#039

“I’ll visit often, pretending to be an Apprentice Holy Knight. Then you can tell me what happened back then.”

‘Why does he look like he’s come up with some brilliant idea?’

“W-won’t it look suspicious if an Apprentice Holy Knight visits frequently?”

“Suspicious? Why?”

“I mean, as a former serf, when would I have ever met a Holy Knight?”

“I was the one escorting you when you came to the capital.”

“Then, Lord Nasir…”

“The Heretic Inquisitor? It would look weirder if you were close with a Heretic Inquisitor. Normally, serfs have no reason to meet one.”

‘Well, that is true.’

But even if I came with an Apprentice Holy Knight instead of a Heretic Inquisitor, isn’t there no reason to keep meeting after arriving?

We were just people who met while working.

‘Though I actually did get close with Nasir.’

I wondered what Nasir was thinking, being a Heretic Inquisitor yet getting close to a heretic.

It was a bit annoying how he acted every time he showed me something, like, “You’ve never seen this before, right? Isn’t it fascinating?” But I worked hard to act surprised to build rapport.

Of course, I had no idea how a serf seeing a city for the first time would actually feel, so I just acted like a foreigner on a patriotic TV show, marveling at the most trivial things. He absolutely loved it.

I also made a fuss about how I’d never eaten food like this before, and Nasir said that if I found this delicious, it would be a disaster when we went to the capital to eat truly delicious food…

‘At the time, I thought, “Yeah, because I’m scheduled to die before I can eat that.”’

I didn’t know the Order Sect would be this heretic-friendly.

“Ah.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I… there is something I need to receive from Lord Nasir.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know what it is. Lord Antonio left it with Lord Nasir, telling him to give it to me once I arrived at the Capital Church.”

The [Teacher’s Grace] item.

I had intentionally forgotten about it because I thought I wouldn’t make it out alive when I went to meet Commander Casimir.

Regardless of whose hands that item fell into after my death, it would have pissed me off.

It would be infuriating if Commander Casimir kept it a secret after my death, and it would be infuriating if Nasir gave it back to Antonio because he thought he couldn’t keep it a secret.

‘You shouldn’t give old people shocking news in the winter.’

Antonio was probably shoveling snow since he had no one to do it for him. He doesn’t usually ask for favors, but he even contacted his daughter to ask for help; imagine the shock of hearing his ward was executed as soon as he arrived.

When a person’s blood vessels are constricted from the cold and they suffer sudden stress, they can have a heart attack or a cerebral hemorrhage.

I’d rather Nasir just have it, but if I said that beforehand, it would have the opposite effect.

‘Did you… know that you were going to die? And I didn’t even know…!’

It would end up like that.

Anyway, since Nasir is an Othergod or a player, he doesn’t have the right to know, so I can’t tell him the details, but I do want to tell him that things worked out and I’m now under the protection of the Order.

“…Commander Casimir said she would bring it.”

“What?”

“She’s still with the Saintess, so I asked, and she said if such an item exists, she will bring it herself.”

‘What the fuck, when did she—?’

Did he ask the Saintess in a whisper while I was spacing out for a second?

“C-couldn’t I just go meet Lord Nasir?”

“Hmm? Ah, Commander Casimir was planning to come here anyway. She often hangs out with the Chanters.”

‘Why would a Knight Commander hang out with Chanters?’

Could a Knight Commander—whose people’s god was murdered by Loclem, causing the entire ethnic group to be branded as heretics and forcing her to have her eyes gouged out to receive Baptism—actually get along with Chanters from families who didn’t resist and quickly submitted to seize noble positions?

‘No, maybe she goes because they get along badly.’

Since the Chanters are no longer legally part of noble families, there are no repercussions for bullying them.

“Are you giving me a dissatisfied look? Are you perhaps a heretic? There’s no way you’d look at me like that unless you were a heretic,”—she might be going there to torment them like that.

Of course, she wouldn’t torment them in such a one-dimensional way.

Considering how she gave me an essay question while holding a sword, she’d probably torment them by asking incredibly complex and difficult theological debates.

And if they fail to answer properly and get shredded, she’d click her tongue and tell them to prepare a report on Topic A by next week.

Then, after they’ve spent the whole week intensely preparing Topic A, she’d ask about Topic B.

‘Just thinking about it is horrific.’

“Well, that doesn’t mean Commander Casimir will lay a hand on you.”

‘Was she educating me physically too?’

I thought she only beat people down with words.

Does she suddenly start beating people under the guise of a sparring match, claiming their training is insufficient?

“Y-you don’t have to be afraid. Commander Casimir has never laid a hand on someone who refused.”

‘That kind of sparring is based on mutual consent?’

“Are there many people who don’t refuse?”

“Right? There’s a lot to learn there, and above all, many people want to get close to the Knight Commander.”

‘Well, in a situation where you can’t discharge and are stuck in the military for life, you’d want to get on the good side of a three-star general.’

In this era, swordsmanship is also advanced knowledge, so even if you learn it while getting beaten, it’s still a gain.

‘It would be a great opportunity for ambitious people.’

I, however, would absolutely decline.

“I see…”

“Are you not interested?”

‘He’s leading me into a trap again.’

I know that if I say I want to learn swordsmanship, he’ll say, “I guess Adna’s advice… wasn’t well understood?”

“What? Not at all.”

“I see… Is it perhaps because Commander Casimir is a woman?”

‘What?’

What does it matter if the Commander is a woman?

Ah, because it’s more humiliating to be beaten by a woman?

But that’s only a thought you have when you’re on a similar level.

A unit like Casimir honestly cannot be seen as the same species as me.

No one, upon encountering a brown bear (3 years old, female) and having their neck bone rotate 720 degrees from a single slap, would think, [To be defeated by a young woman… how frustrating!]

“What does it matter that Commander Casimir is a woman? I believe gender is irrelevant to learning.”

“…No, but it’s still different, right?”

“How is it different?”

Ter closed his eyes for a moment, as if contemplating how to explain.

“…Commander Casimir will tell you that.”

‘Passing off the explanation too?’

I get that my security clearance is high and a low-ranking official like Nasir can’t handle matters related to me, but to dump everything on Commander Casimir.

‘Is the Sixth Apostle in a much higher position than the Commander?’

Anyway, to think Antonio’s gift fell into Casimir’s hands.

I’m worried this might touch a nerve.

The person mentioned in Casimir’s essay—the one who endured great suffering to change the law—is almost 99.9% likely to be Antonio.

He took on all the sacrifices for others, lived in seclusion so it wouldn’t be widely known, and then, after a long time, contacted her just to ask her to look after a guy suspected of being a heretic; he must have been pissed already. And then he sent that heretic with a very important and precious Sacred Relic?

‘If I were her, I’d snap the moment I saw it.’

Since I’m a male serf, it might end with a reaction like, “Giving this much? Is he insane?”

But if I were a pretty young female character, it would have become, “Has he gone senile? This crazy old man!”

‘I should just voluntarily return it, saying it’s too much for me.’

Now that the Order Sect guarantees food, clothing, shelter, and protection, an overly good item was a white elephant.

Especially since a serf possessing too good an item is an easy target for attention.

‘I hope she’s not too pissed when she arrives.’

“…Are you very nervous?”

“Yeees, well.”

“You don’t have to worry too much. No matter what mistake you make, there’s a way to resolve it.”

‘Is that “way to resolve it” perhaps the Oblivion skill?’

What is this, ?

Though it would be convenient.

“Feel free to tell me anything. If it’s within my power, I’ll do whatever you want.”

‘He says he’ll do whatever, without even knowing what I’d ask for.’

Of course, I know that words like this are a trap, and if I’m fooled and make an overstepping request, it’s a personality test that ends in disaster.

“How could I possibly bother an apostle with trivial matters?”

“…Don’t call me Apostle, just call me Ter.”

“Lord Ter.”

“It’s not a bother, so please don’t think that. If I find out later that there was something I could have helped you with but didn’t, I’ll be very sad. I want you to tell me everything, no matter how trivial.”

‘Oh, he’s telling me to resolve things through him instead of seeking Adna’s help.’

He wants to exclude cases where a major incident occurs, an Emergency Call to an apostle is made, and Adna, who happened to be on standby, shows up.

And he wants me to report it if I happen to run into Adna.

‘This guy is really annoying. How do I get him to change targets?’

How on earth can I make a man who wears rose-colored glasses, believing everyone in the world loves Adna, understand that I have absolutely no interest in her?

In fiction, this is usually when you pretend to be gay and say, “Idiot. The one I’m interested in… is you,” and they’re immediately repelled…

‘But if I tried that here, I’d be burned at the stake for violating the doctrine regarding homosexuality.’

“In that case, I understand! I’ll tell you every single trivial thing from now on, so be prepared!”

“…Okay.”

‘The only way is to be normally annoying so he doesn’t want to visit.’

“Ah, if you get busy, just let me know anytime! I won’t feel neglected at all!”

“That’s impossible.”

‘Yeah, let’s see if you can still say that after experiencing it.’

Slam.

“Oh my.”

The person who opened the door and walked in was Commander Casimir.

“This one has been completely won over as well.”

Commander Casimir clicked her tongue, but fortunately, she didn’t look like she had snapped.

“Commander Casimir!”

“Yes, Fabio.”

‘Wait, she’s petting my head so naturally.’

At this point, I wasn’t even angry.

It was because I could feel that treating others like dogs was deeply ingrained in Casimir’s habits.

‘Right, who would dare tell the Knight Commander of the Inquisition not to pet their head.’

I am well aware that the being in front of me is a creature that could rotate my neck bone 720 degrees with a single slap.

Because the [Knight Commander of the Inquisition, Order Sect] unit appeared in Conclude.

How many times did my painstakingly raised elite units die pointlessly to that unit?

‘In this primitive medieval age, if the strong tell you to be a dog, you must be a dog.’

“Not only the Fifth Apostle, but even the Sixth Apostle is enchanted. Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Huh? What…?”

‘Is she talking nonsense?’

I’m the one who became the dog, so why are you the one talking nonsense?

If we’ve decided to roleplay, let’s each stick to our roles.

“Hmm? Are you unaware of what you’ve done?”

“What?”

I racked my brain and reviewed everything that happened today, but I had no clue why Casimir would have such a misunderstanding.

‘First of all, there’s physical evidence that Adna is pissed at me.’

Can’t she see the state of this Training Hall?

“Well, if you don’t know, then fine. That makes you cuter.”

‘What is she even talking about.’

It’s a hundred percent a misunderstanding, but since I can’t even guess where the misunderstanding started, I couldn’t even explain.

‘Calling me cute… the humiliation is real.’

Of course, calling someone cute is basically a compliment.

But what about when someone says your intelligence is cute, or your attack power is cute, or your bank balance is cute?

‘It’s just another word for “lacking”…’

I’ve never been called stupid anywhere in my life, seriously…

“…Commander Casimir. Please stop.”

“Hmm? Why?”

‘Why is that guy intervening?’

Ter pointed toward me with his chin and spoke.

“He clearly dislikes it.”

“Dislikes it? What does he dislike?”

Casimir chuckled as she ruffled my hair messily.

“Touching his head? Or being called cute?”

‘Both, fuck.’

“Do you dislike being called cute? Hmm? When you’re this cute?”

‘The thing in front of me is a brown bear…’

“Aww, how cute~”

‘If it’s a brown bear… humans must seem like cute straws that shatter with a slight touch.’

“What to do, the fact that you dislike being called cute makes you even cuter.”

‘Fuck, why did he have to say a word to stop her and make her tease me more? This is infuriating.’

“But I don’t want to be hated, so I’ll stop here.”

Casimir smoothed out my hair and took her hand away.

‘But even if I submit to a bear, the loss of human dignity is the same.’

Dammit.

“…Commander Casimir. Fabio knows nothing about the Chanters, so please provide detailed guidance on the precautions he should take.”

‘Right, Casimir is also in a position of being dumped with the chores.’

She’s a ferocious brown bear, but she’s a bear performing tricks in a circus.

Thinking that made me feel a bit better.

‘Though it doesn’t change the fact that I’m at the bottom of the food chain.’

40 – #040