Chapter 32

7/17 This is my second post for today.

Phew... I ended up spending more money than I expected, but my feelings are rather complicated.

Although I decided to take the armor, I ended up arguing with Paiser over the price.

“Originally, I had a total budget of 1,000,000 bekes for equipment. So I'm leaving this amount here!”

“You idiot! I only sold you the sword! It should be 550,000 bekes!”

“The armor is worth it in this condition! Besides, I wasn't told it would come with enchantments!”

“I didn't even plan to sell it! It's my personal property! It's wrong to charge for it!”

Despite usually being good at haggling, this time it was the opposite, and I had to negotiate for a higher price.

This back-and-forth went on for what felt like over 30 minutes, and in the end, we settled on me buying the most expensive leather belt holder for the sword.

Still, it totaled 700,000 bekes.

The armor is second-hand, and some people might find it unlucky or even creepy. Everyone has their own way of looking at things, and even if someone were to say something like that, I wouldn't complain.

But... for some reason, this armor feels just right and gives me a sense of reassurance.

When I touch it gently, I can feel the many small scratches on its surface. This must be proof of how hard the son worked.

If that's the case, I'll cut down monsters one after another in his place, even if it's just for my own satisfaction.

Even if it's just for my own peace of mind, it feels like a kind of memorial, and that makes me want to try harder.

At the hunter's supply store, I bought 4 potions, 5 poison potions, a larger leather bag, and one day's worth of portable food, then headed to the church, my final destination.

I had only bought one potion as per Amanda's advice before, but I never used it in the Parmela Great Forest and just kept it in my coin pouch.

Having five of each should be enough for a trial run.

If I use all of them in one day of hunting, the Locker Plains might be too early for me.

One potion costs 3,000 bekes, and one poison potion costs 6,000 bekes, totaling 45,000 bekes. If I spend this much on recovery in a day, my income will be in trouble.

While putting the potions into the slightly larger leather bag I bought, I also saw the mysterious dark brown object, my first portable food.

To put it nicely, it's a slightly larger biscuit about half the size of a fist; to put it bluntly, it looks like horse droppings...

It doesn't smell like that, but it looks like something mixed together, hardened, and dried, truly a mysterious object.

Just the appearance alone makes it seem incredibly unappetizing. The person who made this must be quite something in many ways.

Is this even food?

I want to try it to see what it tastes like, but if it's far worse than expected, I'll ask the innkeeper to make me a bento...

After all that, I arrived at the church, thinking as I walked.

There's no sister at the entrance today, so I went in and saw a few people sitting in chairs, with one person kneeling and praying in front of a statue of the goddess.

Since there's no priest, I assume this is a prayer to the goddess. Looking around, I spotted an older sister talking to another sister by the wall.

“Hello~”

“Oh, it's you from the other day. My, you look quite the hunter... What brings you here today?”

“Thank you for the other day. Thanks to you, I managed to save some money, so I came to choose a profession today.”

“You already saved up! I'm surprised... You haven't been causing trouble, have you?”

“Don't say that! I've been working hard every day.”

“Haha, just kidding. Come this way. I'll introduce you to the priest.”

Following her, we went through the door on the right that I hadn't entered before. Inside was a simple office where a priest was writing something at a desk.

“Old man, this is someone who wants to choose a profession. Can we do it today?”

“Hmm? Yes, the [Oracle] is still available today.”

The priest stood up and came over. He looked to be around 60 years old up close.

He seems to be about the same age as the guild master Yagov, but this person has a much kinder aura.

“I am Trail, the priest of this town.”

“My name is Loki. I've come to choose a profession today.”

“Hmm... Choosing a profession at such a young age. Just to confirm, do you have the offering? We use a somewhat rare skill for this.”

“I've saved up the minimum 500,000 bekes, so it should be fine, right?”

“Hmm... That's impressive. For your age, that's quite an achievement. I'll prepare everything, so please wait in the chapel. Merries, please handle the receipt and guide him.”

“Sure thing. Come on, kid.”

Following Sister Merries back to the chapel, I saw that only one person was left waiting for the prayer, which must be quick.

“Let's take the offering first. Then, sit next to the person waiting in that chair. Don't space out or you might miss your turn.”

Hmm, with all these preparation steps, I'm getting nervous despite my age...

I paid the 500,000 bekes as instructed and sat in a chair, looking at the six stone statues in front of me.

(The stone statues all have similar faces... They remind me of Greek sculptures I saw in textbooks, though they're a bit rougher.)

They look like generic human figures, as if someone put wigs and clothes on them to give them a bit of personality.

Is this what it's like in this civilization? I was thinking idly when the person waiting knelt in front of a statue, prayed for about 10 seconds, and then went into the room with the obsidian board.

(I see... The prayer itself is free, but to know the exact result, you need a 'Status Check.' The church is clever...)

Usually, when you want to acquire a new skill or level up an existing one, you'd want to know the result.

That's why you come to pray.

You can either suppress your excitement and guess the result by feeling, or you can pay to know your exact abilities. I'd probably pay 20,000 bekes to know.

The church's main headquarters is in the Fanmel Theocratic Empire...

It feels like a very wealthy country.

While I was thinking about this, the priest called out, indicating that the preparations were ready.

He was wearing a slightly flashy jacket and carrying an old, rare-looking book.

“I kept you waiting. Let's begin.”

“Thank you.”

“Please follow me.”

He led me to the same statue where the others had prayed. Looking at my feet, I saw a circular stone of a different color, indicating the designated spot for prayer.

“Please kneel and pray to the goddess. I will pray with you to help your will reach her. Just focus on the profession you want. If your will reaches her, the [Oracle] will reveal the professions you can choose from, and you can select one and pray again to take on the new profession.”

“Do I choose which goddess to pray to?”

“No, you don't pray to a specific goddess. Pray to all the goddesses with the intention of your request. Some people end up with unexpected professions.”

“I see... I understand.”

With that, I knelt, clasped my hands in front of me, and began to pray.

(I want to take on the profession I desire... I want to take on the profession I desire... If possible, I want a melee profession that boosts strength and defense... Oops, I'm getting distracted... Please, please...)

I can feel a presence at the back of my head, like the priest is placing his hands above my head, as I've seen before.

(I want to take on the profession I desire... I want to take on the profession I desire... I want to take on the profession I desire...)

(...World... is... vast...?)

(...People... are... trying... hard... be... careful...)

(...Call... prepare...)

(What? I can hear voices... I didn't receive any such explanation...)

(...)

(...)

“...It's okay now. You can open your eyes.”

(Huh?)

The voice came from in front of me, clearly not Sister Merries.

It was a clear, soothing voice that made my heart feel cleansed. My heart rate quickened as I cautiously opened my eyes—

In the middle of a peaceful natural landscape, three women were looking down at me.