The baron was tapped on the shoulder, and he slowly turned his head to the owner of the castle, the baron who was severely sleep-deprived.

"Looks like you're in a bad mood, Baron Rildra. The aristocratic master came out anyway, after all, he didn't want to treat any guest slowly, even if he didn't like this uninvited guest.

"Thank you for your help, I lost a companion. "Lildra didn't want to say too much. "I have deep sympathy for what has happened to you, Baron. I thought, would it be an honor to invite you to a snack? I think they're hungry too. The master gestured to the knights of the Holy City who had finished their training.

The Knights of the Holy City walked over. There were three of them, and their original white robes bore the marks of wind and dust. "This is Baron Owen Lildella from the Pena Valley, the guardian of our Holy City, the Knight of Jean Jacques of the Knights of the Holy City. "The host made presentations for both parties.

Knight Jean Jacques gave a knightly salute. He was an old man who looked respectable, dressed in a well-cut burqa draped over his chain mail, and his lean face pursed solemnly, like the stern but upright teacher of the baron's childhood.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, knight guarding the Holy City. The baron bowed to his chest with his left hand and returned the courtesy, "Out of love for my lord, this time I want to go to the Holy City to join the Knights." ”

Jean Jacques nodded: "Recently, there have been more and more knights who have gone to the Holy City to dedicate themselves to my lord, and if I can, I would like to invite you to join me in the Holy Land, Baron." ”

After a night's rest, the Baron and Knight Jean Jacques set out on their way to the Holy Land.

Perhaps it was the boring journey on the road, or the desire to show off their knowledge in front of the worldly aristocracy, two younger Knights of the Holy City began to discuss the topic of the recent past.

"The pagan scouts have been getting more and more frequent lately, aren't they really going to invade?"

"I heard that before we set out, Duke Clark attacked a heretic caravan. If the infidels really dared to invade, the Knights would definitely give them a heavy blow. ”

"By the way, I heard that you attended the Duke Regent's banquet last time?"

・・・・・・

Listening to the discussion of the two knights behind him getting more and more boring, the baron planned to ask the old knight for some news.

"Are the infidels really going to invade?"

The old knight glared back at the two young knights, but replied, "Everything is arranged by the Father." ”

After more than a day of traveling, the knight and his party finally stepped into the land of the Kingdom of Divine Grace. Along the way, from time to time, the baron could see soldiers under various banners escorting various supplies to the Kingdom of Divine Grace.

It seems that the kingdom of Bamholm still recognizes the dire situation.

"It's not far from St. Enburg, less than a day's away. The old knight spoke, and the long journey did not fatigue him, and after taking a sip of water, he asked the baron, "Have you ever made a pilgrimage before?"

The baron shook his head.

Jean Jacques laughed: "Then you'd better take a look here, my baron, and probably you won't see it again." ”

While the baron was pondering this, the old knight made a farewell gesture--- they still had a task to ----- and they rode away.

The baron stood alone on the side of the road, watching the endless stream of pilgrims, most of them yellow-skinned, barefoot and ragged, but with a devotion in their eyes that would move even the most ruthless inquisitor.

Holy City, Holy City.

The baron did not stop any longer, let go of his horsepower, and galloped in the direction of the crowd.

It's finally here.

The baron, who had not rested all night, squinted his eyes at the majestic Holy Castle.

"What kind of city is that?" the bustling crowd walked past the foot of Mount Assuf, and the river of Cecina flowed quietly. The royal castle overlooks the city, the horses of Assuna, the flowers of Bamholm, the silk fabrics of Carinthia, and in the market you can get everything you want. Of course, St. Dorman's Cathedral, the miracle of God the Father, is our place of worship. ”

------ unknown writer "Chronicle of the Holy Castle"

Entering the Holy Castle, the Baron struggled to squeeze his way through the local population and the crowd of pilgrims, and after asking where the Knights of the Holy City were, he proceeded slowly, the crowd was too crowded.

The regimental headquarters of the Knights of the Holy City, located on a hill, the Knights' Cathedral. After expressing his desire to participate, he was guided by the knight to a room near the church, where a priest and a knight followed by the clerk.

The clerk checked and recorded the baron's documents and the lord's coat of arms and rings, and the priest asked a few questions about religion, and everything went well.

On the training ground, the baron completed the last few tests.

"You've done a great job, you can see you're a good knight. The knight said appreciatively, "According to the rules of the Order, you are already our brother." He gave the baron a hug, "You're lucky to have caught the first ceremony in half a year." There will be a ceremony for you and the rest of the brothers to join the group in the evening, and I look forward to your performance. ”

Before the confused baron could ask, the priest who was waiting impatiently next to him took over: "According to the rules of the regiment, you need to pay the tour fee of five gold coins, by the way, do you want to live better? Use a better quality burqa? By the way, I will arrange a more clever attendant for you? We still have a lot to serve." ”

The baron, who was stunned for a moment, nodded subconsciously, and the priest smiled with relief: "There have been too many poor ghosts recently, and I thought I wouldn't be able to get anything this time." Good thing to have you, good tonight, knight. Before leaving, he even prayed for the generous baron.

Of course, the equivalent exchange, for which the generous adults paid an even more generous gold coin.

The priest didn't lie to him, he was assigned a nice room, it is hard to imagine that the headquarters of the Knights of the Holy City, whose credo is "poverty, poverty alleviation, poverty", would have such a gorgeous room.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

A timid face stretched in: "Lord Lildra, the evening joining ceremony is about to begin." "This is his squire, sixteen-year-old Rurik.

This little guy, with freckles on his face, looks like a teenager who should be studying in school, not a knight squire fighting on the front line.

"Your Excellency, you haven't taken off your armor?" The attendant, who was about to serve the Lord in armor, found that the baron had not removed his heavy armor. Perhaps it was time to prepare some squires for his knights, or it would be a burden for both sides to have the Danes clumsy on their side every time.

Handing the squire his helmet, the baron strode towards the Great Hall.

The auditorium was already full of priests and knights, and recently, there were not a few nobles who had come to the Holy City to join the Order, so they found a place to sit down casually, and the baron in the brand-new knightly robes of the Holy City sat down, and the attendants stood respectfully behind them.

"Why don't you sit?" asked the baron, who had taken a sip of dry wine.

"Only knights can sit there. The boy replied more respectfully, his eyes looking at the knight's sword at the knight's waist.

The baron suddenly realized, and did not dwell on it: "By the way, there is something special about the initiation ceremony?"

"New knights were allowed to volunteer for jousts, and the victorious one was allowed to have his coat of arms attached to his robe and flag. ”