Episode 172
Iceland is a small island country with a population of only about 330,000.
It was on the outskirts of Europe, so there wasn’t much to attract people’s attention.
It was after the Gate scandal that Iceland’s popularity increased.
This is because the headquarters of the Iria Church, the goddess of life and earth, was built in Akureyri, Iceland.
The mere presence of the headquarters of the Iria Order, which has grown into a global popular religion, has greatly increased people’s attention to Iceland.
However, for Icelanders, the increase in popularity was not such a big deal.
In fact, there was a separate big blessing.
Iceland had a small population and there were few skilled hunters. Therefore, the gate was bound to be a major headache for the country.
However, with the establishment of the Iria headquarters, such concerns disappeared.
There were 100 Holy Knights in the Iria Church.
Of course, not all of those 100 paladins were in the main group and were scattered across temples in each country, but there were quite a few paladins in the main group as well.
Additionally, there were many priests.
There was no way they could just leave the gate of the country where the main shrine dedicated to gods was located.
Cooperation with the local guild was of great help in targeting the gate.
I didn’t want any special compensation. The only thing that happened was that the Icelandic government, which was indebted to them, voluntarily made a fairly large donation.
Still, it was cheaper than blocking the gate by periodically importing hunters from abroad.
The people of Iceland felt grateful to the Iria Church for protecting their safety.
There was a reason why the majority of Icelanders became believers in Iria.
A funeral ceremony was currently being held at the main altar in Iria.
The number of attendees was small.
Only less than twenty people were standing there.
It looked even lonely.
However, it was clear that those who were familiar with the Iria Church would feel differently.
At the very front of the main chapel, the Pope was personally officiating the funeral ceremony.
The Pope, who does not officiate several times a year, will officiate in person.
That alone was surprising; cardinals were on either side of the Pope assisting with the officiating.
The number of cardinals in the Iria Order was only 11.
And they were also the general managers in charge of the work of the Iria temples in each major country.
They came all the way to Iceland to assist with the funeral ceremony.
It was a very unusual thing.
At the same time, it was showing that the status of the person currently attending the funeral ceremony was unusual.
Dang dang dang.
The bell hung on the steeple of the headquarters rang exactly four times.
It was a signal that the funeral ceremony was over, and it was also a sign indicating the identity of the person in charge of the funeral ceremony.
William, the fourth sword of Iria.
The ceremony held just now was just for him.
The funeral service was over, but no one left the chapel. Each person looked towards the podium where the Pope was with a different expression.
The Pope had his eyes closed, with no idea what he was thinking.
There was silence for a moment.
What broke the silence was a young man in silver armor sitting on the left side of the chapel.
Silver armor was a symbol of pure whiteness and at the same time a symbol of a paladin.
“You’re not going to stay like this, are you?”
At the Paladin man’s words, an elderly man wearing a cardinal’s uniform who was sitting to his right snorted.
“Hmph, I disobeyed the orders of the church and engaged in self-indulgent behavior, but in the end, I ended up like this. I earned my own money.”
“What kind of blasphemy are you talking about now?”
The paladin man’s expression was slightly distorted. Since the opponent was a cardinal, he seemed to be barely suppressing his emotions.
The expressions of the other Paladins around him were also not good.
“Did I say something wrong? I was stating a clear fact. In any case, the church will not move for such a self-indulgent brother.”
The elderly cardinal spoke firmly.
There was a reason why he, who was not even the Pope, could say that.
This is because the Pope could not do everything arbitrarily.
In particular, the use of the church’s armed forces required the consent of a majority of the cardinals.
And the cardinals were looking unkindly at William, who violated the orders of the church and took arbitrary actions.
“You said too much earlier.”
The paladin man’s voice rose slightly. But the elderly cardinal did not blink an eye.
“You’re going too far. This is the cardinals’ public opinion. Besides, you don’t even know who the evil beast is, right? What on earth are you going to do in a situation like that?”
“….”
The paladin man kept his mouth shut. Because it was an undeniable fact.
William’s body was found in the Temple of Iria in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
The reason it was said to have been discovered was because the body was lying in the front yard of the temple.
They still haven’t found out who put the body there.
In any case, the body was soon handed over to the cardinal in charge of Russia in Moscow, and after confirming that the body was William, the cardinal immediately collected the body and reported it to the headquarters.
The Paladin man also saw William’s body at the main altar.
We were able to narrow down the scope of the evil beast based on two clues: the sword test and the fact that he was stronger than William, but we were unable to definitively determine who it was.
“I know who the pleural beast is.”
When a calm woman’s voice was heard, the atmosphere in the chapel changed.
She was a woman who caught the eye because she was wearing black mourning clothes alone in the presence of the Holy Knights.
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Because he had a pale appearance, the black tear spot around his left eye seemed more prominent.
She stood up and looked where the cardinals were.
“…You know?”
Even the elderly cardinal could not speak carelessly this time.
It had to be that way.
This is because the opponent was Rachel, Iria’s first sword.
Although it is called a sword according to the traditional title for a paladin, her weapon was actually a spear.
An absolute talent given by God.
She was one of the ten great rivers of the continent and was called Shinchang (神槍).
“I have experienced the power of the sword strike contained in Sir William’s scars.”
Not only the cardinal but also the paladins looked at Rachel’s words in disbelief.
Can you tell the power of a sword strike just by looking at the scars left behind?
What nonsense… .
However, when those words come out of Rachel Shinchang’s mouth, one becomes skeptical.
That much weight was on her.
“No matter what Rachel says, it is….”
When the elderly cardinal trailed off with an embarrassed look on his face, Rachel continued speaking again.
“The destructive power that gives rise to such a dark aura of death must belong to the Emperor.”
At that moment, a tremendous shock swept through the chapel.
“What… what?!”
“Woe, Emperor?!”
“W-Is that really?!”
Sounds of surprise erupted one after another.
“It is in the name of Lord Iria’s first sword.”
Now that Rachel had said that, no one could doubt the truth.
This was because everyone knew that what she said had a weight greater than life.
“Well… then you shouldn’t even move.”
The elderly cardinal spoke in a trembling voice.
The emperor is a scary person.
He didn’t fear God.
Therefore, there was no tolerance for religion.
Everyone here knew very well what happened to the religious denominations that offended the emperor and how they fell.
That’s why the emperor’s name was nothing short of fear.
“This is not the Continent of Leiter.”
Rachel said softly.
The only people who remained unmoved in this situation were her and the Pope.
The Pope opened his closed eyes.
“What are we going to do about Lord Rachel?”
“Please allow me to investigate this matter.”
“….”
The Pope narrowed his eyes and looked like he was thinking.
The cardinals looked glad that the request was not as unreasonable as they thought.
At that level, it was something that the Pope could decide without having to discuss it as an official agenda.
However, there were doubts about its content.
She said she was already sure she had a pleural effusion. But is there a need to investigate further?
The elderly cardinal asked, as if representing such a question.
“We already know that the emperor is a evil beast, so what are you going to investigate?”
“I know that and nothing else. Not even who the Emperor is or why Sir William was killed.”
“that….”
“I need to know.”
Rachel still spoke in a calm voice, but there was power in the sound.
The elderly cardinal could not continue speaking again and closed his mouth.
“Is there a way to find out?”
This time the Pope asked:
“I’m not sure, but there is a way to use it.”
Rachel answered without hesitation.
“hmm.”
The Pope closed his eyes for a moment, thought, and then opened his eyes.
“How much do you need people?”
“I will move alone.”
“….”
There was a look of puzzlement in everyone’s eyes.
No matter how new it is, I’m alone… ?
There is no way that the investigation could be done alone.
It even made me wonder if there was some other intention.
But the Pope didn’t seem to think so.
There was no question on his face.
“Good, I’ll allow it.”
◈ ◈ ◈
University of Cambridge, UK.
“Oh, you are there as expected.”
Ann, who works as a teaching assistant in the math department, pointed to a certain place with her finger and said.
There, a man was reading a book on the lawn under the shade of a tree.
It was Walter, a professor of mathematics.
“thank you.”
Rachel thanked me politely.
“No, what?”
Anne scratched her head.
She wondered to herself.
Everyone knew that there were no women around Professor Walter, who was evaluated as a boring man who only knew about studying.
So it is surprising that a woman looking for him appears.
reporter? Or a relative?
She never thought of him as a lover.
“then.”
Rachel bowed slightly and walked to where Professor Walter was.
When she almost got to where Professor Walter was, he adjusted his posture and closed his book.
It seemed like he had already noticed Rachel coming.
“What is this, the divine spear of the world, happening to me?”
Professor Walter spoke first, smiling.
Rachel sat next to him.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? Huh, it’s a burden to ask Sir Rachel for a favor.”
Professor Walter trembled.
Rachel wordlessly took out a photo from her arms.
There were two people in the photo. A huge bear-like man and a girl with a cute face.
It was William and Toya.
It was a photo that William had sent to Rachel two years ago, saying hello.
Of course, Rachel didn’t know that the girl was Toya.
However, I realized that this girl had a deep connection to this incident.
There is no way the emperor would have placed William’s body in the temple as a favor.
The emperor Rachel knew was never like that. So, there was a high probability that the person who left the body was someone around William and the girl in this photo.
I don’t know how he saved his life in the emperor’s hands, but since he was alive, he would have been able to carry William’s body as well.
It seemed certain that finding this girl would unravel the thread of this incident.
“Please tell me where the girl in this picture is.”
Professor Walter waved his hand in confusion at Rachel’s words.
“No matter how much Sir Rachel asks, I can’t do it for free.”
“If it is not against the laws of the Iria Church, I will also ask you to do the same.”
“Is this an equivalent exchange? Haha, good. Sir Rachel is somewhat of a counterweight to this ultimate archmage.”
Professor Walter said with a smile.
The ultimate archmage.
Everyone knew that this embarrassing nickname was actually something he had given himself.
However, it was he who spread this nickname throughout the continent.
He introduced himself everywhere as the ultimate archmage.
At the same time, he showed such overwhelming magic skills that no one else could match him, so the nickname later naturally solidified.
The ultimate archmage, Walter.
He was the strongest wizard of class 9, standing on par with the silent archmage Hyris.
He now belongs to the UK and ostensibly has the status of a professor at Cambridge University.
“thank you.”
Rachel handed the photo to Walter.
Walter accepted the photo.
Then he seemed to look at it for a moment and then handed it back to her.
“You’re in a far away country.”
Walter said with a smile on his face.
“Where are you?”
“Korea.”
◈ ◈ ◈
“I’m full, guard.”
Toya patted his stomach with a satisfied expression.
“…Sage, you eat really well.”
Sihyeon looked at Toya with a puzzled expression.
He ate five large pizzas by himself.
I couldn’t understand why he was so small and thin. Where on earth does everything I ate go… .
“Don’t worry, I’ll work as much as I eat.”
“…Uh, okay.”
“Take me to the guild that the guard runs tomorrow.”
fantasy,
