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Albrecht, the two knights and the cardinals went inside, and John led the pilgrims into the inner court.
The Pope introduced Albrecht to the Pope, Cardinals and the investigators as they greeted each other in the aftermath.
“This man saved my life today. ”
Then the investigators all approached and thanked him. Albrecht nods quietly.
The Pope said again.
“It’s late today, so let’s get some sleep first. These knights are also asking for guidance. ”
Following the direction of an investigator, Albrecht and two knights were led to a rather spacious room. It was a shabby room, but regularly organized and cleaned.
Three knights lay on each bed unarmed without a word. Randolph and Hermann have been struggling to sleep through the forest, and have fallen straight down.
Albrecht tries to sleep, but he hears something outside. I got up and walked in the hallway and went to the church I had first seen, and I saw the Pope gathered and was praying with people.
No matter how shitty the world was, the Pope and his people were praying seriously, I felt godliness even if I didn’t believe in religion. Albrecht returns to his room and sleeps for a long time.
The next day, Albrecht woke up to dine with the Popes and Cardinals, Archbishops and the investigators. They stood up in the morning praying even though they were tired.
The meal was all about hard bread and wine, but the hard bread ran between the hard bread and the ark that Albrecht had eaten. It was just a rock.
There were several black bread that were slightly larger than cubic sugar, and I had to stick one in my mouth for a long time with saliva and wine.
The Pope put a loaf of bread in his mouth and said, well.
“By the way, you didn’t even ask me your name. ”
Albrecht said, a wine snob.
“This is Albrecht von Hoenclatern, Knight of the Northern Calterns. ”
Then the Pope’s eyes widened and he said.
“Hmm? Were you a licensee? ”
In addition to the north and the middle, they were called Risen, and the people who lived there were called Licencians.
Licence was the ancient word for “one who fights” or “one who fights well.” Duels are still crossing by now, but they’ve been fighting for a long time.
“Yes. I was on my way to Ramus to restore the sanctuary. ”
The Pope opened his eyes more widely and said that he had seen Albrecht again.
“Fantastic. Fantastic. I’ll sprinkle holy oil on you. ”
Albrecht doesn’t care about that and asks questions.
“As far as I’m concerned, Ramus also knows that St. Bartali is a sanctuary, so can the Holy Father stay away for a long time? ”
Albrecht said that the Pope looked worried.
“There’s too many people there. It’s because you can’t see it. It’s like a cloud. People are gathering, so I can’t control it. If I go there now, I won’t be able to save myself. ”
Albrecht looked at the Pope and thought for a moment. First, I put on the slogan of the recovery of the Holy Land to protect the Pope himself, but in other words, there is a political insight.
Since ancient times, the Earth has been a national business to increase its authority. They built pyramids, dug canals, and so on.
The Crusade is now a major epidemic through the entire North Continent.
Even if the Pope or the League of Commerce didn’t expect it to be this big, the Pope at the beginning was trying to elevate his authority by leading it and, furthermore, gain practical power to protect himself.
He would have wanted to have the power, the power, to rule like Lord Feudal just around Ramus. But the scale was so big that it was out of control.
Albrecht was just trying to join the Crusaders to throw himself into the great storm of his time, but he felt something here watching the Pope.
There is no TV, no telephone, let alone the Internet. It was religion that united people. If Albrecht helps the Pope, what will he gain?
“Holy Father, what if I protect you? Can you please go back to Ramus? ”
The Pope smiled and said.
“Because you haven’t seen that many people. I don’t know how strong you are, but if that crowd gathers, we won’t be able to do anything. You can’t even kill. ”
Albrecht said, looking straight at the Pope.
“I have an idea. Now, there are many lords who have sold to the territory. And there are many wanderers who don’t serve their lords. First, if you subdue them and command them, you will be able to control them. ”
The Pope was a little curious, but soon he shook his head again.
“How do you subdue them? I’m glad you’re not threatening me. ”
He was politically resourceful, somewhat overbearing, but basically shy. Albrecht smiled.
“No matter how ignorant they may be, the Holy Father is the Pope. Threatening, with so many people watching, is not going to be easy. If you use it well, you can put them under your feet. And once you start controlling people, you’re going to have a little bit more power to protect Ramus from the mob in the future. ”
The Pope glared at Albrecht.
* * *
Albrecht, Randolph and Herman stayed in the monastery for a few more days. The Pope said that he would think about it, and he had more time to pray alone.
Albrecht walked around the monastery and saw the monks’ deaths. The book itself was a work of art.
Parchment and paper are also precious, but with expensive dyes, the investigators used a great deal of concentration to write the letters one by one.
The elaborate drawings and book edges, along with the beautiful decorations, seemed to be priceless artifacts over time.
Randolph and Hermann were still devastated, but they struggled to get through the wildlings’ forest, but they didn’t draw their swords and install it as they used to.
Randolph likes to ride around town, often riding a horse, and Hermann just sits outside the village, sipping a drink and taking in the quiet sights.
As usual, Albrecht watches as he dies, but the Pope approaches and talks.
“You, talk to me. ”
Albrecht follows him out. The Pope goes to the Chapel, sits in an waiting chair, and Albrecht sits a little distance away.
Even though it was a shabby monastery, the morning sunlight gently entered the window, creating a holy and orderly atmosphere.
The cross, set up on the altar, receives the sunlight and casts its shadow on the ground.
“Can you really protect me? ”
The Pope looked at the cross and said, Albrecht also looked at the cross and said,
“I swear on my father and mother. ”
The Pope smiles slowly at Albrecht’s words.
“I’ve heard many times about swearing by God, but I’ve never heard of swearing by my father and mother. ”
Albrecht smiled as well.
“They’re the ones I love the most. I’ve heard that having a loving heart is like seeing the face of God. ”
Albrecht cited the writings of Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Misérables,” from memory of Earth. It was a text that reached me, whether I believed in God or not.
The Pope opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Albrecht.
“From whom? ”
“I don’t know. I’ve only heard it from so far away. ”
The Pope only looked at Albrecht for a while. And I got up and said,
“Good. Let’s go to Ramus. Right now.”
Albrecht nods, and rises to summon Randolph and Hermann.
Albrecht and the two knights, and the Pope and Cardinal, head for Ramus. Albrecht drives the Pope to Schwarz, and he leads him on a swift course.
The Pope said it would take a day or two to get to Ramus.
The cardinals had a lot of runaways, so they walked surprisingly fast compared to their age. However, Albrecht wanted to take his time and decided to camp for a day.
After lunch, I take a slow walk back in the afternoon, and I see dozens of colonists in the hills far away.
At the same time, it was hard to distinguish between thieves and pilgrims.
There were countless pilgrims, so many bandits and robbers, and many pilgrims came to a far place and turned into bandits and robbers who were dying to eat.
On the other hand, they see Randolph or Hermann riding on horseback, fully armed, but they trust the numbers and draw their weapons close.
The Pope and the cardinals were in a big color. I still wanted to run away, but the Pope didn’t know how to drive a horse, and Albrecht didn’t let go.
“Kill.”
Albrecht simply said.
Randolph draws his sword and runs out with the Hoen-Carltern banner in his armored hand. Herman steps forward for a moment, then steps off his horse and draws his sword.
Randolph runs into the bandits, swinging his sword at them, and in an instant, some of them are dead or badly wounded and lying on the ground.
Some fled, some struggled, and they didn’t know what to do.
The blacksmith ignores Randolph and runs off with the bandits, whether he intends to take the Pope hostage.
Herman comes at the top of his lungs, wielding his great sword, he tears the five bandits, including the commander, apart.
That concludes it. The bandits scream and scatter their horns.
From a distance, Randolph turns his head to look at Albrecht. I asked him if he would chase me. Albrecht told me not to shake my head.
Randolph and Hermann skillfully plucked the blood with their weapons and put it back in.
When Randolph and Hermann return to the procession, the Pope and Cardinal look at them with frightened eyes and wink. And I didn’t even dare to look.
Albrecht keeps on walking, holding on tight. When Hermann passed among the torn corpses, the Pope and Cardinal passed blindfolded.
By nightfall, the group sets fire and makes camp. The Pope sat next to Albrecht for no reason.
“Your men were impressive. ”
Randolph and Hermann smile. The Pope wanted to pass out when he saw his master fighting.
Albrecht was happier than he was when he heard the compliment of his knights. He smiled and said.
“A compliment.”
Albrecht and the Pope stared at the campfire for a while and were silent. Then the Pope said with a stiff face.
“I have no money, no authority. Then why are you protecting me? ”
Albrecht still stares at the campfire and is silent. And after a long time, I stopped talking.
“Let me start a knight.” In the name of the Holy Father, allow me. ”
The Pope was puzzled and looked at Albrecht. Randolph and Hermann are also confused. Knights? What’s that?
“Just give me permission? You don’t want money or anything? ”
Albrecht smiled and replied.
“Yes, I just need your permission. ”
Knights of this age are not loyal with their bare mouths. Randolph and Hermann are special occasions, and a typical knight needs to receive something. I can’t earn a single penny, but I have to earn my wages.
As long as the Lord keeps his promise, he is fully loyal, but if he fails to pay his salary, his loyalty will be terminated. What do you mean, knights?
Albrecht now has only Randolph and Hermann, and he has almost no travel expenses. So he wanted to use his reputation to get some kind of investment from the knights.
I knew the knights in the middle respected me. Leave it alone, it’s just personal respect, it’s useless.
However, once a knight is founded, it becomes organized and soon becomes an army. He will have his own army.
I heard that many wandering knights participated without a state troop to seize a chance of advancement. Then the knights who saw Albrecht fighting in the war or heard of fame would think that Albrecht was a chance to rise to prominence when he founded the Knights.
If you are a great hero, you will go to the Eastern Continent and conquer cities with courage. Then something will fall on you, too. Albrecht tried to use it.
After all, the subject of the war is the Pope, and if you have permission in his name, you have enough excuses. It could be useful not only for the Crusaders, but also for later.
The Pope seemed to know something about confusion. After all, you are the subject of the war. Then perhaps you can use it to command the Feudal Lords?
Randolph and Hermann think for a moment, but they don’t know what they’re talking about, so they just stare at the campfire.
End