How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 96: Uncomfortable Encounters (2)

Osian’s head was spinning.

Why in the world would Judge Martinez come all the way to Tirna?

‘No way, he hasn’t given up on Ena yet?’

He thought he’d given up enough, but maybe he hadn’t? To follow her all the way to Tirna, that wasn’t his usual tenacity.

Even so, it must be a coincidence that we met here.

The emotion in Martinez’s eyes was enough to tell.

Ena’s hand trembled as she gripped the hem of her dress.

It was a natural reaction. The Judge of the Holy Land of Petra, the man who had tried to kill her, was here.

‘This is not a good place to fight.’

Especially with all the children and nuns around.

That’s what kept Osian from drawing his sword right away.

He wasn’t really afraid.

It wasn’t like he was going to lose if he fought again, and it was Osian himself who had declared that he would come to him whenever he wanted.

I didn’t think he would actually come here, but I wasn’t going to let it end in vain.

Martinez looked at Osian and Ena and his eyes widened.

“You guys…….”

Boom!

The bucket Martinez was carrying fell to the floor.

His expression turned complicated.

‘I was expecting him to wield the mace the moment we met.’

However, Martinez’s eyes turned fierce as if he had made up his mind.

“Hey, man, you can’t just throw away the water you’ve barely scooped up!”

Dorthea punched Martinez in the back of the head with all her might.

“Eh?!”

Ena’s eyes widened to tears.

*

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve only been in here recently, and I’ve seen how little he listens and doesn’t understand. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Oh, no. That’s okay.”

“Aww, you don’t have to do that! They’re such nice people, giving us free food, how could you take it so lightly! Hey, you apologize too!”

“Gee, it’s okay!”

Ena assured Dorthea, who was scratching her head and laughing, that it was okay, but Dorthea dragged Martinez in front of her.

Ena was breathless.

Their previous encounter had not gone well. Martinez had tried to kill Ena Grunt, and when they parted ways, she had run him over with her car.

Of course, as a man of divine power, he would have shrugged off such a wound.

He wondered if the fact that he’d been victimized by a witch might still be a grudge.

“That, that…….”

Ena rolled her eyes. She couldn’t make eye contact with Martinez.

Since she couldn’t keep her composure, Osian spoke for her.

“More than that, why are you here?”

“That’s…….”

“Because the main office sent him!”

Dorthea smirked and patted Martinez on the back.

Martinez frowned, but didn’t really retort.

“They did?”

“They want him to stay here a little longer to get some experience. He’s young even though he looks like this.”

“That’s true.”

Osian realized as soon as he saw Martinez’s reaction.

Ostensibly, the inexperienced Martinez had come to Tirna to get experience, but in reality, it was more like an exile.

‘But he’s pretty tame for such a thing.’

Martinez is a pretty good boy for all that: he does what Dorthea asks him to do, like fetch water, and he stays still when she pats him on the back like that.

But Martinez didn’t always stay still.

It was just as Dorthea was biting the pure white tobacco in her mouth.

“Sister Dorthea, are you smoking that again?”

“Oh, why again.”

“Smoking is harmful. It’s not good for you. Why don’t you quit for the children’s sake?”

“There you go again, nagging me. I’m older than you.”

“If you are older, set an example like an older woman. You are in charge of the church here. You have a duty to take care of your health.”

“Alas, I don’t hear you, I don’t hear you.”

“Don’t you talk to me like that again…….”

Judging by the suddenness of their conversation, this wasn’t the first time they had talked like this.

“Huh.”

Osian let out an involuntary chuckle, and Martinez glared at him.

“Why are you laughing?”

“The situation is kind of funny.”

“What’s funny?”

Dorthea interrupted just as things were about to get ugly between them.

“Oh, come to think of it, do you two know each other? You seemed to have a lot of chemistry earlier.”

Dorthea’s eyes flashed mischievously. Martinez started to tell her to get out of the way, but Osian slapped him.

“I ran into him once while I was working. We got to know each other, but it wasn’t a great first meeting.”

“Oh, I think I know what it is, he’s not very social and he’s very blunt. It’s fate that you’re here, but you two should have a private chat.”

Dorthea nudged Martinez in the direction of Osian.

“Sister Dorthea, I’m sure you’re just trying to get away from my nagging by saying that.”

Martinez hit the nail on the head, but Dorthea pretended not to hear and dragging Ena with her was a bonus.

An awkward silence fell between Osian and Martinez, who remained behind.

“Well, it’s fate that brought us here, so let’s at least talk.”

“…….”

Martinez nodded his head and the two made their way to the backyard of the church.

The church itself was old, but the grounds looked neat and tidy, as if they were constantly maintained.

“How long have you been here?”

“Not long.”

“What brought you here, after all?”

Osian asked where it hurt.

But it was a question that had to be asked at least once.

“It was because I was weak. My faith only went so far, and that’s why I’m here now.”

Martinez doesn’t seem to hold any ill will toward Osian.

In fact, he even embraced his failure as a sign of his own inadequacy.

“I’m surprised. I thought you’d hold a grudge.”

“It’s true that at first I had negative feelings toward you for being with the heretics. But the fight that day made me think differently.”

“Interesting. What thoughts?”

“That pure white light…whoever wields it might not be a bad person.”

What Martinez was talking about was the Starlight Sword and the Nebula Silk.

Who could disparage the light of the heavens as heretical?

Martinez, after all, was the one who had faced that pure power himself.

“I do not understand why a man of faith like you would aid a witch.”

Osian questioned Martinez’s words, then realized why.

‘Faith stat.’

Paladins and priests have faith in the gods.

In contrast, the faith of a wandering knight, or celestial knight, is interpreted differently.

It’s faith in heavenly beings, such as the Stars and the power of the Moon, but it’s also faith in one’s own strength.

In any case, with a high Faith stat, it was a good thing that Martinez didn’t antagonize Osian too much.

“I lost because I was weak. I have no regrets about being punished for that.”

“A punishment…….Is coming to this city a punishment?”

“This is a city of sinners. You wouldn’t like a place where witches, warlocks, and heathens roam free.”

“Well, for all that, you seem to be doing just fine here.”

“That’s because…….”

Martinez hesitated for a moment, then continued.

“The children here are innocent, and there’s Sister Dorthea.”

“Though her behavior is unbecoming of a nun.”

“Sister Dorthea’s behavior is a little out of line.”

“A little?”

“……More than you might think. But she is as faithful as anyone. The fact that she hasn’t run away from this place, that she’s single-handedly leading the church and caring for the children is proof of that.”

“I see. I’m surprised. Wouldn’t a man of your caliber, even if he was demoted, be assigned to a larger branch?”

“I’m here because I want to be. It’s not a punishment.”

What a high-minded guy.

I felt it even when we fought, but I wonder if it was because he had been thoroughly educated in his faith since childhood.

He could have been a little bit like other kids his age, but he was so mature that it felt alien.

“Isn’t it hard for you to be so strict with yourself?”

“I’ve always been this way. I never thought it was hard.”

The Judge was in that position.

Moreover, it was Martinez who possessed the greatest talent and held a position among the 13 Judges.

He was a tremendous talent who could use all of the [Divine Chants] despite not being of age.

It was no wonder that wherever he went, he was greeted with fearful stares.

Martinez was no longer surprised by the reaction.

The more he prayed about it, the more he believed it was a test from the Father, and the more reverently he threw himself into the task of capturing heretics.

“This is the path I’ve walked, this is the life I’ve believed in. I have never questioned it.”

“I see, but you’ve grown a great deal of self-control, judging by the fact that you didn’t pounce on Ena as soon as you saw her.”

“I’m not so foolish as to……forget my condition and go on a heresy hunt. I’m a condemned sinner, and I don’t see how I can be expected to hunt down heretics.”

Ossian shook his head, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll see each other a few more times, but let me give you a piece of advice: don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Push yourself?”

“If you mentally restrain yourself like that, you won’t be able to do what you need to do. It’s a weakness of yours. Whoever sent you here sent you here to overcome that weakness.”

The corners of Martinez’s eyes lifted as Osian had hit the nail on the head.

“What makes you think you know what you’re talking about?”

“Tirna is the city of sinners you speak of, but it is also a city of diversity, where you can meet all sorts of people and events. When you meet many people, you realize certain things.”

“…….”

Martinez couldn’t argue back.

Indeed, he had been brought here, partly as punishment for a failed mission, but also for the reasons Osian had said.

Was it really a punishment, or did he believe it was because he couldn’t accept it himself?

“And I’ll give you one more piece of advice.”

“What advice?”

Martinez listened intently to Osian’s words.

Despite his outward bluntness, Osian’s advice had penetrated deep into Martínez’s mind.

“I’m older. If you’re going to talk to me, use polite language.”

“…….”

“Do you understand?”

“……OK.”

“Use polite language.”

“……Got it.”

Osian smiles with satisfaction.

“That’s it.”

*

“Hey, did you finish the talk?”

“Yep. He even said you can come here often in the future.”

“Often? I don’t think so.”

On the way back Ena shuddered at the thought of Martinez. She looked like a frightened rabbit.

“That nun seems to have taken quite a liking to you.”

“Well, that’s…….”

“You won’t have to worry about that. Martinez won’t touch you. Isn’t that better?”

“Uh, what?”

“Sister Dorthea doesn’t know you’re a witch, does she?”

“No, she doesn’t. Does she know?”

“Huh?”

That was another surprise.

No, she knows you’re a witch, but she takes what you give her and keeps coming back for more?

Ena smiled bitterly.

“I understand. Sister Dorthea is a bit of an oddity, to say the least.”

“Not a little.”

It was obvious by the way she treated Martinez, the Judge everyone else feared, as if he were her little brother.

However, when I asked if it was okay for Martinez who has a much higher position in the church, the answer I got was quite surprising.

-Martinez is much higher up in the ranks, but here I’m the big shot. I have some good liquor, how about a drink?

It was hard to sympathize with Ena when I thought of Sister Dorthea, who said things like that until the very end.

She was quite eccentric but she was also a good person.

Despite her outward grumbling and irritation with the children, it was clear that they weren’t truly afraid of her.

“I’m a little surprised, though. For a church in such a poor location, it’s still the Holy Land of Petra, and it doesn’t get that much support.”

“Maybe.”

Osian mouthed the possibility he’d been thinking.

“Maybe they do have support, and they’re just stealing it from the other side.”

“What? Is that possible?”

“There are several branches of the Holy Land of Petra in Tirna alone. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for them to have gotten their hands on it elsewhere.”

“Well, that would be……blasphemous, though.”

“Not something a witch would say.”

“That’s one thing and this is another!”

“Well, I see what you’re thinking, but you don’t have to worry about it.”

Osian looked back down the path.

“At least they have him now.”

A genius with the potential to soar several levels higher than he is now, if only he could crack the egg.

Martinez, the most talented paladin in the world.

As long as he’s there, you’ll never have to worry about anything.

*

Days passed and the aspiring knights continued their grueling daily training.

They ran hard from morning as if they were going to go around the entire Tirna, beyond the vacant lot.

By the time it had become a familiar routine, Osian was able to face the tumultuous interior of the Violet Fox.

The atmosphere was unusually chaotic.

Something big had happened.

“Osian, did you hear the story?”

As if on cue, Lorraine approached Osian and held out a newspaper.

“This is…….”

“Ruins have been found! Ancient ruins, at least hundreds of years old!”