"Oh, did you make up your mind?"
"Yes, I have made up my mind. I will definitely become a Paladin and go to the battlefield. I'll prove my valor and receive more blessings from God!"
"Because of the 'Full Body Defense', you must be confident."
"Yes, that's it! I have received God's protection. It is also suitable for battle! To protect people and fight against monsters!"
Evan listened to the same thing for the fifth time from Raihan Drukas and poured a drink into his empty glass. Originally, Raihan was drinking from a bottle, but he managed to stop it.
'So it's actually simple to summarize.'
The boy, Raihan Drukas, was originally a child of a noble family in a foreign country. He had been intelligent from a young age and had a lot of mana, but he didn't have the talent of a wizard, so the people around him recommended that he could become a priest.
Priests could sacrifice their magical power to the God and receive divine power in return. Therefore, those who were born with a lot of magical power without the talent of a mage or a wizard usually prepared for becoming priests.
He was sick one day, and the moment he tried to protect others from the monster he had met by chance, the 'Full Body Defense' was bestowed on him.
Raihan, who was able to save the people from the monsters due to the 'Full Body Defense', decided that he would become a Paladin of the 'Full Body Defense' and protect many people in the future! So, his goal was to be a Paladin rather than a priest from the start.
However, in reality, it was not as easy as he had thought it would be. Since he was a man who was intelligent and had a lot of magical power, he was able to successfully complete the priestly class of the Church and be reborn as a priest of the 'Full Body Defense' with enormous divine power. But it soon got difficult after that.
'How couldn't even one of the many weapons fit in his hand?'
Yes. He was desperately untalented in martial arts of all kinds. Up to this point, it was a situation similar to Evan, but Raihan wasn't even talented in fighting.
All the instructors who tried to teach Raihan expressed their surprise. No matter how much he tried, only his stamina and divine power increased day by day, but he could not swing his weapon properly. He soon lost his confidence to grow up as a Paladin.
"Everyone told me to stop dreaming of becoming a Paladin!" Raihan exclaimed. When he had a temper, he was like the sharpest of swords. He had developed such personality after undergoing elite education from the Church, which was renowned for its battles.
At that moment, the drinkers who were around them suddenly fell silent, but Evan smiled kindly and apologized. When he apologized, everyone's hearts melted. It was worthy of a bonus to pour everyone an expensive drink.
"The nobleman kid has such a good personality."
"He's listening to such a cheeky guy drinking alcohol. Was it the Sherden family? Truly blessed they are to have such a child."
"I want him to be my son."
Evan, who had won the hearts of the drinkers, smiled.
Raihan looked back at Evan. Evan's innocent smile was disarming. Raihan cried a little and spoke.
"But I never wanted to quit. The power that 'Full Body Defense' gave me is the power with which I fight to protect others. It is my one true strength. It's not the power with which I can memorize treatment spells or work from the shadows…"
"What kind of power did you say, brother?"
"It is a 'guardian's protection' that only those who have the spirit of sacrifice among the ones who also have the 'Full Body Defense', can receive. A powerful guardian who can't let enemies attack his colleagues and only gets attacked himself. It also applies normally, but when you scream the "sacred cry" that all Holy knights learn, you get stronger."
That skill was definitely God's protection! It was not an ability that could be acquired by training yourself or by raising your dungeon level. You could just get it as a gift from the God because of your luck.
Evan, who was an extra character, had received a lot of gifts himself. But still, he ground his teeth without anyone knowing. His dissatisfaction was not revealed to anyone. An angel was still seemingly sitting in front of Raihan's eyes.
"Wow, it's a perfect ability for a Paladin who really wants to protect people."
"Right? Do you think so too?"
For reference, at first, Raihan knew Evan's identity and used all honorifics, but from the moment he drank more than three bottles, the situation had changed.
He forgot all of them and recognized Evan as just "a boy who listened well."
"But why? Why did the God give me the talent to protect and not the talent to fight? Why should I be treated so pathetically? …Why can't I be a Paladin?"
"…Brother, I have a question for you."
"What is it, Evan? Ask anything."
It seemed that Raihan's sensitivity to Evan had risen considerably because it was a matching story for them so far.
He began to ask Raihan with a soft smile.
"You said when you used your special skill, you protected people from monsters at that time. It isn't a fighting talent, it is a protection talent. So how about you protect people?"
"Uh, that, about that…"
Maybe he wasn't completely drunk yet, but suddenly Raihan's cheeks turned red. His gaze sharpened, and his dark blond hair fluttered wildly. Evan looked at him with a blaze in his eyes.
"That was the moment you, my brother, decided to become a Paladin."
"Well, that is… Right, I don't know. I think I can tell you, but I don't know how I feel myself." Raihan emptied the liquor in the glass at once and spat out his next words very quickly.
"As I said before, the protection did not cover all of my struggles and my goals that I wanted to achieve. It was only the power that was given to me when the monsters were aiming for me. So, after I activated that protection and grabbed the attention of the monsters… I still had to keep running away."
"Continue please." Evan murmured at Raihan's words.
He nodded sadly. "Yes, I kept running. I kept running desperately. Eventually, those people came to their senses, and started to throw boulders and kitchen knives at the monster. They broke their chairs and picked up the pieces and started to beat the monsters with them. Fortunately, their only target was myself until the very end, so I had to keep running."
Tears filled Raihan's eyes. He must have been around 10 years at that time, but looking at him, it seemed like a memory he could never forget.
"That's why I wanted to be a Paladin. In order to somehow gain combat skills and never show such a cowardly appearance again. This is in order to protect people bravely with my own strength."
"… Awesome."
"What is so cool about this? You can laugh openly. It's even ridiculous to say as it's such an ugly scene to just stand there and get beaten."
At Raihan's self-deprecating words, Evan tilted his head. Of course, it was also to convince him… Before that, he didn't really understand.
"What on earth is so funny?"
"Well."
"Did you know that the protection you received was not a wasted skill?"
"Right. Even so, I stepped forward without thinking about anything like a fool…"
"No, my brother. Even though you know that you have no power to fight, you step forward to protect people, right? At that moment, you must have suffered tremendous agony, but nevertheless, you did not stand back."
Evan laughed as he poured alcohol into Raihan's empty glass, the latter feeling stunned at Evan's words.
"Fighting is natural for someone who knows how to fight. However, it takes tremendous courage for someone who doesn't know how to combat to step ahead in front of everyone else. I don't care about any other thing but someone who knows how to protect, I call them heroes." Evan continued.
"Thanks to my brother's desperate running away from the monsters, people were able to escape from death and find the courage to face the monster. But what is funny? Who can laugh at such a scenario? I really don't understand."
"…This is the first time someone has said something to me like this. No one has appreciated my skill in the past." Raihan muttered dumbly. Evan replied with a snort.
"Then they don't even know what true courage is."
Courage came from the desire to do something. Those who have never been desperate would never understand courage. They just laugh cowardly behind the ones actually taking action, criticizing them.
For Evan, the real courage was that he'll live on.
He was determined to sacrifice everything. It could be said that it was the exact opposite of Raihan's values, but that was why he was able to better understand his heart.
"Did those people you save laugh at you?"
"… No. I was crying by then. People were busy soothing me."
"Everyone thanked you, right?"
"I think so. But maybe they also thought I was pathetic."
"No, it would not have been so. And even if those people thought you were pathetic, it doesn't mean that the value of what you did became any lesser. Because my brother saved everyone who was there, wonderfully. And you're more of a genius than any other Paladin."
Raihan fell into silence again. Evan tilted the bottle to pour alcohol into his empty glass, but Raihan reached out and stopped him.
"… I don't need alcohol anymore."
"Are your worries over now?"
"Yeah."
"… You can be a better Holy knight than anyone else. I think so."
"Yes, I've decided now."
For the first time here, he believed that the others were wrong. So far, he had been working hard to come up with the answer, "Yes, I can be a great Paladin!"
Raihan said in a strong voice, drunk as he was. Evan was a bit embarrassed.
"Now it doesn't matter who calls me what. I want to be a guardian. When I heard you, I made up my mind. I don't want to care about what other people think anymore. Now I will focus on only what I want to do. No matter what anyone says, I will be the best guardian."
"Indeed."
It was a change in a better direction, not to be bound by the prejudices of those who looked at others and gossiped, especially for Evan.
"It seems that my brother's heart has hardened now, so I will introduce myself again at this point."
Evan D. Sherden put the bottle down in front of Raihan, looked at him, and straightened his clothes. Just by doing that, the nobility's dignity naturally emanated from him. Even Raihan thought that he was admirable.
"My name is Evan D. Sherden, the second son of the Marquis D. Sherden, who governs the dungeon city of this country."
"… I am Raihan Drukas. Noble Master Evan, thank you very much for what you said today. This gave me the courage to move forward again."
Raihan talked with a polite attitude that didn't seem to belong to one who was drunk with a bottle of alcohol a while ago. It was evident that he used the divine power that constantly stayed in his whole body to get rid of his intoxication at once.
Evan, who faced him, also showed the dignity of a high-ranking aristocrat, so the atmosphere of the two seemed mysterious, and everyone who was watching their conversation held their breath and watched.
'Since he is so good, there must be history behind him.'
It was not that God had given him the ability to protect for nothing. Evan nodded and spoke.
"Because I cannot represent my entire province, when I become an adult, I will create a Dungeon Knights squad that moves only to protect the dungeon city and I will be the Knight Commander. So, I have a suggestion for you, Raihan Drukas."
Evan's purple eyes twinkled. Raihan felt as if his existence was being sucked into them.
"You have the strength to protect others… and even more important than that, I would like to enlist Raihan Drukas, who has the will to protect others, as a member of our knights squad, which will be created in the future. Please join me and protect our city."
Raihan nodded involuntarily at the voice that was seemingly containing a magical power that he dared not refuse. Raihan, who was aware of his misconduct, woke up from his trance and opened his mouth with great spirit.
"It's too much for me to take such a glorious position… However, if you after knowing my lack of ability still recommend me, I would like to comply with that call."
"Welcome then, Raihan Drukas."
Evan laughed loudly. Everyone in the cafe sighed a few breaths of relief at that moment.
"You are now a member of my Dungeon Knights."
This was the moment when Evan had succeeded in hunting the best treasure in the Royal City.