Chapter 29 : The First Knight’s Oath

A man stood before those who looked at him, holding a sword with a blue ripple.

The first knight of the Blue Dragon Church. Jonan called himself that.

He conveyed to the village chief and the residents exactly what his god had said: the existence of the religion, the priestess God had chosen, and even the reason for his position.

The residents, who heard everything, represented their feelings with silence.

Only the village chief could speak to Jonan, who had conveyed God’s will.

“······And the Dragon God said He would not abandon us.”

“He said if we do not betray Him.”

Humans betraying God? Such a thing cannot happen. But suddenly, a thought crossed the village chief’s mind.

Why did the Dragon God, who handles all things, specifically say those words?

Could it be that, in the past, such a thing had happened?

“·········!”

Various thoughts full of questions flooded the village chief’s mind, fitting together like a puzzle.

The hostility he had shown to himself and Jonan when Lester’s gang attacked the Dragon God, the unfamiliar behavior he sometimes felt, the gaze that seemed to miss something, and so on······.

‘Could it be that the Dragon God, in the distant past, to His believers···?’

The Dark Ages, the Age of Heaven, the Ancient Age… Or the Age of Mythology, when even transcendental gods like Rehel, the god of light, lived and moved with their bodies.

Did the Dragon God, who saved them, experience something like this in the past?

So when He misunderstood the will of the village, was He so angry?

“It was like that······.”

And now, He, who had been hurt by humans, was trying to give them another chance.

The village chief was convinced of this.

“Jonan, no, the first knight of Him······”

Jonan tried to stop the village chief, who knelt before him, but the village chief’s will was firm.

Jonan, and his daughter, Rachel, who would become His priestess, were the ones who would wash away the sins committed by their ancestors.

No matter what! The village had to work together to treat them.

“You are the person chosen by the Dragon God. As a mere believer who has decided to follow Him, I must, of course, treat you with respect.”

At the village chief’s words, the villagers, who had been watching the situation in bewilderment, began to kneel one by one.

Half of them thought that they should follow the wise village chief.

“Jonan, the glorious first knight!!”

“Sir Knight! Look over here!”

“The first knight of the Blue Dragon Church! You’ve turned Estel Village upside down!”

The other half were those who wanted to tease Jonan, whose face had turned red.

Of course, it wasn’t that there was no respect for the Dragon God in their hearts. However, they wanted to relieve the tension of Jonan, who was awkward in front of them despite receiving His choice.

Jonan was worried that he might receive some envy and jealousy after receiving his position from his god.

But the residents were rather blessing him and Rachel. Thanks to that, Jonan was able to barely overcome his embarrassment.

“So, what does He want?”

“Since Sir Ras was killed, He wanted to receive their oath first, before the Count’s family noticed.”

“That’s what I thought······.”

“So He told me to persuade Sir Failer, and then He went to the north mountain.”

“North mountain? ······Wait, isn’t that where the magic stone came out! You let Him go there alone? You’re the first knight, aren’t you?!”

“How can I follow when He flew into the sky before I could even notice······.”

“Still, if you became a knight, you should serve your master! What are you doing here!”

“·········.”

‘Didn’t you say you would treat me as the first knight···?’

Of course, he didn’t want to be treated, but he didn’t want to be scolded either. At the same time, Jonan was resentful.

He would have escorted Him if he could. Of course, it’s ridiculous to say that he’s escorting a god, but his heart was full of loyalty, more than that of a knight.

“Chief, the Dragon God told Jonan to do something. Even if he could follow, he wouldn’t have been able to. Ah, I should call him Sir Knight, not Jonan, right?”

“Everyone, just call me comfortably······.”

The village chief, who was strongly convinced that the Dragon God had been hurt in the past, was emotional.

In the end, it took several people, including Gaiser, to calm him down.

“Then you’re planning to leave for the city soon?”

“I’m planning to stop by the house, get ready, and leave right away. Since it’s something He directly ordered, I can’t be late.”

“You thought well.”

Then, a small object among the residents jumped up to Jonan.

“I’m going too!!”

“Rachel?”

The hem of the white one-piece dress that she had been wearing since the first official meeting with the Dragon God fluttered. Jonan, who barely caught Rachel as she flew into the air, moved his gaze to where she had jumped.

His wife, Sophie, was getting up from the ground with an awkward smile.

‘She was kneeling together···?’

“Daddy.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going too!”

“Where?”

“Following Daddy!”

“Rachel, Daddy is going because the Dragon told him to, so······.”

“I know! I’m going!”

Rachel held Jonan’s clothes tightly with both hands and puffed out her cheeks. Jonan was momentarily tempted by his daughter’s aegyo, but soon thought of his god and cleared his throat.

“No.”

“······.”

As if she hadn’t expected Jonan’s refusal, Rachel’s mouth dropped open.

Her face hardened as if she had seen something shocking, and then her face crumpled like the last appearance of a betrayed soldier.

“I’m going too······!”

“No. Daddy isn’t going to play. He’s going to work.”

“I know! But I want to go too···!”

As Jonan and Rachel’s arguments went back and forth, Rachel’s voice gradually became watery.

Later, Jonan felt complicated as his daughter even sniffled, but he had to refuse for her safety.

‘If something goes wrong, even my daughter could get hurt.’

Rachel is the child who will become the Dragon God’s Miko. No, she’s practically already a Miko.

This meant that Rachel was no longer just Jonan’s daughter. She was the child of both Jonan and Sophie, and also the child of the Dragon God.

His daughter was no longer his own. The god he served also cherished her, and he had a duty to protect his daughter more than ever before.

So Jonan tried to ignore his heart for his daughter and maintained a firm appearance, even through her tantrums.

But then, Rachel’s supporter appeared.

“Honey······.”

“Yes, Sophie. You take care of Rachel······.”

“Just go together.”

“···?”

“Rachel wants to go. Our daughter, who was chosen by the Dragon God!”

“No, what······.”

Jonan, who knew his wife’s heart, which cherished their daughter, was even more embarrassed by her words.

But she wasn’t the only one supporting Rachel.

“Yes, take her with you.”

“Chief···?”

“Jonan, I know what you’re worried about. It’s because she’s your child, but you’re also protecting her because she’s a child chosen by the Dragon God.”

The village chief looked at Jonan intently. Jonan could see the wisdom he sometimes felt in the eyes of the elderly village chief.

“But conversely, Rachel is a child chosen by God. What she wants and what she wants to do may be related to Him.”

“······!”

“Surely Rachel might help you. Right now, it may seem like just a child’s stubbornness, but the will of God may be asleep in it.”

“······But.”

“Besides, the Dragon God hasn’t disappeared, has He? If He went to see the north mountain, He will be in the barony, and if it’s Him, He will be able to come to you and Rachel in an instant. Then wouldn’t it be safe enough in His hands?”

When the village chief said that, Jonan’s heart began to lean little by little.

It wouldn’t have been possible if it was just a word to accept Rachel’s tantrum, but it was different because he mentioned God.

‘I am the first knight, but in the end, I am a knight to protect Rachel.’

The important thing was not himself, but his daughter.

Jonan eventually decided to take Rachel with him.

“There will be God’s will.”

And he followed the words that the priests mumbled every day without realizing it.

Rachel smiled brightly as she saw Jonan suddenly allowing her to accompany him.

‘I’m going to play!’

A father who firmly believes that it is God’s will, and a daughter who is excited to go play.

A little later, the appearance of Jonan and Rachel, who finished their preparations, began to move away from the village.

From the sky, looking down, the appearance of the Craystist Barony can be described as:

A natural fortress.

The north and west were surrounded by mountains, the south had a large river, and the east was surrounded by the ocean. And a huge plain filled the space between them, with a city, including the Count’s mansion, in the middle of it.

Being only in Estel Village and the forest, and then seeing a city, one can see how unique its scale is.

Surrounded by gray walls, the inside shows a large structure, in a rough rectangular shape, but with rounded-off edges. To the North, one can see the Count’s Mansion.

The Count’s mansion was built on the north side of the city, with another layer on the ramparts like a white woman wearing a gray robe.

I was looking down at all of that from a high altitude, where even clouds couldn’t hold a fistful of it, right above the city.

It seems I had to come up here to reduce confusion because I was moving during the day.

‘The overall atmosphere is gloomy.’

The large plain near Estel Village had been rained on by my ability, so many grains were grown.

But the rest of the barony, except for that place, was very desolate.

It seems it hasn’t rained overall this year, as the land presumed to be next to the barony is in a similar situation.

If I appear at any time from next spring to summer and sprinkle rain, the residents of the barony will serve me with open arms.

Right now, even a grown-up man like Dren was crying.

I’m sure I’ll be able to receive more love from many farmer uncles.

So it didn’t feel too difficult to win the hearts of the residents of the territory.

‘The problem is the Count.’

It is also related to the killing of the knight, but experts are essential to control the residents.

Even in modern society, many new recruits with a lot of experience are welcomed with open arms.

Besides, the nobleman with good character according to Jonan’s official?

If so, I need to approach it a little more carefully.

‘So I’m going to the north mountain now.’

I am now going to the north mountain of the barony to cure the illness of the daughter of Count Craystist, Aria Craystist.

Since I don’t know about the disease called Maseokhwa, I thought I might be able to find out something if I investigate the magic stone, which is the cause of it.

As mentioned earlier, the north and west of the barony were surrounded by several mountains, but I could tell at a glance where the Count family had an accident.

Unlike the surrounding mountains, which were dyed brown, there was one bare mountain that revealed rocks and piles of dirt.

One side of the mountain was greatly cut off as if a huge landslide had occurred, and as a result, a part of the forest near the mountain was covered with dirt.

It seems the Count did not take care of it and left it alone after the accident and his daughter fell ill.

‘People living nearby······ no.’

It would be so. There was a landslide, and an ominous mineral called a magic stone came out, so how can you live still?

I confirmed that there were no people, and I quickly landed near the mountain.

Perhaps the animals also know the horror of magic stones; there were no sounds of animals in the forest where I landed.

When I noticed a strange energy mixed in that silence, what the Count resented so much appeared in front of me.

[······Magic stone.]

A dark red disaster, magic stones were scattered here and there in the forest.