## Chapter 1215 – Strength

“Ah.”

But I keep forgetting to send a letter to Elysee.

Damn it, this isn’t good.

I’m so busy with life that I keep forgetting. It’s all because I’m so damn diligent, spending every day so intensely and fully. But it’s okay. This time, I have quite a bit to write about in the letter.

From the time I returned after killing Koltrahen last time, there were many things to write about.

Like how I came back and took over the prison. And went to the Elven Forest, messed with some dwarves overseas, killed an ancient Great Demon, and achieved great things. If I write all that down, it’ll be enough to cloud Elysee’s vision.

It’s full of dramatic content.

More than anything, our friendship won’t be damaged just because I wrote the letter a little late. When you think about it, I haven’t received a letter from Elysee yet either.

That thought occurred to me, and I headed to the headquarters of the Order of the Radiant Cross instead of going to the Grand Temple.

“Ooh.”

It was the same as ever here.

I was guided inside by the gatekeeper who recognized me. I had been here once before, and I’m pretty famous here, so it was smooth sailing.

ㅡThud.

As I was walking in.

“…”

A statue of Ijzermart appeared.

“Oh… this is.”

A monstrous figure with destructive muscles that looked like he was about to shout “Bbangbbangrehu” any second. He held a book in one hand, and a mace in the other, raised high.

He looked like an invincible god who would never be defeated by anyone.

“It is a statue of Ijzermart-nim.”
“Magnificent.”

Ah, shit.

Looking at this gives me a strange feeling.

That’s because Ijzermart was already completely wrecked and floating in the Celestial Realm. He was completely shattered into pieces, and that terrible sight seemed to flicker in my eyes.

Are the humans of this era living in the world while relying on fragmented gods?

Humans didn’t even know that the gods were fragmented. They simply firmly believed that the eternal gods were bestowing power upon this world.

But the weak divine power of this era can’t handle the real monsters.

The paladins. They are definitely beings with power that can’t even be compared to ordinary humans. They were clearly superhumans, and undoubtedly indomitable warriors. But it’s not enough.

Even that superhuman power.

Is sorely lacking compared to real monsters.

The only reason it’s been okay so far is that the enemies of humanity have also been weakened by the aftermath of the Idol War. But that damn lich is plotting something… Yeah. The most important thing is to increase my strength.

Thinking along those lines, I went inside and headed to the counter. A different person was sitting there than last time. Anyway, I brought up the matter of the letter.

“I’ve come to send a letter.”
“A letter, you say?”

I handed over the letter I had written to Elysee. He checked the letter and nodded. It was being sent to a fellow believer, after all.

“Yes. I’ve received the letter. It will probably arrive in a month or two.”
“Hehehe, thank you.”

Good.

“Ah, but by any chance.”
“Yes?”
“Did you happen to have a letter for me from Sister Elysee?”
“Hmm… if there was one, we would have delivered it.”

I figured as much.

But Elysee definitely said she would write me a letter. This is a bummer. I’m sending one first. If I sent it first, Elysee wouldn’t be able to say anything to me.

“Still, let me check.”

He got up from his seat, opened the door to the room behind him, and went inside. There was no need to bother checking if it didn’t come, but he was going to do it anyway.

I sat down and waited for a moment.

ㅡCreak.

Soon, he came out holding a box in his arms.

“Ah… excuse me, Paladin-nim?”
“Yes?”
“Well, you see.”

Looking at it, there was a pile of letters inside the box. What is this?

“I think the predecessor forgot about this… perhaps what Paladin-nim is looking for might be in here.”
“Is that so?”

Did the predecessor put it away in a corner and forget about it?

What a mistake.

Anyway, I decided to wait for a while.

“Ah. I found it. There’s one from Sister Elysee to Paladin-nim.”
“Oh.”

I found it like this.

“Thank you.”
“No problem.”

I immediately took the letter and went outside the building. Yeah. A letter came from Elysee. There’s no denying it. But it’s okay because I sent one too.

I went to a suitable place and opened the letter.

Let’s see what Elysee wrote.

“Greetings, Saint-nim. This is Elysee.”

This is something.

“Hehehe.”

I can’t help but smile.

“As Saint-nim told me last time, I am striving to become an inhuman beauty. I am cultivating my appearance and inner self, and working hard to improve my combat power. Every day has been fulfilling.”

I can picture Elysee in my mind. Elysee is always living diligently and doing well. That’s just who she is. When it comes to diligence, she’s almost like me.

In that way, Elysee wrote to me as if she were telling me about how she usually tries.

“Unlike what Saint-nim was worried about, it still feels quiet. Currently, the demons and heretics have all stopped moving and disappeared. The same goes for the undead, and it has become almost impossible to find them.”

Hmm.

The demons and heretics are disappearing.

According to the letter, it seems they have completely disappeared. The demons have spread throughout the world and died and died again, so that’s understandable. But it’s unusual that even the heretics and undead have completely disappeared.

It’s usually normal to see them little by little.

“…”

I definitely confronted the lich once before. Did he realize that I was interfering and retreat? It’s not impossible.

Since I’m interfering so thoroughly, he might change his strategy and act quietly.

“Of course, it would be better if they didn’t appear, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is just preparation for something even more evil.”

Yeah.

Elysee is also suspicious. She said that before we parted last time. Elysee knows everything about the lich too. Of course, she would think that way.

I’m thinking similarly.

“I am continuing to search for the lich, but I am sometimes depressed because there are no results. Saint-nim has revealed so much, but there is nothing I can do.”

To dare make Elysee depressed…!

I won’t forgive such a worthless bug!

“There are days when I miss Saint-nim’s bizarre jokes and excessive actions that are beyond common sense.”

It seems she misses me a lot. But what exactly do bizarre jokes and excessive actions that are beyond common sense mean?

Anyway, that damn lich keeps adding reasons for him to die.

“Ah, this happened.”

I continued to read the letter.

“During an operation, I heard a strange scream from somewhere, and I wondered if it was Saint-nim, but it turned out that it was the last death throes of a monster that the brothers had slaughtered. For some reason, I found the situation of mistaking it for that so funny that it seems to have remained in my memory.”

No.

What is this?

It wasn’t a pleasant story, but I felt like I could picture Elysee smiling. Still, it would be a good thing if Elysee was happy.

I believe that without a doubt.

But is my scream really like that?

“There was nothing particularly special. That’s why I’m wondering how Saint-nim is doing. I want to hear about your recent situation in person, but this is the best I can do for now. Elysee.”

The letter ended there.

“Oh dear.”

I can picture Elysee in my mind. Yeah. Elysee was living well while believing in the god Ijzermart… it’s a good thing, but it hurts my heart.

“Ha.”

Why does that damn Ijzermart make me so uncomfortable by being fragmented? Of course, Elysee’s efforts are not meaningless. But the fact that the god is fragmented makes me depressed.

I probably won’t tell Elysee about this… I don’t think.

Unlike Elysee, who is still a nun, Kadia is like the head of the order. I told her because she’s someone who should know these things if possible. For Elysee, well… it’s difficult.

That’s it.

I sent the letter for now.
Let’s think about the next thing later.

Thinking that, I headed to the Grand Temple.

* * *

“Kadia. I’m going to the desert soon.”
“…So you’re finally going.”

When I brought it up, Kadia answered while exhaling smoke.

“Of course, I was waiting for Paladin to move.”
“You were waiting?”
“It’s a painful thing, but what can I do? To see that achievement with my own eyes. If you achieve your goal, Paladin will become even stronger than now. This Saintess knows very well how helpful that will be in the future.”

As expected, she knows Kim Katz well.

“This Saintess is a woman who can endure any amount of pain for the sake of the future. Well, besides that, there haven’t been any particular accidents lately, which is even bigger. I’ve just been doing more work within the order.”

Kadia told me about the status of the demons and heretics being dealt with in various parts of the country. It seems they are smoothly catching and killing the demons, but news about the heretics has almost stopped.

It’s the same as what Elysee said.

“It would be a great achievement to have reduced their movements.”
“You still haven’t caught their tail?”
“That’s the situation. That’s why I have very high expectations for Paladin.”

It’s like the World Tree.

“No matter what happens, Paladin will destroy everything.”
“Hehehe, just trust me.”

I think I could win even if all the paladins of the order attacked me.

“That’s what I’m going to do. I’m relieved that you said there’s nothing to entrust to me.”
“Have a good trip.”

Kadia said that, crossed her legs, and leaned back in her chair. Then, she tapped her lips with her finger.

So I went and kissed her on the lips as ordered.

“How long will it take?”
“I’ll have to go and see. I can’t say for sure.”
“Really. You’re a man who goes out a lot.”
“Sorry. Ah, but what’s the recent reaction from the royal family?”
“Hmm… the royal family, you say? They haven’t said anything special since then. It’s all thanks to Paladin solving it well.”

I solved it very well. There’s no way there would be any problems with that. Besides, didn’t I solve the matter of the Sword Master very well too?

I can still picture that auntie looking flustered.

“Here, Kadia. Receive my love.”

Before leaving, I shot my heart ppoom ppoom over Kadia’s head. The white, burning heart that flowed down from my palm collided with Kadia’s head and scattered.

ㅡRustle.

It was like being hit by snow… the way the fallen snow melts.

It’s very beautiful.

I showered Kadia’s head with hearts like someone who is excessively addicted to this kind of behavior.

“Really… you like that heart excessively.”
“Why? It’s good. My power of love. The more lovey-dovey power.”
“Haa.”

Is there anyone who would dislike this?

If I went outside right now and grabbed anyone and did the same thing, they would surely scream like crazy and shout my name.

I am that kind of person.

“I don’t know how pure you are. A grown man. And a peerless superhuman is bothering to create hearts and play with them… the scope of this Saintess’s understanding… it feels like it’s transcending that a little.”
“Kadia is also very unique.”
“Paladin is the unique one!”
“It’s not unique.”

I’m not unique.

“I’m outstanding.”

Unique and outstanding are different.

“A peerless hero. If you’re that kind of person, you should be able to play with hearts like this.”

ㅡPuhwaaaaaaaak!

The result of training.

Even more hearts poured out of my body. The hearts that poured out collided with various places and scattered, becoming brilliant powder.

It was truly the aura of a hero.

“…If Paladin says so, then that’s how it is.”