Chapter 56: Preparation For Baptism (1)
Why did Iriel choose to teach him among so many people?
Seemingly having glimpsed into his thoughts, she added,
In the holy nation, there are families that have been in charge of teaching saints for generations. Only the head of that family had the authority to teach me and the saint. But since he was absent, I was teaching you.
Had she learned mind-reading or something? He hadnt even spoken, but she understood everything.
Although she mentioned that there would be a baptism ceremony, why was he absent?
Ray had doubts but chose not to ask.
There could be personal reasons.
So, are we starting immediately tomorrow?
Yes, there is quite a lot to learn tomorrow, so brace yourself.
With those words, Iriel slightly bent her knee to greet him and walked towards her mansion.
Ray watched her leave and thought about what he had to learn the next day.
I will probably learn etiquette or something like that.
Study. He didnt know how long it had been since he last studied. Although he read books in the carriage occasionally, he hadnt studied with someone teaching him since he was a child.
He calmed his fluttering heart.
This was the holy nation. As long as he didnt know anything about this place, he couldnt let his guard down.
To achieve his goal in the holy nation, it was best to learn as much as he could.
Ray took a deep breath and entered the mansion.
The pond in the yard, or rather, it was more like a small lake.
He had admired the lake from afar. Up close, its beauty was indescribable.
Crossing the quaint wooden bridge over the lake, he entered the garden.
How much did they spend to create this lake and garden?
Just one mansion was no less than the castles in the Silos Principality.
Even a house made of gold would be inferior to this.
As he entered through the main gate, the door of the mansion came into view.
Even the doorknob was meticulously crafted.
As he opened the door and entered, about ten maids appeared to have been waiting, bending at their waists.
Oddly, there was no butler or anything of the sort. All the maids were women and they greeted him in unison.
Nice to meet you, saint.
Nice to meet you, saint.
Their bows were neither too deep nor too shallow. They all bent their waists at the exact same angle.
Even the synchronized dances of idols he had seen in his time were not this perfect.
Ray greeted them back, somewhat dumbfounded.
Hello.
Please speak comfortably
A maid with light brown hair spoke and tried to take Rays backpack.
Ray reflexively pulled the backpack towards him and shook his head.
Ill carry it.
Yes.
At first glance, they all seemed to have small builds. Since there were quite a few books in the backpack, it must have been heavy.
There was no reason he couldnt ask them to carry it, but it just didnt feel right to make them do so.
Ill guide you to the room where the saint will be staying.
The petite maid, without raising her eyes, lifted her hand and guided him to the corridor.
The maids he had seen so far while touring the castle were different.
Seeing them reminded him of what Iriel had said.
The employed maids are all of a certain status and are respected.
Indeed, they were worthy of respect.
If they werent recognized, then who should be?
A large hallway. No, after passing a floor with a view of the lake landscape, a quaint room with a bed appeared.
The servant didnt come in but stood outside.
As Ray entered and looked around, the servant took a step back.
Then, she looked down and spoke with a bowed head.
Please call me whenever you need anything.
She held out her hand as she spoke.
In her hand, there was a small bell.
Ray took the bell.
Was he supposed to ring this if he needed something?
Then the servant said,
You can ring the bell.
Ding- Ding-
Ray rang the bell as soon as the words ended.
The servant, who had been expressionless until then, seemed slightly flustered.
Is there anything you would like me to do?
Where can I wash up?
Its right next door. If you would like, I can prepare it for you immediately.
Ray tilted her head in confusion at her words.
Prepare? What needed to be prepared for washing up? Didnt the Holy Kingdom have warm water readily available?
Do they need to clean it first?
It made sense since there had never been a time when both a saint and a saintess appeared at the same time.
Then please prepare it so I can use it immediately.
Understood.
She bowed her head again and took a step back. Ray entered the room.
She took a book out of her bag, organized it, and lay down on the well-arranged bed for a moment.
She felt quite tired from walking around all day. Although she could clean her body with magic, nothing beat a bath when it came to relieving fatigue.
After a while, the servant from earlier called her.
Saint, the bath is ready.
Although she wondered what there was to prepare for a bath, it seemed like it had been prepared quite quickly for a cleaning.
When she left the room, the servant who had been standing by the door guided her to the bathroom.
Then, she tried to take off the leather clothes Ray was wearing.
Ray quickly stepped back from the unexpected attempt at undressing.
What, what are you doing!
She had asked for the bath to be prepared, not to be stripped of her clothes.
In her world, she had been a great sorceress, and in this other world, she was also destined to be a great sorceress.
At her reaction, the servant became flustered.
Why, why are you acting like this? Did I do something rude?
Ray had not known until then that a bath assistant system even existed, so she couldnt help but be confused.
Oh, no. You dont have to help me.
What? Then am I fired?
How did the conversation turn out like this!
She hastily shook her head as if to make the wind blow.
No! I just planned to take a bath by myself, so you dont need to help.
Only then did Ray understand why preparation was necessary.
The time for preparation was actually the time needed to summon the bath assistants.
Ray escorted her out of the bathroom.
As she was ushered out of the bathroom by the saint, she experienced the unique honor of being expelled by a saint.
She had been forced out of the bathroom.
Standing outside the door, she couldnt comprehend the saints unusual behavior.
Saint, you dont seem well. Did something occur yesterday?
Iriel asked with concern.
There were things that Ray couldnt possibly disclose to her, so he sighed and shook his head.
Its nothing.
Hmm Im relieved to hear that. Then lets commence the lesson.
The large auditorium, secured by the authority of the saint, was occupied only by Iriel and Ray.
Why do we need to have lessons in this excessively large auditorium?
Iriel started writing on something resembling a blackboard.
Shortly after she finished writing, Iriel, who was standing on the podium, addressed Ray.
Today, we will study the sequence and etiquette of the baptism ceremony.
As anticipated, the first lesson was about the baptism ceremony, which indicated how urgently the Holy Kingdom wanted to conduct the ceremony.
As anticipated, the baptism ceremony is urgent.
Weve delayed it considerably already. Theres much to learn and not enough time.
It seemed more urgent than he had initially thought.
Once he adjusted his sitting posture, Iriels lesson began immediately.
Writing on the object that resembled a blackboard, she explained.
The sequence of the baptism ceremony is divided into three main parts: the greeting to God, known as Inrye; the declaration of becoming a saint, known as Sunrye; and finally, receiving divine power from God, known as Gwonrye.
Ray nodded as he took in her explanation.
Seeing this, she continued.
In simple terms, during Inrye, you prayed to God, and during Sunrye, you went around the village and communicated with the villagers.
Sunrye seemed like a modern-day election campaign, where you went around the market and ate Sundae soup with the citizens.
Iriel admonished him as he made unnecessary imaginations.
Focus. This is important.
Ah, sorry. Please continue.
While the Holy Kingdom led in Inrye and Sunrye, the last part, Gwonrye, was conducted alone by the saint at a holy place.
Ray asked in response to her words.
Alone?
Yes, you had to do it alone.
Having to conduct the grand finale of the baptism ceremony alone? What did that mean?
What exactly did I have to do?
I dont know.
Eh?
His heart almost skipped a beat at her confident response.
She shrugged her shoulders and answered.
There were no specific instructions on what you had to do there. It was said that you just had to show your sincerity to God in your own way.
This is just for reference, but What did you do then?
At his question, Iriel opened her eyes wide and said.
I didnt do anything.
Didnt do anything?
The more they talked, the more he felt like he didnt understand anything. If the lesson was going to be like this, it was going to be troublesome.
The person who was supposed to teach didnt know too much?
Really, I didnt do anything. I just ate and slept there for a week.
At her words, Rays expression slightly crinkled.
How was eating and sleeping for a week showing ones sincerity to God? Had the meaning of the word sincerity changed or something?
Did God pat his forehead in admiration at her actions of eating, sleeping, and (?) for a week?
This made no sense at all.
However, he felt sincerity in her expression.
Really, I didnt do anything. After a week, I was surprised to find myself possessing a tremendous amount of divine power, and the Mana Road created by God was naturally a part of me.
At her words, Ray fell into thought.
Did divine power and Mana Road build up so fast that even I didnt notice? Was that even possible?
Even for a god, was that really possible? It seemed dubious. The entity referred to as God here appeared to be quite remarkable.
Iriel shook her head and spoke.
Anyway, conducting Gwonrye alone is a tradition and convention of the Holy Kingdom. In fact, you couldnt enter it with someone else.
Okay.
He didnt fully understand, but he nodded his head and reluctantly agreed.
The order of the baptism ceremony was roughly like this. You didnt need to remember anything specific. However the problem was the etiquette.
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