Raising Paladins

Episode 8. Tira’s Homemade Lemon Tea (3)

“I have a question for you, high priest.”

“Tell me anything.”

A pendant that has been sucked out of its core

Carl handed it back to Clemens.

Clemens put the pendant around his neck with a happy heart, thinking to himself, ‘This is a treasure that even the messengers of God are pleased with!’.

It must be an illusion that somehow it feels colder than before.

“Isn’t winter coming soon? Then the priest selection exam will be held.”

“That’s right. But why?”

A look of loneliness appeared on Clemens’ face as he questioned.

Eric, who was sipping tea next to him, did the same.

“Is there something wrong?”

Clemens lets out a small sigh.

“It is true that the priest selection exam is held every winter. However, almost no applicants apply for the Dawning Temple… … The reality is that the tests that were originally taken at each branch are being taken all at once in a nearby large city.”

“hmm… … .”

to sum up.

It means that in order to take the priest selection exam, you have to go to a nearby big city.

From Carl’s point of view, something is bitter.

It’s not that I don’t understand it at all.

‘I don’t even apply for a few people, but it costs a lot to send test papers and examiners to each branch.’

The Dawn Bridge is on the verge of collapsing.

So, it is to gather applicants in one place and take the test.

“How about the Noon Bridge or the Twilight Bridge? Are the other tribes tested like that?”

“They have a better situation than the Dawning Cult. It is true that all three tribes of the Sun Temple are not as good as they used to be, but among them, the Church of Dawn has lost the most power. Not only our Merium branch, but also the temples of the Church of Dawn in other towns are the same. It’s unfortunate… … .”

Carl nodded softly.

‘It’s to the point where you can even take off glass and sell it, but it must be obvious. If only the Meirium branch had been struggling, the neighboring villages or the Sun Temple in the capital would have reached out to help.’

But wait a minute.

Carl feels something strange.

He looked back and forth between Clemens and Eric.

“I heard from Tira that there are no priests who use divine power anymore. Then, how do the Noon Church and the Dusk Church maintain their vigor? Shouldn’t we all fail together to fail?”

“That must have been greatly influenced by the ‘Paladin of Dawn’ who was the spiritual supporter of the Dawn Church in the past.”

It was Eric’s answer.

“Hey, what about the Paladin of Dawn?”

“We, the Church of Dawn, followed Paladin and considered healing the sick through the use and response of divine power as the highest virtue. That’s why he healed the most sick among the three tribes. At the time, the Yeomyeong Church treated the sick and received a lot of money, so it seems that they did not feel the need to develop other businesses. Conversely, the Noon Church and the Dusk Church stood out in social business and trade rather than treating the sick. Maybe that difference didn’t make the current situation… … I see it that way.”

“Ugh, is it my fault again?”

“yes? what did you just say… … ?”

“Oh, no.”

A knife that almost made you swear badly.

he was heartbroken

‘So, because I’m such a proud guy, everyone followed me and studied divine power treatment, right? Then, when I died and the divine tree withered and the divine power sensor disappeared, it collapsed at the fastest speed? The Noon Church or the Dusk Church’s divine power treatment seemed to be unsuitable for our Dawn Church, so I switched to the other side, and that became a chance for a knight’s revival?’

A case like this dog!

thud!

Carl bangs the table in frustration! hit it

Clemens’ eyes trembled anxiously.

“… … Lion?”

“… … ?”

“Are you thinking of going to another tribe?”

Carl realizes why Clemens is anxious.

he laughed lightly

He must have been mistaken as if he was going to leave as he kept inquiring about other tribes.

“It can’t be. As I said, I have been told by God to focus on the revival of the Dawning Church.”

“Oh oh… … ! I was worried that the lion was going to go to another tribe where circumstances were better! I’m so glad you’re not!”

snap!

Clemens takes Carl’s hand.

It’s a bit embarrassing, but I just let it go.

He felt sorry for committing a bit of fraud (?), and thought it would be okay to give a little consolation to the old high-ranking priest who must have been upset at the collapsing Meirium branch.

Carl, who had been sharing warmth for a while, asked.

“Has the selection test schedule already come out?”

“Ah, of course. Please wait a moment.”

Clemens rummaged through the office table.

Several bundles of documents scattered in a complicated manner.

Picking up one of them, he said.

“It is next Monday. There is only one week left.”

‘It’s been a week… … .’

Enough time.

It only takes one day to go to Tournoble, the largest city in the East.

‘I don’t need to prepare for the exam.’

Before he was a supreme paladin, he graduated from the Knight Academy and was the youngest cardinal at the Sun Temple. Preparing for the exam was a luxury.

Whether written or not, I am determined to destroy everything.

The important thing is to remove the risk factors that could occur if you leave your seat in advance.

Carl, who had finished organizing his thoughts, rose from his seat.

“I believe that you will actively cooperate in the future, and I will stand up. And for the time being, I ask that you profess my identity as a trainee priest like Tira, and that only we know that I am the messenger who preached the word of God.”

***

– Please stop by the office often and tell me the word of God, Lion!

Carl barely comforts Clemens, who insists on having one more cup of tea.

Returning to the room, he sat still on the bed and straightened his posture.

“Whoa… … .”

Divine power is the power of faith and respect for God.

As I meditated with the right mindset, the divine power absorbed from the pendant reacted.

‘Have you been playing well?’

Perhaps because it had stayed in the pendant for so long, the divine power was circling all over the sword’s body.

If it was like other people, it could be in great danger due to the movement of excessive divine power.

But who is Carl?

As soon as he was born, he responded to divine power, and when he was five years old, he used that divine power to cure his mother’s cold.

When he was 8 years old, he showed the miracle of lighting fire without flint by substituting divine power with natural power.

Although they have settled in a new body, there is nothing difficult about them because the souls that respond to divine power are the same.

Rather, the bigger and stronger the divine power, the more joy it gives to the sword.

‘That’s right, my son. Well done!’

Carl smiled heartily as he felt the shaking power.

Thinking back on it, I was lucky to have gained such considerable divine power from the pendant!

Because the first handful of divine energy obtained from the seedling was almost consumed.

A pendant that appeared just in time to find a new source of divine power!

Thanks to that, I don’t think I will have to look for a new source for the time being.

‘The quantity is large and the energy is pure.’

There are several types of sources of divine power.

A divine object, an object that has been blessed by God.

Statues worshiped by many believers or used for frequent large-scale gatherings, and appendages to shrines.

And an artifact possessed by pious priests.

Clemens’ amber pendant was the last case.

‘What would the former priests do if they found out that I had obtained all the divine power of the pendant?’

I don’t know, but I’ll be very upset.

Divine power accumulated step by step for the sake of the future high-ranking priest of Meirium!

The knife that suddenly appeared sucked it all up!

But it’s not necessarily a bad thing for them.

Because the current Clemens can’t respond to divine power.

If it continues to be passed on to future generations, the divine power that dwells there will be forever useless.

‘Think positively, I’ll write it well!’

After completing the mental victory (?) like that, the sword called upon the divine powers that wandered around the body.

‘Now, let’s do what we have to do.’

Actually, I had a problem while coming to the room.

Do you want to gain strength by strengthening your body with the divine power you have now acquired?

Or will you let the divine power stay in the heart and make the heart the source of divine power itself?

Of course, the trouble didn’t last long.

‘If you just look in front of your nose, it’s obvious that you’ll fall asleep. Let’s look far and go, look far!’

What if you strengthen your body with divine power?

Immediately, all scars and impure residues left on this body will disappear.

And his muscles and bones will be strengthened, so he will have a physique more suitable for a paladin than anyone else.

But that’s not good in the long run.

If you use up all this energy to strengthen your body, you will have to starve until you find a new source.

Conversely, what if you gave a part of your heart to the divine power?

Although weak, it is possible to produce divine power little by little from the heart.

‘I must not repeat the mistakes I made in my previous life!’

The theory of operating divine power established before he was even born.

There, it was recommended to store the divine power obtained from the source in various parts of the body and change it to the necessary power when desired.

Of course, even in that way, the sword became the strongest.

However, it was only at the end that I realized the downside of that method.

If you keep putting it in the bowl, it will overflow someday!

After gaining an epiphany right before the battle with the Lich King.

Carl devised a solution after long prayers.

that’s right… … .

‘It’s not that the body becomes a sacred instrument that holds the divine power, but it becomes the source of the divine power itself!’

Enormous divine power was constantly injected into the heart.

An ignorant and dangerous method that other paladins and priests would not dare to dare!

But Carl was able to do it with natural talent and faith.

After going through that process, nearly half of the heart was dyed a brilliant silver color.

I felt it myself even without opening my chest.

That he himself became the source of divine power!

‘Even if I had lost my divine power because of the wrong method!’

If that was the case, I would have been able to dye my entire heart silver.

So many of my comrades wouldn’t have died in the battle with the Lich King.

In this life, I intended to create that ‘silver heart’ from the beginning.

[High-Risk Paranoid State Room – Be sure to lock the door!]

Clap!

A knife that locks itself by locking it.

I quietly closed the door and sat down on the floor of the hospital room.

I don’t want anyone to disturb me when I’m doing this.

‘It’s different from the body of the previous life that was a paladin.’

The body of the strongest paladin, completed through extreme training.

You can’t even compare that body with the pitiful body you have now.

This dangerous and important act of divine power must be supported by the body and stamina.

However, it is impossible now, so the only thing to believe in is the strength of the mind and soul.

And the god who sent him here.

‘If I don’t, I’ll die. what can you do? If it fails, you have to save me again.’

-Have you seen this Goyan guy!

It’s as if God said so.

After dying once and then coming back to life, we had a short conversation and now it feels like a friend.

‘Anyway, let’s start!’

Carl closed his eyes and fell into a silent world.

He began to infuse the divine power that roamed his body into his heart.

***

“What did you just say?”

A giant sitting on a large brass table.

A man twice the size of the others asked the person standing in front of him.

“That, that… … Daryl and some of them haven’t returned yet.”

“Didn’t you go deer hunting like last time?”

“I knew that too… … A merchant who went to deliver fruit to the temple saw his older brother and children there.”

“Temple? You mean the Temple of Dawn?”

“… … yes.”

There is only one temple in Meirium.

Besides, there was no one in Meirium who did not know that the temple was on the verge of destruction.

But Daryl and the gang are there?

It is also strange that the beggar from yesterday was sent to the temple to retrieve the money.

“What are they doing there?”

“I heard he was hanging out the laundry.”

“Wash?”

Hanson doubted his ears.

it’s laundry

Words come out so unexpectedly that it is embarrassing.

“… … Just in case, I sent a couple of kids to the main gate of the temple, but Daryl didn’t even poke his nose. It seems that she continues to wash clothes in the temple.”

“… … ?”

If you were stuck in a market or a tavern in an entertainment district, you would have thought so.

Or that they were hunting in the fields outside of town.

Hana Temple of the Dawning?

No matter how much you think about it, it is there that it is difficult to find a point of contact with them.

‘I’ll just have to get the money as instructed, so why do the laundry there?’

It wouldn’t be strange to be anywhere else in Meirium.

But staying at the Temple of Dawn is very suspicious.

If you say women, there are only priests and sick people, and there is no place to come out of money.

‘what? Those bastards?’

Hanson has been dominating the Mayrium market for over ten years.

This was the first time.

“Send the children to the temple. Tell him you want to meet Daryl and the kids. respectfully.”

“Politely?”

“then? Are you going to bully me like in the market? No matter how ruined a temple is, a temple is a temple. Don’t be rude, just talk and come. And find that homeless bastard and bring me my fifteen kroners.”

“Yes, Brother Hanson.”

“You go yourself. Because I have to meet the mayor.”

“All right.”

The name of the man who nodded was Josephson.

If Daryl was Hanson’s right hand, Josephson was his left.

He’s not good enough to fight, but he’s pretty smart.

‘Maybe a good opportunity has come.’

As long as it’s not for Daryl, the second-in-command position in Hanson’s gang is yours!

A small smile appeared on Joseph’s lips as he left the residence.