10:13 a.m.
Somewhere in another slum area located in Luxen City.
Two wagons stockpiled with food supplies and other necessities were being pulled by 4 animals called a Karfax, and escorting the wagons on foot was a group of 24 people.
At the front were two White Cloak Priestess, Melissa and Vivian, and two Nobles, Havier and Sachion.
Behind them were 2 butlers and 2 maids.
Behind the butlers and maids were 9 Brown Cloaks.
And behind the Brown Cloaks were 8 Knights, 6 males and 2 females.
"My, my, Lady Priestess Vivian, to think that you learned your first Class Magic in less than a month, that is indeed very impressive!" Havier said.
"It truly is, Lady Priestess Vivian! Congratulations once again!" Sachion said.
"Thank you, Lord Havier, Lady Sachion. But I know I couldn't have done it without the leadership and guidance of Sister Melissa and the support from all of you," Vivian said and smiled.
Melissa looked at Vivian and nodded with a smile.
"Such kind and magnanimous words! Your Chapter Temple and this city are blessed to have someone like you and Lady Priestess Melissa!" Havier said.
"Indeed," Sachion said and nodded. "Lady Priestess Vivian, before you joined the Temple, what was your previous Temple?"
"The Temple of Thieves."
"Oh, so you and Lord Havier used to be part of the same Temple?" Sachion said and then looked at Havier with a dark glint in her eyes.
Havier pretended not to have noticed.
As for Melissa, her gaze bounced between Vivian and Havier, but mostly on the former.
"My, my, had I known that you and I used to be part of the same Temple I would've introduced myself properly right away," Havier said and placed a hand on his chest. "Please accept my humblest apologies, Lady Priestess --"
Vivian held out her hand.
"Please, Lord Havier, there's no need. We're all busy people, busy helping all those who are suffering and in need. So it's understandable that we didn't have the chance to properly introduce ourselves to one another. And plus, I only started participating in this Holy Mission two days ago."
A bright smile appeared on Havier's face.
"Your kind words are wasted on a person such as myself, Lady Priestess Vivian!" he said and then bowed dramatically.
"Lady Priestess Vivian, since you were able to learn a Priest's Class Magic in such a short amount of time, I can only imagine that you must've been a very outstanding member of the Temple of Thieves. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me that you've already learned all of the Thief's Class Magic Spells before transferring," Sachion said.
Vivian shook her head.
"Unfortunately, that's not the case. It seems that my true calling was to become a Priestess."
The eyes of Melissa, Havier and Sachion widened only for a brief moment.
"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you become a Priestess right from the beginning?" Sachion asked.
What the…?
She's seriously asked me that question…?
She glanced at Melissa and Havier and they also seemed to know the answer.
Seriously…?
Putting aside the fact that the Temple of Priests was the most influential Temple out of all of the Temples, Vivian was also able to learn her first Priest Class Magic in less than a month. Considering those two things, in the heads of Melissa, Havier and Sachion, Vivian must have a very special reason.
"Frankly speaking, I really don't know. But one day, I happened to meet Brother Joshua and he convinced me, and now I'm here."
"You're close with Brother Joshua, sister?" Melissa asked.
"I won't say we're close. He's more like a mentor, the same as Sister Criselle, Brother Ezekiel, Brother Sike and Sister Grace from the Blacksmith Shop, and many others."
Melissa nodded.
"I see," she said and then turned to Sachion. "Lady Sachion?"
"Yes, Lady Priestess Melissa?"
"Have you heard anything interesting as of late?"
"Oh, yes, I have," she said and then started talking about the latest gossip she heard.
Vivian let out a sigh of relief internally.
God…
I really wish I had my wireless earphones…
So that I could pretend like I can't hear these people and ignore them…
***
Inside a large room of a Charity House.
Vivian was seated on the side with Melissa, Havier and Sachion. Standing on guard at the doors were 2 Knights. And standing in front of a crowd of elderly people were a Priest and Muireann, both of which were Brown Cloaks and in their late teens
"Julius was a powerful, wise and kind king who ruled the Kingdom of Fratia," the Priest said.
"He was married to a queen named Helena who was reputed to be the fairest woman in the whole kingdom.
"When the people of Fratia heard the news that the Queen was pregnant, they rejoiced for days and prayed to the Elemental Gods that she would give birth to a healthy and handsome Prince and would be as talented King Julius who had 5 Magic Art Affinities.
"A couple of months later, the Queen Helena finally gave birth.
"She gave birth to a boy whom they named Herman. Unfortunately, he was born with underdeveloped legs and arms, and he only had 1 Magic Art Affinity. But despite that, King Julius and Queen Helena promised to love Prince Herman with all of their heart no matter what.
"A year later, it was announced that Queen Helena was pregnant once again. And once again, the people of Fratia rejoiced for days and prayed that it would be a healthy and handsome Prince and be as talented as the King.
"A couple of months later, the Queen finally gave birth.
"She gave birth to a girl whom they named Jenatait. She was beautiful, healthy and had Magic Art 5 Affinities. And just like Prince Herman, the King and the Queen promised to love Princess Jenataia with all of their heart no matter what.
"Another year passed and it was announced that the Queen was pregnant. This time around, although many rejoiced, it wasn't the same loud and enthusiastic compared to the first two announcements and it only lasted for a day.
"A couple of months later, the Queen finally gave birth.
"She gave birth to a boy whom they named Julean. He was handsome, healthy and had 3 Magic Art Affinities. And just like Prince Herman and Princess Jenataia, the King and the Queen promised to love Prince Julean with all of their heart no matter what.
"Now, although the King and his family were happy, it was a different story for the people of the kingdom.
"Prince Herman had underdeveloped legs and arms, and he one had one Magic Art Affinity.
"Princess Jenataia, although she was healthy and had 5 Magic Art Affinities, she was a girl.
"And Prince Julean, although he was healthy and had 3 Magic Art Affinities, as Prince, 3 Magic Art Affinities wasn't enough.
"Some of the King Julius' Royal Advisers suggested that he should take another wife. However, he refused and told them that his heart only belonged to his wife.
"Years later, when all the Royal Children of King Julius and Queen Helena passed the age of 15, the kingdom was in a desolate state.
"To everyone's surprise, Prince Herman grew up to be a person with very high intellect that several legendary and famous Scholars from around the world would come to visit the Kingdom of Fratia to have a conversation with him.
"However, the fact still remained that he was born with underdeveloped arms and legs that he had to be carried by people and he only had 1 Magic Art Affinity.
"Meanwhile, for Princess Jenataia, as a person born with 5 Magic Art Affinities just like her father, she became a powerful and fierce warrior who successfully protected the Kingdom of Fratia from invaders numerous times and was therefore loved by the citizens.
"However, she still came with flaws. Aside from the fact that she was a woman so was bound to be married off to another Royal Family, she lacked the capacity to make sound decisions. Whenever there was a conflict, she was the first one to rush, not because it was a sound or strategic decision, but because she was quick-tempered.
"And lastly, Prince Julean. He grew up to be someone with a very kind heart. His heart was so pure and kind that not only was he loved by many people, but even the most aggressive monsters would warm up to him.
"However, the fact still remained that his having 3 Magic Art Affinities as a Prince, let alone a King, wasn't enough.
"Because of all of these, the spirits of the people in the Kingdom of Fratia were down. They knew that it was only a matter of time before the neighboring kingdoms would devour them. And as years continued to pass and King Julius grew older, some neighboring Kingdoms couldn't take it anymore and began to move brazenly against the Kingdom of Fratia.
"But just when the Kingdom of Fratia was about to be devoured by its enemies, that's when King Julius decided to reveal his secret card.
"He sold his soul to a powerful demon and became the slave of that powerful demon.
"No longer having any free will and becoming a demon-worshipper, he was granted the cursed power of Chaos which also extended his lifeforce. And to make sure that no one within the Kingdom of Fratia could go against him, he used the cursed power of Chaos granted to him by the powerful demon to make everyone, including his own wife and children, not only his slaves without any free will but also demon-worshippers with extended lifeforce.
"Once King Julius was done enslaving and cursing everyone, he immediately sent out a counter-attack to all their enemies and they won.
"However, after they won, something happened.
"The powerful demon that the King sold his soul, his family and the entire kingdom to wasn't satisfied. It wanted the other remaining kingdoms to suffer the same fate.
"Without choice and free will after selling their souls to the demon, the King, his family and their slave army of demon-worshippers began attacking the other remaining kingdoms.
"And by the time the King, his family and their slave army of demon-worshippers were stopped, they managed to butcher almost 3 million innocent people -- young, adult and old.
"So, can anyone tell me the moral lesson or moral lessons of this story?"
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Hello, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!
By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…
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Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 147-206 are posted there.
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