A Narrow-Eyed Nobleman Is Always Misunderstood

Episode 11 – ‘Cult’ and ‘Trust’ (modified)

“Alberto, do you know about the Cult?”

“Cult… Are you talking?”

I knew what the Marquis of Sebatia meant by the ‘Cult’.

First of all, there is a pantheon in this world, and there are many gods in the pantheon.

As there are many gods, each person worships a different god, and as a result, people who worship each god gather to form a religious order.

However, not all believers are divided equally. As with all things in the world, there are gods that belong to the mainstream and gods that belong to the minor.

It was written in the history books I read that these mainstream and non-mainstream beliefs have changed over time.

The mainstream denominations of the present era were the ‘Goddess of Sacred Light’ and the ‘Goddess of Justice’.

For some reason, the churches that worshiped the two goddesses came together to form a united church, which was the ‘Church of Light and Justice’.

They were the so-called ‘Cult’ that Marquis Sebatia had spoken of.

On the surface, they are sincere people who carry out relief projects for people, but in reality, it could be said that they are a group of fanatics who commit all kinds of eccentricities in the name of exterminating the devil and the followers of evil spirits.

If you listen to the stories of the peddlers who roam the various cities, you can see the extent of their misdeeds.

Because peddlers do not have a separate base, they go around to buy and sell goods, so it was more difficult to guarantee their identity than other people.

Most of the passbooks issued by the lord’s castle in each territory were disposable, and even the passbooks were not issued because the credit rating of the peddlers was low.

That’s why, since you can’t trust untrustworthy peddlers in each territory, you had to get a guarantee that they wouldn’t make a fuss when they entered the city.

It was the temple that ensured the identity of these peddlers.

In particular, there were many cases in which people were allowed to enter the territory only after receiving recognition from the Church of Light and Justice, which serves the Goddess of Justice.

I used my status as a nobleman to ask the captain of the guard if I could enter after receiving the recognition of the Church of Light and Justice.

‘Ah, is that what you mean? It is because the lord of our territory is a member of the Church of Light and Justice. Almost all of the guards here are members of the Church of Light and Justice. I’m a follower of the Earth Goddess.’

‘Is it really because of that?’

‘If you have a criminal record, the Church of Light and Justice will not vouch for your identity. Of course, even in this case, it depends on the situation, but usually, in extenuating circumstances, they pay a little more donation and give a guarantee of identity.’

As such, the temple was guaranteeing their identities by receiving a certain amount of money from the peddlers in the name of offerings.

In the past, it was said that the amount required for identity guarantee was not very large, but recently the amount of donations required for identity guarantee has been increasing.

‘Oh well, listen. Aren’t the temple bastards asking for twice as much money as last month?’

‘Twice as much?’

‘Yes, it will be better. No, does this make sense when people like us are told to donate all the money we can barely earn in a day? After taxes, there is nothing left, and it is getting harder and harder to engage in peddling as the days go by.’

Perhaps the grievances the peddlers were talking about were a little exaggerated, but it was true that the amount of donations needed to guarantee their identity was recently increasing.

It was still an unknown question as to where all that money would disappear.

“When you say church, do you mean the church of light and justice?”

“Yes. Is to tell them Everything they do is a nuisance.”

The Marquis of Sebatia was also talking with a deep sigh as if they had accumulated a lot.

“Then why do you think the church is a problem?”

“Recently, information has been obtained that something called an ‘oracle’ has recently been handed down from the church.”

“An oracle?”

When Marquis Sebatia brought up the word oracle, she had a very serious expression on her face.

Trust.

It means that the god looking down on the world from the pantheon informs the people living in this world of his will.

The contents of the oracles were mostly warnings about future threats or current events, or solutions to those problems.

However, the oracle did not come down more often than expected, and it rarely happened that the oracle came down except for the periodic oracle every hundred years.

It has already been 30 years since the regular oracles came down, and if a new oracle had come down, the whole world would have known about it if the contents were not dangerous.

However, the contents of this oracle were not known, so it was possible to understand to some extent that the contents of the oracle were quite serious and sensitive.

What on earth was it about, making his face stiff and serious like that?

“The contents of the trust are as follows. It is said that an oracle has come down that says, [In the ground of noble learning, waves that will color the world black will arise, and there you will find the beginning and end of the end.”

“It is an ambiguous content that can lead to different opinions depending on how it is interpreted.”

“It’s all about trusts. I can’t convey it in words that people can understand, so I end up saying it in reverse. This oracle can also be interpreted as saying that something will happen at the Royal Academy.”

The contents of the oracle that the Marquis of Sebatia told me were truly incomprehensible.

However, it was certain that the trust had come down to the Royal Academy.

A place of noble learning.

That was an idiomatic expression for the Royal Academy.

However, the wave that dyes the world black was a part that left room for interpretation.

And the interpretation of the beginning and end of the end would be controversial.

The beginning of the end, the end of the end. Is it divided into two like this?

Or is there such a thing as the ‘beginning and end’ of the apocalypse?

“An intelligence came in saying that the church sees this as the resurrection of an ‘evil god. They think it is the ‘beginning and end’ of the end, and they seem to have judged that there is a ‘renegade’ infiltrating the Royal Academy disguised as a vessel or person to resurrect evil spirits.”

“Is that so? But I want to hear the reason why I should be careful.”

“Because your skills grow into a category that is not considered normal. A sword master at the age of fifteen. Do you think this could happen with common sense?”

Hmm, my growth rate is definitely phenomenal.

“If your skills are revealed, the church will surely think of you as a vessel to be used as a resurrection of evil spirits, or as a devil disguised as a person and infiltrating the academy.”

“I should be as careful as possible.”

“Yes. So be careful. Although the Church cannot have direct influence because of interference in internal affairs, there is a possibility that those within the academy who are under the influence of the Church will cooperate with the Church.”

If I am framed as a vessel for the resurrection of evil spirits by the cult, it is certain that they will somehow match their interpretations and drive me.

If that happens, the misunderstanding will grow out of control, leading to an irreversible tragedy.

I don’t know if the church is easy, but the current church was a group of unprecedented power, so from my point of view, it was better to be careful.

Especially, my family has little social influence, and we lack the means to get help when something happens.

In the end, that meant I had to take care of myself as much as possible.

“I want you to understand even if it is uncomfortable. If it wasn’t for the church’s oracle, you’d be able to show off your skills…….”

“No. It’s going to be hard to get good grades, but it’s better than having your academy life bothered by the church guys.”

“Don’t worry about grades. Even your father’s swordsmanship skills were intermediate level sword experts at your age.”

The Marquis of Sebatia presented a specific standard for sword expert intermediate.

“You want the father to be recognized as the son.”

“Yes. In general, children who surpass their father rarely appear.”

“Then, for the time being, are you saying that I can work with sword expert intermediate skills?”

I asked Marquis Sebatia one last time.

“Yes. A sword expert intermediate level is appropriate. Even the members of the church can’t say anything with that level of skill. There is a precedent for being your father.”

The Marquis of Sebatia gave me a clear answer.

“Is that so? Oh, come to think of it, how does the church distinguish between a vessel of evil spirits and a traitor?”

I asked about how to distinguish between a vessel of evil spirits and a traitor, as the church says, in order to prepare for an unexpected situation.

“As you well know, a swordsman deals with aura, and a wizard deals with mana. Both are forces from nature, but they are forces that are difficult to coexist with because the process of accepting them is different. However, the vessels of the evil spirits and the renegades use the two powers freely.”

“Is that so?”

Damn it. Another reason to really buy yourself has increased.

I could use swordsmanship and magic, so it was surprisingly similar to the identity of the person the church was looking for, enough to say that the oracle was targeting me.

‘I must keep quiet about the fact that I can use magic.’

Fortunately, no one knew about my use of magic.

Neither my father, nor my mother, nor even Nina, who knew some of my secrets, knew that I could use magic.

‘No, the real academy life is going to be turbulent… ….’

“Anyway, that’s all I can say. But don’t worry. Because the only people who know about your true skills are me, Veras, Semiterne, and His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Academy Life… I wanted to have fun… It would be difficult if that were the case.”

I responded to Marquis Sebatia’s words with a sly smile.

“According to principle, the church’s interference in internal affairs is an act prohibited by the Separation of Church and State Agreement between the Church and the Empire. But… How well that would work for fanatics is also a question to me. Also, the leader of the country can sometimes sacrifice a cow for the sake of the generation.”

I thought I knew what Marquis Sebatia meant.

In other words, if the Church uses an oracle as an excuse to hand me over, His Majesty the Emperor can hand me over to them for the sake of the Empire’s well-being.

“Well, if it’s His Majesty’s personality, he might use the Church’s meddling in internal affairs as an excuse to wipe out all noble families that have influence over the Church.”

“Many people are suffering because of the church.”

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing like that, but His Majesty the Emperor selected you as an imperial scholarship student and asked you to see all the conveniences you can afford.”

“Hey, I’m glad to hear that.”

The fact that I was selected as an Imperial Scholarship student was probably a measure to put me under the imperial family’s influence and protect me from being tampered with by the Order.

In other words, this person is being watched by the imperial family, and it was the same as not paying attention to him because he was the one we chose.

If the Marquis of Sebatia is right, His Majesty the Emperor must have been trying to minimize the Church’s interference under the pretext of being an Imperial Scholar.

No matter how influential the church is, if it directly touches the imperial family, then a real war will break out.

“First of all, it is unknown how long the church will be active, so can you stay at the academy without revealing your skills to the fullest, even until graduation?”

“As much as you like.”

I said yes, and Marquis Sebatia nodded and sighed in relief.

“Yes. Thank you for saying that. Then I’ll go see you.”

After those words, Marquis Sebatia left the room wearing the hood of the robe again.

“Haa… ….”

There was no more academy life full of youth with sweet desserts.

The hard life of the academy, where you have to soothe your tired mind and body with sweet desserts, will be replaced.

From now on, I had to go through a really pitiful academy period where the members of the Order stopped their activities or I had to save myself somehow until I graduated.

Maybe it’s because my head hurts from these beggar fanatics, but today I really want to eat a sweet cake.

Ah. Life is fleeting