Paladin

At noon, Evan came out of the church. He put on a black monk's suit over his cloak, and the wide hood could basically cover his elf ears.

But that's all. The paladin's outstanding appearance and figure still make him stand out from the crowd. When walking on the street, he will still be embarrassed to find that his rate of turning heads is still high.

He had asked about the structure of this small town named Emden beforehand, so he walked straight through the winding streets and walked towards the location of the mercenary guild.

Unlike its famous name, the mercenary guild is gradually declining.In fact, almost all occupations in Calando Continent will have a guild. Next to the Mercenary Guild are the Fisherman's Guild, the Carpenter's Guild, and... the Cattlemen's Guild.

The meaning of the existence of these guilds is to gather the power of peers to formulate market rules that suit their professional interests... Of course, the word market is still too early in this era, and people have only just discovered the benefits of being together.

Paladins, of course, do not have guilds. They are one of the core forces of the Holy See, and they can receive a considerable part of their salary. They can be regarded as nobles among the priests.

But Evan's situation...was quite embarrassing. He still wanted to redeem the jade earrings he left with Rose, so he had no choice but to go into the mercenary guild to find some employment tasks.

On the dirty bulletin board, Evan found a mission that suited him, and escorted a convoy from the Cloth Merchant Guild to Moa, the capital city of the province—this was where he thought he could go after discussing with Hewitt.

After going through the relevant formalities, the employer almost immediately agreed to hire him at the price of five silver coins - at this price, meeting a paladin in this kind of place is simply a blessing in heaven, you must know that with the paladin's reputation , everyone knows that they are super high-end combat forces trained by the Holy See, and their moral standards are quite high.They almost only appeared on important missions and behind the cardinal. Even a noble like the earl would rarely bring a paladin with him as protection... and a kind of honor when he traveled.

Even the staff of the mercenary guild felt that this price...was quite cheap.

However, he didn't say anything in the end. The frugality of paladins is also famous all over the world. When they only need five silver coins, even if they have a bottle of dragon's blood... they may only sell for five silver coins.

Evan sold his labor for the next few days for five silver coins, took one silver coin paid in advance by the employer, bought some dry food in his hand, and then went back to the church with the remaining more than 40 copper coins.

He planned to speak to the Shuit ward first, and when the latter was recuperating, he would go back to the unnamed small fishing village to redeem the emerald earrings.

The price of the earrings themselves is around... twenty gold coins.

But Evan really has nothing to do, he only has two pairs of earrings that can be removed. More than 40 copper coins are enough for a family of three to live a good life for a month, and it is more than enough to pay for half a night's accommodation.

The paladin was walking down the street clutching his new-found and soon-to-be-lost purse when he heard a commotion from the bazaar next door.

……

Rose knelt down in front of the shop, with her dry hair messily spread on her body, clutching the withered purse in her hand, and said, "I'm sorry, my lord... I bumped into you, and I accept all your punishments. I only ask Give me back the emerald... Please! Give me back the emerald!"

The businessman sitting in the shop was carefully arranging the emerald earrings on the silk, and then carefully took out a pair of hand-polished magnifying glasses from the small box next to it, and carefully observed the earrings in front of his eyes.

Outside the door, the girl in sackcloth did not dare to step into the most affluent shop in this small town, but dared to kneel at the edge, her face covered with tears and dust, and humbly buried her head on the ground and cried: "My lord! My lord! Please, return the emerald to me, I will not sell it... I will not sell it! The emerald was given to me by a paladin, I should not have taken it out..."

The businessman lightly picked up the earrings, looked at them for a while, and said in admiration: "The ingenious workmanship! And the material of this emerald is already qualified to be inlaid in the crown of Her Majesty the Queen! Who made it into a small A small earring? Look at the exquisite workmanship, maybe it was passed down from the forest elf tribe in the east..."

Gradually, people on the street began to notice the movement here, and several women in robes looked into the store curiously.

The businessman frowned, and finally looked back at Rose and said, "You little fisherman, how could you have jewelry made of jadeite? This is just your illusion. The one in my hand was just bought from Moa this morning. Goods from Chengjin. Well, don’t talk nonsense at the door of my shop, get out quickly, and don’t let me call the militia over.”

Rose raised her head and watched the businessman stuff the jade earrings into her sleeve with tears in her eyes. Immediately, her eyes went dark, and she subconsciously cried: "No, my lord... the jade is my brother's last hope. If you... want this emerald, give me a few silver coins, even one, or... or give me some food, Tim is starving to death! My brother is dying, please look at For the sake of the Supreme and Good God, give me a little food..."

"Why, it turned out to be a rascal begging for food." The businessman sneered, "Get out of here quickly, and prepare to lose money if you disturb my business. I hate a rascal like you the most. I don't have that much money to support you by cheating on food and drink in front of you."

Rose trembled all over, and looked up at him in disbelief, but what met her was a merciless kick.

The businessman kicked the thin girl away from the door, let out a gasp, then snorted at her, and walked back into the shop.

Rose fell to the ground in despair, buried her face in the dust, and finally let out a sad cry.

Until a pair of hands gently helped her up, a familiar voice said, "Don't cry, little girl, hold this for me."

Rose's hand was stuffed with something, and she subconsciously opened her eyes wide, but the tears blurred her eye sockets and kept dripping onto her dusty coat.

The world is a mess.

"Are you... Lord Paladin?"

Evan put the purse in the little girl's hand, patted the dust off her hair, stood up, and walked into the shop.

After the paladin untied his black cloak, revealing the silver-white enchanted plate armor inlaid with crystal blue, he pulled the hood lower, and then shook his head with a smile because of his actions.

After Evan walked in, he said in a deep voice, "Where is the boss here?"

The businessman recognized his accent, which was a pure classical imperial accent, turned around hastily, and took a careful look at him—just one glance, the businessman was suddenly deeply shocked.

——He has a holy emblem on his belt, and a power ring on his hand... This is a paladin!And the armor on him is priceless!This means that his status is also unusual in the Holy See. You must know that the Knights Templar is no longer as good as it used to be...

The merchant immediately trembled in his heart, and quickly came over to greet him with a smile on his face, "Ah, welcome, Your Excellency the Holy Knight. I wonder what you want to see when you come to the shop?"

Evan looked around the store blankly—this is an ordinary furniture store, and the paladin said in a calm voice: "Good day, sir, you can call me Paladin. I'm here to look for an emerald earring, I just heard that you brought in an identical earring from Moa City this morning, and I'm here to ask you for some details."

The merchant's smile gradually froze, he swallowed and said, "Uh, Lord Paladin, why...why are you looking for a small jade earring?"

Evan raised his head slightly, and said solemnly: "A friend of mine lost this important thing, and I was entrusted by her to search for clues. Since this earring may have been illegally taken by thieves or robbers, once If I find the whereabouts, I must notify the Holy See Judicial Team to deal with it.”

—A noble Paladin's friend!A bishop, or another paladin...even a cardinal is a possibility!Stealing the clergy is a felony...it means a person has no reverence for God the Father.

The businessman slowly opened his mouth, and his narrow eyes gradually showed fear and panic. His forehead was dripping with sweat, and he hurriedly took out a small square handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe it off: "Your Excellency Paladin, are you sure you are a thief? She... Ah, I, I did receive an earring this morning, but I... I also feel that the origin is a bit strange, so I am planning to hand it over to the baron."

"Oh, that's good. Please show me this jade earring so that I can check it to see if it is the one that was lost." Evan said calmly.

The businessman gently placed the jade earrings in his sleeves on the silk of the cabinet.

At this moment, the earring has changed from a priceless work of art to a black invitation to the gallows in his heart.

……

A few minutes later, Evan looked at the emerald earrings in his palm, closed his palms, shook his head helplessly and smiled, and walked out of the shop.

He rubbed his face—it was a little numb from sitting on it for too long.

The paladin put on his cloak again, and when he walked back to the street, he saw Rose timidly leaning against a low wall, tightly holding the money bag in his arms.

Evan walked in front of her, knelt down halfway to look at her, and immediately spread his palms, and said gently: "Good day, my friend, is this earring the one you lost?"

She nodded vigorously.

The little girl looked at Evan, and tears slowly accumulated in her red and swollen eyes: "Your Excellency Paladin..."

Evan was a little overwhelmed, carefully touched the top of her messy head, and whispered: "Hey, don't cry... I'm here to exchange the earrings with you. My purse is all yours."

Rose sniffed, and suddenly threw herself into the arms of the paladin: "Master Paladin...please save Tim...help my brother, he is about to starve to death..."