Volu 2, Chapter Sun Knight’s Daily Duty #7: “Admonish the Misconduct of a Fellow Holy Knight”
Translator: dahlys
A day after the ceremony I received a letter from the palace. It confird that the date of the death match would be in two weeks. It was decided that it would be a free-for-all, so that the three of us could compete fairly. The last person standing would be the winner.
This was not unexpected, for I had strongly encouraged the princess to make it a three person lee. I also encouraged her to postpone the date of the death match as far back as possible, to give at least two weeks to prepare. It looked like the king still loved his only sister. Even though she nearly angered him to death, he still listened to her requests.
But the king was probably still furious thanks to . The letter actually included an affidavit, wanting to swear that I would be responsible for my death! He can’t possibly want the Son of the God of War to use this opportunity to kill , right…?
I was flabbergasted. I signed the affidavit because I knew that with my extraordinary self-recovery ability and with the Pope watching the match it would be more likely for to be assassinated than to die on stage.
After confirming the ti of the death match I decided to look for Knight-Captain Judgnt. I interrupted a random holy knight to inquire about his whereabouts, only to find that the Twelve Holy Knights were in a eting. Now that I think about it, when was the last ti I attended a eting?
The mont I opened the door to the conference hall, everybody’s gaze shifted to . After flashing a dazzling smile and nodding my head in acknowledgent, I apologized, “My apologies, dear brothers, Sun was unable to attend this eting for he has been busy…”
“Don’t worry about it, Sun! You’ve been so b-busy lately… Besides, whether you’re here or not makes absolutely no difference!” Earth Knight replied ‘sincerely.’
Earth, you… I gritted my teeth, ignored Earth, and looked directly at Judgnt Knight and said, “Knight-Captain Judgnt, if you do not mind, could I borrow a little of your ti? I want to practice my swordsmanship with you.”
Judgnt answered coolly, “As long as you don’t mind getting injured, Knight-Captain Sun, it is not a problem.”
As we left the conference hall together and I conveniently shut the door behind , I happened to hear Leaf exclaim, “OH NO! Since Sun cannot marry the princess, could he be contemplating suicide?”
tal then replied, “Nonsense! Our Knight-Captain Judgnt has no interest in beating to death soone who doesn’t even have the strength to tie up a chicken.”
At long last, all of the mbers of the ‘good, warm-hearted’ faction were forced to admit, “Yup! Judgnt is not a person who bullies the weak.”
I could not help but sigh and turn around to inquire and complain to Judgnt, “Am I really that lousy? I have survived till today and have even defeated countless undead. No matter how you look at it, I can’t be that weak, right?”
The corners of Judgnt’s lips raised a little, and then he directly asked , “Where are we going?”
“Prayer room.”
Judgnt nodded and did not ask any more questions. He followed all the way to the prayer room, which had a sign with the words “Under Renovation” hanging on the door. I ignored it, opened the door, and entered. As expected, Elijah was standing inside, looking at the painting on the wall.
I nodded in approval. This fellow Ed is pretty efficient and rather smart. Not only did he secretly sneak Elijah in under my orders, he also stuck an “Under Renovation” sign so that other people would not enter. More importantly, he understood not to stay behind after finishing the task, sparing the effort of wasting my breath asking him to get lost. Looks like I can assign so tasks to Ed, to prevent Adair from dying of overwork before I retire. If Adair died, I would also die of grief.
Elijah was not very surprised to see , but the mont he saw Judgnt Knight he was totally stunned. “Judgnt Knight!”
Judgnt regarded , then Elijah, and then frowned. “What are you up to now?” he asked.
I explained in simple terms, “I want him to marry the princess, so I hope you can teach him so sword skills before the death match.”
Judgnt responded unconcerned, “I have no problem teaching you, but I don’t believe I have any obligation to help him.”
“No! You do have an obligation to help him…”
Judgnt gave an expressionless glance. He turned and started to leave.
I imdiately pulled him back and added, “He is still a mber of the ‘cruel, cold-hearted’ faction. You’re the boss of the ‘cruel, cold-hearted’ faction. Can you be so heartless as to abandon him?”
“What?” Judgnt spun around, scowled at Elijah’s royal knight armor, and then glared at suspiciously.
I quickly explained, “He is Knight-Captain Hell, one of the Twelve Holy Knights. The Pope forced him to spy on the palace from a young age, but because of that he no longer wants to return to the Holy Temple…” Noting the dawning realization in Judgnt’s eyes, I described the situation in greater detail, “Plus, he and the princess are deeply in love. I promised him that as long as he can prevent the Son of the God of War from marrying the princess, thereby giving the Pope reasonable justification for letting him go, he will be free of the Church.”
At this point, I whispered in Judgnt’s ear, “Otherwise, the Pope will kill this useless spy.”
Judgnt’s frown deepened. After a long period of silence, he finally said, “The Son of the God of War is very strong. Even I am not confident that I could beat him. In addition, unlike warriors, knights are not suited to dueling. Knights ride horses to battle and are most adept at using defensive shield formations. As holy knights, we use so holy magic to make up for our limitations. But to prevent his identity from being exposed, Knight-Captain Hell cannot use any kind of holy magic… To conclude, there is no possibility of him winning.”
I nodded and replied, “I know that, but he does not have to win. All I need is for you to train him so that he can stall for as long as possible.”
Judgnt glowered and said in a disagreeing tone, “Knight-Captain Sun, you should know that your most important job now is—”
“Obtaining more followers!” I completed his sentence and then added seriously, “Believe , I am pouring all the energy I have now into carrying out this job… But I can conveniently finish so other unrelated tasks at the sa ti.”
Judgnt shot a blank stare. Hey! After receiving this look, I realized that he had gone from the “business is business” Judgnt Knight to my good friend Lesus, who will agree to do anything. He helplessly said, “I guess I can’t refuse, otherwise you will annoy to death!”
Hee hee! I don’t an to boast, but I am at my most patient when I need soone to do sothing for . I rember that a long ti ago I gave Lesus hourly reminders just to make him climb over the wall to buy blueberry pies for . Please note that this ant saying, “Lesus, buy blueberry pies for !” every hour, twenty-four hours a day, including at night.
But, thinking back now, I feel trendously relieved. Luckily for , Lesus finally surrendered and chose to climb over the wall to buy blueberry pies. He could have chosen to conduct a shocking midnight homicide. After murdering with one slash of his sword, he could have climbed over the wall to get rid of the corpse, and that would have been the end of all annoyances…
“Since there are only two weeks left, the training should begin today.”
Judgnt shook his head when he heard the words ‘two weeks’ and said, “One day I will lose control and chop you to death instead of complying with you.”
I imdiately praised loudly, “No way, no way! Judgnt, you are the nicest person in the world, even nicer than Leaf! You will definitely never chop your bestest best friend to death.”
“…Are you being sarcastic?” Judgnt shot a look at .
“That was a complint!” I denied frantically. After coughing a few tis, I pushed Elijah forward and reminded him, “Hey! Have you finished daydreaming? Judgnt has already agreed to teach you sword skills, so why haven’t you thanked him?”
Elijah finally ca to his senses and stamred, “D-Don’t you two hate each other…?”
I nodded and exclaid, “That’s right! Let introduce you to my good friend whom I hate the most, Lesus Judgnt.”
“Good friend…whom you hate the most?!” Unsurprisingly, Elijah stared into empty space once more. It was obvious his brain had stopped functioning.
“Quit bullying him.” Judgnt shook his head at my bad behavior and reminded, “Since we are aiming to stall for ti, having Cloud Knight’s help would be killing two birds with one stone.”
“Cloud?”
I thought about it for a while, and then ca to a sudden revelation. Imdiately, I said, “No problem! I shall go look for him right away. Cloud is not only a mber of the ‘good, warm-hearted’ faction, but he is also very obedient. All I have to do is order him to help out.”
Judgnt nodded and began to size up Elijah, as if contemplating what training thod to utilize… I briefly prayed for Elijah. Even though the way Judgnt does things is totally fair (and he would not make things too difficult for Elijah on purpose), I have seen the training plan Judgnt drew up for himself… I can only say that after that kind of training, anybody could beco a master swordsman!
Who was it? Who secretly said “except for ”? I heard you!
“Cloud! Knight-Captain Cloud! Where are you?!” I shouted for Cloud as I walked. Although walking and yelling affects my graceful Sun Knight image, I didn’t have a choice!
This was the fastest way to find Cloud. Also, once everybody hears that I am looking for Cloud, they will forgive my inelegant hollering. This is because “everyone knows” that Knight-Captain Cloud is a wanderer and is as graceful as a cloud. It is said that he can be found drinking alone or reading books on windowsills, rooftops, under banyan trees, etc.
I cannot begin to guess how the old Cloud Knight drifted around gracefully. I only know that our Cloud is commonly found drifting here and there. Plus, his drifting ability is exceptional; he often drifts past my ear and I do not necessarily notice him… He is most commonly found in dark corners, behind dusty curtains in an attic, and in cabinets nobody has opened in years. In conclusion, I should just search for dark and damp places!
He usually hides in these dim places with a small holy light for illumination, reading books with titles like “How to Conduct Accurate Foretelling”, “The Ten Best Good Luck Spells”, and “Bringing Good Fortune and Staying Away from Bad Luck.” He would have a pot of unknown blackish, greenish, or reddish liquid beside him, but I never dared to ask him what they were.
As the Holy Temple is enormous, there are plenty of dark and damp places. It is nearly impossible to correctly guess which cabinet Cloud is hiding in.
Hence, the thod everybody uses to find him—walking and shouting.
I searched for a long ti and just happened to see Storm pass by. Surprisingly, he was only carrying about ten work docunts, which was much less than usual. I knew that Storm could not possibly know which cabinet Cloud was hiding in, but being as exhausted as I was, I could not resist asking, “Brother Storm, may I inquire as to whether you are aware which direction Brother Cloud went after the eting?”
Storm raised an eyebrow and answered my question with another, “Unless Cloud was standing in front of you, have you ever seen him?”
“No…”
I sighed. This fellow Cloud is just like a ghost. Not only does he love hiding in dark corners, he even walks using the special ‘Cloud Steps,’ which have been passed down through countless generations of Cloud Knights. The Cloud Steps, which were originally used to dodge enemy attacks, were now being used to avoid being seen… If he did not want to be found, you would have to grow a third eye in order to see him!
Storm nodded in agreent. Before I left, he comnted, “Where do you usually see Cloud?”
Where do I usually see Cloud? I thought about it for a bit. In the eting room? Nah, I did not really “see” him back there. In the hallways? Nope, I have never “seen” him in the hallways. Cabinets? No, No! Even if I found the right cabinet, I often cannot see through Cloud’s camouflage.
Wait! Actually, the place I usually find him is… A shiver ran down my spine. I shuddered and said, “Behind …”
Storm nodded, and then pointed behind my back with his index finger. He left after that, minding his own business.
I waited so ti before saying, “Cloud?”
“Here.”
He really is there… I turned around abruptly and, sure enough, I found Knight-Captain Cloud whose skin was even paler than mine due to long years without exposure to the sun. I did not know whether to laugh or cry. “When did you start following ?” I asked.
Cloud mumbled politely, “I happened to be in the bookcase next to the prayer room under renovation, and heard you as soon as you left and started shouting for .”
“So you followed all the way? Why didn’t you call out to ?”
Cloud murmured listlessly, “I called you many tis, but you probably couldn’t hear because your voice was too loud.”
“Next ti just tap my shoulder!” I said impatiently.
“Okay.” Cloud nodded.
“Were you hiding in the cabinet again?” I complained. “Didn’t I tell you, cabinets are not ant for people to inhabit. You can read books in the reading room, or if you want to be alone, you can find an empty prayer room. As one of the Twelve Holy Knights, no one will object if you request for a private prayer room.”
Cloud shook his head vigorously and said, “I wasn’t hiding in the cabinet because you forbade from hiding there.”
“Didn’t you just say you were hiding in the cabinet?”
Cloud shook his head again and said, “I was hiding in the bookcase.”
“…Is there a difference?”
Cloud tilted his head to one side, and then answered, “Cabinets have the musty sll of mold; bookcases sll like moths. Moths sll better.”
Normal people should dislike both slls, right? And since moths sll better, why hide in cabinets in the first place? I really cannot follow Cloud’s train of thought… Forget it! It’s fine as long as he is happy.
“Cloud, imdiately report to Judgnt Knight in the prayer room under construction and then follow his orders.”
“Okay.” Cloud nodded once more and then vanished like a ghost.
I nodded in approval. Although Cloud is a bit difficult to find, has a barely audible voice, a rather strange personality, and an odd way of thinking, he is very obedient. This obedience is his greatest virtue. He obeys all my commands without ever asking why.
“Sun!”
Without waiting for the person who shouted to reach , I frowned and said, “Trouble?”
“How did you know?” Blaze screeched to a halt and gaped, eyes filled with suspicion as to whether I recently gained the ability of clairvoyance.
“Whenever you run toward in a hurry, nothing good happens,” I explained gloomily. Didn’t Adair nearly die the last ti this happened?
“So that’s how you knew…” Blaze seed to suddenly realize what he was supposed to do and then began panicking once more. He hollered, “That’s not right! Why are we discussing this?! Your Sun Knight Platoon had a fight with the guys from the Monastery of the God of War. A bunch of them are injured, but thankfully no one’s life is in danger and they are all tending their wounds in the main hall now. However, the guys from the Monastery of the God of War are demanding that the Sun Knight Platoon be punished. It doesn’t make any sense! Where is the justice in beating each other up?! Their wounds are much lighter than the Sun Knight Platoon’s, so we should be the ones demanding compensation!”
I was outraged the mont I heard. My Sun Knight Platoon actually ignored my repeated warnings and went to pick a fight with such a strong enemy!
Were they going to anger to death before they were satisfied?
When Blaze and I dashed into the main hall, we instantly saw the blood drenched mbers of the Sun Knight Platoon. I was so livid that I nearly scolded them in public. Luckily, Blaze pulled my sleeve and pointed at the Son of the God of War and his approximately fifty warriors in the middle of the hall. Only then did I restrain myself.
I smiled broadly as I walked past the injured Sun Knight Platoon and continued all the way to where the Son of the God of War was. Courteously, I said, “If Sun knew that the Son of the God of War was arriving, Sun would have personally welcod your presence here in order to express the gracious hospitality of the God of Light. Since you are here, would you care for Sun to show you around the Church of the God of Light?”
The Son of the God of War’s lips twitched as he listened to . He growled, “Stop talking bullshit. Sun Knight, your people beat up my people, and you, you…! Anyway, you need to account for this.”
My people beat up your people? I sneered in my heart. Not only were the Sun Knight Platoon’s injuries far more serious than his warriors, I am absolutely sure that under my teachings the Sun Knight Platoon would never pick a fight they could not win. Therefore, it isn’t hard to discern who started the fight!
I am 80% sure this was because Elijah and I were trying to snatch his princess. This made him furious. Since he could not take his anger out on Elijah or (and would not dare touch the royal knights, because the royal knights belong to the King and not Elijah), he started a fight with my Sun Knight Platoon… Those bastards! Didn’t I recently tell them not to leave the Holy Temple? My words fell on deaf ears!
The mont I heard what the Son of the God of War said, I stopped smiling and said gravely, “Of course, as the God of Light teaches us, we should definitely not treat our guests with violence. Instead we should treat all things with the benevolence of the God of Light, as kindness will be repaid with kindness. Violence incites more violence and hate begets hate. No one likes to be treated with violence. Hence, we must first show our thoughtfulness and kind consideration. Only then will the other party repay kindness with kindness—”
The more the Son of the God of War listened, the deeper he frowned. At last, he grabbed his head as if he had a splitting headache and bellowed, “SHUT UP!”
I closed my mouth as he wished and smiled warmly at him.
Blaze mumbled from behind , “Wow! I just had a big fight with this guy and not a single hair on his head was ssed up. All Sun had to do was talk and he has a splitting headache.”
“Just tell how you are going to punish them!” The Son of the God of War snarled. It looks like talking to is more tiring than fighting with Blaze.
I spun about to face my Sun Knight Platoon and rebuked, “You actually treated our guests with violence? Have you forgotten that you are holy knights of the God of Light? Are you so selfish? Since you are so unwilling to be polite holy knights, I shall forbid the clerics from healing you. Go to the dical room and bandage up your wounds. After that, all of you report to the detention room. You have been grounded for a month!”
The mbers of the Sun Knight Platoon hung their heads in sha and slowly got to their feet. So of the more seriously injured mbers needed support from others to get up.
Finally grasping the current situation, Blaze said anxiously, “Sun, there’s nothing wrong with putting them in detention, but at least let them seek healing from the clerics! Their injuries are too severe!”
“That is their punishnt.” I said plainly, with no intention of retracting my orders.
The surrounding holy knights looked at the Sun Knight Platoon with sympathy and proceeded to glare at those from the Monastery of the God of War.
I turned to address the Son of the God of War just in ti to see a satisfied grin spread across his face. The warriors behind him laughed out loud as the embarrassed mbers of the Sun Knight Platoon left the hall.
“I really look forward to the death match in two weeks. For the sake of the God of Light’s benevolence, I will be rciful.” The Son of the God of War’s teeth flashed as he bead widely.
I smiled dazzlingly and replied, “Many thanks for your kindness.”
“Hahaha…” Everyone from the Monastery of the God of War laughed boisterously as they swaggered out of the Church without even saying a single ‘goodbye.’
Once the warriors of the Monastery of the God of War had left Blaze cautiously sized up and whispered, “S-Sun? Now that they are gone, should I go look for so clerics to heal the Sun Knight Platoon?”
At one look from , he instantly went quiet.
I strode quickly after the Sun Knight Platoon. Blaze hesitated for a bit then followed . Although there were many dical rooms and I did not instruct the Sun Knight Platoon on which room to use, it was easy to find them. All I had to do was follow the trail of blood.
All the clerics, holy knights, and even the Twelve Holy Knights went pale the mont they saw pass by. They even took steps to avoid .
When I reached the dical room, I gently shut the door behind . I then growled angrily at the Sun Knight Platoon, “You bastards, what have I taught you?”
All the mbers of the Sun Knight Platoon hung their heads, not daring to say anything.
I lost my temper and roared, “Didn’t I tell you before?! If you want to hit sobody, make sure he is at least two tis weaker than you. If the opponent is almost as equally strong, never act unless the chance of winning is at least 200%. Didn’t I tell you to just tolerate it and report to before starting a fight?”
“Captain, it’s not our fault! They wouldn’t let us walk away!” Ed answered in a subdued voice, as he held his bleeding left hand.
“Nonsense!” I rebutted. “If you really wanted to leave, how could they stop you in broad daylight? All the patrolling royal knights would have helped you deal with troublemakers like that.”
Ed howled, “B-but, we couldn’t just ignore them! They insulted you! If we just turned tail and ran, wouldn’t it confirm that they were right?”
There was an imdiate uproar among those present and they all complained, “That’s right! They actually called you a spineless coward who relies only on his good looks!”
That ans that I am very handso! What’s there to be angry about?
“They said that holy knights were good-for-nothings, who could only take beatings. That’s too much!”
Err… Actually, they were not too far from the truth. Holy knights are best at defense and recovery. These two abilities combined make holy knights highly resilient, which ans they are experts at getting beaten up!
“They even said that you don’t care about us. Even if they killed us, you would never dare touch them…”
Rubbish! If they dared to kill you, I would make sure they were all paralyzed for life!
It was this third statent that ultimately pissed off. I made a solemn face as I listened to them complain and bandage their injuries at the sa ti. When they were about done, I ordered, “Report to the detention room.”
Hearing that they would still going to be detained, the Sun Knight Platoon looked at the ground miserably. Just as they were about to leave, there ca a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” I scowled. Who would dare interrupt while I was teaching my platoon mbers a lesson?
“Captain, it’s , Adair.”
“You have guts to disobey and get out of bed. Have you fully recovered?”
“I’m perfectly fine now, Captain.”
“Then co in.”
Adair fell to his knees the mont he entered and said guiltily, “Captain, if you insist on putting the Sun Knight Platoon in detention, then please lock up too. This all happened because I, the Vice-captain, failed to train them well.”
I glanced at Adair. Since his movents seed very smooth, his injuries were probably fully healed. Coldly, I said, “Very good! All of you, report to the detention room.”
Adair looked down, hiding his expression, and replied like usual, “At once.”
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