Time passed slowly. Although there were no phones or computers in this era, and only a few books in the room, it still flew by for Norton, who was used to spending long periods alone.
After he had taken his third piss and his stomach had growled from hunger for the fifth time, light slowly dispelled the darkness in the room.
Clank, clank, clank... The sound of church knights' armor rang out as they walked outside, waking Norton, who had been sleeping on the bed, and making his heart clench.
From the sound of it, were they coming toward him?
Norton sat up in bed and hurriedly put the missionary's robe he had taken off to sleep back on. Then he sat properly on the edge of the bed, waiting for the people outside to arrive.
"What's going on? It sounds like there are a lot of them! Do they need to make such a big occasion out of calling for me?"
A bad feeling spread through Norton's heart, but he was utterly baffled and had no idea what this shitty church was up to!
As he sat there puzzled and uneasy, someone finally pushed the door open from outside.
Click!
Norton turned to look. Father Mia had entered the room with six church knights.
"Father!"
Norton's heart tightened, and he felt that something was wrong.
Why had he brought so many church knights?
"Norton." Father Mia looked at Norton's delicate, beautiful face. His own face was full of smiles, but his eyes were full of regret.
Such a beautiful person-why hadn't he come a few years earlier?
If he had come a few years earlier, then under his guidance and example, Norton could surely have strengthened the faith in his heart and avoided such a tragic end.
"Father." Norton rose from the bed and looked at the church knights behind Father Mia. Uneasily, he asked, "Is it time for the Ascension Ritual?"
"Yes, my child." Father Mia nodded, then forced a smile onto his face.
"Come with me. The Ascension Ritual will begin in fifteen minutes." Father Mia turned and walked out of the room. The six church knights stood guard on either side of the doorway, apparently waiting for Norton to come out.
Norton hurried to follow cautiously at Father Mia's side. Seeing the church knights following behind as an escort, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, they hadn't come to arrest him!
Norton felt he had nearly been scared to death. Seeing so many church knights all of a sudden, he had thought they were preparing to hack him to death with their greatswords.
But now it seemed he had simply been overthinking it.
After all, he had just been promoted to missionary. There was no reason to turn around and chop him down.
Even so, Norton remained uneasy. The Ascension Ritual was about to begin, and he still didn't know what it involved or what precautions he needed to take. If he broke a taboo, he would be in trouble.
At that thought, Norton quickened his pace for a couple of steps, drawing closer to Father Mia, then asked nervously in a low voice:
"Father, what do I need to do for the Ascension Ritual?"
Father Mia shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "Nothing at all, child. You're the main character of the Ascension Ritual. Just wait for it to begin. As for everything else, the other missionaries will take care of it, of course."
That's good, that's good!
Hiss, it looks like the church thinks pretty highly of me!
Norton finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he began to understand why the missionary from yesterday had looked so jealous.
He must have been jealous that I was already being valued right after becoming a missionary!
Unfortunately, Norton couldn't accept the favor of this shitty church. He would be running away in a couple of days.
Sigh, really, if this church were a little more normal-no need for it to be too normal, just on the level of a central European papal state-I wouldn't be thinking about running away all the time. After all, I get food and clothes here.
But this place is just too abnormal!
Norton kept close to Father Mia as they walked toward the church cemetery.
The church had strict rules. Throughout the entire journey, there was no sound but their footsteps.
The farther Norton walked, the more puzzled he felt.
What had he done to deserve the church's regard? Could it be because he knew Father Mia's little secret and had stood guard for him?
But if it had been any other missionary or clergyman, wouldn't they have done it without complaint or regret? They would even have fought for the chance.
That shouldn't have made them value him!
Norton's heart, which had just begun to relax, tightened slightly again.
If there was anything that set him apart from the other missionaries, it was undoubtedly his delicate, beautiful face.
Could they value him because they had taken a fancy to him?
Could Father Mia like both young and old? Or was some other church bishop interested in him?
Norton suddenly felt even more nervous and even clenched his buttocks tightly.
As the group continued forward, their direction finally allowed Norton to recognize where they were headed.
He hadn't expected the Ascension Ritual to be held in the cemetery. When he had come to clean it before, he hadn't seen any signs that an Ascension Ritual had ever been held there.
Right, the people buried in a cemetery were dead, and surely only the dead could ascend to Heaven, so holding the Ascension Ritual here really did make sense.
Could the Ascension Ritual simply involve a group of them gathering around the cemetery and reciting the Bible? Then why had Father Mia said he was the main character of this ritual?
Norton's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he frowned slightly. He had a sudden feeling that things weren't quite so simple.
He didn't need to do anything, yet he was the main character of the Ascension Ritual. The ritual was being held in the cemetery, and so many church knights were accompanying him...
Hiss!
Fuck, are they going to forcibly send me to Heaven?
Norton's heart clenched. He could hardly imagine that his guess was true, but given the church's tradition of treating human life as worthless, it was entirely possible!
This fucking church really might sacrifice him!
Norton panicked. Although he disliked this world and hated this church, he didn't want to die!
All right, he didn't particularly want to live, either.
But no matter what, he didn't want to be sacrificed by the church for some so-called ritual and die such a pitiful death!
Besides, vampires really did exist in this world, so there was a good chance God wasn't just a legend either.
If this damned Ascension Ritual really sent him up to Heaven to keep God company, wouldn't he be completely screwed?
Father Mia had learned his preferences from God. If someone as good-looking as Norton went to Heaven, wouldn't God play him to death?
Norton panicked. Whether it was because Father Mia had taken a fancy to him or because he thought he was going up to keep God company, he was in a complete panic now.
He couldn't accept either possibility. Although he had been exposed in this world for ten years, he was still straight and unbending!
Watching the cemetery draw ever closer, Norton was in turmoil. But his guesses remained unconfirmed, so he could only edge cautiously closer to Father Mia and try to coax some information out of him.