The Sword and The Dress - V2C6 PART1

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Clauen refused to enter the church, thus only Captain Jullius and I reentered the church once more. Unlike before, this time no one came to pick us up because we came here again without prior notice. I stopped a random clergy who was passing by and asked him.

“Where could I find the High Priest?”

The clergy saw Captain Jullius then he rocoiled in fear and gave a curt reply while averting his eyes.

“You can’t meet without an appointment.”

“But this person here is the leader of Special Task Squad, he comes to receive the blessings.”

“If you’ve made an appointment, there will be someone who’ll come out to fetch you. Otherwise, you can’t meet the High Priest.”

Having said that, the clergy then left like the wind as if he’s running for his life. Darn it.

“We’re in trouble.”

If we want to meet the Saintess, we’ll also be given similar respond, so for now I think we should look for Tess and Vatein to ask for their help. Or maybe we could…

“Follow me. Let’s just go there at once.”

I held Captain Jullius’ hand and started to move. Inside the Holy Church, a certain area was enclosed and protected by a barrier. Beyond there, is a place where the main personages, -started from the High Priest and the Saintess till all the way to the elders-, stay within the church and also it’s a place where various sacred relics, confidential documents and books are kept. Therefore, the barrier permitted only those who were given the permission to go inside could enter it.

‘If the barrier recognizes the soul, then I should be able to enter it too.’

The barrier was made from holy power after all, so maybe it might work out. Because holy power was attached to the soul.

“We’ll be in trouble if we get caught, so let me know if anyone comes closer.”

“Got it.”

I think Captain Jullius must have a better keen sense of danger than me right now. Soon after, we arrived at the restricted area where the barrier was created, and Captain Jullius and I were able to pass through it easily without a hitch. As expected, it works! However, the High Priest wasn’t in the prayer room.

“Uhm… let’s head to the garden.”

(T/N: actually the literal translation should be ‘kitchen garden’ but let’s just keep it simple)

“Garden?”

“Yup. He’s probably there.”

The High Priest’s main hobby is gardening. If he had become a black lump out of his concern over me, he wouldn’t have been able to tend to it properly for a while so he must have run straight to the garden after that. As expected, the High Priest was agonizing in front of the withered cabbage.

A variety of crops planted in a small garden surrounded by red stones, were withering away in different kind of forms. The High Priest’s garden was being called by a different name among a few people who knew of it. It’s called as the High Priest’s ‘plant torture garden’. I heard he was the eldest son of a family that do farming for generations, but I didn’t know why every plant he touched was wilting bit by bit until it’s barely living while still hanging onto its last breath. Worst of all, those poor crops couldn’t even die. That being said, he’s also like that in a sense.

“Don’t fret over nothing, just use recovery magic on them.”

I mean, the High Priest could even revive the Duchess who had already one step away from moving onto the afterlife in an instant after all. What the hell was he thinking about for him to change his hair color into pink all of a sudden? The High Priest looked back at me and Captain Jullius then said.

“We shouldn’t be overly dependent on the Goddess’ mercy.”

“The branch next to it seems to have already received a plenty of the Goddess’ mercy.”

“…, Sir Roel, you’re too much.”

The one that should be considered as too much was this grandpa who tortured those innocent plants. While it’s great for not giving up, he’s really something else for not making any progress on his gardening skill as well. I guess the reason for the latter could be related to the usage of holy power. Anyway, in the end he did managed to grow it somehow without failure, and because it grew thus his skill didn’t improve.n
Moreover, the pickled vegetables has received an abundant amount of holy power, so they’re treated as a valuable commodity. Thus, it’s only served for the Imperial Family and high-ranking nobles. Either the vegetables going into the mouth of the Imperial Family or the mouth of the high-ranking nobles, he hated them just the same.

In the end, the High Priest used holy magic so the cabbage returned fresh again, then he sighed deeply.

“This time it’s supposed to be going well, but it’s all because of Sir Roel that it has become like this.”

“Why me?”

“Because I was worried about the uncertainty of Sir Roel’s soul whereabouts that I couldn’t take care of it so it became like this.”

Well, I think it wouldn’t differ much whether you took care of it or not. No, if anything, not taking care of it might have given some of those wilted plants a chance to stay alive. Although I thought so, but I didn’t blurt it out loud. When that grandpa was sulking, he became annoying in many ways.

The High Priest took off his dirty gloves that were stained with soil then turned around to face us.

“Though I indeed told you to come over to play often, but you’re here again so soon.”

“Captain Jullius hasn’t received his blessings yet. And–“

I looked at Captain Jullius who was standing one step behind me. Then he looked at the High Priest and said.

“I want to tell Lord Roel everything about me.”

“Oh, about that.”

The High Priest tilted his head slightly with an ambiguous expression.

“Let’s go inside first. It’s not something to talk about in the open.”

There’s practically no one wandered around in this vicinity anyway. As the High Priest lead the way by walking in short quick steps, his long hair that hung loosely down his back, gradually dyed in black.

“How much have you heard?”

The High Priest who brought out the black tea, looked at me and asked straightforwardly. Instead of answering, I looked at Captain Jullius who was sitting next to me. I’ve made a vow previously so even though the other party was also someone in the know, I still couldn’t directly disclosed anything.

“…, I told Lord Roel that when I was a child, I was offered as a sacrifice to fulfill a contract with the demon clan and later I escaped from there.”

“Then, from that bit, you would’ve guessed– no, there’s no way he would have told you that.”

The High Priest gave me a look of pity. What is it?

“Don’t you know?”

“…, about what?”

“No, the problem didn’t lie in Sir Roel. Adjutant Sieg was largely to blame for being overprotective.”

I wonder if I had been overprotected by him, because as far as I could remember, he had always been hard on me. No, thinking back about the matter with Cain back then, perhaps he has been protecting me unbeknownst to me. Perhaps he’s already done a lot more without me knowing it.

“If you think about it, you’ll find something strange. First of all, what is the main reason for the demons to make contracts with humans?”

“That’s because the fastest and easiest way for the demons to build up their power is by absorbing human souls. However, unlike long time ago in the past, the entire world is now sheltered under the Goddess’ protection, so the demons can’t deprive and absorb human souls without making a contract.”

“Yes, it’s precisely so. Then, have you ever wondered on why the demons kept a human soul in their hands for over a decade when the contract has already ended?”

After hearing the High Priest’s words, I reflexively turned my head sideways. Captain Jullius fell into the hands of the demons when he was still a newborn baby. And yet, he survived for more than a decade then escaped from there. How come? He tried to hide his feeling, but it’s still showed on his face that he was crestfallen as I looked at his face, then I turned my gaze back to the High Priest again.

“…, what’s the reason behind that?”

“Actually I don’t know the exact reason either.”n
…, I was a little upset for a moment. This grandpa is really something.

“But for them to keep him alive, the demons must have some need of him for sure. First of all, magic doesn’t work on Sir Rizar.”

(T/N: actually the literal translation is ‘mana doesn’t go through Sir Rizar’, which means he can’t use magic nor magic works on him either.)

“Magic?”

“Yes. So even though he doesn’t have holy power, I guess maybe because he’s also not affected by magic, he was able to kill the Demon King who made the contract and received him as a sacrifice.”

The fact that magic didn’t work on him, meant that the demons had to deal with Captain Jullius only by exerting indirect magic force or using physical force. In other words, it might be a bit more difficult than the holy knight, but far easier than ordinary knight in comparison for him to finish a demon off. I wanted to know how he managed to defeat the demon at a Demon King level at that age, I’ve never realized it’s due to his resistance of magic.

“And at the same time, his body can’t accept the blessings of the holy power either.”

The High Priest continued to talk, while fiddling with the handle of the teacup.

“If you have holy power, you’ll have resistance against magic powers, meanwhile if you have magic power, you’ll have resistance against holy powers. If you have neither of them, then you can absorb them both altogether. Normally, there are only these three possible circumtances, but Sir Rizar is an exception. He’s neither a clergy nor a demon, and to call him a normal human being, it’s not quite right either.”

… what?

“Uh, but at that time, he could comply with the Goddess’ oath.”

“… what?”

The High Priest widened his eyes and instantly frowned.

“Sir Roel!”

“Yes?”

“Just now, what’s the thing you say you’ve done?”

“Uh….”

Damn it, I made a slip of the tongue. I shrank back and replied.

“The Goddess’… oath.”

“Why did you do that? You clearly know you should never do it!”

“Because of me Lord Roel–“

“It’s only natural that Sir Rizar knew nothing of it. But that’s not the case for Sir Roel! If adjutant Sieg finds out about this fact, he will find a way to deal with Sir Rizar!”

“That’s going too far…”

“Do you think he won’t dare to do it?”

I behaved myself and just shut my mouth. B-But, isn’t that too extreme? As a matter of course, killing the other party of the contract is the only way to cancel the oath though. The High Priest looked at the two of us alternately and let out a long sigh.

“Sir Roel. Do you like Sir Rizar?”

“Yes.”

“Then, in front of adjutant Sieg, make sure to make it very obvious that you’re in love. If anything goes wrong with Sir Rizar, Sir Roel will be very sad and having a hard time. If you don’t act like you can’t live without Sir Rizar, then don’t know when adjutant Sieg will lay his hands on Sir Rizar.”

“Captain Jullius isn’t that weak.”

“He could put Sir Rizar under false charge that might lead him to be sentenced to death. Even if he’s lucky enough to escape, he will be a wanted criminal and have to run away for the rest of his life.”

That, that might happen for real. If it’s Captain Jullius, he could easily make his escape, but it would be bad to keep being pursued forever. I need to watch my mouth. At all costs.

“Even if he finds out about the oath, you can fool him and get away with it if Sir Roel acts well, but you definitely must keep the conversation we’ve right now a secret no matter what. Not just from adjutant Sieg but also from anyone else.”

“By the conversation we’ve right now, you mean about how Captain Jullius can’t accept neither magic nor holy power, right?”

“Yes. This is a fact no one but me and Sir Rizar knows about.”

I wonder if Ortzen and Clauen also didn’t know about this.n
“First of all, the Goddess’s oath is a holy spell that works externally, so there should be no problem. The holy power that is applied physically and mentally such as healing, strengthening, and purification, doesn’t work on Sir Rizar. Therefore, coming here to receive the blessings is just for the sake of formality and put on a facade so as not to cause suspicion, when in actuality it has no use. Its usage is to protect him from magic and Sir Rizar doesn’t even have any need of it anyway.”

Well, I suppose so.

“And above all, I haven’t told Sir Rizar about the biggest problem here either.”

The High Priest sighed again and continued to talk.

“There may exist other demons who know about Sir Rizar’s condition besides the one he has killed before.”

Uh… so what you’re trying to say is…

“Are you saying that other demons might be after Captain Jullius?”

“Yes.”

…Then, Captain Jullius shouldn’t come with us when we go to capture that bastard Demon King. Even if the demon clan launched an attack within the capital city vicinity, there would be no problem as there are the High Priest and various knights all over the place, but it would be dangerous if we went near the Black Desert vicinity. In the end, we have to go without Captain Jullius to–

“Lord Roel.”

Suddenly I heard a rigid voice coming from beside me. I turned my head and looked at the stiff expression on Captain Jullius’ face.

“Don’t worry too much, anyway–“

“I’m going to call off the engagement.”

“…, what?”

I inadvertently asked in a harsh tone of voice. My forehead also creased into a deep frown. What nonsense are you spouting about all of a sudden?

“If you stay by my side, Lord Roel might be in danger–“

“Shut up. That’s my own business and I’ll take care of it myself.”

Really, what are you talking about.

Rattle.

I furiously stomped on my feet and stood up from my seat then looked down at Captain Jullius.

“Hey look here Sir Jullius Rizar. It looks like you’re mistaken something here, but I’m a former holy knight. I was even the leader of the Holy Knight Squad as well. I know you may have dealt with a lot of demons by yourself in the past, but since I was a kid, I have also learned how to hunt them professionally and have been continuously hunting them. Are you looking down on me just because you succeeded in killing the contract maker Demon King meanwhile here I am, ended up losing everything I had as I missed my chance to catch such a lowly bastard Demon King?”

(T/N: 이봐요 can be translated as ‘hey’/’excuse me’/’look here’. But it’s a rude expression to call/gain someone’s attention. It’s used when someone is angry/irritated of sort.)

“No, I’m…”

“Well that’s right, I’ve become rather weak right now. I also know that. However, we’re not in the battlefield but inside a safe capital city, even if the demons come to invade the capital, I still won’t be trembling in fear you know? So what of it? It’s nothing but demons anyway! Either way, it will be mainly a long distance battle using magic rather than close combat battle! Do you get it?!”

Captain Jullius was taken aback and just nodding his head.

“That… I know it’s as such.”

“‘In other words, even if I can’t catch the Demon King, I won’t be that helpless since my holy power still remains the same! Therefore the demons’ magic doesn’t work on me! Isn’t that right, High Priest?”

As if looking on a fire across a river, the High Priest was just looking at the two of us relaxedly while reminiscing.

(T/N: 강 건너 불구경하듯 is an idiom (lit. translation: as if looking on a fire across a river) which mean to have indifferent attitude as if it were someone else’s business/to be a spectator.)

“Yes, that’s right.”

“See? I told you so!”

Captain Jullius dropped his eyes like a child that was being scolded as I browbeat him.

“But…”

“But what?”n
“I don’t want Lord Roel to be in danger because of me, I hate it.”

“I’ve told you it’s not dangerous!”

As I kept raising my voice, Captain Jullius then shrank away and the High Priest decided to interfere.

“Don’t be too hard on him like that, Sir Roel. There’s always one in ten thousand so it’s only natural for Sir Rizar to be worried about you. If adjutant Sieg finds out about this, not only he’ll try to break off your engagement, but also prevent you from meeting each other by any means.”

(T/N: 만에 하나 is an idiom (lit. translation: one in ten thousand) used to describe something of low and tiny probability)

… what? Just as I’ve ended up getting engaged on a high note, I wondered why the obstacles seemed to be increasing all of a sudden.

“Please don’t give adjutant Sieg permission to leave the church!”

“No, that won’t do. You can’t leave him alone like a child at the waterside.”

(T/N: 물가에 애 혼자 내놓을 is an idiom (lit. translation: like a child at the waterside) means being worry/uneasy about something)

“He’s not a child!”

“You knew about Sir Rizar’s past and didn’t even question it. The Emperor and others who knew of Sir Rizar expressed their doubts, so I was asked to ascertain that there was no problem and made an excuse for him.”

Ugh, that’s…
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