WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈
Chapter 6: Encounter with a Witch (1)
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Just as the Sacred Kingdom's borders were freely open to pilgrims, no special qualifications were needed to enter its capital, Temlis. All that was required was the simple procedure of passing through a blessed gate.
There were two reasons the process was so simple.
Practically speaking, there was no time to inspect every pilgrim arriving from around the world. The religious orders had to devote themselves to fighting the Abyss at all times.
Doctrinally, the gods watched over even the lowliest and did not favor the powerful any more dearly. By what right, then, could they choose which visitors to admit?
There was only one reason the Holy City would bar someone from entering: if they belonged to the Abyss's dominion.
Kriel's opinion of the Dark Knight class had worsened almost every day, but today's drop was especially steep.
‘To think I'd be stopped at the front gate.’
The moment Kriel tried to step through, the soft golden radiance surrounding the Temple Gate went out.
As soon as its light faded, the soldiers leveled their spears at Kriel. Even showing them his orders from the Western Army did no good.
[Uh... Is this because of me?]
Orisin floated nearby and whispered. Kriel considered blaming everything on that fool, but it would not have accomplished anything.
If he said, ‘It's because of this cursed horse head!’ they would only reply, ‘Then leave it behind.’
As long as Kriel was a Dark Knight, the Temple Gate's light would never shine for him.
The priests of the Sacred Kingdom were well known for their devotion, but whether their mercy and love extended to an Abyssal Spawn was another matter.
“Stop.”
Just as he found himself at a loss for what to do, a familiar but unwelcome voice called out.
Kriel turned around.
The figure was dressed entirely in black. Even the hat pulled low over her face was black, naturally bringing a witch to mind.
Long hair spilled from beneath the hat. It was black as shadow, with a red tint at the ends, like drops of blood gathered on the tip of a blade.
“Morgina...”
Kriel muttered the name of the ‘witch’ he had no wish to see again.
[What? You know her?]
“She is the Saintess of Eve Kaha.”
[Huh? That corpse-fetish goddess?]
Morgina's gaze turned toward Orisin. Her fierce glare made Orisin squeak involuntarily before hiding behind Kriel's back.
While Orisin trembled behind him, Morgina strode forward. In one hand, she held a raven-shaped pendant, the emblem of the Church of Eve Kaha. With the other, she formed a raven resembling the pendant from Divine Power.
“I will vouch for this person's identity. He is an ascetic seeking to cleanse his curse while serving our church.”
“A curse...?”
Those called Saintesses or Saints were exceptional figures outside the religious orders' usual hierarchy. Yet being outside that hierarchy did not mean they lacked authority. Through their devotion to the lowest of the low, they earned respect from people of every rank.
The gate wardens, chosen from among the Sacred Kingdom's most honorable knights, naturally held the same respect. Once they heard that a Saintess had vouched for him, they gradually lowered their spears.
“Enter. Do not leave the Saintess's side.”
Before Kriel could say anything, Morgina linked her arm through his.
“Come on, Sir Knight!”
Her voice was cheerful. The instant they left the Temple Gate behind, however, her expression hardened, and she whispered to Kriel.
“Hey. What'd you kill this time to get some stray ghost stuck to you?”
[A stray ghost?]
As if hiding from Morgina's gaze moments ago had been a lie, Orisin flew around her and protested fiercely.
Or rather, tried to.
The raven Morgina had formed from Divine Power split into more than a dozen birds in an instant and began pecking at Orisin. Orisin swung the horn in resistance, but could not overcome the force of numbers.
Letting out a rather undignified “Kieeek!” for a Spirit, Orisin hurriedly retreated into the horn to hide.
“You hooligan...”
“Quiet. Do you know how inefficient it is to deal with stray ghosts one by one?”
Kriel wanted to sigh. Nothing had ever been easy when he got involved with that woman. He had come to the Sacred Kingdom because he did not want to give her another reason to meet him. Why had she come here?
“Still, this is unexpected. That old man really sent you?”
“Old man?”
The old man Morgina meant was surely the commander of the Western Front. Yet Kriel had not come to Temlis because he had followed the old man's orders. He had come because he did not want to follow them.
“...?”
Morgina tilted her head at Kriel's reaction.
“Didn't you come because you received our church's official request for cooperation?”
“I should be asking you. Weren't you wandering in search of traces of the Abyss after leaving the Western Army? What brought you all the way to Temlis?”
Morgina muttered under her breath at Kriel's cold response. He could not make out exactly what she said because he was not paying attention, but phrases like “narrow-minded human” and “brick wall” reached him. It did not sound worth hearing.
“Haa...”
Morgina sighed openly, grabbed Kriel's hand, and pulled him along.
“Now that you're here, it must be church business, right? I can get you into the Grand Temple and arrange a private audience with the Saintess, so come to our church first.”
“Is there another Saintess in the Church of Eve Kaha besides you?”
“No?”
In the end, she was offering him a chance to speak with herself alone. Kriel trusted Morgina's abilities, but not her character, so it was not an offer he welcomed.
Sensing his hesitation, Morgina hurriedly added, “Hey, you should be grateful that I'm being this nice to you. You almost got kicked out at the gate.”
She was right. He had been rejected at the entrance because of his Dark Knight class. Even if he visited the Grand Temple, he would be lucky if he received no more than a refusal at the door. At worst, a fight might break out.
It was an offer he could not refuse.
In the end, Kriel followed Morgina to the Temple of Eve Kaha.
[Nooo! Don't!]
A horse head wailed, but sadly, no one nearby was willing to listen to the complaints of a suspicious ghost.
* * *
Eve Kaha's Grand Temple was modest compared to the other Grand Temples. The Church of Eve Kaha had little influence.
With Morgina leading the way, no priests stopped Kriel. Seeing people quietly lower their heads in greeting whenever they met Morgina, Orisin grumbled.
[Wow. That thug is really a Saintess? The world's coming to an end.]
This time, Orisin spoke from inside the horn. The thought wave reached Kriel alone.
‘You can use telepathy too?’
Kriel was impressed by Orisin's magical ability. Speaking directly to someone's mind required considerable skill.
It was rather ridiculous that someone with such delicate control over magical power used it to badmouth others. Orisin was about to continue chattering when they suddenly fell silent.
As soon as Orisin finished speaking, Morgina abruptly turned her head and stared at Kriel. More precisely, she stared at the broken Bicorn horn in the pack slung over his shoulder.
[Hiek!]
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I thought I heard someone calling for me.”
Morgina muttered that she must have misheard and began walking again. Watching her back, Kriel whispered.
“Her ability is the real thing. Of everyone I've seen, she's the best at sensing the waves of the Etheric Realm.”
[Eve Kaha had to choose a Saintess with a personality just like their own...]
Morgina called out loudly to Kriel.
“What are you standing around for? Come in.”
For a Saintess's room, it was rather bare. There was no luxurious furniture to be seen. Only the unusually thick light-blocking curtains and the bed taking up one corner of the room seemed expensive.
Weapons sat where furniture might have been. There was a solid iron mace forged from a single piece of metal, a spiked shield, an ash-wood club, and all manner of bladed and blunt weapons.
It looked less like a bedroom and more like a weapon display.
As the door closed with a creak, Orisin slowly crawled out from inside the horn.
[I could believe Eve Kaha herself decorated this room. Just because you're a priest of the goddess who guides those fallen in battle doesn't mean you have to decorate your room like a battlefield.]
“A stray ghost talking back?”
Orisin fell silent dejectedly.
“So, Kriel. What brings you all the way here?”
“It's because of that Spirit you keep calling a stray ghost. What about you?”
“For a Spirit, it has been deeply tainted by the Abyss.”
Morgina tilted her head as she looked at Orisin, then turned back to Kriel.
“The Priest-King issued a summons to the Saints of every church.”
“For what?”
“They say an Abyssal artifact has been found.”
The Abyss was originally a Dark Knight's field of expertise. Kriel immediately understood why Morgina had requested his dispatch.
Footnotes:
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