## Chapter 727 – Paladin Kim Kat

ㅡHwaaaaaaa!

A sea of tears erupted, making it impossible to proceed with the funeral properly. I wept endlessly with the paladins. Even the Pope and the Saintess seemed unsure of what to do in this situation, glancing around helplessly.

After crying for a while, some of the more composed members of the clergy began to take charge and manage the situation, bringing the funeral to an end.

Thus, the deceased would now rest happily by the side of the Verdian God.

His legacy lived on, and his Sacred Angel Armor, which he used in life rather than the equipment he wore for missions, would be carefully repaired and passed down to his juniors.

A paladin does not die.
He lives on in our hearts.

Because of today’s events, the clergy would become even more resilient and serve the order more fanatically to avenge their brother’s death.

“Keuheueuk!!”
“Heueuk! Heueuk…!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!!!”

ㅡThump thump!

The paladins pounded the ground with their fists, wailing loudly. The funeral was over, but wasn’t the crying part of the funeral too? Like how a picnic isn’t over until you get home.

Those left behind needed to vent their emotions and shake off their sorrowful feelings.

Those who do not cry.
ㅡWill eventually break down.

“…Kui kui.”

We had to shake off the sadness.

“Stop crying and get up. What kind of paladin keeps crying like this?”

Just then, the Saintess approached.

“S, Saintess…!”

I took off my gauntlet and wiped away the tears with a handkerchief I had kept in my pocket.

“You spoke better than I expected. To make such strong and steadfast members of the clergy cry like that.”
“…I simply spoke my honest feelings.”

I didn’t make them cry.
They cried on their own.

I simply told them not to suppress their sadness.

“The clergy must have been thinking the same way as me, which is why they couldn’t hold back their tears. Isn’t a funeral a place for people to cry anyway?”
“…I suppose so.”

ㅡHoo.

The Saintess walked towards the audience chamber, smoking as usual. I put away my handkerchief and followed her.

“It’s almost time for dinner.”

As we walked, the Saintess spoke.

“Eat with the clergy before you leave.”
“…Understood.”

I should eat before leaving.

“There’s some time left, so you can wait in my audience chamber. It would be good to compose yourself. I didn’t realize the Paladin’s heart was so tender.”
“I told you, I’m as delicate as glass.”
“Heh, do people usually say that about themselves?”

That’s rich coming from a woman with terminal princess syndrome.
I smiled back and replied.

“Hehehe, isn’t it the same for you, Saintess?”
“I suppose so.”

As soon as we arrived at the audience chamber, I went into the attached bathroom to wash my face briefly. The Saintess said she had a little more work to do.

I sat alone for a while, waiting for dinner time.

* * *

Dinner time.

The Great Temple’s dining hall had transformed into a bizarre space filled with sorrow.

The tear-soaked meal was not much different from what I had eaten at the paladin training camp last time. A delicious-looking stew and grilled meat were the main dishes.

But no one could eat it with pleasure.

“Keuheuk…!”
“Heueuk!”

Meat soaked in tears.

The clergy sobbed as they shoved food into their mouths. I naturally took a seat and ate my rice with the cooked meat, adding hot tears as a side dish.

Sadness was not a good spice.
It killed the appetite.

It doesn’t go well with any dish.

Tear Food cannot be enjoyable.

“Paladin…! You were right!”
“Thank you so much…! Thank you for recovering my brother’s belongings!”
“Your speech moved my heart!”

I ate while receiving words from the clergy. They all came up to me and greeted me, as if they were truly grateful to me.

“The gratitude is all mine! I too have inherited the spirit of the paladin…!!!”

I also expressed my gratitude to them.

“Keuheuk…! Heueuk!! I’m so sad!!”
“We can’t see him in this world again!!”
“Heueuk! This farewell is so painful!!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!!!”

How can I eat with all this sadness?

“Paladin…! You are also our brother…!”

Just then, an old paladin approached and grabbed my shoulder. His abundant white beard was already soaked like a wet towel.

“A, am I also a brother!!!”
“Of course!”

I’m a brother!

“Here, Paladin Kim Kat, the Saintess’s direct paladin, is our brother! Does anyone disagree!”
“No!”
“No way!”
“He’s our brother!”
“He brought back our brother’s belongings and mourned for him! So he’s our brother!”

I was recognized as a brother!

“Hwaaaaaaa!”

I was on the verge of becoming a mummy from crying so much…! At this moment, I was truly accepted by the clergy! What was Andromalius anyway! It might have been a sign of liking me, but it didn’t make me a brother!

But now!

I had become a true brother, a true bro!

“Paladin…!”
“I was really, really sad!”
“Us too!”

Just then, my three disciples approached.
Anderson and Harmat. And Ewald.

“So you guys were here too!!”

The new paladins assigned to the Great Temple…!

“Yes!”
“Of course!”
“We shared the sorrow too!”

I hugged my disciples tightly and burst with joy. Just as spring comes after winter, joy must come after sorrow. Only then did the tears of sorrow turn into warm tears.

We ate the tear food, which had changed in flavor.

* * *

“Oh my, Kat? Your eyes…”

When I returned home, Claudia rushed over as soon as she saw me. Was it because my face was so swollen? She looked extremely worried.

“Why are you so swollen? You said you were going to a funeral, did you come back crying?”
“I went and really bawled my eyes out…”
“Hehehe, really. You’re so soft-hearted. Are you okay now?”
“Yeah… I cried as much as I needed to, so I’m okay now. Thanks.”

I immediately buried my face in her breasts to calm myself down. The unique fragrant scent of a half-elf had a calming effect.

ㅡPat pat.

Claudia hugged me and patted my back.

“Aww, did my little soot cry?”
“I won’t cry anymore.”
“What did you do to cry that much?”

Winia and Karin also came over to check my face.

“If you look closely, you seem to have a really rich sensibility. Are you really okay?”
“I’m okay, that’s why I walked all the way home. Ah, Liz unni.”
“Yes?”

Now that I’ve calmed down, I need to move my body.

“I think I need to move my body a bit, let’s go out to the backyard together.”
“No, you’re not calling me, just Liz?”
“The sword practice will come later. First, I want to do that thing you do with your hands. We usually start with bare-handed training and then move on to swordsmanship.”
“Well, if that’s the case.”

I was about to go to the backyard with Liz unni.
Let’s do this before the sword practice.

“Ah, just a moment. I’ll go change.”

I went out first, and soon Liz unni came out in a cheongsam. You could have worn something comfortable, but she’s being serious.

“Did you really need to change?”
“It feels different, you know, the feeling.”
“Hehehe, is that so?”

First, I brought a suitable piece of wood, a wooden board, or a pile of scrap metal from the backyard.

“That thing you did to the manticore’s belly, you said you taught me that, right?”
“That’s right. It feels like adjusting the impact a bit from that state. Why, do you want to do that?”
“Of course, I want to do it.”
“Hmm…”

She picked up the piece of wood I brought and fiddled with it, then ㅡpoong! She exploded it in an instant without any special movements. That’s the level I want to reach.

Instantly channeling inner force to explode the inside.

“Here, could you fill this water container? I’ll show you.”
“Okay!”

I immediately filled the wooden water container that was in the backyard as she instructed.

“You can only learn by watching, so watch carefully.”

Liz unni stood in front of the water container and took a stance, then shot her fist towards the water container.

“Hap!”

With that unni’s fist, she could easily turn this water container into powder with just brute force without any special technique.

ㅡPoong!

But she didn’t do that. She lowered her strength and used a technique to show me what I wanted.

ㅡGurgle!

The part of the water container that Liz unni hit was fine, but the back of the water container was completely shattered, spilling water. I could see it clearly because I was standing a little away. Literally, as soon as Liz unni hit it, the back, not the point of impact, exploded.

It felt like hitting the stomach, but the stomach was fine and the back exploded.

“It feels like this, but you probably won’t understand just by watching. You can’t even use it properly with your hands yet, right? So let’s practice that first.”
“Hmm…”
“You can only do this by spending a lot of time. You know? There’s nothing better than training every day. Of course, actual combat is the best, but you need a foundation to improve your skills through actual combat.”

That’s the truth.

“Well, you can already do it with your feet, Kat… You’ll be able to use it soon. I’ll teach you the advanced course from then on. Anyway, practice, practice.”

Liz unni reached out and touched my head.

“Yeah, I will.”

I immediately picked up a piece of wood and started practicing channeling inner force to explode it. It’s not as easy as I thought. I can do it somehow, but the inner force I’m channeling scatters and becomes like fist energy.

It works well with my feet though.

Anyway, let’s focus on self-improvement until the next task.

* * *

Even though there was a funeral, the living had their own work to do.

From the next day, the Great Temple’s work returned to normal. The sorrow was all vented yesterday. From today, we had to act as guardians of justice again. The gloomy atmosphere of the Great Temple disappeared, and the usual bright atmosphere returned.

“Nice to see you!”
“Nice to see you too!”

As soon as I entered the Great Temple’s grounds, I greeted the clergy walking around with a smile.

“Hehehe, good morning!”

The psychological distance had become quite close due to yesterday’s events. Aren’t we true brothers now?

Although I am not a Verdian God but a Heavenly Demon who believes in Fusion Confucianism, the Brass Sacred Angel Society and I were already sworn siblings from the deepest part of our hearts.

This must be the way people live.
I had now completely melted into the church.

When I think about it, I’ve done a lot of things so far. I killed Andromalius, worked as a training camp instructor here, apprehended heretics, and completed the recovery of the deceased’s belongings.

I can just say I’m a paladin.

As I greeted them, I entered the Saintess’s audience chamber.

“The tear evangelist paladin has arrived.”

As soon as I entered, the Saintess greeted me like that.

“What a bizarre title.”
“Did you compose yourself well yesterday?”
“As you can see, I’ve sorted it out well.”
“That’s a relief.”
“What about you, Saintess?”
“Me?”

Although she looks cold, the Saintess is also human.
She must be sad too.

“It’s not like this is the first time something like this has happened, and although it’s unfortunate, I don’t keep it in my heart for long. If you’re worried, you don’t have to be.”
“You are strong as ever.”

Actually, it’s not my business to worry.
It’s not like a sparrow is worrying about an eagle.

“Anyway, shouldn’t we get back to our daily lives now? I came back to see if there was anything to do.”
“Heh, you’re diligent as ever. That’s why I can’t help but trust the paladin.”

ㅡCreak.

As she said that, the Saintess took out several documents from her drawer.

“Several?”
“Let’s change the policy a bit. From now on, instead of me choosing one for you, the paladin can choose one from several directives.”
“Is that so?”

Previously, the Saintess would choose one troublesome task and pass it on to me. But now, it seems I can choose one from several directives.

“Is there a reason for the change?”
“If you’re given these choices, wouldn’t the paladin quickly handle the things they’re most confident in? It’s for efficiency. It’s not even noticeable if we handle them one by one, so I’m leaving the judgment to the paladin. Of course, if something urgent comes up, I’ll issue a directive as before.”

It’s not a bad story.

“It’s true that efficiency will increase if I quickly handle the things I’m confident in.”