Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue - Excommunicated
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Countless priests and Holy Knights had gathered in the grand hall.
And...
Standing at the highest point there was a blonde, green-eyed woman whose face radiated both beauty and cunning.
The Archbishop.
Maxim Cafeo gazed at the young Holy Knight before her and spoke in a stern voice.
A man with blonde hair tinged red and skin that carried a faint brown hue. He possessed black eyes.
Even in this moment, he stared straight at the Archbishop's face, his gaze icy cold.
"I'll ask one final time! Does the sinner acknowledge his crimes and kneel before the Lord?"
"Come on... What crime have I even committed that you're dragging this out?"
-Thud!-
The young Holy Knight retorted in a voice thick with disbelief.
In response, the Archbishop unleashed her fury, slamming her fist down hard on the podium.
"As a Holy Knight who serves the Lord, did you not crave worldly wealth? One who walks the path of priesthood must devote themselves solely to upholding His will! How could you commit such vile acts!"
"No... Is making money a crime now? And I didn't embezzle riches like you lot do with those indulgences. This was nothing more than the result of legitimate contracts and trades!"
"This... This insolent fool! How dare you utter such blasphemy! Embezzlement, you say? You dare mock the sacred indulgences penned by His Holiness the Pope himself to save the faithful from sin, all while bearing the title of Holy Knight!"
"Salvation, my ass... As if a scrap of paper could save anyone..."
The young Holy Knight's words struck directly at their sore spot.
The priests present, along with the other Holy Knights, began to seethe with thick rage.
"That... That blasphemer!"
"How dare a heretic spout such nonsense!"
"What are you waiting for? Deliver judgment on him at once, Archbishop!"
"A fallen servant who mocks the Lord!"
"A follower of Judas Iscariot, blinded by greed! We cannot allow such a one to remain a Holy Knight!"
Denunciations echoed from all sides.
Yet amid it all, the young Holy Knight stood ramrod straight, utterly unshaken.
Watching him, the Archbishop asked in a cold voice laced with burning fury.
"I'll give you one last chance. Repent your sins now and swear it! Vow never to commit such acts again and, as a sign of contrition, offer up all your possessions to the Lord! Refuse to the end, and I will strip you of your sacred right to serve Him as a Holy Knight!"
The Archbishop delivered her ultimatum.
The intense rage in her green eyes had subdued countless people before, and she was certain it would do so again.
But the young Holy Knight replied to her in a light tone.
"Honestly, I have no intention of playing Holy Knight anymore. Just do whatever you were going to."
"...This... This wretch..."
The Holy Knight spoke without so much as blinking at her thunderous command.
Seeing this, the Archbishop felt her final thread of patience snap, and she bellowed in a voice thick with outrage.
"Fine! If you're going to be stubborn to the end, so be it! Even though you're of noble blood, I was prepared to show mercy and let you continue serving the Lord! But now, there's no helping it!"
With those words, she drew out the prepared declaration.
She roughly stamped her seal onto it and shouted in a voice dripping with anger.
"The defendant, Santana Andreas, as a Holy Knight, indulged in worldly wealth and even denied the sacred indulgences bearing the Lord's will! This grievous crime tarnishes the honor of the Holy Knight Order, whose members must be above reproach! Therefore, I, Archbishop Maxim Cafeo, hereby excommunicate the defendant Santana Andreas!"
"The Archbishop's excommunication has been declared!"
"Drag the sinner out at once! Confiscate his Holy Knight armor and insignia, and cast him out!"
Thus, with the declaration of excommunication, the young Holy Knight was dragged outside.
Santana Andreas.
He had lived his entire life as a Holy Knight and held some renown in this city, but...
In this moment, he was stripped of all rights as one.
They had pinned various charges on him, but the decisive ones were accumulating substantial wealth through "devilish tricks" while serving the church—and blaspheming the Pope's sacred indulgences during the interrogation.
This was a capital offense in some cases, but given his fallen noble bloodline, the trial concluded with excommunication, the harshest punishment allowable for a noble.
However, even without execution, this was far from a good outcome.
In this land where the church wielded immense power, excommunication was tantamount to declaring someone less than human.
Basic human rights were revoked, leaving them without legal protection. Their land, homes, and property would all be seized through procedure.
In short, it meant living a life that wasn't truly living.
Thus, the excommunicated were typically driven out to the eastern heretic lands or the northern domains of schismatics ruled by the church.
But...
In this moment of such a brutal verdict...
The Holy Knight Santana, stripped of his insignia and armor, was being chased out following the excommunication...
Or more precisely...
The entity now possessing the man named Santana...
I, Kang Tae-hwan, a retail investor from South Korea who, just a few months ago, spent more time staring at charts than at people's faces...
Instead of despair, I felt seething rage for an entirely different reason.
'Fine... So you're really going all the way with this? Then we're done! You damn coffee-mix Archbishop... and you filthy Holy Knights and church scum! Let's see how you manage without me!'
Back in my original world, I, Kang Tae-hwan, had made my living trading stocks, Bitcoin, futures, and the like.
But after a recent traffic accident, I ended up possessing Santana, a minor extra Holy Knight from the dark fantasy novel I'd enjoyed reading.
'The Fallen Holy Knight.'
He had zero connection to the protagonist, appearing just once as background early on, never to show his face again until the end.
I even remembered his name only because it matched a character from a famous manga I liked, and it came up right at the start.
But possessing an extra like that didn't mean I could just quietly play the Holy Knight like in the original story.
Regardless of the original character's role, this was a grim dark fantasy world utterly bleak for Holy Knights.
Pandemics and famines would strike one after another. Wars would chain endlessly.
In that hell, Holy Knights and church priests would crawl through the depths, and by the end, most—including the protagonist Holy Knight and his companions—would meet death or ruin.
In such a backdrop, Santana, unmentioned even once, had a high chance of dying miserably along the way.
So, having heartbreakingly read the original as a fan, I planned to use my spoiler knowledge as a reader,
and the "money-making methods" from my old world that people here didn't know,
to save the church faction and Holy Knight Order, and even extend a helping hand to the protagonist's party.
But...
My efforts ended with me branded a traitor to Holy Knight conduct and neatly excommunicated from the church.
I'd started this to help however I could, but they nitpicked like beggars, blocked me, and eyed the wealth I'd painstakingly gathered for my future, trying to steal it outright.
Seeing their rotten behavior, any pity I felt vanished completely.
'Figures... Losers always have a reason to lose. I offer to make money and save them, and they troll me like this? Fine, do whatever! You've cut your own lifeline with your own hands—let's see how it plays out!'
Kicked out of the hall, I returned to the Holy Knights' lodging where I'd been staying, brimming with resentment.
I had to grab my things inside before leaving anywhere, and there were matters to settle first.
But the moment I reached the entrance, two female Holy Knights guarding it blocked me with swords drawn.
"...What the hell?"
"You filthy heretic! How dare you try to set foot in the sacred Holy Knights' quarters!"
"Excommunicated scum who earned dirty money with evil tricks! Get out of here!"
The two female Holy Knights spoke in cold tones.
Nune Spolia.
Tine Glastate.
Both were typical blonde, blue-eyed, pretty Western-looking women, but right now, they threatened me with blades pointed my way.
Just days ago, these two had fawned over me.
Outraged beyond belief at this sudden shift, I shouted.
"What do you mean? This is my building—I bought it with the money I made! Even excommunicated, official processing takes a week! Until then, I legally have the right to live here!"
"Tch! An excommunicated wretch dares babble before the Archbishop!"
"Step back, or in the Lord's name, I'll take your head!"
It was I who, with money earned here, had moved the Holy Knights from their shabby digs to this place.
As a result, though used as Holy Knight quarters, the deed was legally in my name.
Back then, these two had been overjoyed, practically bowing, desperate to curry favor.
Yet now, they betrayed that grace, blocking the legal owner with drawn swords.
"No, just let me in for a bit! Excommunication isn't final yet, and my stuff's still inside. Even if I'm leaving, at least let me—Gah!"
The next instant, sharp pain lancing through my shoulder.
Caught off guard by the attack, I collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from my shoulder. Gazing down at me, Holy Knight Nune held her bloodied sword and said coldly.
"Next will be your neck!"
"Get out now! No more mercy!"
"You... You bitches..."
And so...
Shoulder stabbed, unable even to enter the house I'd bought with my own money—this absurd, infuriating situation hardened my resolve once more.
I'd tried to help out of pity, but they nitpicked, treated me like a criminal, and excommunicated me—the damn Archbishop and Holy Knight bitches.
Like trying to save a drowning man only for him to break your limbs and call you a robber. This pathetic mess sealed my decision.
'Fine... If you're going to act like rabid dogs, I have no choice. Trash blinded by cash, severing your own lifeline! I won't care if you crash and burn—I'll live my way!'