Raising Paladins

Episode 3. stand upright (2)

“therefore… … .”

Priest Eric sitting at the desk in the office and holding his head.

He said.

Apprentice priest Tira stood in front.

Like a mischievous student called by the teacher, downcast.

“The sick man who was hospitalized yesterday insists that he is the reincarnation of the holy sword Carlos, and that he is recruiting knights to prepare for the ‘army of the night’ that may come at any moment?”

“… … yes.”

“When I first saw him, what about the light and what about Durandal?”

“… … yes.”

“Besides, the great battle on the plains of Thetis is actually a fabricated history? The battle that all the people support and the children dictate until they memorize it?”

“That too… … yes.”

Eric lightly shook his head.

After that, Carlos’ disease name was confirmed.

“It’s another one.”

A colossal delusion.

Even in Tira’s eyes, the man is far from normal.

However, it did not feel so good to hear that the sick person he had saved himself was called a ‘trick’ by others.

Tira is naturally optimistic.

He is also a priest who confirms the meaning of life by helping others.

Her boss, Eric, was also well aware of Tira’s personality.

but.

“Tira.”

“yes?”

“Let’s think together.”

“What?”

Eric slowly scanned Tira from head to toe.

“I don’t see any booties on Tira. Is there an expensive necklace under the hood?”

“no?”

“Do Tira’s parents farm?”

“Cultivate carrots. Sometimes I grow expensive things like blueberries, but it hasn’t worked out yet. Are you a little clumsy… … .”

bang!

Eric hit the table.

“That’s not what I know. What am I going to say now!”

“Eek?”

As Eric’s voice grew louder, Tira withdrew.

It’s finally here.

“Why do you keep bringing in new patients when you can’t afford all the operating expenses of the temple? Without my permission, my immediate superior!”

“Ugh… … .”

Tira closed her eyes tightly.

Tira is trembling like a rabbit.

However, Eric decided to finish everything he had to say.

“Have you heard that carrot farming is very prosperous? Or did you succeed in growing the high-yield crops we talked about earlier? Even if it is! Even if you sell all of them, it’s not even half of the money that goes to the temple family and the sick! But why… … Why do you keep doing this!”

Eric flipped through the ward journal in a fit of rage.

“Look here, Tira! We’ve already brought three people this month alone! Do you know how many kroons it takes to treat one sick person? furthermore! Isn’t it the yard where even the members of the temple are starving because they have nothing to eat!? yes?”

“Sorry, sorry… … I’ll somehow prepare meals for the sick. Cron somehow… … .”

“… … The story Tira has been telling since she was 15 has already been two years. I can’t wait any longer.”

bang!

Eric roughly covered the ward journal.

Tira winced and looked at him with a worried look.

“That, that word… … .”

“you’re right. Get it sorted out this week. This means that all the sick people Tira brought should be discharged.”

“They are people with disabilities! How can we who serve God… … Please reconsider!”

“after… … Hey, Tyra.”

Eric let out a deep sigh as the ground sank.

What kind of world does this woman live in?

How beautiful is the world she lives in that she is so immature?

Eric also knows his duty as a priest.

However, the hospital bed is already full.

I didn’t know that if I brought in any more sick people, everyone would really be destroyed together.

“Would you like me to drive out the sick? But the reality is. I know that Tyra is almost starving every day, taking care of meals for the sick. It doesn’t matter if I’m a little hungry. But what about the sick who are already hospitalized? You go to them and another sick person has come in, so from today onwards, eat only 1/3 of the bread, are you going to do this?”

“ah… … .”

Tira bowed her head.

Even though Eric’s words are cold, they are true.

I couldn’t force others to sacrifice for what I thought was right.

Tira quietly raised her head and said.

“Are you giving me an end by this week?”

“yes. Never more than that.”

“What if I get a crone? Will you let the patients stay longer?”

“Cron?”

What else is this immature youngest priest trying to do?

Eric looked at Tira with suspicious eyes.

“If you can find money in a legal way and not cause any controversy, I will think about it.”

“yes.”

There is still one last hope left.

Tira thought so and searched for a way.

A person’s face popped into my head.

***

“… … Speaking of which, could you lend me some money?”

Tira’s explanation of the temple’s financial situation.

At the ensuing request, Carlos clicked his tongue.

‘How did I become so miserable!’

In my previous life, the temple of dawn in each region was crowded with followers from morning to night.

The money they donate and the various businesses that the temple runs on its own.

Even selling healing potions, a key source of income!

The Temple of Dawn had more money than most local nobles by earning money in various ways.

The other sects of the Sun God Church, the Noon Church and the Temple of the Dusk Church, also made a lot of money, but the Dawn Church was still the most popular.

Also, the Paladin, Carlos, played a huge role in the Dawning Bridge’s peak popularity.

‘Then I became such a pitiful body!’

It’s two hundred years.

He only died once and was reincarnated, and two hundred years passed.

At least fifty, no, even if only a hundred years had passed, I would have been able to do something about it.

now… … .

‘There is absolutely no answer.’

The Dawn Bridge was ruined, and the priests lost their healing power.

The knights who boasted the majesty of the temple?

It looks like that was dismantled in the evening.

Carlos was at a loss as to where to begin.

‘Even at this moment, the undead must be preparing for war!’

If it had been two hundred years since he had killed the Lich King, the dark forces would surely be gathering again.

That damn skull and bones must be watching the angle of resurrection.

The Lich King is the one who survives when only his soul remains and roams around and finds energy that can be the source of life.

“Sick? Are you listening to me?”

Tira looked at Carlos with her hands clasped tightly together.

Seeing her made Carlos pity.

‘It’s a trainee priest who takes care of those in need without considering their own circumstances… … Even though its power has declined, the spirit of the Dawning Church remains.’

What if Tyra hadn’t helped?

‘I must have died as soon as I was reincarnated.’

Truly a saving grace.

All of this must have been arranged by the sun god.

‘I have to pay back what I received.’

Carlos is determined to help Tira.

Before that, solve one question.

“Did you say your name was Tira?”

“yes.”

“Okay, feel free to call me Carl.”

“I will, Carl. By the way, is the way you talk like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“you! let me call! What do you mean? Something like this. You look like an old man.”

“… … .”

Carlos stares at his face reflected in the window.

Even though she was very skinny and had bruises here and there, she clearly looked like she was in her early 20s.

It’s pretty handsome too.

‘I’ll have to use words that go well with my appearance.’

It won’t matter if you use the tone of your previous life like you do now.

However, if that happens, the people you will meet in the future will treat Carlos as a paranoid, so that’s the problem.

Besides, Carlos wasn’t a supreme paladin from the beginning, so there was no difficulty in changing his tone.

“Miss Tyra… … No, Tyra.”

“yes?”

“Why do you want to borrow money from me? Even pretending, I’m broke. It’s embarrassing, but you’ve seen money stolen by thugs.”

“Of course I saw it. But I wanted to see you ask. because… … .”

Tira smiled and said.

“I’ve gone crazy like this… … No, ho ho! I made a mistake. Anyway, the sick person is the first person to show such a large-scale imagination. It was Crescent Moon Valley, not Thetis Plain!”

Eh?

I let him go because he wanted to talk about something, and he continued to talk.

“I worked in the delusion ward for a very long time! Everyone says that he is actually a king or a secret spy from a foreign country, but if you just listen, the evidence is a little weak. If you ask about the administrative system of the palace or something like that, he’ll be your father… … But the sick person is very careful to let his imagination run wild! So, how can I say that I have some kind of faith? It’s the first time I’ve seen it, so I have some thoughts.”

It was absurd.

In the end, isn’t that because Carlos is more clearly and sincerely crazy than the others?

It’s not that I don’t understand it at all.

Anyway, the only options given to Tira are the sick.

‘There’s no place for money to come from the temple where the spider sits.’

Carlos nodded.

“good. I’ll try to get some money Because you helped me too.”

“Oh oh… … Do you have any money saved up?”

The eyes of the two were simultaneously directed to Carlos’ waist.

-Brother, you only have 2 crons?

-It’s not enough even if you kill it!

Two people who recalled a scene at the same time.

He bowed his head.

I only had 2 crons, but even that was stolen… … .

“Are there any jobs?”

“It’s a bunch with that body. You should get some more rest.”

“no. Thanks to you taking good care of me, I’m pretty good.”

“to… … ?”

You’ve only been lying down for one day now?

Carlos slowly got up and rose from the bed.

Tira quickly supported such Carlos.

“Where are you going?”

Carlos decided to solve the poor probationary priest’s circumstances first.

I decided to go step by step with the mindset that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

“Let’s go to the courtyard. First of all, I have to say hello to the sacred tree.”

“ah… … .”

Every branch of the Temple of Dawn has a courtyard.

A sacred tree sapling is enshrined in the middle of the courtyard and prayers are offered morning and night.

Indeed, the same existence as the symbol of the temple!

But when the name came up, Tyra’s complexion darkened.

“You must be disappointed… … .”

***

“Unbelievable! Seedlings!”

A tree with no life to be found.

The tree, a little taller than Carlos, was withered and dying.

A figure that does not even feel the bite, let alone divine power.

Carlos knelt in front of the sapling with a face of despair.

“God of the sun… … .”

The only remaining small blue leaf sways dangerously in the blowing wind.

Carlos, who was so devastated that he couldn’t even shed tears, asked Tira next to him.

“This too?”

“yes. It is said that since the war ended 200 years ago, the sacred tree of the capital has gradually withered. Saplings are branches born from a divine tree, so of course they withered together. At the same speed as the priests are getting harder to control the divine power… … .”

“How could this happen… … .”

It seemed like it was his own fault.

They say they’ve been wolves since the war with the Lich King ended.

I still don’t know what kind of wrong I did, but it must have something to do with it.

‘Is God punishing me? For me to make up for the mistake I made?’

Of course, one cannot dare to accurately guess God’s will.

But one thing is for sure!

That this seedling must be revived.

“I-I will definitely do that! You are the sun god!”

Carlos slowly stroked the sapling out of respect and apology.

But at that moment.

Swoop-

An amazing thing happened.