Novice Priest

"However, I've already enrolled at Elf Academy. I'm planning to start there next week, so I might not have time to come here."

Roy said tactfully.

Then he prepared to take his leave.

He was now wondering whether he should pay Priest Reid one Kole, or compensate him through a donation.

Priest Reid could tell that Roy was not very interested in what he had said. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"After becoming a Novice Priest, you'll have two half-days each week to read here, though you may not take any books out of the Study Room."

As he spoke, he stood and walked to the door, beckoning Roy over.

Once Roy caught up, they left the confession room. Priest Reid led him to a room at the end of the second-floor corridor nearest the Main Hall. The moment they entered, a heavy smell of mildew hit them. The room was packed with bookshelves, and a wooden ladder for reaching books stood by the door.

Some of the books contained prayers, while others covered the history of the Goddess of Freedom Temple or guides to casting divine spells.

They were useless to outsiders, perhaps, but extremely valuable to priests.

Since Roy had not yet joined the Goddess of Freedom Temple, he could only look inside from the doorway and confirm that Priest Reid had not been lying.

Yet Roy still found it hard to care...

During this time, the Goddess had not bestowed a Divine Revelation.

No matter how the believers recited their prayers, the Goddess of Freedom gave no response. Even the Enlightenment Ritual held by the temple could no longer allow believers to sense holy light.

After two rounds of personnel transfers over the past six months, the Goddess of Freedom Temple had only five people left, even counting the Novice Priests. Just the night before last, the Holy Grail in front of the Temple Holy Water Pool had even been stolen. If they had not been so desperately short-handed, such an embarrassing incident would never have happened.

Priest Reid felt that this Goddess of Freedom Temple urgently needed more people, and the young man before him was the best possible choice.

Having finally encountered him, how could he let Roy slip away so easily?

Since Roy was unmoved, the terms offered clearly were not enough. Priest Reid continued, "You only need to attend prayers twice a week."

"For another three half-days, you can study divine spells with me..."

Roy realized that all seven days of his week had somehow been packed full. He still had to attend school, so he would have no time for anything else...

The two stood in the second-floor corridor. Roy looked toward the stairway around the corner, thinking of how to bring up his departure.

"...If you become a Novice Priest, you'll also receive a weekly stipend of Four Hundred Kele," Priest Reid continued.

Roy immediately swallowed the excuse he had prepared.

He raised his head and looked at Priest Reid's expectant expression, then readily agreed. "All right. I think I'm very suited for this... ah... very suited to being a Novice Priest!"

Priest Reid had not expected Roy to change his mind so quickly. Seeing him agree so readily, he said with great delight:

"Then... Roy, welcome to the Goddess of Freedom Temple."

Roy had originally assumed that joining the Goddess of Freedom Temple would involve some sort of ceremony.

To his surprise, they merely added his name to the temple's clergy register, with the word "novice" placed before "priest."

Afterward, Priest Reid took Roy around the other buildings of the temple. Since the theft case had not yet been closed, the Elf Rangers had asked the temple to keep every object and furnishing in the Main Hall exactly as it was, so Priest Reid did not take Roy inside.

Priest Reid was the High Priest of the Castle Town Goddess of Freedom Temple. The other two priests were his assistants, and the two Novice Priests were students of those assistant priests. Yet High Priest Reid had no student by his side.

Now that he had finally found one, he naturally wanted to introduce Roy to the others.

"This temple was built by Felix Mitchell Your Majesty. I am the seventeenth High Priest in succession," High Priest Reid explained to Roy.

They walked to the steps of the Main Hall. High Priest Reid pointed at the Stone Sculpture of a man holding a double-headed staff and said to Roy, "This statue was created in the likeness of Felix Mitchell Your Majesty."

At that moment, the priest Roy had seen in front of the Main Hall steps emerged from the side.

High Priest Reid quickly said to him, "This is Priest Theodore. He is mainly responsible for distributing Water of Blessing from the Holy Water Pool."

No wonder he had been squatting at the Main Hall entrance like a guard. The Holy Grail from the Holy Water Pool area under his care had gone missing. Roy hurriedly bowed to the unlucky Priest Theodore, while considering whether he should reveal the information he knew.

If he had known he would join the temple today, he should have had the Elf Rangers catch that thief yesterday.

Roy regretted it somewhat.

Priest Theodore wore a kind smile and welcomed Roy.

High Priest Reid then took Roy to meet Priest Anderson, as well as Jasper and Abbott, the two Novice Priests doing chores in the backyard.

Priest Anderson was chiefly responsible for the temple's twice-weekly gatherings, where he preached the teachings of the Goddess of Freedom Temple to believers and spread the Goddess of Freedom's glorious deeds.

Both he and Priest Theodore were Elves, and far more handsome than Priest Reid.

The other two Novice Priests, Jasper and Abbott, were also Elves, though they were both Half-Elves. From their eyes and ears, Roy could see certain differences from Silver Moon Elves.

Perhaps because they were Elves, they had not chosen Priest Reid as their mentor.

The two Novice Priests wore white robes, with only dark red patterns at their collars, cuffs, and belts. Neither wore a hat.

After so long, a newcomer had finally joined them, and the two young Elves were delighted...

Priest Reid then issued Roy a set of Novice Priest robes, a belt, and boots. He even assigned him a small room containing nothing but a bed and a wardrobe.

Although Roy was a Novice Priest at the temple, he still had to study at Elf Academy, so he did not need to live at the temple. He only needed to come each afternoon and could leave before dinner.

For a Novice Priest, that was already quite lenient...

Roy felt that this job not only allowed him to learn, but also provided a steady salary and was close to home. It really was not bad...

Roy casually familiarized himself with the temple grounds. Seeing that it was getting late, he put his Novice Priest robes and boots into the wardrobe. Before leaving, he made a point of saying goodbye to Priest Reid, then crossed Brown Street and headed home.