Templar (2)

Titan didn’t know about Cotinus. That’s why he couldn’t guess the strength hidden in those thin yet solid arms.

It wasn’t even a strike. They had merely grasped each other’s hands and entered a test of strength. Unable to even resist, Titan’s face showed an emotion never seen before as his knees buckled.

“I’ve looked into the actions of the Saint and his companions a bit.”

Thud!

One shouldn’t think of going easy. The opponent is the head of the Pantheon Temple.

Moreover, he’s someone who reached the miracle of apostles with a pure human body.

Thinking he would die from being shot was mere arrogance.

“It was quite an adventurous tale.”

The bullet fired with holy power packed in creates ripples as it’s blocked in mid-air.

I hadn’t expected it to work.

After all, bullets as weapons have inherent limitations due to their size that prevent loading more power than necessary. They’re useless against opponents of a different caliber like Cotinus.

But was I not even able to draw his attention?

Cotinus merely looked down at the kneeling Titan with a gentle smile, without even turning around.

“But surely, the gods must have been watching over you all.”

Since even distraction was meaningless, I immediately drew my sword.

I concentrate to wrap mana around it. Though it’s still too unstable a technique to use in actual combat, this is just sparring.

I invest time and mental energy to load a blue light onto the pure white sword.

Only then does Cotinus glance my way.

“Titan.”

I don’t miss that moment.

Just from me calling his name, Titan seemed to understand my intention as he immediately grabbed Cotinus’s wrist with his other hand and pulled himself up.

Taking advantage of the gap when Cotinus’s body lifted slightly due to their size difference, I immediately close in and swing my sword.

“Good coordination.”

Thump!

But he immediately twists his body in mid-air and his swinging foot knocks away my sword edge and strikes Titan’s pinky.

“Guh!”

How could such weight come from such a small frame?

Even from what seemed like a light deflection, I nearly lost my grip on my sword and Titan furrowed his brow while swallowing back pain.

“But there’s nothing that can be done about difference in level.”

Taking advantage of Titan groaning in pain, Cotinus immediately frees his wrist and throws a straight punch.

Whoosh!

I understood it was time to retreat the moment I allowed a counterattack.

Unlike Titan who was momentarily stunned by pain, I knew more about our opponent.

I immediately pull out chains of holiness and wrap them around Titan’s ankles to pull.

Titan’s balance breaks as he avoids Cotinus’s punch.

“Hup!”

I immediately return the chains to holy power form to restore Titan’s physical freedom and thrust with my sword.

“Your tactics for dealing with stronger opponents are quite impressive as well.”

As Titan was falling to the ground with his balance disrupted, he swings his thick leg like a log to target Cotinus’s legs.

“However, as I said before, you were merely lucky. As if blessed by the gods, so to speak.”

Bang!

Titan’s kick strikes Cotinus’s leg.

Thud!

The pure white sword enhanced with mana pierces Cotinus’s side.

“This is what happens without that blessing.”

His body didn’t even shake from Titan’s kick, and even the sharp sword couldn’t pierce his flesh.

Templar. Unlike paladins, Holy Crusaders who beat opponents to death with bare hands.

Their very flesh is like armor to them.

“The coordination and methods were good. But if you lack the power to execute them, they’re just futile struggles.”

We couldn’t pierce through.

All the methods we prepared couldn’t even touch his flesh.

The difference in power is stark.

Of course, it would have been different if I had utilized my holy power to the maximum.

It would have been different if Titan had swung his spear and hammer with full force.

“There are many strong ones in this world, and about half of them will likely look unfavorably upon you all.”

But the opponent hadn’t used his full power either.

We wouldn’t have been able to overturn the result.

“Therefore, though it may be presumptuous, Saint. This old servant cannot help but worry.”

Cotinus looked at me with a gentle smile.

“If that’s all you have, you could die from an unfortunate string of coincidences.”

Cotinus is someone who would follow even a death order if it came from me, an apostle.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t deny what I haven’t said.

As Pope, he can voice his own opinions.

If I had spoken first, he probably wouldn’t have said anything.

But what I wanted was sparring and training through it.

“At this rate, you’ll be no different from the apostles who sadly martyred themselves before.”

Therefore Cotinus voiced his frank opinion.

It was bitter advice. But it was also what I wanted to hear.

“Then what would you suggest? What should I fix and what should I train here?”

Cotinus is the one who taught the Saintess before my regression.

Her combat style of floating through the sky originated from him.

“First, the Saint needs to accurately grasp your own power. It seems unconscious, but you’re setting limits on yourself. Even with the gunfire just now, someone of your status as an apostle could have loaded much more holy power.”

I manifest holy power in my palm to gauge my current abilities.

“…I see.”

What I feel is a much greater quantity and purity than during my fight with Lilia.

Growth… no, not exactly.

If I had to say, it feels more like my body is becoming accustomed to the form of an apostle.

“And may I ask why you wrapped your sword with mana rather than holy power? If it’s a habit, I would recommend changing it…”

“Ah, that’s because of the sword’s issue.”

“The sword’s…?”

I show Cotinus my sword.

A sword dyed completely pure white from handle to tip.

“It won’t accept holy power.”

“Such an ominous thing…”

“Well, a famous blacksmith called it a holy sword, saying it probably means not to harm people with divine power.”

“Such a sacred item…”

He’s inconsistent. Or did he find it plausible after hearing the explanation?

Honestly, I can’t say much since I’ve had similar thoughts before.

“If it’s not too presumptuous, would you mind if I investigate it a bit?”

“I was actually going to ask you to. It’s a bit… suspicious.”

Given the suspicion that Teacher Revenna sent the <Dreamer> to me, Master is suspicious as well.

I don’t want to doubt the two who raised me but… at least I’m certain I don’t know their true identities.

It accepts mana.

But it won’t accept holy power. The Pantheon Temple would be the best place to investigate that difference.

Most people without special powers choose the path of handling mana, and those who research that power professionally are all eccentric.

When it comes to high-ranking mages, nine out of ten are eccentric, and if they’re also specialized researchers on top of that, their personalities would be unimaginably worse.

This is the best option.

“And…”

That’s all for my request for now.

From here, I think I’ll seek some different advice.

“What did you think of this fellow?”

I pointed at Titan who was sitting on the ground watching us with a bored expression.

He is strong.

At least as far as I know, there are few people who have raised both physical ability and technique to Titan’s level.

Including before and after my regression, there probably aren’t many who could beat Titan in pure ability.

But there’s a fundamental problem.

“He’s making efforts but seems unable to handle mana.”

Though he’s grown through sparring with strong opponents we’ve met during our journey, there’s still no progress on Titan’s travel objective.

Even considering orcs’ lower mana sensitivity, this is too much.

Even among Craig’s warriors I saw before my regression, many learned to handle mana as they integrated into human society.

The important thing is leaving that closed environment and directly interacting with those who handle mana.

Craig also said he became able to handle aura through traveling in his youth, so that must be right.

Then what about Titan?

A year or so of travel. Who has Titan met during that time?

“There seems to be a different issue, but I can’t quite tell what it is.”

Edge Forys, the 7th circle mage.

Allen Wise, the weapon master.

Kruud the dragonkin.

And even the mages and scholars of Arcanum.

He’s met those proficient in handling mana and refining it into aura.

He’s directly experienced not just sensing what can’t be sensed, but brilliant traces that are dazzling.

“Hmm.”

Titan sat with his arms crossed, letting my words go in one ear and out the other.

I know he’s hiding something.

But I can’t ask about it.

Not unless he chooses to open up about it himself.

Sometimes being close makes certain things harder to talk about.

But I thought Cotinus might be able to find the answer.

He’s fundamentally an overwhelming powerhouse who can even physically overwhelm Titan, and he’s also a senior in life.

“Then I shall have a conversation with him.”

“I never agreed to that.”

“Then just listening is fine too, Titan.”

“…”

I left as Titan frowned.

Thinking about Cotinus’s words, I’ve already achieved enough results.

At least unlike me, he seems to have somewhat seen through Titan’s secret.

*     *      *

Titan glared at Cotinus with a displeased expression.

But he didn’t actually leave. Just looking at the scars engraved on Cotinus’s flesh made it clear.

That he was a veteran warrior who had crossed countless battlefields.

An aged warrior deserves respect.

Just surviving to this point after overcoming that life of struggle is enough to warrant admiration.

“How about some tea?”

“No, not needed.”

At Titan’s calm refusal, Cotinus smiled gently and immediately plopped down.

It was a casual action that might be problematic for the Pantheon Temple’s representative to take, but he prioritized speaking with others on equal footing above all else.

“You mentioned that you serve two gods, Titan?”

“…”

“The goddess of hunting and the goddess of nature. Both are gods worshipped by specific races. Those who worship Diana, the goddess of hunting, are usually those who live primarily by hunting.”

“I suppose so.”

Diana, the goddess of hunting.

As the title suggests, she’s a goddess who blesses the fortune of those who go hunting.

For the wind to blow against hunters’ direction as headwind.

For their arrows to fly far and reach their targets.

For prey that can provide enough food for the day to be caught in their traps.

Those who pray for such things worship Diana.

“Being an orc, it’s natural for you to worship her. However…”

Titan worships two gods.

No, not quite worship. He merely chose those two as objects of prayer.

He recalls Diana’s name when releasing a bowstring.

Isn’t that simple enough?

“Strictly speaking, Ceres the nature god could be seen as having faith opposite to Diana.”

“…”

But Ceres the nature god is different. Many who revere nature and benefit from it worship her.

Though the explanation is long-winded, she’s basically worshipped mostly by farmers.

Hunting and farming.

Though they can coexist, finding balance between them is difficult.

At least considering the orc domain, believing in Ceres the nature god seems somewhat out of place.

“The Malachite Kingdom is located in an area full of swamps, isn’t it?”

“You seem to know quite a bit about our kingdom.”

“I heard from Craig.”

“…You know Father?”

“Yes, I do. I was by his side when he set out on his journey.”

“…”

Titan’s expression furrowed slightly at the unexpected words.

Father. The topic of Craig didn’t seem welcome.

Though he respected him, his apparent aversion to his parents showed subtly in the situation.

“He was like a flame. Always passionate and full of laughter.”

“I’m not particularly interested in hearing about that.”

Titan blatantly avoided the topic.

To that, Cotinus smiled gently and redirected the conversation.

“Then let’s return to discussing Ceres. Most who worship Ceres the nature god are farmers.”

Ceres is considered not just the goddess of nature but often the goddess of grain as well.

So it’s obvious where her divinity is focused.

“It must be difficult to harvest grain in swamps where trees grow tall.”

The orcs’ country, the Malachite Kingdom, is not suitable for agriculture.

There are many awkward aspects about worshipping her at a national level.

There are various reasons for holding faith.

But when worshipping a different god than the one worshipped by the national community, it stems from mindset.

“You must greatly value nature, greenery, grains and fruits.”

“I do. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all, it’s an admirable mindset. Caring for nature is especially noble among those living harsh lives.”

Titan loves nature.

Just remembering each flower’s name and tending to them shows that.

Until now, since there were no known orcs like this, no one would have questioned it. They would have just found it unusual.

But for an old man who had traveled with orcs in his youth and heard many tales directly from them, it was easy to notice.

“Do you know of any race that pursues such a life as a whole?”

“…”

Just as Titan believes in Diana the hunting god according to his kingdom’s tradition.

There was a country that worshipped Ceres the nature god as an entire race.

“They are called elves.”

The mystic race of Alfheim.

“A race that ‘cannot’ handle mana regardless of effort.”