I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

6 – Encounter with the Witch (2)

“Damn.”

A short sigh carried a whirlwind of emotions. Orisin, whose allegiance was unclear, smirked.

[Come to think of it, when you were trying to capture me, you spouted all sorts of abyssal trivia, didn’t you? You’re quite the abyss expert. Even taught the saintess a thing or two?]

“Shut up, horse-head.”

Morgina took off her glove and threw it at Orisin. With a cry of “Ouch!” Orisin hid behind Kriel’s back again.

“If they’ve summoned even the orders with little influence like Eve Kaha’s, then they’ve truly gathered all the saints who are currently active. Why?”

“Because a lot of abyssal artifacts have surfaced. If it were just one or two, the Priest-King wouldn’t have collapsed clutching his head.”

Morgina spoke of the Priest-King without any formality. Seeing this, Kriel was reminded anew that this violent human held the authority of a saintess.

“Still, he’s the king you all chose. You should at least show some respect in words.”

“It’s true he’s a kid who hasn’t learned much about society. The older priests of other orders didn’t even glance at the position of Priest-King, but he took it because he was young. Well, it’s a bit pitiful.”

The Holy Kingdom has always been at the forefront of opposing the abyss. The Priest-King is the highest commander of the war chosen by the order. Although the title “king” is attached, he rarely has to face the abyss directly with a sword.

“Because he has to live trapped on the throne at such a young age.”

In reality, it was a position where one would die buried in paperwork. Receiving reports on the situation of the abyssal front from all corners of the world, and issuing appropriate responses when the wandering paladins grasp the movements of the demons.

The position of Priest-King was certainly glorious, but the older priests wished that glory would go to someone else.

Kriel sighed. This witch had a rough idea of his identity. She had witnessed him using blood magic during a few missions with the Western Army.

Normally, a priest would immediately pull out the flail of penance, but Morgina, who had a rather flexible – perhaps cunning – mindset for a priest, let it slide, saying it was good enough.

Under Morgina’s gaze, Kriel could easily read her desire for companionship. He could refuse, but if he did, everything would become quite troublesome, starting with Orisin’s purification.

‘Given the situation, it’s better to grant Morgina’s request and entrust the purification of Orisin.’

At first glance, it seemed that the justification for Kriel’s escape would disappear once Orisin’s purification was complete. However, Kriel had his own calculations.

To completely resolve the disturbance in the village of Lorange, Orisin must be returned to its original place, that is, the back mountain of Lorange village, and the spirit must be restored. Just as a soldier’s leave procedure includes reporting back to the unit, Orisin’s return to Lorange is part of the order.

The conclusion was to finish all the tasks in advance, then wander the world until he got tired of it, and only report back to the unit when the commander was about to forget him.

Orisin’s return to Lorange would be delayed a bit, but since he himself had cried out, ‘Give me anything, leather or jewels, just purify me!’ it was safe to say he had roughly agreed.

“I’ve told my story, now it’s your turn to tell yours…”

Morgina’s gaze turned to the unicorn-headed ghost swaying behind Kriel. A clicking sound came from her mouth.

“You should take better care of yourself. I don’t know what it is, but you stepped up like a sucker saying, ‘Fine, I’ll handle it,’ didn’t you?”

[A sucker? Seriously. Where in the world is there a sucker who threatens with a sword?]

“Stop it. How many days have you traveled with him? At first, I thought he was someone who jumped out of a chivalric novel.”

In a way, he was similar, coming from another world. Not jumping out of a novel, but entering a game world. Kriel, lost in thought for a moment, replied belatedly.

“I just did my duty as a knight.”

“Exactly. How many knights these days uphold such things? They’re all barbarians in plate armor. Except for the old man from the Western Army. He’s not from these days.”

Morgina, who naturally lumped the knight and the old man together, beckoned to Orisin with her finger. It was a gesture to come quickly. Orisin grumbled but slowly approached Morgina.

“Where is he residing now?”

The broken horn of a bicon was placed on the table.

“A goat’s horn? No. It’s too big for just a goat. Is it a demonized goat?”

[Oh. Was it my horn? Promoted to a horn and then demoted?]

Kriel, stopping Orisin’s nonsense, succinctly summarized the incident. He had been cursed by someone and turned into a bicon, his body was defeated by Kriel, and he came to the Holy Kingdom to purify his soul.

[You summarize well. You could have been a scholar instead of a knight.]

“What?”

Morgina chuckled incredulously.

“So, in the end, you caught something strange again and got possessed by a ghost, right?”

[Not a ghost! Did your goddess teach you to say that to an elder!]

“If he were a proper elder, he wouldn’t have fallen. Actually, aren’t you younger than me?”

[Younger? I’ve lived longer than this kingdom!]

Orisin, who was flaring up, had no choice but to sink under the fact-based verbal assault of ‘Did you fall despite being so old?’

Morgina smiled victoriously at Orisin, who was sobbing in the corner saying, ‘I got hit by the abyss beam at this age…’ The horse head rubbing its horn against the wall had no time to see the smile.

“Just need to purify that, right?”

“Yes.”

Kriel answered with a slight hesitation. He wasn’t sure if he could trust this guy with Orisin. But it was certain that he was the most skilled priest available at the moment.

“Is your request to guard during the exploration of the Abyssal relic?”

“I’d prefer if you called it a joint exploration. You’re thinking of not lifting a finger for anything other than guarding, aren’t you? Lazy.”

“I’m not exactly the diligent type.”

“You’ll rush in with a sword for people you’ve never met before, but you can’t show any kindness to your lady?”

Kriel laughed in disbelief.

“If you’re a lady, then I must be a paladin blessed by the gods. What a ridiculous joke.”

“Oh. So, while you’re a paladin, you’ll treat me as a lady?”

Morgina threw something. Kriel caught it reflexively.

A raven pendant. It looked similar to the one Morgina was wearing. The difference was that Morgina’s pendant was black, while Kriel’s had a reddish hue.

“That’s the symbol of our church’s champion. It’s roughly equivalent to a paladin.”

A champion. A warrior who fights on behalf of others, also known as a champion. A position symbolizing the honor and might of the church.

Usually, the position was held concurrently by the head of the Holy Knights, so it was extremely rare for an outsider to be appointed. It was only considered when a renowned knight was a devout believer of a god and there were no suitable candidates in the god’s Holy Knights.

Moreover, Kriel didn’t even believe in Eve Kaha.

“Is it okay to just throw something like this?”

“Who would judge me? I’m a saint! The will of the gods is with me. Even the high priestess told me to do as I please.”

[Wow. With that temper, you still show respect to the high priestess?]

Morgina snapped her fingers. Holy power ravens surrounded Orisin and pecked at him from all sides. The room was filled with a cacophony of cawing and screeching.

Kriel ignored the noise and examined the pendant. He felt a pressure as if something was gripping his fingertips. It must be the holy power repelling the dark knight. He wondered if it would feel like an overly tight necktie when worn.

But it didn’t seem to drain his life force just by wearing it. As Kriel continued to stare at the pendant, Morgina quickly added, perhaps interpreting his gaze.

“It’s something you have to return after this mission. …If you don’t want to return it, you can just join the church.”

“Do I have to wear this?”

Morgina pouted.

“Hey. I prepared this for you, you know? If you don’t wear something like this, how do you think the other priests will see you? This is our church’s way of guaranteeing your status.”

“Well, that makes sense. I’ll accept the request.”

“Good. I’ll give you a room, so clean yourself up. We have to meet the priest-king together in a few days.”

“What about the purification of the spirit?”

“Ha. I’ll finish it before dinner.”

*

[Pathetic! Pathetic! Wearing the saint’s armband when you can’t even purify properly! You should be impeached!]

“You horse-headed fool!”

Now, whether Orishin had gotten used to the movements of the crow squad led by Morgina, or had become accustomed to his ghostly state, he glided freely through the air, narrowly avoiding the crows by a hair’s breadth.

As a result, the common dining hall of the Eve Kaha Cathedral became the epicenter of noise, but the priests in charge of serving meals continued their work calmly, seemingly accustomed to the cawing of the crows.

“…I apologize. That spirit is not usually like this.”

Unable to bear the embarrassment, Kriel apologized first, but the priests waved their hands dismissively. An elderly priest, with a serene smile, whispered kindly to Kriel.

“We know the spirit is not of such a nature. But we are well aware that the saintess has such a temperament, so there is no need to feel sorry.”

[Kahahaha! Are you angry? Too bad! You can’t purify me with your skills! This is the limit of your divine power!]

“I’ll carve you up!”

Kriel wanted to get rid of both of them and eat alone.