News spread through Reinhardt that Grid was touring restaurants with a guest. How great was the guest that the king would personally guide him? People were curious about the ident.i.ty of the guest, but there was no way to find out. Most of the so-called officials seemed unaware of the guest’s ident.i.ty.
“What? He’s gone?”
News of the guest’s visit also flowed to Idan’s ear. Idan naturally prepared some dishes. It was the duty of the palace chef—not the official t.i.tle, but Idan himself thought so—to serve the king’s guest.
“I prepared as many dishes as possible. Why?”
However, the guest left. It was absurd news for Idan.
“Hasn’t he been looking at restaurants all day? Isn’t he a guest who came to experience the unique food culture of the Overgeared Kingdom?”
“That seems to be the case.”
“Then why did he leave without eating my dishes?”
“...Maybe something suddenly happened and he was busy.”
Idan’s kitchen was called a ‘training center’ among the people. Soldiers and knights visited Idan’s kitchen to carry out the order of ‘raising their poison resistance.’ No one came to eat, but Idan didn’t know reality. He once turned away from the public’s appet.i.te due to his strong artistic temperament, but hadn’t he compromised with the world these days? Idan started actively using the magic powder called salt and believed his cooking was enough to capture everyone’s taste buds.
“Hmm... Too bad.” This would’ve been an opportunity to let the guest know how great the cuisine of the Overgeared Kingdom was. Idan shook his head and grabbed the soldier who was withdrawing from the kitchen. “In any case, thank you for the news. I have nothing to give you in return, but I prepared a lot of food so enjoy it.”
“Huh? I have no training today... I have to do guard duty...”
“What does training have to do with this? It is lunchtime so eat before going.”
“I will be disciplined if I leave my station...”
“Huhu, look at this guy. Are my dishes so delicious that you don’t know how much time pa.s.ses when eating them? If you’re really worried then I’ll remind you of the time. Rest a.s.sured and eat.”
“......”
Idan’s kitchen was larger than any other kitchen in the castle. It was used as a training center for poison resistance training so it was efficient for it to be large. This point seemed to ignite Idan’s illusion. Perhaps Idan believed his cooking was acknowledged, which was why he was a.s.signed the large kitchen...
The soldier clicked his tongue at this thought before frowning and grabbing his stomach.
“Aaack, my stomach suddenly... Uhh... I’m going to skip lunch today and head to the bathroom.”
“All of a sudden?”
The soldier left before Idan could suspect anything. Facing the table full of dishes, Idan was forced to pack them into lunch boxes. He suddenly came up with a good idea.
‘I heard there are refugees in the nearby mountains.’
Mediah, Belto, Gauss, Rotemon...
As many as five kingdoms had perished in the last 10 years. The wars caused by humans and the invasions of the great demons created countless refugees. Most kingdoms were preventing the influx of refugees due to financial and security reasons, but the Overgeared Kingdom welcomed them.
It was an expression of confidence that they could handle any enemies mixed in with the refugees and the finances were being filled over and over by the raid teams of the Overgeared Kingdom. The most important thing for the new kingdom was to increase the population.
***
“We"ve finally arrived.”
How many rivers and mountains did they cross to avoid the surveillance? They also experienced all types of dangers as they broke through forbidden areas. The Judar paladins, who disguised as refugees to enter the Overgeared Kingdom, finally arrived in the capital of the Overgeared Kingdom, Reinhardt.
“It was purely due to Sir Yame that we could arrive here safely.”
The paladins praised Yame. Yame—he was the player who rose to be the first paladin of the Judar Church after Toban betrayed the G.o.d and changed religions. He was 5th in the paladin rankings and felt reluctant about the current situation.
‘It is crazy no matter how I look at it...’
On the day when the Overgeared G.o.d Church was born and the statues of G.o.ddess Rebecca were removed from the Overgeared Kingdom, a revelation descended on the Judar Church. It was a revelation to severely reprimand Grid, who betrayed the G.o.ddess and confused the people the moment he gained the status of a G.o.d.
Fortunately, there was no order to harm Grid. G.o.d Judar still wanted to give Grid a chance, whether it was due to the memory of blessing Grid in the past or the achievements Grid built up so far. It was G.o.d Judar’s will to recognize Grid as a new G.o.d, but he had to submit to Asgard.
‘However, will Grid listen...?’
It was permitted to build temples for the Overgeared G.o.d in the Overgeared Kingdom but the temples of the three G.o.ds (Rebecca, Judar, and Dominion) had to be built next to them. Next, statues of the three G.o.ds, that had to be twice the size of the Overgeared G.o.d, were to be erected next to the statues of the Overgeared G.o.d.
Yame confirmed the will of G.o.d Judar specified in the revelation and covered his face. As the number one paladin of a church, he had a vague understanding of the concept of a G.o.d in Satisfy. He knew that Grid might still be weak, but he was a special being among the G.o.ds since he was born out of people’s desires. It would be a betrayal of the people’s desires if Grid accepted the demands of G.o.d Judar and obeyed the existing G.o.ds.
Even now, it was difficult to increase the number of believers. If this happened, then the future path of the Overgeared G.o.d Church was blocked. Would Grid accept the will of G.o.d Judar when he obviously knew this?
‘He will reject it unconditionally.’
In the first place, the envoys of the Judar Church were refused entry to the kingdom and they had to disguise themselves as refugees. It was frustrating to him that the paladins thought everything would be fine as long as they met Grid.
The vice-captain patted Yame’s shoulder in support as he sighed.
"Don"t worry. Reidan’s foolish lord refused to let us enter the kingdom due to his excessive loyalty to the Overgeared King, but the king is a good and wise man. Right now, his eyes are blinded because he is intoxicated by becoming a G.o.d. Once he meets us and realizes G.o.d Judar’s will, he will be filled with spirit and make the right choices again.”
“......”
He hoped so but... Ah, he didn’t know. Would he die if he told Grid these crazy words? For now, it was important to carry out the revelation. Even Pope Damian lost his position after refusing to carry out a revelation. Yame tried to control his unpleasant thoughts and nodded.
“You look miserable. You must’ve had a hard time coming here after losing your kingdom.”
Just then, an NPC called Idan arrived through the bushes. It was an NPC who felt ordinary just based on his voice alone. He pulled out lunch boxes from his bag.
“I am a chef. You don’t need to be so cautious.”
‘I’m not cautious.’
Being the first knight of the Judar Church didn’t mean being the strongest in the Judar Church. Just as the Rebecca Church had the Templar, the Judar Church had several sub-organizations and hidden strong people. The paladins accompanying Yame now were those hidden strong people.
They had detailed stats and out of the ordinary t.i.tles, skills, magic, item enhancement, or alchemy. For example, they had wide area buffs that could increase skill damage resistance, increase weapon damage, or mana and elemental rapport. Once these buffs were stacked together, their strength became hard for a player to reach. There were even buffs that were triggered after certain conditions were met. It reminded him of Grid or Damian during the Demon King’s Subjugation. It meant they were some of the strongest people in the worldview.
Of course, this was the kingdom that had Grid, Piaro, Mercedes, and Braham... it was also the middle of the Overgeared Kingdom that had Lantier Faker and Bow Saint Jishuka. No one would be able to stand up to them, but anyway...
“Haha, I’m not vigilant. Thank you for the food.”
"I’m happy to meet such a person of distinction. The Overgeared Kingdom is said to be rich and it seems that abundance has made people benevolent. I pray that your charity will call upon G.o.d’s grace.”
Yame’s group who had been reading Idan’s movements since he reached the mountainside weren’t wary at all. They were the elite of the Judar Church so they could easily detect if the other person had hostility toward them.
“You are a G.o.d-serving man. I’m from the east so I don’t know much about the G.o.ds of the west. Still, can you believe in the Overgeared G.o.d? If you serve many G.o.ds and pray to them, you will be blessed more and more. Haha, then I’m going.”
Serving other G.o.ds didn’t go against the doctrines of the Judar Church. The birth of the Judar Church itself was to support Rebecca along with the Dominion Church. The Judar Church was much more open compared to other religions since it served not only G.o.d Judar, but also G.o.ddess Rebecca and G.o.d Dominion. This was why they were trying to deal flexibly with this situation.
“Um... By the way...”
After Idan left, the paladins who sat down to eat lunch suddenly felt something strange. Not only did they cross the border disguised as refugees, but they also picked remote areas to avoid the surveillance of the guards. it would be normal if no one knew they arrived here today. Then how did an ordinary person know they were here to bring them packed lunch boxes?
“Don’t tell me the Overgeared Kingdom discovered us?”
“Then we should’ve met the Overgeared Kingdom’s army by now. It is purely a coincidence.”
“Indeed. Come, eat first before going to see the Overgeared King.”
After a while, the poisoned paladins had to work hard to purify the poison. It was a scene that caused gooseb.u.mps.
“...We were discovered.”
"We"ve been caught in the hands of the Overgeared Kingdom since the beginning.”
“Having a civilian send poison... it is evil.”
“W-What do we do? We are already under surveillance. Is it possible to enter Reinhardt?”
"As I said earlier, the Overgeared King is a good and wise man. The one who warned us by spying on us and sending us poison are his people, not the Overgeared King. Now that this has happened, a frontal breakthrough is the only answer.”
The paladins made up their minds and took off their shabby clothes and wore their formal robes. The robes were more practical than glamorous and showed how active the Judar Church was. They were also known as battle priests. Unlike the Rebecca Church, the paladins and priests of the Judar Church and Dominion Church, who didn’t use heals, were truly excellent at fighting.
“If Reinhardt really blocks us from entering, then I allow you to wield your maces in the name of G.o.d Judar.”
“Yes!”
The paladins answered in a mighty manner and descended the mountain. They moved toward the gate of Reinhardt which was visibly close by.
"We are envoys from the Judar Church!”
“In the name of G.o.d Judar, we will give the Overgeared G.o.d a chance! The Overgeared G.o.d must swear allegiance to G.o.ddess Rebecca and G.o.d Judar, and submit to Asgard to prove he isn’t a heretic.”
The more faithful a paladin, the more familiar they were with religious activities. The Judar paladins noticed there were many farmers in the vast fields on the road to the city gates. They shouted about G.o.d Judar and Asgard for the farmers to hear. It was intended to indirectly preach the greatness of the Judar Church.
“......”
“......”
After a while, Yame woke up and found that he was on his knees in a field with the other paladins. The legendary farmer Piaro never appeared. Just... there were only a lot of farmers.
“No, why are the farmers so strong...?!”
“If the farmers of this kingdom start a rebellion then the king will change in a day!”
“What are you saying...?”
The farmers stared at the uninvited visitors who were speaking nonsense from beginning to end.
“A n.o.ble?”
Just then, a blond n.o.bleman appeared. Looking at the lofty gait and luxurious sword hanging from his waist, he seemed to be the heir of a famous family.
‘Is it a high ranking n.o.ble of the Overgeared Kingdom?’
The paladins gulped. They wondered how wary the Overgeared Kingdom was to send a high ranking n.o.ble from the beginning.
“What should we do with them, Bland?”
“Um... I have to dig for potatoes... just hand them over to the guards.”
“Yes!”
“......”
He was also a farmer? It was said that the Overgeared Kingdom was rich, but it was to the extent that a farmer could dress like a n.o.ble?
It happened as the paladins were thinking hard...
“These people. Authorization.” A huge man appeared. He carried a black and blue greatsword in the form of a shark on his back and had dozens of scars on his face alone. A tremendous power could be felt from him. He was like a famous general.
‘Now it is the real deal.’
‘I didn’t expect a general to come out directly.’
‘How wary of us are they?’
“What should we do, Guard Captain?”
“......”
The nervously gulping paladins stopped thinking. Yame had been in a dazed state since the beginning. In fact, he had vaguely predicted the current situation from the time he received the revelation.
‘This... it is right to convert to the Overgeared G.o.d Church, no matter how I think about it.’
Yame grasped the general situation and was convinced.