Raising Paladins

Episode 42. All relationships bought with money are like that (3)

‘Suddenly… … ?’

Marlon’s fingertips holding the dagger trembled slightly.

‘I couldn’t even sense it coming this close!’

Marlon, the butler at Mayrium City Hall.

It is a position that assists Baron Astell and takes care of not only the city’s big tasks, but also the trivial quarrels of citizens.

However, he is actually an old confidant of Baron Astell, and he served him long before Baron Astell came to Meirium.

To put it simply, the captain of Baron Astel’s escort.

Now he is in a small city called Meirium, but in the past he made a name for himself in the dark world.

Not to mention having incalculable combat experience.

But just not noticing the priest’s approach… … .

Marlon smiled lightly and shook his head.

‘You seem to have been a bit lazy lately. I need to focus on training again.’

It must be just a mistake.

Marlon smiled at Carl as he hid the dagger behind his waist.

“Seeing that he is wearing a priestly uniform, it seems that he is a person who has been getting a lot of rumors lately. I still wanted to meet you at least once… … .”

“Stop being polite that doesn’t suit you.”

Carl cut Marlon off.

“The one who tried to harm people in broad daylight.”

Malone must have tried to murder Devaldo a moment ago.

What if Carl hadn’t thrown a stone at the right time to knock the dagger away?

Devaldo would have been dead by now.

When the guy who was about to do that tried to have a polite conversation, Carl felt offended.

“… … There was only a minor misunderstanding. It seems the priest misunderstood.”

“Do I look stupid?”

“… … .”

Swoop.

Carl pulled out the wooden sword from his waist and aimed it at Marlon.

“Priests have the duty to protect the safety of citizens as well as the sacred security of the region. Devaldo is also still a citizen of Mayrium. Give back the pouch you were trying to take away and release Devaldo.”

food.

Marlon laughed.

Luckily, I succeeded in killing the presence and approaching him, but it was because it was funny that he was only trying to deal with himself with a wooden sword.

Marlon is the butler of City Hall and collects various information about Mayrium.

That’s why I knew quite well about what Carl had done recently, and I was paying attention.

Because it’s hard to happen in a small rural town.

A man with too much self-confidence to be said to have played a bit in the lawless zone, having scolded several of the gangsters of Hana Hanson’s gang.

Marlon looked at Carl with sunken eyes, recalling his days in the dark world.

“Priestess.”

Marlon, who had been dealing with the knife in a slightly relaxed atmosphere until now.

The small smile on his lips disappeared in an instant and he began to express a very menacing force.

“You can just go down the quiet road, why are you interfering? If you value your life, you better just die.”

“What if you can’t do that?”

“… … ha ha ha.”

The sword’s wooden longsword was still pointed at Marlon.

“As far as I know, you’re a trainee priest who hasn’t even been formally commissioned yet. Don’t you feel like you’re overexaggerating as a trainee priest?”

“He is a guy who knows a lot. However, probation priests also have a duty to protect the safety of citizens. I hear you, aren’t you acting too much for your status? The butler of City Hall is trying to commit murder in broad daylight?”

“… … do you know me?”

Quick.

A small wrinkle formed on Marlon’s forehead.

‘If this happens, the story will be a little different.’

Marlon thought Carl didn’t know him all this time.

It was the first time I saw your face and the first time I had a conversation with you.

However, he knows exactly what his position is.

In this case, it was difficult to scold the sword and send it away.

I don’t know where to go and what to spread.

“How can you not know when you are talking so loudly?”

A knife plowing a field with newly acquired seeds in farmland outside the city.

He arrived here following a very suspicious-looking security guard.

I was able to hear the conversation between Devaldo and Malone some time before I arrived, because I had raised my divine power as sensitively as possible while I was on the way.

Thanks to this, he was the first Malone he had ever seen, but he knew what he was doing.

“Then I can’t help it. It would be difficult to just let go.”

chuck!

Malone poses with the dagger he had hidden behind his back.

When Carl saw that, a flash flashed through his eyes.

“The color of the skin, the dark dagger and the combat readiness… … The kid who used to eat knives in the mercenary corps in the northern part of the empire.”

“… … !”

Marlon, who had slipped his feet forward, hesitated.

“… … You have a keen eye.”

“Because it is not common to stand with the hand holding the sword inside as if protecting a dagger. Usually the hand holding the blade comes forward. That’s the attitude that guys who specialize in assassination take when they meet an opponent carrying a weapon at a request location. is not it?”

“… … .”

“On top of that, the dark skin and extraordinary physique… … I learned assassination because it was a condition that was easy to stand out, but the main weapon would not be that dagger. Today, he must have only brought a dagger to kill Devaldo. The patterns of the two horses engraved on the black blade… … where was it… … .”

Carl stroked his chin with the hand holding the wooden sword.

Marlon clicked his tongue inwardly at his relaxed attitude in an atmosphere where a fight was about to begin.

“Oh, I remembered! Isn’t that the place where only illegitimate children abandoned by the world are accepted? Was it the Basterds Mercenary? Those ignorant bastards who said there were no virgins or children left in the area they passed through.”

“… … .”

Fast!

Marlon gritted his teeth without realizing it.

As Carl said, Marlon was from the Basterds Mercenary Corps and was proud of it.

However, I felt very offended when I was treated like a group of ignorant usurpers.

“You have a knack for making opponents angry with your tongue. It’s a talent that doesn’t fit well with the job of being a priest.”

The Temple of Dawn in the easternmost part of the Empire.

How did the apprentice priest there know the name of the mercenary group in the northern border?

Marlon was very curious about that, but he wasn’t in the mood for a leisurely chat right now.

I had to deal with stupid Devaldo and get the bag of jewels as soon as possible.

The owner, Baron Astell, likes to finish the work he ordered perfectly, and even with a knife.

If I waited longer here, something bad could happen.

“I’m sorry, but we need to talk about this.”

“It is. I have to go and watch the tomatoes planted. So tell them to come out quickly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hey, what are the three guys hiding in the bushes?”

“… … !”

Marlon’s eyes widened.

From nob le mt l dot com

Just as Baron Astell’s escort captain is Marlon himself, Marlon always had an escort with him.

They are those who follow Marlon like shadows, and they also trained in the Basterds Mercenary Corps to specialize in assassination.

Ordinary people are talented enough to kill without even feeling the presence… … .

Seeing that he had quietly approached him without his knowledge earlier, and that he had even noticed the hidden assassins, he seemed like a priest who had a good understanding of detecting presence.

“… … I can’t help it.”

Marlon nodded and three figures appeared from among the bushes.

Devaldo, who had been watching this situation blankly, was startled by their appearance.

“… … omg!”

Marlon and the three assassins, plus the security guards who have been running errands.

Carl was quickly surrounded by five men.

But there was no sign of panic at all.

Rather, he was showing a more relaxed smile than before.

‘It’s been a long time since they’ve been proper.’

A knife that fought against dozens of scavengers single-handedly.

They are said to be marauders, but before that, most were farmers or merchants.

That’s why the pitchfork they wield is like a toy to Carl.

However, these guys who have appeared now are qualitatively different from those farmers.

Three assassins with a terrifying atmosphere and the butler named Marlon.

They are obviously the ones who committed countless murders.

It was a knife accustomed to the smell of blood on the battlefield, so he smelled the indelible smell of blood from their bodies.

“Strike!”

Tadadat!

Three skilled assassins quickly tightened their swords and engaged in a sharp attack.

Each of them carried their sharp daggers, moving swiftly to the top, middle, and bottom of the sword.

A fierce attack that would surely kill even a knight wearing full body armor!

The smile on Hana Carl’s lips grew even thicker.

“No way!”

pop!

An intangible energy wave exploded from Carl’s body and spread.

It was to raise the latent divine power at once and explode it.

As the strong wind pressure spread around, the three assassins stopped.

Carl passed between them with a strange gait and charged straight at Marlon.

‘this!’

Tadat!

The moment when Marlon and all three assassins panic at Carl’s action to hit the boss.

The assassins naturally flew towards Marlon, and Marlon, who became the target of the attack, crossed his hands forward and took a defensive stance.

however.

widely!

“100 million!”

Surprisingly, it was the security guard who was hesitant behind Carl’s back.

Carl moved forward, tricked his eyes into pretending to target Marlon, and then immediately jumped back and took down an unwary security guard.

It was a moment when rich combat experience shined.

“Once I had one.”

“… … !”

Marlon lost one of his friends in an instant due to the skill of the knife.

Anger flared up on his face.

“… … Your residual talent is amazing.”

“It’s called improvisation. Not residual talent.”

wheein.

A gust of wind blew through the space between the two.

The two of them confronted each other for a while.

Then Marlon spoke first.

“I thought the rumors about you were a bit exaggerated. But now that I look at it, it seems to me that he is quite good at it. I will admit that.”

“Acknowledging the other person is the basis for development. That’s a good attitude.”

“But, priest.”

“… … ?”

“You came to find a place to die. Still, my master didn’t like you.”

“Who is your master? You mean the mayor?”

“That’s right.”

“I guess so, I hear you were getting paid monthly from the Hanson gang? But these days, that amount must have decreased a lot. More than half of Hanson’s gang have already become servants of our temple. Besides, a few days ago, I also guzzled the upstream convoy fee… … The mayor’s back pocket must have gotten a little loose.”

“Really, that tongue of yours… … When I hear it, it makes me want to pull it out immediately.”

“If you are confident, try it.”

“… … Then I will show you.”

sue-

Malone took a step forward.

Dark energy began to sway from the daggers of him and the other three assassins.

It was a technique used by the Basterds mercenary corps, and it was a technique he had seen in his previous life.

“It’s quite the way. Then I will have to pay back.”

gooh-

Pure white aura began to radiate from the body of the sword and from the wooden sword like a haze.

The sword, which had been clothed with divine power for the first time after reincarnation, spoke.

“Then let’s begin.”