Game Mind of a Medieval Modern Person - Chapter 184



Only Noblemtl

184. Prisons also come in many forms. The salty, fishy smell of the sea breeze blowing in, the damp, slippery deck, the bland food, the unpleasant smell of urine wafting from the corners.

These were all problems that were bound to come with sailing.

Considering the long journey, I slightly regret choosing to take the sea route.

I leaned against the railing of the deck.

“Wow…”

He kept vomiting out the contents that were so thick.

Karina was patting my back next to me and scolding me as if she was feeling sorry for me.

“Really. Why does someone with severe motion sickness keep coming up onto the deck?”

“smell.”

“yes?”

“The cabin smells so bad…”

“Just to that extent?”

As I raised my head with difficulty, I saw Karina blinking her eyelids calmly.

Bam.

Something other than vomiting was bubbling up inside me, but I held it back.

“Your Majesty, there is something I have been holding back since I was in the cathedral.”

“Just bear with it.”

“I’ve never seen anyone so neat and tidy as you!”

Karina said so and relayed the rumors circulating in the church without any exaggeration.

He said this while placing his left hand on his waist and snapping his index finger in a scolding manner.

“You understand washing your hands before meals, but you don’t drink water that isn’t boiled, and you brush your teeth so hurriedly that you take frequent baths, so the monks complain all the time, and you frown at the slightest smell, so everyone is busy cleaning…”

It’s not that I’m weird.

These were the kinds of complaints that any modern person living on Earth in the 21st century would make.

It seems that this obvious ‘common sense’ was considered a very unusual and vicious hobby in the uncivilized medieval society.

Karina added with a smug expression, talking about luxury and pleasure.

“…Your Excellency, you put too much effort into a simple change of mood. Priests like us live without ever suffering from a minor illness. Even if you happen to suffer from an illness that even the protection of a long and healthy life cannot overcome, that can be overcome with faith, not with washing!”

“…”

It sounds like unpleasant nonsense, but what’s even more unpleasant is that it’s a fact.

Thanks to Lux Stella, who bestowed the blessing of health and longevity upon all humans, humans in this world rarely get sick. However, if they do get sick, there is one reason.

Because they are the ones who were hated enough by the old gods of Ise to the point where they would grit their teeth and pierce through their protection to harm them.

So the solution was simple. Just treat the symptoms with palliative care until the old gods of Ise fall first.

It was a society and a world where medicine could not develop.

The side effects of the protection of longevity and health do not end here. In fact, this is the main point. A society where people live in filth but do not get sick easily has brought about terrible results.

Especially in harsh and desolate environments where drinking water is scarce.

“Even if you say that, I won’t go back to my cabin.”

The most precious thing on a voyage is drinking water. You cannot afford the luxury of washing your body.

If I were to be on guard against the spread of an epidemic, I would wash my body at least once a week, but since I can endure the protection of a long and healthy life without washing, I say that I don’t need to wash and endure it.

Eventually, the entire ship began to reek of human rot.

It would be fortunate if the smell of an unwashed bachelor filled the cabin. Once one realized that the damp fog filling the narrow corridors was actually steam created by sweat, one would turn one’s steps toward the deck.

The proof of this is that Karina, who is training me right now, lives on deck regardless of whether her skin is tanned or not.

But Karina, who finally found a way to push me, kept bragging.

“Your Majesty, you can hurt them by staying away from the smell of hard work. As a priest, you must always be mindful of the fact that your words and actions can have a great impact on others.”

Life on board a ship was a series of daily routines like this.

“Ugh!”

In the morning, I empty my stomach on deck.

“Hey, don’t get seasick and just look at the scenery. It’s so beautiful!”

I was half-asleep listening to Karina’s strangely excited lecture.

“Your Majesty… It’s getting dark now… The deck under the night sky is very dangerous, so let’s go in quickly.”

When evening comes, I return to the cabin filled with a musty smell and force myself to close my eyes.

The daily life that didn’t feel like living reached its peak when stopping at ports in between.

Because all the local influential figures in the port were invited to a banquet without exception.

“How could we offer something as worthless as oatmeal when we have the honor of serving His Eminence the Bishop and Princess Norfang?”

“No. Just salted oatmeal will do. Give me that.”

“Hahaha. I know. Your Highness has not been able to enjoy a real meal!”

It was only later that I heard the rumor and found out why.

At some point, the rumor that anyone who could come up with a delicious meal was a true gourmet began to fuel competition among local power brokers.

So no matter how much I threw up and spat out, there were still people trying.

If you allow even one thing here, you will end up eating everywhere you go.

That can never happen.

Since I was on the modern Earth, if I thought something was not tasty, I would put down my spoon, pay, and never look at it again.

I had chosen to starve rather than fill my stomach with tasteless food, so now I couldn’t let political stances or anything break my will.

“Your Majesty! You can eat it differently! I have prepared herbs and spices that Your Majesty will like, so please taste at least one more!!!”

“???!!!”

“Oh my! Your Highness, what is that table manners!?”

A whole four months.

I spent four months, or a third of the year, like this.

Originally, it would have taken two months to reach the city, but the period was extended because they stopped at ports along the way and received VIP treatment. Nevertheless, there was only one reason why they insisted on taking the sea route.

It was thanks to Karina that I stopped myself from seriously trying to move by land.

“Your Majesty, if we go by land, there will be many more lords willing to entertain us than there are now. Can you handle it?”

“….”

The holy land where Lux Stella first descended, Saint Idea, could only be encountered after overcoming all these trials.

A place where countless ships gather and head towards the horizon.

My first impression of seeing the headquarters of the church where people of the world serve together as one was one of bewilderment.

“A saint? Is that it?”

The city of Saint Idea was nothing like what I had expected, a culturally rich metropolis.

It was a massive fortress, paranoid about its defensive capabilities, surrounded by a double grey wall all the way to the coast.

I didn’t see any aesthetic buildings that praised and exalted the grace of God. I can confidently say that the Ile-de-Put side would be much more beautiful.

Beyond the gray double walls, all that could be seen were gloomy, utilitarian buildings devoid of even a shred of functionality.

The only place that wasn’t surrounded by walls was the dock, and even that had a separate inner wall. It was designed so that even if enemies landed at the dock, they could be repelled from the inner wall.

Countless ships were anchored in front of it, giving it the appearance of a huge floating castle linked together by chains.

As if that weren’t enough, there were watchtowers erected everywhere and stern gazes directed down upon them.

No matter where you looked, there was no sense of hospitality welcoming travelers. Instead, there was a tense atmosphere all over the city, as if they were waiting for potential threats who might turn into enemies at any moment.

Karina smiled bitterly, as if she had expected this reaction from me.

“how is it?”

“Did something happen?”

“No. That’s how it was originally. Saints were originally like this.”

Only then did I understand Karina.

Why did you come all the way to this island in the early morning hours, saying you were bored?

“Because it will be the last bastion to protect royalty in times of need.”

I guess in this world, saint is just a fancy word for prison.

***

In fact, it was somewhat natural for the congregation, which is the headquarters of the church, to be like this.

The origin of the church that serves the star of humanity, Lux Stella, was originally a military organization that trained Aura Awakeners to fight against Ise.

Armed with paranoid fear and vigilance that would make even a lunatic give in to their endless hatred for Ise and his kind, they are the commanding officers who extensively lead the Knights Templar, a declining but still very much a military organization, and are wiping out the remnants of the foreign race.

Since it was a church, I could understand why the dock was so strange.

It all started when a priest in a green cloak, carrying a sword on his waist, boarded the ship, leading his guards.

“Stop. Stop unloading and give your testimony.”

The captain, who had been proud of his stern attitude, was so embarrassed that he rubbed his hands together.

“Yes, Father. Our ship has brought two Stigmata Apparitionists.”

But the priest’s face was extremely cold when he heard the captain’s plea.

“The only thing that the stigmata manifester can prove is his own faith. It is not those two who will prove your innocence, but our work, so do not dare to express any disagreement.”

Only then did I realize why so many ships were dropping anchor before even reaching the dock.

As soon as they entered port, the guards led by the priest checked all the personnel and supplies on the ship. Furthermore, they questioned them about even private and secret matters.

The priest, who had gone down to the cabin and then came back up on deck, was glaring at the captain with eyes sharper than the blade of a sword.

“Traces of sexual intercourse were found inside the ship. The only woman who was found was a stigmata person. Surely she didn’t touch it.”

“That… that…”

“Raise the next generation to stand against Ise. It is not a commandment that must be kept, but you must know that it is a proper attitude that all believers should have. Find the sinners who have forgotten the hearts of believers.”

After saying those words, the priest in the green cloak took out a clay tablet from his bosom and wrote on it with his finger.

“Anyone who neglects the attitude of the believers is sentenced to 30 lashes, and a captain who fails to fulfill his responsibility to lead the religious life of the sailors on board is sentenced to 10 lashes.”

The priest, leading dozens of guards, stirred and stirred the boat as if he was grabbing a rat.

Without even caring about me and Karina, the ones who actually manifested the stigmata.

It was about three hours later that the priest in the green cloak paid attention to us, when the sound of a sharp whip ripping the wind and slashing the sailors’ backs began to spread.

The guard, clutching his whip, shouted fiercely, almost as if he was crying.

“Remember your duty!”

“100 million….”

Choaack!

“Don’t settle for the dawn and allow the dusk to come!”

“Ugh.”

Okay, okay, okay…

“You who groan, remember in your suffering the suffering of your ancestors who groaned under this world!”

“….”

As the flesh was finally torn off, the priest nodded with satisfaction and turned his attention here.

As soon as the priest turned to look this way, he knelt down and put his hands together in a devout manner.

“A shepherd boy looking at the stars, a church servant meets two adult candidates.”

“….”

The priest looked at me with overwhelming awe, but I paid no attention to him.

Because beyond the kneeling priest, I could see the captain and sailors being whipped.

They were just curled up and beaten without even a single proper scream or groan before the whips swung by the guards. Karina looked away as if she had given up on the sight.

“This is what it means to be a saint.”

But I couldn’t do that.

As a humanist, I felt uneasy seeing them swinging their whips as if they were going to kill someone. Although they were disgusting people who were being whipped, it was not something that they should have done to get their flesh torn off.

At least he didn’t do it in front of me.

“You’re going to punish me for breaking a recommendation that wasn’t even a commandment?”

“Unlike the two who manifested the stigmata, these are people who cannot testify to their faith. If they cannot prove it through suffering, how can we know their sincerity?”

“You. Shouldn’t you also prove it through suffering?”

As far as I know, the number of stigmata manifesters is decreasing day by day.

The majority of priests are no different from ordinary laymen who have not been able to manifest the stigmata.

I just made a fuss because I didn’t like the idea of ​​beating up people with a plausible excuse on such a topic, but the response I got was far beyond my expectations.

“I’m embarrassed, but…”

The priest in the green cloak raised his weapon without hesitation as soon as he heard the warning.

It was to show off his arms, which were covered in scars and scabs, as the flesh had been torn off and never recovered.

The priest bowed his head and crossed his wounded arms over his chest.

“My weak faith reached its limit here.”

As soon as I saw that sight, I looked back at Karina.

Telepathy.

We were already close friends who understood each other and could communicate with just our eyes.

Are these guys crazy?

Then, Karina, with eyes soaked in sorrow, told me about the hardships she had been unable to express.

It’s the average saint.

Episode 185