The Medieval-Modern Man with a Gamer Mindset

18. Fantasy National Rules

The ancient era where the old gods favored the alien races or something like that…

I pretended to nod, letting the boring old story from the priest of Sertel flow in one ear and out the other. It’s really discouraging to review a story you already know. So, I just picked out the important parts.

For example, the reason why the priest of Sertel thought that the power of Yese was involved in this incident.

“If you look closely, you’ll see a whitish membrane covering the horses’ eyes.”

The priest of Sertel pointed to the docile horses, his voice 100% certain. Of course, to me with my modern knowledge, it seemed like a really weak argument. Of course, now that he mentioned it, I could definitely see it.

There was a thin membrane like a amniotic sac covering the horses’ eyes. But isn’t it a bit too much to conclude that this was the influence of a divine being? After petting the horses, I came to my own conclusion.

“Aren’t they just sick?”

The priest of Sertel nodded as if he had expected that, and replied decisively.

“That’s what the remnants of Yese often do.”

“Excuse me?”

“They realize that the church will track them down if they use the power of Yese or magic recklessly, so they intentionally make it look like a natural phenomenon. Their magic has evolved to be more focused on concealment than flashy effects.”

“Ah…Yes…”

Come to think of it, no matter how enlightened the people of this era are, they still live in a world with different common sense and social norms than me. To put it nicely, it’s primitive and barbaric. And it would be incredibly naive to try to convince someone with a different worldview.

What would they think if I started talking about microscopic creatures that are too small to be seen, and how they can enter the body and overcome the immune system?

Tsk, tsk. They’d probably just say something like, “Oh, a kid who doesn’t even know anything is trying to lecture us. Yes, yes, it’s all the work of evil demons.” Of course, it’s also possible that this incident was caused by real magic.

But I think that people who praise these things as magic or miracles are fools. What’s so romantic about a spell that makes animals docile by putting a membrane over their eyes?

I sincerely admire the priest of Sertel, who can find romance in even this kind of magic and talk about the old gods of Yese and the remnants of Yese. I have plenty of other complaints, but… huh? To these people, the intellectual of this world is the priest of Sertel, not me.

I needed to follow the priest of Sertel’s opinion in order to fit in with the medieval fantasy average. I stroked my sword and glanced at the horses, trying to fit in with the barbaric average.

“So what should we do? Should we just get rid of the horses?”

“Senseless killing also corrupts the human heart. Here… we must use the miracle granted to us by Lux Stella.”

I couldn’t help but be indifferent to the word miracle. My expectations were naturally low, since the first magic I had ever encountered was incredibly crude. At best, I thought it would end with them sprinkling some white powder and saying a prayer of healing.

But my thoughts changed the moment Sertel reached inside his robe and pulled out a cross necklace. The strange characters engraved on the cross shone with a bright blue fluorescent light.

The priest of Sertel grabbed the necklace with his left hand and recitated a prayer in a small voice.

“Lux Stella, you who cast Yese into twilight and brought forth the dawn of humanity. Please banish the sunset of the bygone era with your starlight.”

The night sky was pitch black, with even the moon hidden by clouds. The reddish light of the campfire was the brightest thing around. However, the moment the cross necklace emitted light, the entire campsite was bathed in a bright blue light. Even the campfire turned blue.

It was a soft starlight, gentle enough not to be dazzling, yet bright enough to change the surroundings.

When this mystical light touched the horses’ eyes, I finally understood why the priest of Sertel had claimed it was the power of Yese. The whitish membrane that had been covering the horses’ retinas melted away like a candle in the blink of an eye, flowing down and evaporating into nothingness.

I looked around in a panic, and saw that everyone had fallen to their knees, their hands clasped together as they muttered.

“This is the starlight of humanity…”

“The miracle is with us. It’s proof that we are doing the right thing.”

Even Lord Topa, the coward John, and the barely alive soldiers were all busy muttering. Only I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. No… to be honest, if I had known that divine beings really had an influence, I would have lived my life without any blasphemous thoughts.

Unable to hide my feelings of injustice, I looked back at the priest of Sertel. The priest of Sertel, with his generous expression, met my gaze only after he had hidden the necklace inside his robe.

“I can see the devout faith growing in the eyes of our Prince Narbar.”

…He was smiling contentedly.

***

Originally, I had planned to use the horses that were pulling the carriage at the time of the attack as a temporary tactical defense.

Tactical makeshift defenses are livestock that would nobly sacrifice their lives for their master without question. That didn’t mean servants who escaped while abandoning me were any less than livestock.

Horses are much more timid creatures than you might think. If not for the strength of this world, they would have bolted in fear the moment they were tethered to the post. But humans, the primates of all things, are different from mere beasts.

If I had put iron chains around the servants’ necks, would they have run away? I don’t think so.

I once heard a famous quote regarding leadership. Rather than blaming your subordinates, blame yourself. I resolved not to make the mistake that those in power often make.

To do that, I had to seek the cause within myself. The conclusion was simple. The servants failed to play an active role, not because they were cowardly, but because of my negligence in not putting chains around their necks in the first place.

If I had done so, they would have diligently served me just like our surviving mounts from the previous ambush. But what good is it for a man to regret the past? I decided to send them away without a second thought.

“Gather them in one place and burn them. I don’t want to leave them as food for the beasts and disturb my dreams.”

“They are disloyal servants who dared to abandon Your Highness. Would it not be fine to leave them for the beasts to devour?”

Lord Topa thought my choice would be a waste of precious time and manpower. The fact that he disliked the servants was probably a factor as well. However, when you looked at it closely, they were people who died because of me.

I couldn’t take care of them while they were alive, so I should at least take care of them after they died. I gently calmed Lord Topa’s opposition with a composed voice.

“There is no reason for them not to receive the minimum respect after death.”

“…If that is Your Highness’s will. However, should we not prepare for a surprise attack?”

“We’ll be fine for the time being.”

Lord Topa didn’t argue any further after my mysteriously confident reply. As our group began to collect the bodies, the monks, who were supposed men of faith, couldn’t just stand by.

“If the mortal world cannot accept them, when will they be accepted? Your Highness, we will lend a hand as well.”

Looking at his broad, muscular shoulders and back, he looked more like a day laborer than a monk. Judging from the way he carried several bodies by himself, I could guess what kind of physique was hidden beneath that black robe.

However, even in a situation where everyone else was working silently without complaint, there was one person who diligently voiced his dissatisfaction.

“Ugh. Why do I have to go through all this trouble for these guys?”

It was none other than our John.

It was because I, who was of noble birth but still young and lacking in strength, couldn’t drag the bodies around. John carried the bodies in my stead, all the while groaning and complaining.

Eventually, he stopped carrying the bodies and patted his back while glancing at me.

“Y… Your Highness… My back hurts so much…”

“My heart aches too.”

“Pardon? Why is Your Highness’s heart aching?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for me to accompany you since I can’t leave you alone with your back pain?”

It was the moment when John’s and my gazes subtly shifted somewhere. Seeing the people who had forgotten their conflicts and grudges in life and were now lying side by side, John burst into a bright smile, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

“I knew this would happen, so I’ve been training my back muscles.”

“Oh, really?”

Like that, we barely managed to take a break after piling up the bodies, burning them along with some firewood, and finally starting a fire. The crimson flames filled the void left by the blood that had seeped out of the bodies. We watched the flickering flames in silence for a while.

Then, Lord Topa was the first to speak. He silently stared at the bloodstains on his surcoat.

“Your Highness, I will teach you horsemanship on this occasion.”

“Now?”

“Yes. So that you can escape if I fail.”

It seemed that he had truly realized his limitations during this ambush. Lord Topa had a strange conviction that he would not survive this mission. From my perspective, I could only be grateful.

“I will accept your offer of horsemanship training, but don’t worry about fighting.”

“…Is there something more?”

“We will be safe for the time being. For the time being.”

I said, quietly watching the monks praying with their hands together.

***

The path to the monastery was safe, as expected.

The raiders, let alone the ferocious beasts, would avoid us on sight. I spent this time productively with Topha’s riding lessons. I would also approach Brother Setel and try to pry information out of him.

“I heard that the old gods of Ise would grant numerous miracles… magic to their favored ones.”

“Heh heh. You are very interested in the old Ise, Lord Narva.”

Brother Setel created a warm atmosphere as he wore a kind, benevolent smile. That is, until his face suddenly hardened.

“Before that. Not the old gods of Ise, but the demons of the human world.”

“Ah…”

I wanted to retort but I held back. Oh, how different, how very different. I understood that this might be a really important issue to the priests. After all, what mattered wasn’t whether it was a demon or an old god.

“What I would like to know is, does Lux Stella, the god of mankind, not grant such miracles?”

It was a very materialistic question, but I couldn’t help but ask. Judging from the way Brother Setel briefly gave me a look that said, ‘What is this kid saying?’, he must have thought the same. However, as a patient priest, he quickly regained his composure.

“Lux Stella, of course, and most demons categorize their favorites into five levels. I’ll give you an example of a demon that the church is tracking down. Sangui Ori Silva, a demon presumed to be located deep in the forests of this territory.”

Brother Setel recited haltingly what the church could release to the public. He even mentioned the miracles one could obtain if they met the required level of devotion and standards.

“Sangui Ori Silva demands human blood. I cannot tell you the details of the ritual, but it is known that if you satisfy Sangui Ori Silva, you will receive various favors within her domain. In the first stage, it is said that the smell of your blood changes.”

The demon Sangui Ori Silva was nothing special, but other gods were different. For example, there were those who would strike lightning down on the battlefield, or give you two lives. He refrained from mentioning which god granted what, but that was enough.

I couldn’t hide my growing expectations and got to the point.

“Then what does Lux Stella give?”

“Lux Stella.”

Brother Setel continued with an expression full of pride.

“He grants eternal health.”

“….”