Chapter 682: The Nuns

The Pater Church was broadly divided into three ranks.

Priests, Holy Knights, and Nuns.

And these three ranks were often compared, albeit secretly, to human body parts.

Head, hands, and feet.

Nobody knew who made this comparison, but it couldn’t have been more apt.

Priests led from the highest position, like the head.

Holy Knights followed orders in the middle, like the hands.

But why were nuns compared to feet?

It was because, despite playing a crucial role in supporting the Pater Church, they were lower and less valued than the head and hands. They were trivial.

“I don’t think that’s true.”

Templar Joanna said this as she walked along the underground passage with Sister Delra.

Sister Delra, who was walking with the protection of the Holy Knights, paused momentarily at Joanna’s words.

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Joanna replied with a serious expression, as if she truly meant it.

In fact, Joanna did not think lowly of the nuns.

On the contrary, she respected them in a different way than she did priests and Holy Knights. In some ways, she thought they were even more impressive.

After all, nuns were the true practitioners of the Father’s will.

They showed love to neighbors, comforted the wounded, and helped the fallen rise again. They were the embodiment of God’s love.

From that perspective, priests and Holy Knights somewhat fell short of truly following God’s will.

It could be an excuse, but due to the nature of their duties, they sometimes had to do things that went against the doctrine. This inevitably led to actions that strayed from God’s teachings.

And Joanna was no exception.

That’s why Joanna respected the nuns differently from priests and Holy Knights.

Though not outwardly visible, they directly spread God’s love to the people below.

Whether she truly meant it or not, the sister smiled.

“Thank you. Hearing such words from a Templar truly makes me happy. Well… If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do the knights know what nuns usually do?”

“Yes, I do.”

Despite the sudden question, Joanna nodded.

“It’s too much to explain everything, but the most representative thing is helping those in need. Nuns go directly to those in need, whether in slums or on the battlefield.”

As if to prove her respect for the nuns wasn’t just empty words, Joanna spoke of the core duties.

Indeed, the primary role of the nuns was to care for the underprivileged.

They didn’t discriminate between orphanages, slums, or battlefields, nor did they distinguish between beggars, vagrants, orphans, widows, or criminals.

Their duties ranged from simply distributing bread to treating the sick, comforting the dying at their final moments, and many other tasks.

At first glance, these seemed like trivial matters, but Joanna knew that the work of the nuns was the greatest strength of the Pater Church.

Not just in spreading God’s will, but also for more practical reasons.

Because the nuns were taking on the minimum welfare responsibilities that the state should have taken care of for the lower classes.

The fact that the departure of nuns caused considerable anxiety among national leadership was proof of this.

In that sense, it was indeed an excellent metaphor.

The nuns were the feet.

They were the lowest part of the body, always covered in dust and often neglected because they were seen as a given, but without feet, a person couldn’t even stand.

In short, nuns were the foundation that supported the Pater Church from below.

“You know well.”

“I respect them.”

Joanna replied with a consistent attitude.

At that, Sister Delra smiled again while glancing back. However, the smile felt a bit different this time.

The stiff feeling had disappeared, and it seemed more natural.

With a more natural smile, Sister Delra continued speaking.

“That makes me genuinely happy. I don’t often receive such respect.”

“Pardon?”

“Respect and gratitude.”

“That can’t be true? Surely both Holy Knights and priests always appreciate the devotion of the nuns.”

“Oh, of course. In thought and words, yes. But actions tell a different story.”

“Actions?”

“Yes, actions. For example, instead of improving the poor conditions of nuns, they are constantly sent to other service locations. Dangerous, harsh places. Without any consultation, forced under the name of duty… Do you know how I came to think this way?”

“…No.”

“I started thinking this way after hearing that my fellow nuns, who became nuns with me, died on the battlefield. I wondered why they didn’t show us any consideration if they were so grateful.”

Joanna remained silent.

“Later, I found out that the fallen sisters had sent a rescue request. They said they had run out of food and had no more medicine or bandages to treat the wounded. They said they could do nothing and that the enemy forces were about to launch an attack. They pleaded for rescue.”

Joanna remained silent.

“But the Pater Church ignored them to the end. They wanted to create a beautiful story of nuns who stayed by the side of the wounded until their last moments, citing administrative difficulties in organizing a rescue.”

Joanna remained silent again.

But this silence was different from the previous silence.

The earlier silence was meant for listening. This time, it was a silence born from the shame of not being able to say anything.

In the past, she might have spouted some empty platitude about God’s will, but now she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

She felt like she understood a little of the sister’s feelings.

“…I’m sorry. I have no words. My condolences to your colleagues.”

Sister Delra shook her head as if to say it was fine.

“Thank you. But please don’t misunderstand. I have no complaints about becoming a nun. Although I was quite disappointed in the past, that’s not the case now. Not at all. By becoming a nun, I came to know the truths of the world and the true will of God. It’s like opening eyes that have been closed for a lifetime.”

Joanna flinched. Silently, so that no one would notice.

That was the very reason why she had followed the sister who killed a Templar from the Inquisition.

To welcome the true Prince.

To learn the truths of the world.

To know the true will of God.

These were statements that, as a Holy Knight, she could not simply overlook.

It was as if she were dealing with some fanatical cultist, or something even worse.

That’s why Joanna pretended to agree with the sister’s beliefs and followed her willingly.

Because the Holy Capital might very well be in an unimaginable crisis.

The City where Oliver and the others were. That was something she had to prevent at all costs.

Halt.

The sister suddenly stopped in her tracks. As a result, the Holy Knights guarding her and Joanna, who was surrounded by them, also stopped.

“It seems you don’t fully agree with me.”

The sister suddenly spoke, turning around.

She had accurately pinpointed Joanna’s thoughts, as if seeing right through her.

Joanna instinctively realized that she couldn’t hide behind a shallow lie.

So she decided to confront it head-on.

It was an era when lies were a virtue, but the truth always held greater power—an eternal fact.

“To be honest, that’s correct. There are too many things I don’t understand. Without understanding, it’s hard to agree.”

“And yet, you followed willingly.”

“Because I was curious.”

“Heh. You sound just like someone else.”

Joanna flinched again.

She too had someone in mind after she said that.

The reckless Dark Sorcerer who came to capture her out of pure curiosity—who didn’t kill her but instead engaged in a conversation.

What was even more surprising was that the sister spoke in the same way as that person, with the same perspective.

Her curiosity grew even stronger.

“May I ask you something? Can you answer?”

Joanna decided to give up on beating around the bush and faced her directly.

The sister seemed to welcome this response.

“Of course. It’s not my desire to seek unconditional understanding and agreement without explanation. That would be deceit.”

A response filled with emotion.

Joanna spoke.

“What exactly is the truth of the world that you have come to know, Sister?”

“It means that this world is completely and fundamentally wrong. Have you not ever thought, ‘Something is not right’? For instance, during humanity’s golden age, there are still too many who are starving and diseased. More than before.”

Joanna held back her words. She had indeed thought that once.

When she first left this City on a mission after officially becoming a Holy Knight, she had the same thoughts.

There were so many factories and wealthy people, yet even more who were discarded.

No matter how much they worked, they starved, fell ill, and were eventually abandoned.

“I’ve thought those thoughts countless times. Maybe it’s because I saw those people so often. I could never understand it. How, in such an abundant world, there could be so many poor people. Or how God’s name could be misused to invade other countries and force the children of the same God to their knees. Or how, on the battlefield, the officers would hoard medicine to feed their own bellies even as the flesh of the wounded rotted alive. It was all incomprehensible.”

The sister listed countless doubts, all based on what she had seen and experienced in many places.

Joanna realized that her words were not just one problem but an indictment of the entire world’s absurdities.

Absurdities that were too incomprehensible, too unacceptable, and too insoluble, until they just festered.

“And then someone answered my doubts. Why these incomprehensible things were happening.”

“…”

“They said it was because this world was polluted by humanity’s sins, to the point where self-purification was impossible.”

“Impossible self-purification… Those words carry your personal thoughts and emotions.”

“I won’t deny it. But it’s also true. Haven’t you ever thought that way, even once? Not even a single time?”

“What does the truth you’ve come to realize have to do with God’s true will?”

“Hahaha. Avoiding the question, are you? Still, a good question. Of course, it’s related. If this beautiful world, created by God, has been corrupted by humanity, what do you think God truly desires?”

The End.

Joanna thought of that word in response to the sister’s question.

When an object is so broken that it can’t be repaired, getting a new one is an option. The existing object inevitably goes through the process of being discarded.

“One last question.”

“Go ahead. What do you want to know? Is it how to discern if something is God’s true will? Or how His will will be fulfilled? I’ll gladly answer everything. You have a crucial role to play.”

“Does that will of God include Oliver?”

In the midst of an impending crisis that could befall the Holy Capital, Joanna asked about Oliver. Because that was the most important issue.

“Heh, an unexpected question. And one I can’t understand… Why would you ask about something you already know? Don’t you already know the truth of the world through God’s messenger, Joanna?”

The sister spoke.

She said the exact same words that The Burned One had once said to her.

To this, Joanna replied.

“Yes, I do.”

At the same time, Joanna secretly imbued the handcuff fragments she was holding with Holy Power.

A warm yet intense light gleamed in her hand, and the skeleton took shape, transforming into a mace.

“And I know that he’s just a man named Oliver.”

The Holy Knights, realizing Joanna’s intent, drew their swords, infused with Holy Power, and swung them at her.

Clang!

Several swords cut through the air, approaching Joanna. Moments later, a loud crashing sound filled the air, and countless shards of steel scattered in the wind.

Joanna had smashed the swords that were closing in on her with the mace she’d created using Holy Power.

Yet the Holy Knights didn’t back down, raising their shields to block her advance.

As they had been trained to do all their lives.

And Joanna, too, swung her mace as she had been trained to do all her life, crushing the obstacles in her path and sending them flying.

Between the now empty space divided Joanna and Sister Delra.

Joanna charged forward, swinging her mace at the sister.

Thud—!

The sister shattered the mace with her bare hands—this mace that had been imbued with the Holy Power said to be given by God.

No, it was more than that. Even the Holy Power imbued in Joanna’s body had disappeared.

Astonishingly, the Holy Power Joanna had possessed was now glowing in Delra’s hands.

“You don’t seem surprised?”

The sister spoke as she gazed at Joanna’s stolen Holy Power, savoring it.

“Most people are shocked when they find their Holy Power, given by God, so easily taken from them. Haha… Such fools. It’s not even really a power given by God. Do you understand?”

At that moment, Joanna, having been knocked down and stripped of her power, rose and spoke. Now, just an ordinary woman named Joanna.

“You… You resemble them.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re just like those priests who think they’re gods themselves.”

“Ha ha… you wretched woman.”