Honorary Monk
Kel thought seriously.
“How dare you lie to me like that?! What?! Special instructions?! Ha! You stupid guard!”
What on earth does that red guy believe, pointing his finger at Captain Aaron? Does he really want to die? Kel pondered seriously.
‘You’re red in the face, you must be drunk. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have yelled at the foreman.’
Kel nodded at the conclusion that was easily drawn.
Aaron, the hideous Captain, with his hideous outfit that showed his will to embrace all the colors of the world, with his golden cape, green shoulders, red breastplate, and ambiguous brown underneath, was someone that anyone would avoid and absolutely not want to bump into.
But there were quite a few people who stood in front of Team Leader Aaron and started quarrels for no reason.
Most of them believed in the iron chain around my waist and fought back, but they turned into docile lambs when they saw that a person can bend iron.
“···one.”
At that moment, I came to my senses at the sound of Aaron muttering next to me.
‘one?’
– Today is a day when we don’t accept guests. Come home early.
Kel remembered the sweet words Rosa had whispered to him that morning.
‘Absolutely not today!’
Rosa, who is loved by everyone, is very popular, so this kind of day was rare. Today, she had to go home early no matter what.
“Chief! Honorary monk! Honorary monk!”
Kel hurriedly pointed at the strange gold cape wrapped around Aaron’s shoulders and shouted. Kel didn’t believe that Aaron had been appointed ‘honorary monk’, but he had to put out the fire first.
“Oh, right. Honorary monk.”
Aaron nodded slightly and slightly unclenched his fist.
“Ha! You didn’t think you’d see me like this again?! It’s funny how flustered you look!”
However, the problem was that the red-faced guy kept talking. What on earth did he have faith in… Kel was genuinely curious. Did he really want to die?
“Cho… Chojang! He looks down on everything, and gives off a warm light….”
“···?”
Then Kel hurriedly recited the prayer of the sect. However, Aaron seemed not to know what Kel was saying.
‘What kind of honorary monk doesn’t even know the prayers…’
Perhaps he had gotten it by beating up a priest because he liked the gold cape? Kel’s mind suddenly snapped as he continued to think.
Fortunately, Aaron ignored the soldier and passed by. Kel felt a little relieved and waved to the soldier.
If you want to live, shut up.
However, perhaps the meaning was not conveyed.
“very···.”
Perhaps because Aaron thought he was afraid and avoiding him, the excited soldier stood in front of Aaron and poked his breastplate with his finger.
Kel shut his eyes tightly when he saw that sight.
“three.”
Aaron, who spoke briefly, swung his fist. Bam! With a loud noise, the soldier slowly fell backwards. He fell to the ground, groaning, as if he had completely lost consciousness. Bubbles rose from between the soldier’s chapped lips.
Only then did Kel realize that Aaron had been mumbling the word ‘one’ while counting numbers.
‘But did you count two?’
Kel scratched his head.
“This is not a fight.”
“···yes?”
“It’s one-sided violence.”
Looking at Aaron who was talking nonsense with a serious face, Kel nodded, although he was dumbfounded.
‘But isn’t one-sided violence worse than a fight?’
I thought about it for a moment, but as a criminal, it was difficult to follow Aaron’s way of thinking.
The accident was expected, but since he was more patient than usual, Kel shook his head in resignation.
“Damn. Today is the day Rosa doesn’t accept guests.”
Kel grumbled and dragged the fallen soldier to a shaded spot near the gate. This kid was the problem, acting like he didn’t know his own level. Kel was angry and hit the guy on the head.
“What could happen? I am an honorary monk.”
Aaron muttered, stroking the gold cape around his neck.
‘An honorary monk isn’t a cardinal or anything…’
Kel was seriously worried about the future of the empire because Aaron was an honorary monk. No, the cult was spread not only across the empire, but across the entire continent, so Kel was worried about the safety of the continent.
“Pass! Oh, wait.”
“Huh? Ouch!!”
“Special instructions from your lord. Pass.”
Kel didn’t know why Aaron was hitting the back of the heads of the people interrogating him, but he didn’t bother to understand him.
The men of Group 4 of the Guard had long since learned that simply doing whatever Aaron told them was good for their mental health.
‘I have never suffered any harm under the commander’s orders so far.’
Of course, there were a few instances where he got into accidents, had his pay cut, or was called to the internal affairs office, but according to Aaron, they were ‘minor’.
While they were continuing the peaceful inspection, taking money and hitting the back of the head.
“Huh? What is this… Why am I here?”
The soldier who had been dragged into the shade stood up hesitantly. He grabbed his head and frowned.
And then, as if he remembered something, he ran towards Aaron and started hurling harsh insults at him.
“···Ugh.”
He fell again with a loud noise. Kel, who had already given up, moved the soldier to the shade.
And then again, as usual, I went through the checkpoint-.
“Hmm···?”
The soldier stood up again, groaning. Then he pressed his temples and frowned.
“You cowardly bastard!! Taking advantage of my moment of carelessness, you unleashed your power! How can you still call yourself a man after doing that! I’m telling you to fight fair and square!”
He must have been so angry that he first punched Aaron, who was talking to the coachman, and then fell down again.
Kel naturally moved the guy into the shade. How many times did he have to get hit before he came to his senses… He was seriously stupid.
Kel continued his search, but since there was no one there, he sat down next to the shade.
At that moment, the unconscious man got up, groaning. He shook his head and rubbed his temples, then looked at Aaron, who was sipping water from a water bottle in the distance, and flinched. He made various expressions, then nodded.
“···What a strong opponent.”
It seemed to me that he was speaking solemnly to set the mood, but because there was a blue bruise on his face, it didn’t feel heavy at all.
‘I was scared.’
Kel nodded, looking at the man who didn’t rush back.
“Ahem… This is a man worthy of being my rival.”
The man, feeling embarrassed and coughing for no reason, muttered in a low voice.
At that time, Aaron was chatting with a carriage driver he had never seen before.
“That guy is just a captain of the outer wall guards···.”
The man still acted cool, but he muttered in a voice that contained a hint of weariness.
“I am Kel, 4th Company of the Outer Guard, Castle Cassidy.”
Still not giving up on his affair with Rosa, Kel smiled gentlemanly and extended his hand to the man. The man took his hand.
“I am Gelheim of the House of Fener. With that man’s level of strength, he could easily be a private soldier of a nobleman. Is it because of his sense of duty to protect the castle from the outskirts without any selfish desires···”
The man with the red face was still talking, but his expression was quite strange.
‘I think it’s because I was sold out.’
By wrapping Aaron up in slanderous words, he seemed to be trying to justify himself for having been knocked out by a single punch. However, watching him from the side, he looked quite ugly.
The power that Aaron had shown so far was beyond the level of a criminal, so I asked him several times why he was the leader of the outer wall guard. Captain Aaron’s answer to that was simple.
‘just.’
It was such a dry answer, but everyone accepted it because it was such an Aaron-like answer.
At that moment, Aaron struck the back of the head of the man who was passing by, and the man fell to the ground. Aaron shook him awake and sent the charioteer in.
“Why are you hitting me?”
Gelheim, who had been trying to somehow package Aaron, asked with a sullen expression.
“The leader said that if we do it that way, we can weed out those who will become problems.”
Kel scratched his head and answered.
“That’s how you weed out those who will become problems?”
Kel shrugged his shoulders at Gelheim, who was staring at him with stern eyes as if telling him not to lie. What can I do? That’s what Aaron said.
“Chief Aaron has sometimes suggested strange and difficult to understand things, but… most of them have worked, so it must be right.”
Trying to understand Aaron Chojang only gave me a headache. It was better for my mental health to just believe and follow him or ignore him.
“Even so, the back of the heads of the visitors···.”
‘Maybe it’s just for fun.’
Kel nodded at Aaron’s grin as he rubbed the back of his head.
At that moment, a new charioteer approached and chatted with Aaron. Soon, Aaron hit the back of the head of a passing charioteer.
“How dare you!! Kyaaaak-!!”
The man who had been hit on the back of the head immediately began to tear his clothes and make a strange noise. Hair-like things grew from all over his body and he transformed into a hideous figure.
“Oh my god! You’re really going to reveal the devil! You’re my match!”
Gelheim opened his eyes wide and was shocked.
“Is this… okay?”
Aaron muttered, his eyes widening and his palms down.
‘I guess he just hit me.’
Aaron’s bewildered reaction convinced Kel that his guess was correct.
“I, Honorary Monk! In the name of God, I will not forgive you!!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
Aaron, who was momentarily impressed, began to literally crush the demon, but there was no light of faith anywhere in those huge, merciless fists.
Seeing such overwhelming violence, Gelheim, who had initially muttered, “As expected, he is my rival,” and forced himself to admire it, gradually became speechless.
Kel pressed his temples as he watched Aaron laughing heartily, spinning the demon over his head.
‘Aaron… is an honorary monk.’
Kel seriously considered where he would go to raise Rosa’s child if the empire fell.
***
It had only been a week since the warlock and the demon had attacked, but the demon had appeared again and the castle was turned upside down.
‘He’s worse than the devil’s servant, though.’
Judging by his lack of strength and his ability to hold back even a moment of anger, he was clearly a rascal among rascals.
“Kyaahaah! Kyaaah!”
The demon reaper tied to a wooden stick kept baring his teeth and gnashing his jaws.
‘But, does this work?’
I looked at him and stroked my fist.
“Captain, everyone is here.”
“Oh, okay.”
When I turned my gaze, I saw familiar faces approaching me.
‘Knight Adela, Priest Blian, Magistrate William, Inquisitor.’
It was a splendid lineup of those who had risen to the ranks of the Castle of Cassidy. The captain of the outer guard, who must have just woken up from his sleep, was following them, unsteadily, judging by the marks on his cheek.
“Did you say it was Aaron?”
William, who was a head taller than me, looked down at me with tiger eyes and asked.
‘It’s clear that one of the parents is an orc.’
I looked into William’s eyes that seemed to be piercing through me, and thought to myself.
“Yes, Sheriff.”
“Good job finding the demon trying to invade the castle. How did you do it?”
“Ah, Honorary Monk Aaron!!”
Just as I was about to answer William’s question, Priest Blian sneaked in between me and William. William’s thick eyebrows rose slightly.
“Ah, Father Blian.”
“As expected! When the faithful monk Aaron inspects, all the sneaking demons are caught!”
Blian twitched the corners of his mouth and glanced at William. William’s brows narrowed slightly.
“You said you were an honorary monk?”
“Yes. Aaron here is the one I have seen with the deepest faith and most outstanding deeds! I have specially appointed him as an honorary monk!”
Blian answered William’s question with great excitement.
“···An honorary monk. What a rare honor. So how did you find out that guy was a demon?”
William looked me up and down, then asked in a low voice.
Originally, that guy wasn’t a devil, but a servant of the devil… or maybe a follower of the devil, but I didn’t bother to correct that.
To these guys, if they were a devil, they were a devil. There was no need for such distinction. These guys would just burn and crush the heads of all devils, and they didn’t bother to distinguish between the levels.
However, the problem is.
‘···Can I just say that I hit the back of the head?’
I hesitated for a moment under the sparkling eyes of Priest Blian and the gaze of Constable William, who were waiting for my answer, before opening my mouth.
“First, I got to know the other person’s personality and values through light conversation.”
“Oh···, as expected, Honorary Monk Aaron!”
He nodded at Blian’s ignorant response, even clapping at trivial words, and continued speaking.
“Then I pretended to let him pass, made him let his guard down, and then I punched him in the back of the head.”
“Yes! As expected! Honorary Monk Aaron! Just hit the back of the head… Huh?”
Blian, who had been responding, suddenly tilted his head. The reaction actually came from William.
“A stab in the back of the head… That makes sense. Those who follow the devil have a strong sense of stubbornness and pride, so if you suddenly stab them in the back of the head, they might get angry and show their true colors.”
“That’s right… That’s right! You foolish bastards who gave up on God and chose the devil! Your ugly and filthy nature bursts out at the blow of an unexpected blow!”
William nodded, scratching his eyebrows with his thick fingers, and Blian, whose face looked somewhat uneasy, repeated William’s words, rubbing his cheeks again.
“But you know.”
“Yes, Sheriff.”
“If you’re going to hit me in the back of the head like that, why are you even talking?”
William asked, as if he was genuinely curious.
“hmm···.”
He thought about it for a moment, but no plausible excuse came to mind.
Just then, the inquisitor passed us and approached the man tied to the tree.
“Kyaahahaha! Kyaaah!”
The bound man groaned as he looked at the approaching inquisitor, who looked at him with his characteristically indifferent gaze and drew the mace from his waistband.
The mace emitted a pure white light, and the creature’s seizures intensified. The Inquisitor struck the creature’s head without a moment’s hesitation.
Pa-ak. With a loud noise, the bastard’s head exploded, spraying black blood and pale sap. The white armor of the heretic inquisitor was instantly painted with color.
The blow shattered his skull, but the Inquisitor continued to strike with his mace.
The surroundings became quiet in an instant, and only the sound of meat being chopped could be heard. Only after the thing was crushed like a hamburger patty did the Inquisitor’s mace stop.
The inquisitor took something long from his bosom and held it over to the man who had become a hamburger patty. The hamburger patty began to burn brightly, and the sizzling heat and the smell of grilling meat spread throughout the area.
Finally, when the thing was cooked to the point where it could be put between bread, the inquisitor turned around and left.
The series of movements were so smooth and seamless as if they were performed by a single person, that each viewer had a different reaction. Some were seeking God, some were relieved, and some were afraid.
At that moment, my eyes met with those of the Inquisitor.
‘···You were aiming for that, right?’
The heretic inquisitor who saw me frowned slightly and looked away.
“Ahem···.”
Blian broke the silence with a cough, his face filled with discomfort.
“···It’s really reassuring that there is an Inquisitor in times like these.”
Sheriff William muttered, glancing sideways at Blian.
‘Was the fish bread too much?’
I scratched my cheek as I watched the back of the retreating inquisitor.
“I guess we’ll have to make major changes to our inspection methods.”
William muttered in a serious voice and gestured to gather the guards.
***
I was late getting off work because of a minor incident. Kel whined about it, but I ignored him and headed back to my dorm.
When I returned to my accommodation, the hall was unusually crowded and noisy. Ha-na-ga ran around busily among them.
“Ah, Aaron!! You worked hard today too!”
Hannah waved her hand as she set down her beer mug at the table where three men were sitting.
“Brother! Are you done with work?”
At that moment, a weasel poked its head out of the kitchen and greeted me loudly. Below the weasel, Kanna was looking at me with only her right eye out.
‘Weasel, why is he there?’
“Aaron, are you going to take a bath first? Dylan! Come out and look at the hall!!”
“Yes… Yes!”
Hannah naturally called the weasel over as if she were ordering around her subordinate, and the weasel came running out.
“I’ll get you some water! But, Aaron! What about this? 45 Cooper!”
“Okay.”
I shook my head at Hannah’s playful smile and the amount that seemed to have strangely decreased, and went up.
When I took off my heavy armor and came back down, I saw a weasel running around the hall, barking and squealing.
Hannah, who was leaning against the wall and wiping the sweat from her forehead, found me, smiled brightly, and moved her right hand up and down clumsily.
“44 Cooper! It’s so cheap?! It’s not even the cost price! Even the cost price!”
He pressed his temples against his neck and went past him into the bathroom. He stuck his sword in the door to prevent anyone from opening it, and then took off his clothes.
After briefly patting the still-present devil’s handprint, he went into a wooden bucket filled with hot water.
– ···Ugh.
Ignoring the annoying noise, I wiped it with the cloth next to me. Soon, I wiped the water off, got up, and went outside, but the hall was still noisy.
“Hey! Get out of the way! You little shit!”
“What···what···.”
The weasel that found me swung its fist at the man sitting at the table, and the man, horrified, ran outside.
“Ah! Brother! You can sit here! I cleaned it all up!”
As we sat down, Hannah brought us some ice-cold beer and some bread filled with meat.
The weasel sat down across from me, smiling brightly, and Hannah’s eyebrows shot up when she saw him.
“Dylan! Don’t sit down, go work!”
“Ha… but with my brother….”
“Can’t you see there are a lot of people?! ···Ugh!”
As Hanna frowned, the weasel got up and headed to the kitchen. Then Hanna smiled and sat down where the weasel had been sitting.
“Dylan said he was sorry about what happened back then, and came to apologize, right? He didn’t really hurt you, but he still apologized… Also, he’s been busy lately with word of mouth about the beer, so he said he was sorry and asked you to come and help him out.”
Hannah’s lips curled up into an expression like that of a wicked merchant. However, Hannah’s eyes were so big and round like a puppy’s, she just looked like a puppy with a bone in its mouth.
“Yeah. Well.”
He answered lightly and brought the beer mug to his lips.
The cold beer hit me in the head with a bang, so I closed my eyes tightly for a moment.
‘···It seems like the beer is getting colder?’
I wonder if I’ve gotten the hang of it. When I looked towards the kitchen, I saw Kanna still with only half of her face sticking out.
‘The book is expensive and hard to get, but I might as well upgrade it.’
I seriously thought about what other functions I could add to the mini fridge. When I thought about it, it was a waste to use it for simple cooling.
Kanna suddenly felt a chill and quickly ran into the kitchen.
