Chapter 25: The Church

Early the next morning, Ino, dressed in a pure white clerical gown and with an iris hair ornament tucked into her hair, arrived at Lulumia’s room.

It was just seven o’clock in the morning.

She had assumed Lulumia would be sleeping, but as she reached the doorway, she found the door was left open, and Lulumia was already dressed, sitting at her desk and writing something.

Although magic is everything in this world and studying it is always considered the top priority, the act of writing has not lost its place.

No country can function on magic alone, especially not without the coordination of civil officials.

Here, in the Cathedral, theology is inseparable from the written word; writing remains an indispensable skill.

Because of this, Ino was surprised, but she also felt more approval toward Lulumia—effort is always worthy of respect.

But if Ino had known that Lulumia had intentionally left her door open so the passing sisters could see her diligence and thus boost her reputation within the Church, she would probably have had a different opinion.

With a smile on her face, Ino originally planned to quietly sneak up behind Lulumia to peek at what she was writing.

However, thinking of the persistent fear Lulumia held toward her, she realized that if she did sneak up behind her, Lulumia might be scared half to death.

So she smiled helplessly, knocked on the door, and only then entered the room.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, it’s Sister Ino.”

Hearing the commotion, Lulumia quickly put down her quill and stood up, but Ino pressed her hand down, signaling that she didn’t need to be so formal.

“Ever since I took you in, we haven’t had a meal together. Since there’s nothing scheduled this morning, I thought I’d drop by. How about going to the dining hall together? The meal standards for the Saint Son are much higher than for ordinary clergy—wait, do you even need to eat? I recall most Magitek Dolls don’t require food.”

“I do! I’m a high-performance Magitek Doll. If I don’t eat, I’ll starve to death.”

Unfortunately, Ino didn’t get the joke.

She just clasped her hands behind her back and showed a sweet smile.

“Then let’s go together.”

“Um… Sister Ino, could you wait a bit longer? I’m almost done here.”

“No problem.”

After agreeing, Ino stood beside Lulumia, who was in the middle of designing type molds and perfecting movable type printing.

But Ino had barely stood for a minute when another knock came at the door.

The visitor was the senior sister, Shalina, who bowed respectfully, though her tone carried a hint of reproach.

“Lady Ino, aren’t you attending the morning training?”

“No.”

The gentle tone she used with Lulumia was gone, and Ino replied stiffly, “The content is too simple. Going would be a waste of my time.”

“But this will lower your evaluation within the Church.”

“Tell the Cardinal I’ll be hunting in the northern Beato Great Forest this afternoon. If his training is truly for the sake of improving the Saint Son’s strength, then have a few Saint Knights prepared to support me after the battle.”

“Uh… Should I bring Lulumia along?”

Ino hesitated for a moment.

“No need.”

“Why? She is your Magitek Doll; assisting you is her duty. For her to idle away all day like this, it’s hardly—”

“Whether she’s worthy or not is for me to decide! Shalina, I don’t like others meddling in my affairs. If you keep pestering me, return to the Geffen parish. I can handle things here alone.”

Shalina, her head wrapped in a scarf, opened her mouth as if to say more, but seeing the clear displeasure on Ino’s face, she could only lower her head and leave.

“…Yes, ma’am.”

The sisters in the corridor who’d gathered to watch the commotion also dispersed, and silence returned to the room.

As if trying to soothe Lulumia’s “anxiety,” Ino patted her head with a smile.

“Don’t be afraid. Shalina’s always like this—she cares too much about me and ends up being less friendly to those around me. Lately, the Cardinal’s been using my absences as an excuse to establish authority and has been putting a lot of pressure on Shalina. She ends up taking her frustration out on you, but you shouldn’t let it bother you. Come on, let’s go to the dining hall.”

“O-okay.”

Outwardly she acted fearful, but inwardly Lulumia was already sticking her tongue out at Shalina.

Shalina looked only about ten years older than her former self in her previous life.

Compared to the pressure from the Fourth Princess, this powerless old woman was nothing.

After that, Ino led Lulumia through the Cathedral.

Since her previous entrances and exits from the Cathedral had been either at midnight or dawn, this was Lulumia’s first time seeing the Cathedral in full operation.

She lived quite close to the sisters’ dormitory, so the corridors were filled with sisters wrapped in headscarves.

Unlike the aura of fear that followed Shalina, the younger sisters would greet Ino proactively.

Ino responded kindly to each, never acting the superior.

But when these young sisters noticed that Ino was accompanied by an adorable girl with dragon horns and a tail, they all, without exception, widened their eyes and stopped to stare.

Some would pet Lulumia’s head, some would pinch her cheeks, all the while showering her with compliments like, “So cute,” “If you need anything, just tell me,” or, “If you’re scared at night, you can sleep with big sister,” which left Lulumia at her wits’ end.

After all, even among the nuns in certain doujin books, there’s a difference between those who are drawn attractively and those who are not.

Not all nuns are charming.

To Lulumia, having her cheeks pinched by unfamiliar and less-than-beautiful sisters was no different from having a neighbor’s tactless aunt do the same—just annoying.

Of course, there were also sisters who envied Lulumia; they mostly focused on her enjoying a private dormitory.

Normally, sisters stayed in crowded rooms with no privacy at all—only those at Shalina’s rank enjoyed a single room.

—In fact, if Lulumia’s reputation weren’t so poor, she should have been living right next door to Ino.

Moving forward, Lulumia walked through a long corridor paved with white jade and entered the main hall. There was a small garden square here, where scattered believers in varying attire knelt in worship before a statue at the garden’s center. Most of those present looked like nobles.

As for commoners, Lulumia only saw them after entering the chapel. It was just past seven, yet the great hall, lined with long benches, was already filled with people sitting or standing.

Though their clothes were patched and their hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in ages, each face wore a look of devotion.

When they saw Ino in her clerical gown and Lulumia in her religious dress, they even bowed slightly in respect.

But what really drew Lulumia’s attention were those kneeling by the wall, their bodies covered with only a thin layer of cloth.

They were skin and bones, kneeling in a row, visibly filthy.

Lulumia almost mistook them for death-row prisoners from the Middle East, lined up for execution.

“Are you curious about them?”

Noticing where Lulumia was looking, Ino tilted her head.

“Yeah. Even dressed like that, they can enter the Cathedral? I thought they’d be stopped at the door.”

“They’re slaves, here with their masters. There are also beggars among them. After morning prayer, the Church distributes porridge. Many people who can’t afford a meal rely on the Church’s charity.”

At this, Ino lowered her voice a bit.

“That’s why openly declaring your clerical status in the slums brings advantages in all respects. The beggars and street children have all received the Church’s charity and are mostly faithful. They’re the Church’s unwitting mouthpieces. Even the most despicable thug wouldn’t dare publicly insult Lady Istelle.”

“The Holy Nation of Ounheim considers itself Istelle’s protector. Here, if you say you don’t believe in Lady Istelle, you’ll be shunned. On the other hand, clergy are held in high esteem. But this rule really only applies to ordinary people and mid-level nobles. In recent years, things have changed among the upper nobility and royalty.”

“For example, Fourth Princess Sinrella. Her birthplace, the Seran Empire, doesn’t follow Istelle’s faith, and she’s never undergone baptism, yet the current king still granted her the title of Fourth Princess. This shows a shift in the royal family’s attitude toward the Istelle faith.”

At this, Ino smiled, glancing down at Lulumia with a knowing look.

“Does it sound like I’m being too blunt? As a Saint Son candidate, maybe I shouldn’t talk about these things?”

“A little…”

Lulumia answered honestly.

Ino lightly tapped the Kiri Cross Sword slung at her waist.

“You’re my Magitek Doll. You’ll find out about these things sooner or later, so there’s no point in hiding them. Besides, don’t you need to make money? I think this information could be useful to you. That said, earning five thousand gold coins in half a year is still a tall order. You can give it a try, Mia. Whatever’s lacking, I’ll figure out how to help. Sinrella is incredibly powerful—she’s not easy to handle.”

“If I have enough information and startup capital, maybe it’s possible to try in six months.”

Lulumia said seriously.

But Ino didn’t take her seriousness at face value, only treating Lulumia as a child.

In the royal capital, ninety percent of people couldn’t earn five thousand gold coins in their whole lives, let alone Lulumia, whose mental age was set at ten. Ino brushed her off.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. If you run into trouble, tell me and I’ll support you. That witch publicly insulted my faith in Lady Istelle—this isn’t just between you and her anymore.”

No, no, I never intended to be a pretty face.

If I got isekai’d into another world and didn’t make something of myself, wouldn’t that be a waste?

If she didn’t have to pretend to be a well-behaved girl in front of Ino, Lulumia would have protested out loud by now.

Ino continued, her tone turning a bit reflective.

“I’ve been in the capital less than two months and don’t know much about it. After taking down those smugglers and helping so many Magitek Dolls return home, the nobles are grateful to me. What I’ve gained is far more than it seems on the surface…”

“Oh, by the way, a guardian knight named Julie came by the Church yesterday to ask about you, Mia. Do you know her? Could she be a creditor?”

“No, she helped me with the smugglers.”

So she’s alive after all, Lulumia thought.

She’d been too busy lately to even think about Julie.

Then again, Julie seemed strong—there was no need to worry about her safety.

“Then I should thank her properly later. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have met you, Mia.”

As they spoke, the two arrived at the dining hall. Just as Ino said, the meal standards for Saint Son candidates were much higher than for ordinary sisters—not only was there a greater variety of food, but the dining area was also a private room.

However, it wasn’t a fully enclosed box room. When Ino and Lulumia entered, others were already eating and chatting inside.

Then, those who had been chatting and laughing suddenly fell silent, glancing first at Ino, then turning their attention in unison to the petite girl at Ino’s side.

Lulumia instinctively opened her status panel, alarm bells ringing in her mind.

Not good.

What she faced was a group of Magitek Dolls.

Among them, the only youth who wasn’t a Magitek Doll bore the title “Saint Son of Brilliance.”

Running into rivals like this, when she only had Level 1 magic power—wasn’t she just being set up as the perfect target?