CHAPTER 45

The Steaming Rice Water Is Hotter (2)

Headquarters of the Cheong Order.

Near Eshua Castle stood a monastery and the Cheong training grounds.

It was where young knights, from the 3rd to 1st ranks, lived and trained together with their mentors in a master-disciple relationship.

Normally, the elders were the ones instructing the trainees, but today was different—the clan head himself was at the castle.

Granted, the reason he was there was… less than ideal. He'd come because he was worried Isaac might cause some kind of disaster.

And, well, watching the clan head sighing as he looked over the repair bill for the damage Isaac had already caused to the castle—yeah, that was a whole thing. But still, it was undeniably a rare and valuable chance to receive direct teaching from the head himself.

At least, it should have been a peaceful lesson for once…

Boom!

…or not. Not even close.

The thunderous crash of the training ground collapsing made every knight whip their heads around in shock.

There, in the middle of it all, were the clan head and a delegation from the Papal States.

"Your Excellency! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Go back."

"W-what?!"

"I'm not sending Isaac to the capital."

That was what this delegation was here for—to personally escort Isaac to the Holy Capital.

The reason? Nothing new.

"Your Excellency! You know this year is different."

"Exactly! Sir Isaac has declined every summons over the past ten years, but he must attend this year's Foundation Festival!"

The Foundation Festival.

An event of enormous significance, highly revered because it honored both the first Emperor and the first Pope. Even the Empire itself took it seriously as a sacred tradition.

Most importantly, the festival was when ordinations and knightings were held for priests and knights alike.

Not that it was anything special—it happened every year. So why were they making such a fuss this time?

"This is the year when the Saint Candidates will finally receive their ordinations!"

Ah, there it was. That was the real issue.

'So basically, the Saint Candidates have finally hit graduation age.'

And why did that matter?

For the Holy Empire, this marked the end of a decade of anticipation!

These weren't just any candidates—they were a generation hailed as the greatest geniuses in history.

What would happen when those prodigies officially began their priestly duties?

"Their accomplishments over the past ten years have been extraordinary!"

"But only Young Master Isaac—he's been completely off the grid! No news, no appearances at all!"

"Right! He was incredible ten years ago during the treasure vault incident!"

Oh, come on.

That was when he was a kid. You think he's the only child prodigy in the world?

The clan head scowled, but the delegates were undeterred.

"The rumors about him are legendary!"

"Yes! If the head of the Cheong Order himself raised him at the Eastern Castle, the same place where the saintesses are nurtured—imagine how extraordinary Young Master Isaac must have become over these ten years!"

…Yeah, no. He hasn't grown at all.

Not a single centimeter!

Why do you think I've been keeping him out of the capital?

"And that's not all! On the way here, we witnessed it ourselves—the Cheong's training methods are so fierce they've practically demolished the historic Eshua Castle! We were awestruck!"

Excuse me? Training? You thought that was training?

The knights of the Cheong Order, glancing at the clan head's face, shivered involuntarily.

"And there's more! We heard your grandson receives over 200 kilograms of chocolate and 100 kilograms of candy every week!"

…Who the hell is feeding him that much junk?

"They say it's you, Your Excellency!"

…Come again?

"Surely, for you to allow such sweets—strictly forbidden for underage clergy—to be delivered, your grandson must be maturing wonderfully! As expected of the Cheong Order!"

Are you seriously trying to praise me right now, or is this just a roundabout way of saying I'm ruining the kid?

The knights, watching their leader's face, were now drenched in sweat. Their faces had gone pale; even the elders had quietly slipped away.

Yet the delegation kept pressing on.

"Of course, from an educator's perspective, it's disappointing you won't send him to us, Your Excellency."

"Absolutely! But we'd never presume to criticize! For one of the Five Great Houses, it's not unusual to delay enrollment past age ten. We were honored enough just to have Sir Shuri join us at that age!"

"Still, someone as gifted as Young Master Isaac—it would be in the nation's best interest for him to be ordained alongside the other Saint Candidates… o-oh."

The clan head cracked his neck with an audible snap.

'Well, I suppose everyone has high expectations.'

He had, too.

At least until Isaac ended up like this—a walking disaster zone, thanks to the Skeleton King's cursed magic.

'If he'd mastered the sacred arts in his infancy… he might have surpassed even the Pope's own grandson by now.'

But according to Rilai, Isaac's body had been twisted by the Skeleton King's magic to the point where sacred arts were impossible.

What a damn nuisance, even to the bitter end.

'Is there really no hope left?'

The clan head sighed.

"In any case, the ordination is off. When the time is right, we'll come to the Papal States ourselves."

"No, please, Your Excellency! Listen! This year's ordination ceremony is extra special—it coincides with Her Highness the Princess's birthday, and His Holiness the Pope himself plans to officiate!"

"The Pope?"

The clan head's expression shifted, his eyes narrowing in surprise.

Surely not…

"Yes! That's right. His Holiness the Pope has declared that he will bestow the title of Hero on those who receive ordination!"

"!"

A title like that wasn't just for show—it could multiply one's power several times over. Receiving it was an unconditional win.

"But my grandson isn't old enough for ordination."

"Your Excellency, that's exactly why we're here! What does age matter if the skill is there? Young Lord Isaac could easily become the youngest priest in the continent's history!"

"Exactly! The Mage Empire's been boasting ever since a fourteen-year-old advanced mage emerged over there… they've gotten way too full of themselves!"

The patriarch frowned.

So they wanted to use an alternative route instead of the regular exams.

Well, there was no need to block an opportunity that had presented itself.

"Do as you like. Not that it'll matter."

"Oooh, we are honored!"

The knights clicked their tongues.

'The Lord forbade access to the East Tower for a reason…'

More sacrificial lambs were just going to come back with their scalps flayed.

***

"If you do exactly what I say from now on, I'll fowgive you."

'Goddamn it, this little monster…!'

Shuri went pale, staring at the toddler in front of him.

It wasn't just the kid himself. It was the writhing Shadow Lich lurking behind him.

Sure, when he was younger, he'd just screamed and gotten it over with, but now at fifteen?

Did Isaac, the kid controlling that Shadow Lich—who had clearly evolved to be even more vicious and powerful—look remotely normal?

'Jesus Christ… what's a dying kid doing with the magic of the Skeleton King?!'

And to make things worse, for some reason, Isaac only acted up in front of Shuri—walking around, talking, and tormenting him.

In front of the adults? He pretended he couldn't even crawl, let alone speak or use holy arts.

No wonder Shuri had fled to the academy the moment he turned ten.

"Ah, this little shit's really testing me."

…Or maybe the whole not-talking thing was just to hide his short pronunciations.

Shuri stood up, shaking off his frustration. No matter how freakish this kid was, there was still a huge gap between a fifteen-year-old and a baby.

And besides, this guy's body was cursed and wouldn't grow. There was no reason to keep being scared of a little brother like this—

"There's no reason to be scared of a wittle bwother like this, huh?"

"…!?"

A bead of sweat rolled down Shuri's temple.

Did this brat learn telepathy or something?!

Isaac, looking smug, shook his rattle.

"If you wanna try, go ahead. Think a saint candidate can get away with lying? Watch your mouth. I'm the one who raised you, punk. Thought you were gonna run off, huh?"

"Ugh, I'm telling the adults you're summoning demons!"

"Go ahead."

"!"

Shuri flinched.

Isaac narrowed his eyes, clearly pissed off.

"So you think you're all grown up now that you've joined the academy and we barely see each other, huh?"

"…?!"

"Tell me, Shuri. You think your mouth moves faster than my kill command? Huh? Big bro?"

"…I'm sorry."

"Good. Now get to work."

"…Yes, sir."

Shuri started massaging the toddler's shoulders.

"Ha, this punk. I was only gonna take half the commission, but now you've got me looking like the bad guy. I've gotta do good deeds if I want to become a saint."

Shuri couldn't even scoff anymore.

Saint? A saint?

This guy?

This kid, who seemed more likely to end up in the Demon King's army?

"What's the point of family, huh, big bro? You're supposed to help each other when things get tough."

Oh, now he was calling it family. Now he was calling him big bro!

Shuri genuinely regretted everything.

'Goddamn it. It was a mistake giving him that medicine ten years ago.'

Even though they were rivals within the family, back then, ten years ago…

Shuri had been able to steal a treasure from the family vault thanks to Isaac's help. And it had been an even better treasure than the one Kina Berit—their cousin from the papal family—had gotten!

Little Shuri had never seen his father so overjoyed.

—"You actually beat Kina?!"

He'd never understood why his father looked like he was about to cry, but anyway, Isaac had been declared terminally ill.

Feeling sorry for him, Shuri had brought him all sorts of medicine, hoping he wouldn't die…

—So you're not such a bad guy after all, huh?

No, that was the goddamn beginning of the nightmare.

After taking the medicine, Isaac had looked Shuri over with a surprisingly curious expression, then smiled thinly.

His eyes had completely changed after that.

Yeah, right.

It was like his gaze shifted from looking at a plain old carriage… to looking at a horse he planned to raise himself.

Anyway, after that, Shuri spent his days getting beaten up while learning holy arts, and his vacations being drilled with extra lessons.

Sure, thanks to that he became a class leader and even skipped grades, but still…

'What is he?'

Back when he was younger, Shuri hadn't realized, but now, with graduation looming, there was a creeping sense of dread.

And Shuri was smart—smarter than most—and he'd figured it out before anyone else.

Isaac's level of knowledge?

'He's already miles beyond the academy professors.'

And Isaac, catching Shuri's expression, just smirked.

Despite his nasty personality, it was probably those sharp, hawk-like eyes. He didn't look anything like the Pope's grandson—in fact, he looked way more like the Pope himself, which was annoying—but right now, Isaac was raising Shuri like his own personal colt.

He was supposed to be Isaac's page, just like how a young crown prince would have noble children trailing after him as attendants.

"They're executing the Skull King's Buha? What's that about?"

"Huh? Oh, that demon we saw. Apparently, after we left the treasure vault, it completely stopped following orders. Wouldn't eat, like it was just waiting to die. Weird, right?"

Weird? Hardly.

It met me. There was no need for it to listen to the priests anymore.

Ah. So from the papal family's perspective, it became useless and now they're planning to get rid of it?

Shuri gave Isaac a strange look, then let out a dry laugh as if she'd caught on to something.

"You're trying to score some merit as a saint candidate, huh? Forget it. You're out of luck. That demon's already been marked for execution by the seniors."

Isaac frowned.

"Seniors?"

Shuri puffed herself up proudly.

"I'm talking about my classmates—those of us getting ordained this year. There's this big ceremonial offering we make to God when we're newly ordained, and we fresh recruits are the ones who get to execute it."

Isaac's eyes gleamed.

Yeah, no wonder I don't have time to be screwing around at the academy.

"Help me. I need to get ordained this year."

"What?"

"Ordination."

Shuri blinked, then burst out laughing.

"Maybe start by actually enrolling in the seminary?"

Instead of answering, Isaac held up a golden bell.

Crack!

Shuri flinched as it smacked her in the face, her body trembling as she reluctantly continued.

"…Well, there is a way, but it's… pretty tough."

"What is it?"

"A recommendation letter. It's an approved fast-track by the Holy See—you skip the age requirements, and if it passes, you can become a priest in just one day."

So basically a backdoor entry, huh.

Nice. I like how shady that sounds.

Honestly, Isaac had turned Shuri into a priest first just to scout out the exam process…

[Written Test: Create and describe a holy technique to subjugate the Skull King, and explain how you would use it to kill him.]

[Practical Test: Demon Beast Extermination (Summon a random skeleton)]

These bastards.

Never mind making me write out how to kill myself—they want me hunting skeletons again?!

There's no way I'm taking this filthy priesthood exam seriously.

But Shuri snorted.

"Not that it matters. You'll never pull it off… You need a priest to write the recommendation, sure, but more importantly, you have to establish your character. Good deeds, you know?"

Character…?

"They only write recommendations for people who've saved someone. The more precious the person you save, the better your chances. But come on, where are you going to find someone important in danger just like that? And the ordination's next month—you think you can time it that perfectly?"

Just then, the door to Isaac's room burst open.

"Shuri! What are you doing, wasting time here?"

"Father?"

"The priests from the Holy See are here. You passed the priesthood exam top of your class. You've been assigned as the royal guard for Her Highness, the princess."

"Wha—?!"

Isaac's eyes slowly slid over to Shuri.

"They said you'll be meeting them in two weeks. Get ready to head to the capital with the priests."

"Woohoo! I heard the princess is supposed to be a total beauty!"

"Shuri!"

Isaac's eyes rolled thoughtfully.

A precious person… someone important…

…Yeah. A princess definitely counts.

Isaac grinned slyly at Shuri.

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]