I was excommunicated from the Holy Knights

23 – choice of remaining years 1

Cathedral of Milan

A sacred and holy place where worship and prayers to God are conducted in a quiet yet clean atmosphere.

But at this moment. Instead of the usual pious atmosphere here, there were only paladins rolling around on the floor like homeless people wrapped in blankets.

“..ha..”

“… .”

Paladins sighing heavily or staring at the ceiling with blank expressions.

Until just a few weeks ago, they were always full of confidence and pride as the swords of God protecting the church.

However, at this moment, the paladins here were no longer able to find the pride of the time.

The paladins have been here for several months since they settled down in the cathedral.

However, despite the passage of a considerable amount of time, their current situation showed no signs of improving.

Santana’s excommunication several months ago.

Since that day, the life of the Paladins has literally changed completely.

Shortly after Santana disappeared from the city, they were evicted from their original lodgings and ended up on the street, eventually settling in the cathedral, the only place they could rely on in haste.

Of course, there was opposition from bishops and priests. Their claim that it is disrespectful for even a paladin to reside in the hall of a holy god.

However, in the end, the bishops and priests had no choice but to allow the paladins to live in the cathedral until a suitable place was decided.

Although it may look splendid on the outside, it is a cathedral that can never be called good in terms of living space.

It was hard to go to sleep or eat right away, the cold chill flowed on the floor, and even washing the body comfortably was not appropriate.

The more you live, the more you automatically miss the previous accommodation.

However, this was not the only painful change inflicted on the paladin’s life.

The cause that made their lives definitively impoverished following the loss of their place of residence.

It was because of the salary that was reduced by less than half after Santana disappeared.

The Paladins did not know, but in the meantime, Santana’s ‘donation’, which made a lot of money through various businesses, accounted for a large portion of their salary, and thanks to that, the Paladins were able to live affluent lives with no shortage.

In this situation, Santana’s excommunication soon led to a decrease in investment in the Paladins, which automatically led to their salaries being cut terribly.

I lost my house and my salary was cut.

In addition, since the expulsion of Santana, who was holding public sentiment, the eyes of the Milanese who looked at the Paladins began to contain cold emotions.

Like this, the Paladins are struggling in a terrible situation they have never experienced before.

And among them… the two people who regret the current situation the most.

In fact, Nune and Tine, who were the first to take the lead in expelling Santana, were also included.

“little… how is it?”

“… ha”

Tine slowly turned her head while letting out a heavy sigh at Nune’s question.

The face of Tine, who had just spoken with Archbishop Maxim, was deeper and deeper than before.

“They say it’s difficult.. Under the current situation, they can’t possibly find a new accommodation..”

“damn… Are you really going to keep coming out like this? That archbishop… How long are you planning to leave us like this?”

Immediately after being kicked out of the lodging, Nune and Tine and other paladins made a strong request from Archbishop Maxim, who actually caused this situation.

In any case, they want them to have a house they can live in.

This happened because you excommunicated Santana, so take responsibility for it.

Regarding this, the Archbishop showed signs of accepting, and even promised to arrange a place for them as soon as possible. However, several months after that, until now, the Archbishop had not taken any action regarding the Paladins.

To Tine’s question of when, even at this very moment, he would find a place to live, the archbishop only gave the following answer.

-“I’m busy with a lot of things right now, so I’ll take the time to do it later”-

In other words, there is no way for you, so you have to be quiet.

Listening to her story, Nune and Tine once again began to feel a deep disappointment in the high priest.

“He said that if you just believe in him and follow him, he will let you live happily..”

“It was all a lie. I didn’t believe in that other b*tch…”

Two paladins sitting sadly on the cathedral steps.

At this moment… deep and deep feelings of regret were rising in their hearts.

Although the person who planned this work and executed Santana’s excommunication was the high priest, they also agreed with her plan and interfered with Santana.

“If we hadn’t been greedy and helped Santana at that time, would things have been a little better?”

“… It must have been. Actually, I’m saying this now, but Santa and that person have a good heart..’

Although, for a while, they were the ones who cursed Santana in their hearts for making them this way. Now that I think about it, it was a good enough situation.

He was betrayed and kicked out overnight by his loyal superior and trusted colleagues.

If you quietly endure this, it goes beyond benevolence and you have nothing to say even if you are treated like an asshole.

Like that, Nune and Tine looked at the scene in front of them with a bitter expression, regretting the wrong they had done.

Paladins in pitiful clothes seen everywhere,

On the other hand, the merchants, as always, are transporting goods and filling their warehouses with happy faces.

The two people began to feel a deep sense of skepticism in the contrast of the situation that was shown so clearly.

“When Santana was around, I was still alive..”

“How did we end up like this?..”

Their salaries were already cut to such an extent that it was difficult to maintain their livelihood, and at the same time, they couldn’t live on the hard stone floor of that cathedral forever, covering themselves with just a blanket.

In fact, the word was a paladin, and their situation was virtually no different compared to that of low-wage workers.

And all of this.. not someone else’s, but their own greed.

In such a position where they couldn’t blame anyone, the two began to sigh once again.

“..Where is Santa or what is he doing right now?”

“They’re at Benet’s.”

“… huh? That… how do you know that?”

Nune felt a deep doubt about Tine, who immediately answered her meaningless words with a little longing, and Tine answered with a bitter voice.

“I took a peek when I entered Archbishop Maxim’s room earlier, the letter on the Archbishop’s desk. I see there that Santana did something at Benessa. I don’t know exactly.”

“Really?.. that’s right..”

Speaking of Benessa, it wasn’t too far from here, and the road to it wasn’t too hard.

Even though Santana and his party had a lot of delay thanks to the unlucky storm and they went through hardships, but if there were no such incidents, it would be a distance that could be reached in just a few days.

The moment you realize that…

Suddenly, an idea started to pop into Nune’s head.

“..hey Tine.. are you going to keep living like this? Or… would you like to gamble everything?”

“… What are you talking about? It’s a gamble. Do you have something sharp?”

“..that’s what it means..”

Tine expresses her doubts.

Regarding this, Nune began talking quietly into her friend’s ear about an idea that had come to her head for the first time in a while.

“..It’s such an asshole idea.”

“Ah… not good?”

“..Let’s do it right now.”

Immediately after making such a brief and bold conclusion, the two stood up and entered the cathedral.