Templar (1)

I am not a perfect person.

I have neither a strong mind nor firm convictions. I’m just an ordinary person who admires such things and tries to emulate them.

That’s who I am.

But is there much difference between someone who was originally like that and someone who wants to become like that?

There must be some difference. Those called heroes could probably maintain their iron-like resolve and calmly overcome situations like this.

But I can’t do that.

Whenever things like this happen, whenever it’s difficult, whenever I think of them.

I’ll surely falter.

But because I’m someone who resolved to live like them.

Even if I pause momentarily, I can at least keep moving forward.

Even if for now I pour out my sorrows while reminiscing about lingering regrets of the past.

I can surely shake off that sorrow.

*     *      *

After hesitating briefly, I began walking around the Pantheon Temple again.

Though fragments of irretrievable memories still caught my eye, I no longer stopped in my tracks.

After all, I had already shaken all those things off earlier.

As I walked like that, exchanging light greetings with passing priests, I heard someone shouting.

“How dare you sleep during sacred mass! This is an unacceptable state of affairs! From now on, you must cleanse your sins through three days of wall-facing meditation!”

Though I didn’t need to check who it was, I headed toward the source of that noise.

“Ah! Oh gods, holy gods! Please forgive this lost lamb’s wandering ways-!”

“Aaaagh! Your Holiness! Please forgive me!”

“It is not I who forgives your impurity! Ah, oh gods!”

The Pope Cotinus, seemingly deranged, was trying to pull out the hair of the priest who had been scolded yesterday as if it were a weed.

One could doze off during mass. This seems like an overreaction.

“Ahem, ahem. Not a very pleasant sight, is it Saint?”

“Ah! Saint, did you sleep well last night? I do hope your accommodations weren’t uncomfortable…”

A transformation so quick it made me wonder if he was a different person.

Cotinus, who had been screaming with manic intensity, immediately greeted me with a gentle smile.

“Everyone must have been tired from performing rituals to welcome me. If they dozed off during mass, couldn’t we say it’s because they felt at ease through me, an apostle of the gods?”

“Ah! This foolish servant didn’t realize such meaning… I apologize, Saint. This must be due to my own lack of virtue.”

What an extreme reaction.

This is why even the Saintess had trouble dealing with Cotinus.

Her fake madness probably couldn’t compete with his real madness.

“Brother, I apologize as well. I forced my standards upon you. Haha, I know I shouldn’t do this. I suppose I was too blind when it came to matters concerning our parents.”

This is surprising.

To think Cotinus himself was well aware that his behavior was fanatical. Of course, knowing but being unable to control it makes it meaningless, but still.

“So rather than punishment, to comfort them for their efforts until now…”

He pauses mid-sentence.

Come to think of it, what had they done to be tired? I remember Cotinus dismissed all the priests after I arrived yesterday. He told them to rest well for all their hard work.

Right. I was the one who brought that up since the priests’ gazes looked so pitiful.

“But brother, what could have happened that you couldn’t hide your fatigue…”

The same one who got caught yesterday got caught again. For some reason it seemed like a personal matter, so I asked about the exact circumstances.

“…I was playing dice a bit.”

“You should have ordered five days of wall-facing rather than three, Your Holiness.”

“I shall do so.”

“Saint?”

The guilt that had unconsciously settled in a corner of my heart vanishes. He deserved punishment.

How dare a priest who should be devout gamble? He must be insane.

“Then I’ll be going, Saint.”

“Yes, Your Holiness. May you guide this lost lamb back to the right path.”

Though Cotinus’s fanaticism is an issue, those who deserve punishment should receive it.

Of course, that’s…

“Ah, when his wall-facing is done, could you send him to me? I’ll guide him separately.”

Just an act.

Despite engaging in gambling, his visible holiness exceeds the average of most priests.

This kind of acting is originally a heresy inquisitor’s specialty. Normally they maintain connections that could lead to crime while acting like mere troublemakers.

What better direction could there be for gathering information?

If one is treated as a troublemaker both internally and externally, there will be fewer who are wary.

Though the chances are high he’s truly addicted to dice games.

“Yes, let us do that, Saint. Then please wait a moment.”

Cotinus simply nodded without raising any questions.

But he didn’t hide the strange light in his eyes. Right, even if I’m an apostle, I’m still just a rookie.

It’s natural he would test me.

Actually, I shouldn’t have been called an apostle yesterday in a place where people gather to pray. Wouldn’t Cotinus know better than that?

At least it’s certain that all the priests present then were under Cotinus’s command.

“Interesting.”

But among them, how many would be heresy inquisitors, the specialized cleanup crew?

The position of heresy inquisitor is extremely secretive. There’s a reason they’re called the cleanup crew.

That secrecy is to the extent that even fellow colleagues can’t recognize each other.

There are many stories of someone you shared a room with at the Pantheon Temple for years turning out to be a heresy inquisitor.

I need to check just how secretive they are.

“Not sure. For now I could only be certain about one person?”

Yesterday and today.

Yesterday I went straight to bed after arriving and eating, but today I’ve been walking around inside the Pantheon Temple since waking up.

Yet the priests I’ve encountered were few in number and seemed ordinary.

Then what proportion of them would be heresy inquisitors?

This is a period I don’t know about.

The moment before the war intensified.

Based on my observation today, if my guess is right…

“Half, maybe even more than that…”

Half of the high-ranking priests currently stationed in this Pantheon Temple.

The thought sends chills down my spine.

Of course, I can’t be certain.

I could only be sure that there were many priests acting ordinary.

What if all the targets I’ve been watching are heresy inquisitors?

Considering their secrecy, it’s obvious who they’ve been gathered for.

Of course they would need forces that wouldn’t draw attention even when together, rather than conspicuous templars, to both hide and protect my existence.

“The overprotection is severe.”

*     *      *

While I was looking around with light steps for a moment.

Cotinus, who had gone to lock up the heresy inquisitor acting as a troublemaker in the wall-facing room, returned.

“I wonder if this old one has kept the Saint waiting too long. I sincerely apologize.”

“No, I was so absorbed in looking around that I didn’t notice the time passing.”

“What merciful words…”

This is burdensome.

It’s truly too burdensome.

“I have something I’d like to ask Your Holiness’s opinion on, could you spare some time?”

“Saint, please raise your head. What greater honor could there be for this old one than to be of help to the Saint? Please use this humble servant whenever you wish.”

“…I understand for now.”

Feeling like we wouldn’t be able to get to the main point if this continued, I simply nodded despite his burdensome attitude.

I spoke while walking.

“First, about apostles.”

“I am listening.”

“Are there other apostles besides me?”

“Yes, of course. In Alfheim, there is still ‘Nina’, the Saintess of Earth, who alone holds back the <Wind’s Tomb>. Shall I arrange a meeting?”

“No, that’s fine.”

Even if I asked for a meeting, she wouldn’t agree to meet.

Even if she did agree, we would have to travel all the way to Alfheim to meet the Saintess of Earth.

It’s quite a long and dangerous journey.

At least with my current self and Titan, we’d probably die along the way.

I don’t have any particular thoughts about that side to begin with.

“What I was curious about was…”

One breath. I gather my thoughts while deliberately pausing like that.

“If perhaps there are other apostles training in secret.”

I know. That there’s no way.

But can’t I hold onto a sliver of hope?

The one I knew also said there was quite a gap between when she became Saintess and when it was announced.

She had hidden her identity until she completed enough training to survive alone on the battlefield.

But…

“I understand what you mean, but… regrettably, there are none. Perhaps you were thinking of taking such a path?”

Such a convenient story couldn’t exist.

Though I was already half-certain it wouldn’t be the case, it still leaves a bitter taste.

“No, I just wondered if there might be such apostles. Besides, it’s already too late.”

If that was the plan, I wouldn’t have so openly used my title.

Cotinus knew this too, which is why he gathered priests for such a grand welcome.

Even if they were all priests under Cotinus’s command.

“Looking at the Pantheon Temple’s history, there have been many apostles who took such paths. Since brilliant light tends to draw people…”

Cotinus trailed off, but I know what would follow.

Many apostles died. They were killed before they could fully grow.

By half-demons, by demons, by those in power and those worried about the Pantheon Temple’s influence growing.

Due to those persistent and varied assassination attempts, keeping an apostle’s identity hidden unless absolutely necessary became standard practice.

That’s a story every priest belonging to the Pantheon Temple knows.

“If not, that’s fortunate. Thinking about my actions yesterday makes my heart sink. Haha.”

“I see.”

Speaking words I don’t mean.

When he surely noticed long ago that I’m not the type to stay cooped up in the temple quietly building strength.

He’s probably already preparing to announce my existence.

“But, I think training itself is necessary.”

“Is that so? Then…”

“Your Holiness, would it be alright if we requested a match?”

“Ah! Of course. I’ll accompany you for as many days as you wish.”

“No, Your Holiness. The Pantheon Temple would fall into chaos if you rested even one day.”

“How regrettable.”

“…”

As we walked, we arrived at the training ground.

Naturally, we could see Titan in the center, swinging his spear.

“Haha.”

Seeing that sight, Cotinus seemed to realize I hadn’t just been taking a walk and let out a hollow laugh.

“Though I have no hobby of bullying the weak. However, if they have spirit like that youngster the other day, that might be different.”

Titan spoke with a deep frown, seeming to understand the situation from just my few words.

“Well, it might be different from what you’re thinking?”

No hint of a strong person’s presence can be felt from Cotinus.

He probably seems like just an old man with only experience from living long. But there’s something Titan is overlooking.

“My… Since the Saint wishes it, I cannot refuse.”

The Pope ranks among the top handful of priests, excluding apostles.

That’s his qualification.

Then is Cotinus’s apparent weakness an illusion?

No, that’s intentional.

“Watch carefully, Titan.”

As a representative of the temple, he cannot show a fierce appearance.

He needs a gentle atmosphere that can put everyone at ease.

Pressure is unnecessary.

Even charisma is set aside for now.

Like that, he shows only an aura of being a good person to the masses.

But what about his inner nature?

What happens when someone who suppresses their abilities for the sake of powerless weaklings unleashes that power?

Cotinus removes his loose priestly robe and ties it at his waist.

The moment his body, restrained yet trained to the extreme without excess, is revealed, the atmosphere completely changes.

“Because he’s one of the few people who can overwhelm you in pure strength.”

Before becoming Pope, Cotinus belonged to the Holy Crusaders.

That’s a symbol of martial might representing the religious order alongside the templars.

The Templar.

*     *      *

Cotinus had thoroughly investigated Lost’s actions.

It was only natural.

When an apostle of the gods appears, recording their history is his role as Pope.

He has long since gathered information about everything Lost has done since showing his first moves.

He confirmed what happened when he became an apostle and what actions he took afterward.

An extremely unstable tightrope walk.

But a precisely designed plan.

Though weak to variables, he pushed through such disrupted plans with willpower.

‘How admirable.’

Surely such an arduous path befits the name of saint.

He created results by never giving up against enemies others would have avoided fighting and run from.

But one thing.

There is an undeniable fact.

“Though I hope you won’t be hurt by this old one’s words, please forgive me for speaking these tearful words.”

Thud!

Just one step sends vibrations rippling through the surroundings.

Brilliant holy power spreads behind Cotinus, forming a circle.

A templar of the Holy Crusaders.

Though they advocate a martial force closer to priests than knights…

“Unfortunately, Saint and Titan, you still lack the ‘power’ to see that will through to the end.”

That power alone reached a realm not easily matched even by templars.

Cotinus reached out his hand. His first target is Titan.

The moment Titan grabbed that defenseless outstretched hand to break it.

“Perhaps facing a wall once in a while isn’t such a bad thing.”

“Huh?!”

Titan’s knees buckled.