## Chapter 543 – What’s Going On?

I woke up before dawn, left my sleeping wives behind, went down to the first floor, inhumanely imported my combat priest equipment set, and took a thorough shower.

Today, I plan to visit the Brass Celestial Angel Church and have an interview with Saint Kadia and the Paladin. Naturally, I need to look my best. I always try to be neat, but today I paid extra attention.

Just like when I go on a date with my wives.

After finishing my preparations and donning my gear, I headed outside.

The journey to the church was quite complicated.

Since the sun was up, there was a lot of foot traffic. Adventurer parties accompanied by mages, peddlers, squads of soldiers from some lord, and busy city guards or employees from somewhere were all moving about.

They’re suffering a lot in this cold.

Damn it, it feels like the first snow is coming soon.

That goddamn, ball-busting snow…!

Cold and chilling snow is always terrible. To combat such awfulness, I need to refine the true truth of Fusion Confucianism. I steeled my mind in that way, pushing through the crowds and arriving at the church.

“Good morning!”

As soon as I entered, I greeted everyone with a hearty shout, and the churchgoers wandering around the grounds responded warmly.

“Oh! Good morning to you too!”
“Welcome!”
“What brings you here today!”

It’s almost like they’re my colleagues. Even though they’re all crazy and insane, the smiles they give to me and other good people are pure. I exchanged brief pleasantries with familiar faces, explained my purpose for visiting, and went to the reception room to wait.

After a while, the nun who had guided me before opened the door and informed me of Saint Kadia’s instruction to come up to her room. Well, I’ll have to go myself.

I went straight up to Saint Kadia’s room.

“In the future, if you need to see this Saint, just come directly to my room.”

Today, Saint Kadia was wearing her Saint formal attire, which was pure white with brass accents.

It was an outfit that accentuated her figure. She was sitting properly, wearing the proper clothes, and handling some kind of work, so combined with her beauty, she really gave off a saintly aura.

But she’s telling me to come straight up next time?

“Is that alright?”
“It’s faster that way.”
“Understood. Then I’ll come straight to your room from now on.”
“Heh, but if you come at night, it might be quite troublesome.”
“Saintess?”

The Saintess, who had casually dropped a sexual innuendo, put down the pen she was holding, crossed her legs, and folded her arms.

“So, after deliberating for a few days, you’ve finally made up your mind? Let’s hear how positive your answer is.”

She seemed to already assume that I would accept her offer.

Of course, I’m very tempted.

But nothing is more important than hearing the conditions.

It’s already in the past, but I once received an offer to join the Order as a Holy Knight. Needless to say, I refused.

Being a Holy Knight was no different from being in the military.

No matter how glorious the position, my two years of military service were enough.

If the position of Paladin had a similar nuance, it wouldn’t even be worth considering. However, if it was a job similar to what I did in Ordville as a Quasi-Priest, investigating and exterminating demons, then it couldn’t be called the military.

In that case, I need to hear the employment conditions.

Kim Ggat is a cautious man.

“Saintess. Frankly speaking, I don’t think this is a matter to be decided lightly.”
“You’re stating the obvious. Are you still hesitating?”
“Yes. I am hesitating.”

I have no choice but to hesitate.

As I answered, she took out a cigarette and said,

“You’re doing very well. These kinds of issues should be thought about deeply and carefully. There’s plenty of time, so you can take your time to decide. So, you came here today to hear the conditions, I presume.”

That’s exactly right.

“Hehehe, that’s exactly it. As expected, Saintess, you are as all-knowing as you are beautiful. The more beautiful you are, the better your abilities, after all.”
“That’s a pleasant compliment. I wish I could keep you by my side and hear it all the time.”

She smiled with her cold eyes as she gazed at me. Whoever marries this woman will have to compliment her appearance 24 hours a day.

“If the conditions are good, I’ll gladly do it. But before that, I need to hear about the working conditions and such. Oh, and you need to tell me about the church’s hierarchy as well.”

I still don’t know much about this church’s hierarchy.

“Conditions are important. I don’t know for sure, but the position of Paladin is probably not one you can quit just because you suddenly don’t want to do it anymore once you start. So, before I start, I need to clearly know if it’s something I can handle and do properly.”

That’s what I mean.

I need to know everything properly before doing anything.
That’s what an employment contract is all about.

“That’s right. If you start a job caught up in a moment’s emotions, you won’t see a good outcome.”

Saint Kadia nodded at my question.

“Alright. Then I’ll tell you clear conditions that the Quasi-Priest can accept. Of course, as a Quasi-Priest who is not a formal member of the church, I don’t expect you to have the extreme faith that other Holy Knights have.”
“That’s a relief, then.”

Fusion Confucianism is not a religion that fanatically worships one god. I am the subject, and the gods are like older brothers who give me courage.

It’s completely different from the Holy Knights of the Brass Celestial Angel Church, who fanatically worship the god Verde.

“The position of Paladin directly under the Saintess operates under a command system that is differentiated from the Holy Knights of this church. Of course, it’s also separate from the priests and nuns. The command authority rests solely with this Saintess.”
“Does that mean I only have to do what the Saintess tells me to do?”
“That’s right.”

Only one direct superior.

The command authority rests solely with the direct superior. It’s an efficient system with a clean chain of command.

In fact, even though I’m a Quasi-Priest, I’m an outsider.

It would be problematic to just melt into the church. In that sense, being directly under the Saintess is quite good.

It means I won’t have any conflicts with other church members.

The church members in the Isvant branch who worked with me to exterminate demons might be different, but things might be different in the capital. This prevents that.

“I understand. I just have to listen to the Saintess without having to see the faces of other church members. Then there will be almost no issues, right?”
“Hoo, you understand well. I like that. That’s why you’ll be a direct Paladin.”
“Then what are the working conditions like? Frankly, I think I should have rest and personal time, like any other person.”

It’s terrible, but if there’s a set “daily routine” like in the military, I’ll complain here and now. That’s absolutely not allowed. I can’t live ascetically in the church.

“Let me explain it simply.”

At my question, the Saintess threw away the cigarette she was smoking and rested her chin on her hand with her elbow on the armrest of the chair, still with her legs crossed.

“Do you remember when the Quasi-Priest received this Saintess’s orders and went to the city of Ordville to solve the problem?”
“Hehehe, of course I remember. It wasn’t even a few days ago.”

I’d be a goldfish brain if I forgot that.

“It’s the same as that. When this Saintess issues an order, you go to the site, solve the problem, write a report, and return. Of course, if you’re waiting in the capital, you have to come to see this Saintess at a set time every day, but that’s to agree on work-related matters. Other than that, there are no set service regulations.”

In other words, I just have to work “exactly the same” as when I solved the Ordville incident. This was a pretty good condition.

It means my personal time, freedom, and privacy are guaranteed.

“And even if there are no service regulations, I don’t think the Quasi-Priest will do anything ugly that would tarnish the church’s reputation. Don’t you agree?”
“Hehehe, of course. There’s no way I’d do such a thing when I’m sitting in a good position.”

It seems like I can call it a well-conditioned adventurer.

“This is the most important question, Saintess. Is there a lot of work?”
“If you complete one order and return, I won’t issue another order for a few days unless it’s a very urgent situation, of course.”
“Oh!”

Personal maintenance time guaranteed!

Overall, the working conditions seemed very good.

In other words, it’s the same as being an adventurer now. It’s just that Saint Kadia becomes the adventurer’s guild, and there’s the advantage of my status being fixed as a Paladin, giving me various privileges.

“…These are amazing conditions?”

I can only be amazed.

“Of course. But it’s also a position that can be stripped if you fail to complete orders consecutively. Since the Quasi-Priest is coming in from the outside with this Saintess’s authority, if there are no results, dismissal is easy.”
“That’s only natural.”

Even if it’s difficult to quit on my own, I can be dismissed at any time if I don’t meet the Saintess’s standards. That means I always have to do my best, and I always do my best when I work of my own volition.

“So, I just have to keep doing well, right?”
“Do you think that’s as easy as it sounds?”

It’ll be difficult, I guess.

To summarize, being a Paladin has nothing to do with the military, and it’s just being a problem solver who only takes orders from the Saintess.

Honestly, I was going to give up if I had to live like a Holy Knight.

The conditions are good.

But as always, if the conditions are good, the pay is usually low.

“Hehehe, it’s not easy. But it’s not impossible. So, what about the salary and benefits?”

Actually, this is the most important thing.

“If you join as a Paladin, I’ll provide personal accommodation within the church grounds with this Saintess’s authority. Well, if you don’t like it, I’ll support the cost of getting separate accommodation.”

Freedom of residence guaranteed.

“The salary is paid in the form of performance-based pay. When this Saintess issues an order, a partial payment is made in the name of a down payment, and the balance is paid upon returning after completing the mission, depending on the achievement rate that this Saintess had in mind. In other words, if you just do your job well, you won’t have to worry about money.”

There’s no basic monthly salary, but it means I’ll be paid accordingly for completing each job.

It’s really just a larger-scale adventurer.

Not bad.

There won’t be many times when I have to wait anyway. The Saintess said that problems are breaking out all over the world. There’s no chance of work running out. And since I’m working on-site, I can handle the work in my own way. I’m free to rest for a few days when I go there.

“It would be great if you handled it like you handled the demons in Ordville. This Saintess thinks of that as 200%.”
“Hmm…”
“The Brass Celestial Angel Church is one of the largest churches, so it’s financially abundant. This Saintess is the same. Unlike the church members, external personnel are more likely to run away if they don’t like the salary. It seems to this Saintess that the Quasi-Priest is likely to do that too.”
“Rehu?”

After that, I heard about the privileges of being a Paladin. If there’s a Brass Celestial Angel Church at the mission site, I can ask for the requisition of personnel and supplies by selling the Saintess’s name.

It means I can get immediate help from the church if there’s a serious problem. Well, I don’t think the Saintess will send me to a place where there’s a church.

The important thing is that I can also request an interview with the lord, and my identity is guaranteed anywhere within the kingdom. Of course, there are several kingdoms and empires in this other world, and the Brass Celestial Angel Church’s influence is so vast that it extends to other countries.

It will also be easy to go to other countries, she says.
Because I’m a Paladin.

“What do you think, Quasi-Priest? These are pretty good conditions, aren’t they? Of course, these are benefits that are only limited to cases where the Quasi-Priest becomes a Paladin and handles work as perfectly as you do now.”
“If I fail once, I’ll just be abandoned and have to go back?”
“If you disappoint this Saintess.”

Saint Kadia said with her arrogant posture.

“But everyone can make mistakes. It’s understandable, and above all, I don’t think the Quasi-Priest who becomes a Paladin will disappoint this Saintess.”

She took out another cigarette and brushed her hair back once.

I’m grateful that she trusts me.

Of course, if I have such benefits, I will do my best to carry out the mission.

“But you’re not going to overwork me after saying all this, are you?”
“This Saintess is a superhuman, so I can overwork myself without any problems, but I know that’s not the case for other people. You don’t have to worry about that. I can’t let a talented person like you run away.”

My mind was already leaning towards it.

Of course, it’s not the kind of question and answer that I can answer right away. Even if my wives all allow it, I have to discuss it with them again.

I organized the working conditions of the Paladin directly under the Saintess in my head.