Year 92 of the Light Calendar
Before the Holy Capital Cathedral of the Papal State, a gray-haired man followed the flow of people into the church’s interior.
The dazzling armor on his body seemed to declare that he was officially one of the candidates to be appointed as a Paladin of the Church today.
Lin Changfeng… or perhaps he should be called Fen now, had been in this other world for a year.
Due to that cheap goddess Eseriel being so careless… the variable known as Fen, like most programmers’ code, was functional as long as it ran.
There was absolutely no background information or explanation about Fen’s origins.
It was as if he had suddenly appeared in this world.
Fen, with no parents, no background, had already struggled with all his might just to survive.
As for the progress of becoming the male lead’s friend… considering the Valsir family were meritorious heroes who protected the nation when the Papal State was founded, the male lead Aelian was naturally a major noble, while Fen was just a commoner.
The two had nothing to do with each other under normal circumstances…
Therefore, the progress couldn’t be called fruitful; one could even say it was completely stagnant…
‘Thankfully that birth goddess gave me a bit of talent in Light Element Affinity and Fire Element Affinity, allowing me to use magic and smoothly pass the Paladin selection, mixing into the ranks of the Church’s Paladins.’
Paladin Fen secretly grumbled internally.
“Anyway! First, become Aelian’s colleague, then slowly advance the relationship…”
He stopped his contemplation, raised his head, and observed the situation inside the cathedral.
……
The stained glass of the Holy Capital Cathedral filtered the afternoon sunlight into a soft, pale gold, spilling onto the polished marble floor, reflecting the solemn figures of rows upon rows of knightly formations in the distance.
The cathedral was also filled with various citizen representatives, nuns, and bishops, showing the nation’s emphasis on nurturing new knights.
Low whispers of conversation occasionally rose in the hall but gradually quieted, seemingly heralding the imminent commencement of the oath ceremony.
Fen hurriedly quickened his pace towards the knight formation but unexpectedly bumped into two familiar faces:
The young man with yellow hair atop his head was named Voss Aurelian (this was precisely the source of all Fen’s woes in crossing over to this world)—his posture in the formation was standard, and he was conversing softly with a colleague; his short golden hair was neatly groomed, a faint smile playing on his lips, his every gesture exuding elegance and piety, like an incarnation of light.
If he hadn’t played the game and known about this damn blond’s privately perverse ways…
Fen might have been fooled by the appearance too.
Meeting Voss’s outwardly bright yet subtly scrutinizing gaze, he couldn’t help but shiver.
Fen then shifted his gaze to the front of the formation.
That was the one who left him with unresolved feelings, the role model for countless men of the Holy Capital, and also the destined person who, according to the goddess’s prophecy, must be helped to save the world—Aelian Valsir.
He was clad in silver-white armor, slightly shorter than Fen who was one meter eighty, but his posture was straight as a pine.
His signature silver hair was neatly tied up, his face clean, with a gentleness and resolve in his eyes that were standard for a Paladin in Western fantasy novels.
The silver armor, set against the cathedral’s light sources, made it seem as if his entire person was surrounded by a faint glow.
Seeing this, Fen finally understood why the goddess emphasized Aelian’s importance; why the game constantly emphasized his handsome appearance; why people revered Aelian so much.
He truly seemed to carry an aura of leadership, that kind of confident and dazzling radiance that constantly shone upon those who approached him, that awe-inspiring righteousness was enough to convince people.
Even without magic, he truly could lead everyone to overcome all the darkness in the world.
‘So the male lead, the blond, and I are all newly promoted Paladins in the same batch!?’
Fen muttered to himself internally.
‘Come to think of it, I remember according to the game’s setting, Aelian’s spiritual foundation shattered in his second year after becoming a Paladin. That’s when Voss “fell in love” with his own sister Lila. Aelian, because Voss was his colleague, his “brother-in-arms,” even offered them sincere blessings. But this is an eroge world view after all… Who knew this Voss, disregarding ethics, would also hook up with his own sister-in-law and mother-in-law… The four of them even ended up having one immoral orgy after another, finally discovered by the poor cuckolded husband…’
“Everyone… thank the Holy Light for gathering us here.”
An old man’s words broke the gradually quieting atmosphere of the cathedral and interrupted Fen’s thoughts.
Dressed in a pure white papal robe embroidered with golden threads and silver crosses, he stood firm in the center of the sanctuary.
“Children, I will now conduct the ceremony for you.”
His words were filled with affection yet not lacking authority.
It wasn’t hard to guess he was the current ruler of the Eseriel Papal State—Pope Lior.
He slightly turned his body, looking at the knight standing beside him.
That knight’s armor differed from the usual silver-white, edged with a gold trim, and the pauldrons were engraved with the holy emblem symbolizing protection.
The sword at his waist was also different from the common knight order’s standard sword, its scabbard inlaid with a very eye-catching ruby.
‘This one is probably the Knight Commander.’
Fen pondered.
“Ref… begin.”
The Pope nodded.
The Knight Commander, having received the instruction, did not dare delay.
He stepped forward, his hawk-like sharp gaze quickly sweeping over the new knights.
“New knights whose names are called, step forward in order!”
The Knight Commander looked at the list on the parchment scroll.
“Jimmy Good!”
……
To be honest, standing in the formation waiting for the oath wasn’t much different from Fen’s previous life’s school opening ceremonies “listening” to the principal’s soporific speeches—the only difference was you could actually understand the principal’s words, while the Pope’s softly chanted blessings were utterly baffling.
“Aelian Valsir!”
Finally, the cuckold’s name instantly pulled Fen back from his random thoughts.
He looked up, only to find everyone else also intently watching this scene.
Under everyone’s eager gaze, Aelian seemed a bit nervous.
His body trembled slightly as he knelt on one knee, performing a very standard Old Knight’s Salute.
“Child, do you swear to take faith as your shield, your body as your sword, to defend honor and justice, to guard the happiness of all living beings, unwavering until death?”
“I swear!”
Receiving the reply, the Pope nodded, raised his hand, and gently touched Aelian’s head.
“May the Holy Light be with you. From this moment, you are a guardian of the Holy Light, a wielder of justice in the mortal world. Do not forget your original intent, and you shall attain your goal.”
The Pope silently recited a spell in his heart.
Gentle Holy Light slowly overflowed from his fingertips, gathering on Aelian’s pauldron, beginning to form a pattern, similar to the “electroplating” technology from Fen’s previous life on Earth; ultimately, the light element carved the emblem of the Church’s Knight Order onto Aelian’s pauldron.
Aelian slowly rose, bowing his head to the Pope in respect, his eyes filled with sincerity and reverence.
The gentle Holy Light in the great hall grew increasingly intense, as if engraving this sacred moment forever.
“….”
Fen silently watched all this.
Don’t misunderstand, he wasn’t rendered speechless by being infected by the cathedral’s intense atmosphere of devout faith or shocked by Aelian’s piety; he was just secretly learning the cuckold’s knight salute and oath posture in his mind, to avoid making a fool of himself when it was his turn on stage.
‘This oath procedure is terrifyingly complicated… Memorize it quickly, stupid brain!! It’s almost my turn!!’
“Knight Fen!”
‘It’s… it’s over…’
……
The sunset burned the clouds fiery red, the sky gradually sinking into darkness.
The lengthy ceremony finally ended.
Fen, as if relieved of a heavy burden, walked out of the cathedral like a survivor of a disaster.
‘Feel like I completely messed up….’
Fen had naturally read many Western fantasy novels, once naively equating the knight’s salute with a man kneeling on one knee to propose to a woman.
Little did he know that wearing heavy plate armor, just maintaining posture before the Pope had him sweating profusely.
Afterwards, he awkwardly pushed himself up from the ground with both hands and, imitating Aelian, clumsily nodded to the Pope in respect.
He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but the Pope’s kindly smile when looking at him seemed even more pronounced than when other knights received their oaths…
He also didn’t know if the old man had noticed his embarrassment…
“Mister Fen, is that you?”
This greeting was filled with friendliness, mixed with a hint of the youthful naivety unique to a young man untouched by the world.
‘Aelian!? I haven’t had any contact with him yet! Why would he suddenly approach me?’
Fen was clearly caught off guard and could only put on the fake, customer-service smile from his previous life as a corporate drone to greet Aelian.
“My name is Aelian, from the Valsir family.”
The silver-haired youth gave Fen a confident and bright smile.
“Commander Ref just mentioned your name earlier, but didn’t mention your surname… May I be so bold as to ask about your family?”
“Ah… this… I’m an orphan, grew up in an orphanage, so I don’t have a surname…”
Seeing Aelian’s face show a look of guilt upon hearing this, Fen hurriedly waved his hands to explain.
“It’s fine! I can’t really remember much about my early years anymore!”
Saying this, Fen internally grumbled, ‘This is of course because that混蛋 goddess transported my body and soul over wholesale; I didn’t transmigrate into the body of some noble’s son, so isn’t it only natural to be in a state of having no parents!’
“Let’s get acquainted. Barring any accidents, we’ll be colleagues for many years to come. If you encounter any troubles or have any questions about life in the knight order in the future, you can always come to me.”
The youth solemnly extended his hand towards Fen.
‘So the male lead is… trying to win over me, who has no background?’
“Why me?”
“You think I see that you have no background, are easy to win over, so I’m taking this chance to get to know you, is that it?”
‘This kid doesn’t have magic, right!? How can he guess others’ thoughts as accurately as that goddess reading minds!?’
However, what left Fen stunned was that Aelian openly admitted his thoughts.
“Mister Fen, both publicly and privately, I truly wish to become friends with you. You performed the Old Knight’s Salute in the cathedral earlier, right? Different from the New Salute performed by most knights.”
“Huh? What’s the difference between the Old Knight’s Salute and the New Salute?”
“Of course. In the first year of the Light Calendar, after the Demon King was slain, all the land under heaven came under the governance of the Papal State. To unify customs and also for convenience, the Pope abolished the complex rituals between ruler and subject, and between colleagues. One only needs to perform the New Salute: make a fist with the right hand, place it over the left chest, and give a slight bow.”
So… him learning and performing the Old Salute like Aelian, kneeling before the Pope in front of everyone, had only one explanation…
————Swearing undying loyalty to the Pope.jpg
By pure accident, the male lead had mistaken him and Aelian himself for the same kind of devout, knightly gentleman, right!
“Mister Fen, I have a dream.”
“If you’ve inquired about the Valsir family, you should know I lost my father early…”
Aelian’s tone dipped imperceptibly for a moment, but quickly shifted.
“But fortunately, my mother loves me, my sisters care for me. I am lucky, so lucky that this sense of happiness has always surrounded me, giving me a relatively complete childhood. And now, I’ve passed the knight selection, able to contribute my own strength to the country… I know there are still many people in this world who haven’t found their own happiness, who struggle to live, for whom filling their stomachs each day is a luxury.”
“To be honest, I have no magic, couldn’t pass the Paladin’s magic test. The only reason I can become a Paladin now is because the examiner showed mercy and pity towards the ‘Valsir’ surname behind me.”
Aelian shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Therefore, I treasure every opportunity to make friends immensely. I hope to join like-minded companions, like you, Mister Fen, to together write a more perfect tomorrow for Eseriel, for this country.”
Having said that, Aelian extended his invitation to Fen once more.
‘This guy… really is…’
Despite witnessing countless inner monologues of the male lead in the game, knowing in advance that Aelian was just such a selfless person, Fen still found it hard to refuse his invitation.
He was so dazzling, like a star in the night sky, shining brightly.
His gentle light not only attracted any traveler trekking outdoors in the dark but could also give any returning wanderer an indescribable sense of reassurance.
“Pleased to become your friend, Mister Aelian.”
Bathed in the afterglow of the sunset, Fen performed the New Salute towards Aelian.
Finally, one year after transmigrating to this other world, he had finally managed to speak with the male lead.
Although he didn’t consider himself a true gentleman (after all, just five minutes before transmigrating he was playing an eroge), he had to admit the correctness of some of Aelian’s words.
At that moment, Fen recalled the mission the goddess had given him, but it didn’t matter anymore—because he was genuinely unwilling to see this lively, cheerful young man fall into the abyss.
Aelian truly was a righteous and gentle person, and he, too, wanted to give Aelian, and most of the gentle people in this world, a gentle ending.