Chapter 64

"Who are you? I don't think you came here to pray."

After a moment of commotion, a man stepped out from the center of the group and spoke.

He looked to be around the same age as Ibroy, meaning he appeared older than me. His hair, mostly dyed white, reminded me of the master of the Adventurers' Guild, Nidus.

However, the prickly tone in his voice was nothing like Nidus's.

"As you say, worship is not my purpose."

"Then what do you want? I don't have time to deal with lost children."

What should I do?

The man is clearly on high alert against me. The heavy knights standing around him are also poised to draw their swords at any moment.

If they are this wary of just a passing old man, it would paradoxically seem to support Lucy and Ibroy's theories, but there's no need to explain that to someone who doesn't know the reason.

"Are you Bishop Leveos Saléone?"

"Indeed, I am."

It seems the man I'm talking to is indeed the Bishop Leveos.

As he spoke, his ample belly jiggled. I don't really want to think this is how a bishop should look, but I'm not judging a person by their appearance alone.

Hmm, but how should I proceed with the conversation?

So far, he doesn't seem to be planning to immediately attack or flee. He seems to be somewhat hesitant about how to deal with me, who suddenly appeared.

Regardless of any wrongdoing, he is the bishop of the Sphen Church. It's better not to cause unnecessary conflict.

But, it's fine. I don't intend to drag this out either. Let's get straight to the point.

"You should have received a summons from the Knights' Order."

"…That's none of your business."

With my words, the atmosphere around us changed slightly.

Specifically, the heavy knights moved to shield Leveos diagonally in front of him and reached for their swords at their waists.

A faint aura of killing intent seeped through their armor.

Sigh. This is going to be a fight we can't avoid.

I don't really want to draw my sword, but there's no choice. I don't want to face a fully armored knight, though. It will be hard for my sword to penetrate.

"Please come with us, Bishop Leveos."

I said this while maintaining a stance ready to draw my sword at any moment.

"…Spur."

The bishop, having heard my words, quietly lowered his eyes and spoke to the heavy knight standing beside him.

Spur, the knight who was called, nodded silently and drew his sword. Seeing this, the other knights also drew their swords.

Damn, it's really going to come to this.

I don't want to, but I have no choice. I drew my sword from its red scabbard and got into a fighting stance. It seems the scene of resolving this with a calm conversation has long passed. What a short conversation, damn it.

"This is also by the will of God. It's no problem if one more person receives a miracle. — Go!"

With the bishop's words, the knights attacked.

Three… no, four. Four knights immediately moved. The rest put down their luggage and formed a protective circle around the bishop. Fighting multiple fully armored knights is already tough, and this is a bit unexpected. Can I survive this?

Well, there's no point in complaining when swords are already coming at me. I just have to do what I need to do.

"Shh!"

I deflected the longsword that swung at me and took a step back. I can't let them surround me at close range.

However, the weapons the knights were holding didn't seem to be longswords or similar.

…Those are estocs, aren't they? They're quite rare. Are these the standard equipment of the Sphen Church's Knights' Order?

If so, as I suspected, Leveos's influence extends to the Knights' Order. I wonder if Ibroy is okay. This doesn't seem to be just a matter of capturing the bishop.

"…!?"

At the place I retreated to, the knights who had been moving to attack me suddenly stopped. More accurately, the one who had attacked me first slowed down, and the others stopped as a result.

"…Tch."

The knight I had clashed with spat out his estoc and drew a dagger from his waist, getting back into a fighting stance.

What, what's going on? Why is he discarding his weapon?

Clang, the unpleasant sound of metal and stone echoed in the quiet northern district.

Looking at the estoc that had been thrown, I could see a clear dent where I had deflected it, and a large part of the blade was chipped.

"…Ha, I'm surprised."

No way, man. My words and gaze fell to my hand.

This is an incredible weapon. It crushed the other blade with just one clash. I wonder how strong it is.

Baldur really made an amazing sword. I'm not sure if I can handle such a wild horse.

"That sword is dangerous, be careful. …Attack!"

There was some impact, but they're not going to back down just because of this.

When Spur, who seemed to be the leader, gave a small command, the knights charged again.

"Of course, you're not going to surrender quietly, huh!"

"Ugh!"

The first one.

I deflected the estoc that thrust at me from the side and countered with a rising cut. I felt the sword slice through the full plate armor and the flesh inside.

I was almost certain from the previous sensation, but this sword can easily cut through armor that isn't too thick.

Now, it doesn't matter if the opponent is heavily armored. On the contrary, I have to be careful not to kill them, which is both a blessing and a curse.

"…Phew!"

"Ugh!"

The second one.

I deflected the estoc that came down in a diagonal slash, following the flow of the attack. I then switched my grip and countered. A single line of blood gushed from the full plate armor.

I felt a solid impact, but I don't think I killed him.

Damn, it's been a long time since I had to judge the line between life and death in a sword fight. I hope my judgment hasn't dulled.

"This…!"

"Shh!"

The third one.

The knight whose estoc I had destroyed earlier attacked with a dagger held in a reverse grip.

I dodged the sword that came at me like a swing, and before his follow-up attack, I deflected his dagger with a quick slash.

"…! Be careful! He's strong!"

One of the knights shouted.

No, I'm not strong. It's clearly because of this weapon. But, if this makes them hesitate, that's a good thing.

"…Permission to use miracles. Don't let your guard down."

Spur's calm voice echoed softly.

Miracles, huh. From what I've heard, they are a general term for healing magic and the like. I wonder what kind of miracles they will use in this situation.

They're not going to suddenly throw fireballs like Lucy, right? If they did, they wouldn't call it a miracle.

"…Great God, grant me your power."

The knights recited a prayer-like incantation.

A faint, pale blue light overflowed from the bodies of the knights who finished the incantation and then converged.

"…"

What is this? What kind of magic is it? I can't tell just by looking. At least, it doesn't seem to be an attack spell.

"Ha!"

"…Whoa!"

The knight whose body was enveloped in the pale blue light charged again. I deflected the estoc that thrust straight at me from the side and took a step back.

"I see…!"

It's faster now. And heavier.

It's probably some kind of physical enhancement. Since a sword is a physical attack, the more power and speed the user has, the more threatening it becomes.

"Surround him quickly! Don't give him a chance to counterattack!"

As soon as Spur raised his voice, multiple knights attacked again as they did before.

One, two… Ah, it's too troublesome to count. I don't have time to count them leisurely.

"Ha!"

"Damn!"

I received the estoc that came down.

It would be nice if I could destroy it like before, but that requires a bit of preparation. If I do that now, surrounded as I am, I might be cut from the side or behind.

"Here's a kick in the ass!"

"Ugh!? You…!"

I deflected the estoc and countered.

It definitely reached the full plate armor, but it was a bit too shallow to cut through the flesh. While I was doing this, two more knights moved behind me.

This is bad. I'm going to be surrounded.

Unlike a group of thieves, each of these knights is well-trained and works in coordination. They are also heavily armored, so a half-hearted attack won't reach their bodies. I need to make sure my sword reaches them.

But if I focus on one, I'll be attacked from behind. I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so the situation is very bad when facing multiple opponents.

This is seriously bad. What should I do?

"Ha!"

"…What!?"

While I was dodging the estocs coming from all directions, thinking it was bad, something visible to the naked eye suddenly intervened in the sword fight between me and the knights.