Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Bishop Hunt (1)
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Sena headed to the administrative office after receiving word that an official document had arrived from the Holy Knight Order headquarters.
‘They sent it specifically addressing me, so it must be from Father.’
The Hermel region didn’t have facilities for real-time communication magic.
However, they did have setups for sending written messages via magic, which allowed short exchanges between the Holy Knight Order headquarters and the local branch.
- Return when the situation allows. Sena Aleyas.
As expected, it was a message from her father.
It meant she should bring the other Assault Knights back to headquarters at an appropriate time.
‘Even if we head back, there shouldn’t be any issues. Sion will probably finish his mission and return soon, too.’
With Kerold and the rest of the Dialogue Church faction wiped out, the Hermel region had become even cleaner.
The Spirit Church had heard the news and dispatched more priests to assist Bishop Bokwang. The administrative office was also throwing itself into reforms with renewed vigor, so the situation in Hermel was improving day by day.
‘This is all thanks to Sion’s efforts.’
Sena Aleyas couldn’t help but marvel as she watched the changing Hermel region.
It hadn’t been long since she arrived, but she could definitely feel the entire area heading in a better direction.
‘How did a small independent knight brigade manage to accomplish all this……?’
Sena had come to Hermel under orders to assist Sion.
But all she had done in that time was clean up after him.
She had hardly fought as a knight and had spent most of her time on administrative tasks.
‘Just having the Assault Knights stationed here must help with public safety, but still…….’
She hadn’t accomplished much since arriving.
That fact filled Sena with a sense of self-loathing.
Even the Assault Knights who came with her seemed to respect Sion more than her now.
‘Just why is Sion so capable?’
As she walked the streets lost in such thoughts, she spotted Edwin and Lieselotte on patrol.
They were chatting and laughing with the market merchants. It was far from the model Holy Knight image Sena had in mind.
And yet, they had earned the trust of the common folk.
Because of that, Sena couldn’t say a word.
“Ah, Grade 1 Knight Sena.”
Lieselotte spotted Sena and waved her over.
“Come join us. Want to try some? The candy’s delicious.”
“No, I’m fine…….”
“You’ve probably never had street food like this, right? Sometimes you’ve got to support the vendors.”
Just as Lieselotte said, Sena had never bought anything from a street stall.
She had been raised strictly as a member of the Aleyas family since childhood.
“It’s good.”
Gathering her courage, she tried the stick candy, and it was a flavor she had never experienced before.
Sena kept the stick candy in her mouth as she patrolled with Edwin and Lieselotte for a while.
“There’s something I’d like to ask the two of you.”
“What is it?”
“Why do you think Sion is so capable?”
Edwin and Lieselotte were the closest to Sion.
Asking them might yield some answers.
“Is it because he has genius-level talent?”
“Hmm…… genius talent.”
Lieselotte tilted her head to the side as she spoke.
“That’s what I thought at first, too. I even heard people say to cut him some slack because he’s such an amazing genius.”
“What?”
“But after observing him, that’s not it. It’s not just talent.”
“Then…… what is it?”
What could the secret be?
“Why not see for yourself?”
“Huh?”
“It’s about time he’s in the forest over there, so you should go check.”
Sena tilted her head at Edwin’s words.
* * *
The place Lieselotte and Edwin directed her to was a secluded spot deep in the woods.
“What’s Sion doing here?”
“You’ll see for yourself.”
As they ventured cautiously deeper into the forest, she began to sense a presence.
Sion was doing something in the woods.
“……!”
Sena flinched in surprise upon seeing him.
Sion was swinging his sword in the forest. He wasn’t using any special techniques—just basic upright swings from above down.
Yet his body was drenched in sweat.
The ground around him was soaked, too.
‘If that’s all from Sion’s sweat…… how long has he been at it?’
Even from this distance, she could tell his muscles were burning with heat.
His body was right on the verge of collapse, screaming in protest.
And yet, Sion gritted his teeth and kept swinging.
“Among the people I know, no one trains as hard as Sion.”
Edwin spoke calmly from beside Sena, who had swallowed hard.
“Even during the entrance exams, he’d do personal training whenever he had time. His training volume was more than any other candidate.”
“Really?”
“Yes, he always pushed his body to the limit. The amazing part is…….”
Edwin gave a wry smile.
“I thought he’d go back to his room and rest after finishing, but he’d immediately start meditating to circulate his mana.”
“Good heavens…….”
How could someone so young do that?
“Sion said there’s a realm he wants to reach.”
“A realm he wants to reach……?”
“Yes, a realm he must reach, and ultimately, one he wants to surpass.”
Sena looked at Sion again.
Her cousin, sweat dripping from his composed face as he relentlessly swung his sword.
Watching him, Sena suddenly felt ashamed.
Had she ever trained that hard in swordsmanship or anything else?
Had she ever poured everything into it out of her own will, not just her father’s orders?
“Sis, what brings you here?”
“……!”
At that moment, Sion set down his sword and looked their way.
“I’m done, so tell me.”
“Oh, uh…….”
Sena hesitated for a moment.
“Sion, Father issued orders for the Assault Knight Brigade to return soon.”
“I see. Well, with the Dialogue Church priests wiped out, it makes sense to head back.”
The Assault Knight Brigade’s principle was to stand by at central headquarters in preparation for emergencies.
Since the Dialogue Church forces had been subdued faster than expected, returning to the center was the right call.
“Sena Sis.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for your help so far.”
“I didn’t help much…….”
“Sena Sis, you have excellent administrative skills.”
“What?”
Sion wiped his sweat as he spoke in front of the puzzled Sena.
“Our brigade members are all pretty clumsy with administrative stuff. None of us seem cut out for it.”
“Well, we just lack experience…….”
“But with your help, everything went smoothly. There wasn’t a single flaw in the documents you prepared.”
Sena was caught off guard.
“The report you wrote after wiping out those Dialogue Church priests last time was excellent, too.”
“Oh, that…….”
“In my opinion, if you oversaw the Holy Knight Order’s administrative supervision in the future, the order would develop tremendously.”
She had never thought of it that way.
Up until now, Sena had only thought about racking up achievements per her father’s orders to climb the ranks.
“It sounds like you’re saying the pen suits me more than the sword.”
“Didn’t you know?”
“Huh?”
“The pen is mightier than the sword, after all.”
“…….”
Sena was at a loss for words for a moment.
But realizing Sion wasn’t joking, she gave a small smile.
“Thanks for the advice, Sion.”
“…….”
“But for now, I plan to train with the sword a bit more. I want to give it my all.”
“I see. Understood.”
Sena was currently a 3-star knight who had mastered sword aura.
But the younger Sion had 4-star level mana and could even create swords.
Her first goal should be reaching his level.
‘Of course, by the time I get there, Sion will have climbed even higher…….’
Sena gave a wry smile.
But the self-loathing was gone.
If Sion reached higher, she could just look up to him and strive harder.
‘Maybe I’ll delay the return…… a little.’
Her father hadn’t specified an exact return date.
So, it shouldn’t be a problem if she used her judgment to postpone it.
* * *
After finishing my personal training, I conversed with Igzard in my room.
‘Hunting the Dialogue Church purification priests has confirmed something.’
[What’s that?]
‘Archbishop Sapphirus’s power has weakened.’
Sapphirus was the type to manage his subordinates thoroughly.
In the past, not only his direct bishops but even the priests under them were sharply disciplined.
‘The purification priests we’ve faced in this region lately all lacked discipline.’
[Hmm, there was that aspect.]
‘Their actions were all sloppy.’
[They blabbed information without a care, too.]
‘In the old days, they would’ve ended their own lives on the spot before being captured. But not a single one did.’
That was how Sapphirus trained his men.
But the purification priests we faced this time seemed poorly trained.
[Why do you think that is?]
‘Something’s happened to Archbishop Sapphirus.’
[Something?]
‘His influence has weakened to the point he can’t properly control his subordinates.’
With Archbishop Sapphirus’s power waning, his hold over the bishops had loosened.
That was why Bishop Olean was acting on his own.
‘Bishop Olean targeting Hermel is probably to build his own faction independently.’
Sena had interrogated the captured priests, and over half hadn’t received proper training.
He was even deploying underqualified purification priests out of greed.
This suggested the recent incidents were Bishop Olean’s solo operations.
[So, what’s your plan going forward?]
‘I’ll take out Bishop Olean.’
Olean wouldn’t easily give up on Hermel.
He’d try to infiltrate again if given the chance, and constantly guarding against that would be a hassle.
[You’re not saying you’ll cross the northern mountains to hunt him down, are you?]
‘That’d be too risky.’
[Then?]
‘I’ll lure Bishop Olean out into the open…… make him show himself.’
I already had a plan in place.
* * *
Beyond the northern mountains.
In his base in the cold, arid region, Bishop Olean listened to his subordinate’s report.
“Not only Kerold, but all the priests who infiltrated Hermel—wiped out?”
“They all seem to be dead or captured.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
“It looks like they secured a frontline base, gathered together, and got ambushed.”
“Hmm…….”
Olean stroked his goatee and groaned.
“This means all our existing plans are down the drain.”
“Unfortunately…… it seems so.”
“Wait, was it that guy again?”
“Yes, it appears they fell to Sion Aleyas.”
“That guy again.”
Olean sighed and shook his head.
“Even Yust fell to him. He’s no ordinary foe.”
“What should we do? At this rate, maybe we should just abandon Hermel…….”
“We can’t give up Hermel. It’s the only region we can develop right now.”
Olean scowled, cutting off his subordinate.
“Damn it, succeeding with the Great Purification in Hermel would’ve boosted my standing among the infiltration faction big time.”
“Truly regrettable.”
Olean’s goal was to become an archbishop of the Dialogue Church.
For that, he needed an achievement on the level of the Great Purification.
“Bishop!”
A urgent voice called from outside.
“What is it?”
“Intelligence from the Hermel region.”
“From Hermel?”
Olean took the scrap of paper from his subordinate.
It was written in the cipher used within the Dialogue Church.
“This……!”
Reading the contents, Olean shot to his feet.
“One of Archbishop Hausel’s subordinates…… is cooperating with Sion Aleyas?”
A subordinate of Archbishop Hausel.
That was prey worth more than a Great Purification.