”
“Blessed be the knight of the torch!”
“Long live the Paladin!”
And very quickly after that, the place was taken over by festivities. To loud cheers, all the influential, powerful people present gave generous donations to the crowds. This decoration ceremony had provided an excuse for a big handout to those who had suffered damage from the wyvern. That alone had made it worth it, I felt.
An enormous feast was held. It was a whole-city event. Wrestling matches were arranged as entertainment. After I won by fall against five people in a row, my satisfied grin was the last straw for a whole group of knights who surrounded me and made me suffer the same defeat.
“We beat the Wyvern Killer!” they shouted out gleefully, laughing their heads off.
“You cheaters!” I laughed with them. “Menel, Menel! Come on, you fight me, too!”
“What?! No, feck off!”
As usual, Menel didn’t want to join in on party stuff. I dragged him out.
“Oh! You’re the Paladin’s servant, uh...”
“He’s not my servant, he’s my friend!”
“We’re not friends!” Menel shot back.
“R-Right...”
Bee was cheerfully singing my story. She said something about how much money she was raking in. I was too embarrassed to listen.
Tonio and Reystov seemed to be taking advantage of the feast to make connections with all kinds of new people. They never missed a trick.
The festivities continued into the night.
And that was how I became the paladin of this faraway land.
Chapter 5
All kinds of things continued moving forward at an incredible pace. After all the merrymaking was over, I put in a formal request to Ethel and the vice-bishop and received permission to go demon-hunting. Ostensibly, I was a single priest doing some independent charity work, but I had the backing of proper authority and power. The scale of what I was now involved in was incredible, but this was the smoothest way to get things done. If there was any trouble from now on, it would probably be necessary to demonstrate my allegiance to the bishop and the duke, but that was the price to pay for my new authority. I couldn’t imagine that anything would develop that quickly, so I decided to think about that later.
Bishop Bagley supplied me with a number of priests, including Anna, who could use benediction and was versed in all kinds of ceremonies, from celebrations to funerals. The priests all had a wealth of experience, reliably making up for the areas where I was lacking. I felt so indebted to Bishop Bagley that I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to fully pay him back.
Tonio seemed to have used the festivities surrounding the knighting ceremony to collect donations and contributions for my work. He’d gathered together lots of carts and wagons, agricultural and workshop tools, textiles, consumables, seeds for commercial crops, and animals cured of their injuries and diseases. And he’d found workers to manage them all.