In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 342

Chapter 342: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Frontier Church

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Almost dragging the peasant guarding the gate into our pace, we entered the church. Though it was a church, it was a building I had to describe as crude, even compared to the one in our own Carrera City, let alone the Palea Cathedral in the Royal Capital. It was constructed entirely of wood, and the framing of the lumber looked distinctly amateurish. This was likely because the peasants had built this church with their own hands rather than employing professional carpenters. However, it was precisely because it was such a simple building that the history of hardship endured by these frontier pioneers came through with a sense of grim reality.

“Mylene’s son isn’t here! Where has he gone!?”

“The bandages we had in storage—more than half of them are useless! They’re covered in mold!”

“There now, don’t cry. It’s going to be okay, alright?”

That simple church had become like a frontline field hospital. Men and children were being packed into the basement at the very back of the church in a state of great distress, while members of the militia continued to prepare for battle with unpracticed hands.

It was a complete frenzy. I had sent a messenger in advance to explain the situation so things wouldn’t turn out like this, but apparently, that effort bore no fruit. Given that a ridiculous rumor about tens of thousands of barbarians approaching was circulating, the scouts must have seen our formation and sent back an exaggerated report. Then the rumors bred more rumors, and they fell into a state of semi-collective panic…

“Hey, hey, you lot! Calm down! Won’t you settle down?! If you’re in such a rush, we won’t even be able to finish housing the men and children…”

There was a woman trying desperately to soothe the peasants. She was the village chief. However, the villagers were in a state of frenzy and only continued to heat up, not listening to the village chief at all. Even so, the village chief tried her best to calm those around her, but her eyes happened to meet mine.

“My Lord!”

The village chief turned pale and began to tremble violently. Then she rushed over to us in a great hurry. …Furthermore, even the panic-stricken villagers—

“It’s the Lord!”

“That appearance, is he back from the war!?”

“You don’t think he’s retreated in defeat…?”

“The talk is there are twenty or thirty thousand elves. It can’t be helped, I suppose…”

It was unbearable because they came in droves, saying whatever they pleased. Beside me, Bishop Fiorenza muttered a rare complaint: “Wow, give me a break…”. I felt exactly the same way.

“My Lord, I am terribly sorry for not being able to come and receive you…”

While breaking out in a cold sweat, the village chief offered an excuse. For a Lord to arrive and not even have a reception sent out was truly a massive oversight. If things went poorly, a summary execution for insolence was even possible. It was no wonder the village chief was panicking.

“No, it would be difficult to leave your post in this situation. It would be cruel to blame you…”

However, it was understandable that the villagers had clearly fallen into a collective panic, and she had her hands full just trying to calm them down. It was commendable enough that she wasn’t making a fool of herself along with the rest of them.

“However, things have become quite a mess, haven’t they, everyone? Do you intend to start a war?”

I gave a smirk and said that as I shifted my gaze toward the peasants. I made an effort to keep my tone as joking as possible. Sharp words nearly escaped my mouth, but I suppressed them firmly. Saying various things while driven by emotion would only fuel the panic.

“By ‘start a war,’ well of course we do! My Lord! A vast number of barbarians outside the village…”

“Ah, the lot outside? There’s no need to worry about them.”

I slapped the peasants’ shoulders repeatedly in a friendly manner and gave them a smile.

“As you can see, I’ve just returned from the battlefield, but do you think a man defeated by elves would be this unharmed? You don’t, right? But I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I? Do you understand what this means? Well!?”

“You mean… you won?”

“Yeah, exactly. Who do you think I am? I’m the world-renowned Albert-san, revered as the male god of victory for the Kingdom’s Army, you know? There’s no way I’d fall behind the likes of elves, gahahaha!”

Since when did I become a male god of victory? While feeling chilled inside, I laughed heartily as I explained. For panic caused by rumors like this, showing through one’s attitude that it wasn’t a serious situation was the most effective method.

“Besides, there’s no way there are tens of thousands of elves. Try to think about it with common sense. If that many elves actually existed, it would be strange if Liseben hadn’t been destroyed long ago.”

“T-that’s true, I suppose…”

“Meliza is a scaredy-cat, after all… maybe she gave an exaggerated report…”

This village had a unique structure where houses were built right up against each other to serve as a simple castle wall for defense. Because of that, one couldn’t even see outside from within the village without climbing the watchtower. That must have stimulated the villagers’ worst imaginations and triggered the panic.

While sighing inwardly at what a mess it was, I repeated to the peasants.

“It’s alright, it’s no big deal, rest easy. It’s true that the elves have set up camp outside the village, but they are not the enemy. They are the ones who became my allies during the war. Please, be at peace.”

“Allies!? The elves!?”

The peasants gaped, their tone practically saying, “No way”.

“Well, I’ll explain that part later. I have matters I must discuss with the village chief…”

I gave a small cough and looked toward the village chief. Our unit was a group resembling defeated soldiers on the verge of a command collapse, and if we didn’t let off some steam soon, it was going to get really bad. The villagers weren’t the only ones at their limit. We were too. I had to negotiate with the village chief as quickly as possible and have her arrange the necessary conveniences.

“Fighting alongside those beast-like people!?”

“Is the talk about a group of elves being outside actually true!? Is the village going to be okay!?”

“Will the knights protect us!?”

However, the villagers’ frenzy wouldn’t settle down easily. Questions flew at us without any regard for our circumstances. …Yeah, it was a good thing I didn’t bring Sonia. If she were here, she definitely would have drawn her sword. 

Honestly, I’m starting to feel like pulling out my pistol and firing it into the air. Well, I can’t do that because it would obviously be counterproductive in this situation.

Gilberto looked at me with an expression that asked, “What should we do?”. Even she, a veteran knight, was likely unaccustomed to this sort of situation. She was clearly bewildered.

Well, it was the same for me. If we tried to calm them through violent means, the panic would likely expand instead. However, even if we tried to calm them with words, the peasants wouldn’t listen. It was at the moment I was wondering what on earth to do.

“Silence! Silence!”

Ringing a handbell that priests often use during sermons, Bishop Fiorenza stepped forward. Her sonorous voice rang out through the large hall of the wooden church.

“I am Fiorenza Chiarugi. Fiorenza, Bishop of the Star Guidance Faith.”

“The Bishop!?”

“Why would such a person be in a backwater like this…?”

“Speaking of Bishop Fiorenza, isn’t she the one from that famous saint’s…!?”

The peasants began to murmur. Bishop Fiorenza was quite a celebrity for being the youngest Bishop in the Star Guidance Faith. If one was a person of the Kingdom of Galea, there were few who didn’t know of her.

Furthermore, these were devout people who desperately built a church with their own hands even in the midst of their harsh pioneer lives. When a big name like a Bishop appeared, attention would naturally gather whether they liked it or not.

“I was also serving in this recent campaign. I shall tell you all the truth.”

Guiding the wandering masses was the specialty of the clergy. The villagers’ eyes were fixed on the Bishop in an instant as she spoke with the tone of a stage actress. She glanced back at me and winked, then ascended the pulpit set up in the center of the hall. Then, with grand gestures, she began to speak.

“I shall start with the conclusion, but the elves outside the village are…”

“I-I’m saved…”

I let out a sigh of relief. 

As expected of Bishop Fiorenza, she is remarkably reliable in a situation like this. I’ll take this opportunity to negotiate with the village chief…

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