There Are Many Possessors in This Romance Fantasy

7. Temple

After leaving the mansion, the carriage arrived in front of the warp device in the duchy. After going through a simple identification process, the number of people was divided and the warp device was put into operation. The wagon moved along with the 4th Knights leader only after all the knights and family members had passed away except for the leader.

After the vision shook for a while, a completely different landscape unfolded before my eyes. Froden checked the knights guarding the surroundings through the window of the carriage and closed the window again.

“Let’s move.”

Hearing Froden’s voice, the captain of the knights gave the order to move. The movement to the county was smooth. Like Eravastar, who cares about security because of the monsters, there were no common thieves on the way.

I have passed this road several times over the past few years to meet Tina, but it has always been a peaceful road. The county’s shrine was quite far from the county’s mansion. True to the doctrine that one should stay away from power, it was a distance that could be said to be polar opposite even within the county.

So even if you raided the temple like this, it was fortunate that it took time to get here from the Count’s family.

“Welcome, Young master. What are you doing all this far without a message…”

Keep away from power, take care of the poor and powerless, don’t pursue profit. Among the doctrines that must be observed in the temple, there are three major doctrines. When the temple was built and the miracle of God was seen for the first time, the doctrine was held up like the word of God.

“Thanks to the donation you delivered last time, many people have been helped. I was going to say thank you for delivering so many donations every time, but you came to visit me like this. I don’t know what to do with the regret.”

I looked at the bishop, who was sweating and exhaling heavily. His face naturally frowned at the ugly appearance of the flesh full of desire sticking to it. A guy who’s not even a beast full of greed.

As soon as Froden realized that those guys had gathered and tried to kill Tina, Froden’s hand went up to her sword without realizing it. She is not the kind of woman who deserves to be killed by these people.

If you lose your life to these greedy flesh…

“Young master?”

Thanks to the bishop who looked at her curiously and addressed her, Froden came to her senses. She almost killed her slaughter because she couldn’t contain her anger.

“Oh no. She had a hard time sleeping yesterday, so she must have been dazed for a moment. Come in.”

He reassured the bishop with a kind smile. After looking at Froden for a moment, Bishop turned to her and began guiding her.

The temples are built in the same style, except for the Great Temple located near the capital. Even though he was a guide, he was familiar with the road because he had visited the temple located within the dukedom several times. While moving to the drawing room following the bishop’s guidance, Froden found a strange painting.

“Bishop. What kind of painting is this?”

A woman was on her knees offering her prayers with a desperate expression. The target of her prayers was not described. Just like that, if only she could raise a prayer. The picture, which should have looked sacred, somehow made me feel uneasy.

“Ah, you mean this picture. This is a painting that the Countess gave me as a gift because she said the wall was too boring. It is the image of a devout believer praying to God.”

The picture was interpreted differently by the bishop. Froden looked at Hadun and the knight commander who were walking slightly behind. The quick-witted Hadun looked over the painting and conveyed his impressions.

“I appear to be offering food and praying at the temple. Either way, it looks like a faithful believer.”

At those words, the knight commander noticed and scratched his head.

“I look like I’m begging someone.”

The bishop’s eyes slightly frowned at the different interpretations. To speak of people other than God in front of those who serve God. It was disrespectful.

“As expected, it seems that art is not the right answer. So many people have seen it, but there is no same answer. What a wonderful picture with multiple meanings.”

Before anything could come out of the bishop’s mouth, Froden intervened and took the bishop’s timing to get angry.

Even though it’s a simple painting, his head moved busily at the sight of the bishop trying to suppress his irritation. Froden, who secretly motioned behind him and ordered the painting to be taken, calmed the bishop’s irritation and arrived at the parlor.

“May I ask why you visited?”

Leaving behind the bishop wiping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, Froden sat down.

“I came to see the children I am helping personally. The donation I gave included the living expenses of those children, but I heard that the children were starving. I came here to meet the kids and dispel those rumors.”

At those words, the bishop’s sweat started pouring down like a waterfall. At that level, he started sweating enough to suspect dehydration, and then held out something to the duke.

“What is this?”

It was a rough-looking box. Froden answered and opened the box, and found that the box was filled with gold piled high. When I lost my words for a while at the majesty of shining golden light, the bishop smiled as if he thought it worked.

-Bang

I even mobilized my magic power and threw the box at an invisible speed. The applied force slammed the box into the wall with a roar.

The bishop, whose brain was stuttering because he couldn’t keep up with the processing speed of the sudden situation, wiped something dripping from his cheek with his hand. It was blood. It was only when he saw his own blood that he realized what had happened. His face turned pale and his whole body began to tremble.

“Don’t pursue profit. Wasn’t that the doctrine of the temple? But what does this gold mean? I won’t be able to get out of this temple until I hear the reason why this gold was sticking out in my answer to a simple question. If my donation was used for self-interest rather than for the temple, this would definitely be a case of insulting the nobility.”

“Young master… That, that’s not it…”

“Please don’t make excuses. Hadun, you should report this situation and imprison the bishop. From this time on, the judgment for insulting the nobility will begin, and all priests must not step out of this temple.”

“I will follow your orders. I will have the knights gather all the people in one place.”

“This is a legitimate procedure according to the agreement between the temple and the empire, so please cooperate.”

“I will see if there are any other suspicious people around.”

“Ha Doon. After checking, bring a low-status priest. Shouldn’t we also listen to the stories of people in low positions?”

The bishop, who watched as everything was being handled in an orderly fashion, passed out due to shock. Upon confirming that he had passed out, Froden sighed in relief.

“Are there any mistakes?”

“Perfect.”

Even if the temple is overthrown and the priests are killed, the moment the act is discovered, it will be beheaded without delay. Because it violated the rights of the temple. No matter how vengeful he was, if he couldn’t stand it and was beheaded, it would have no meaning.

So, I concocted the opposite situation. Young master, who appeared thrifty every time he came, appears one day in a large and luxurious carriage, accompanied by an army of knights. Even if that person is donating large sums of money every quarter?

Inevitably, someone who has a taste for embezzlement and acts to extort money somehow appears. This is because nobles often give a simple tip to the guide or ask for a bribe when receiving entertainment or reception.

It’s not like that in the temple, of course, but according to intelligence, it was different here. Because the bishop above had already rotted away.

“Summon the people who infiltrated the priest, and bring them back in the form of protecting the children.”

Rage and murder flowed from Froden’s eyes as he said that.

———

“I-they are…”

I like the uneasy look, and the frightened expression while the body and vocal chords tremble at the same time. Since it was a temple where infiltration was difficult, I selected him as a member with excellent acting skills and ability to deal with crises, and the effect was very good.

The really faithful priests and the priests who ate the money together but wanted to get out of it all came together to blame the priests who were singled out. As worshipers of gods, you shouldn’t tell lies, but they also wanted to avoid being hanged.

“The pointed priests, please come forward.”

I changed my tone as I stood in front of the sinners as a noble rather than one of the imperial citizens who visited the temple.

In front of Froden’s eyes, people who would not be happy even if they were torn to death were kneeling down and bowing their heads. Two priests and three temple doctors. These were the people who tried to harm Tina.

“I heard from the bishop who is currently in custody that you embezzled donations as well. Not only that, but he practiced bribery against nobles, and he lived dissolutely and dissolutely, forgetting the position that he should serve everyone equally as a body belonging to the temple.”

As Froden continued to speak, the faces of the people sitting on his knees turned pale. Because none of them were wrong. Evidence and testimonies were no longer needed from the moment the bishop handed over the bribe.

“Take them away and put them in custody. We have to keep him locked up until a judge from the imperial family arrives.”

“Okay.”

Two knights led them and placed the prisoners in a temporary lockup.

“I feel sorry for causing trouble to the other priests. However, as a noble of the empire, I could not bear to go over this injustice.”

“No. From Young master’ point of view, it is natural.”

“I have other business to take care of, so I have to leave, so please explain when the court officer comes from the imperial family. Before that, I’ll interrogate and sort things out, so don’t worry too much.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Froden’s expression turned bleak in an instant as he finished talking with the priest who was next in line to the bishop. He didn’t seem the same person as the person who had been persuading others with his soft face and voice until earlier.

Froden headed to the detention center, which became a quarantine zone and prevented the people around him from approaching. Inside the detention center, I could see priests and doctors sitting apart and trembling.

“Bring me one by one.”

A small confessional located out of sight of the detention center. Unlike the existing confessional, where only the voice was blocked and the identity was unknown, this place did not have a screen located in the middle. In other words, it is like a small alcove.

“Priest, Bill.”

“Yes, Neneet!”

The tension and fear caused the vocal cords to contract, resulting in a high-pitched sound. Ignoring the trembling figure of the priest, he raised her anger by reminding Tina of her pain and fear.

“Tell me. Why did you try to kill Tina? Confess everything in detail, without leaving out a single thing.”

Froden had no intention of hiding his anger. Anger-laced questions burst out of his mouth, and he hovered around the confessional.