Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - One Who Understands Three Worlds (3)

Homi prepared a jar of honey, dried fruits, and jerky for Eugene. She waved him off until he was out of sight.

At that dedicated sight, Godfrey clicked his tongue.

"You truly are a blessed bastard."

"I think so too."

"The majority of knight bastards only care about the horse they will ride, but my thoughts are different. An excellent squire is an asset as precious to a knight as a horse."

Upon entering the village, the atmosphere was bustling, unlike usual.

"Did something happen?"

Eugene caught a passing farmer and asked.

"Oh, my lords. They say the monastery caught vampires!"

They looked like humans, but they were a race with pale skin that drank blood.

Their physical abilities were superior to humans, but not to the extent of overwhelmingly dominating them. They had no ability to turn into bats or heal fatal wounds in an instant. Sunbathing was also possible.

Their body temperature being cold, having excellent smell and night vision, and great aptitude for certain sorcery was the entirety of their differences.

They established a nation called Barcia in the northwest of the continent and exercised their influence there.

"They don't drink blood up to a lethal dose in the first place."

Godfrey said.

"Is that so?"

"Of course. They can't drink that much because they'd be full."

It was quite an underwhelming reason.

"Furthermore, just as a human gets drunk drinking wine, a vampire enters a similar state when drinking blood. If they drink in moderation, they knock themselves out. Binge drinking blood is seen as uncultured behavior among them and earns ridicule."

Eugene listened with interest, not having known such minute details.

"They say they are parading them around the village in a cart right now, and speaking of the devil, here they come."

At the place the farmer pointed, a prisoner transport cart resembling a cage was approaching.

It was in the form of a wooden prison with wide gaps between the bars, so the inside was clearly visible. It was a structure allowing onlookers to throw stones or filth to hurl insults.

A priest in front of the cart chattered diligently.

"Guided by the Holy Spirit, we have captured wicked monsters! Soon, we shall enact the punishment of purification! Then the grace of God shall descend upon this village!"

The ignorant mountain villagers nodded without even knowing what they were.

They were rural farmers meticulously educated by the priests of the Lord God faith. They would merely look like frightening monsters that drank human blood.

The cart arrived in front of Eugene. Three women were riding inside, reeking of the hardship they had suffered.

"These priests are doing all sorts of things."

Godfrey frowned.

"Are they not already weaklings incapable of resisting? And to insult women and children like that."

"Truly like a knight, as expected."

"Don't tease me. I haven't quit being a priest yet."

Eugene observed the cart.

One was a girl in her late teens. Despite being captured in enemy territory, she maintained a dignified attitude and grace.

The other two were a woman in her late twenties and a little lady who seemed barely ten years old. They had their eyes shut tight, hugging each other.

"Looking at their ears, they aren't even pureblood vampires."

"Hah! They act so high and mighty, chattering away like it's a grand achievement to have caught Dhampirs."

Purebloods had the upper parts of their ears slightly longer, like bats, but theirs were the same as humans.

"Still, they seem to be a high-ranking lady and her maids."

Though dirtied with dust and mud, their noble-looking appearances, and the status revealed in their fabric and embroidery could not be hidden.

It was presumed the girl in her late teens was the master, and the other two were maids.

"This is worrisome."

"What do you mean?"

"They have strong pride in their bloodline. Trouble might brew in the village."

"Having high pride is the same for all nobles, isn't it?"

"The ones at the vanguard of that chosen-people complex are the bastards of Barcia. Do you think they call themselves nobles of the night for nothing?"

Godfrey was someone who had traveled endlessly to capture every sound existing in the world in his ears. He knew the cultures and habits of various races.

"Their bloody covert feuds make human nobles' war of nerves look cute in comparison. If members of a family have been captured, there is no way they will stay still."

"It seems they've already publicly humiliated them quite grandly."

The cart was entering the monastery. It seemed they intended to lock them in the underground dungeon inside.

"There's no reason for Barcian nobles to be around this area, so how did they catch them?"

Godfrey wondered.

Between their territory in the northwest of the continent and this village, existed the nation of strong warriors, the Gord Kingdom.

"If Barcian nobles who shouldn't be here were caught, then pursuit teams that shouldn't appear might also show up. Don't the people of the Lord God faith think about such things?"

"Aren't they bastards living with their eyes and ears completely closed off? Even if they knew, they'd be arrogant, wondering if they would dare attack the sacred monastery."

The fanatical belief that God would protect them. That was something even considerable secular orders could not rival.

"Well, whatever. Whether the monastery gets taught a harsh lesson or not."

"It seems you've lost all your affection for this place too."

"Isn't it mutual?"

Godfrey smiled bitterly, having nothing to say.

After returning to the monastery, Godfrey went to handle his duties, and Eugene went to submit the monster wild boar tusk.

"This is the proof?"

"Yes. Senior Priest."

He held the second highest position in the monastery of the Lord God faith, right below the abbot, and was the one who entrusted Eugene with the request.

Frowning as he held the tusk and examined it up and down, he seemed very displeased.

'What are you dissatisfied with this time?'

It is said there are people who are hated without giving anything in return, but the priests here hated Eugene even when he did give.

His position as Godfrey's direct disciple, his reliable exterior befitting a knight, and the popularity he built in the village by driving off harmful beasts and bandits.

Thinking rationally, he was a talent they shouldn't mistreat.

However, humans are emotional animals, and this was the medieval era, moreover, a monastery dominated by fanatical belief.

Among them, the Lord God faith was the most thickheaded, making rational judgment meaningless.

"I have disposed of the wild boar threatening the village. I wish to get my mother's belongings back as promised. Please grant me permission to enter the Sealed Chamber."

There were several storehouses in this monastery, but the two most important places were:

One was the Treasure Chamber, storing relics or scriptures they considered holy.

The other was the Sealed Chamber, isolating what they considered wicked from the world.

The Senior Priest toyed with the wild boar tusk before shaking his head.

"I cannot permit it."

"Are you going to break the promise?"

"How am I supposed to believe you with just a single tooth like this? You could have bought it somewhere or picked it up by chance while it was rolling on the ground."

"Be unreasonable in moderation. As Priest Godfrey's disciple, I do not commit such base acts."

A low-pitched voice overlaid with quiet anger.

The Senior Priest unknowingly took a step back. He had the illusion of a beast's breath touching his face.

"This bastard."

His lips twisted, his pride wounded.

When Eugene first entered the monastery, several brothers implicitly and explicitly persecuted him. Even if it wasn't to the point of cruelty, they made him do menial chores that didn't need doing.

However, as Eugene got older, it rapidly decreased, and at some point, they ignored him, acting as if they didn't see him.

The Senior Priest, who rarely had to deal directly with Eugene, thought it was just letting him off since he would be leaving soon.

But seeing it now, that wasn't it. Everyone just left him alone because they were afraid.

"I swear to God, I brought the token of the hunt exactly as promised. You should keep the promise too, Priest."

The tone was polite, but dodging the suppressive glare, the Senior Priest gritted his teeth.

"You are not a priest! Do not carelessly invoke the name of God! This cannot serve as evidence, so bring something more definitive."

He returned the tusk to Eugene as if tossing it. Then, without looking back, he left as if running away.

* * *

"That's how it turned out."

Eugene said calmly in front of Godfrey.

"Hah! Goodness. I felt sorry leaving behind the people I shared meals with for a long time, but they completely blew even that sentiment away. I wonder if I should say thank you for this."

"I vaguely suspected this would happen, though."

Even within the monastery, the Senior Priest was exceptionally hostile to Eugene.

"Is he seriously still holding onto the Ritual of Wine?"

When Godfrey first took Eugene in, it wasn't to this extent.

The origin of the problem was the Ritual of Wine held a few months later.

Drinking from a chalice filled with wine after praying to God, following a clean wash. It was a holy ritual meant to wash away the grime of the secular world.

Doing this didn't make one a priest, but it was mandatory if one wished to reside in the monastery.

However, when Eugene prayed, the bonfire placed in front of the holy statue went out.

It was a sacred fire that had to burn all year round for religious significance. An apprentice priest who accidentally let it go out had even received a flogging.

-As expected, a witch's bloodline.

-Oh, how could this happen.

The priests whispered among themselves, and Godfrey ardently defended him, saying it was just a coincidence. Only a few priests agreed with Godfrey's opinion.

Desde then, the Senior Priest had looked at Eugene with eyes of severe distrust.

"Aren't you angry?"

"I am angry."

Eugene said with a beaming smile.

"You aren't making fun of me, are you?"

"Of course not. I am merely trying to stay composed."

"This goes beyond just being composed."

Under Godfrey's guidance, Eugene was raised not as a priest, but as a knight.

A knight and patience were existences close yet far apart. It was fundamental to stay with pain like a lover, but keep insults far away like filth.

If a sacred promise were desecrated, any knight would run wild like a beast of prey. Let alone being able to smile in such a situation.

However, Eugene wasn't truly angry.

The appearance he showed in front of the Senior Priest was merely an attempt to pressure him into keeping the promise.

"It's a relief they stored them instead of burning them, at least."

"Since they are bastards just as sincere about Heresiology research as they are about faith."

Heresiology was the study of the origins and weaknesses of wicked existences in order to fight them better.

Because there was a risk of being tainted by evil while uncovering it, it was a mission permitted only to veteran priests.

"So, what do you plan to do from now on?"

"I'll have to activate Plan B."

"Plan B?"

This unique disciple would often use bizarre expressions.

"I have another plan."

"Tell me what it is. I will help as much as I can."

"I will gratefully accept just the sentiment. I have to do a solo operation."

Eugene explained his plan to Godfrey.

"Hah! You mean you're going to steal them in the end?"

"It's different. First, they are originally my belongings, and second, I won't be secretly picking a lock either."

In the monastery's underground dungeon, there was a secret passage leading to the Sealed Chamber. His plan was to sneak in through there and swipe them.

"Why is there such a passage there?"

"Who knows. I suppose in the past there was a priest who harbored an interest in forbidden knowledge. After all, getting permission for Heresiology research takes decades."

Godfrey nodded at the credible assumption.

"If you knew of such a thing, why did you wait until now? If you were going to steal them, you should have stolen them much earlier."

"Because it would be discovered sooner or later. It would put me in a tough spot and cause trouble for you, Master. If possible, I wanted to get them back legitimately. And if I absolutely had to steal them, I planned to do the deed right before leaving."

"Anyway, hurry up. There are only three days left."

Eugene knew that well without needing to be told. He was the one who meticulously calculated the dates more than anyone else.

* * *

When Eugene entered the monastery as a child, the bullying he suffered the most frequently was cleaning the underground dungeon.

It wasn't a simple prison, but also doubled as a storage area, where they piled up items that were unused but too troublesome to throw away.

It was a disgusting place vibrating with foul stenches from all directions, home to unidentifiable mushrooms, molds, fist-sized sewer rats, and bugs.

If one cleans a place for a long time, one ultimately comes to know even its trivial secrets.

Usually, it was silly information like where the rat holes were, or where the drafts were particularly bad.

However, sometimes among those, one could make a precious discovery akin to a silver coin. The secret passage was exactly such a case.

"It's been a while since I've cleaned that place."

Eugene, returning with cleaning tools, said.

"Did the priests give you permission?"

"Of course. Someone has to do it, but isn't it the work everyone loathes? They would probably be thankful if I stepped up."

"They probably think you are straining yourself to get your mother's belongings back."

"Yes. Even as they gave permission, they had a mocking expression, 'Do you think we'll return them just because you do that? How foolish.'"

"Tsk! Wonder who the truly foolish ones are."

Godfrey sighed.

"In the end, you'll have to leave the cabin, and this village."

"Because they will eventually notice what was stolen from the Sealed Chamber."

"Even if I wanted you to go out into the world and succeed, I didn't want you to leave in this manner."

Eugene shrugged.

"I'm more worried about something else. Uninvited guests have entered the underground dungeon."

"You mean those Dhampir women."

They were likely lamenting their fate amidst the stench, and it had become an annoyance for Eugene.

"Dhampirs are more cunning things than vampires. Their pride is the same, but their blood is thinner, so they hold more malice. Just in case they find out about the secret passage, they might try to blackmail you. Then things will get tiring."

"I do have something in mind."

His disciple smiled brazenly, slinging the cleaning tools over his shoulder.

"You are truly an unfathomable bastard. Even though I've taught you by my side all this time, you still seem to have many secrets."

"Oh, my! I don't think you taught me, Master. I think you raised me."

"...Shut it and hurry up and go."

Godfrey shoved Eugene away with an embarrassed face.

Parting with his master like that, upon entering the underground dungeon, the stench he hadn't smelled in a long while dug into his nose.

"Who are you?"

A fierce but beautiful voice flew at him.

In the darkness beyond the iron bars, red eyes gleamed. It was the girl in her late teens he saw in the cart.

She glared at Eugene, bearing explicit hostility. Though hollow from exhaustion, her eyes were alive and burning.

'She really is a Dhampir.'

Between her parted lips, two sharp fangs were visible. Pureblood or mixed blood, there was no difference when it came to those characteristic fangs.

"I'm not a priest. I also hate the Lord God faith."

Eugene started with the self-introduction he had prepared. Because he was taught to put the bottom line at the front in interviews.