A Crusader with System in the Middle Ages

"Young Priest, I offer my respects to your noble cause and my Devotion to the merciful Lord."

The man wore a hood, obscuring his face. Theo simply took him for an ordinary wandering Cultivator or a devout pilgrim.

However, Theo would not be any less courteous or poised because of it.

After all, fawning over the powerful and scorning the poor were not traits of an outstanding Knight.

"May God protect you." Eric bowed slightly to Theo in response.

Theo nodded and prepared to walk around Eric to help up his Warhorse, but Eric didn’t give him the chance, extending a hand to block his path.

"Where are you going, Knight?" Eric asked, beating Theo to the question.

"To do what a Knight must do. Everyone should fulfill the duties that come with their Identity. Just as Priests and pilgrims should be paying homage to God, not getting in a Knight’s way on the battlefield.

"Of course, if you intend to spread tales of a warrior’s heroic deeds and sublime honor, then that would be an exception." Theo grew excited as he spoke of spreading such tales.

"An exception?"

"Yes, because right before you stands a laurel-crowned Knight who is about to be bathed in the glory of triumph."

Theo seemed to realize something. He then turned, grabbed Eric’s hand, but quickly let go.

Eric then found five Silver Coins in his hand.

"Although, before I’m bathed in glory, there’s still a tiny, insignificant hiccup. By the way, my name is Theo de Raine. My uncle is the Baron of Surrey. If all goes as expected, I will be his sole heir."

Theo held two fingers a tiny distance apart for Eric to see.

"A starting price of mere silver pence won’t do. It has to be at least one pound."

Eric’s teasing words angered Theo slightly. It was the first time anyone had so openly named a price to him.

Chuckling lightly, he then took off his hood, revealing his face.

A flash of familiarity surged through Theo’s mind.

"You... you, you... wait, I think I’ve seen you somewhere before?" Theo squeezed his eyes shut, tapping his Helmet with a finger, trying hard to remember.

Watching Theo, Eric chuckled, crossed his arms, and began to recite some unknown lines:

"Behold, beyond this village, there are other villages; beyond this Monastery, there are other Monasteries; beyond this castle, there are other castles.

"Upon these castles of stone are superimposed castles of thought; upon these houses of wood are superimposed houses of opinion. In every such castle and house, life imprisons the madman within its walls, yet opens an escape for the wise..."

Eric’s words seemed to open the floodgates of Theo’s memory. Theo opened his eyes, looked at Eric again, and also began to recite some unknown lines, his style elegant, but no longer piling on pointless embellishments as before.

"On the other side of the Alps is Italy. On the other side of the Pyrenees Mountains is Spain. On one side is the homeland of Benedict, on the other, the realm of Avicenna.

"Farther still is the sea, and on the other side of the sea, at the edge of other vast lands, are Arabia, Moria, India...

"Everywhere there are valleys where herbs grow, rocks that hide Metal, and every Metal symbolizes a moment of the Great Work’s completion; everywhere there are indecipherable sacred texts placed between the teeth of the dead, and spirits promising all manner of boons..."

Hearing Theo’s response, Eric slowly walked forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Even among the teeming masses, every single person believes they are the center of the world."

"Eric. Long time no see."

"Long time no see, Theo."

"Please, use my full name. Theo de Vire."

"Alright, Theo."

"You rascal... Anyway, what are you doing here? The year before last, I visited your uncle, Ambel, and he said you’d gone to a Monastery in England?"

"The fate of a second son." Eric sighed softly.

"Yeah, just like me ten years ago. But like you told me back then, ’God does not ordain everything.’ And look at me now, I’m my uncle’s heir."

"Luck is just a seasoning; not everyone is as blessed as you. I remember you once said you’d rather be a Minstrel than a Knight."

"Who’s to blame but the guy who wrote so many knight novels for me? The world of Minstrels is well-served with you in it; I could never write such perfect sentences in my lifetime. Afterward, I started to think that perhaps it’s more interesting to be the hero of the tales than the teller.

"I’m twenty years old now. In another fifteen years, we’ll see if I’m lucky enough to be as famous as Alexander. In another thirty, people will know if I can measure up to the bygone Caesar."

Theo’s hand rested on the Longsword at his waist. He backed away slowly, though his tone remained light.

"Theo, listen to me... You have better options..."

"Eric, my friend, my dearest friend, my brother. In those bleak years of my life, meeting you was God’s greatest mercy to me.

"It was you who taught me ’the world is so much vaster than I imagined.’ It was you who told me ’why we have become so wretched.’ It was you who showed me ’how a person ought to live,’ saving me from wasting my life away in that decrepit Monastery.

"I was the first reader for every one of your knight novels. If a Knight had to abandon all virtues but one, the one to keep would be loyalty. That is my answer.

"You should respect me, Eric." Theo’s gaze was incredibly firm.

"You’ve gotten sharper."

"Because you, Eric, never bother to hide things in front of me. As your friend, perhaps I should be pleased by your trust."

When he had gotten close to Eric just now, Theo had seen the Chain Armor under his Monastic Robe.

"But as a Knight, I’m starting to hate that about you. It’s a form of contempt, isn’t it?"

"You can’t beat me, Theo. I don’t think friends need to be at each other’s throats."

Eric spread his hands and quickly closed the distance to Theo.

"Besides, I know what you’re planning to do. But I’m telling you, the outcome is already decided. Your Infantry heard the Knights were defeated, and they’ve already turned tail and fled."

"We have not been defeated."

"Does it matter? People don’t always need the truth. What’s important is that they don’t want to get mixed up in this war of the Normans, and they don’t want to shed blood for the Normans."

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