Tristan's words made Todd's eyes widen. It turned out that the decree they had received was not an official document from the Knights of the Church.

The Holy Envoy patted the priest on the shoulder: "Don't overthink it. This decree means that the Church has officially recognized the Knights' legal status. The meeting in October is just a formality. After the meeting, you will need to go to the capital, Terro, to receive the Order's seal, sash, holy cross, and so on."

Tristan found a chair and sat down, saying to Todd, "Father... no, I should call you Grand Master now. Let's talk about cooperation."

cooperate?

Just as Todd was filled with doubts, the Holy Envoy pointed to himself and asked, "Do you know why the Church only sent a minor deacon to deliver the edict to the Knights?"

Todd shook his head.

“First, the situation in the Silver Ring Kingdom is quite complicated. The relationship between the Church and the monarchy is not harmonious, and no one in the diocese wants to take on this mission. Second, His Holiness the Pope requires that the envoy dispatched this time must be knowledgeable in alchemy.” Seeing the other party's bewildered expression, Tristan continued, “The Church hopes you will submit the method for making crystal relics…”

Todd's pupils contracted, and he tilted his head slightly back, casting his gaze toward Rachel behind him.

The woman nodded almost imperceptibly.

Todd touched the bridge of his nose, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement.

Tristan seemed relieved. He took out paper and pen and wrote as he spoke, “Next are some details about the Knights’ Order. Regarding the charter and code of conduct, I’ve made a copy based on the Church’s other three major knightly orders and will give it to you later. As for the name of the Knights’ Order, the full name given by the Cardinals is ‘The Order of the Monks of Twilight Harbor Blessed by the Father,’ which is abbreviated as ‘The Knights of Twilight Harbor.’”

The Knights of Twilight?

Todd silently repeated the name to himself several times.

Tristan added, "If possible, it would be best to give me the list of the Knights' members as soon as possible; it will be mentioned in the imperial edict."

Todd was a little stunned: "A list of members, for each person?"

The Holy Envoy raised his head in surprise: "Of course not, it's a list of people who hold important positions in the Order. For example, the Chief Priest, the Legion Commander, the Knight Supervisor, and the Chief Inspector."

Todd broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed like he was the only lone commander in the entire Order…

Seeing the other person's expression, Tristan put down his pen: "Commander, may I ask how many knights, sergeants, and peasant soldiers there are in Muxi Town?"

"Knights?" Todd immediately thought of Harkins and Alfonso, but the former was a deserter, stripped of his title; the latter, though a Papal knight, was now too weak to even lift a sword, let alone go to war. Add to that Harkins' twelve men and Alfonso's three squires…

Thinking of this, Todd's forehead was covered in sweat, and he shakily raised two fingers.

"Two hundred people?" Tristan wrote a number on the paper, nodded, and said, "Not too many, not too few..."

"No...it's twenty people..."

The envoy's pen fell to the ground.

Tristan stammered, "Commander-in-Chief, you should know that even the guards of those merchants have more than that number, right?"

uh-huh!

Sitting behind Todd, Rachel suddenly coughed at an inopportune moment.

Seeing the woman's expression, Tristan quickly changed his tune, saying reassuringly, "Grand Master, the Knights' membership always grows gradually..."

Rachel suddenly spoke up, "Your Excellency, your master accepted the specialties of Twilight Town. You may need their help in the future. Can't you lend a helping hand when the Twilight Knights are weak?"

Seeing the woman's murderous gaze, Tristan was both amused and exasperated: "Grand Master, after I return to the capital, I will keep an eye out for outstanding and loyal knights in the Papacy and recommend them to serve in the Twilight Knights."

Tristan picked up the pen, looked at the paper, and suddenly remembered something. He said to Todd, "Oh, right! Grand Master, there's one more thing, about the insignia of the Twilight Knights."

"The regimental emblem?"

"These are the symbols displayed on the knightly orders' flags and robes, used to identify members and the army. Please note that, since the knightly orders belong to the church, the cross should appear in the order's insignia."

Todd thought for a moment, then picked up a black pencil and red ochre, and in less than five minutes, he drew a mark on the paper.

Tristan and Rachel stood up and leaned over to take a look. The Holy Envoy stroked his chin and said, "A very strange pattern."

Todd looked at the red and white sign in front of him and turned his head to ask, "What? Doesn't it comply with church regulations?"

Tristan shook his head: "No, it is indeed a cross, but I have never seen a cross like this before."

On the snow-white paper, a regular octagon composed of eight inward-curving arcs is drawn in the center. Eight equilateral triangles with 30-degree angles at their bases, each with an arc, divide the octagon into eight equal parts. The triangles in the four cardinal directions are red, forming a red equilateral cross that converges at the origin. The triangles in the other four directions are white, forming a white X.

Tristan glanced at Todd and asked, "Does this pattern have a name?"

"Protective umbrella".