When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 214

Episode 214

“Victor, this place is a pretty important cultural heritage site, you know? If possible, could you go easy on it?”

Jez and the others had successfully infiltrated the Holy City of Sancturia. But upon their arrival at the grand cathedral, members of the Calidius faction were already lying in wait. Not only that, they had set up a stealth barrier so perfect that even Jez and Victor hadn’t noticed it. The situation was completely unfavorable.

Victor, fully aware of this, started reaching for something in his br3ast pocket without hesitation. Sensing this, Seraphina quickly warned him just in case. The alchemist, flashing a mischievous “Oops!⭐︎” look, returned whatever he was about to take out back into his pocket. What exactly had he been planning to do?

Despite this somewhat absurd exchange, the situation remained dire. Inside the vast cathedral, large enough to hold several hundred believers, stood many Holy Knights—about a hundred in total. While not overwhelming in numbers, their stance showed that they were elite, likely a handpicked force of highly trained soldiers.

Surrounding Jez and his group were elite soldiers, only slightly inferior to Lucius Agrippa, an archbishop capable of fighting on par with Archbishop Edelmar Solennis. To make matters worse, there was Sergius Calidius, the self-proclaimed Pope. Though foolish, he was a skilled fighter. Additionally, the Calidius family was one of the “Original Five” founding houses, meaning they might possess hidden divine weapons or conceptual armaments.

Seeing Seraphina’s bitter expression, Sergius smirked.  

“Oh, absolutely. That face is what I wanted to see—the one that twists when you’re cornered. Pure joy.”  

“As twisted as ever, aren’t you?”

Sergius, speaking with a look of ecstasy, addressed Seraphina. But she glared back at him as if she were looking at filth. The tension in the cathedral grew, and silence filled the air. Breaking through this charged atmosphere, someone interrupted.

“Hey, old man. Could you stop messing with Seraphina?”  

Naturally, it was Jez who stepped forward, shielding Seraphina from Sergius’s gaze. His chivalrous behavior, effortlessly gentlemanly, had even earned him comments like “You’re giving everyone the wrong idea” from a certain queen.

Even Seraphina, who hadn’t been treated like a woman in years, couldn’t help but feel a slight thrill at being looked after like that. No matter the age, it felt good to be treated kindly. Especially recently, she had been relied on as a Cardinal or even as Pope by the believers but had no one she could lean on herself.

Lucretia, watching Seraphina’s reaction, sighed in exasperation. Seraphina had likely thought she was hiding her emotions, but it was obvious. The only one who hadn’t noticed was Jez, who was still facing off with Sergius.

Sergius, for his part, showed no sign of being offended by Jez’s sudden interruption. He greeted him with a friendly tone.  

“Nice to meet you. I am Sergius Calidius, serving as Pope of this country. And you must be Jez Norman.”  

It seemed that the other side had also done their homework. Nodding in acknowledgment of Sergius’ words, Jez responded with diplomatic courtesy.

“Indeed, I am Jez Norman. I’m here representing the Kingdom of Tashman to the Divina Papal State. Sergius Calidius, wouldn’t you consider peacefully returning the Holy City of Sancturia to Her Eminence Seraphina? I promise no harm will come to you.”

Sergius listened quietly to Jez’s proposal, nodding repeatedly while keeping a serene expression.  

“I see. I understand the situation. …How unfortunate. It appears that Cardinal Seraphina Lorentzi has been led astray by the enemy of God, Jez Norman, and has committed this act of rebellion. Moreover, Jez Norman has dared to invoke the name of the Kingdom of Tashman, trying to interfere with the friendship between our two nations. Truly disgraceful.”

Hearing Sergius’ words, Jez and his group realized the situation. This despicable man was trying to pin the entire rebellion on Jez to settle the internal conflict. Jez had gotten involved with quite the troublesome adversary.

Sergius tried to speak again with his unsettlingly calm, smug face. But before he could:

“*Click*.”

A soft whisper echoed throughout the cathedral. Simultaneously, a blinding light filled the vast space.

“Your speech is too long. Three lines would have been OK.”

Victor Alchemis, looking bored, watched Sergius and his men with a slightly exasperated air. What he had used was a flash bomb. It didn’t seem to affect his allies, but Sergius and his men were writhing on the ground, screaming things like, “My eyes! My eyes!!”

Understanding the situation, Seraphina broke through the encirclement and dashed forward. At the same time, Jez, Edelmar, and the others swiftly incapacitated the surrounding Holy Knights as they made their way out of the cathedral. Led by Seraphina, they sprinted towards the residence of the First Saint. However, as expected, the plaza outside the cathedral was filled with more Holy Knights—around a thousand of them.

They were completely surrounded. And from within the cathedral, Sergius emerged, clutching his eyes in rage. His face was twisted with fury as he shouted:

“Seize them!! It doesn’t matter if they die!! They are enemies of God and heretics!!!”

Hearing Sergius’ command, the Holy Knights hesitated for a moment but then readied their weapons. Jez knew they couldn’t afford to waste energy in a prolonged fight here, so he hesitated, unsure of what to do next. At that moment:

“Jez, leave this to me and go ahead.”

Standing before the thousand enemies, the greatest alchemist of the age, clad in his white coat, turned to face them. Beside him stood an archbishop in black robes.

“Master Victor, allow me to accompany you.”

The alchemist in white and the archbishop in black—both masters of their respective paths—volunteered to hold back the enemy so the others could escape. Jez, Seraphina, and Lucretia were slightly surprised at their offer, but Jez nodded and responded:

“I’m counting on you two. Don’t die, alright?”

Edelmar, as usual, gave a calm, confident nod. While Victor flashed a mischievous grin, like a naughty child, and gave Jez a high-five.

“Hey, can I take them all out if I want?” 

He asked with a smug look, uttering a line that seemed like it came from somewhere familiar.