As the soldiers on guard duty were doing thorough inspections, it took quite a bit of time for Alex and Ethan's turn.
Alex didn't know anything about the place, so he didn't want to stand out and didn't want to cause a ruckus.
He asked Ethan if they could cut the line and go straight in with their privilege of being members of the church, but it turned out that they didn't have such a privilege.
"Err… as I said your holiness, the church is not really in good condition nowadays; we can't create a commotion here or we might get into trouble…"
Alex was not the type to fuss over such small details, so he didn't mind standing in line.
He sat on horseback comfortably as he watched everything around him with curiosity.
'It seems that the city of Ilma has a lot of traders and caravans coming in and out regularly; otherwise there won't be this much crowd here…'
Thankfully the weather was good.
It was neither too warm nor too cold; it was just perfect, and thus Alex didn't need to worry about standing in the line under intense sunlight.
'Ah~ this reminds me of my school days when we used to stand in the ground for prayer under intense sunlight…'
'I remember I even fainted once due to dehydration…' (Friendly advice: No particular schools were targeted in the making of this chapter.)
By the time Alex and Ethan's turn came, the sun was already starting to set, and it was already evening.
Throughout the day, Alex kept asking questions, but Ethan never grew impatient and answered his questions with his calm and gentle tone.
Alex was truly impressed by Ethan's amazing patience and calm attitude.
The soldier guards seemed to know Ethan, and they immediately saluted him the moment they saw him.
"Oh! Sir Ethan! You are back from your mission? Welcome back!"
Ethan nodded his head at the guards and introduced Alex to them.
"This is His Holiness Alexander, the chosen saint of the Church of the god of wisdom!"
Ethan didn't mention Alex's full name or his identity as a prince, as he didn't want to create a commotion in the area by saying that out loud in public.
The royal family is admired by many, and it will create chaos in the city if everyone finds out about Alex.
It would be better to reveal the information after Alex is safe and secure inside the church so no harm comes his way.
'Hoh, although he's an airhead, he's still quite good at times when he needs to be… if he wasn't a paladin, I would have taken him as my direct subordinate and my personal knight…'
Alex shook his head at the thought.
Paladins are bound to the church with an oath, and their loyalty is to their god, and no one else can order them around.
Even Ethan only went on the mission to bring Alex to the church because it was an oracle of their god!
'Talking about the oracle of god… is the god of wisdom the one who's responsible for transmigrating me into this world?'
'I have read my fair share of novels and most of the time this kind of situation turns out to be a work of some powerful entity…'
Alex smiled at the guard as a greeting while thinking in his head,
'If it is true that the god of wisdom brought me here, then what could be his motive?'
'Don't tell me he wants me to spread his faith and help him out as a real saint because his faith is collapsing?'
Ethan chatted with the guardsmen for a while before leading the horse inside.
'Sigh… I just don't want to be a pawn used by someone… I would rather be the player of this chessboard…'
'I need to investigate things further in details in the future…'
Alex was not the type of person who would be controlled by someone; he even died defying the major companies in his previous world. There's no way his rebellious spirit will be broken so easily!
After they easily passed through the city gates, Alex asked Ethan in a doubtful tone,
"You already knew them, so why not go straight in and cut the line?"
Hearing that question, Ethan replied,
"I do know them… in fact, quite a few of those soldiers were trained by me personally…"
"I taught them the meaning of discipline and the honour of a warrior; if I myself break it and try to demand higher treatment than others, I will leave a bad impression on my students…"
"Forgive me for my selfishness your holiness, but I want to show that the paladins of the church of wisdom are wise and knowledgeable warriors who treat everyone equally…"
Alex nodded his head at those words.
"Hoh, you are surprisingly thoughtful… I took you for a complete airhead before; my bad…"
'Hoh, little Ethan, you are quite bold… you told me your biggest weakness without hesitating… you are really quite naïve…'
In Alex's opinion, manipulating a person using their ideologies and emotions is the easiest way to defeat them.
By revealing his deeper thoughts to Alex, Ethan has exposed his major weakness to him.
'He's very concerned about his image, concerned about his students and follows the moral code of a warrior strictly…'
'Little Ethan, you better not betray me in the future… or hehehe…'
Alex smiled at Ethan and spoke.
"Well, your thoughts are quite commendable; I wonder what the place like where someone like you grew up…"
Ethan was happy hearing Alex's words of praise.
"Yes! The church of wisdom is really a wonderful place; I am sure you will like it a lot, your holiness!"
Ethan led the horse with a happy smile on his face, and Alex looked at the surroundings with curiosity.
Right after passing the main city gates, there was a massive open area and training ground where hundreds of young men were training continuously.
Some were training with swords, some were practicing archery, and some were sparring with each other with solemn looks on their faces.
Most of them were young men around the age of 20; the rest were older men who seemed like instructors, and they were training the young soldiers.
Alex's eyes shined watching so many good-looking swords and various kinds of weapons.
Every man around the world has at least once dreamed of having a sword and going to battle like a hero.
Seeing such fine swords made Alex feel excited, but he kept his facial expressions calm and didn't let his excitement show on his face.
'If have a chance, I will try to learn swordsmanship or some other weapon in the future!'
'But I prefer guns more though… well, until I find a gun, I will have to make do with a sword…'