Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 35

The next day, Rowy and Van managed to leave the inn only in the late afternoon. The aftermath of riding a horse all day yesterday had finally caught up with Rowy. By the time the exhausted Rowy slept in and woke up, it was well past lunchtime.

Because of this, their plans to visit the temple in the morning were pushed back to the evening. Since they were scheduled to meet Seilan at the temple anyway, the two decided to spend the short time before then sightseeing in the city.

And, of course, to eat the dessert Rowy had been craving so much.

“They say the local specialty here is chestnuts. That’s why Mont Blanc is famous.”

“I see.”

Rowy, having diligently studied the travel brochure Seilan had given him, explained various things about Marzen to Van, who was a native of the country.

Even though Rowy was explaining things Van already knew, Van nodded earnestly. Of course, this was the first time he had heard that the famous dessert in Marzen was Mont Blanc.

“Is this the central plaza?”

“Yes, this is the busiest street. Not as much as Serafilla, though.”

“No, it’s fascinating.”

Enns, the capital of Marzen, didn’t have the extravagance of Serafilla, but the unified buildings stretching along the wide boulevards were quite a sight. Comparing the brochure in his hand to the scenery, Rowy peered here and there incessantly. Beside him, Van slowly took in the surroundings as well.

‘It looks the same as before.’

Even though several years had passed since he left, the streets hadn’t changed. He never imagined he would be walking this path with Rowy. It felt very strange. Perhaps it was because the memory of leaving as if running away still lingered….

‘Even back then, I never thought I’d be returning with someone like this.’

While lost in thought following Rowy, Van’s eyes caught sight of the Mont Blanc that Rowy had been singing about. It was a massive model of a Mont Blanc, made to look exactly like the real thing.

It really was Marzen’s special dessert; Mont Blanc pictures were drawn on every shop sign, to the point where he wondered how he could have been unaware of it until now. On top of that, there was even a sculpture this large. As Van examined the model with curious eyes, he spotted the shop Seilan had recommended further ahead.

“I think that’s the place.”

“Huh? Wow!”

Spotting the shop, Rowy ran over in excitement.

“They say the Mont Blanc and chestnut ice cream here are delicious!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Rowy was already opening the shop door. Van followed him with a smile. As they hurried into the entrance of the shop following Rowy… Van spotted a familiar object.

“Hmm? Why is this here….”

A pure white silk hung in a frame, with intricate holy script densely engraved within it. It was a protection talisman of the Elysion Temple.

‘Why is this stuck on a shop door?’

Did a demon appear here or something? Van grabbed Rowy, who was walking ahead, and sharpened his senses in an instant.

“Why?”

“Wait a moment, let me examine this.”

With a serious expression, Van translated the holy script written on the talisman.

‘So… this is…’

—Demon Extermination, Success Guaranteed.

…What on earth is this? Van’s eyes trembled in bewilderment.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

He didn’t even know what frame of mind he was in while watching Rowy eat his Mont Blanc. Still, Van, having served him well, hurriedly took Rowy and headed toward the temple. He felt he needed to see with his own eyes what on earth was going on.

The Elysion Temple was located halfway up a mountain range on the outskirts of the capital, and since it was a small temple that few people visited, there hadn’t been a proper road. Because of that, visitors usually used horses. However, yesterday—despite not even being the one riding the horse—Rowy somehow felt so tired that he refused to ride one.

“We can walk.”

“If we ride horses, we’ll arrive very quickly. It’s not a long journey like yesterday.”

“I don’t want to. Is it this way?”

“Yes, this way… but the road is really rough, so it’s not a good path for walking.”

Rowy didn’t even pretend to listen to Van’s words and just pushed forward. Van followed him, fretting. How long had they walked? Soon, a path leading to the Elysion Temple appeared before them. …But that road was completely different from Van’s memories.

“You said the road was rough.”

“I did….”

Van was lost for words as he looked at the well-paved road stretching out before him, and he trailed off. When did they build such a wide road?

“The road to Elysion Temple. It says this way.”

“…A sign? Is that a sign?”

—Road to Elysion Temple

“Yeah. The arrow is here.”

…There’s even a large signpost put up.

‘What on earth happened to the temple?’

As they slowly climbed the neatly paved path following the signs, Van’s expression gradually stiffened.

“Ahem….”

Whether Van’s expression stiffened or not, Rowy hummed and walked down the forest path, light as a feather. Climbing the wide road as if taking a stroll, they reached the Elysion Temple in no time. And in front of the temple they arrived at… a ticket booth was sitting there prominently.

“A ticket booth? There’s a ticket booth? Why is there a ticket booth at a temple?”

Van, flustered, pointed his finger and kept repeating “ticket booth.” Leaving Van behind, Rowy naturally approached it.

“Hello. Two adults.”

“Welcome, believers. Shall I give you only admission tickets? Or would you like to include a blessing prayer as well?”

“What’s a blessing prayer?”

“If you purchase a prayer, you can receive a blessing from a priest after touring the temple. The price varies depending on the type of blessing; shall I show you the price list?”

“Yeah.”

“Now, if you look here, the Success Guaranteed prayer starts from five million sen….”

What on earth is a Success Guaranteed prayer! Van rushed over and snatched the brochure from Rowy’s hand.

“No! What is this! What is this! Priest Robert!”

“Oh? …Commander?”

Priest Robert, who had been delivering a sales pitch to Rowy with a soulless expression, opened his eyes wide.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“Haha, this is embarrassing.”

“What on earth is all this?”

Upon Priest Robert’s saying he couldn’t leave his post just yet, Van and Rowy sat squeezed into the small ticket booth. Van looked around the absurd temporary building with a serious expression. The inside of the ticket booth was complex, filled with various implements, but what stood out most was the schedule of the priests written in large letters on one wall.

High Priest, Priest William, Priest Nicholas… they were all familiar names. Even Priest Alex? He had heard he left the temple after the Great Demon subjugation, but it seemed he was still there.

Under their names, times and prayer contents were packed tight. Most of them were purchasers of “Success Guaranteed” prayers.

And… Pregnancy Prayer? Since when could our temple do that?

“I want to do this one. Is this really effective?”

While Van was looking around with a heavy heart, Rowy, who had been reading the price list in his hand diligently, spoke.

“Wish Fulfillment Prayer. Thirty million sen.”

“What? How much? Thirty million?”

Are these people total scammers? Van’s eyes grew cold as he looked at Priest Robert.

“What is all this?”

Under that gaze, Priest Robert opened his mouth with a sheepish laugh.

“Well… you know the temple has a lot of debt, Commander, right?”

“Yes.”

How could I not? He himself had even been sold as a slave because of the aftermath.

‘Of course, thanks to that…’

Van glanced at Rowy, who was sitting next to him. Rowy seemed to have no interest in their conversation at all and was still reading the price brochure diligently. Van sneaked a peek at the brochure. The content was more detailed than he thought; it seemed to even include introductions to the priests who would perform the blessing prayers.

‘Success specialist, entrance exam specialist, wish fulfillment specialist…’

After roughly scanning the content, Van shook his head and looked back at Priest Robert.

“And?”

“As you know, after the last subjugation, the debt grew like a snowball… and eventually, the entire temple was sold. But if that happened, the children living here would have nowhere to go.”

“Ah….”

The temple had many orphans who had nowhere else to go. Van was one of those children, too. At the thought of the children, Van’s expression darkened.

“So, the trade guild that bought the temple made a proposal. A sort of business.”

They wanted this place to become the most famous temple in the southern part of the continent. And to that end, they proposed selling the priests’ blessing prayers like merchandise. To the priests who felt resistant to receiving money for prayers, the trade guild persuaded them by promising to sponsor the children if they only did that. The result of them giving in to that was this.

“So you are receiving donations and performing blessing prayers.”

“Yes. That’s how it turned out. This is shameful. It’s even become so popular lately that I don’t even have a moment to think.”

Haha. Priest Robert laughed while scratching his head.

“It’s a worldly affair… but since the children are living in abundance now, everyone is working actively.”

“…”

They say other sects have been operating like this for a long time, too. Of course, I know well that we don’t need to follow the same path, but….

“Still, don’t we have to move forward somehow, too? The will of the gods has already been fulfilled.”

He had nothing to say to that. How could he blame those who were somehow guarding the temple, when he himself had abandoned everything and left the moment the Great Demon Mamon was extinguished as if everything was over? Van lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. I…”

“It’s not something for you to apologize for, Commander. In the end, it was you who defeated Mamon.”

Even at those words, Van’s expression didn’t brighten. His heart was heavy. Seeing Van’s face, Priest Robert spoke deliberately in a bright tone.

“As you can see, we’ve been doing better than expected. How have you been, Commander? Come to think of it, who is…”

Priest Robert’s eyes turned toward Rowy. But before Van could answer, Rowy cut into the conversation.

“I decided what to do. I’ll go with the High Priest’s Wish Fulfillment prayer. Oh, and add a release spell, too.”

“Ah, yes. The High Priest’s Wish Fulfillment prayer… and, a release spell?”

“Yeah. I met a demon.”

“…Excuse me?”

Taken aback by the unexpected words, Priest Robert looked at Van’s face.