End and Beginning (2)
As night fell, dim lanterns appeared throughout the alleys.
The back alleys of Shoara are illuminated only when the sun sets.
However, these days, everyone is staying up all night regardless of day or night.
-Here’s another drink!
-The sausage is amazing.
The loud shouts of men were spreading throughout the back alleys.
The war was not over, but those who returned to Shoara were victors, and each had a few jingling gold coins in their pockets.
“Do you think everyone made a lot of money?”
“Because I won.”
It was a busy time, but Jemina was looking down at the lobby from the fourth floor with Vlad.
Among the noisy crowd of drinkers, employees were seen moving about busily, but Gemina, who was already exhausted, needed at least a short break.
“Have you made a lot of money too?”
“We receive articles all at once at the end of the year. “It’s a performance bonus.”
In the lobby below, several soldiers noticed Vlad leaning against the railing and began raising their glasses high.
The presence of Vlad must have played a role in why Rose’s Smile was especially crowded among the many shops in the back alley.
“But why is your expression so rotten? “It’s been that way since you went to church?”
“Where is Marcela? “Then you can’t see it?”
Vlad quickly began to change the subject, avoiding Gemini, who was watching him closely.
Because I knew that lying would never work in front of the girl I had spent the longest of my life with.
“Marcella doesn’t come to the store often these days.”
Fortunately, I succeeded in diverting Jemina’s attention, but what came out of her mouth was another problem.
“why? “Are you in any pain?”
“It’s not painful…”
Zemina came next to Vlad as if to listen to me, raised her toes, and placed both arms on the railing.
“He wants to retire now. “I’m old enough to do that.”
“……iced coffee. okay.”
After hearing Jemina’s concerns, Vlad tilted the glass in his hand and made a bitter expression.
In fact, you probably aren’t old enough to retire yet.
Still, the reason Vlad nodded without saying anything was because he fully understood the hardships she had been through.
I don’t know about retirement, but it’s definitely time to take a break.
“Then what about here?”
“…….”
Vlad asked in a serious tone, but did not receive the answer he expected.
Zemina, who had to answer the question, simply rested her head on the railing and quietly looked at Vlad.
“Why do people ask and the answer is….”
“What about me?”
Drunken people talking noisily in a crowded store.
However, it was only her quiet question that reached Vlad’s ears.
“How do I look? Do you think you can do it?”
Jemina’s eyes looking up at Vlad were somehow earnest.
Jemina was asking a question that left out a lot of things, but Vlad could tell as he met those slightly shaking eyes.
Now is the time for me to tell you.
“…You can do it then.”
There was always a red-haired girl next to the boy who stood on the mud and stared at the sword endlessly.
It was a sword worth 5 gold that I could never collect in my life, but this was the girl who had said that she would buy me such a sword.
“Compared to Marcela, things are smaller, but it’s enough for you.” “……Hey. “Are you crazy?”
Vlad began to laugh as he watched Jemina preparing to go on a rampage.
As expected, it was nice to see Gemina moving rather than worrying.
Since I received it, I have to return it.
Because I haven’t paid her for the unadorned sword yet.
From now on, Vlad decided to return the courage and comfort he received from the girl that day.
※※※※
Last night, Vlad and Haven arrived at the church with the children following the waves of the night, and soon began to move to the bishop’s office where Andrea was, following the guidance of the priest who came to meet them.
“Hey. “I cleaned this so much that the floor shows through my face.”
“Please don’t look around so rudely. Haven.”
Although he was actually telling Haven to be quiet, Vlad’s steps as he walked through the church were equally tense.
What was worth it was that I had no experience coming here except when I came for a bloody trial, so there was no way I would have any good memories.
“Knight. “I was waiting.”
“huh?”
As he followed the nameless priest’s guidance to the inside, waiting for Vlad there was the face of a familiar boy.
“iced coffee. “Deacon.”
“It’s been a while since I saw you. “Have you had any trouble so far?”
A boy who appears to be similar in age to Charles.
The boy, who seemed to be no older than 13 by any stretch of the imagination, was the young deacon who always followed Andrea around.
“Nice to meet you. “I still recite the prayer that the deacon taught me every morning and evening.”
“oh. “That prayer is not something to be memorized at such times.”
It was the current deacon who helped Vlad pray for the first time in the church in Varna.
Vlad couldn’t forget the first time he knelt before God, but it seemed like he had to memorize several prayers.
“But it doesn’t matter. “If you are sincere, God will know.”
“Thank you for your understanding. “Deacon.”
The deacon, who had become a little more mature than when I first saw him, suddenly smiled leisurely and covered up Vlad’s mistake.
The sound of Haven’s laughter laughing behind him was annoying, but Vlad decided to bear it, seeing that they had met each other for the first time in a long time.
“The bishop is waiting.”
“Oh oh. “The bishop.”
As soon as he heard the word bishop, Haven quickly took off his captain’s hat and started grooming it.
A man from the back alleys meets a bishop from a high-ranking city.
For Haven, it was probably as emotional a moment as when she first got her boat.
“how is it. “There’s nothing on it.”
“…If there was anything on it, I would have just wiped it off.”
Even though they had said that, the two quickly checked each other’s attire and began heading to the bishop’s office following the deacon’s guidance.
Knock-
“Bishop. Lord Vlad has arrived.”
Vlad and Haven looked around at the same time as they finally came across the bishop’s office.
Checking directions in an unfamiliar building is like the habit of those from the back alleys.
However, the young deacon just laughed, thinking that they looked like parrots nodding their heads.
“Come in! Knight Vlad!”
“Let’s go in.”
Vlad turned the handle while listening to Andrea welcoming him with all her might.
In the place that opened with a squeak, Andrea was waiting, gesturing towards Vlad just like at the castle gate.
“Welcome. “Have you eaten dinner?”
“I ate it, but I can eat it again.”
“haha! After all, it’s the peak time.”
Andrea’s gaze on Vlad was generous.
It would have to be that way.
Until now, Bishop Andrea had been vouching for Vlad, but the young man, who had grown up before he knew it, was now evidence supporting Andrea’s honor.
“here is?”
“This is Haven. I’m driving a small boat. “Bishop.”
It was a somewhat awkward greeting, perhaps because she had learned it from Vlad, but Andrea’s eyes turned bright as she looked at Haven.
What was visible next to the limp leg was clearly a cane, but the man named Haven was referring to himself as a captain.
“You did not give in to the waves of hardship. “You’re amazing.”
“no. “Bishop.”
A smile appeared on Andrea’s face again as she saw the young man from the back alley enjoying the sea despite his disability.
As expected, his choice to support the back alleys of Shoara seemed to be correct.
“okay. okay. Everyone sit down.”
Uncharacteristic of a bishop, Andrea personally guided the guests to their tables and began preparing tea with familiar hands.
The young deacon also seemed to be skilled in helping him.
“It’s noisy.”
“Because the cafeteria hasn’t been built yet. “They are using the church building in a hurry.”
As I let go of the tension with a sip of tea, I heard a sound.
The high-pitched chattering voices seemed to be children from the back alleys who had arrived at the church with them.
“I’m already interested in this cause and would like to make a small donation…”
“Oh. oh. That’s okay. “There are quite a lot of donations coming in these days.”
Andrea, who had guessed Vlad’s pocketbook situation, threw up his hands and burst into laughter.
The children said that they even received a blanket from Vlad, so they must have already spent the money in one way or another.
“It seems like everyone wanted to say hello since a new bishop has arrived. “To be honest, I didn’t want to be a bishop or anything like that because I hated this kind of thing.”
For some, it was a valuable purpose, but for faithful priests, it was just an annoying burden.
Seeing Andrea saying that he was truly annoyed by the donations sent by the city’s influential people, Haven quickly hid the bag of gold coins he had brought with him.
“Is there a reason you called me separately?”
“…Actually, I missed you too.”
Andrea, who knew Vlad’s temper well, put down the teacup with a subtle expression.
The Vlad he had seen was a man who preferred to speak directly rather than backtrack.
“The Northern Orthodox Church…actually started in San Logino. “You know that too, right?”
“That’s right.”
The Northern Orthodox Church was a sect that originated in the northern diocese of San Logino.
Discrimination against the North did not limit territory, even between the Vatican and San Logino.
“Even though we did little in the past, there was still support from the Vatican. But now.”
“It’s all cut off.”
Vlad felt like he could understand a little bit why Andrea had called him here.
As he said, the problem is not simply lack of money.
What the current Northern Orthodox Church lacks most is human resources.
“I wanted to ask you a favor, but surprisingly, it was difficult to find a faithful person among the knights. “Right now, there is no one like you here in Shoara.”
Andrea pointed to Vlad’s chest while saying he was faithful.
There was an inscription engraved on it saying, “The knight who protected the children’s breath,” recognized by San Logino.
“I also received permission from Joseph. “Do you mind if I use you for a while?”
“Take as much as you can and spend it. “Vlad of Shoara came from the bishop.”
Andrea was a renowned priest, but due to the nature of his abilities, he had no ties to people in special positions such as Inquisitors or Holy Knights.
In other words, there was no choice but to seek Bayezid’s cooperation in using force.
“I thought you would say that.”
When Andrea burst out laughing, as if she liked Vlad’s refreshing answer, Haven, who knew nothing, also started laughing along with her.
His desperate efforts to keep up with the atmosphere were virtual.
“Then what exactly?”
“First of all, I have a favor to ask within Shoara as well.”
Andrea was looking straight at her young deacon, as if she had already decided where Vlad would be used.
“I wanted you to help that guy.”
“Deacon?”
Hearing Andrea’s completely unexpected words, Vlad looked at the young deacon who was slowly putting away the tea utensils.
“Now is the time to go from being a deacon to becoming an official priest. “I have to take a test for that.”
Andrea cherished her young deacon as they had been together for a long time.
They were taken in and raised from a very young age, so they were practically like children.
“Is this a test I can help you with?”
“I guess so. “This is not a test where you sit down and scribble on paper.”
The term ‘test’ in the church also meant trials.
Just as Andrea worked hard to exterminate monsters all her life, true priests would go out in search of their own trials to preach God’s will.
“I plan to send this child to Baron Utman. Even though the Vatican has eliminated the evil beings there, there may still be darkness remaining.”
“…Baron Utman.”
Baron Utman and a strange being.
After hearing Andrea’s story, Vlad quietly put down his teacup and looked at the young deacon.
“Now that I think about it, he was a talented person.”
“yes. “Didn’t you hear it then?”
Just like Andrea said, Vlad had definitely heard it.
The young deacon’s hymn that rang out in the fog that was not visible at all.
If it weren’t for the song that cried out for his voice to be hoarse, Josef would probably have been killed by the woman shedding black tears.
“haha. “Please wash your face. I’m not asking you to go right away, and it probably isn’t that dangerous anymore.”
“yes?”
In response to Andrea’s loose criticism, Vlad quickly turned his head towards the mirror next to him.
Furrowed eyebrows and a stern expression.
The expression that must have been on the young deacon just a moment ago clearly resembled the expression seen in the picture of the priestess.
