The Paladin Owns the Relic

38 – Holy Trial (5)

Cardinal Arpina.

The elite among elites who have a different starting point than others. She started as the daughter of an archbishop and rose to the position of a cardinal, just like the priestly royal family.

There is not a speck of stain in the place where I passed.

…No.

There’s a stain right now, but he’s hiding it.

I stared at her staring at her. She is older than me But she was too small to be considered older.

Apart from her beautiful appearance, she has a very small body. Delicate and noble She is beautiful and at the same time precarious, like you never know when she might break.

Sacred beyond pretty.

Beauty beyond wonder.

I opened my eyes. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes deeply before opening them.

[‘Sun God’s Prayer’ is activated.]

As expected.

She was bewitched for a moment.

I shrugged my shoulders. Anyway, I can’t get involved with Cardinal Alpina right now. She is too high a position for a mere apprentice priest to talk to.

She said that if only she could seduce her, she would change my church life in a very great way, but the reality was that there was no way. At least I’ll have to go up to the bishop’s level to be accepted.

It is the rice cake of the picture. Let’s just ignore it for now. Anyway, this place is just a formal participation.

“Before this trial, I will check a few points.”

The flow of the Holy Trial was smooth. It passed rather casually, with few opportunities for me to speak.

Heretic Inquisitor Radatoque was competent. Fierce battles came and went, but he dug out only the painful spots.

Um. Relaxing!

“I will present the evidence. Your Honor.”

The eyes of the apprentice priest Beverick and Bishop Brody turned upside down. Those who denied the allegations and tried to cast bae-jae-ra as if there was evidence were desperate.

“Why is that still there?!”

“Boo, obviously got rid of it…!”

“I approve.”

Dimona sifted through the evidence. It seemed like a funny situation to me.

It was like looking at the evidence you’ve gathered yourself.

That’s right. I can learn Because you’re really talented

“Beverick Apprentice Priest.”

Dimona’s words slammed coldly.

“It is completely different from the evidence submitted by the apprentice priest Beverick. Which one is the truth?”

“Joe, Your Honor! There is a huge error in that evidence…!”

“What is it?”

“……”

Bishop Brody was speechless. He was just trembling. He brought his words out, but he couldn’t properly refute.

In the end, the only thing that came out of his mouth was anything he said as a last resort.

“Joe, this is fabricated evidence! That’s clear!”

“It is not fabricated evidence. I will submit further evidence.”

Radatorque lifted the video crystal.

That’s right. Is that an expensive item?

I was amazed. It’s not just the main NPC.

You must have been upset because Radatalk was gone, but haven’t you done everything you need to do?

「That’s right. Beverick is famous for being crazy.”

Evidence stored in the video crystal poured out. Beverick and Bishop Brody said nothing.

The jury murmured. Dimona cleared her throat slightly.

“Be quiet. Bishop Brody. Anything else to say?”

“……”

Brody glanced back at me. His expression was completely distorted, as if everything had collapsed.

“You…You…Because of you…My…Son…”

Beverick jumped to his feet. He sputtered and lunged at me.

“Kill it!”

“Whoa.”

A chain protrudes from the chair. She wrapped her arms around Beverick and put him right back in his seat. It’s a self-defense system.

It’s good, it’s good. It’s the church’s headquarters, so it’s like a cutting-edge magic city.

I glanced at Beverick. The memories of him overlapped behind his back.

In a way, it was perfect. It’s like meeting the wrong person and making a mess of living together.

Let’s see…If there’s even one good memory, they’ll chew it over…

…Isn’t it?

“Yes.”

I smiled broadly. Whispered softly

“Goodbye. Beverick Apprentice Priest. Sobbing. I will miss you.”

“Let go! Let go of this!”

A small commotion passed. The jurors and Dimona gathered for a brief meeting.

She judged neatly. It was a no-nonsense judgment.

“With the embezzlement of public money, the church’s image is damaged. The jury judged that the crime was very heinous, including the attempted s*xual assault of an apprentice priest under his command.”

The gossips at the table of honor deepened. Bishop Brody’s complexion turned pale at the complete shock.

“Jae, Your Honor…”

The voice was almost crawling. Donation. All donations officially used by the church are the same as donations imbued with the grace of Ra.

The mere act of stealing it is an act of deceiving God. It is one of the heinous crimes ranked highest among blasphemy.

“It’s a misunderstanding… All… It’s all a misunderstanding… I’m sorry… I’m not thinking about it…”

“……”

“Only once…Just once…A good child…A very good child…”

The Inquisitor of Dimona was silent briefly. She stood up from her seat with a sigh.

“Before notifying the trial result, I am very ashamed. If Ra was looking at us now, what would he say?”

“……”

“Bishop Brody. Why did you personally take on the defense of the apprentice Beverick?”

“That… Is…”

“Blood and blood. Bonds made by blood are strong. But before that, we must first be clear about why we are here.”

Dimona said it right.

“We are priests. One who serves God, and sometimes has to ruthlessly cut off even blood to prove his faithfulness. If you commit a mistake, you must pay for your crime, and anyone who touches the donations must be punished without exception.”

“Your Honor…Please…”

“If you wanted to commute your sentence, shouldn’t you have hidden everything in the first place?”

Beverick gasped at the outcome of the trial that followed. The face that had settled for the mistakes of the past was already crumbling.

“The apprentice priest Beverick is sentenced to 10 years in Aincard underground prison.”

“I can’t do it!!”

The chains rattled. The chair rocked.

“I can’t do this! It can’t be like this! Archbishop Dwayne! Hey, you promised! You promised nothing would happen!”

“Beverick! Stop! Stop it!”

“Father! This isn’t it! We! How much money did we give…!”

“Even if you say stop!”

A scuffle ensued. I got up from my seat. I shook hands with Radatoq.

“It was a wonderful defense. Mr. Radatoque.”

“This is an obvious result. But…”

Radatorque and I glanced at the seat of honor that was difficult to see because it was dark.

“…Now you’re pretending to be with Archbishop Dwayne. You have to be aware.”

“Don’t worry. Because I’m not easy enough to be beaten by old people.”

I plan to jump back to where I was before anything happened. Huh. When you enter the academy, you belong there again, so there is nothing to see until you become stronger.

But my future didn’t always go as expected.

“…Dimona, Divine Judge.”

A thick, heavy sound was heard. The sound of a lame foot dragging when one foot advances.

The voice was low. It wasn’t very big. However, there was a presence that made everything quiet for a moment.

Just listening to it gave me goosebumps. I looked up at the seat of honor. A heavy man emerged from the darkness and leaned against the railing.

“Now that the trial is over, I would like to request one more.”

“…Yes?”

“Just in time, all the important members of the church had gathered, and it would be difficult to praise the merits if it went on like this, so I thought it would be the most correct decision to make here.”

I met his eyes. I had a hunch who he was even though he didn’t give his name.

Archbishop Dwayne.

“Since there is a person who has the courage to accuse an apprentice priest, shouldn’t he be given an appropriate reward?”

“…….?”

Dimona blinked her eyes. Dwayne asked with an expression that he didn’t know why the words that had come out of his mouth.

“…You mean we have to reward Zahard Apprentice Priest right now?”

“Yes.”

You insist on rewarding those who touch your line?

…Why?

My doubts were resolved the next moment.

“Wouldn’t it be a pity to leave him as an apprentice priest, given that he has accomplished formidable feats in the battle to subdue the demons of the eye, and his juniors full of justice have the skills to do so?”

Ah.

“I think the title of Apprentice Priest is too small to contain Zahard Apprentice Priest.”

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No way.

“So, with this incident…”

Is this a bastard?!

“I would like to make a suggestion about raising Zahard Apprentice Priest to official priesthood.”

. . .

Apprentice Priest and Normal Priest.

Apprentice priests were just so-called priest candidates. Compared to the priest, he had no title, and after all, he was no different from a disciple.

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No job title means no responsibility.

But it was different when I became a priest. As a priest, if you had a job, if you couldn’t do it properly, a penalty was imposed accordingly.

That’s probably what Archbishop Dwayne was aiming for. I stared blankly at Dimona. In her office, Dimona was gulping her drink out of the bottle.

“That squirrel!”

Thump!

The desk shook.

“Not only did I take the image of a big crowd, but I was determined to completely kill you! Do you know?”

“Please give me a drink too.”

“Are you underage?!”

“How are you? I’m going to burn myself to death.”

Archbishop Dwayne’s agenda passed normally. In the first place, Dwayne didn’t seem to believe that the verdict itself would win.

Dimona and Dwayne are like pretending. Even so, I thought it would…

It means that she recognized her as her adversary. Knowing the extent of Dimona’s abilities, it was clear that she would have intended to discard Beverly Rick and Brody in the first place.

“Dwayne is…”

Dimona sighed. Handed me a drink

“Dwayne is a thorough man. All who became his enemies are dead. To be precise, he’s known for taking in no one and ruthlessly knocking them out.”

“It means that it is tantamount to a death sentence.”

“…It is not me who decides the position of those who become priests. Five archbishops. And, unfortunately, I normally occupy a slightly lower position than an archbishop.”

“Do you have any snacks?”

“Listen first! Dwayne will definitely put you in one of the places he manages! He’s going to dry him out and kill him! Or did he just go ahead and put a false name on it and kill him!”

“I never thought you would heat up instead of me…You didn’t fall for me, did you?”

“I think I might pour out all the alcohol.”

Obviously things went wrong. One year. While preparing for the academy, he tried to live as an apprentice priest. That way it’ll be easier to get around and do things.

However, things became ambiguous. Now that he has become a formal priest, he is starting to get confused about whether he can go to the academy as a student.

“Let’s see that first… There is an academy, right?”

“Academy? Why does it keep coming out?”

“Do you want to start with salt?”

“…The world is at peace. Really.”

The glasses collided with each other.

“Only apprentice priests can enter the academy as international students, right?”

“That’s right. Your plan is already ruined.”

Ra.

f*ck you?

I drank all the way through. Drinking for a long time made the body tired.

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No. Let’s think. A shift in thinking. A shift in thinking. Quality of thought.

What’s important to me?

To save the world from the Corruptors.

What did you try to enter as an academy student?

Since most of the main NPCs are intertwined with that place, it’s the best way to keep track of their dynamics.

Then…

Is it really necessary to enter as an admitted student?

It doesn’t matter as long as you can enter the academy.

“… Ha.”

That’s right. I laughed. Dimona looked at me tired.

“Are you crazy knowing there is no hope?”

“A genius like me couldn’t do that. A giant tree cannot be broken.”

“It breaks instead. While rumbling.”

“Yes. It won’t break.”

“Your words are getting shorter.”

“Yes. It won’t break.”

“Why are you so nasty?!”

I knocked on the desk.

“Dimona Heretic Judge. If so, what other way to get into the academy besides the new students?”

“Well…Well. No, but why are you so obsessed with the academy?”

“Ah. Hmm.”

I shook my head. If you are asked to make an excuse, it is a place where you can make it roughly. The academy has been a place full of mysteries since ancient times.

“…There’s a library that keeps forbidden books, right? I have knowledge that I want to read.”

“Are you really trying to become a heretic?”

“I want to study more about Ra. Isn’t there also the knowledge that the Sun Godism lost? And I…You know, I’m on a mission to keep it.”

“…No way.”

“That’s right. The barrier is slowly weakening. I need knowledge. The knowledge to repair the divine barrier. And that’s probably knowledge that isn’t even in the headquarters of this church. It’s like an old surname that has already disappeared.”

Dimona sighed.

“If that’s the reason… You don’t have to be a freshman to get into the academy. But to get to the library where the forbidden books are kept… you have to at least act as an insider.”

“What if?”

“You know that the church is dying, right? Wizards are all over the place these days. Even if the priest is strong, in front of a wizard or knight, it’s like creasing in front of a chrysalis. Same with the academy. You can veer completely in that direction and see that there are very few religious people on the inside.”

“There is little or no, right?”

“…He’s not cheap, but he’s even more nasty because he’s competent.”

Dimona nodded her head.

“That’s right. There is a teacher position. Any full-time priest of the Order can apply. But to get there, you need a resume. As a priest, you have to build up some achievements before you can compare.”

“Then…”

“Next year is impossible. 4, 5 Years? That should be enough. In the first place, it is not so easy to build up a resume, and if you want to become a teacher, the academy will carefully screen you…”

Go in as a teacher.

I shook my head. If holding the ankle is a feat as a priest, isn’t there a way to solve it?

I stared blankly at Dimona. Dimona flinched at my deep gaze.

“What, what are you looking at?”

“Maybe…”

“I’ll tell you in advance, as a heretic judge, I have to focus more on public affairs…”

“Yes. Heresy judge. And the Heretic Questioners under him are easier to build achievements, right?”

“Yes?”

“Since a position is a position, I will not count it as the number of cases. Regardless of the year, isn’t it a story that if the number of cases is high, the merit is high?”

“Wait a minute…what are you saying…”

“I decided.”

I smiled broadly. Okay. Even if the ceiling collapses, there is a hole that will rise!

“I… I will become the Heretic Questioner!”

Dimona’s expression collapsed. It was her expression that had seen all the bitterness in her world.