Paradigm Parasite

I - José, a holy knight apprentice - watched as people from all walks of life busily came and went.

The season has finally begun to sound like spring.

The bitter cold has eased and recently there has been a slightly warmer breeze.

All around us, broken buildings and their repair or demolition work are taking place here and there.

At first I was puzzled, but as time went by I got used to it.

We are now in Nordia, the capital of the territory of Aldia.

It is located far away from the Medream territory where we usually stay.

The reason why we are in this place is because of a certain incident that led to the cathedral knight Christella, whom I have been taking care of, being given a certain holy mission.

The content of the mission is to investigate a mysterious black cloud that has been spotted covering Oldia, but it seems that Gnosis knew the true nature of the black cloud, so, um... nominally? The purpose of the investigation is to investigate the black cloud, but the exact purpose is to defeat the demon causing the black cloud,.......

However, it seems that the demons that can create the black cloud are all very strong, and it is difficult for ordinary Holy Knights to deal with them, so they called on Christella, who is very strong even among the Holy Knights.

However, the demons that would appear were said to be very strong, so Christella-sama was to lead an army to Oldia!

In Gnosis, this is called the "Reconquista for the Holy Land", a holy march to reclaim the stolen land.

A whopping 2,000 people gathered under the banner of Master Cristela to head for Oldia!

In addition to this, other Cathedral Knights with similar holy duties also gathered, and the final result was a tremendously large army!

Amazing!

And then - what was waiting for us when we finally reached Oldia?

At that moment, I received a shock on the back of my head and I fell forward with all my might.

"Oi, that hurt!"

When I turned around, I saw my colleague Sarisa shaking her fist.

"José... you. I told you to write a report to send to Medrym, so why does it have to sound like a theatre stunt?"

"Huh? But you told me to write it down as it happened..."

"...... I did say that. Yes, I did. But there are too many superfluous descriptions! And what do you mean by 'after the fact'? This is a report!"

Sarisa tapped the stack of papers I had written on and said so.

What? I tried my best in my own way... but I wonder if it's that bad...

"Huh... Well, that's okay. I'll take a good look at it later, so let's finish it together. But that's not important, the regular meeting is about to start, so let's go."

"Eh? What? It's that time already?"

Watch out! There was an important meeting where the Knights of the Cathedral gathered to discuss the matter!

I completely forgot about the report! Thank you for coming to tell me, Sarisa!

After all, Sarisa is my best friend!

"... what a careless little girl you are."

Sarisa started to walk away, sounding exasperated, and I hurried after her.

"Let us now begin today's regular meeting. I, the Cathedral Knight Christella Albertine Marguerite, will chair the meeting, and my squire, Sarisa Ede Noeria, will take the proceedings."

When Lady Cristela said this, everyone present nodded their heads in agreement.

The conference room has a huge round table in the centre and chairs lined up around it, on which each participant sits.

Incidentally, I'm diagonally behind Christella, in a position to act as a shield in case of emergency.

...Although I feel like this is unnecessary.

The location is the Gnosis Theological Academy, where we are currently based and doing various things.

The building itself is half destroyed, so they are in the middle of rebuilding, and it will be next year or so before they can get back to normal...

"First of all, please check the status of the reconstruction of the city, Zenaid Cathedral Knight."

"Yes."

The one who stood up saying that was a beautiful woman with bluish hair cut at the shoulder, and she was the Zenaid Shuzon Yurshul Cathedral Knight.

Armour of a slightly paler shade than her hair, and a thin sword with a gorgeous design on her waist.

Lady Cristela is an amazing beauty, but she is also amazing.

She used to be the daughter of a lord somewhere, and I guess people of high status tend to be beautiful women!

"Currently, we are continuing to repair and organise damaged houses, but as I reported last time, we are overwhelmingly short of staff. And as for the increase in staff that we have applied for..."

Cristela-sama takes one look at Sarisa.

When she saw that she gave a small nod, she turned to Xenaide.

"I have already been informed of this, and as soon as they are ready, they will be sent out one by one."

Hearing this, Master Xenaide looked relieved.

"Thank you. Depending on the number of people, we will be on track to remove and dismantle the damaged buildings by the end of the year. But it will still take a while to rebuild and repair--"

Afterwards, once we had talked about all the progress, Master Xenaide sat down.

Cristela nodded broadly and moved on to the next topic.

"Next, then, on the matter of the inhabitants, Cathedral Knight Marslan, please."

"Yes."

A man with chestnut hair who stands up, his face slightly childish and his kindly expression slightly tired.

Marslan Louis Ludovic Cathedral Knight.

He is an admirable man who was described as a genius, having risen to the rank of cathedral knight at the young age of a teenager.

"The other day, all the temporary housing was prepared for all the people, and we have been able to dispel some of their fears by giving them jobs and wages. However, there are no complaints from the elderly, disabled and other people who are not in the labour force, but they are worried that their support will be cut off."

He reported without hesitation, but his face was slightly red and I could tell he was nervous.

I feel somewhat close to him because I've been there too!

We are colleagues, aren't we?

"I understand. The Adventurers' Guild is scheduled to be rebuilt in the near future, so let's talk about what we can do in relation to that and whether there are any tasks that can be assigned to us."

"Thank you!"

Marslan Cathedral Knight said this in a slightly hoarse voice and took his seat.

After looking at him with a slight smile, Christella-sama turns her attention to the next cathedral knight.

"Now, the status of the supplies accumulation, Cathedral Knight Gregor, please."

"Yes!"

A man in full armour with a craggy face like a rock stood up after saying that.

Gregor Domingo Grondan, Cathedral Knight.

He was wounded during his last Holy Service, but I heard that he rushed here when he found out about the events here!

...He is a true example of a holy knight!

He has a lot of experience and is a fine example for all of us.

I must learn from him!

"As for the transport of supplies, we are sending out building materials, food and other daily necessities one after another. ... but the situation is the same as Lady Zenaide's, we are short of manpower. Since it is difficult for us to cover our own needs alone, we are thinking of hiring adventurers to escort the transport, but we would like your thoughts on this."

"No, there is no need to think about it. I'm going to tell the Marslan Cathedral Knights about the matter after this, so I'll take this matter to the Adventurers' Guild as well."

"Oh, thank you. I'm going to take this matter to the Adventurers' Guild as well! Thank you, Lady Cristela."

"No, I apologise for not being considerate enough. It's a bad idea to try to clean up the situation with only the supplies and personnel in Gnosis...''

Lady Cristela smiles a self-deprecating, powerless smile.

"No, no. It's the same for us. We came up with the idea only after we had run out of leeway, so I can't speak for others!"

Cathedral Knight Gregor laughs boldly.

Perhaps caught up in this, the others chuckled.

I also smile a little.

"Thank you. I am very encouraged that you have joined us. Now, last but not least, please give us a report on the underground ruins. Cathedral Knight of Hermann."

"Aiyo."

The person who stood up was kind of like an ordinary uncle.

He has a look of fatigue on his face without much high spirits, and it is no wonder why his fine yellow-green armour looks so shabby.

Herman Abecassis Cathedral Knight.

He is a skilled cathedral knight who was selected as a cathedral knight in his late thirties.

He has more experience than Gregor...

I don't know much about him because I haven't heard much about him!

"I've had a look around and got an idea of the structure and whatnot, as I reported last time. There's probably no hidden passageway leaks. I'm having my people draw up a detailed floor plan and report, so I should be able to submit it to you within a few days."

Hearing this, Christella-sama let out a small breath.

"So, for the time being, I guess you can say that the ruins are done."

"Ah. The first thing I heard was that it was completely different from what I had heard at first. Void is supposed to be in charge of this place, right? There's no reason why he wouldn't have noticed it..."

Master Hermann let out a sigh.

The others' expressions grew heavy when they heard the name 'Void'.

"Where is that Void Cathedral Knight?"

"We're trying to find him, but it's not looking good. There's no sign of him leaving here in the first place. I spoke to a survivor of the town who said he was out of town on holy orders and was represented by Temple Knight Heretilt. The movements of the Holy Knights around here should be reported to Willied... or else to the Royal Capital, right?"

When asked by Cathedral Knight Hermann, Cristela shakes her head emphatically.

"At least not here. We've made enquiries in Royal Capital, but they haven't heard any reports of it."

"I'm sorry! May I ask a question!"

The one who raised his hand and interrupted their conversation was Gregor, Cathedral Knight.

Lady Cristela turned to him with a slightly stunned expression on her face.

"Yes, sir. What is it, Cathedral Knight Gregor?"

"I'm new here, so I don't understand what's going on. I know that when you say ruins, you mean the ancient ruins that used to be here, but I don't know the details. I would like an explanation, even if it is brief!"

"Yes, that's right. I'll explain it to you as well as sort it out."

Cristela-sama began to talk about the ruins.