Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 149

As Sabine von Wesperman, a communion wafer was placed at my lips.

Although the bread was unusually salty, it was perfect for my body, which was sweaty from training.

From above, the words of a cleric were given:

“Our Mother in heaven, Lord. May You witness us someday create the ‘Bread beyond material.’ From the beginning to the end of time. Amen.”

The cleric performing the communion ceremony belonged to the Cologne Sect.

She was from the remote territories of the Polydoro domain, serving as a “deacon.” Now stationed in the royal capital to liaise with the Polydoro domain, she conducted the communion ceremony for all of us, including Valiere-sama and her troops, who are adherents of the Cologne Sect.

At her waist hung a mace, an increasingly rare sight among the Cologne Sect.

Though not useless, it was once a common weapon for the Cologne Sect in the past.

However, it was somewhat out of fashion among the knights and clerics of the sect.

I pondered this as I asked:

“Doesn’t the deacon buy a pistol?”

Recently, since joining the Cologne Sect, I learned they developed firearms not just for infantry use, like muskets, but also highly portable pistols for one-handed use, which they sold to their followers.

Lately, Cologne Sect clerics preferred to hang them on their belts.

“No, I do own one. However, I question its practicality as a defensive weapon in everyday situations,” she replied, seemingly skeptical of the pistol’s effectiveness, preferring the mace for self-defense.

Conversely, I held a certain esteem for pistols.

Despite issues like reloading, having a number of them should suffice.

It’s indeed challenging to reload a musket while armored on horseback, but if you have several pistols sheathed in the saddle, it should be manageable.

But then I asked, “Are they not useful?”

“After speaking with Lord Faust and devotee Martina in the Polydoro territory, indeed, pistols are effective weapons, but they’re still ‘premature.’ Their accuracy is low, range short, and reloading slow. They clearly exhibit the current shortcomings of firearms.”

To break a phalanx of pikemen armed with 6m pikes, cavalry better equipped with a number of 10m range pistols might be the solution.

In simple terms, this should resolve the issue.

“Martina was critical then?”

“Devotee Martina clearly denied it. She preferred the disciplined charge of heavily armored cavalry over the use of horseback firearms, suggesting knights should charge instead of relying on pistols.”

It seems the brutal force of knights still stands a chance against firearms.

Ultimately, firearms represent a new, still evolving military branch.

Martina had concluded that pistols were not yet effective for cavalry.

Understanding this, I slightly adjusted my opinion of pistols, acknowledging Martina’s exceptional talent at just nine years old.

I mused, “Why are they called pistols?”

“It dates back to a war in the previous century, initiated by ‘heretics,'” the deacon responded with a smirk.

The pope started selling indulgences to fund a crusade.

Triggered by this, a cleric who was a university chancellor publicly denounced the Holy Gusten Empire’s church practices.

Selling forgiveness for sins for money was disgraceful for a cleric.

She publicly condemned the church for its degeneracy, including bishops who indulged in prostitutes and the luxurious lives of priests preaching to starving peasants.

Centuries after Pope Gregory’s reforms aimed at cleaning up the church’s act, it seemed nothing had changed.

The pope’s response was an “Inquisition,” branding the outspoken chancellor a heretic, leading to her execution by fire.

“The followers of that chancellor went berserk, and eventually, they too were declared heretics, leading to a crusade.”

“Anhalt Kingdom got involved too.”

About a century ago, the Holy Gusten Empire launched a crusade at the pope’s behest to conduct an inquisition against heretics.

The kingdom of Anhalt, as an elector, was dragged into participating.

And the crusade was repeatedly defeated, perhaps due to the lack of divine grace on the pope’s side.

“It was then that the chancellor’s followers first brought firearms to battle. They called these weapons ‘Pfeif’ (whistle), which evolved into ‘pistol’ in the imperial language.”

“So, the origin of the term ‘pistol’ is associated with heretics.”

Indeed, whether they were truly heretics is another matter.

Ultimately, it’s just a pretext to beat down and seize the land and wealth of those deemed disagreeable.

I deeply despised the notion of crusades.

At the same time, it was somewhat amusing that the Cologne Sect, deemed heretical, favored using weapons first introduced by heretics.

The deacon moved away, delivering communion to other knights, as I muttered softly, “Fitting, isn’t it?”

The Cologne Sect seemed heretical, at least to me.

The more I learned about the Cologne Sect clerics, the more they appeared devoted to poverty.

While not all were saintly, those I knew were far removed from the debauchery typical of many clerics.

Despite controlling the gunpowder trade and supporting nobles and mercenaries through substantial donations, their lives were frugal, dedicating themselves to firearms development.

But to me, it seemed they were driven by something more profound, not just rejecting God or breaking commandments on a whim but possibly striving towards a specific goal.

I viewed their actions, at least those of the higher clergy, as an organization focused on a singular mission.

Of course, I had no concrete evidence.

The more I heard about the Cologne Sect, the more I felt this.

Symbolically, a statue in the church depicted the Redeemer battling numerous heretics with just a musket, centuries ago.

“What does the Cologne Sect think of redeemers and saints?”

They don’t seem to mock them. There’s some logical consistency in their words. If they provide me with guns and gunpowder, I don’t care if they’re considered heretical.

“So, use what you can,” I muttered, a philosophy that seemed to resonate even with the Cologne Sect. They probably don’t care how they use saints and redeemers in their tales as long as the story holds up. Religion exists to comfort and save the hearts of the faithful, not to venerate God. That’s the impression I get.

While I continued to ponder about the Cologne Sect—

“Sabine, how are you doing?”

A sweet voice called out from the side. I quickly walked over and stood before my beloved princess.

“Valiere-sama, it seems you did not attend the service today?”

“No, I wanted to, but my mother called me, so I couldn’t make it in time. I feel bad for the deacon, but we’ll have to do the service later…”

It was unusual for the kind and serious Valiere-sama to miss a service with the knights and squires. But being called by Queen Liesenlotte made it unavoidable. I was concerned about the nature of her summons, which I knew to be troublesome.

“Sabine, could you head to the empire for me? Take some troops.”

“Did that cannibal say something?”

Princess Anastasia, who I could picture wandering graveyards at midnight, digging up and possibly devouring the corpses of infants that grieving parents had buried.

Only the queen and that woman could command Valiere-sama.

“No, sister hasn’t eaten anyone. She says she needs you, though. If you handle this well, she’s even promising a promotion to hereditary knight.”

“I refuse. Why should I?”

Ridiculous. I am the captain of the Second Princess’s Knights under Valiere-sama, and nothing else. Even if Anastasia were to become the future queen of Anhalt, I had no intention of showing her any respect beyond formalities.

“I’d like to say ‘tell her it’s inappropriate,’ but…”

That wouldn’t work. That cannibal isn’t the type to understand such a refusal.

“Yes, well, sister probably expected you to refuse. She’s already telling me to come to the imperial capital with you and the squires.”

“I should refuse.”

It was obviously a hassle. I knew Anastasia didn’t view Valiere-sama as an enemy, but she must have called for me because she couldn’t handle something with her own resources. It was easy to see this was heading toward a mess.

“It’s impossible. Sister really seems to be in trouble.”

There was no way to refuse, and if Valiere-sama had the personality to do so, she wouldn’t be Valiere-sama. Reluctantly, I moved on.

“Understood. I’ve already calculated the food, equipment, and travel expenses needed to head to the imperial capital. Please request the finance department to approve these expenses immediately.”

“Wait, you’ve calculated it already?”

“I always calculate the Second Princess’s Knights’ operational costs in advance, so we can act immediately once finance approves.”

Originally, I was destined to become the head of the largest heraldic family. Such tasks were simple for me.

“Now, if we’re to move, we’ll need a sutler and a military Holy Mother.”

“For the sutler, wasn’t it Faust who introduced us to that merchant from Polydoro territory last time? She should be fine.”

Ingritt Commerce. The average-built woman Polydoro introduced to Valiere-sama and me comes to mind. She had accompanied us during the peace negotiations with Virendorf.

“Then, we’ll go with her for the sutler and contact Ingritt Commerce right away. She’s a keen merchant. Mention that she’ll be guarding the trade route to the imperial capital, and she’ll jump at the chance.”

“Please do. As for the military Holy Mother, well, I’ll make a request to the Cologne Sect.”

A hand shot up. It belonged to the muscular deacon known for her daily mace-swinging drills.

“I’ll go!”

“Then that’s settled.”

Valiere-sama probably figured the Cologne Sect would send a young cleric for the journey to the imperial capital. Better to go with a familiar cleric from Polydoro territory.

“Sabine, what else do we need?”

“We lack many things. But worst case, we can just plunder along the way.”

We’re soldiers, after all. If worst comes to worst, we can raid the nearby villages.

“That’s not acceptable. I haven’t been summoned by the Empress, just as a sister of the next Elector of Anhalt… We’ll reject any invitations from local lords along the way and march straight through.”

Valiere-sama, even if it were legal, was not the type to favor plundering. Knowing this made me adore her even more. Yet for Valiere-sama, and for myself, I wouldn’t mind committing any beastly acts without a second thought.

“It seems the current situation in the imperial capital requires someone like me.”

If a promotion was promised, I’d work to some extent. With that thought, I lovingly gazed at Valiere-sama, counting on her fingers what else we needed.