Chapter 17

"It's grown quite a bit, hasn't it? I wonder if it's about time."

I muttered while looking at the egg in the net hanging from my waist. It was a servitor beast egg. At first, it was about the size of an M-sized egg you'd find at the supermarket. However, I had been nurturing it every day, observing the magic power contained within and injecting more magic power into it. As a result, it had grown to about twice its original size. The visible magic power around the egg had also changed from a light blue to a deep navy.

I was hoping it would hatch soon.

"What are you doing? We're about to leave."

As I was looking at the egg, my mother called out to me. It seemed it was about time to go.

I am six years old this year. And apparently, at the age of six, a baptism ceremony is held at the church. Today was that baptism ceremony.

In my previous life, I didn't have many opportunities to go to church. If I had been told about a baptism ceremony in my previous life, I probably wouldn't have been very excited. But this time, it was different. After all, I would be getting magic.

Not the original magic I had been using so far, but the practical life magic granted by the church. Life magic is extremely useful in daily life. Once you receive baptism at the church, you can use this life magic.

In the past, humans lived in fear of monsters. But now, they have expanded their living areas to the point where they even fight each other. Why? Magic was the driving force behind human advancement. Life magic, in particular, was exceptionally useful. It includes spells like "Lighting," "Drinking Water," "Ignition," and "Cleaning." Each of these spells is small-scale, such as lighting a lamp, creating drinking water, or starting a fire. However, the widespread use of these spells by many people greatly expanded the range of human activity. It's probably like suddenly having access to electricity, gas, and water when you were living like a primitive human. Thanks to this, even though humans individually couldn't match the strength of powerful monsters, they were able to increase their numbers and expand their living areas.

For this reason, the church began to gather children who turned six every year for a baptism ceremony, where they would be granted life magic. The church gains new followers, people receive life magic, and authorities get a list of residents. It's a system where everyone benefits.

"Okay, I'm coming now."

I replied and started walking towards the church, feeling excited.

***

The only church in the village. I arrived at a brick building with a triangular roof, a typical structure. Inside, there was a room with benches arranged as if for a wedding ceremony. Beyond the many benches, there was a low platform like a school blackboard, with a lectern placed on it. The priest would likely stand there and give a sermon.

I sat on a bench with my parents and waited. Since it wasn't a very large village, there were fewer than ten children turning six this year. When everyone seemed to have gathered, the priest and a nun entered from a back door, ascended the platform, and scanned the room with their eyes.

"Let us now begin the baptism ceremony."

The priest started by explaining the history of the church, detailing how humanity was saved from a history of hardship and has prospered thanks to the church. In a village with few forms of entertainment, such stories were a good source of stimulation, but many of the stories were already familiar to me. However, the priest, despite being relatively young, had a knack for storytelling, adding humor to keep the audience engaged. He told the stories with such vividness that it felt like he had witnessed human history firsthand. The gathered children listened with sparkling eyes.

"Finally, we will perform the naming ceremony. We will call you one by one, so please come to the back room when it's your turn."

After speaking for quite some time and captivating everyone, the priest announced that the naming ceremony would begin.

The naming ceremony is, as the name suggests, a naming ritual. In fact, I didn't have a formal personal name yet. Here, you receive a personal name from the church for the first time at the age of six. Until then, you were called by your family name and birth order. When I first learned this, I thought it was incredibly inconvenient, but if that's the rule, there's nothing I can do. However, I wondered if some people might get angry if they were given a strange name at this age. Living without a name until now must be difficult, but I also thought that naming people must be quite a hassle. Am I the only one who thinks so?

As I was thinking this, it was my turn. I left my parents and went to the back room alone. In the room, there was a heavy wooden table in the center, and the priest was sitting on the other side. I sat in a chair prepared across the table.

"We will now perform the naming ceremony. Through this naming, you will receive the blessing of the Lord and be able to use magic. However, this magic is granted to enrich people's lives. Can you swear not to misuse it?"

"Yes, I swear."

"Very well."

After being given a standard warning, I agreed. The priest then placed his hand on a book on the table. It seemed to be a very valuable book. It looked like a book made of parchment, with the cover reinforced with metal and decorated with jewels. The priest held the parchment book with both hands and slowly turned the pages. It seemed quite heavy, but I wondered if there were no books made of plant paper.

When the book was opened, there were rows of fine text inside.

...Could this be a name dictionary?

I wondered as I glanced at the contents of the book. I had been curious about how names were chosen every year, so this seemed plausible. It might not have been entirely wrong. The priest's gaze fixed on a certain word, and the ceremony proceeded.

"Third child of Assira and Marie. I, Paul, priest of the Holy Light Church, name you. From this day forward, you shall be known as Ars. Live with integrity and purity, and the Lord will bless and watch over you."

As Father Paul recited the ritual words, I suddenly thought to activate a spell. I focused the magic power I had cultivated in my body on my eyes.

Father Paul, with his left hand on the book, extended his right hand towards me as he recited the ritual words. I noticed that magic power was gathering in his hand. I wondered if this was a preparatory step for casting a spell. Just as I placed my hand on the ground and sent magic power into the earth, Father Paul seemed to be concentrating magic power in his palm to cast a spell.

Thinking this, I carefully observed the movement of the magic power. Then, the magic power in Father Paul's hand began to change shape. It was a technique I had never tried before.

The magic power overflowed from his palm and spread into the air, forming a shape. It drew a circle and inscribed complex symbols inside it. It looked like a magic circle.

"Memory Storage."

I whispered the words so that the priest couldn't hear. This was an original spell I had developed. By focusing magic power on my eyes, I could see the flow of magic power that was normally invisible. From this, I wondered what would happen if I focused the magic power on my brain instead of my eyes. The result was a spell for instant memory. It allowed me to input a memory I wanted to remember accurately. This time, it proved useful. A complex magic circle, which would normally be impossible to remember with just one glance, was instantly and perfectly stored in my memory.

"U..."

At the moment I stored the magic circle in my memory, a new piece of information was input into my brain. Information about life magic. I realized that I could now use spells like "Lighting" and "Ignition," which I had been unable to use no matter how much I practiced.

Thus, I obtained life magic. And at the same time, I also learned about the existence of the magic circle used in the baptism ceremony, something that ordinary people wouldn't know.

Thank you for reading. I would appreciate it if you could bookmark and rate this.