Ch 34

"Ahaha, this is a miracle!" Jawe, a mercenary of the Dragon Fang Mercenaries, exclaimed when he saw the castle wall of St. Percival in the distance.

"Ahhh! We survived!

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"We survived!”

When the Holy Land was seen, the merchants and mercenaries cheered and hugged each other. The mercenaries in tattered clothes and bandages had really thought they might die against the waves of bandits seeking the Holy Kingdom’s treasures. Surprisingly, however, no one was injured enough to even contemplate retirement, let alone die. The mercenaries were people who made a living off fighting, but the merchants were not, so it truly felt like a miracle to arrive at their destination.

"Thank you so much!" wailed the leader of the merchant party in tears. His hair was oily and his face was covered in soot from days of not being able to wash properly.

Although the mercenaries were responsible for the protection of the merchants and the goods, they could have abandoned the party and run away at any time. So, the merchants were truly grateful to all the mercenaries, who had stuck through it to the end.

"If Benjamin-nim hadn't recommended Caron-nim to join, by now we...! Ugh!"

When the merchant party leader remembered the suffering they had experienced and started to cry more, Benjamin handed over a handkerchief and shouted, "We have not arrived yet. Hey, you guys! Don't let down your guard until it’s over! Pay attention!”

The mercenaries quickly recovered their emotions and continued to escort properly. The last stretch of the journey went smoothly, since nobody was bold enough to attempt a robbery so close to the castle town. Entering the gate marked the official completion of their mission. Thinking that it was finally safe, some of the merchants relaxed. A few of them even fainted on the spot. That caused a small commotion, but the leader of the merchant party quickly settled it. He sent merchants and mercenaries to their lodgings and asked Benjamin and Caron for a favor.

"If we pass this box to the person named Merlin in the great temple of the holy land, our job is basically over. Everything else is a bonus. If you two do not mind, could I ask both of you to accompany me?"

Benjamin nodded. "Well, that much after-service is not difficult. It just so happens that Caron and I have something to do at the great temple anyway."

The registration for the Knights of the Round Table exam was also at the great temple. It would have been fine to take a rest and go the next day, but they agreed to go. The leader of the merchant party seemed anxious to keep holding onto the box. In addition, it was Benjamin’s first time in the holy land, so it wouldn’t be bad to use the leader of the merchant party as a guide.

"Thank you! Now! Let's hurry up and finish our work and go to our lodgings! I'll treat you to a meal, as thanks!"

The leader of the merchant party took the lead. Benjamin followed, but Caron stood still, staring blankly at something in the distance.

"Caron, what are you doing? Let's go." Benjamin shouted.

Caron smiled and murmured, "Are you here to take the exam? Then I guess I’ll be seeing you."

Caron was gazing at a small carriage, just a dot in the distance. He didn't know who was in it, but his heart couldn’t stop pounding. Someone in the carriage had such a vast mana that Caron wanted to fight them right away, but he decided to be patient for the time being.

* * *

Arietta tried to remove the curtains and look out the window when she felt a gaze from somewhere in the distance.

"Holy Queen, I know you're frustrated, but let's just endure it until we get to the great temple." said Kay.

Arietta hesitated and agonized. She could feel in her heart that something that had whispered inside her a few days ago was whispering again. She wanted to stick her head out of the carriage right away and find who was watching her, but she eventually let go of the curtain. Her blue hair was extremely unique, and stood out too much. It was as if she were showing off that she was of the imperial family. She might have acted out in a different situation, but because they were secretly transporting the imperial court’s secret treasure, the Miracle Crystal, she decided to be cautious. If the palpitations in her heart were meaningful, she knew fate would guide her to the gazer, even if she didn't approach them right away.

* * *

Caron looked around in amazement at the inside of the great temple.

"Wow, it’s so white, I bet it gets dirty easily."

"Is that the impression you have after seeing the great temple?" Benjamin remarked, smirking.

Others were surprised by the reverent and large building, but Caron saw it in a completely different way.

"But aren't you curious? Do they clean the exterior wall of the building, too?” asked Caron.

Now Benjamin was curious too. "I don't know. Wouldn't they clean it? Otherwise, I don't think it'd stay this white."

"Maybe if it were me or you, but I don’t think ordinary people could stick on that high wall. So how? With a rope hanging from the roof? Then how do they brush?"

"That’s a good point. Ah! Maybe they use magic to fly in the sky?"

"But I think they said priests can’t fly unless they are above a certain rank due to regulations. Would a person of such rank still be responsible for cleaning?”

Caron and Benjamin continued to discuss the trivial topic of cleaning.

"What do you think?” Benjamin casually asked the leader of the merchant party. Now that the escort request was completed, there was no need for him to speak formally.

The merchant party leader’s eyes darted up. "Are you talking to me? Well, I am not sure, I have never thought about it before."

The leader of the merchant party stayed neutral and polite, probably because Benjamin was his savior and he didn’t want to anger him. As Caron and Benjamin resumed their heated discussion, the leader of the merchant party smiled awkwardly and filled out their application forms on their behalf. Once they were submitted, he asked the priests to find Merlin. Following the guidance of the priests, they headed to the bell tower located at the top of the great temple. Once they had nearly arrived, however, a huge knight blocked their path.

"Outsiders are prohibited from entering this place. Leave."

The leader of the merchant party looked puzzled. The bell tower had never been banned to outsiders during the several visits he had made to the temple in the past. However, as an experienced merchant, he handled it skillfully.

"Right, then sir, could you please tell the person named Merlin up there that the Palares Merchants he wants to meet are here? I came here at the request of Merlin-nim himself."

The knight looked awkwardly at the leader of the merchant party. "Hmm… I'm sorry, but that won't be possible. If there were two knights on guard, one would go up while the other kept watch. But as you can see, I'm the only one protecting the bell tower."

The big knight, who seemed to have various concerns of his own, then politely asked, "Later today… no, later today will also be difficult. Can you visit again in a few days? Or if you tell me where you will be, Sir Merlin will send someone later."

"T-that's a problem! I will wait here until he is available!" said the merchant party leader, flustered by the knight’s request.

It was obvious that if the merchant party leader took the delivery item with him now, he would be too worried about getting robbed and wouldn’t be able to sleep well. Above all, he was keen to get rid of the item that had drawn so many attackers to their party. The contract with the Dragon Fang Mercenaries, who had escorted him to the holy land, ended as soon as he had arrived, so he couldn’t ask them for any additional security. No matter how much more money he had to offer, there was no way the mercenaries would take up the request after going through so much trouble staving off all the bandits on the way over.

"No, waiting here is not allowed." said the knight, disapprovingly. He decided to send them to the reception room in the great temple before going to deliver the news about the situation to Merlin.

Caron, who was looking interestedly behind the leader of the merchant party, asked with a playful smile, “What? Are you going to suppress us by force? Are you going to attack?"

"… What?" said the knight, shocked by Caron’s teasing.

The moment the knight tried to deny it, he felt something stimulating his survival instinct. At that moment, he unconsciously emitted martial aura without realizing it. Caron and Benjamin immediately became alert and got into battle stances.

"N-no! This is...!”

"Just as I thought! You're attacking! As an escort, I can't just stand by!" Caron said cheerfully, cutting off the flustered knight.

When the giant knight saw Caron's smile, he realized that the minuscule killing intent that had stimulated his instinct was from Caron. Caron glanced at the stairs beyond the knight. From the moment he entered the great temple, he had felt that the owner of the strong mana that made his heart pound was somewhere within. Because the great temple was too large, he couldn't tell exactly where it was. But now, he could sense that it was right above him. Caron knew that if a fight broke out, someone from above would come to check. Of course, he also decided on the knight as his target because he thought it would be an entertaining fight.

"Emitting martial aura like that means you intend to fight! Yes, yes! There can't be any other reason!" Caron said decisively before jumping for the giant knight.

The knight had no choice but to gather his mana and make a fist as Caron quickly charged in. While avoiding the flying fist, Caron shot forward to grab the knight’s arm and put the joint in a lock. However, the knight activated the mana around his arm, causing a local storm that launched Caron away.

"That was dangerous."

The knight rolled up his sleeves and checked his arm, which had almost been caught by Caron. The knight managed to shake him off before his arm was caught properly, but it was still bruised blue in the shape of Caron’s hand.

"Ootcha! I like it, hyung-ssi. It's gonna be fun to fight with you." Caron laughed cheerfully, sticking upside down from the ceiling using the Crow’s martial arts.

The knight smiled brightly at Caron. It was brief, but there was something about Caron's body movements that stimulated his fighting spirit.

"Hahahaha! I like it, too! If you don't mind, can I ask for your name and affiliation?" The knight asked.

Caron answered lightly, "For now, a temporary mercenary, Caron Blade."

"I’m Bors of the Round Table. What about you?” asked the knight, turning towards Benjamin.

Benjamin pondered for a moment and replied, "Benjamin Farhan, let’s say I’m a former mercenary."

"A temporary mercenary and a former mercenary! Are you both here to take the entrance examination for the Knights of the Round Table by chance?" asked Bors.

Caron and Benjamin nodded. There was no point in hiding it, as it was something Bors would find out later anyways.

"I heard that the Round Table only cares for skill." said Caron.

Bors laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! You're right! Manners, etiquette, formality, chivalry! There’s absolutely no use for that on the battlefield! The only thing a knight needs is the strength to kill enemies and protect comrades on the battlefield!”

Caron and Benjamin strongly agreed with Bors' statement.

"I like that a lot."

“So do I."

The reason Benjamin wanted to enter the Round Table, not the other knight divisions, was because they did not force useless manners and etiquette, as Bors said. All it took to become a Knight of the Round Table was strength and loyalty to the Holy King. When the two agreed, Bors slowly began to draw his sword.

"This is not what I intended, but since this is how things went, I’ll confirm your skill – ugh!"

Before Bors could even finish speaking, something white flew towards him from behind and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"Tsk, tsk. Don’t you think we do something about how much he likes to fight?" questioned a magician with a large magic staff as he came down from the bell tower.

A gentle-looking knight following behind the magician sighed. "Yes, I agree."

Pulling back the hood that concealed his face in shadow, the magician turned to Caron and Benjamin. "Yes, considering that you’ve come here instead of the prayer room, it seems you are here to see me. I am Merlin. What business do you have with me?"