The Journey (13)
Was it because this temple stood within a duchy? Or because the mines here were so important? Either way, the temple itself was impressively large.
If the main cathedral ranked at a hundred and the capital's temple at around seventy, this one looked to be about fifty. Considering that the temple in the Meyer Territory barely scraped a five, the scale of this place was staggering.
"I-It's incredible…"
I hadn't expected much, yet the sight left me utterly speechless.
"Among the Order's temples, this is probably the fifth largest," someone offered.
There were temples even bigger than this? Given the Church's influence, it made sense—but still.
For now, Priest Daniel would go ahead and announce our arrival.
"Please, just let us get inside without a scene…"
The fact that the temple sat in a remote district was at least some comfort. Even if a commotion broke out, few people would see us.
Fortunately, only a single nun emerged from the temple, and she quietly, demurely led us inside. Even after we entered, the place remained still… until we reached what appeared to be the chapel, where a number of the faithful were waiting.
Nothing much happened there. We introduced ourselves, explained that we had come on personal business, and mentioned that we would be staying for a few days.
Everyone seemed far happier about it than I'd expected, though…
"We are truly overjoyed that the Saintess has placed her trust in us by coming here."
The archbishop in charge of the temple spoke through tears of pure emotion. Curious why the faithful were all behaving so carefully, I asked—and the answer made me nod on the spot.
"You were wondering about that…? Well, word of the blunder in the capital reached the main cathedral, and His Eminence the Cardinal was furious. Naturally, he sent warnings to every temple, stressing that such a thing must never happen again."
Temples I was especially likely to visit had received particularly stern letters of caution, or so I was told.
"And rumors circulate even out here."
Word of the Order's Saintess had trickled this far as well, and the archbishop fretted endlessly over it.
"Is that so…"
Sister Mary, standing guard at my side, looked worried at the archbishop's words.
Priest Daniel's expression wasn't much better.
"On top of that, we received a message from the main cathedral not long ago."
Apparently the kingdom had grown certain of the Saintess's existence and was angling for a marriage alliance.
"The message also noted that the Saintess herself does not desire such a thing. So of course we must tread carefully."
He looked at me with pity, fretting that their own past failures might force me into a life of suffering and regret.
"Well, I haven't been found out yet."
"Which is precisely why we must be even more careful."
With that, the archbishop said he had already issued a gag order throughout the temple.
It felt a bit excessive, but if they insisted on handling it that way, there was no reason for me to object.
Our lodgings would be a room in the convent. It was a four-person chamber, more than enough for the three of us. We unpacked our things and were just settling in for a short rest when a knock sounded at the door.
Sister Mary opened it before I could answer, and a nun stepped inside.
"For the duration of your stay, we would ask that you wear a nun's habit."
It was the same nun who had guided us from the front gate, now carrying a set of habits. She explained that it wasn't because this was a convent—it was to conceal my identity—and that it was by no means mandatory.
"Well, it's not my first time wearing one. Might as well put it on."
The pure white fabric was a little intimidating… but whatever. The temple would handle the laundry, so it wasn't my problem!
"I'll wear it."
Looking at the clothes she'd brought, one thing struck me… how had they known my size?
In any case, once I'd changed into the habit, we set out to tour the temple.
"The layout of this temple is a little unusual."
The positions and structures of the convent, the priests' dormitory, the chapel, and the library were nearly identical to those of other temples—except for one thing.
"You mean the forge."
Our guide nun spoke up.
Given that the mines were here and the temple supplied iron, it made sense.
"We research iron and various other minerals here."
"Research?"
"Yes. Mixing minerals can produce stronger ones. So the priests conduct research every day, trying to create better materials."
Ah—so they did research on-site as well? That helped explain the temple's size. It doubled as a research facility. Of course it needed to be large.
We stepped into the forge. A furnace was burning, and even in the dead of winter the heat hit us in a wave.
"Are all the craftsmen here members of the faith?"
"Yes, they are."
That put my mind at ease. At a glance, their skill looked ordinary. Almost none of them had the burly builds typical of blacksmiths; most were rail-thin. Research clearly took priority over pure craftsmanship.
"I take it you don't forge equipment here?"
"Unfortunately, we have few craftsmen of that caliber."
What they did make here was mostly everyday goods. Hmm. For now, maybe I should have them appraise the iron we'd brought. Their forging skill might fall short, but their eye for materials wouldn't. As researchers, their knowledge might even surpass a regular smith's.
"We should have them appraise the goods we brought."
At my words, Sister Mary spoke with our guide, who hurried off toward the main temple.
In the meantime, I wandered among the workers, asking about anything that caught my curiosity.
"You don't maintain the fire with magic, I see."
"The consumption is too fierce for prolonged use. Of course, with so many people at the temple, rotating the use of a magic tool isn't impossible—but to truly stoke the furnace's power, firewood is better."
"I see…"
With Holy Power to spare, I'd never experienced that problem, nor ever had to think about it.
After a while, Priest Daniel and Young Master Maximilian arrived carrying our goods.
Both of them were dressed not in their usual clothes but in priestly robes, and their tall frames made the garments look remarkably good on them. Maximilian in particular—with the white robes against his golden hair—seemed almost to glow.
"Ahem. You're here?"
I snapped out of staring at him blankly. This was no time for that.
"Yes. We've brought the items you mentioned as well."
Three kinds of iron. First, what I had named Scrap Iron—a mottled gray metal. Next, Silver Iron—Scrap Iron infused with silver. And last, a composite of fossil material and Black Iron.
We hadn't brought everything, just one sample of each, cut to a reasonable size.
"What is this?"
The researchers—or blacksmiths, I supposed—in the forge reacted at once.
"Iron I made."
I explained the three varieties.
"So this one contains silver, and this is the Scrap Iron?"
"Yes."
They examined the chunks of metal with intense focus.
"I'd like an honest appraisal, if you would."
"Understood."
While they worked, I stepped back a little and sipped cool water, waiting for the results.
"The habit suits you remarkably well."
Maximilian said it with a bright smile. Did it? The dress itself was plain, and the cape on my head was nothing but uncomfortable and annoying.
By contrast, the priestly robes the men wore looked clean and dashing.
Wasn't that a little unfair?
"It suits you as well, Young Master."
Well, it was true, so I said so.
"Thank you."
Apparently he was still deliberating what to make with that iron.
"I already have a serviceable sword, so I'm torn."
Thanks to him stockpiling iron just to compete with Priest Daniel, we had quite a lot on hand.
"Why not make armor instead?"
Given the amount of iron we had, a full plate set should be well within reach.
"Armor would be fine as well."
"What were you originally planning to make?"
"A sword for my father, one for my own use, and perhaps a spare weapon or two."
A spare weapon… more important than it sounded.
"A spare?"
"Yes. I was thinking of a dagger, or perhaps a spear."
"Speaking of daggers, I'd like a decent one myself."
"We have plenty of iron. You should have one made."
And if we could replace Older Sister's weapon while we were at it, all the better. The one she was using now felt far too worn…
"Older Sister, you should get a new sword made this time too."
"Do I have to?"
She looked thoroughly uninterested.
"Make one while you have the chance and use it."
When I scolded her, she simply turned her head away.
"Older Sister?"
Pretending not to hear, was she…
"Haha. We can make one while we're at it."
"Yes—we absolutely, absolutely must make one for Older Sister too."
As for Priest Daniel, he planned to make two kinds of shields rather than armor: one large tower shield and one small buckler-type.
"Two kinds of shield is definitely better. Hmm… perhaps I should have a sword-stopper made as well."
A sword-stopper? What was that?
"What's that?"
"Think of it as a small shield worn on the hand."
It was a tool with ridges designed to catch and halt an opponent's weapon—a kind of hybrid gauntlet-shield refined for freer use of both hands.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Because it's so small, it's difficult to handle skillfully. A sturdy gauntlet or a buckler is more practical."
On top of that, it struggled to stop attacks from knights who used mana. Without seeing the real thing, the explanation was hard to fully grasp.
"The appraisal is finished."
We'd been talking so long that the results were finally ready.
"Well?"
"I'll begin with the piece you called Scrap Iron."
Scrap Iron, they said, was tougher than ordinary iron and boasted excellent mana conductivity. If it could be obtained in bulk, they would want to adopt it as standard equipment for the Order…
"Is it that outstanding?"
"Absolutely. The only shortcoming is the iron's color."
That could be fixed by using higher-purity iron.
"Next is the piece called Silver Iron. As expected, it contains silver. It pairs exceptionally well with Holy Power. The drawback is that the silver content leaves its durability wanting."
Silver wasn't a particularly tough metal to begin with, so that was unavoidable.
"And finally, the Black Iron. Frankly, we wondered if you had brought us mithril or orichalcum."
Mithril? Orichalcum? Those legendary minerals said to be beyond any price? Honestly, I had only ever heard of them through past-life knowledge and rumor.
Did they actually exist?
"D-Do mithril and orichalcum actually exist?"
"Of course they do. They're simply extraordinarily difficult to obtain."
Is that so…
The Black Iron I had compounded through alchemy, they said, possessed mana conductivity approaching mithril and durability rivaling orichalcum.
Of course, it still fell short of the real things on both counts, and its density made it uncomfortably heavy—but the performance was good enough to overlook that flaw.
"That's good news."
I looked at Maximilian as I said it. With performance like that, something excellent was bound to come of it.
"Do you intend to forge equipment from this?"
The priest who looked most like a blacksmith among those present stepped forward.
"Yes, that is the plan."
Maximilian nodded without hesitation.
"It will be dangerous. Once word of this material spreads, people will come looking to seize it."
A material with that kind of projected impact…
"We'll draw up a contract, of course."
But the response was negative. They said I was taking human greed far too lightly.
"Any skilled blacksmith will recognize the value of this material at a glance. And they will covet it."
They might keep quiet while the contract held and the work was being delivered. But after we left? The rumor would spread without fail, they insisted.
"A pity. If only my own skill were sufficient…"
The blacksmith blamed himself entirely.
I offered him what comfort I could and said we would think it over a little longer.