## Chapter 231 – The Holy Army
“Pour it up!”
A bare-chested, muscular fanatic shouted wildly.
The tavern was a scene of madness. Macho men in bizarre, showy armor occupied every seat, chanting incomprehensible hymns or screaming prayers.
“Ah, hahaha…”
“Saint, our kind church members are treating you with good intentions, so please don’t feel burdened.”
And at the center of it all were Eliza and I.
“Take this drink, friend! Whatever god you believe in, if we share the goal of eradicating evil, we’re practically friends!”
So said the black-underwear paladin, offering me a glass.
It would all be fine if I wasn’t so uncomfortable with your outfit.
I took the glass.
“Brother Archio is surprisingly flexible, despite his appearance.”
Indeed, there was no compromise to be found in his attire. Ultimate flexibility meant transcending the principles of the world, just like his underwear.
“R-really?”
“Indeed.”
Eliza downed the rum she was holding. A minor… though an adult by this world’s standards. So I, too, downed the glass I received from the black-underwear paladin, Archio for short, in one gulp.
—Glug!
The rum burned as it flowed down my throat.
That’s pretty strong.
“Kuh…! That’s potent!”
“That’s the spirit! Have another!”
“Hehe, am I the only one drinking? Archio, you should have some too!”
He immediately tried to give me another, so I poured him one this time.
Archio also downed the drink in one go.
—Kuaaaaaaaah!!
—For the God of Order!
—For the God of Order!
—For the Advent of Paradise!
—For the Advent of Paradise!
Whatever else, it was so noisy that my head was throbbing. Paladins and nuns alike were gathered, yelling and enjoying drinking and dancing.
Of course, many people were gathered at our table as well.
They seemed curious about Eliza’s recent activities and my stories.
So I started telling stories while endlessly gulping down the drinks they kept pouring.
“S-so…! The Ezath! Those sons of bitches! They were killing people like crazy as soon as they got here! Right, Eliza!”
“Indeed! The first ones we judged were killed after having their ankles cut and being tortured! I almost wanted to show you how miserably they wailed!”
Eliza, perhaps drunk, was also shouting more wildly than usual. Seeing that, my blood boiled…! Louder! Louder shouts!
Koreans are a people of ‘heung’ [Korean word for excitement]!
If I get pushed back in ‘heung’ anywhere, I’d be tarnishing the honor of the Korean people!
“That’s my Eliza!”
“Seeing you grow up so admirably, it really puts my mind at ease!”
“Ezath! That’s what you should do to those buggers who believe in evil gods!”
I just exaggerated the gruesome stories as much as I could, but the reaction was very good. Eliza also seemed to enjoy talking about her achievements… This is a den of lunatics.
It felt like these were the only people in the world who could talk about killing people so happily.
I spat out that feeling as it was.
“Hahaha! We should kill all the evil bastards and use them as compost! That’s the only way to recycle those pieces of trash! Grind them all up and make fertilizer!”
“That’s right! Brothers and sisters! Look at Saint Kat! This is truly the right and desirable way of thinking!”
“That’s Eliza for you! We’re Divine!”
“Friends! Saint! Have another drink!”
“Yeah, yeah! You gotta drink when Eliza offers!”
Tension rising endlessly in a cross with Eliza!
Right now, I was Kim Kat, an unstoppable impulse!
“Oh, oh…! My friend is very eloquent! Fertilizer! I never would have thought of that!”
“Archio! If we get corpses on this pilgrimage, be sure to do that!”
“Oh! Of course! All the corpses of heretics we seize in this crusade will be used as fertilizer! Got it!”
“Yes!”
Amidst the chaos, the paladins began to react seriously to what I had just said.
Making people… into fertilizer?
I couldn’t tell if this was a hallucination brought on by alcohol, or a truly terrifying reality. The fact that they were trying to put into practice what I had said as a joke was horrifying.
“Eliza has an eye for people! Friend! Will you join the Radiant Cross Society? I’ll treat you well if you’re a friend!”
“Haha! Thank you for the offer, but unfortunately, I believe in a folk religion!”
“That’s a shame! But the alcohol… is running out? Bartender! We’re out of alcohol! Don’t worry about the money, just bring us everything you have!”
“Yes sir! Understood!”
And so, I made friends with the paladins of the Radiant Cross Society while drinking. It was as if I was at an unlimited alcohol buffet, and I felt like I was flying as I drank without limit until my insides were submerged in alcohol.
“Shall we go to Jong-ro~!”
Excited, I even climbed onto the table and sang.
I was at my peak right now. Everything I did got an explosive reaction. After passionately belting out Mr. Seol Woon-do’s Compass, I shouted again with vigor!
“Death to the wicked! Punishment! Judgment! Let’s burn all the heretics in this land to ashes!”
—Waaaaaaaah!!!
An explosion of cheers!
“Oh, oh…! Horrible heretics! Everyone! Do you know what Eliza and I saw! Human stew, human stew! The damn heretics who worship Ezath were hunting people and cooking them!”
Exploding rage!
“Whatttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“That’s absurd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The paladins, completely drunk and red-faced, began to writhe and scream at those words. They seemed to feel transcendent anger at the words “human stew”… The ultimate frustration!
It was a story that was hard for them to just let go!
Then I had to give them some relief!
“So Eliza and I tortured them all to death!!!!”
“Good job, really good job!!!!!!”
“Very well done!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Kheuheueuk…! Thank goodness, thank goodness!!!! I’m so glad!!!”
These crazy bastards!
They clapped, almost in tears. Their emotional circuits were malfunctioning due to excessive alcohol. Otherwise, there was no way they could be so moved by a story about torturing and killing people.
“Keuk! Keuheuk…! The victims! The victims!!!! Ugh, uaaaaaa!! Ezath! Hateful evil god! You son of a bitch!!!!”
Caught up in the atmosphere, tears began to flow from my eyes as well. Requiem. Surely, at that time, I danced to honor the spirits of the victims. But that doesn’t make the pain go away.
How much did it hurt?
How painful was it?
How sad was it?
“Heueuk… Heueuk…! God of Order! How can such outrageous things exist in the world!”
“Unless we bring Paradise! The pain will not end!”
“Let’s go smash the heretics right now!”
The paladins sobbed and burst into madness. The tears they shed seemed to be mistaken for tears of blood. Their eyes blurred, they cried, and they took out their respective weapons and raised them high.
—Cheojeok.
—Chwajak.
—Clang!
A bizarre knife. A toothed axe. Knuckles that looked like scissors, and even a skewer for plucking out hearts… They looked more like torture devices than normal weapons.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go.”
“Pilgrimage, justice.”
“Death to the wicked.”
It was when they were about to get up, swaying, muttering their respective resolutions in a serious tone.
“Ah, ah. Everyone, calm down. In a state of intoxication, you can’t even kill a heretical infant. Once your physical condition is perfect, then you can start.”
Serah pressed down on the shoulders of the paladins who were trying to get up, making them lie down. All the paladins were already drunk, so they collapsed powerlessly at her touch.
…Me too.
I, too, was exhausted and slammed my head on the table.
My tension had risen too high, and I had gone wild without restraint.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
Cloudy… Winia… please take me away…
“Ugh… Saint, are you alright?”
“I feel like I’m going to die…”
Eliza, too, had drunk a lot, and called out to me with inaccurate pronunciation.
“Eliza. You look very tired. It would be good to go in and rest soon. You said you’ve been hunting heretics, so taking a rest is necessary for more hunting.”
“Sister… Blaret… I’m fine…”
“You don’t look fine at all. Please take Saint Kat back soon. Even if Eliza says she’s fine, Saint Kat looks very tired, doesn’t he?”
That’s right.
I feel like I’m going to die right now.
“Understood. Sister Blaret.”
“Aren’t you going to call me ‘older sister’?”
“…Serah, older sister.”
“Hehe. Please take him away quickly.”
At those words, Eliza supported me.
Serah said to me, who had my head bowed.
“Saint Kat. I enjoyed your good words today. It was truly a righteous cry in itself. It’s an ideology worth emulating… If it’s alright with you, I’d like to hear about Saint Kat’s folk religion next time. Well, I hope we can see you again next time. You seem very drunk, so it would be good to go in and rest now.”
“Heukeup! Thank you for your consideration… I was reaching my limit…”
“Hehe, your alcohol tolerance is a little weak.”
I drank so much, and she says it’s weak.
This woman seemed to be quite a monster as well.
“Thank you for being good friends with Eliza. Then, goodbye.”
With those words, Eliza supported me and went outside. She, too, was drunk, but she still supported me and walked.
“Hey, Eliza. I can walk on my own. You can let go.”
“Aren’t you unable to move? I’ll support you, so just put strength in your feet.”
“…Alright. Thanks. Actually, my body won’t move.”
“I thought so. I, too, drank without restraint… Hiceup!”
“Hehehe, hiccuping?”
“…I’m embarrassed. Don’t mention it.”
The pouring rain had subsided to some extent. I leaned on Eliza and walked slowly, feeling the drizzling rain.
“Saint. I enjoyed today. I think there’s a lot to learn from the Saint’s ideology. I’m very interested in this ‘Confucianism’ that the Saint believes in.”
I guarantee that I didn’t say anything worth learning today.
Why do these kids like this so much?
“Confucianism… Actually, my ideology is more of a Kim Kat-style arranged fusion Confucianism than real Confucianism.”
Buddhism and Christianity. And a fusion of my personal ideology and the ideology of the Central Plains Demonic Cult, adapted to this world’s specifications.
It’s definitely not a pseudo-Confucianism.
“Fusion Confucianism, you say?”
“Yeah… It’s hard to explain, I’ll explain it to you situation by situation. There’s so much of it. You’ll find out as we hang out.”
“…I’m looking forward to it.”
From the middle, Eliza seemed to be tired, and she started to say less.
So quietly.
We walked down the road where only the sound of rain could be heard.
“We’ve arrived, Saint.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry, but please take me to my room.”
“Understood.”
I wouldn’t get my money’s worth if I got sick like this. My vision was spinning because I kept drinking whatever they gave me… Since it’s going to rain tomorrow anyway, I should just relax.
—Creak.
“Oh my, the nun… Blackie?”
Winia opened the door.
Her expression was about to distort as she saw my face, but she relaxed her expression and put on a smiling face, perhaps because Eliza was next to her.
“I ended up having a drinking party. The Saint seems to be very drunk.”
“Ugh… Winia?”
“Ugh, this idiot blackie, really. Thank you, nun. You brought him all the way here? You’ve worked hard, haven’t you?”
“It’s nothing. Then.”
Eliza handed me over to Winia and went back.
Winia caught me with her chest.
“Ah, I forgot to ask. Don’t tell me you two went out drinking, blackie?”
Winia asked.
What, is she worried something might happen if we went out drinking?
Don’t worry, Winia. That will never happen.
“What do you mean, the two of us. I went to see the Holy Army… and got caught up in a drinking party with the Radiant Cross Society people and ate with them.”
“What? Why would they… Ah, come to think of it, the nun was one of them. Ugh, they’re a bunch of crazy bastards…”
They were crazy.
“They were good to talk to and nice.”
“…Blackie was that kind of bastard too. Ah, it’s so wet, really. If you don’t want to sleep on the floor, go wash up.”
“I can’t move… I’m too tired now…”
“Then sleep on the floor.”
“You’re too much, really…”
Cloudy was sleeping in the bed.
I laid down on the floor sadly.
Whether she took pity on me or not, Winia put a blanket over me.
