A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight

Soon, following Sophia’s instructions, all the residents of the mansion were brought out to the front courtyard. There were no particular disturbances during this process. There were those who resisted, but Sophia and Conra’s might could easily suppress such feeble resistance, so such incidents could hardly be called disturbances.

With Conra standing beside her holding various documents collected from inside the mansion, Sophia stood with folded arms before them, scrutinizing their merits, truth, and value. Conra reported the contents of the documents, and Sophia immediately pointed out their authenticity, errors, and defects, summoning the relevant parties each time.

Before examining the involved parties, Sophia activated the legacy blessings of “The Monarch’s Wisdom”, “The Judge’s Jurisdiction”, and “The Detective’s Deduction”, then memorized and cast her original “Polygraph (Lie Detection) Spell” developed in her current life.

The polygraph spell comprehensively recorded the subject’s blood pressure, pulse, palmar sweat, sublingual saliva, pupillary movements, and brainwaves to determine the veracity of their statements. Of course, due to its operating principles, it was not an implicitly trustworthy spell, but it could partially serve as evidence for judgment.

And what supplemented this was none other than Sophia’s own interrogation skills and deductive intuition, aided by the relevant legacy blessings, allowing her judgment process to proceed smoothly without obstruction.

She classified people by their merits, then by how cooperative they were during interrogation, and finally by their actual work abilities. As a result, those interrogated by Sophia were largely divided into groups on the right and left sides.

“That’s enough! From now on, those standing on the right will immediately return to their respective posts and commence preparations for Brhymath’s territory to be properly incorporated into the royal demesne!”
“And what of those remaining on the left?”
“Just confine them appropriately and give them only water for a few days, and they’ll meekly cooperate. Once the personnel we’re expecting arrive, we’ll simply hand over and depart, leaving the rest to the remaining staff.”

Cautious about excessive secular involvement, Sophia was concise in her words.

In truth, Sophia felt she had been overly involved in this incident. Had it not been somewhat related to Jibrail’s guidance, and the lord’s transgressions happening to catch her eye, she would have likely adhered to a policy of non-interference as much as possible.

The reason she had resolved all these matters in such an aggressive, hasty manner was because she wished to avoid being involved too long or deeply. She intended to swiftly handle everything, then depart without any lingering attachments.

A few days after Sophia had concluded these affairs, the administrative personnel dispatched from the royal demesne and diocesan personnel finally arrived. Sophia welcomed them and proceeded with the handover. Receiving her handover, the arriving administrators could not help but marvel:

“The data organization is extremely tidy and intuitive. At this rate, the handover won’t even take half a day?”
“I can see at a glance exactly where and how the previous administration went wrong, without any omissions.”
“I was aware of double-entry bookkeeping, but due to the perception that only merchants on the continent used it, we hadn’t adopted it. But here, it can be easily utilized. And these ‘graphs’ are quite an ingenious conception.”

If Sophia had seen it, she might have inwardly thought, ‘Oh, an Earthling technique? Ah, so this is modern administrative documentation.’

In any case, on the day the handover was complete, Sophia and Conra packed their belongings, preparing to depart the next morning.

While inspecting their camping gear, rations, medical supplies, armaments, and tack, Sophia let out a troubled sigh:
“Oh dear…”
“Hm? What’s wrong, Master?”
“My sword has become quite nicked.”

Sophia showed her longsword. Sure enough, Sophia’s longsword blade was covered in numerous nicks and dents. Conra immediately realized this was due to her clash with that knight several days prior.

“Was that man quite strong?”
“Yes. A man who had trained to an uncommonly high level. Nearly on par with Paladin knights, even. He must have possessed considerable talent and effort.”
“How much stronger than me, would you say?”

At Conra’s question, Sophia paused momentarily. Soon, a cat-like, playful smile formed in the master’s gaze towards her disciple.

“Oho, did you perhaps develop a sense of rivalry towards that man?”
“Wouldn’t it be stranger for a boy not to feel that way? If he could leave such marks on Master’s blade, he seems a worthy goal to aspire to, no?”
“Hmm, but he was still one who lost to me. Wouldn’t this master be a better goal instead?”

Despite Sophia’s subtly assertive question, Conra did not waver as he stated his thoughts:
“Of course, I do aim to eventually surpass even you, Master. But before that, I need a more immediate, achievable goal first.”
“Kukuku, such an audacious one.”

Sophia chuckled endearingly at Conra’s words, roughly ruffling the young boy’s head to the point of practically disheveling him. Though Conra protested “Ah, Master, don’t!” and tried to wriggle free, it ultimately ended in failure.

After pondering for a moment, Sophia suddenly declared:
“Five years.”
“Huh?”
“Under the premise that you faithfully follow my teachings, I will enable you to surpass that man within five years.”

Sophia’s hands, no longer disheveling his head, grasped Conra’s shoulders as she looked him squarely in the eyes, which seemed to blaze with fire.

“I cannot allow any disciple of mine to be bested by others. If they are to be struck, I will strike them. If they are to be trampled, I will trample them. I will forge you into a powerful warrior. Understood?”

Faced with his master’s blazing intensity, Conra could not shake the feeling that he had somehow misspoken, no matter how he reflected on it.

+++++

When the man Karl Hector Mayer opened his eyes, night had already fallen, and stars were shining in the evening sky.

Waking up in the dim bedroom, he compared his battered condition to his memories before losing consciousness and soon realized his situation, letting out a wry smile.

“I see. In the end, I lost.”

His father had incurred many debts to raise Karl as a master swordsman. The previous lord of Brhymath had told that father that if he wished to repay those debts, he should raise his son to become a great sword hero.

Carrying that memory, Karl’s father had strived to raise him as the finest swordsman in the borderlands. As a result, Karl had etched his name by achieving successive victories against renowned local swordmasters.

As he gained confidence in his abilities, Karl felt he should repay the previous lord’s favor. It was entirely thanks to that lord that his family could stably devote themselves to the sword without ending up on the streets.

However, upon meeting the current lord of Brhymath, Louis Bergson de Brhymath, Karl was greatly disappointed. This generation’s lord was far too different from the previous one Karl remembered – lacking the benevolence, generosity, fairness, and severity that former lord had balanced.

Instead, the current lord had a narrow perspective, short-sightedness, and could not take responsibility for his words and actions.

Nevertheless, for Karl, it was simply a matter of repaying the favor from the previous generation – a task he could not renege on once decided. So he resolved to lend his cultivated sword to the current lord. Believing in his own might, he vaguely thought that even if the lord he served was somewhat lacking, as long as he could support him with his personal strength, they could somehow manage.

It did not take long for Karl to realize the world did not unfold according to his expectations.

When a succession dispute arose between the neighboring territories of Aghno and Badenbaden, the lord, fearing spillover effects, had instructed the construction of a moat around the keep.

This was not particularly problematic in itself. The crucial point was that the territorial architect, versed in alchemy, had advised reconsidering the lord’s instructions.

Brhymath’s castle was unsuitably located for constructing a moat, and forcibly doing so risked contaminating the underground aquifer running across the entire territory.

Karl had shared similar concerns, so he had knelt before the lord to advise caution:

‘If it was left to me regarding external threats, there would be no need for worry. So perhaps you should heed the architect’s counsel?’

However, the lord at the time, consumed with concerns only for his personal safety, did not lend an ear to their advice, soon issuing orders to proceed with surrounding the keep with a moat regardless.

And as expected, it did not take long for the underground aquifer to become contaminated, leading to a plague outbreak across the entire territory. The lord lacked both the will and ability to take responsibility for this situation. In the end, he committed the disgraceful act of simply holing up somewhere safe, doing nothing until others resolved the whole crisis.

“And I raised my sword to protect such a lord.”
‘I was even humiliatingly defeated,’ Karl ruefully reflected.

Suddenly, he recalled the nun knight he had crossed swords with. That beautiful, elegant face brimming with absolute confidence, determination, and an unfathomable seasoning. In every aspect – strength, technique, experience – she had overwhelmed him completely.

Especially that final strike that had finished him off – it was of a caliber Karl had never experienced before.

A wry smirk crept across Karl’s lips, mocking himself as an ignorant frog in a well, a delusional thundering idiot. Yet that did not mean his warrior’s spirit had been broken. Rather, he felt his very sinews burning with the excitement of discovering a wall he must overcome as a swordsman.

“I want to move my body immediately.”

But he could not. He was a defeated man – a subordinate who had cooperated with the now-deposed lord of Brhymath. As he tried to calm himself with that thought, Karl’s chamber door suddenly burst open.

“Hey, you’re finally awake? Perfect timing. Come out for a bit.”

To Karl’s bewilderment, standing at the door were the nun knight Sophia who had defeated him, and the young spearman who seemed to be her squire and disciple.