Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - One Who Understands Three Worlds (4)

The Dhampir girl pointed at the dark clothes Eugene wore.

"You are wearing a priest's robe, yet you say you are not a priest?"

"This is an ascetic's robe. Anyone residing in the monastery can wear it. The clothing worn by those who have received official approval as priests is different."

Spit!

The spit the girl spat fell in front of Eugene's shoes.

"It emitting a disgusting stench is all the same."

He didn't know what transpired, but she seemed to have firmly taken a dislike to him.

Eugene stepped on the spit she spat, rubbing it into the dirt, and scanned his surroundings.

It seemed the underground dungeon was neglected since he took his hands off it.

A few orphans had entered the monastery in between, but did they all run away shortly after?

Eugene put down his cleaning tools, placed the chair he brought in front of the iron bars, and sat down.

Unlike the dignified girl, the two who looked like mother and daughter were trembling in fear.

Perhaps to prepare in case of an escape effort, their shoes were also confiscated, leaving their pitiful bare feet black with dirt. It was at least a relief that there were no visible wounds.

'Work would be so easy if this was completely empty like usual.'

This was a monastery, not a city guard facility or something of the sort.

Instead of having multiple small individual cells, it simply had one large room made of iron bars set up in a corner of the storage.

A wooden plaque reading 'Penitence Ward' hung on the cell. Originally, it was used in the old days to lock up priests who broke the commandments and make them reflect.

Three Dhampirs were locked up in that room where the secret passage was hidden.

Grumble.

The sound of a starving stomach was heard from beyond the iron bars.

"Seems you haven't been able to eat anything?"

"It wasn't my stomach."

The girl said with a somewhat reddened face.

"Mom, I'm hungry."

Eugene's gaze turned to the other two.

'They really are mother and daughter.'

In front of the mother and daughter, a single small bucket filled with water was all they had.

They probably weren't completely starving them. They certainly wouldn't give them raw blood, and at best it would just be a piece of moldy bread or potato.

"Uhm, my lord."

The mother looked at Eugene with a craving face. If one had a human heart, one could immediately tell what she desired.

Because the child was innocent.

"I brought some food, would you like to eat?"

"!!!"

Color returned to the mother's face.

From inside his coat, Eugene pulled out the jerky Homi packed and rye bread bought from the marketplace.

Gulp!

The mother and daughter swallowed their saliva but didn't approach immediately. They carefully tested the girl's reaction.

Leaning against the wall, the girl gave a small nod.

"Thank you, My Lady!"

The mother approached and took the food with trembling hands. Then she went to the girl before even considering her own daughter.

"Don't mind me and eat yourselves."

"Bu-But."

The girl, who had been looking at the woman benevolently, glared at Eugene with instantly changed eyes.

"As a noble of Barcia, I loathe putting what the bastards of the Lord God faith give me in my mouth."

"I understand."

The mother bowed her head repeatedly and returned to her daughter.

"It's not provided by the religious order. As I said, I am not a priest and I am someone who will leave soon. Those are my personal belongings."

The girl crossed her arms without answering.

On the other hand, the mother and daughter ate the food with much more relaxed faces. Seeing that sight also warmed Eugene's heart.

"Eat slowly. You'll get indigestion."

"...You really weren't a lapdog of the Lord God faith."

The girl's face softened slightly.

"I have never seen those bastards smile like you."

"I've told you several times."

"Hmph!"

Eugene quietly observed the mother and daughter's meal.

"Why? Did you think we only drank blood?"

"No. Even if there are nutrients in blood, how much could there be to live on that alone?"

The mother tore the jerky into bite-sized pieces and put them in her young daughter's mouth.

"Just, it's been a long time since I've seen a mother and child eating a meal together. It's truly nice to see."

The girl looked at Eugene with a peculiar face.

"Our lifespan is long. If there is no joy in a long life, life itself would be akin to a prison. Our tongues are more delicate than yours and rightfully deserve to be pampered."

It was exactly as Godfrey had said. Befitting a haughty race that styled themselves as nobles of the night.

"Then shouldn't you have some too?"

"I don't need sympathy."

"Suit yourself. I'm happy just seeing that mother and daughter eat their fill, too."

The girl let out a soft sigh.

"What is your actual goal? It doesn't seem like you came down to clean, nor to mock us. Did you truly come purely to show mercy?"

"Well, rather than mercy, it's closer to wanting to make a transaction."

"A transaction?"

The girl widened her eyes as if it were a word she never expected to hear.

Consistently maintaining a high-strung attitude only to react like that made her look cute, befitting her age.

The girl showed her empty hands.

"As you can see, we have absolutely nothing, you know?"

"Yeah, empty hands and bare feet."

"..."

The girl withdrew her stretched-out legs. It must be embarrassing for a noble young lady to show off her dirty soles.

Meanwhile, Eugene fell into thought.

In three days, when he came of age and left the monastery, he would have no justification to enter this place.

But how would these women react if they knew a secret passage existed in their room?

Even if he told them to stay put because it wasn't an escape route, would they listen?

'Absolutely not.'

They would follow him inside, grasping at straws. They would rummage through the Sealed Chamber, make noise, and ultimately be discovered by the priests.

Yet he couldn't just kill them either. Setting aside moral issues, they would make a huge fuss, ruining his performance at the monastery.

The best method was to knock the three of them out. However, not only the mother and daughter but especially the girl were severely weakened, so using ignorant methods was dangerous.

Fortunately, Eugene, who had inherited a witch's knowledge of herbalism, knew of a gentlemanly way to put them to sleep.

'Provide food today and tomorrow to make a good impression, and the day after tomorrow, feed them something containing sleeping pills to put them to sleep.'

After that, enter the Sealed Chamber through the secret passage, pack the belongings, and leave. This was Eugene's Plan B.

They get to eat their fill, and Eugene gets what he wants.

It was a win-win.

The issue was that the haughty noble lady refused to put anything in her mouth.

"I'll see you again at the next mealtime."

Fortunately, he wasn't without countermeasures for this either. Eugene stepped back for the time being to prepare.

"Thank you!"

"..."

Unlike the mother and daughter who bowed deeply, the girl didn't even give him a glance.

Coming out of the underground dungeon, the monastery was noisy. Hearing shouting, it seemed a fight had broken out.

Running toward the place with many presences, the priests were gathered. At the center of it, Godfrey and the Senior Priest were in a standoff.

"Are you crazy? How dare you in this sacred monastery!"

The Senior Priest pointed his finger at Godfrey, and the other priests also had expressions of shock.

Godfrey had drawn his sword.

* * *

While Eugene was conversing with the Dhampir women in the underground dungeon, Godfrey met the Senior Priest.

He thought that if he asked, his disciple might be able to get his mother's belongings back. It wouldn't hurt to lend even a little bit more strength.

"Absolutely not."

The Senior Priest was resolute.

"I cannot tolerate a witch's wicked items being unleashed upon the world."

"As far as I know, Eugene's mother was essentially a herbalist. She merely possessed a slight amount of shamanistic power. Has anyone ever seen her commit any wicked deeds?"

There were absolutely none. Putting aside her providing good medicine, the monastery had tentatively turned a blind eye due to a lack of clear evidence.

"Even if you sprinkle just a little bit of filth into a cup full of water, it becomes undrinkable water. Eugene's mother was a witch."

"Even though her medicine healed many children, expecting mothers, and the elderly?"

Solely regarding the health and quality of life of the villagers, no one contributed more than Eugene's mother.

"Rather than such petty tricks, faith in God is the true panacea."

"Numerous people whose conditions only worsened despite praying in the monastery for hundreds of days, were able to stand up thanks to a single packet of her medicine."

"Priest Godfrey, how can you speak such blasphemous words? You're not shielding her just because she's your disciple's mother, are you?"

"I simply wish to face the world practically, without prejudice."

As their voices grew louder, the monastery priests gradually began gathering one by one.

The Senior Priest, sensitive to his own standing, read the reactions of the surroundings. As someone aiming for the Abbot position in the future, he couldn't afford to lose even a minor argument.

"To my eyes, it seems you haven't discarded the mindset from your days living as a knight, Brother. It seems there is something more important to you than devotion to God."

At those words, Godfrey also flared up.

"Are you insulting the devotion I have dedicated to the monastery all this time?"

"One who cannot call a witch a witch cannot be called a servant of God."

More priests gathered. It was treated akin to a Colosseum dealing with the verbal battle between the two men.

That stimulated the desire in the Senior Priest's heart. He could do anything for his status.

"I will say it again, Eugene's mother is a witch. Her soul must be burning, having fallen into Hell. It's too late to beg and beg with two blackened hands. After all, God's mercy does not reach Hell. That bastard Eugene too, once he leaves the monastery, will eventually meet the exact same fate as his mother."

In that instant, Godfrey felt something snap in his head.

"Are you calling those words?!"

Clang!

He had drawn his sword and leveled it at the Senior Priest.

While the startled priests murmured amongst themselves, Godfrey realized his mistake too late.

"Look at that, Brother Godfrey. No, not even Brother anymore! You are not a priest; you are still a knight. To be a servant of God, you are too ferocious and unable to look the wicked straight in the eye."

The Senior Priest spoke with a serene face. Inwardly, he was smiling a smile of victory.

"What is this..."

Eugene, who arrived late, realized the situation had properly twisted.

* * *

Late afternoon. Master and disciple stood facing each other on the hill overlooking the village.

"So that's why you are being kicked out. For trying to cut down the Senior Priest in the sacred monastery."

"I drew my sword because I was enraged, I didn't think as far as cutting him down. And I'm leaving on my own two feet."

Knowing the banishment order had fallen, Eugene respected his master and didn't speak further.

When the sun rose tomorrow morning, Godfrey's figure shouldn't be in the village.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"You drew your sword because you couldn't tolerate the insult to my mother, didn't you?"

"It wasn't necessarily just because of that."

"It's rather a good thing. You were planning to leave anyway, but since you are going before me, at least I can see you off."

"I feel this all the time, but your mindset to think of everything in a good light is incredible. It's a part I could never emulate."

"Unlike you, Master, an innate knight, I'm... a bit complicated."

Godfrey whether having no lingering attachment to playing priest anymore, didn't react to being called a knight.

Eugene looked at him with subtle eyes.

"It will be lonely, don't you have any thoughts of traveling with me?"

"That's enough, you brat. I intend to go on a pilgrimage in search of the voice of God on my own. You also need to graduate from playing squire."

Godfrey threw the sword he was holding, scabbard and all, to Eugene.

"What is this?"

It wasn't the sword Godfrey usually carried.

"It's a gift. Originally, I was going to give it to you on the day you left, but seeing as the situation is like this."

Drawing it slightly, the flawless, clean, and sharp blade reflected the light. It appeared to be a newly forged sword.

"It's not to the level of a masterpiece, but it's a sufficiently good sword."

"The blacksmith in this village has excellent skills. I will gratefully use it."

"And one more thing."

"?"

Godfrey also drew his own sword.

"From our very first meeting, I knew you possessed monster-like strength and talent. In my own way, I thought I had been proceeding with knightly training suited to that, but it was a delusion. Even that was bound within the shackles of my common sense and experience."

"Are you saying you will increase the training intensity after seeing me beat that monster wild boar to death?"

"A quick-witted disciple is easy to teach, indeed. Yes, that's right."

"I also didn't know I would be able to exert that much strength."

The past time of education wasn't meaningless.

What Godfrey had been teaching was primarily methods on how not to die, rather than how to kill.

He thought teaching methods to kill slowly was sufficient. As long as one was alive, there would be countless opportunities to learn how to kill.

Enemies using underhanded tricks, ambushes in the dark, dangerous zones like swamps or sand deserts, situations of being ambushed or surrounded, and secret arts that were easy to fall victim to if unaware.

He passed down experiences that some would have to pay the price for with death, some with lifelong scars, and some with vast amounts of gold to learn.

"A lifetime isn't enough to learn how to avoid death, but you can learn how to kill in an instant."

Godfrey aimed his sword at Eugene.

"I have already taught you all the framework of my swordsmanship and techniques. How you use it is purely your own capability."

Eugene silently aimed his sword at his master. Befitting a master and disciple, it was the exact same stance.

At that presence, Godfrey smiled faintly. Though their height and faces were different, it felt like treating his own son.

Living a celibate life, he sometimes deeply felt loneliness alongside thoughts of descendants.

Yet, the disciple before his eyes felt like looking into his own mirror. The futility of being alone felt completely washed away.

"For now, you will use the forms and techniques I taught you, but you will instantly forget them."

"Why so?"

"Because the divine strength and talent you possess will break out of them. Just like a mature butterfly piercing through its cocoon. If the sword grows larger than the scabbard, it is natural for the scabbard to tear."

Godfrey pulled his sword horizontally and raised it.

"Before you leave this village, I shall tear apart the scabbard in your heart for you. Then, you will truly come to possess your very own swordsmanship."

Godfrey closed his eyes.

A blind knight to ordinary people.

The Prophetic Knight to those who respected him.

The master began to emanate a sharp momentum he had never shown before.

Eugene also raised his sword amidst the tension.

Yet, he didn't feel afraid. Rather, a bizarre exhilaration, as if his blood was boiling, spread out from his heart to his entire body.

It felt as if the inner voice he heard when he killed the monster wild boar was ringing out once more.