"Is it your vigil today? Miss Nadia? ”

"Ah, no........."

Hearing Jenn's inquiry, Nadia hurriedly waved her hand in a bit of a panic.

"Actually, I'm just in a daze..............."

"That's ........."

Hearing Nadia's answer, Jenn nodded, and then his eyes rolled as if he had thought of something. Then Jenn narrowed his eyes and smiled at the girl in front of him.

"Well, if Miss Nadia has time, how about a cup of tea with me? Long time no see, I think we can have a good talk? ”

"This ..............."

Hearing Jenn's invitation, Nadia looked in the direction he had indicated, and sure enough, she found a beautiful tea table that had been placed by the window on the other side, with desserts and drinks on it. He didn't need to ask to know that this must have been prepared for him by the little maid named Alice, and seeing this scene, Nadia hesitated for a moment, and then glanced at the carriage by the campfire in the distance.

"Miss Tinidel's ........."

Speaking of this, Nadia's face suddenly turned red, after all, this method of asking is too strange, according to reason, she and Jenn are just companions, and you don't need to care about this kind of thing at all. Doesn't this seem as if there is some ulterior affair between yourself and the other person? Jenn didn't seem to care, though, just glanced at the carriage and then withdrew his gaze.

"Tinidel has gone to rest, she doesn't like long journeys, preferring to be alone. How is it? Miss Nadia? Would you like to have a drink with me? Whether it's wine or tea, right? ”

"This ............"

Faced with Jenn's invitation, Nadia hesitated for a moment. Finally nodded.

"Okay."

The deep darkness of the night enveloped everything, even through the window. You can only faintly see the silhouette of the Ice City. However, the beautiful light released by the magic lantern placed on the tea table dispelled the gloom of darkness, and at least sitting here and looking at the warm glow, Nadia's mood calmed down for a while.

"First of all, congratulations on becoming a true paladin, Miss Nadia."

Glancing at the True Eye badge on Nadia's chest, Jenn raised his glass and smiled at the other party. He had learned from Bishop Howard that Nadia had passed the trial after returning from Casalanth and had become a true paladin. But Jenn doesn't care -- in fact, what a real paladin is is a false proposition.

"Thank you......... Mr. Jenn ........."

In the face of Jenn's words, Nadia showed a wry smile before answering. Seeing the expression on her face, Jenn raised his eyebrows.

"What? Miss Nadia doesn't seem to be very happy? ”

"No, it's not."

Hearing this, Nadia hurriedly waved her hand in a bit of a panic.

"In fact, I'm glad I was able to pass the trial of the True Eye. Become a paladin. However, I went through something after that that left me feeling a little confused........."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Jenn looked at the girl in front of him with interest.

"That's a rarity......... If you don't mind. Can you speak up and listen to it? ”

“……… This one......... Absolutely. ”

Faced with Jenn's invitation, Nadia only hesitated for a moment, and then quickly nodded in agreement. Then she sighed helplessly. Fifteen and Ten told Jenn about his inner doubts, during the time that Nadia was a paladin. She saw a lot of things that she didn't often come into contact with, or didn't pay attention to. Bandits who plunder trade routes are naturally hateful. They should also be given a fair trial. However, many of them were originally just ordinary commoners, and they had to leave their homes because they had offended the local nobles or were treated unfairly. It is true that this is not a justification for the crimes of these bandits, but why are they the only ones who are punished?

Nadia had seen similar scenes more than once, where the bandits mocked and even angrily despised them, shouting that they were nothing more than lackeys of the nobles, and some even angrily uttered blasphemy, believing that the gods were not treating everyone as fairly and justly as the temple proclaimed.

"It seems that your gods are also living on the offerings of the nobles."

In the face of such ridicule, if it was before, then Nadia would only angrily denounce it as a blasphemer, but now, in the face of such accusations, she can only be speechless. Indeed, if it were the bandits in the wilderness who attacked the caravan and kidnapped the women, then they would indeed be arrested and put on trial. But when the nobles beat the commoners and did whatever they wanton to their subjects, they could do nothing. There was once a beautiful woman who was favored by a baron, and in order to avoid being entangled by the other party, she had to run to the temple to seek refuge. In the end, the other party was taken by the majesty of the Templar Order, and did not directly break in and arrest people. But the embarrassed baron, who had failed to achieve his goal, set fire to the woman's house, and left her whole family in flames.

This left the woman so sad that she had begged Nadia to avenge herself, and the enraged paladin did seek out the bishop to preside over justice and justice. But in the end, she was told that the Templar Order was not allowed to meddle in the affairs of the local nobility, as this would lead to serious political disputes.

This made Nadia angry, but there was nothing she could do, and eventually, the woman left the temple in despair. When Nadia saw her again, she had already been hanged in the square for attempting to assassinate the baron.

She was a devout believer, but why was she treated like that? Why do the gods, who are above all living beings, succumb to the power and power of the world?

“……… I don't understand why the Templar Order should turn away from worldly power, and why the fairness and justice we preside over cannot shine on every believer. So what's the point? ”

"It really doesn't make sense."

In the face of Nadia's inquiry, Jenn answered very dryly.

"That's the reality. Miss Nadia. The so-called fairness, justice. It's just that, relatively speaking, cracking down on bandits and eliminating evil is naturally a righteous move. Traffickers of psychedelic potions will be punished, thieves will be caught and judged, and murder will pay for their lives, all of which are just part of maintaining order. You see, how many of those nobles who made the rules believed in fairness and justice? The first thing that the regulations protect is their own interests, and the prohibition of stealing is to prevent their hard-earned money from being taken away by others. And the prohibition of killing people is naturally to prevent the people under their leadership from killing each other in panic, and when the time comes, everyone is dead, who will they rule? And the reason why people obey these laws is because they protect their interests, so that they don't have to walk down the street to fear being hacked to death, and they don't have to worry about returning home to find their homes ...... all around."

Saying this, Jenn sneered.

"Why would the aristocracy crack down on those who sell LSD? Do they really think it's not a good thing? Miss Nadia, you know as well as I do that many people in the nobility love this thing. They love to seek thrills. But that doesn't mean they're going to be merciful. Why? The reason is simple, they have the money, the power, and the time to enjoy these. But those farmers. Blacksmith, where does the money come from to enjoy these things? Once they smoked psychedelics, then for this kind of thing. They may not go to serious work, but to steal. Go grab it, and end up making a mess. And a territory that does not function properly will ultimately harm the interests of the lords who rule them. That's why they strictly control and crack down on these things. So frankly..............."

Jenn spread his hands.

"For now, you paladins really don't have much value. You see, you keep saying that you are fighting for fairness, justice, and truth, but what you do is not much different from the noble vigilantes and private soldiers. The only difference is that the civilians at least don't worry about the paladins asking them for bribes. It's not that I said, there is not a temple in Passus, and there is not a paladin in it, but my territory is still in harmony and order. Therefore, it seems to me that you are not as useful as the priests, at least they can pray for rain or a good harvest in the coming year..............."

"But, but ..............."

Hearing Jenn's words, Nadia instinctively retorted.

"But the gods can point to people's hearts, and we can see through the truth under the other party's lies..............."

"So what?"

Jenn didn't give a damn about it.

"If a nobleman of a country kills someone, what if you can accuse him of lying? Could it be that your true eyes can rush to someone's house and tie them up and send them to the gallows? Or maybe Thom can smash the other man to death with a thunderbolt? Believe me, he will at least live to hell at the end of his life......... Even if he goes to hell, it will be after he has been raised for a long time. ”

"Hmm..............."

Hearing Jenn's taunt, Nadia clenched her fists and bit her lip, full of reluctance but unable to say anything. Because what Jenn said was true, the nobles who were full of evil would not be punished by heaven, and they would continue until one day the cycle of retribution fell on them.

But what's the point? A murderous executioner eventually dies of a serious illness, but doesn't he kill more people before he dies? If you can stop the other party in the first place, then you don't need to sacrifice so many lives at all.

"But......... I want to change that! Mr. Jenn, I think it's all wrong, but I don't know what to do..............."

"It's a very dangerous thing to do."

Jenn's eyes narrowed at Nadia's words, and then a smile flashed through his eyes.

"Still, I can feel your determination, Miss Nadia......... If I had to say, how about starting with change? ”

"Change?"

Hearing this, Nadia looked up in confusion and looked at Jenn. Responding to her gaze, Jenn nodded.

"That's right, change this rotten, anachronistic world, and all those corrupt rules -- can you believe it? Miss Nadia, in this world, all people are born equal, just, free, and democratic, and this is the beautiful existence we need to pursue, isn't it? Let the people, not the nobility, decide the fate of a country, and let themselves choose the ruler of high prestige, the nobility no longer enjoys privileges, and their crimes need to be punished......... How is it? Don't you want such a world to come? And as a Templar, as a paladin, what would you do about it? ”

"It is up to the people themselves to choose the ruler ............"

The light in Nadia's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and she stared out the window, muttering to herself what Jenn had said.

"Freedom......... Democratic ..............."

It was still dark outside the window, but in Nadia's eyes, she seemed to have found the dazzling guiding light. (To be continued......)