NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28
Heinrich (1)
“Pass through.”
“Thank you. Well then, take care!”
Heinrich greeted the guard at the outer walls of the capital and stepped inside.
Thanks to Haines preparing the necessary items in advance, he was able to enter smoothly.
‘Honestly, I do feel a bit uncertain about being allowed in here…’
After all, he had encountered trueblood vampires casually near the capital, which could only diminish trust.
‘But there’s no other shrine of the Holy Church Order in the Talia Kingdom. There are temples and prayer sites scattered around, but…’
If he aimed to become a priest or paladin, finding a suitable temple would have been fine, but to become a knight, he needed to visit a shrine.
Traveling to a shrine in another country would take too long.
He couldn’t be confident that the method he had in mind was guaranteed to work.
‘For now, I should try quickly and look for another way if it doesn’t work out.’
Just in time, the death cooldown of “Avatar” had ended, allowing him to create a new entity, so he could leave Earth’s matters to that one.
An environment had been created where Heinrich could focus on this side.
He asked for directions and made his way to the shrine of the Holy Church Order.
A massive shrine located on the outskirts of the capital.
The place where the great first step of Knight Heinrich would begin!
*
‘I used to think that way too…’
Joining the Holy Church Order wasn’t difficult.
He visited the shrine, donated a substantial fortune claiming it was all his savings, and expressed his ambition to become a knight.
A month passed like this.
He had become a training soldier and was receiving paladin training at the shrine’s external training facility.
“Hey~ Heinrich! Today’s training is done; how about a drink?”
“Oh, Max. Sorry, but I can’t for a while. The exam is just around the corner.”
“You’re always so diligent. Well, you said you wanted to become a knight, right? Keep it up. Don’t forget me if you succeed.”
Max soon laughed heartily, waving his hand as he disappeared.
Heinrich watched his retreating figure and sighed, heading to the shrine’s library.
Between combat training and studying, there was a mountain of things he needed to learn.
‘Well, becoming a knight isn’t that easy.’
Knights were technically a noble class, after all.
Paladins weren’t much different.
Moreover, Heinrich wasn’t even a disciple from the start, making it all the more difficult.
To become a knight, he first had to meet the basics, become a formally recognized paladin, and get recommended to be selected as a knight candidate…
Everything about the Holy Church Order’s rituals and teachings, as well as the history and hymns, felt like a list of unknowns, making him dizzy from the unexpected studying.
The standards to become a paladin weren’t particularly high, but he also needed to think ahead.
‘Still, setting aside teachings, just being able to learn specialized combat skills is a significant gain. Once I’ve learned them, they will surely help in the future.’
Unlike before, he couldn’t rely on a different avatar every time something happened.
He needed basic combat abilities in case the situation didn’t allow for that.
Fortunately, thanks to “Mugol,” Heinrich also had an advantage in acquiring combat skills.
‘…Before that, should I study the teachings first…?’
*
One day, while immersed in training and studying, he felt a sudden commotion in the shrine.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
As he headed towards the shrine entrance after finishing self-training, he noticed Max among a crowd of people who were buzzing with excitement.
“Max, today feels particularly noisy. What’s going on? Do you know something?”
“Oh, Heinrich! You came at the perfect time! The Archbishop and a paladin have just arrived!”
Following his gaze, he saw a group of people entering the shrine.
However, among those leading the group was a familiar face.
He might not have recognized him…
‘…Who is that?’
A middle-aged knight wearing pure white armor, engraved with the Holy Church Order’s emblem.
He was the one who had led the paladins in cornering Hans.
Thinking back, a few of the paladins following him also looked familiar.
“They’ve returned from their mission! It’s Archbishop Latinus and Sir Tuskin, who were sent out with a mission involving our knight order and paladin unit!”
‘…I have an idea of what that mission was about.’
It must be to catch Hans.
But it had already been over two months since they clashed with the cult, and they were only just returning…
‘Could it be they’ve been chasing Hans this whole time?’
From that day onward, summoning Hans from Auterica had only happened briefly.
To transport treasures from the spatial dimension to Earth.
Once the summoning was released, there would have been no way to track him down no matter what, and that obsession was frightening.
“Some of the paladin seniors who followed them have returned as well; should we go say hi?”
He said that while following Max to gather information, but they couldn’t meet them.
After a long journey, they would need their rest, and for security reasons, meetings were not allowed.
However, their disappointment was short-lived…
The next day, a senior paladin gathered the trainee soldiers and declared,
“There will soon be a baptism ceremony for those trainee soldiers who pass the criteria!”
Buzz buzz—
“Quiet, quiet! I know it’s a bit early, but this has been decided from above. Not only you, but we’ll also be selecting some novice priests among the monks, so keep working hard during your remaining time.”
Once the senior paladin who called for the meeting left, the trainees began buzzing with chatter again.
“There are only a few months left until the baptism period, right? We’d like to become official paladins quickly, but is it really happening so suddenly?”
“If they shorten the original schedule this much, the pressure will be massive. Is there a reason for this?”
“Could it be that there’s an urgent need to increase our strength…?”
Yes, there must be some reason for the sudden change in schedule.
Perhaps it was related to the extermination team that returned yesterday.
‘In any case, this is an opportunity for me to save time.’
At the shrine in Talia, a baptism ceremony occurs once every six months to select new paladins.
So originally, it would have been at least two more months, but the situation had suddenly changed.
‘Through the baptism ceremony, all mana in the body is converted into holy power… That is the first step to becoming a paladin.’
If he continued as he had up until now, becoming a paladin wouldn’t be too difficult.
Thus, he continued training as he had been.
Thanks to his efforts thus far, he was able to confidently take a spot in the baptism ceremony.
*
“It must have been a difficult request, but thank you for accepting it so readily, Bishop Chromville.”
“No, Archbishop Latinus. This is all for the needs of our church. And it is good for our Talia diocese as well.”
Just before the baptism ceremony began.
Archbishop Latinus, who leads the Undead King extermination team, was conversing with Bishop Chromville, the head of the diocese encompassing the entire Talia Kingdom.
“The influence of vampires in this kingdom is deeper than expected, and because of that, the extermination team suffered significant losses during the search.”
“…I can only apologize. As the one responsible for the Talia diocese, I should have taken measures in advance…”
“No, it’s not just your fault, Bishop Chromville. It’s also the responsibility of the main church for not paying enough attention beforehand. I’ll do my best to ensure more support for the diocese in the future.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Archbishop.”
In the small border kingdom of Talia, the influence of the Holy Church Order had never been significant from the beginning.
It was as if the kingdom reluctantly allowed a solitary shrine in the capital.
The minimum standards were barely met for the priests dispatched nationwide.
“To block the power vacuum created this time and to keep the vampires in check while continuing to track the descendants of the Undead King, reinforcing the church’s strength is essential. Now that we’ve concluded our discussions with the Talia Kingdom, things should become smoother.”
There had been a bit of political pressure in the process, but that was unavoidable.
There had been strong opposition in the political sphere, influenced by the vampires, but they could not go against the Holy Church Order’s will upheld by righteousness.
“We should begin the baptism ceremony now. As planned, I will lend a hand as well.”
“…There’s no need for the Archbishop to step in personally. With the help of the priests from the extermination team, there should be no major issues in conducting the ceremony.”
The reason baptism ceremonies were held periodically and at set times.
It required high-ranking clergy to conduct the ceremony smoothly, which became a significant burden for them.
If done indiscriminately, all high-ranking clergy would collapse and be left with none.
“It’s embarrassing, but it has been over two months since we failed to track the descendants of the Undead King. Not being able to do anything meaningful during that time, I hope this will be a small help.”
“If you say that, then I certainly ask for your support. It will greatly help the ceremony.”
As they conversed, they soon arrived at the gigantic worship hall.
There, those receiving baptism were bustling around alongside the priests preparing for the ceremony.
“Ah! Archbishop Latinus, Bishop Chromville. You’re here. The preparations for the ceremony are all complete. We can start at any time.”
One of the chief priests in charge of proceedings approached them as he noticed their arrival.
Latinus nodded and climbed onto the pulpit of the hall.
There, he folded his hands and offered a prayer to God while being watched by hundreds.
“Holy Lord. Children seeking to follow your example have gathered here, wishing to follow your will… May your warm touch and grace be granted, and may your blessings be upon your children. [Sanctuary of Blessing]”
After about a minute of prayer, abundant holy power emanated from his entire being, bathing the entire hall in a silver light.
The softly glowing interior brought forth a divine atmosphere, as if blessing all who were present.
As everyone admired the scene, Bishop Chromville, who stood next to the praying archbishop, stepped forward.
“Now we will begin the baptism ceremony. Please come forth in order to proceed with the ceremony.”
Even though he spoke in a soft voice, his words resonated throughout the entire space, waking everyone’s minds, and the ceremony soon commenced.
A dozen chief priests stood in front of the pulpit.
Those guided by the assisting priests came forth one by one and knelt before them.
“What is your name?”
“It’s Theron.”
“Holy Lord. Here stands one wishing to embrace your light and become a beacon in the world… Therefore, this one seeks to guide those who have lost their way, following your will, granting permission for this to be so. Theron, do you swear to devote yourself to the Holy One?”
“I swear.”
“Then pray to the Holy One. He shall respond to your faith.”
The chief priests placed their hands upon the heads of those kneeling before them and proceeded with the baptism.
The holy power continuously poured into the praying individuals through their hands, coloring their bodies.
And the Archbishop’s [Sanctuary of Blessing] would assist the process, relieving the burden on those conducting the baptism.
As the baptism ceremony progressed simultaneously for a dozen individuals.
Over time, those who had received baptism began emitting faint holy power one by one.
It was the process of dedicating all of one’s mana to God in exchange for becoming a vessel to receive His strength, thus becoming unable to wield magic again.
Those who finished the ceremony wobbled, unable to adapt to the sudden changes, and were supported by the assisting priests as they moved away.
After a brief adjustment period, they would become excellent members of the Church.
Bishop Chromville looked around the hall where the ceremony was underway.
The holy power emitted by those freshly baptized was about the same level.
They were barely at the level to be called novice priests.
Though there were rare cases of individuals gaining priest-level holy power right after baptism, those situations were exceedingly rare.
‘They will continue to grow through prayer and mental discipline. The more they cultivate their faith in the Holy One and their mental strength, the stronger their holy power will become.’
As he watched the ceremony, he gazed at Archbishop Latinus, who was performing the holy law on the pulpit, with admiration and then lifted his own prayer to God.
Though he couldn’t assist suddenly due to his responsibilities, looking at the archbishop made him feel those worries were unnecessary from the start.
…At that moment, while the ceremony continued,
“Hmm?”
Suddenly feeling a surge of holy power, Bishop Chromville turned to gaze at one side.
Archbishop Latinus, who had been keeping his eyes closed on the pulpit, also opened his eyes and looked towards that direction.
Whoosh—
There stood one who had just received baptism and was now emitting holy power.
Though his appearance was not much different from those before him, there was one glaring difference.
“Goodness, he must have just been baptized… How can he possess such holy power? It must be at least priest-level.”
A power level between a regular priest and the one conducting the ceremony.
It was the holy power possessed by Heinrich, who had just been baptized.