The Day I Became an Honorary Monk
When faced with truly shocking news, what kind of reaction does a person show? I learned the answer today.
“...Huh?”
Even to my own ears, the voice sounded dazed and utterly stupid. I had blurted it out without thinking. It was probably the most idiotic thing I’d said since arriving in this world.
Yet the other party paid no attention whatsoever to my voice or reaction.
“Kyle Berwen, you have been appointed as an Honorary Monk of the Lure Church.”
The man in priestly robes spoke in a perfectly calm tone, not a single tremor in his voice.
“......”
It seemed I hadn’t misheard after all. I had been appointed as an Honorary Monk. Me.
“......?”
I couldn’t comprehend it. For a fleeting moment I even wondered if my language functions had broken down. After all, this was something that simply could not happen.
Though the physical time I had spent in this world wasn’t especially long, I still possessed a decent grasp of its knowledge. Naturally, all of it came from the game Elion.
That was why I knew about the Honorary Monk title. I didn’t know every detail, but I understood at least this much: it was an exceedingly rare honor, not something bestowed lightly.
And yet I had become one. Not anyone else—me.
“......”
Without realizing it, I raised a hand and pinched my cheek. Just in case this was a dream. But the sharp pain told me it wasn’t.
So this was reality? The priest’s words were true?
“...Is there perhaps some mistake?”
The moment I regained my senses, the question flew out of my mouth on reflex. Because logically, none of this made sense.
The Honorary Monk title is given only to those who have performed deeds worthy of being called “great works of virtue.” Picking up roadside trash or helping a lost child find their parents does not qualify. You need to have saved thousands of lives before the term even begins to fit.
Naturally, I had done nothing of the sort. After possessing Kyle’s body, my actions had stayed strictly within ordinary bounds. Far from performing great works, it wasn’t even clear whether I had done any ordinary good deeds at all.
Of course, helping Elion’s party might be considered a great work if one weighed its future impact on the world, but the Church had no way of knowing about that.
In short, no matter how you looked at it, I possessed zero qualifications for the title.
Logically, the chance of an error was high. They might have confused me with someone who had a similar name, for instance.
However.
“There is no mistake.”
The priest flatly denied my unspoken suspicion.
“Kyle Berwen, you have indeed been appointed as an Honorary Monk of the Lure Church.”
His voice and eyes were resolute, allowing not even the shadow of a doubt.
...In truth, I already knew that. The position of Honorary Monk carried real weight; the selection process was never careless. Candidates underwent meticulous investigation and repeated verification.
Therefore, it was impossible for some clerical error to suddenly drop the title into my lap.
Which meant this was real...
“...Why?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it. I simply couldn’t accept it. If there was no mistake, then why had I been chosen?
I was desperate to know the truth.
But.
“I’m afraid I cannot tell you that.”
“...Huh?”
Another answer I hadn’t expected.
“I cannot disclose the exact reason.”
“What the...”
I was rendered completely speechless. They couldn’t tell the person directly involved? What on earth was going on?
“Please accept this.”
The man, however, seemed utterly uninterested in my reaction. Without the slightest change in expression, he held out a box.
It was clearly expensive—white with ornate gold decorations.
“It contains the letter of appointment and the emblem.”
“......”
After a moment’s hesitation, I took the box. There were countless things I didn’t understand, but none of them were bad. In fact, this was entirely good news.
Becoming an Honorary Monk brought me nothing but benefits. Listing every single one would be tedious, so to summarize: I had gained “background.”
An Honorary Monk is officially treated as a member of the Lure Church and receives VIP-level treatment. Of course, that doesn’t mean one suddenly gains vast wealth or overwhelming political power. It is, after all, an honorary position, and the Church keeps its distance from secular affairs.
So what practical benefit does it actually provide?
Simple: no one could touch me lightly anymore.
An Honorary Monk is a valued guest of the Church. Harming one is essentially declaring war on the Church itself. Naturally, if the fault lay with the Monk the story would change, but the reverse was also true—as long as I committed no clear wrongdoing, I would enjoy the Church’s protection.
To someone who already possessed influence, the benefit might feel minor. But for me it was different. At present I had no background whatsoever.
Moreover, ‘It couldn’t have come at a better time.’
I had already confirmed that Ernen and Sebastian were plotting to expel me from the Academy. After moving Bellard and Belka, I learned that such movements were indeed underway. Fortunately Bellard had intervened at the perfect moment and the plan collapsed, but I didn’t believe for a second that they would give up so cleanly.
They would surely devise another method.
In that situation, the title of Honorary Monk had dropped from the sky. Honestly, it was more than welcome.
The only problem was the lingering questions.
‘Even Belka… probably won’t be able to dig this up.’
Belka’s intelligence network was formidable, but even she could not reach inside the Church’s inner workings. So I held little hope that she would uncover the full story.
‘...Well, it doesn’t matter.’
Either way, this was not a bad development. Rather than waste mental energy on pointless doubt, I decided to accept it with gratitude.
Becoming an Honorary Monk overnight did not transform my daily life. The position was purely honorary, carrying no specific duties or responsibilities, so that was only natural.
That said, it would be wrong to claim there was no change at all.
“That person...”
“Why on earth...”
“How could someone like him...”
The gazes directed at me had shifted in an even more peculiar direction.
“......”
Well, to be honest, it was about time I got used to this. Ever since possessing Kyle’s body, I had grown accustomed to drawing stares. During the Julia incident, when I defeated Jerim, when rumors spread about Lana—each event had made the eyes on me heavier.
As a result, I no longer paid much attention to shifts in those gazes. There was no need to strain my ears to catch the whispers.
They were probably gossiping among themselves about how I had been appointed an Honorary Monk. It was perfectly natural. To anyone looking on, the decision was deeply suspicious.
The infamous troublemaker Kyle Berwen had suddenly become an Honorary Monk. Accepting it without question would have been stranger. Most of the Academy likely couldn’t understand it. Some were probably fighting the urge to march up and demand an explanation.
But.
‘I don’t know either, so what do you want me to say?’
Even if they did, I would have no answer. After all, I genuinely had no idea.
Honestly, the situation felt unfair even to me. I had simply chosen to accept it because it wasn’t a bad thing.
‘...Just what are they thinking?’
I still couldn’t make sense of it. The Honorary Monk title was not granted lightly; once bestowed, it drew considerable attention. Since the Goddess Church spanned the entire continent, it was no exaggeration to say the whole continent would be watching.
People would grow curious about me. Information would spread to meet that demand.
And when it did, the world at large would react exactly like the people staring at me now—with pure incomprehension.
It was the natural course of things. This appointment had completely shattered every standard the Goddess Church had previously upheld.
People would wonder what possible reason could justify naming me an Honorary Monk.
However.
‘They probably won’t tell anyone...’
I suspected the Church had no intention of revealing the reason. If they wouldn’t even tell the person directly involved, they certainly wouldn’t disclose it to outsiders.
That would create quite an uproar. Many would demand the truth from the Lure Church. Even the Goddess Church could not simply brush this matter aside.
‘...As I thought—’
No matter how I looked at it, this appointment offered the Goddess Church no advantage. If anything, it was only a liability.
Just what were they thinking? For what possible reason had they named me an Honorary Monk?
The answer to the question that had been tormenting me... came far sooner than I expected.