Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 37

After a few more minor experiences, the two finally arrived in front of their original destination: the prayer room.

“Is this it?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Rowy looked around the inside of the small building with interest. The prayer room, divided into several small partitioned chambers, was simple and plain. However, to Rowy, for whom the space of a temple was entirely unfamiliar, it looked quite fascinating.

‘So people come into this small place to pray….’

Rowy recalled the image of Van, who would pray by his bedside every night. Did Van used to pray alone in this place every time?

“The painting of Mamon is in here.”

“Where?”

Mamon! Rowy looked at the wall Van was pointing to with eyes full of anticipation. However… the painting there was a little different from what Rowy had imagined.

“This is Mamon? Hmm….”

The painting was much smaller than he thought. And it didn’t look that scary. Rowy was openly disappointed by the demon, which was painted like a scrawny old man. Seeing his face, where emotions were transparently displayed, Van laughed and led Rowy further inside.

“There are more paintings over here.”

“There’s another Mamon painting?”

“Of course. There are countless Mamons.”

From the time the order was established to the present, the priests who had dedicated their lives solely to punishing demons had each painted their own version of Mamon on the prayer room walls. It was part of their ascetic training. Van took Rowy around, showing him the Mamons painted in each prayer room.

“If you look here…”

“There’s one here too!”

Paintings were found on the walls and even on the floor. It was more fun to find the paintings, which varied in size and shape, than to appreciate them. Rowy examined them with interest.

“…But since they called it ‘The Great Demon,’ I imagined something more monstrous. None of them look that strong.”

“Is that so?”

“They just look ordinary.”

Van nodded at those words. Most of the Mamons in the paintings had human forms; in some, they were depicted as children, and in others, as old men. It was certainly not a look that seemed powerful, just as Rowy had said. But from the perspective of Van, who knew demons well… that was precisely the most terrifying thing about Mamon. Mamon enjoyed catching humans off guard.

“What does the real Mamon look like?”

“Well…”

Van trailed off at Rowy’s question. Mamon could appear in any form. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say it had no true form. However, instead of providing a detailed explanation, Van led Rowy to the innermost prayer room. It was the smallest of all the rooms they had seen so far.

“The painting in here is probably the most similar.”

“Here? It’s cramped.”

“Mind your step.”

As they both entered, the already small space felt even tighter. Van, who had carefully guided Rowy to the center of the room to avoid bumping into furniture, placed a hand on Rowy’s shoulder and recited a short prayer. Then, he raised his hand and pointed to the ceiling.

“Up there.”

“Huh?”

Rowy’s gaze followed Van’s hand to the ceiling. And… he locked eyes with the demon.

“Gasp….”

Rowy inhaled sharply at the direct eye contact. For a moment, goosebumps rose all over his body. What was painted on the ceiling… was clearly not much different from the other Mamon paintings he had seen so far. It was just that those endlessly pitch-black eyes were so…

“They look creepy.”

“They say that if you look into those eyes, you face your own sins. That’s why it’s a painting many people seek out when performing a prayer of atonement.”

“Does it really show them? Or is that just a saying?”

“Well. See for yourself.”

Van gave an ambiguous answer and asked Rowy if he could pray for a moment. Rowy, having given a vague nod, looked back up at the ceiling, as if bewitched.

‘Something can be seen inside the eyes?’

Rowy stared passionately at the demon’s eyes. However, no matter how hard he peered, he only saw the pitch-black pupils. The painting, which had felt somewhat scary at first, no longer felt like anything after staring at it for so long…. Eventually, having lost interest, Rowy turned his head toward Van. And he paused for a moment at the sight before him.

“…”

Van was kneeling and praying toward the empty wall. He was so focused that there were faint lines between his brows.

‘I shouldn’t disturb him, right….’

He didn’t know anything about religion, but he had the basic knowledge that one should not disturb someone during a moment like this. Rowy stood awkwardly in one corner of the room, waiting for Van’s prayer to end. But Van’s prayer was turning out to be longer than expected.

His face was serious as he kept murmuring something with his eyes closed. Rowy stared intently at him. From an objective standpoint, Van had quite a cold-looking appearance. And when he had his expression set like that, combined with his large build, he looked somewhat intimidating… but that didn’t really have anything to do with Rowy. Because Van always looked at Rowy with a kind gaze whenever he saw him.

‘Of course, there are times he looks scary, though….’

Rowy thought back to when he was caught hiding a demon. …That time, he was definitely scary.

‘But he smiled at me again right away.’

He thought Van was a person who was too generous with his smiles, to the point of being a bit of a fool… but ever since they arrived at the temple, Van’s expression had consistently been poor. He had said he left the temple, so he must have felt troubled upon returning. It was obvious given his personality.

‘Everyone seems to be living just fine, though.’

Rowy, recalling how Van had forced a smile at that Max person or whatever his name was earlier, pursed his lips.

‘He’s mine now, anyway. What does the temple have to do with anything?’

Why is he praying so hard? Rowy’s eyes became increasingly sharp. However, Van, having no way of knowing Rowy’s state, showed no signs of stopping his earnest prayer. Eventually, full of spite, Rowy lunged at the back of the kneeling Van.

“…Master?”

Even though he had been praying with his eyes closed, Van easily caught Rowy as he suddenly threw himself at him.

“Are you done looking?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Rowy, who had been secretly worried about whether Van would get angry, felt a sigh of relief inside as he saw Van smiling just as he usually did. He then grabbed Van’s hand and began to pull him along obstinately.

“I want to leave. It’s stifling in here.”

“Understood. Please move slowly. And watch your step. Also, just a moment…”

Even while being dragged away by his fickle master, Van held onto Rowy and recited a short prayer once more. It was a prayer filled with all his heart and sincerity. Even though it made Rowy’s spitefulness seem meaningless… Van had spent the entire prayer wishing only for Rowy’s safety.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

At the time when Rowy and Van were looking around the temple, Seilan, who had arrived at the temple long before them, had taken over an empty room and was frantically looking through documents.

There was so much to do. Although he had grumbled a lot to Rowy about being forced to go to Marzen, this was, in a way, a very good opportunity. Whatever the case, Seilan had officially come to Marzen under the orders of Duke Irad… and because of that, he was able to use the magic seal. For instance,

‘Ah, I came to Marzen because Duke Irad personally! requested it.’

Like this. If you just added a remark like that, everything would flow surprisingly smoothly. That was the power of a ducal house of the Empire.

‘Well, the task the Duke assigned is to keep watch over that brat Rowy, but… it’s not a lie, anyway.’

Thanks to that, Seilan hummed, having satisfactorily handled all the deals he had been eyeing for a long time.

‘It would be nice if I could return without any incidents. Not that I’m expecting that.’

After all, whenever Rowy was involved, things always went in strange directions. This time, he even randomly ran into a demon….

‘No, this time it’s still a result worth the trouble. Hehe.’

A deep smile of satisfaction spread across Seilan’s face as he scanned the contract.

“…But why aren’t they coming?”

He had been told they had arrived at the temple a long time ago, but Rowy was nowhere to be seen.

‘Don’t tell me they’re doing something weird again?’

Seilan’s eyes narrowed as he thought of the two who were always glued together.

‘Van, I don’t find that guy trustworthy, either.’

Seilan, who had zero faith in Rowy, likewise had zero faith in Van. Well, isn’t there a saying that birds of a feather flock together?

‘They were meant to hang out with equally shady types, anyway.’

Seilan failed to consider the fact that, to others, he himself also looked like Rowy’s friend. Just as Seilan was contemplating whether he should go find the two who hadn’t arrived yet, the door to the office opened, and Rowy and Van finally appeared. The sight of them stuck together was particularly bothersome today. Seilan screamed in irritation.

“Hey, Rowy! What were you doing to be this late?”

“Huh? You got here early.”

“Early? You guys are the ones who are late!”

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

“Please sit here.”

Whether he heard Seilan or not, Van, upon hearing him say he was tired, quickly sat Rowy in a chair and knelt in front of him to start massaging his legs.

“You overdid it yesterday, and it seems you walked too much today.”

“Ugh, go gently.”

“Shh, it will feel better if you bear with it just a little.”

“Haah, it hurts… Ugh, stop it…!”

Rowy let out a moan and fell backward at the hand pressing firmly into his calf. At the sound, which sounded strangely suggestive, Seilan freaked out and yelled.

“Hey, hey! Do you think this is your bedroom back home?”

…However, the two still had no interest in Seilan.

“That’s why I told you earlier that I would carry you on my back.”

“…Then carry me when we leave later.”

“Rowy, are you a child? Carry him, what carry! …Are both of you ignoring me right now?”

Eventually, unable to hold it in, Seilan rushed over and separated them himself.

“Get away from each other! Do you think I followed you all the way here to watch your little romance?”

“You’re really loud.”

“Ugh, you hateful pair! Hurry up and go see the High Priest! You said you had to do that release spell or whatever it was!”

At the sight of him waving his hands as if shooing away bugs, Rowy’s eyes became increasingly sharp. Noticing Rowy’s mood, Van quickly cut into the conversation. He didn’t want his back to break again because of their fighting.

“Haha, the High Priest said he is busy today. He told us to wait until closing time.”

“Huh? I obviously kept the time open.”

“You made a reservation in advance?”

At Van’s bewildered question, Seilan said “Ah,” and only then explained the situation.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you. Since the Veloa Trade Guild is currently managing the Elysion Temple, you see.”

“Pardon? Does that mean you are the one managing this place, Seilan?”

So, Seilan is the one who turned this place into a tourist attraction? Then, the one who built all those strange experience stalls was… Van’s gaze toward Seilan turned cold in an instant.