Cathedral of Milano

A sacred and holy place, typically filled with a quiet and pristine atmosphere of prayer and worship towards God.

However, at this moment, instead of the usual reverent ambiance, the only sight was that of paladins rolling on the ground like homeless people wrapped in blankets.

“…Haaa…”

“….”

Paladins gazing blankly at the ceiling with heavy sighs.

Just a few weeks ago, they had been the proud and confident swords of God, safeguarding the church.

But now, there was no trace of that previous pride among the paladins present here.

It had been several months since they had settled in this cathedral.

Yet, despite the significant time that had passed, their situation showed no signs of improvement.

The banishment of Santana a few months back.

Since that day, the lives of the paladins had been completely turned upside down.

Immediately after Santana vanished from the city, they were kicked out of their original lodging and found themselves on the streets, eventually securing refuge in the only place they could rely on—the cathedral.

Of course, there was some backlash from the bishops and priests regarding this. They argued that living in the holy sanctuary of God was disrespectful, despite them being paladins.

However, the paladins countered that if they were going to complain, they should provide new accommodations or at least a place to stay. Eventually, the bishops and priests had no choice but to permit the paladins to reside in the cathedral until suitable housing could be arranged.

Although the cathedral appeared magnificent, it was far from an ideal living space.

Merely sleeping or eating was a chore, with the cold air seeping through the stone floor, and there was little opportunity to wash comfortably.

The longer they stayed, the more they found themselves missing their former lodging.

Yet, the painful changes in the paladins’ lives didn’t end there.

Along with losing their housing, their salaries had been slashed to less than half since Santana’s disappearance.

What the paladins didn’t realize was that a significant portion of their salaries had come from the generous donations made by Santana, who had made substantial profits through various enterprises, allowing them to live comfortably without any shortages.

In this way, the banishment of Santana resulted in decreased investment in the paladins, which automatically led to their meager salaries being further cut.

They lost their homes and had their salaries slashed.

Moreover, since the expulsion of Santana, the residents of Milano looked at the paladins with cold, disdainful eyes.

So here they were, floundering in a horrific situation they had never experienced before.

Among them were two individuals who regretted the current situation the most.

Nune and Tine, the very ones who had spearheaded Santana’s expulsion.

“How are you holding up…?”

“…Haaa.”

With a heavy sigh in response to Nune’s question, Tine gradually turned her head.

The expression on Tine’s face, who had just spoken with Archbishop Maxim, wore a deeper frown than before.

“She said it’s impossible to find new accommodation in the current situation.”

“Damn… Are they really going to keep treating us like this? That Archbishop… how long does she plan to leave us like this?”

After being kicked out of their lodging, the paladins, including Nune and Tine, had demanded strongly from Archbishop Maxim, who was the root cause of this situation.

They insisted that she must somehow secure them a place to live.

The responsibility lay with her for banishing Santana, resulting in their predicament.

In response, the Archbishop acknowledged their plight, promising to work on finding housing quickly, but months passed without any action taken regarding the paladins’ situation.

At that moment, when Tine asked how soon they could expect to have lodging, the Archbishop’s only answer was:

– “I’m busy with many matters right now, so I’ll take care of it slowly when the time is right.” –

In other words, it meant she had no solutions and just wanted them to stay quiet.

Hearing this, Nune and Tine began to feel intense disappointment again regarding the Archbishop.

“You said if we trusted you and followed you, you’d make us live well…”

“It was all a lie. I didn’t trust that woman…”

The two paladins, pitiably sitting on the cathedral steps, were overwhelmed with regrets in their hearts.

While the Archbishop had orchestrated this entire affair and executed Santana’s expulsion, they too had cooperated with her plans and hindered Santana.

“If we hadn’t been so greedy and instead helped Santana, would things have turned out any better?”

“…Surely they would have. Truth be told, it’s easy to say now, but Santana is a kind-hearted person…”

Although they had mentally cursed Santana for a while, thinking of her as the one responsible for their current predicament, upon reflection, it was certainly a situation that warranted her actions.

Betrayed and cast out by their loyal superior and fellow comrades overnight.

To silently endure such treatment would merit nothing less than being called foolish.

Thus, Nune and Tine looked at their surroundings with bitter expressions, regretting their actions.

They saw fellow paladins in miserable attire everywhere around them, while merchants carried on happily, transporting goods and filling their stores as always.

In stark contrast to this visible separation, a deep sense of doubt began to brew within the two.

“It was bearable when Santana was around…”

“How did we end up like this?”

Their salaries had been slashed to a point where sustaining themselves was nearly impossible, and it wasn’t feasible to continue living on the hard stone floor of the cathedral covered with just a blanket.

In reality, although they were called paladins, their situation was not much different from that of low-wage workers.

And all of this stemmed from their own desires and greed.

In a position where they couldn’t blame anyone else, they both let out another deep sigh of despair.

“…I wonder what Santana is doing right now?”

“She’s in Benetsa.”

“…Huh? How do you know that?”

Tine answered immediately to Nune’s offhand remark, filled with a hint of longing, leaving Nune puzzled and she questioned her further.

In a bitter tone, Tine replied, “When I entered Archbishop Maxim’s office earlier, I glimpsed a letter on her desk. It mentioned Santana causing some trouble in Benetsa. I’m not sure of the details.”

“Really?… I see…”

Benetsa wasn’t that far from here, and the route wasn’t too treacherous.

Even though Santana’s group had encountered a storm and faced hardships, if there were no unusual circumstances, it was certainly a distance that could be covered in just a few days.

As soon as she realized this, Nune’s mind began to spin with a sudden thought.

“…Hey Tine… Do you want to go on living like this, or… do you want to take a gamble on everything?”

“…What are you talking about? A gamble? Is there some kind of brilliant plan?”

“…Well, you see…”

Tine expressed her skepticism.

In response, Nune began to whisper a surprisingly useful idea that had occurred to her in the moment into her friend’s ear.

“…What a ridiculously foolish thought.”

“Ah… Is it really bad?”

“…Let’s do it right now.”

With a resolute conclusion reached, the two stood up from their spot and headed into the cathedral.