Chapter 200: Religious Teachings.
For a city designed with nobles traveling around on flying mounts, I guess having flying guards was to be expected. Good thing Svena warned us about it before I caused another incident.
True, Lady Hestia. Regardless of your status, breaking the law constantly would create animosity with the local law enforcement, which could cause us trouble in the future. You must use your new ability to fly with care.
As I looked around in the sky, the sight of various people riding on griffons, hippogryphs, gargoyles, and flying carriages came into view, either traversing the upper part of the city built on the mountain or landing in the lower citys merchant district. In Artorias, flying mounts were plentiful, so Griffonpeak was built with this very thought in mind. Compared to Firwood and Cedaraille, the fantasy of a flying society was the most prominent in the kingdoms capital.
As a consequence, law enforcers were needed for this flying traffic. Similar to how guards patrolled the ground or guarded gates for inspections, knights were also keeping the peace in the sky. It sounded weird for knights to do guard duty, but as most of the people flying around were nobles, being stopped by a knight, most of whom were nobles themselves, was more acceptable than being stopped by a lowly guard.
As I wanted to go to the temple today to speak with Saintess Eshe, Tasianna came along with me. Since she didnt want to expose her fairy wings, I took to the skies while carrying her with [Unheilige Engel]. After using this spell to feed myself while I flew through the skies while carrying Ellaine to Griffonpeak, I realized how incredibly flexible this spell was.
While [Unheilige Engel]s normal form was a pair of purple slime wings, I could morph their shape and turn them into solid obsidian or a viscous liquid. As a result, I turned the spell into a chair for Tasianna to sit on, using its levitating ability to carry Tasianna around as I flew with my scale-dust boosters and [Tailwind].
While we were leaving the noble district, a few knights stopped me at the gates. Knowing what was happening, Tasianna and I handed them our IDs to confirm our identities. This district was the home of a bunch of nobles, so security had to be tight. While we were waiting, I noticed that one of the knights was somebody Id met four days ago, back when I was arrested for trespassing Griffonpeak. When our eyes met, I couldnt help but apologize again for disturbing their night.
Ah, there is no need for an apology, Lady Shrine Maiden. We were simply doing our duty, haha, the knight responded with a nervous laugh. I guess having Count Helvas barge in with a letter from the royal palace to release me without any consequence must have left quite an impression on him.
Anyways, after we got past the checkpoint, Tasianna and I landed a bit away from the temple, choosing to walk the remaining distance. There were two entrances to the temple, one for the nobles and the other was for commoners. Since the nobles entered theirs with carriages, we opted for the commoner entrance. It was too embarrassing to be the only one to stand out.
After arriving at the gate, Tasianna reminded me of something, Lady Hestia, do not forget that Count Helvas planned to bring everybody from Aurora to the knights orders building to register our IDs mana signal today. This should prevent any more issues flying in and out of the city, so please do not take too long. We also have to meet up with Miss Saori and register at the mages guild.
Scheduling, scheduling. During last nights party meeting, I informed everybody about what I learned from Aurena and Kargryxmor. As I thought, Kargryxmors advice was good, so I decided to not inform anybody else outside the party about the demonkins hiding inside the church and temple. Ellaine wanted to tell her parents about it, but even she understood they would be obligated to inform the king about it, so she agreed to keep quiet for now.
As you would expect, nobody was thrilled to hear who our enemies were or what they were up to. Saori herself couldnt help but tremble at the idea that her students were working for the enemy, and what they were planning to do with them. Why did the demonkins summon her students to Peolynca? Neither Aurena nor Kargryxmor could answer this question, they only knew that the demonkins did it with the help of their otherworldly gods the Origin Gods former acquaintances.
When they heard what I had to say about Kargryxmor, all four agreed with his advice. Currently, Aurora was just five people and four garms, that was it. Saoris students and Yorshka were occupied with something else and, although we could inform them about everything, increasing our numbers by a couple more wouldnt help our goals. We needed more allies, or if we couldnt get more people, we needed to become so strong nothing could stand in our way. You know, the Kargryxmor style.
But this issue can be handled in the future. First, we needed to sort out a few priorities on our checklist today. One of them was my meeting with the Saintess.
As we passed relatively easily through the commoner entrance, I asked one of the grey-robed priests where the Saintess was. As he was stumbling on his words, looking anxious about answering my question, I instead asked him where High Bishop Theodore was, as I had a meeting with him. Thankfully, this seemed to be something the grey-robe could answer.
Making our way around the church with the grey-robes help, we did meet a few white-robes on our way. Considering I only needed to give them a generic greeting by praising Aurena and informing them that I came from Loatryx on a pilgrimage before they let me go, any rumors coming from Firwood or Cedaraille probably haven't made it to Griffonpeak yet. Thankfully.
After stopping at a door, the grey-robe rang a bell and informed whoever was behind the door about us. Without a single delay, we were let in and I gave my thanks to the grey-priest. Inside, the sight of a lilac-haired white-robe working on documents behind an office desk felt nostalgic.
Without dropping his mana pen, a manatech which used mana like ink, High Bishop Theodore greeted us. Lady Hestia, I welcome you Griffonpeaks cathedral once again. I apologize but I did not expect you to arrive today. Please, enjoy some tea and allow me some time to finish these documents.
Overworked as always. The bags under his eyes are worrying.
His grey-robed attendant guided Tasianna and me to the couch before offering us a look into his tea leaf box. Tasianna, who knew my taste well, gave the attendant the instructions he needed, even informing him of how many spoonfuls of honey I wanted, how long the tea leaves should be boiled, and how much mana should be poured in without ruining the taste. It was baffling to hear how meticulously Tasianna made my tea, but I guess that was why it tasted so uniquely good to me.
You have a refined taste, Lady Hestia. A tea connoisseur behind that fiery visage, I see, Theodore praised me, although I had little to no input in how Tasianna made my tea. I thought I should speak up about it, but Tasianna stopped me with a proud smile.
Well, if Tasianna is happy about it, then there is no need to do anything.
The tea was acceptable. Although it was made by another person, Tasiannas detailed instructions during the tea-making process made sure it perfectly suited my tastes. My fairy maid is incredible, and even Theodores attendant was greedy for more knowledge. As expected of Tasianna, a holder of the illustrious [Brewing] skill!
Mhmm, how pleasant. Also wanting to taste Tasiannas brewing skills, Theodore requested that I ask Tasianna to make some tea for him also. Noble culture was full of small, annoying details like this, since asking another nobles attendant for requests was considered rude. Still, I was happy to hear Theodore liking Tasiannas craftsmanship.
Once Theodore was finished with his work, he walked over to me and asked me to pray with him. Good morning, Lady Hestia. May this auspicious RestDay bless you with brilliant light, illuminating your path forward. On these sanctified grounds of the Goddess, allow me to pray with you in our Goddess honor.
It was the standard greeting I have been giving to all the priests I met on my way here, even doing the whole praying part until I was sick of it. Im glad I learned the prayers from Manuela to fit in better with all these priests.
After we were done, Theodore bid his attendant leave so we could speak in private, and asked me if I had read the church of Aurenas holy book, or just the bible, before. I told him I had read one when I stayed in Carine village, given to me by the local village chief. Giving me a nod, he then took out a book from his desk drawer and handed it over to me. It was another holy book, it was just thicker in size.
There are two variants the commercial one and the one given to the clergy. While the commercial book is intended to allow those outside the clergy to learn the Goddesss tenets and the tales of her subordinate gods, the ones given to the clergy also acts as a grimoire, Theodore then opened the book for me, pointing at a familiar-looking paragraph. A newly welcomed white-robed is taught holy magic through this book. Similar to ordinary mages, a new white-robed must learn one of the easiest custom holy spells [Apply Light]. After gaining the [Holy Magic] skill, they will learn
This is the incantation for [Prayer] right? I already learned it with the other book when I first got to Artorias back then.
Pardon? When I explained how I managed to decipher the meaning of the paragraph into the incantation of [Prayer] with the help of Master Kush, Theodore was baffled. His exhausted lilac eyes widened so much it honestly looked like he was angry at me. Well, your magic master is a depth priest, correct? He is a man of faith dedicated to Goddess Plesia, so it would make sense if he understood it. Ahem, but I find it fascinating you were able to decipher it through intuition. Did your world incorporate magic incantation into their holy text?
High Bishop, Earth did not have magic or mana. Also, I wasnt much into religion since I was more preoccupied with my idol training than anything else, to the point it was more an obsession really, I explained. The reason why I thought it was an incantation was because the wording was conspicuous. Too magicky, not religious enough. If there were any other spells in the commercial holy book, then I havent found them yet.
I see I saw that you had already learned [Prayer] when I looked at your profile, but I had thought you learned it from another priest. Have you been using the spell all this time alone with your incredible mana pool? I nodded. Using [Prayer], a mana-hungry spell, was a non-issue when I could afford using [Purple Flash] to instantly cast any of my large-scale spells. Haaaa, incredible. There shouldnt be enough information for people to learn any of the churchs spells from the commercial books. I should send in a notice to inform the cardinal.
The cardinal? I asked, prodding for more information.
Do you know how the church hierarchy works, Lady Hestia? As a faith ruled primarily through human nobles, the system should be easy to understand if you are aware of the aristocracy. Theodore then placed his hand on his chin, pausing, before continuing to speak, Lady Hestia, I had promised to teach you about the church of the Goddess. Pray, tell me, would you have time to spare today?
I explained what business I had with him, that I wanted to meet Saintess Eshe today. Since it was still early in the morning, Theodore agreed to bring me to her later on, as she was currently not inside the cathedral. As such, I brought out a wooden slate and prepared myself to write information down like a good student.
First things first, the clergy system and the hierarchy of the church.
As I had already learned, the church was split between two types of priests the grey-robes and the white-robes. Grey-robes were commoners or disgraced nobles who joined the clergy either by their own will or as a permanent punishment from their country, acting as servants or attendants for the white-robes. Even if a grey-robe showed promise as a mage, they were forbidden to learn holy magic, as their grey robes signified a sinned soul, unworthy of Aurenas miracles.
White-robed priests and shrine maidens were the core of any temple or church. While Theodore mentioned the church of Aurena was mostly managed by pious aristocrats; it was actually common for magically talented commoners to join their local temple for teachings. From lowly laborers to wealthy merchants, the church welcomed commoners and allowed them to take a more managerial role in the temple.
Really? Im pretty sure these white-robed commoners were mostly excluded by their noble clergymen. I met quite a few white-robed priests who became adventurers, and most of them were far more subservient than I expected, I told Theodore my experience on this matter.
It is a possibility inside this system for commoners to rise up through the ranks, unlike in a kingdom where becoming a noble is an extremely rare occurrence. Yes, I do understand nobles would rather exclude a commoner from their circles, something my temple in Firwood is guilty of, Theodore responded. However, it is not as if white-robed commoners are redundant. Nobles dislike mingling with farmers or joining sweaty, rowdy adventurers even after joining the clergy. Commoners are less squeamish and without them, there would be far fewer healers working with parties of hunters and mercenaries. Meanwhile, the reverse is also true. Even after joining the clergy and learning the appropriate etiquette, commoner priests often remain uncomfortable around nobles.
Within the white-robed circles, there was also another division between the politically-minded priests and priestesses and the managerial shrine maidens. As shrine maidens have made the decision to remove themselves from their temples political sphere, the only rank above a shrine maiden was the head shrine maiden. Priests, on the other hand, could become bishops, high bishops or archbishops, cardinals, cardinal imperii, cardinal vicar, and possibly even the pope.
Ive been meaning to ask this for a while now, but are there any male shrine, uhm, maidens? I think it would be weird that only women would be apprehensive of politics, I asked, prompting the High Bishop to nod.
There are, of course. Shrine priests, you can identify them by the red patterns on their white-robes just as normal shrine maidens.
Then why do you call them only shrine maidens without mentioning the priests?
Simply because they are rarer. You must understand, Lady Hestia, although joining the priesthood does mean you must abandon your titles and land, a noble does not abandon their blood. Men are simply pushed more by their families to attain a more prestigious rank inside the clergy, ignoring the individuals own wants. There are female priests as you are aware Theodore then ignored any decorum and drank his tea in one large chug, emptying it.
It honestly feels like I should not have asked him about this. Then again, have I ever asked him why he joined the clergy in the first place? Hmm, lets just let this sleep.
Moving forward, Theodore opened the holy book again to skip any more discussions of the previous topic. After he was done turning pages, he turned the book around and showed me three sentences. These were the Church of Aurenas doctrines.
First there is only one Chief amongst the Origin Gods, and that is the Goddess of Light, Miracles, Healing, and Kinship, Aurena.
Second all subordinate gods of the Pantheon of Light are part of the Goddess of Lights powers, as such, worshippers of one subordinate god must not diminish the faith of the others.
Third the miracles of the Goddess must be shared with those with a gift for magic and the faith to support it. Unless a sinner, the white grace must be taught to others, for this is to honor the majesty of the Goddess.
Simple and understandable.
The doctrines were written down and spread by the first apostles during the descent of the Origin Gods to our world. There, the Goddesss whispers breathed new life into our worlds religious teachings, bringing together those of a similar mindset into a union we call today the Church of Aurena, Theodore preached. Her white graces and miracles gave us hope in those heretical times, for the demons had descended upon our world to shatter what happiness the Origin Gods brought. However, we have persevered with her teachings and these three doctrines.
I believe whispers and teachings must be the symbolism in her System spells, correct? Your ability to teach new followers magic without the need of elementals, correct? Tasianna questioned Theodore.
That is correct, Tasianna. Elementals were known before the advent of the Origin Gods as the most common way to learn how to channel the mana inside and outside our bodies. However, with the Divine System, we mortals are now able to harness the power of magic through simpler training. Is it not wonderful? Theodore confirmed Tasiannas question, answering it with the mixed attitude of a teacher and priest. However, this seemingly only caused Tasianna to scowl at him.
High Bishop Theodore Goddess Aurena is not the chief Origin Goddess. That is the Goddess of Water, Plesia. Tasianna raised her head up, displaying her amulet of Plesia with pride. Even when I was still a follower of Goddess Zephira, it was widely known among the elves and fairies that Goddess Plesia is the true chief of the Origin Gods.
Ah, I understand, Tasianna, Theodore nodded understandingly. I forgot both the Church of Plesia and the Church of Danterno both named their revered Origin God the one true leader, and for that, I must apologize. The doctrines of our churches arent always similar.
What? No, thats not what I meant, High Bishop! Tasianna raised her voice without standing up. It is a fact, Goddess Aurena isnt the chief goddess purely because Goddess Plesias power and influence is so widespread around the world, to the point the favors and prayers she received far outweighs what Goddess Aurena receives. The oceans are far larger than the land!
However, how many of these followers actively pray and fight in their patron Goddess honor? While Goddess Plesia is widely prayed to daily by the people of Caedhul and any city or town with a port, Goddess Aurena is prayed to from here in Artorias to the far east of the empire. Even if Goddess Plesia has the most followers, the sheer dedication we show to ours far outweighs something like numbers. Quality over quantity, Tasianna.
Tasianna clicked her tongue, irritation was covering her whole face like makeup. Tch, you humans especially should not underestimate the power of numbers
Oi, oi, oi, oi, Tasianna! Thats enough, okay. High Bishop, I apologize for that, but let us please stop talking about all this right now, okay? Seeing as Tasianna was about to blow up, I forcibly intervened in the discussion before it exploded. For an ice mage, Tasianna sure could be hot-blooded at times. L-Lets stop talking about this for today, High Bishop. I just heard the church bells ring, your lecture has been quite long and informative. How about we continue this tomorrow or whenever it suits you?
As you wish, Lady Hestia, he said before standing up. Before I make the schedule for your continued religious education, we should first go and speak with Lady Eshe. Allow me to call for a carriage.
Carriage? Oh, if its possible, how about I carry you over there?
?
Waiting for some carriage to come over and then drive us to the saintess would have been comfy but, even after getting used to carriage seats, I still preferred walking or, in this case, flying. Grimnirs RV was excluded since it felt more like a car than a medieval carriage.
While I had my wings out the whole time inside the church, hiding them inside my robe, Theodore hadnt mentioned them although they were conspicuous as fuck. I mean, I was keeping my wings together similar to how Kargryxmor did his, by intertwining the spikes on the end to make a cape, so they made my silhouette bulkier than usual. When I finally pointed to the fact I could fly, Theodore finally understood my intentions but believed it inappropriate for me, a girl, to carry him, a man. I personally believe he was just embarrassed to be carried around in a princess carry, ha!
After casting [Unheilige Engel] and showing my ability to turn it into two chairs, Theodore finally accepted my proposal. With Tasianna and Theodore sitting comfortably in them, I flew off using [Tailwind] and my boosters.
While Theodore was giving me directions, I also noticed this was the limit to how many people I could carry with this spell. I wasnt sure why but using [Unheilige Engel] to carry those two made it heavier for me to keep the spell levitating. Who knew spells had an encumbrance limit, right?
After some time observing people riding flying mounts and arvisians flying around the city, we finally arrived at a church-like building close to the entrance of the city, which was quite far away from the cathedral. Surrounding the building was a medium-sized garden and backyard enclosed by wooden gates where kids of various ages were playing around while others were helping out grey-robed priestesses with chores.
While observing them from the sky, I asked the High Bishop what this was. Lady Hestia, this is Griffonpeaks orphanage, funded and maintained by the cathedral. Shrine maidens and grey-robes are stationed here to aid those parentless children who have chosen to put their future in the Goddess instead of living on the streets. Saintess Eshe is currently residing with the personnel of this small church-turned-orphanage.
Huh? Residing? Why isnt she staying at the cathedral like everybody else?
That is because Saintess Eshe wished for it personally. A commoner with plenty of talent as a mage who chose the life of a white-robed priestess and, unfortunately, had to take up the robe of a shrine maiden due to some temple drama in her home city, Sarkafiina. The Saintess of Orphans, that is her title, Theodore explained as we landed.
When the eyes of a few kids caught us, I decided to use [Humanization] to put away my wings, just to be sure I wouldnt scare some of them. There were those below kindergarten age amongst them, after all.
Hey, hey, look, a priest, a shrine maiden, and a pointy-ears are coming. Come on, make way, we shouldnt disturb them.
Ooh, another shrine maiden? Is she joining Mother and the Sisters? Why does she have a tail and horns?
Whatya think they are? Shes a beastman, not a human, are you blind? You see us every day.
Enough, come on, show some more respect, guys. If one of them is a noble, well cause Mother and the Sisters a lot of trouble.
The squabbling of the kids was made through whispers but even whispers became audible for the human ear if everybody did it, let alone my [Idol]-enhanced hearing. Aside from their ages, there were also different types of beastman kids standing around. Well, there seemed like a nearly equal split between beastmen and humans on the way over here, so I guess it shouldnt be weird to see these beastmen kids here.
After giving them a hand wave and handing one of them a bowl of honey-glazed toffel chips, telling him to share, our group entered the orphanage. There, Saintess Eshes male guard was waiting at the entrance like a watchdog. Seeing me, he quickly understood what our purpose was and led us into the kitchen, where a brown-skinned woman wearing a white-red robe was cooking something with a few other shrine maidens.
It was Saintess Eshe.
Oh, Lady Hestia! High Bishop Theodore! Eshe noticed us after her knight, Alikar, I believe his name was, addressed her. As a result, the shrine maidens working with her had to curtsy to greet the High Bishop. I wish you two well on this auspicious RestDay. I hope it has allowed you to recuperate from your weary labors.
Theodore bowed to Eshes curtsy before speaking on my behalf. Thank you, Lady Eshe, I would say this day has found me well, Theodore said with baggy eyes. May the Goddesss light bless your path forward on this peaceful day. Pray, would it be fine if we had some of your time now? I believe you and Lady Hestia must talk?
After delegating her cooking duties to the other shrine maidens, Saintess Eshe led us to her room while Sir Alikar returned to his post while Dame Anivh, Eshes second knight, followed us. Once inside, Eshe asked if we wanted any tea but we declined as we didnt want to take up too much of her time.
Eshes room wasnt in any way grandiose; in fact, it was kept pretty simple with the bare necessities. Unlike the High Bishops office, which was filled with books and manatech, Eshes room reminded me of the vow of poverty monks and nuns used to take during the medieval time.
Once we were seated, I talked first. First, thank you very much for your help four days ago, Saintess Eshe.
Oh, there is no need, Champion Hestia. I did what the Goddess instructed me to do, so you must give your thanks to her for guiding us on that fateful night, she responded, causing me to smile wryly.
Well, she wasnt wrong. Aurena did give me direct instructions and expedited Ellaines recovery.
If it isnt rude to ask, may I learn what you spoke about with Goddess Aurena on that night? she continued.
Hmm, I should probably listen to Kargryxmor. I shouldnt reveal about the demonkins for now, so lets give some white lies.
Excluding any information Aurena or Kargryxmor told me about the actions of the demonkin, I began telling Eshe a gist of what I did in Aurenas heavenly domain. That she managed to help Ellaine with her problem, while not mentioning KleaHatma, that Aurena had ordered Eshe to come over to Artorias to support me in my Quest, and to reiterate my Divine Quest.
Once I was finished with my retelling of the events, both Eshe and Theodore looked at me in wonder. Eshes azure blue eyes closed as she smiled, looking ecstatic as she gave a small prayer. Oh, Goddess Aurena, I thank you for your kind words. I shall do my utmost to support Lady Hestia.
Once her eyes opened, she asked me with youthful curiosity what my Divine Quest was. Since I was following Kargryxmors advice on this matter, I was wondering what I should say but the answer was already on the tip of my tongue. Being her first idol.
Eshes curiosity quickly turned into confusion at my remark, looking over at Theodore to see if he knew what I was speaking about. Fortunately for her, he already knew. Lady Hestia, are you possibly speaking about that singing idea you spoke to me about?
Ah, High Bishop Theodore, its not just singing, its also dancing! I then asked Eshe if the room was soundproof, which she denied. I was a bit worried somebody might have eavesdropped on us when I spoke about my meeting with Aurena, so I asked Tasianna to cast an [Air Shield] around us after getting Lady Anivhs permission. An idol! You two already know Im an otherworlder, right? That I was reincarnated to Peolynca by Goddess Aurena to become her champion, right?
They nodded.
My dream on Earth was to become an idol, an entertainer who sang and danced in front of millions of people through our worlds technology. Goddess Aurenas quest for me was to act on this ambition of mine, to travel around the world and perform idol concerts to garner followers and to reinforce the Church of Aurena! With how Aurena told me to garner more followers, this was one objective I had to fulfill.
I gave the confused Eshe and bewildered Theodore a quick summary of what idols did on Earth, telling them of the fantastic shows I managed to experience live. Once they got a good enough picture of what I meant, I proceeded to ask them for help. I have only performed two concerts in Peolynca, which wasnt nearly enough if you asked me. As a result, my follower count was stagnating.
Now, Saori and I have been talking about this topic for a while now. There were two goals we wanted to fulfill while we were in Griffonpeak first, it was to get some support from the church to promote these concerts since I was a champion, and, secondly, it was to perform in front of nobles. Performing before commoners was nice and so on, but if we really wanted to spread the word, we also needed nobles attending my concerts.
I had an idea how to solve the second issue, but for the first one, I needed Theodore and Eshe.
That sounds wonderful, Lady Hestia. You would have my support. Gaining Eshes support was easy but Theodore frowned as he thought about it.
As I was worried he would decline, he had something entirely different to say, Lady Hestia, I dont see any issues with supporting your idea but this will probably take some time to sort out, especially since the cardinal overlooking the cathedral and the church of Aurena inside Artorias is a hard man to ask favors for.
If he isnt willing to support the idea then itll be annoying, but its not like he can stop me from performing, right? I am a champion and even Lady Eshe is supporting me. He cant say much.
However, my bold statement didnt sway Theodore very much, who was still looking conflicted on the issue. I will try my best to persuade him.
After we were finished with this discussion, I was about to thank them for their time and say my goodbyes, but Theodore stopped me. He informed Lady Eshe that I had little information on how the church worked and asked her to work with him in educating me. Eshe was reminded at this moment that Aurena had asked her to teach me about the Empire, since I would need a more complete picture of how the human world functioned outside Artorias.
After spending some time working out a schedule, it was agreed upon that I should find some time every day up to the royal ball in two weeks so they could pound all the information into my head as soon and fast as possible. This would ensure I would learn the most important parts.
After leaving the orphanage, Tasianna and I moved to the mages guild with the help of a few guards, where we found Saori waiting for us.
Master Kush, I will make sure to register this time.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶