Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 218

218―――――

You Shall Not Argue

‘How could this happen out of the blue!’

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi clutched his completely bald head, frantically trying to pluck out the few remaining strands of hair.

He should have been holding onto what little hair he had left, but the reason he was pulling at his hair like a madman was that a person he should never have met had suddenly arrived.

‘Why did it have to be Zion Klauzen! A nobleman who receives more attention from the kingdom’s citizens than even His Majesty the King, the two princes, and the princess, excluding the marquises!

Why!’

There was no way that nobleman would come all the way here for a good reason.

He was someone inherently distant from the Order of Light.

Rather, Zion Klauzen was someone evaluated to have quite close ties with the royal palace.

Such a man was suddenly visiting the Order of Light, and that too ‘officially.’

If he had personal business with the Order of Light, he should have visited quietly and unofficially, but Zion Klauzen was being flamboyant, as if announcing his movements to other nobles.

From the perspective of himself and the followers, even the escorting troops were at an incredibly burdensome level.

More than anything, Bishop-to-be Dakpoi was quite concerned that he seemed to be showing a close relationship with the royal family.

He had also learned through other sources that the royal family had been closely monitoring the Order of Light within Hispania lately.

At this turbulent time both inside and outside the kingdom, they were gathering followers while excessively preaching the doctrine, and at the same time, troublemakers were becoming followers, causing frequent problems.

Naturally, the royal family was wary, wondering if these individuals might become a threat to the kingdom in the future, and was paying keen attention to the Order of Light within the kingdom.

‘To receive the official bishopric, it is most important to have no friction with the Hispania royal family!

Only then will the Order headquarters in Holy Prussia officially appoint me!

Damn it!

Damn it!’

What exactly was the problem?

He had not criticized Hispania for not having Order of Light doctrine events hosted by the royal family like Nudia.

He had also emphasized that peace was most important and that others should be respected, lest hot-tempered followers cause harm to those around them for not believing in the Order of Light doctrine.

He had not recklessly gathered armed groups, nor had he attended unnecessary gatherings with nobles to avoid suspicion.

But why!

Why did the royal family send none other than Zion Klauzen!

He who had brought down Nudia’s army by lowering the drawbridge and opening the castle gates!

He who had made barbarian tribes dismount from their horses with just a few words!

He who had utterly annihilated the arrogant nobles of the north!

He who had subdued the pirates, who were expected to take at least half a year, in less than two months!

The war hero whose name alone was frightening!

“Bishop-to-be!

A guest has arrived!”

He was a man who had not yet received the official bishopric from the Order of Light headquarters.

Conversely, the other party was a young hero who could mobilize even the royal castle defense forces with a single gesture.

He had numerous followers of the Order of Light and Holy Prussia behind him, but as the saying goes, a fist is near, and a knife is nearer.

‘Calm down, gather your thoughts.

It’s not like there are no followers of the Order of Light within Hispania, and with the number of followers continuing to increase, they won’t treat me, the center of it all, carelessly.’

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi tried his best to comfort himself, waiting for the young hero Zion Klauzen to open the door and enter.

And a moment later.

Thud!―

Crash!

“Ugh!”

“Gack!”

Two men in their mid-50s were thrown into the Order building as if they were being discarded, crashing onto the floor.

Thanks to this, Bishop-to-be Dakpoi, who had naturally been imagining only the handsome young man Zion Klauzen, was dumbfounded and could only stand there watching the whole situation.

“Ugh!

Huh!”

“Kuh··· Ah, ah!

B, Bishop-to-be!

Bishop!”

The two middle-aged men turned their faces this way, flailing their arms as if begging for help as soon as they recognized Bishop-to-be Dakpoi.

Thanks to this, their condition was clearly revealed, and they had been beaten so badly that it was impossible to even recognize who they were at first glance.

“···Ah?

S, Surely not Brother Fine-dew and Brother Ankyu?”

“Y, Yes!

Y, Yes, that’s right!

It’s us, Bishop-to-be!”

“P, Please save us!

Please save us!”

Bishop Dakpoi was very embarrassed that these two men had suddenly entered the Order building instead of the guest he was expecting, but soon he hardened his face and approached them.

“What on earth is going on!

How did you two brothers end up in such a state!”

“Th, that’s···.”

Before the Bishop-to-be could even hear an answer from the two men.

“The Light will burn you.”

A man, accompanied by several escort knights, strode into the Order building with a dignified gait, throwing the door wide open.

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi briefly wondered how he knew to quote a phrase written in the Order of Light doctrine, but soon hardened his expression and spoke in the coldest voice he could muster.

“What is the meaning of this!

This is the land of Light, and no one, no matter who they are, should shed blood here or treat anyone carelessly!”

The Order building was literally an area that had been created with a formal request and permission.

Even people from influential noble families or officials from large merchant guilds were careful with their words and actions at least within the Order building, but this was too much.

Moreover, these two men were not ordinary followers, but those who had made enormous contributions.

In other words, they were giving him tremendous help, to the point where he called them gold mines.

He had not been able to give them official positions as followers because he had not yet been officially appointed as bishop, but he was thinking that day would come soon.

“Brothers, please get up quickly.”

“Ugh, thank you!

Thank you, Bishop-to-be!”

“I hope that Sir Zion Klauzen will also refrain from violence here.

Whatever crimes these two brothers may have committed, no blood should be shed here.”

It seemed that he had not obtained the position of Bishop-to-be with money or flattery.

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi, quickly realizing that Zion Klauzen was the one who had stirred up this storm, politely requested Zion while trying not to lose his authority.

“···.”

At that, Zion looked at Bishop-to-be Dakpoi for a moment.

Then, he suddenly raised his arm and slowly placed his fingertips on his chest, meticulously making the sign of the cross with a gesture that seemed quite practiced.

‘Uh oh?’

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight.

He thought that Zion Klauzen, who had no particular connection to the Order of Light, was making the sign of the cross like such a devout follower, and he began to think that something was going strangely.

In the meantime, Zion closed his eyes after making the sign of the cross and even offered a light prayer.

Then, with a calm gaze, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Bishop-to-be Dakpoi.

I think you already know who I am.”

“Y, Yes.

Sir Zion Klauzen··· War hero···.”

“Then I don’t think you would consider me such a fool as to shed blood even in a place like this for a mere ‘personal’ reason.”

Zion subtly raised his hand to prevent the armed escort knights from recklessly crossing the door and entering the interior of the Order building.

At his gesture, the knights immediately took a few steps back and positioned themselves ‘outside’ the Order building, but in a place where they could rush in at any moment if an order was given.

“The royal family has received a rather concerning story.”

“A concerning story?”

“It is very good that the Order of Light doctrine has recently been reflected in the kingdom, but [we’ve received] news that there are an increasing number of people who are taking advantage of this opportunity to subtly erase their past misdeeds.”

Zion said that, deliberately looking at Fine-dew and Ankyu, the slave traders known as ‘Ida’ and ‘Ryu,’ causing the two men to flinch greatly.

That alone would have been enough to scare them, but the next words were even more terrifying.

“And [we’ve received] the news that they keep causing trouble when they should be living quietly, wearing the shell of the Order of Light.”

This time, even Bishop-to-be Dakpoi flinched and trembled.

It seemed that the incident in which these two men had touched innocent women, even trying to kidnap them, had failed and a report had been filed with the city’s administration office, [and the report] had eventually reached the ears of the royal family.

‘These damn bastards!

I certainly spent a lot of money to silence all those involved!’

He certainly bribed them with money to silence them.

However, the invisible dagger of the royal family, which was more frightening than bribes, was now right in front of them.

This incident was a very appetizing prey for the royal family, which was desperate to seize the weaknesses of the Order of Light, and they had secretly released people and completed almost all investigations.

“It seems that those two pieces of trash lying there are the ones [involved].”

Zion took a step forward with a gentle smile on his face.

Then, the two slave traders quickly got up and hid behind Bishop-to-be Dakpoi.

They were too big of figures for them to handle, so they meant for you to suffer, as you seemed to be the only one who could communicate with them.

‘These rotten things···.’

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi gritted his teeth.

But soon he sighed and stood in front of them as if to protect them.

It was inevitable.

The contributions those two had made so far had been quite helpful in rising to the position of Bishop-to-be, and their money would continue to be needed in the future.

As soon as he officially became a bishop, he would have to expand this Order building, which was something he could not even dream of doing alone, as it had to be covered entirely by contributions.

‘There are many who have been pushed out as soon as they were appointed to the bishopric because the Order building was shabby.

How did I get this position, I can’t fail because of a lack of money.’

Fortunately, he had come to an agreement with those women and the two men behind him.

If you ask what the method was, of course, it was with money, and since they were also followers, Bishop-to-be Dakpoi himself stepped in to appease them.

“Sir Zion Klauzen.”

In order to officially become a bishop, and to avoid difficulties in the contribution part even after that, he had to embrace these two men, whether he liked it or not.

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi thought so and continued speaking in the calmest tone possible.

“As for that part, the story with those women has already ended.

There was a misunderstanding, but we talked peacefully and resolved it, as followers of the Order of Light.”

“Followers of the Order of Light, followers of the Order of Light.

Good.

Then I’ll change the question, Bishop-to-be.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think if those two men were originally slave traders, and the huge amount of money earned from the tears, pain, and hatred of countless women went into the Order of Light’s contributions?”

At those words, Bishop-to-be Dakpoi was so embarrassed that he couldn’t help but turn around and look at the two men.

It was a look that said, ‘There was no such story! You just said you were running a small trading company and wanted to become followers who believed in the Order of Light doctrine!’

“The investigation into their past has already been completed.

It seems that those two thought they had erased their past neatly, but how easy is it to cut off the tail like that [and escape justice].”

“Th, that···.”

Zion seemed to realize that the situation had been grasped, and raised his hand to gesture to Bishop Dakpoi to get out of the way.

It was a very rude act to the person in charge of the Order of Light’s building, albeit a Bishop-to-be, but Dakpoi couldn’t do anything about it.

Buying and selling slaves was strictly prohibited by the royal family in the first place.

They had directly violated that, and to make matters worse, they had concealed it and were now trying to erase their past and enter the Order of Light.

“Get out of the way, Bishop-to-be.

This is the will of the royal family.”

When Zion even brought up the name of the royal family, Bishop-to-be Dakpoi could no longer keep his place.

No matter how much it was the Order of Light, this country was Hispania.

If the royal family of Hispania said no, it was no, and if it was right, it was right.

And they were heinous criminals who had dared to commit acts strictly prohibited by the royal family and arrogantly tried to hide their past and hide behind the Order of Light.

‘Not yet, the power of the Order of Light within Hispania is still weak.

I have to step back.

It would be a disaster if they blamed the Order of Light for this.’

Bishop-to-be thought that Zion Klauzen had not said ‘step aside’ to him for no reason.

If he had intended to pressure the entire Order of Light within Hispania with this incident, he would have lumped himself in and called this a rebellion against the royal family, but he told him to step aside as if he would not ask him anything more.

‘It’s a warning.

Don’t do anything foolish in the name of the Order.

And it’s a conviction.

That in this land, the royal command comes before the doctrine.’

Bishop-to-be Dakpoi bowed his head and stepped aside as if to acknowledge.

Thanks to that, the two middle-aged men, who were completely exposed in front of Zion, instantly turned pale.

“Well then.”

Shall we go to the main party [now]?

Zion smiled very brightly and moved his steps towards the criminals.

With each step he took, the faces of the two men turned as pale as corpses.

“I, I was wrong!”

“I was wrong!

I was wrong!”

“Do you think I came all the way here to listen to such light-hearted jokes?”

Zion stopped in front of the two men and lightly raised his hand.

Then, the knights who had been standing guard outside the door rushed in and began to surround them as if they were going to crush these trash to death right away.

“If you were thinking of living a new life, you should have stayed quiet.

Why did you cause trouble again and create this mess.

And did you really think you could escape from the past, after seeing those tears and blood?”

“Y, It was a past mistake!”

“We were foolish!

Th, that’s why we wanted to repent!”

“Th, that’s right!

We also made a lot of contributions to the Order of Light and prayed a lot to receive forgiveness!

W, We really tried to live kindly!”

“···Ah.

Yes.

You tried to live kindly, to be forgiven.

You also spent a lot of money.

So?”

At Zion’s question, the two men looked blank and stammered.

“Were you forgiven, for the evil deeds you have committed so far?

Were you forgiven?”

“Th, that’s···.”

“W, We were forgiven!

We were forgiven!

The Light, the Light has forgiven us!”

Unlike one who hesitated, the other uttered the words ‘forgiven’ without hesitation.

At that sight, Zion burst out laughing.

He thought, ‘How could there be such a funny comedy, there are so many interesting things happening here too.’

“What is the Light?”

“···Yes?”

“What qualifications does the Light have to forgive you?

What is the Light that you beg for forgiveness from it?”

A frosty answer, a coldly hardened eye.

The young nobleman standing before them continued to speak as if he were an agent of divine punishment.

“Those who have suffered because of you are still living in hell.

They say they can’t forgive you even in death.

With what arrogance and confidence do you babble that you have been forgiven?

What is the Light that it forgives you as it pleases?

So many people who shed tears and blood say they can’t forgive you.

What in the world has the qualification to say such bullshit that it forgives you.”

“Kuh!”

Zion’s rough hand grabs the man’s lips, as if he wanted to tear off this hateful mouth right away, as if he wanted to pull out the chattering tongue inside and crush it.

“Don’t babble about that word ‘forgiven’ carelessly.

It’s not something you can easily receive just by giving some money or reflecting a little.

So, you shall not argue, in life or in death.”

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――