A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight

If the issue related to the Sacrificial Brand was the first reason for their predicament, the second was more political in nature. The problem stemmed from the backgrounds of some of the children trapped underground.

Unlike the other children trafficked or abducted from various regions across the continent, these children were natives born and raised in Bordeaux. Moreover, their parents had once been locally influential figures in Bordeaux’s politics.

Traditionally, as an agriculturally developed region conducive to logistics, Bordeaux had fostered a close alliance between its prosperous small farmers and merchants, forming a unified political force.

By banding together, this class of small farmers and merchants had historically wielded considerable political influence in Bordeaux that could not be ignored. It was customary for Bordeaux’s City Council and City Assembly to include members representing the interests of these small farmers and merchants.

Their downfall ironically stemmed from Bordeaux’s development. As Bordeaux’s previously saturated economic capacity expanded tremendously through Frankish national projects and redevelopment, vacancies emerged that attracted an influx of large landowners and tycoons with vast capital from outside.

With the support of these newly arrived landed gentry and magnates, emerging councilors naturally began undermining and displacing the influence of the traditional councilors closely allied with the native small farmers and merchants.

In truth, this was an inevitable consequence of Bordeaux’s development as a national project. The small farmers and merchants had maintained their own ecosystem in a stable environment until then, making it difficult for them to retain their stake against the encroachment of vast capital amidst unfamiliar upheavals.

As their economic standing diminished, their political status naturally declined as well. Bordeaux’s military, previously a citizen militia, gradually transitioned to private troops and mercenaries employed by the landed gentry and magnates. Ultimately, this led to the traditional councilors losing their political standing.

Finally, when councilors supported by dockworkers and tenant farmers sided with the emerging faction directly tied to their interests, the traditional councilors lost most of their political footing.

The formation of the underground organization Monolithe Un occurred amidst these circumstances.
Having lost their economic, military, and political standing, the only recourse left for the traditional elite was to exercise their final right to resistance through street protests.

In Bordeaux, where the vast capital that had usurped their former privileges was entrenched, the disgruntled malcontents, those expelled from their privileges, and the small farmers and merchants deprived of their livelihoods formed a political association for this final political struggle.

“However, their political struggle was deemed illegal by the Bordeaux city authorities and suppressed. By that point, the power dynamics in Bordeaux had already been completely restructured.”

“Consequently, it seems this political association ‘Monolithe Un’ was forced to operate underground. And their plight must have appeared advantageous to the Sapphygons, demons, and various malicious underworld forces eyeing Bordeaux’s geopolitical position.”

For the sake of Sister Agnès, unfamiliar with the Bordeaux region’s affairs, Sophia and Priestess Clermant provided an explanation.

“Ah, then… surely not!?”
As a scion of Luxembourg’s druid lineages with some political knowledge, Agnès could infer the rest from their account.

The organization had eventually been infiltrated and slowly subjugated by the malign forces that had targeted them. In the process, the traditional councilors, small farmers, and merchants who had spearheaded its formation had long since been purged or brainwashed into mindless puppets, as revealed by the Sapphygons and criminals subjected to Sophia’s arcane tortures and Controlled Charming Eye.

“And the children who lost their parents in this manner were then designated as sacrifices for unholy, profane rituals, managed like livestock…”
“It seems best not to publicize matters related to this incident. The Bordeaux city authorities would undoubtedly react negatively.”

“A tragic story, but undoubtedly true.”

If their own cast-offs had become a threat to Bordeaux, and children had been sacrificed to demonic rites in the process, the reaction from Bordeaux’s authorities was predictable. They would either bury the entire affair as if it never happened, or shift all blame onto the helpless children, spiraling in an outrageous direction.

“Does that mean these children have no place left in these lands?”
“Unfortunately, there is a nine-in-ten chance of that outcome.”
“The best solution would be to simply state that a criminal organization was suppressed without mentioning its origins, and for the Church to quietly take custody of the children. But in that case, the children’s wishes would be entirely disregarded…”

Priestess Clermant’s regretful words prompted Sophia to sternly urge a resolution.

“As you know, Priestess, we must approach this matter dispassionately. These children have already lost all the adults who were supposed to protect them, purged by demons and Sapphygons. In this situation, no one has the luxury of indulging the children’s willful stubbornness. To do so would only lead to ruin for all parties.”

Though Sophia’s words may have seemed callous, Clermant, about to protest, ultimately fell silent in tacit agreement. Witnessing this, Agnès realized there truly was no other viable option beyond Sophia’s stance.

+++++

Upon Sophia’s request, Ezio and Hildegard arrived and received a general situation briefing, leaving them with bitter expressions as they lamented.

“Heh, it seems the secular folk are still as incomprehensible as ever.”
Though Ezio’s remark prompted raised eyebrows from the others present – ‘You’re one to talk?’ – no one verbally disputed it. Despite his avant-garde appearance as a scantily clad, muscular barefoot monk, his sentiment itself was not inaccurate.

For those who had spent their lives standing between justice and compassion, reason and tolerance, engaging in self-reflection and ministering to the people, it was indeed difficult to understand the interests of ordinary folk.

Moreover, those present were clergy who had experienced battlefields where civilization’s fate and the sanctity of life hung in the balance – matters far more urgent and grave. Compared to such weighty concerns they had felt in their very beings, trivial gains and losses held little value or resonance for them.

“So, did you bring what I asked for?”
“As you requested, Lady Chagelle, I have procured them. What are your intentions?”
“Simple. I plan to create some talisman tools in stamp form.”

‘I had previously created similar items, but they are somewhat inadequate for this situation,’ Sophia remarked as she accepted the pouch Ezio had handed over. From it, she withdrew malleable clay, sawdust clumps, a ceramic bottle containing an unknown liquid, copper, tin, bone powder, and various precious metal scraps.

Suddenly, the alchemy-versed Hildegard seemed to realize something and commented, “Ah, I see. You intend to create a kind of ritual vessel, not a simple talisman tool.”

To which Clermant added, “Indeed. The sealing array Sophia fashioned earlier felt more mystical than a pure spell, now that I think about it. But strangely, even with my modest knowledge of mythology, the symbols and compositions she employed were unfamiliar to me.”

Sophia silently answered Clermant’s puzzlement inwardly, ‘Of course they would be. Both the mandala and the Sephiroth are mythological constructs non-existent in this world.’

Curiously, while the mythology of her current life resembled that of her previous life in some ways, it also differed significantly. Regional cultural spheres exhibited similar mythological archetypes, but the names, natures, relationships, and narratives of the deities diverged to the point of being unrecognizable.

Druidism existed, but not the geis. Mediterranean civilizations were present, but not the Hebrew people. Further east, she did not know, but it was likely no different – similar yet entirely distinct from her previous life. Perhaps even concepts like Buddhism and mandalas did not exist at all.

Pushing such ruminations aside, Sophia firmly clenched her fist around the sawdust clump. Soon, her bare hand was enveloped in alternating brilliant crimson and pale white auras – the Scarlet Solar Hand and Pristine Hand techniques she had acquired in her past life.

When she opened her fist, the sawdust had solidified into a dense mass from the applied heat and pressure. Sophia then began sculpting this solidified mass into a stamp form.

The body (印鈕 innyu) gradually took the auspicious shape of a tortoise with a dragon’s head, bird’s beak, and deer’s antlers, its carapace carved into a mountainous landscape with clouds. On the stamp face (印面 inmen) to be imprinted, she etched the combined mandala and Sephiroth patterns she had previously used to seal the Sacrificial Brand on the child’s shoulder.

Sophia performed this entire process barehanded. Rubbing her palm would shave off the surface like powder, while her fingertips wielded a keen edge like sculpting knives to engrave the intricate details.

Once the sculpting was complete, Sophia meticulously applied the malleable clay as a coating, manipulating subtle geomancy to ensure no gaps remained. The next step involved firing this clay-coated sculpture with intense heat, which Sophia also executed barehanded.

Utilizing the Samadhi Flame Technique alongside incantations of ignition and heating, she evenly transferred searing temperatures to the thickly clay-coated sculpture. This heat instantly incinerated the internal sawdust into ash while firing the clay coating into a ceramic mold.

The internal ash soon poured out through pre-made holes. Meanwhile, Sophia’s other hand combined the copper, tin, bone powder, and precious metal scraps within an ether-bound furnace, melting them into an alloy. Once the perfectly blended molten alloy flowed into the ash-cleared ceramic mold, Sophia carefully regulated its distribution using geomancy, ether binding, and paralysis techniques, slowly cooling and solidifying it.

Thanks to her meticulous application of the Pristine Hand’s yin stasis, it did not take long for the internal copper alloy to solidify. Confirming its complete solidification, Sophia unhesitatingly shattered the mold with a firm strike.

The revealed copper alloy cast, and the dexterous feat Sophia had displayed in its creation, left her observing companions agape with exclamations of amazement.

“Woah, with a swish and a thunk, it’s complete!”
“Was metalcasting originally such an effortless barehanded process?”
“Of course not? It’s just that Lady Chagelle is an eccentric, defying common sense as usual, isn’t it?”

Though the muscular barefoot monk’s absurd remark interjected, none paid it any heed, so astounding was Sophia’s performance. The sculptor herself continued her finishing touches with an unfazed demeanor.

“The work is not yet complete. Please wait a moment.”
Carefully inspecting the revealed copper cast, Sophia polished the overall form by rubbing with her palm and meticulously engraving with her fingertips, just as she had sculpted the initial sawdust mass. She then took a brush and began applying a liquid from the ceramic bottle.

As Sophia employed a tool for the first time after working entirely barehanded until then, her companions observed her work with keen interest. The copper stamp, which had already emitted a faint golden luster, now began radiating a brilliance indistinguishable from pure gold after the liquid’s application.

When Hildegard inquired, “What did you apply?”
Sophia nonchalantly replied, “Wokil.”
“Wokil?”
“Yes. Think of it as similar to lacquerware coating.”

To be precise, this world – or rather, this continent – did not naturally produce wokil trees or similar plants, so this was an alchemically reconstructed imitation wokil concocted through seed modification and alchemy. Conra, who had assisted in its production, wore a wry expression as he elaborated.

“If this liquid devised by the Master is applied, it not only imparts a golden luster to metals, wood, clay, or leather, but also reinforces the material’s durability beyond its original state. And that’s not all.”

“Ah, wait. I think I know what this is.”
Hildegard interrupted with a perplexed expression.
“That liquid, why does it feel imbued with sanctity? Moreover, a sanctity closely akin to our Light of Illumination?”

“The Purifying Water drawn from Mageka’s tray was an ingredient.”
Finally finishing the wokil application, Sophia mentioned the liquid’s main component in a casual aside. However, her offhanded remark elicited a reaction far from casual from the others.

“”””What did you say!?!?””””

Except for Conra, directly involved in its production, and Maria, unaware of the implications, everyone present unleashed exclamations of shock from the depths of their being.