Chapter 259: Feast of Believers

“We witnessed the birth of the Savior!”

The priest was fervently speaking in the half-charred church. It was more akin to a rallying speech than a sermon.

“Standing before the monsters, protecting the powerless people, Leonard-sama appeared like a savior carrying the sins of the people to the execution ground!”

The fervent speech intensified, and the priest himself wore an ecstatic expression. The villagers listened eagerly, some shedding tears while others nodded deeply. The atmosphere in the chapel was charged with an unusual fervor.

Claudia, Gerhardt, and Josel watched this scene from the back row. Josel was engrossed in the speech, leaning forward to listen, while Claudia and Gerhardt wore somewhat indifferent expressions.

“The corpses of the monsters piled up, and there stood the lone hero, Leonard-sama! However, at that moment, he had already exhausted his strength!”

Sobs could be heard from various parts of the church. Since Claudia heard them nearby, she glanced at Josel, who was also wiping away tears.

When the priest clapped his hands, villagers nervously brought wooden boxes from the back room. They tilted the boxes in the center, revealing the contents to the villagers. Straw was packed inside the box, cloth laid on top, and a broken sword was placed on it. Though no money was spent, it was evident that the sword was handled with care.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful…”

“He fought desperately to become like that, all for our protection.”

“Oh, Leonard-sama…”

When the priest waved his hand, the wooden box was carefully put away again. After surveying the surroundings and waiting for the place to calm down a bit, the priest continued speaking.

“For Leonard-sama, who sacrificed his life to protect us, what can we do for him? It’s to live!”

The villagers listening to the speech had serious expressions.

“If we give in to despair and end our own lives or abandon the village, all of Leonard’s efforts will be in vain. Live on! Let’s rebuild the village, live here, and pass on Leonard’s great deeds!”

The priest’s clenched fist pointed towards the sky. Simultaneously, applause and cheers erupted.

“As the Lord commands!”

The priest shouted, and the villagers responded, “As the Lord commands!”

Thus ended the Sunday worship ceremony. As the still-excited villagers left the chapel one by one, Claudia murmured, holding her forehead.

“This is different from the worship I know…”

Gerhardt nodded lightly before answering.

“It was surprisingly decent.”

“What do you mean!?”

“Well, I thought that priest was going to use Leonard’s name to gather money or something. Perhaps the sword was for that authority. But he didn’t talk about money or demand donations. The content of the speech could be summarized as ‘Let’s all do our best to rebuild the village,’ right? Pretty decent.”

“Well, yeah…”

Claudia was bewildered. According to her research, that priest was supposed to be an irreverent, greedy, lazy, lecherous, and altogether hopeless apostate monk who embodied all seven deadly sins.

However, based on the speech she just heard, it seemed like the priest was earnestly trying to encourage the villagers.

How desperate must the people who had their village destroyed by the orcs have been? There might have been those who even contemplated ending their own lives. As Gerhardt suggested, raising morale forcibly might not be a bad idea. Whether this could be called worship was doubtful.

She didn’t know. Was the gossip wrong, or did the priest have ulterior motives?

Josel, who was genuinely moved, spoke with a racing heart.

“Leonard-sama is truly amazing. And the villagers who adore him. It’s a lesson for us knights and commoners alike.”

Gerhard said coldly to the innocently cheerful 30-year-old.

“It’s not that simple. Their adoration of Leonard is, in a way, a condemnation of the nobles who did nothing. They’re praising the hero but also venting their frustration at the nobles. They’ve prepared plenty of excuses, like just praising the hero, to criticize the nobles and let off steam.”

Josel opened his mouth, looking a little annoyed at Gerhardt’s words.

“I don’t think the villagers’ admiration for Leonard-sama is a lie.”

“That might not be a lie. However, remember that there are various aspects to things.”

“Ah…”

Though not entirely convinced, Josel realized that he might be getting swept up in the atmosphere and refrained from arguing.

Leaving his enthusiastic disciple aside for now, Gerhardt then turned to Claudia, who seemed restless, placing his hand on his chin and holding his forehead.

“What’s wrong, Claudia?”

“That priest, his reputation was supposed to be terrible. Where did the story go wrong…”

She had talked to several traveling merchants. Were they all mistaken, or were they deliberately lying? No, there was no benefit in colluding to tell lies.

…Was someone trying to tease the cheeky female merchant?

But that seemed off. There wouldn’t be anything amusing about spreading misinformation about the priest’s character. Only a real idler would find amusement in that.

Claudia had mentioned her relationship with Lutz, the topic of their conversation, when listening to their stories. Even if she didn’t intend to strike a deal immediately, there was no point in antagonizing someone in her position. Instead, they might collude and then backstab her, saying, “They’re trying to deceive you,” as gossiping merchants tend to do.

If they had gathered information the wrong way, it would be a major problem. They needed to find and eliminate the cause no matter what.

“Perhaps witnessing Leonard’s death moved him and changed his heart?”

“Can people’s hearts really change so easily?”

“For someone simple-minded and prone to jumping to conclusions, perhaps. There’s probably precedent for it.”

“Ah…”

Claudia and Josel simultaneously nodded in agreement.

Donald, originally a rogue scoundrel belonging to Count Zander’s knight order, had been moved by Lutz’s crafted sword, turned over a new leaf, helped in the penitential battle, and now was a fervent follower and fan of Lutz.

He was now revered as a hero, Samurai Mask, an adventurer protecting people from monsters in the neighboring territory.

Now that they thought about it, the priest and that man did share some similarities.

As the surroundings emptied and the priest retreated into his private chamber, Gerhardt stood up, patting his hips.

“Well then, shall we go soon? It’s time to negotiate the retrieval of the sword.”

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