The Archbishop's Special Training Set (1)

My first monster subjugation, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠monumental event in this new life of mine, had finally come to an end. It was a shame that I passed out at the very end, but I decided not to dwell on it. After all, the journey matters more than the destination. I'd gotten to fully test the limits of my divine power and even learned some new techniques. The one thing that had worried me was the recoil. Unlike last time, I hadn't mindlessly dumped all my strength into it, but the duration this time had been much longer, so I'd been anxious about the aftermath.

Fortunately, the recoil wasn't too severe. It was about the same as the muscle soreness you'd feel the day after an intense workout. Maybe it was because I hadn't pushed myself too far? Or perhaps I'd grown from the experience of dealing with the Clown's puppet and taking down that monster? There was no way to check, so I could only guess. In any case, since I had no trouble moving my body, I decided to go find Grandpa Carlo. I wanted to know what had happened after I fainted. I could also take a look around the parish while I was at it.

The cathedrals I remembered from Earth were buildings primarily meant for prayer and Mass. But here in this world, they seemed to serve multiple purposes. The cathedral in Entat Parish was a four-story building. The fourth floor housed the offices and bedrooms of the cardinal and archbishop. The third floor appeared to be living quarters for the clergy, with about ten bedrooms. Well, except for two of them, which were being used as storage. One was my bedroom, and the other must have been Cheska's.

The second floor contained the kitchen and food storage. Looking at it this way, it didn't seem all that multi-purpose. It was basically just a big warehouse. Maybe this was unique to Entat Parish? The first floor was closer to what I remembered of a traditional cathedral, with a statue of the goddess at the far end and space for the faithful to sit and pray.

I checked the fourth floor, but Carlo wasn't there. Might as well take a walk outside? They say light movement helps with muscle soreness, so it would kill two birds with one stone. Actually, finding Grandpa Carlo would make it three birds. Perfect.

I slowly made my way down from behind the cathedral, following the outer wall, when I spotted some Holy Knights doing repair work. One familiar face among them made me offer a casual greeting. With that black hair and the memorable name, I recognized him immediately.

"Hey, Mr. Chunbong."

"Huk! Lady Levia?!"

"She really can talk?!"

Chunbong and the other Holy Knights reacted with surprise to my greeting. Among them were some I'd never met before, ones who hadn't participated in the patrol or the monster subjugation. They immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed over, each offering their own words.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"We were so shocked yesterday."

"You're not hurt anywhere, right? You can't be hurt. We'd all die if you were."

"I'm perfectly fine, so stop worrying. No injuries at all."

The Holy Knights visibly relaxed at my response. I'd only meant to say a quick hello, but it seemed I'd interrupted their work.

"Sorry for bothering you while you're working."

"Not at all! How could you possibly bother us!"

"It's an honor, really! Hahaha!"

"We're basically at the finishing stage anyway, so please don't mind us."

"That's a relief. By the way, what caused this damage? Did a monster break in?"

What they were repairing looked like a wooden barricade that allowed access over the outer wall. Since monsters sometimes suddenly appeared within the parish, I assumed that was the cause.

"It wasn't the work of monsters. This place..."

Chunbong trailed off, as if the explanation was difficult to give. Why was he hesitating? Was there some reason he didn't want to tell me? Ah. Now that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked closely, I recognized this spot. It was currently sealed, but there had once been a hole in the outer wall here. This was where Cheska, after being consumed by his corrupted will, had secretly taken me outside.

From the situation and conversation so far, it seemed the Holy Knights didn't know about the Clown. Even so, Chunbong's reluctance was probably because of that day. The day I had no memory of. The day the Clown had mentioned as his first attempt.

"The attackers must have broken through here by force."

"...Do you remember?"

"No, it just seemed that way."

"We're sorry, Lady Levia. That day, our incompetence..."

Why were they all suddenly getting depressed? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was making things awkward.

"It's all in the past. I don't even remember it, and I heard Grandpa already scolded you all."

"Lady Levia, you're truly kind."

"Oh, thanks for the compliment, Mr. Chunbong. Other people said I had no talent."

I mixed in a joke to lift the gloomy atmosphere and express my gratitude.

"What bastards said that?"

"How dare they!"

"Where did they spout such nonsense?!"

Oh. The effect was good, though not quite the direction I had intended.

"I think it was Bowtrang and Jacob."

"The vice-commander knew? Even the commander said that?"

"We're tearing off his rank badge today."

"Hey, what are you all doing! Hurry up and finish! Let's finish and then go start our little uprising!"

"Wait, when did you get over there?"

Hmm. I couldn't say he was wrong.

"I'll be on my way now."

"Yes. We'll see you next time."

Chunbong gave a polite bow like the other knights and returned to finishing their work.

"Oh, right. Where's Grandpa? I've been looking for him."

"His Eminence should be at the training grounds. He mentioned he had something to prepare."

"Got it~"

The training grounds... The training grounds, huh. That was where I'd first met the members of the Holy Front Knights by my standards. I recalled what had happened a few days ago. The way they'd cheered just because I'd shown up, shouting for autographs. I also remembered how burdened I'd felt and how I'd run away.

...Maybe I shouldn't go? This morning I'd noticed there was now a second giant elephant plushie. Testing that one's sleep-inducing performance didn't sound too bad. Its name... Yeah, since it's lime-green, let's call it Lime Coco.

The training grounds of the Holy Front Knights. The knights gathered here hadn't even begun their training for the day. Instead, they were trembling in fear. The reason was none other than Archbishop Carlo.

Carlo had settled into one corner of the training grounds and was pulling out training equipment from the storage that hadn't seen the light of day for the past two years. Calling them training equipment was generous. These were items the archbishop had personally designed, modified, reinforced, and developed. To the Holy Front Knights, they were nothing short of torture devices.

The silver lining was that he'd only brought out one set. In the past, there had been ten full sets stored in the training grounds. No, correction. The fact that he'd only brought out one set was what terrified the knights even more.

Hasad asked Jacob in a voice thick with fear.

"V-Vice-Commander? What did we do wrong?"

Jacob, equally terrified, answered.

"I-I don't know. Why is that crazy old man pulling those out? He's lost it."

"Don't lie! Lady Levia must have gotten hurt somewhere! Right?!"

"This guy gets one armband and suddenly forgets all his manners. Is that how you address your vice-commander?!"

"Bullshit! I've been here longer than you! Tell me the truth! Where did Lady Levia get hurt?!"

"I don't know! I said I don't know! Yesterday Lady Levia didn't have a single scratch!"

"Could it be... because she fainted...?"

"But that wasn't our fault, was it?"

"When has that crazy old man ever cared about things like that?"

"True. Damn it."

"Please, just let it not be me."

"Why would you think it wouldn't be you? You were in overall command of the unit yesterday."

"You were the guard captain! It must be you!"

"No, you!"

"It's definitely you!"

Jacob and Hasad began arguing about who was responsible, completely ignoring the stares around them. Fortunately for them, the other knights weren't paying any attention to their bickering. To be precise, they didn't have the mental capacity to spare. They were all too busy thinking the same thing.

Just don't let it be me. Just don't let it be me. Just don't let it be me. Just don't let it be me. Just don't let it be me. Just don't let it be me.

The archbishop's special training equipment sets, of which there had originally been more than ten. He'd brought out only one after two years. Every Holy Front Knight in the training grounds interpreted the meaning the same way.

He's only going to destroy one person.

But their prediction was about to be spectacularly proven wrong.

"Grandpa Carlo! I'm here!"

Levia had arrived at the training grounds, and Archbishop Carlo welcomed her with open arms.

"Well, if it isn't our esteemed Saintess candidate. What brings you all the way out here? I was planning to come find you shortly anyway. This works out perfectly."

"I had some questions. And... um... I wanted to thank you for the doll. I was looking for you."

"Kahaha! Our Saintess candidate really does love her elephants!"

"No... that's... um..."

For some reason, Levia couldn't immediately say she liked it.

"Are you feeling alright? No pain anywhere?"

Instead of waiting for her to brush off his concern, Carlo focused on checking her physical condition.

"Yeah. Just a bit of muscle soreness? I took a short walk on my way here, and thanks to that, it's almost gone now."

"That's good to hear."

"More importantly, what is all this?"

"These? These are training tools that this old man specially designed and spent a fortune creating with the help of magitech engineers and alchemists."

"Ooh..."

Levia let out a sound of admiration. But at Carlo's next words, the Holy Front Knights gathered in the training grounds couldn't hide their horror.

"If your body is fine, how about starting today? This old man will train the Saintess candidate using these tools. What do you say?"

What had the archbishop just said? He was going to use those insane training tools to train who?!