NOVEL NEXT chapter 11-Paladin needs to be nerfed
Paladin needs to be nerfed
Episode 11
Anyway, because of that, other temples, excluding the Sun Cult, have relatively small followings, and thanks to that, if I pretend to belong to a little-known minor sect, it’s hard to get caught.
Even if someone tries to check, the priest roster is managed separately by each sect, so if there isn’t a temple of the god I’m disguising as nearby, it can’t be checked immediately.
What about divine power, you ask?
That’s why I’m disguising myself as a “novice priest” instead of a “formal priest.” It’s strange for a novice priest to be performing healing services with divine power in front of a fountain; typically, novice priests can’t use divine power properly.
Since the gods have limits on how much divine power they can share with their priests, only formal priests receive divine power.
“Is the Sun Cult really that wealthy in faith to even share divine power with novice priests?”
In contrast, the “Wandering God Palette,” which I’m currently naming, is far below even the Moon Cult and Earth Cult, which are tiers lower than the Sun Cult. It’s a truly minor sect that only a few people in remote villages might know about.
According to Philip, there’s only one temple of the continent’s only minor sect located in a secluded area of the holy city in the north.
Because of this, I often use this disguise. Want to check my identity? Then go to the holy city in the north of the continent and check the roster.
Of course, since it’s such a minor sect, I can’t expect convenience or treatment. However, since priests, whether they are clerics, paladins, or novice priests, are all under the god, people generally don’t bother them.
Even thieves tend to avoid messing with sect members.
There was almost nothing to gain from robbing them, and if it was a successful sect, a suppression squad would come immediately. They believed that if they touched a priest, they’d end up in hell later.
However, since everyone and their dog is disguising themselves as novice priests, I can’t avoid basic suspicion. I have to act as much like a priest as possible to avoid that suspicion.
“Thank goodness I learned how to play the flute from Miria.”
I wait for coins to drop onto the plate while playing the flute… I watch the novice priest of the Sun Cult.
The last reason I’m here is that I’m supposed to meet someone…
“Why haven’t they come yet?”
It seems like they were supposed to meet here… I’ve been waiting a long time… when will they arrive?
Young lady.
“Yes?”
That guy is coming this way.
“Uh?”
As I turned my gaze to Philip’s words, I saw someone approaching me. A boy around 14 years old with brown hair and a few freckles. He wore a shabby brown robe with the insignia of the Sun Cult stitched on it.
The novice priest of the Sun Cult who had just been performing healing services in front of the fountain approached me.
“Hello, sister.”
“…Hello?”
What? Why is he suddenly acting familiar? Although he’s not a formal priest, just the presence of a novice priest from the intimidating Sun Cult made me tense up. Even though I was using my stealth skill to suppress my presence like a ghost, I still felt scared. I vividly remember the Paladins slicing through ghosts…
“The weather isn’t great today, is it?”
“?!”
Wait a minute. That phrase…?
I widened my eyes at the “code” the novice priest just spoke.
“…Yes. It seems like it might rain.”
At my words, a smile appeared on the boy’s face.
By the way, today is extremely sunny, to the point where it feels like the scorching sun is burning my entire body. This means that the novice priest and I are completely contradicting each other.
The boy, who moved a little closer, asked in a small voice, “Customer… is that you?”
“…Yes.”
I told you, the priest profession is excellent for disguising identities.
“My name is Jacob, the broker. The request is to go outside the city. Is that correct?”
“…That’s correct.”
I nodded blankly at the smiling novice priest… no, the broker’s words. I want to get outside.
Jacob, who introduced himself as a novice priest… no, broker, led me to an alley near the Sun Cult’s temple.
Realizing there were no people nearby, he wiped the friendly smile off his face and asked in a casual tone, “So, what’s the deal? Why do you want to go outside?”
“…”
“Not going to answer? Well, as long as I get paid, I don’t care.”
It’s not that I didn’t answer; it’s just that I was too stunned to speak.
As soon as we arrived near the temple, I could hear Philip’s incredulous voice from inside the mansion.
– Wow. Look at the way that kid talks.
‘My thoughts exactly.’
I silently replied while looking at Jacob.
Noticing my gaze, he shrugged and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.
“Why? Is it strange for a novice priest to be doing shady work like a broker?”
“…Yes.”
“Hehe. What? You’re more naïve than I expected.”
He laughed for a while at my words, then lit the cigarette with flint and took a deep drag.
…But can priests smoke? Of course, in this era, the concept of not smoking doesn’t even exist.
“Ah~ Our great Sun God is omnipresent. The idea of bringing peace to humans is something that only a place like the Justice Cult cares about. Our Sun Cult believes that the priority is to kill those we need to kill. It’s nothing unusual for a novice priest like me to do this kind of side job.'”
“Huh?”
Wait, what? This is news to me. Is this world… okay?
“Anyway, it’s still an act of ‘helping’ the same ‘human race,’ right? No matter what crime that human commits, in the eyes of the gods, it’s probably not a big deal.”
“…”
Oh my god.
I had thought that the religions of this world were incorruptible, but it turns out that only applies to those who have become ‘formal priests.’ I never imagined that such corruption would occur among novice priests.
Well, if the gods are sane, they wouldn’t elevate these kinds of people to formal priests… but is this okay? This world?
“…Philip.”
No, young lady. I didn’t expect this kind of guy to come out either. I’ve been here for over 50 years, and I didn’t know it had become this messed up.
As I quietly called Philip’s name, I heard the voice of the doombringer. Trusting this guy was a mistake.
What do you mean, “Just trust me”? What do you mean, “There’s a broker contact code known only to those in the know”?
Is this what I get for trusting you? Is this the reward for my faith?
‘This is driving me crazy.’
The reason I was watching the novice priest was not because I knew he was a broker. It was because I had received a contact message from the broker to meet when the novice priest was present.
Of course, this was a situation where I had no choice but to…
I swear on the honor of my current parents that if I had known the novice priest was a broker, I would have found another way.
As Jacob mentioned earlier, the Sun Cult specializes in hunting non-human races, and even if they’re corrupt, a priest who uses divine power is a very tricky opponent for me.
‘Well, I could manage to be a novice priest somehow, so I was nervous but not worried…’
“Anyway, enough about me… You want to go outside, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… You know that the inspections have been tightened, right?”
I nodded at Jacob’s words. He then took a moment to puff on his cigarette while thinking.
“They say there’s some monster hiding in the city, which is why the inspections have been intensified.”
“……”
“You’re not a monster, are you?”
“……”
Instead of answering, I stared at him intently. I figured it was better to look incredulous than to plant any seeds of doubt by speaking unnecessarily. I maintained a blank expression while cold sweat trickled down my back, and after a moment, Jacob smirked and said,
“I don’t know what crime the young lady has committed, but as long as I get paid, it’s fine with me.”
“……”
Fortunately, it seemed to have gone well. No matter how much the Sun Cult specializes in hunting monsters, they wouldn’t ignore human criminals entirely. They don’t actively seek out the Justice Cult, but they do apprehend criminals when they come across them. In some ways, they might even be scarier than the Justice Cult. Just think about it: the brutal weapons they use to catch monsters could just as easily be turned on humans, especially in an era where the concept of murder is less serious than it is today.
‘Serious criminals would all be trying to escape the city.’