Chapter 97

In this world, a priest was the epitome of an intellectual.

They had received a rare higher education, were equipped with the rare system of common sense that was not installed in most people, and did not draw their weapons first when debating.

They had even received martial arts training because they were inquisitors.

The only ones comparable were university professors, but priests had one more advantage over them.

That was their connection to the Western Church, one of the largest organizations in the world.

Even thinking lightly, there were five such advantages.

In other words, they were a hundred, a thousand times better than the southern brats who were fighting every day, divided by region, origin, and class, when they were told to receive job training.

The danger of an inquisitor?

It's fine.

A different religion?

It's fine.

A spy sent by the church?

It's fine!

Compared to five talents who could be immediately put to practical work, that kind of thing was no big deal, whether they snooped around the internal affairs or not.

I can just think of it as having made a connection with the church.

Since they came in disguise, I can control them by holding the weakness of exposing their secret.

I pretended to accept reluctantly.

They might notice something strange and run away...

“Understood. I cannot refuse such a good offer.”

“Is, is that so?”

Did I accept the offer too readily?

Ceras was so flustered she even stuttered, but I quickly pushed forward.

I shouldn't give her time to come to her senses and grasp the proposal.

Once I push it through, she won't be able to withdraw the offer, if only for the sake of face.

“Have all five of you received formal priestly ordination?”

“No. The other brothers are still deacons. I am the only priest.”

“But you are in holy orders. You should be able to perform the sacraments as well.”

“If it's just reading the Lord's Prayer and reciting the scriptures.”

“Then that's fine. Is there any problem?”

The expression 'Is there?' simultaneously appeared on all five faces.

“First, I will provide you with a place to stay. You can rest there first and recover from your journey, and then I will assign you work.”

“Thank you for accepting a difficult request.”

“You're welcome. Isn't it all about following the Lord's will? Hahaha.”

“Hahaha.”

We laughed together.

Now that it's come to this, I'll work you hard.

Now that you've walked in on your own two feet, I will never let you escape.

That will free us from overtime.

I called a servant and instructed him to guide Ceras and the priests to their lodgings, then wiped the smile from my face and said.

“Theo, bring Rhom.”

“Understood.”

Theo, with a determined expression, went outside and brought in Rhom, who had an innocent face.

Rhom looked as if he was asking, 'I did well, right?'

He didn't even know what he had done wrong.

The moment I saw that face, I felt like my chest would burst.

Unable to hold back, I forcefully threw the paperweight from my desk.

“You son of a bitch, are you trying to kill someone?!”

***

After leaving the mercenary headquarters, Ceras and her attendants shared their impressions of Leon.

“For a mercenary captain who's been talked about so much lately, he felt quite decent. He gives a good impression.”

“Right? He wasn't rude, and he had a rather dignified appearance, something like he knows his manners.”

“I can't believe he's the cunning person who swallowed up the south of Apennia. Perhaps that reputation is a rumor spread by his enemies.”

“If that's the case, then is there really someone else pulling the strings?”

As someone spoke out of turn, Ceras quickly gave a warning.

“Shh. Watch your mouth.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

“We're not sure about that yet, so let's take our time and find out.”

“Understood.”

Because Leon had left such a good impression, the priests believed without a doubt that his reputation was fabricated.

Leon had no sense of being tenacious or seasoned; instead, he only exuded a noble dignity.

It was no wonder that they all thought, ‘Perhaps this mission is quite easy.’

The only one who had noticed something was amiss was Ceras.

But even Ceras had inadvertently taken a liking to him, which said it all.

“In any case, we have successfully infiltrated the mercenary company, so it is thanks to God's care. Now let's go see what kind of nice lodging brother Leon has given us. I'm very much looking forward to how much better it will be than Ratio.”

***

The numerous stories recorded in the scriptures were created to strengthen faith in religion.

Therefore, in a religious worldview, a person with strong faith is rewarded.

However, in the modern Korean worldview that Leon had introduced to the mercenary company, faith was nothing but a luxury.

No, in a worldview where overtime was a daily routine, faith was just a value that could be converted into resources.

A few days later.

The attendants who had followed Ceras gathered at the lodging, completely exhausted.

The lodging provided by the company was originally a villa owned by the Corsini family, so it was cozy and beautiful.

They felt guilty that only five of them were using such a large house.

However, a few days later, the attendants were in no mood to enjoy it.

The work they had taken over from their seniors was too much.

“We've been completely deceived…”

“Hah... I'm dying…”

“Brothers, you can't sleep here... Zzzzz...”

After finishing their work, the priests lay sprawled out in the living room.

They were all expressing with their whole bodies how much they loved the Holy See and how much they missed the smell of the soil at the training ground of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“I should have known when they didn't haze us…”

“You're right…”

When new people join an organization, the existing members usually haze them.

But the mercenary company staff showed no sign of it.

If anything, they welcomed them.

And the work Leon assigned wasn't that difficult either.

At first, Leon only assigned religious duties to the priests.

Gathering the mercenaries and having them read the scriptures, or helping with the rite of penance.

Those were things they used to do at church, so the priests were satisfied with the workload.

At the same time, they let their guard down, thinking it wasn't a very difficult job.

That was precisely the problem.

“I can still see their happy faces when they said they didn't have to go to church on weekends anymore.”

“I'd rather have that. Right now, I don't know if we're merchants or priests.”

As soon as the priests had adapted a little to the company, Leon subtly passed on work from other fields.

─The person in charge is currently away, could you please do this for me? It's nothing much, just some number calculations…

─Ah, well, that's not difficult.

As deacons of an Inquisitor, the priests were not so naive as to be ignorant of the ways of the world.

However, this case was different.

While the priests were conducting religious events, the staff in the administrative department were so busy they couldn't even have a proper conversation.

It was a bit awkward to be the only ones playing and eating next to such people.

Besides, the work Leon assigned wasn't that difficult, so the priests willingly took on the work for them.

“We should have refused then, right?”

“We should have.”

“But it's too late now.”

The initial awkwardness was only for a moment.

When the priests did a good job, Leon started openly dumping work from other fields on them.

The priests, who had missed the timing to refuse, had no choice but to accept an infinite amount of work.

But facing a huge pile of documents every morning was a very harsh and cruel thing.

It was all a battle against numbers, documents, and time, and a single digit difference could make a person's blood run dry.

Only then did the priests gain enlightenment.

Why the nickname of the mercenary headquarters was the Lighthouse.

Why the staff at the next desk had a crazed look, making it hard to tell if they were human or zombie.

Why Leon had built such a reputation.

This mercenary company was actually a den of demons!

“Duke Gryph's voice is now scarier than the bishop of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith…”

“No, you have to compare like with like. How can you compare that to the holy bishop of the Holy See?”

“So, am I wrong?”

“……”

Everyone regretted it, but it was already too late.

They couldn't protest that the work was hard or deliberately be unfaithful.

First of all, their superior, Ceras, was working silently next to them, and as priests who had sworn sincerity, they could not break their vows.

Their brothers and colleagues are next to them.

Didn't God tell them to take care of the little lambs?

How could they abandon them and run away?

This was the reason why people with a mission suffered.

They were trapped in a cycle they could not escape.

“But isn't it a good thing?”

“Tell me what's good about it. Brother. Depending on your answer, my fist might fly.”

“Th, thanks to that, we learned a lot about the mercenary company. Like the future that Fasa and the Southern Alliance are drawing.”

“The problem is that we know too much. My head is about to explode…”

“...It's hard, but let's think positively. By the way, why can't I see Father Ceras?”

“Uh, you're right?”

The resigned priests suddenly realized that there were only four people in the lodging.

They had been so tired that they had miscounted.

After a moment of flustering, the priests came to their senses.

“Isn't she back first and resting?”

“Is that so? I'll go check.”

The priest who went to Ceras' room returned with a bewildered face.

“She's not there.”

“Still? Something's strange. We should go look for her…”

“I'm here.”

Just then, Ceras opened the door and entered the lodging.

Completely exhausted, Ceras trudged in and lay down on the best sofa that the priests had left empty.

But her expression was as if she had seen a ghost.

The priests were very surprised.

It was very rare for an inquisitor who had been through all sorts of gruesome sights to be surprised by something new.

They couldn't even guess what could have surprised an inquisitor of the Western Church.

The attendants naturally concluded that something unusual must have happened at the mercenary headquarters.

“Father, why do you look like that? Did something happen? Is something wrong?”

“Did Duke Gryph dump a huge amount of work on you again?”

“……”

The priest who had spoken quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late.

As Ceras' body trembled at the name, the priests all glared at the one who had mentioned Leon.

How dare he utter such a profane name, unless he wanted to die.

Ceras did not get angry and said, still lying on the sofa.

“Duke Urdino…”

“Pardon?”

“I saw Duke Urdino at the mercenary headquarters.”

“?”

At the sudden name, the priests were bewildered.

“You mean Duke Cavaldi of Urdino?”

“Yes.”

It was not strange that Ceras knew Cavaldi's face.

The monarchs of Apennia sometimes visited the Holy See to have an audience with Pope Astro and borrow his wisdom.

Cavaldi was no exception.

Ceras, as the Pope's aide, had many opportunities to see the monarchs up close, so it was not difficult for her to recognize Cavaldi.

So the priests' reaction was lukewarm.

“Is that so surprising? He probably just visited on business.”

“Yes. I heard he often stops by Fasa. Is that not so?”

Ceras squeezed her eyes shut as if a headache was coming on just thinking about it.

The shock was so great that Ceras' voice trembled.

“Next to me…”

“Pardon?”

“Duke Urdino was sitting next to me.”

“……”

“I worked next to him for a week and didn't recognize him.”

Only then did the priests become horrified.

“No, how?”

“The man had changed a lot. He was as thin as someone who couldn't eat. Sometimes he would mutter strange things, or suddenly laugh. He didn't even pay any attention to me.”

“Isn't that just crazy?”

“...Perhaps.”

“What on earth could have made a person like that?”

The attendants, who were casually worrying about Cavaldi, instinctively realized the cause and got goosebumps.

Overtime.

Of course, it was overtime.

That was the only possible cause.

“My goodness. A mercenary captain who gives orders to a duke. No one will believe it if we tell them.”

“Who would believe it?”

Ceras gritted her teeth.

“Anyway, this makes one thing certain.”

“What is it?”

“The reputation that Leon is weak is a complete fabrication. Such rumors were probably spread by his political enemies to tarnish his reputation.”

How could a 'coward' who was too scared to seize the opportunity to become a ruler when it was right in front of him use a duke as his subordinate?

It was absurd.

“...But people will not believe that. That ambitious young man is hiding himself well. It is truly frightening and frightening.”

“Oh, God.”

Ceras' attendants, who did not know about the deal between Leon and Cavaldi, were terrified.

And so today, Leon's reputation was rising day by day without his knowledge.