Raising Paladins

Episode 26. Dawn Bridge without being crazy (1)

Upward after clearing out the scavengers and camped out.

When the next morning was bright, we arrived at Tournoble in a hurry.

Originally, it took a long time because of the scavengers.

But since Carl took care of that, the time was shorter than usual.

After passing through the checkpoint at the entrance to Tournoble and arriving at the market.

Brand brought a fairly heavy money bag and held it out to Carl.

“Thanks to the priest, I was able to come safely. This is a small courtesy from our merchants, so please accept it.”

“Whatever this… … .”

Carl quickly waved his hand.

But his gaze was already fixed on the money bag.

‘I never thought I would reveal money like this… … !’

This is all because of the Temple of Dawn.

It’s because of the ruined Mayrium branch!

He can no longer tolerate the suffering of his descendants in poverty.

Carl thought so and comforted himself who was becoming a snob.

“Did you even save my son? If not, I will have to live with that debt for the rest of my life. Please accept it.”

“you’re right. Please accept our sincerity.”

“Come on, priest!”

Even the other merchants who came rushed in to encourage the sword.

When Carl was unable to do this or that, the quick-witted Brand quickly forcibly (?) put the money bag in Carl’s hand.

“You can’t do this… … I’m just following God’s will… … .”

“Ah, isn’t God a god and a priest a priest? Besides, I heard that there are still many sick people in the Temple of Dawn. You can use it for them!”

“If you say so, I can’t help it. Ignoring a person’s sincerity isn’t polite either, so I’ll leave it at that.”

Shut up!

Carl quickly tucked the pouch into his bosom.

The movement was so fast that the people who watched it were dumbfounded.

‘Like something closes your eyes… … .’

But thanks to Carl, it’s real.

Without him, all the valuable fruit would have been taken away.

Arriving safely without anyone getting hurt was definitely Carl’s ability.

Is that all?

Originally, they set up a night watch and set up camp.

But last night everyone snored and slept soundly.

Because about 20 new seed candidates stood guard.

They even had a hearty dinner with the ingredients the scavengers had stocked up on.

It was obviously a dangerous and difficult road going up, but it was as comfortable as going on a picnic.

‘Now that all the scavengers are gone, I can live in peace!’

Of course, an escort will be necessary for the regular ascending in the future.

A magician or a crazy low-level black magician might appear for money.

However, the biggest enemies of the ascending are the Turners and the scavengers!

I wiped them out and even cut off the head of the boss.

It seemed that I could now go up much more comfortably than before.

So the money bag I handed to Carl was nothing.

“I heard that you came to take the priesthood exam?”

“That’s right. I came here to take the test and escort, as well as my duty.”

“oh… … .”

It wasn’t long after the fight with the scavengers who risked their lives.

However, Carl had a relaxed expression as if he had come for an outing.

The scary thing is that Carl’s expression hasn’t changed even once since he started going uphill!

Brand was again surprised by Karl’s attitude as if he had no opponent at all.

“Would you like to come with us when we return? I will leave the lead carriage seat empty.”

“If you do that, I will be grateful. But it will be late at night after the exam, so I’ll probably have to leave tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t matter. We also plan to hand over our stuff and have a beer while we’re at Tournoble.”

“Is that so?”

“yes. By the way, Carl.”

“… … ?”

“What about them?”

Where the brand’s eyes reach.

There was a gang of Hansons standing awkwardly there, carrying crates of fruit.

The guys who came to ambush the knife, but rather than the surprise, they were captured.

Now is the time.

But what if the knife is out of place?

I didn’t know if I could run away in that gap.

At least the brand thought so.

Of course, Carl thought differently.

“I won’t run away, so stop worrying. Because they know that I will go back to Meirium.”

“ah… … That’s right. The base of Hanson’s gang is Meirium anyway, so if you run away, you’ll end up meeting the priest there again. Then you’ll only get scolded, so it’s impossible to run away.”

“That’s it. And could you take care of this longsword?”

okay.

Carl pulled out the longsword from his waist and handed it to Brand.

Brand then became a puzzled expression.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have it? I heard that a real sword is often used in priestly exams.”

“This is enough.”

Tuk-tuk.

The sword struck the wooden sword.

“Besides, since I’m not an official combat priest yet, carrying a real sword could get me through troublesome inspections.”

“All right. Then finish your business and come to the inn where we are staying. It’s an inn called ‘Raspberries and Dwarves’, and the owner’s dark beer is very good.”

“All right. then.”

Carl finished greeting the merchants.

he turned around

Terrence, who was in the driver’s seat, jumped down and caught up with him.

“hehehe, is this your first Tournoble? I will show you the way.”

Terrence smiled kindly.

He’s presbyopia for his age, but he has a pretty cute side.

“Shouldn’t you be doing commercial work?”

“I just need to play the role of coachman well. I hope you have time until tomorrow.”

“Right. Then I beg you Because I don’t know geography.”

Even if Carl had traveled all over the empire in his previous life, he did not know the way to every city.

Thinking he was good, he put his arm around Terrence’s shoulder.

“Are you going straight to the exam room?”

“hmm. Do you know where the exam is held?”

“If it were a priest selection test in Tournoble, it would be a temple. There is a noon temple in Tournoble, and they will probably do it all at once there. It is said that there used to be a Temple of Dawn, but it was closed because there were too few followers.”

“… … Too bad. Then, ask for a guide to the noon temple.”

“Let’s go!”

Terrence, who volunteered as a guide.

Carl followed him.

***

A street full of street vendors along the main road.

They were selling things like grilled skewers of pork and some vegetables, or bread freshly baked in the morning.

There were also sandwiches advertised as using vegetables grown directly on the farm.

However, the highlight was the roasting of a whole pig by raising it on an iron skewer and turning it by two men.

On the way to the temple, the delicious smell wafted through the nostrils of Carl and Terence as they passed the street of street vendors.

“Would you like a taste? If you want to eat, I’ll give you a bite. You are a life saver.”

Terrence said as Carl stared at the whole pork barbecue.

However, the reason why the knife stopped was for a different reason than the taste of the meat.

“It’s still morning, but they’re already grilling meat.”

Clearly, Tournoble is one of the busiest cities in the eastern part of the Empire.

However, grilling meat in the morning has nothing to do with the prosperity of the city.

‘I would say that the atmosphere is different.’

Meirium, where most of the villagers grow fruit.

It is busy with the movement of farmers from early morning.

I have to eat breakfast quickly and go to work so that I can finish big things before the sun gets hot at noon.

If meat was grilled from morning like that on the roadside of Meirium, that day would be the day of the village festival.

Someone got married, got married, or some old man turned 70 or something like that.

But here, as if it were natural, they were grilling a whole pig.

Even from early morning.

“This is Tournoble, isn’t it? A city of beer!”

“A city of beer?”

“You didn’t know! Tournoble is a famous barley growing area. If our village, Meirium, is an orchard village, Tournoble is indeed the leading barley producer in the empire. It happened a hundred years ago when someone discovered that the soil around here was very suitable for barley production. Until then, it was a small fruit producing area.”

“hmm… … .”

If it had been like that for over a hundred years, there would be no way to know with a knife.

At least 200 years ago, when he lived in Tournoble, it was very different from now.

Tournoble in those days was a quiet country town with nothing famous.

‘Looks like wealth has accumulated since I started growing barley.’

town, city, country.

What these three words have in common is ‘person’.

i.e. population.

When people gather and live in a certain place, it becomes a village, and when the scale grows, it becomes a city, and when cities gather, it becomes a country.

And what makes people flock is food!

Villages and cities usually appear where there is a wide plain where you can grow crops such as wheat, barley, and potatoes.

Perhaps that’s why Tournoble, which was poor 200 years ago, is now one of the busiest cities in the East.

Beer is also an alcoholic beverage made from barley.

“There is a drinking party from early lunchtime here. Tournoble natives as well as tourists looking for good beer. That’s why I’m grilling meat in the morning like that. I can sell it right away in time for lunch.”

As Terrence had said, there were several chairs and tables roughly carved out of wood around the fire.

If you buy beer and sit over there and order, they’ll cut off the ripe part of the barrel and sell it.

The appearance of people enjoying good alcohol and delicious meat was drawn.

“It’s a pretty good place to live.”

I feel a little envious.

Because Carl spent his entire life fighting the undead army on the battlefield.

On the other hand, the people in this city are very good people.

It’s not even noon yet, but I’m enjoying alcohol and meat… … .

But on the other hand, it also made my heart warm.

‘I guess my efforts weren’t in vain.’

He and his comrades sacrificed their lives to defeat the Lich King.

It is because of their sacrifices that future generations will enjoy such an abundant life.

He probably wouldn’t have been able to dream of such abundance if Carl hadn’t stopped the Lich King.

When I thought so, I felt proud and at the same time reflected on my past life.

‘Why did you try to use poison like that? It’s not like I’m the only paladin!’

Of course, Carlos is the only supreme Paladin who has received the title of ‘Paladin’.

However, there were just too many paladins.

Why didn’t I think of teaching them to make them better fighters?

‘I don’t like poisoning anymore.’

Don’t suffer alone, let’s raise others.

That’s why I’m reviving the Dawning Church more than it was in my previous life.

Whether it’s the Lich King or whoever comes in, I’ll crush them all!

In order to do that, you’ll have to pass the priesthood test first.

Carl resumed the steps he had stopped in front of the roast.

“You don’t eat pork? I can buy it for you.”

“I think we can have it for dinner. See the test first.”

“Then I will definitely treat you for dinner, priest.”

“That would be nice too.”

Terrence smiled and got ahead again.

After a while, the two arrived in front of an old-fashioned stone building.

“Everything is here, priest.”

A circle spanning a long horizontal line.

It is the Divine Mark of the Noon Church.

The pattern was carved into the middle of a tall stone building.

“What are you here for?”

Just then, a guard guarding the main gate of the temple at noon asked Carl.

A proper guard wearing shiny plate mail and a steel longsword.

‘It’s a bit different from the Mayrium branch… … .’

The Meirium branch of the Temple of Dawn lacks priests to take care of the sick, let alone guards at the entrance.

By comparison, the noon temple at Tournoble was also in good shape.

“I came to take the priesthood exam.”

“What kind of priestly exam are you talking about?”

“I will apply for the post of battle priest of the Dawn Bridge.”

“Battle fuse… … ?”

The guard ran the knife up and down.

It was a little rude, but not incomprehensible.

Most of the clothes on her skinny body are rags.

It’s because he’s wearing a wooden sword at his waist, not even a real sword.

However, the shabby appearance was not a reason for disqualification from the priestly exam, so the guards reluctantly nodded.