The Time I Reincarnated as the King of Knights?!

Artoria was walking around the town. She decided to start setting certain things in order. Rimuru wouldn't be back for who knows how long, so she took advantage. The first stop was Kaijin's workshop.

As she entered Kaijin's workshop the sound of metal hammering away could be felt. The heat from the various furnaces running at once could be felt as soon as one entered. The smell of fire and metal was pronounced in the entire workshop. Artoria walked through, looking for Kaijin. She found Kaijin working away at a weapon. Goggles were on his face as he worked away, sweat covering his body. As he finished, he finally noticed Artoria. He quickly went up to her and greeted her.

"Ah, Lady Pendragon, what do you need today?"

Artoria looked around and made sure no one was around to hear them. Arotoria got closer to Kaijin and said in a low voice to him. "I need an update on the accessory I had you make."

Kaijin immediately noticed how she was acting and acted accordingly. "It's finished and it's actually better than what was planned. When you were gone, the Demon Lord Frey came over and brought along some rare and very high quality gemstones with her. I managed to get some of them, so the quality came out even better. It's ready for pick-up when you need it."

Artoria was pleasantly surprised at this news. "A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. I'll take it now then. I'll be here waiting."

Kaijin nodded and went to retrieve a very beautiful and small box. He carefully handed it to Artoria, who immediately noticed the velvet exterior and texture. It was red and pink, with some hints of white. It looked simple, but it felt like it was made from the finest and most expensive of materials. Something fit for royalty and much more.

Artoria opened the box and what she saw left her stunned. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in both of her lives. Well, second most beautiful thing. She quickly closed it, not wanting to get too lost in it.

"This is more than I ever expected. It's perfect." Artoria said in wonder and awe.

"Am I to assume it's going to happen soon?" Kaijin asked.

"Yeah. Coming here was just my first stop. I'm going to go prepare some other things. Thank you again, Kaijin. I'll see you later." Artoria said her goodbyes to Kaijin as she left.

Her next stop? Her cathedral.

/\\//\\//\

Artoria made her way to the cathedral that was dedicated to her. Every time she saw it, she couldn't help but look at it and admire it. The Gothic style, the large size that seemed to reach into the sky. It was the biggest and tallest building in town, and it made sure to let everyone know. It imposed its presence on everyone in town, forcing everyone to look at it when they passed by, a constant reminder to their goddess.

It was the only building that was built in the Gothic style, so it stood out easily and effortlessly. Why was it the only building like that? Well, no other building was built in this style unless Artoria and only Artoria ordered it. Not even Rimuru could change that. They saw it as a religious symbol and for anything else to be built in that way, it would need direct express permission from Artoria. Artoria herself felt that it was a bit much, but she just went along with it. 

As Artoria entered the cathedral, she could immediately tell the difference from the last time she had been there. The cathedral had changed a lot. Not only had it gotten bigger, in terms of area not height, but it has also gotten a lot more artwork and displays. It became a combination of a cathedral and some sort of museum all about her. She looked around and saw various art of her. From her in various poses, to painting of times she led people in battle. There were even paintings that had taken some creative liberties in making her look grand and divine in made-up scenarios. 

The main attraction was the statues. They were painted marble statues that seemed almost life-like. Looking at them gave an uncanny feeling to anyone who saw them. If someone didn't know better, they would've thought it was actually Artoria. 

As Artoria made her way through the cathedral looking for Adalmann, she saw three kijins working together on a very large statue. One was drawing what the final model would look like, one was sculpting trying to achieve the vision, and one was painting parts that were finished. They all stopped as they saw Artoria and quickly went up to her.

They were starstruck and in awe before they started to talk over each other. Normally, Artoria would talk with them a little, but she needed to find Adalmann for something. "Ok, you three, calm down a little. Just tell me your names and what you are working on."

The three kijin calmed down and introduced themselves.

"My name is Gaka, I 'm the one that mostly paints everything."

"I'm Chokokuie, I sculpt all the statues." 

"I'm called Geijutsuie, I do a bit of everything. I'm in charge of all the various artists working here."

Artoria nodded her head at their names. She didn't know what they meant, but if Rimuru's naming sense was anything to go by, he probably just named them after what they were good at or what they do. Nah, there's no way. Rimuru's naming sense may be bad, but he wouldn't just name them something like 'painter", "sculptor", and "artist" in Japanese, right?

"Well, you three what are you working on?"

"It's simple. We're working on a massive statue. This one is going to be the centerpiece, or the masterpiece. Our magnum opus. It's going to be a big statue of you on your mighty war horse. It'll be a scene of you holding your sword forward as you charge and lead our army at an enemy. Your horse is going to be in the motion of running, and it's going to have his front legs upwards. We plan to include the horse armor and your armor as well." Geijutsuie explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Artoria simply nodded., not questioning the feasibility of such a statue, but considering the work that's on display right now, they might just pull it off.

"That sounds wonderful. I look forward to seeing the final product. Now, I'm in a sort of rush. I'll see you three some other time." Artoria said her goodbyes and left to go see Adalmann.

As Artoria kept walking through the cathedral, she looked at more art, but as she kept walking, she started to see more paintings incorporating Shuna. Normally, all the focus and spotlight would be on her in the paintings, but some of them had her and Shuna sharing the spotlight. Artoria slowed down a little to admire those paintings a little longer. She knew it would only be a matter of time before some statues and displays of Shuna were going to pop up in the cathedral.

Eventually, she found Adalmann who was near the end of a preaching session. He was preaching and talking normally, something akin to a conversation with a friend. He didn't put himself on a higher pedestal just because he was a preacher. This was refreshing for Artoria, considering what she'd seen of preachers in her old world. 

Although, the whole preaching basically amounted to Adalmann hyping up Artoria and being the best hype-man out there. But everyone seemed to eat it up. It might have been something that came with not really having some sort of doctrine or "big idea" to follow. It wasn't really necessary for Artoria since all that mattered was faith. And Adalmann's job was to get that faith higher. 

Eventually, Adalmann finished, and everyone parted ways and left. Artoria stayed hidden, waiting for everyone to leave. She didn't want to cause a commotion by showing up after the preaching ended. Imagine the god or goddess you worship appearing after you hold a gathering for them. An entire cascade of emotions would run through your mind and body. It was simply not worth the drama.

As everyone finished leaving, Artoria finally showed herself. "Hey, Adalmann, that was a nice service you gave there. Anyway, I need you for something."

Adalmann was a little startled. Even if his face was that of a skeleton, you could feel the way his eyes would've popped out from seeing Artoria. "Goddess Artoria! What may this humble servant do for you today?"

Artoria really wanted to say something about this, but she knew better than to try to change anyone's mind about it. "Well, I need to know this. When you were still a priest for Lubellious, what kind of jobs or services did you do? Wait, let me rephrase that question. What kind of ceremonies would you do as a priest?"

"Ah, well, there were quite a few things that could count as a ceremony. Sometimes it was rituals to let the people communicate with my former goddess, rituals to receive messages, marriages, ceremonies to advance ranks in the church, mass prayers on special days, and quite a few other things. Do you want me to do a ceremony?"

Artoria looked around and made sure there was no one near them. She used her senses to be absolutely sure. She got closer to Adalmann and whispered to him. Upon hearing what Artoria told him, Adalmann quickly got on all fours and prostrated himself to Artoria.

"My goddess! It would be my utmost pleasure and honor to do it! I'll make sure everything is perfect! I'll put my life on the line to make sure nothing goes wrong! If something does, I ask that you strike me down!" Adalmann said with sheer determination in his voice, completely intent on carrying through with what he said.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, Adalmann! Compose yourself! It's serious, but it's not that serious! You don't need to put your life on the line or anything like that. As long as you do your best, that's all I need from you."

Adalmann looked up at her, stars in his eye sockets. "Such a merciful goddess! I am grateful for your compassion and mercy!"

Artoria was getting a bit uncomfortable at this point. "Rise, Adalmann. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but calm down a little. You'll have some time to prepare."

Adalmann rose up from the ground and nodded. "You're right, Goddess Artoria. As a matter of fact we'll need to update the holy book about you."

Artoria looked at Adalmann in surprise, caught off guard by his words "The what now?"

Adalmann picked up a book that was on an altar and gave it to Artoria. "This is the holy book. There's not an official title yet, so we just call it the holy book. Everyone agrees that you should be the one to name it."

Artoria looked through the book and was amazed at its quality. It wasn't a book. It was more like a medieval manuscript or a codex. The pages were made of vellum and the cover was beautifully and intricately decorated with interlace design, gold, miniatures, and more. Artoria thought she had gone back in time as she was looking at this thing. 

"This is very beautiful, Adalmann. As for the name, I'll come up with something later. I have something more important to focus on. I'll see you later." Artoria said her goodbyes and left the cathedral.

Her next stop? Home. Where she would prepare to make a decision.