The Medieval Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 40

40. Returning After Gaining Prestige

The Inquisition’s unexpected appearance sent shockwaves through the holy land.

Anyone could see that they were high-ranking and intimidating, wearing gold-trimmed black shoulder capes and swords. They walked in formation, their eyes more chilling than the tips of their swords, suppressing all dissenting voices.

“Saint Illenio’s toenail powder? If what you’re selling is real, your entire family will be charged with heresy for damaging holy relics.”

“Oh no, how could that be! This is my toenail powder!”

“I accuse you of counterfeiting holy relics.”

The local guards didn’t even show up. The priests in black shoulder mantles with gold borders smashed every stall with their swords like clubs. They smashed them so neatly that the stalls were reduced to tinder.

The merchants could only sit down blankly, unable to cry. There was one fortunate thing, however. The merchant wasn’t the only one who had suddenly suffered a calamity.

“A prostitute working in broad daylight? Have you lost all shame?”

“A prostitute?! I’m just waiting for a wonderful encounter…!”

“Shhh, shush! hehehe. This girl is still wet behind the ears. So much so that she doesn’t know the Holy See elders.”

“Take her away, pimp. Keep it clean, at least until the sun rises.”

As everyone was running away in a panic, the only ones who resisted were the sailors who were about to solicit a woman. The sailors swallowed hard and tried to bluff their way through it.

“Aren’t you priests being too much?”

“Not only have these unsworn bastards set foot in the Holy Land without permission, but they’re also frequenting brothels…”

The problem was that the Miracle Inquisition was extremely angry.

“We consider such righteous speech and wicked nature as blasphemy.”

Their wicked nature and copper-colored flesh, hardened by harsh sea work, were of no use before the Inquisition. The priests of the Inquisition didn’t even draw their swords and began to beat them with the scabbards.

Their ruthlessness made my teeth chatter. The sailors were beaten more painfully than I was when I was beaten with a broom handle for writing 30 days’ worth of vacation homework on a single sheet of paper back in middle school.

“I… I was wrong… Please don’t hit my tailbone…”

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“It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of your lower body, which makes you have wicked thoughts even in the Holy Land.”

“No… It’s my fault… It’s because I’m bad… Sob…”

“So you’ll take the beating?”

“Yes, yes! I’ll take it!”

“Lux Stella, the starlight of humanity. Guide this man with your teachings.”

I watched in real time as a human being was turned into a rag. The Inquisition only looked satisfied after they had turned the fierce sailors into tatters.

They seemed very satisfied with the Holy Land, where the hustle and bustle of a moment ago had completely disappeared. The Inquisition looked around at the silent streets filled with fear and terror and even smiled.

“Now it feels a bit like the Holy Land.”

“Brother, our mission is the Miracle Inquisition. Let’s recall His Holiness’s words that we can’t go around beating up every single one of these guys.”

“Even so, we can’t conduct the Miracle Inquisition in a place where brothels and swindlers rule. My greatest concession was not to evict them all.”

“That… makes sense.”

The Inquisition smiled for a while and then suddenly turned around. Towards where John and I were standing, watching blankly. I turned my head, wondering if there was someone behind me, but there was no one.

The people had quickly dispersed as soon as the Inquisition had looked their way. That’s when I realized that the Inquisition was looking at me.

“Narva Orn Streghos Gleliov Povis.”

The one who had sighed as soon as we arrived at the Holy Land spoke first.

“Are you the subject of the Inquisition?”

The one who had quietly stopped him from speaking continued.

The other priests stood silently behind these two, looking on. It was clear that there was some kind of hierarchy. I turned my gaze and looked at the two men, then slowly silent.

“Yes. I am the Stigmata bearer.”

***

Until the Miracle Inquisition arrived, the time had passed relatively slowly and calmly.

I would get a little nauseous looking at the scenery outside, and I would slowly kill time by chatting idly with John. You can’t always be in a hurry, so you need time to relax.

However, my time began to pass quickly again as soon as the Inquisition arrived.

“The subject of the Inquisition, please raise both your hands and show us your Stigmata.”

The one who spoke in front of the monument to Saint Illenio was the priest with the quiet voice.

He introduced himself as Marcellolanda, the deputy head of the Miracle Inquisition.

He had a calm demeanor with curly, frizzy hair and thin lips. As I raised the back of my hand, Marcello began mumbling, propping up his chin.

“Both hands are consistent in shape. There are no noticeable calluses or anemia caused by continuous whittling. The stigmata are also clearly visible.”

The one who received these words was the priest in the Holy Land uniform, the leader of the Miracle Examination Team, Chief Bonichego.

He placed a thick book on a reading stand brought from the ship and moved his quill pen incessantly.

“First pass. Next.”

“I will verify if this is the power of heresy with holy relics.”

Marcello rummaged through the boxes he had brought and took out a cross-shaped necklace. The other priests surrounded me in a circle, as if embracing me, but I suddenly realized why.

The Miracle Examination Team is the one who checks whether it is a miracle of Lux Stella or not. And if the old gods of heresy are confirmed to have intervened during the examination, they immediately transform into executioners.

As if to prove this hypothesis, the priests put their hands on the hilts of their swords and watched in silence. Marcello recited a prayer in this murderous atmosphere.

“Lux Stella, the starlight of mankind. Please drive the heresy into the twilight.”

Then, the cross-shaped necklace in Marcello’s hand gleamed bright blue. Just like Sertel had shown me before. But not everything was the same as then.

The moment the cross-shaped necklace glowed, the stigmata on the back of my hand also began to glow bright blue.

Marcello immediately put away the cross-shaped necklace and declared in a solemn voice.

“There is no intervention of heresy. As a result of the examination, the Blue Cross is confirmed. …Stigmata.”

At these words, the attitude of the Examination Team completely changed.

The murderous gazes seemed to subside, and one by one, they removed their hands from the hilts of their swords. Those who had surrounded me in a circle, ready to execute me at any moment, knelt down and revered me.

The priests of the Examination Team knelt down moving in unison, bowed their heads at the same time, and held onto the cross-shaped necklaces around their necks. Chief Bonichego, who had been his quill pen busily, and Marcello, who had led the examination, were no exception.

The arrogant and haughty attitude they had shown at the pier had completely disappeared. Chief Bonichego spoke in an earnest voice.

“We welcome the living witness of Lux Stella.”

I felt a sense of satisfaction without realizing it, but I also felt mischievous. The stigma manifested when the vow was properly fulfilled. It is very rare, but it is not extremely rare, but what about the priests in front of me?

So I asked a slightly pointed question.

“Don’t you priests have stigmata?”

“Please take back your words. It is difficult to compare with those who will soon take up the post.”

“Post?”

It was a question I asked without much thought because the answer came out much more smoothly than I expected. However, at that moment, I saw Bonichego’s eyes flash.

“A condition for those who serve the priesthood. To dedicate your life to Lux Stella and show the stigmata as a sign.”

And I noticed that the Vatican didn’t just move the miracle examination site here without thinking.

“Now that a local stigmatic has appeared, it is time for those without stigmata to step down.”

“It won’t be easy to replace Bishop Powys.”

“That is one of the reasons His Holiness sent us.”

Bonichego stood up with a confident look. Seeing this, the other priests also stood up one after another and gathered around Bonichego, forming a line like an army.

No, it might be more like an army than the ordinary secular army of this era. Bonichego revealed the true identity of the Examination Team with a proud expression.

“Everyone here is a Knight Templar, a monk knight, and a priest.”

“….”

“We received the Pope’s orders to enforce the will of Lux Stella on those who deny the results of the miracle examination.”

After all, I need to have good guardianship.

His Holiness the Pope had no intention of forgiving the wicked pastors who dared to inherit the local church as their private property.

Of course, it wasn’t just the Miracle Examination Team whose attitude had changed.

When I returned to the inn with the Examination Team, Bishop Ganista, who had heard the news, was waiting in the reception room. The bishop, who had been sipping tea quietly, stood up as soon as he saw me and asked for a handshake .

“I greet the Bishop of Powys.”

I seriously made an awkward smile because I was aware of the presence of the Inquisition following me with a murderous atmosphere. I held their outstretched hand.

“What on earth is this?”

“His Holiness has such high expectations for Bishop of Powys. hahahaha, in fact, he hinted to me that he would make you Bishop of Powys as soon as the miracle examination is over.”

It seemed that the Pope was really desperate for an opportunity. He must have felt the absence of Yubas. Even though I was of noble descent, I could see his intention to push me hard as I was a proper priest.

It wasn’t a bad thing for me. Strictly speaking, it was a really good thing.

It really is a good thing, but…

“The news will spread quickly. You should hurry back to Powys before the bishop who will soon be dismissed makes his defense.”

Considering the means of transportation in this world, it was natural for my impression to turn sour. How much I had suffered to endure the whole day. I creased the space between my eyebrows and asked a sharp question.

“By carriage?”

“hahahahaha. Well… How many horses do you think a poor bishop’s territory has? Ride in the carriage quietly.”

“Poor?”

This Holy Land, where merchants who prey on ignorant pilgrims, sailors who want to have one more chance in life, not to mention prostitutes and pimps, roam around, has no money?

Bishop Ganista gave a clear answer to the question that contained all these curiosities with a laugh.

“Do you think they pay their taxes properly?”

“Ah…”

It was a much more realistic reason than I thought. I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut. However, Bishop Ganista seemed to have a lot on his mind, so he continued to talk.

“Even if you send guards, they just pass by quietly, and there were some priests who enjoyed it secretly. Rather, I feel like a burden has been lifted now that the Inquisition has come and swept them away.”

“Is the Church okay with this?”

“That’s why we have to do it, that’s why. hahahahaha… Keuk, cough. Ahem.”

Judging from the fact that he was coughing after laughing in vain at the end, he seemed to be suffering quite a bit. Well, if he were a proper priest, it would be right to lament the state of the Holy Land. Even Boniche, who had followed me, had been glaring at me since earlier.

“You can’t even stop the brothels in the Holy Land. The situation on the island at dawn is more serious than Your Grace’s worries.”

“I… Brother. There are also brothels in the Holy City of Idea.”

“What? Br, brothels are rampant in the Holy City? Th, th, this! I’ll burn them all down as soon as I go back and lead my brothers!!!”

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you…”

I ignored Boniche, who was jumping up and down about the deep karma of human society, and Marcello, who was sighing deeply. Instead, there was a scene that caught my eye.

There was a man huddled between the black-caped priests and monk knights.

“John. Come to think of it, why are you so quiet and not nagging me like usual?”

“Oh my, Bishop! How could I do something that would invite divine punishment!”

***

I stayed in the Holy Land for exactly three days.

I collapsed in my room as soon as I arrived, underwent the miracle examination on the second day, and left the Holy Land on the third day. If I had to describe it, it was a place full of people like tenacious weeds that sprouted between the footprints of saints.

It was a place that smelled much more like people than I thought.

“Whoa, whoa!”

I closed my eyes tightly as I heard the urging of the coachman. It was in order to force myself to sleep in the rattling carriage. But if I closed my eyes, I would have collapsed anywhere.

As I was about to feel nauseous, a familiar voice shook me, sounding very frightened.

“Lo… No, is it Bishop? Soop. What should I call you?”

“Just call me like you used to.”

“Lord! Something terrible, something terrible has happened! L, look at the hill over there!”

John was a double-sided person in many ways. Sometimes his nagging was annoying, but sometimes he was okay, and he was also good at detecting threats without knowing it.

If John was appealing to me so earnestly, it must be real.

I opened my eyes immediately and looked out the window of the carriage. Indeed, there was a reason for John to be flustered.

Along the distant ridge, I could see a group of mounted men. They were not ordinary riders, but knights heavily armed with polished armor that gleamed brilliantly. The banner carried by one of them bore a familiar crest.

A lion holding a sword in its mouth.

“It’s the Yubas cavalry.”

“A-are they attacking?”

“No.”

I looked away from the Yubas banner and turned my gaze to a nearby area.

About twenty members of the Miracle Examination Team were already densely surrounding my carriage, escorting it. I closed my eyes again and leaned back against the seat.

“It’s a little late to notice.”