The Medieval Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset
Chapter 50

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 50

50. Bishop Narva

1212 years since the star of Ise set and the star of humanity rose.

It had been about 4 years since peace had come to the politically unstable Islands of Dawn. This was thanks to the fact that Yubas, who had threatened the surrounding lords with his oppressive and militaristic demeanor, had been subdued.

There must have been various reasons for Yubas’ decline, but the influence of the Holy See was the most significant. They had sent a large number of Holy Knights to the Principality of Powys on the pretext of examining the Stigmata of Narva, the third son of the Duke.

Originally, the Order of the Knights Templar were targets of the vigilance of secular monarchs. The moment they moved without notification, they were likely to face fierce opposition. On the other hand, the Commission for the Examination of Miracles could suppress this by emphasizing the importance of the matter.

The Papacy gave authority to Narva under the pretense of examining the stigmata, and at the same time, it frustrated the opposition of the secular monarchs. Moreover, it made good use of the opportunity that had been given.

The Commission for the Examination of Miracles not only spread Narva’s fame, who would become a key figure in the politics of the duchy, but also took on the role of a special envoy to persuade the surrounding duchies. And the proposal made by the Commission for the Examination of Miracles shocked the surrounding duchies.

[The Papacy acknowledges the right of free appointment of each duchy, except for Powys, in consideration of the particularity of the Dawn Islands. In return, each duchy will form a peace alliance with each other to protect the islands from the invasion of pagans. ]

The reason was plausible. To prevent the invasion of pagans in advance and to respond immediately, the judgment of the locals is respected. However, when it comes to cunning, the Papacy far surpasses any schemer.

The secular monarchs, who had been wary of that ability for a long time, soon noticed another intention.

[The peace alliance led by the Papacy is a leash to restrain Yubas.]

There is no force in the islands that is strong enough to replace Yubas yet.

However, now that we realize that Yubas can deviate at any time, it is foolish to leave the protection of the islands to Yubas. Each force may be weaker, but if they join forces, they should give strength to each duchy that can restrain Yubas .

The Papacy must have judged so.

Thinking that a peace alliance must be formed at any cost and with any means.

Although their intentions were revealed, the dukes of each duchy accepted the proposal with pleasure, although they clicked their tongues. Each of them had different reasons in mind.

Those who were exposed to the forefront of the pagans thought like this.

‘If the pagans across the sea aim first, they will not aim for the powerful Yubas, but here. It is dangerous to ask for support from Yubas, but if His Holiness and the other duchies restrain them together… we may be able to endure.’

On the other hand, those who considered Yubas more dangerous than the pagans focused on the part of restraint.

‘Yubas forced an unreasonable marriage with Powys and staged a show of force. What happened in Athelstan could happen to us. Even if our circumstances are better than that of the man who was branded a usurper, it would be right to prepare some countermeasures. ‘

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And those who were more devoted to religious causes thought differently.

‘It is not the time for those who share the same faith to fight. Isn’t there still the legacy of the old kingdom in this land that has not been restored? In the end, we can completely eradicate the pagans only when we develop all the empty lands and wastelands.’

The other two duchies also voted in favor.

Yubas, who was embarrassed by the dominance that began to shake due to the conflict with the Church, felt the need to seek internal stability. They accepted the fact that their power was much weaker than they thought.

Powys, which had barely revived the Order of the Knights, was not much different. Duke Athelstan chose a strong bond with the Papacy to ensure his own poor legitimacy, lack of close aides, and safety.

People reacted differently to this. Some thought that Powys had chosen to be subordinate to the Papacy, while others thought that it was the emergence of a new player to replace Yubas.

However, what is clear is that Duke Athelstan has established his support base. Everyone agreed that Powys would not collapse as easily as before.

1212, sixteen years old this year.

That was the reason why Narva’s full-fledged bishop’s ministry began.

***

What does a bishop do?

Whenever I heard such a question, I used to think about it together, as I was not particularly interested in religion. This is because even in various media that are easily accessible, I didn’t see much about what bishops do.

Most bishops in novels or games just spend a lot of money on donations, have affairs, and secretly make illegitimate children. In the most positive way, they just say a few words of virtue.

That’s why. I thought a bishop was just a priest with a miter on top.

I thought that Edelred was just trying to tease me when he took the time to teach me while he was busy, or that he was frustrated that he had raised his second son, Tervere, as a nerd.

I realized about that laughter when I was freed from all these studies and arrived at the bishop’s see.

It was the cathedral where the former bishop, Barnardo, who had been dismissed, had desperately gathered his wealth and was shining brightly. I walked down the hushed corridor under the stained glass window and realized.

This will be my office and home from now on.

After walking around for a long time, priests in white shoulder mantles appeared from across the corridor. They were carefully lifting a case.

“Your Grace, the Bishop, this is the shoulder mantle sent by His Holiness.”

I went there myself and opened the case. That was the precedent. It is thoroughly my job to open the case and put on the shoulder mantle. What can I do when it is a tradition?

When I opened the case like that, a luxurious shoulder mantle was neatly folded. A black shoulder mantle with gold trim. It’s exactly the same as the one used by the Commission for the Examination of Miracles.

I slowly reached out and stroked the gold trim.

“Gold trim.”

“Gold is a metal of permanence, and it is the thread that binds us. This is His Grace’s prayer that under the starlight of humanity, you may bind all with unwavering faith.”

He caressed the next portion of cloth, a supplement yet thick material the color of night.

“Black.”

“Black is the darkness, the oblivion. This is the prayer of humanity, that the twilight of this world may set below the horizon, never to rise again.”

There was more to this casket than a mere mantle. I could feel something hard beneath the cloth.

Slowly, he unfolded the mantle to reveal a necklace bearing the symbol of our church, the Azure Cross.

“Azure Cross.”

“As the starlight was our beginning, so shall it be their end. O starlight of humanity, may you guide us to victory.”

With that, the prayer was complete.

I accepted both the necklace and the mantle, and began to equip them. In a world largely devoid of fashion, a high-quality mantle tailored by the papacy was bound to stand out.

I could feel the atmosphere around me grow even more solemn.

Finally, with both mantle and necklace equipped, the priests lowered the casket and fell to their knees in unison.

“With this, you are the Lance of Humanity.”

“Hm.”

Some might call it excessive flattery. But standing tall while everyone else prostrates themselves before you do something to a person.

Excessive flattery… Perhaps it wasn’t so bad, I found myself thinking.

Not often, but perhaps once in a while, it couldn’t hurt. Just as I was about to indulge myself in the thought, the priests in the white mantles stood up in unison, beaming.

“Your Grace, Bishop, our utmost respect. To think you would already be performing the duties of a bishop at such a young age. Your diligence is simply astounding.”

“It is a rare sight indeed. Even among Stigmata Holders, not all volunteers for the position of bishop.”

“…Hm.”

I felt my face begin to burn. For some reason, I was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Of course, I did intend to work hard, and it felt good to be complimented… But it felt forced, like they were laying it on too thick. So I held out my palm, signaling for them to stop.

“Your praise is excessive. I have yet to perform my duties properly, and yet you speak as if I have already achieved something to be proud of.”

But the barrage of praise did not stop.

In fact, the priests’ eyes widened, and they continued to gush forth without pause.

“Indeed… It seems Your Grace possesses both humility and integrity from the very beginning. It is no wonder that the Stigmata manifested upon you.”

“I fear we may be interrupting you. With Your Grace so full of zeal, we would not dare to intrude. His Grace would surely be overjoyed to see you.”

“Let us not tarry any longer. Your Grace, we shall take our leave. We offer our deepest gratitude for your service as a bishop.”

“Ugh…”

I let out an uncomfortable groan as I sent them on their way.

Normally, when someone flatters you so much, it’s a sign of something bad to come. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why. Well, if they didn’t want the responsibility that came with the position, all they had to do was quit.

Just then, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Kukuku. From the looks of that mantle, it seems His Grace has high hopes for you.”

Approaching from behind me was an elderly gentleman with a monocle, the self-proclaimed genius, Bishop Ganista. Despite his many, glaring faults, he was on my side.

I thanked Bishop Ganista for going out of his way to visit me.

“I am grateful that you would come all the way from Illenfoot.”

“Not at all, not at all. It is only right that this old man come to greet Your Grace. Now then, this old man shall do his utmost to ensure the success of your first bishop assignment.”

Indeed… I knew nothing of a bishop’s duties, so the advice of the friendly and experienced Bishop Ganista would be essential if I was to perform my role properly.

I nodded slowly, accepting his offer.

“I shall rely on you. By the way, what exactly does a bishop do?”

Bishop Ganista flinched momentarily at my direct question.

I wondered if I had hit a nerve.

“Heh, heh, heh. Don’t you worry, this old man will guide you from the very beginning to the very end.”

“….”

My senses were tingling.

Something…was amiss.

***

It was amiss alright.

My own office, my own space for the first time ever. I should have been overwhelmed with emotion, walking around and taking it all in, but instead, my heart was pounding in my chest.

The cause was the priests who were wandering in and out of my room as if it were their own home. More precisely, the problem was the things in the priests’ hands.

“Welp, uh… So this is the famine that happened in 1202. And these are the monasteries that passed the inspection…”

“Couldn’t replace the 1190s parish records for the Chester area? I need to take a look at the baptismal records from that time to see if the parish records after that were properly recorded.”

“St-stop just handing them over. There are some missing parts in the donor list. We need to replace the torn pages or someone who knows about it.”

Books and parchments piled up from my navel to my head.

The priests were nonchalantly rummaging through them, causing clouds of book dust to billow up and momentarily obscure the room, and alarm bells were going off in my head nonstop.

Please don’t let it have anything to do with me.

But my prayer was crushed in a matter of seconds. A priest who had been walking around absentmindedly suddenly dropped a pile of books on my desk with a thud.

“Your Grace, here! This is the result of the census of the faithful in the Diocese of Powys!”

“Why are you giving that to me?”

“Huh? Well… We need to know how many faithful there are in order to know how much to collect in tithes. We also need to inform the lords. And we need to check the birth and death records to reduce the poll tax burden on the faithful.”

“?”

My confusion only grew.

From the looks of it, it was some kind of census, but why were they bringing it to the bishop?

“Why does the bishop need to do that?”

“Huh? If the bishop doesn’t do it, who will?”

“?”

“?”

The priest and I stared at each other, our confusion growing.

“Shouldn’t the lords be doing that?”

“Huh? How would the lords do something like this?”

“?”

What’s wrong with these guys?