When Numa opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the back of a man, dressed in white from head to toe. He then realized that he was lying on a stretcher, carried by two men in whites.
Numa may not be familiar with the military world just yet, but even a village boy like him knew about the Paladins. They were healers and priests sent by the Arkhain Empire's Church of the Fivefold Light to help those who were injured on the battlefields. The true practitioners of the Pentarch Faith.
"Where are you taking me?" asked Numa.
"To the medic camp," answered the Paladin in front of him, without looking back at Numa.
"I'm fine. I just need a little rest. That's all."
"That is not for you to decide, soldier," said the Paladin without a hint of hesitation in his voice. "We receive orders to bring any injured soldiers to the camp, and even a blind person can see that you are injured."
"I see. I understand. Thank you very much."
"Don't worry about it. It's our job," replied the Paladin. "Ok, here we are."
They arrived at the Medic Camp. As the name suggested, it was nothing more than a big tent with rows upon rows of beds, most of which had already been occupied by injured soldiers. The stench of blood and medicine filled the air. A combination that was foreign and quite displeasing to Numa's nose.
The two Paladins proceeded to help him get out of his broken armor and examined his body. After that, they talked to an older man who seemed to be their superior. He wore a white robe with a thin blue scarf wrapped around his neck. The man looked at Numa for a second and then approached his bed.
"Hello, young man. My name is Sir Caen, a Paladin of the Fivefold," said the man, while smiling gently at Numa.
"Hello, sir. I'm Numa. I already said to the two Paladins from earlier that I'm fine. But they insisted that I should visit the Medic Camp first," explained Numa.
"It's true that they couldn't see any external wound on your body. Just some minor scrapes and bruises."
"That's right, sir. That's why I don't think I-"
"However," Sir Caen raised his voice a bit. "That doesn't mean your body is alright." The Paladin raised his arms and placed both of his palms towards Numa's body, and cast a simple spell.
"Aperio"
A warm yellow light emanated from Sir Caen's palms that slowly enveloped Numa's body.
"Hmm, as I suspected. You have broken ribs, minor internal bleeding, and hairline fractures on both of your arms as well," said Sir Caen while looking at Numa's body from head to toe. "It's actually quite surprising that you don't feel hurt at all. I suppose that is the strength needed to be part of the Iron Legion, right?"
"Well, I don't know about that, sir. I mean, I always have a sturdy body. I've been working as a farmer for as long as I can remember. Maybe that's why."
"Or maybe because you are quite used to casting a body-strengthening spell?"
"...how do you know about that?"
"Young man, my Aperio can see through everything that's going on in your body," explained Sir Caen. "Well, almost everything. His Highness, the High Paladin, can use this spell to see any issues all the way to the cellular level. Compared to him, I am nothing but a child."
"Can every Paladin use this spell?" asked Numa with a subtle hint of concern in his voice.
"Every Paladin learns this spell, but how good you are at it depends on the level of each person. Even the two Acolytes who brought you here earlier can cast Aperio. But for now, they could only scan external injuries."
Sir Caen deactivated Aperio and cast another spell. This time, he positioned both of his palms above Numa's chest.
"Cura."
A green light emanates from the Paladin's hands. Unlike the previous spell, this one forms a dome that envelopes Numa's upper body.
Numa could feel something warm penetrating his chest and heating his body from within. A local priest at his village had used this spell on him years ago. So this feeling was quite familiar to him. But just like back then, he wasn't particularly fond of this spell. He couldn't articulate why, but the whole healing process just felt somewhat uncomfortable to him.
When Sir Coen moved on to heal Numa's fractured hands, a fight broke out near them. It was between a group of Arkhain soldiers and an individual who was covered in bandages all over his upper body.
"What are you doing here? You dirty animal!" shouted one of the soldiers.
The injured person remains silent. Upon a closer look, Numa finally realized that the individual in question was a wolf Beastman. He was in his human form, but it's clear as day that he was a beastmen. What was he doing in this camp?
Before the soldiers could attack the beastmen, a Paladin who wore the same uniform as Sir Caen stepped in front of the beast.
"Paladins are bound under an unbreakable oath to heal the broken and bring relief where pain endures," said the Paladin with a stern face. "No matter their creeds, origins, and species."
"But he is an enemy of the Empire!" exclaimed the soldier.
"Young man, let me remind you that Paladins do not answer to the Imperial War Marshall. We work directly under the Church of the Fivefold Light. The only one who could give an order to us is the High Paladin and the Emperor himself."
Numa couldn't see the face of the Paladin clearly, but even he could feel that the holy man was holding his anger as best as he could.
Still dissatisfied with the Paladin's explanation. The young soldier grabbed his sword and prepared to unleash it from its sheath. But before the soldier could move any closer, the Paladin raised his palm toward the young man's face and cast a spell that Numa had never heard before.
"Nox."
The young soldier instantly fell to the ground. His friends were startled by what had just happened. One of them quickly tended to their fallen friends while the other one drew his sword toward the Paladin.
"Don't you worry," said the Paladin calmly. "I merely put your friend to sleep. He will wake up in a few hours. Take him and go away. I need to work. If you have any more complaints, take them to your superiors."
Shocked and afraid, the two soldiers carried their sleeping friend and scurried away from the Paladin and his injured beastman.
"Wow," said Numa, surprised and clearly in awe. "I never knew that a Paladin could be so hardcore."
"We are Paladins, not regular priests. We do know how to defend ourselves," said Sir Caen with a gentle smile on his face. "Young man, don't mistake our pure white robes and calm demeanor as a sign of weakness. Underestimate us at your own peril."
"...I understand, sir," said Numa. "What about that spell? I never thought that there was a spell that could put somebody to sleep instantly like that."
"Well, it's actually a lot more complicated than that. I'll spare you the details. Just know that you wouldn't want to be the target of that spell."
"I see. What about that oath that he talked about? Is that true?"
"It is. Every Paladin swore an oath in the name of Valecar, the God of Justice, law, and duty."
"And you will save anybody? Even those beasts who have killed countless of your countrymen?"
"We try to save as many people as we can, including those whom you proclaimed as enemies," said Sir Caen with a serious face. "And while it's true that they've killed a lot of our people, we also have killed a lot of their people. Listen, Numa, nobody is innocent in a war. Everybody can be the victim and the aggressor. Paladins are not here to judge. We are here to heal the broken and bring relief where pain endures."
"I can't really say I understand your way of thinking, sir. But I respect you for taking an oath and standing by it."
"...Do you hate the Beastmen, Numa?"
"I don't particularly have any problem with them. Sure, my father died in this war against them, but my family and I, even my father, understood from the beginning that death is a risk that we have to accept when he decided to join the war. So I don't blame them, nor the Empire, for his death."
There's no sign of anger or regret in Numa's words, but Sir Caen can feel a hint of guilt and sadness behind his statement.
"Well, young man, in case you haven't realized, I've already healed your hands," said Sir Caen while smiling gently to the young man in front of him.
"Oh, really? I didn't notice that. Thank you, sir."
"The pleasure is mine," said the Paladin. "But I only heal your bones and organs. You still need to treat those scrapes and bruises. And you also need to rest properly for a while."
"Yes, sir."
Right at that moment, a soldier walked towards Numa and said, "Are you Numa, the new recruit?"
"Yes, that's me."
"You are summoned by Captain Elric. Please go to his tent now," said the nameless soldier.