Mount Holy Radiance Cathedral was situated south of the academy. It was the largest cathedral operated by the Holy See of Dawn in Radiant City, dedicated to the seven orthodox gods officially recognized by the empire.
However, faith in the Lord of Dawn ultimately reigned supreme within the empire, so the cathedral's decor reflected this. With a base of gold and white and a towering dome that pierced the clouds, a flame that never went out burned year-round atop the cathedral's spire. From a distance, it looked as if the Lord of Dawn was keeping a single golden eye open, looking down upon all of Radiant City.
A dedicated pilgrimage path had been built between the cathedral and the academy, paved with neat bluestone slabs and lined on both sides with evergreen shrubs. On holidays, students and tourists could always be seen taking photos on the path to commemorate their visit.
Today was Saturday. The academy's bronze bell rang at exactly eleven o'clock, its sound carrying over the short distance to the cathedral, signaling the official start of the mass.
The process of the mass was not complicated. The bishop stood on the high platform of the main hall to preach, recounting stories from the holy scriptures. Most of the time, they were tales of the Lord of Dawn, though he occasionally spoke of other deities. The duration depended entirely on the bishop's mood, though it usually did not last too long.
After the sermon came the segment everyone actually cared about: the communion meal. The staple was an unlimited supply of white bread, paired with a stew of various vegetables and meats, along with a bowl of soup that varied from day to day. Today's soup was seaweed and egg drop soup, which looked incredibly delicious just from its appearance.
Erich stood in line for bread, holding his tray, his gaze fixed on the bowl of soup in the hands of the person ahead of him as he sincerely praised the Lord of Dawn. To save money for the training rooms lately, his meals had been cut down to the bare minimum. Seeing this plate of white bread and stew made his stomach practically beat like a drum.
The line was not long, and it was soon his turn. Erich copied the person in front of him, opening his right hand to lightly touch his left shoulder before pushing it outward, smoothly reciting, “May the dawn light your path.”
This was a common greeting among believers of the Lord of Dawn. Since he was here to scrounge a free meal, he naturally had to play the part. However, the person handing out the bread opposite him froze, her hand hovering in midair, failing to respond to him for a long moment.
Only then did Erich think to look closely at the nun in front of him. She wore the uniform, plain gray robe of the cathedral, her headscarf wrapped tightly. Her face was lightly made up, looking a bit more delicate than the average nun. A closer look made Erich's eyelids twitch—wasn't this none other than the Holy Maiden, Celine?
He instantly felt a bit awkward. Fortunately, another nun nearby was quick-witted. She reached out to scoop a generous portion of stew onto Erich's tray and added a bowl of soup, smoothly resolving the awkward moment. Only then did the Holy Maiden snap out of it, continuing to distribute communion bread to the people waiting behind him as if her momentary lapse of composure had never happened.
Holding his tray, Erich tactfully found a secluded corner to sit down.
The soup was indeed delicious. The seaweed was thoroughly cooked, and there were plenty of egg ribbons—they clearly hadn't held back on the eggs, far more generous than the university he attended before transmigrating. The bread was baked to a crispy golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside, steaming hot when torn open. Paired with the tender, slow-cooked stew, a single bite was enough to make one feel blissfully overwhelmed.
Erich ate with single-minded focus, and his plate was soon empty. Just as he was hesitating over whether to get another bowl of soup, he caught sight of a figure sitting down in the seat next to him out of the corner of his eye.
The person did not look at him, keeping her eyes on the crowd ahead as she spoke in a soft voice, “What is your purpose in coming here?”
Erich recognized the Holy Maiden's voice and replied, “I ran out of money, so I came for communion.”
This was only part of the reason. He was indeed dirt poor, having to budget carefully even for the hourly rental of the training rooms. The other part was an old habit from before his transmigration. In Starspire, praying at a cathedral had a small chance of randomly increasing one's stat points. Back then, the first thing he did upon logging in every day was visit a cathedral. Now that he had transmigrated into a real person, he naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity.
The Holy Maiden finally turned her head, her gaze toward him filled with undisguised disgust and suspicion. “The young master of the Edmond family actually deigns to eat such a simple communion meal?”
Erich shook his head and said solemnly, “As soon as you spoke, I noticed two errors. First, I am no longer the young master of the Edmond family. Second, your communion meal is very hearty and delicious. It is not simple at all—in fact, one could even call it luxurious.”
Because magic existed in this world, productivity was quite high, and the commoners did not live too poorly. However, a meal with unlimited white bread, plenty of meat in the stew, and free soup refills would have cost him at least twenty or thirty yuan back before his transmigration, even with food delivery coupons, and it might not have been this portion size. Yet the cathedral offered it practically open-house style, allowing seconds if one wasn't full. Calling it a luxurious feast was by no means an exaggeration.
The Holy Maiden stared at him for a long moment. Seeing that his expression was earnest and devoid of deceit, she withdrew her gaze and looked back at the crowd, her tone softening slightly. “I misunderstood you last time. Lorraine told me afterward that you didn't do anything back then.”
Erich nodded and said bluntly, “It's fine. I forgive you.”
The Holy Maiden was clearly choked up by his shameless response. She looked at him in surprise, and only after a long pause did she say, “You... seem to have changed a lot.”
“If you don't see someone for three days, you must look at them in a whole new light,” Erich said casually.
The Holy Maiden chewed on the phrase in her mind and asked, “Where did you read that?”
“My past.”
It was a cryptic answer, and Erich didn't expect her to understand it. However, the Holy Maiden let out a soft chuckle, her tone carrying an ambiguous mix of irony and relief. “In any case, please keep it up, Mr. Erich. Even if it's an act, as long as you keep acting forever, it becomes real.”
With that, she placed a small cloth bag on the seat beside Erich and stood up.
“I'll be watching you,” she said finally. “If you ever go back to your old ways, I will judge you myself.”
Having said her piece, she walked away, her gray figure passing through the crowd and quickly disappearing behind the archway on the other side of the main hall.
Erich watched her leave, unable to help but sigh inwardly. The Holy Maiden truly lived up to her title. The terrible things his predecessor had done to her would have made any ordinary person hold a grudge for a lifetime, yet she could still speak to him like this.
Erich withdrew his gaze and looked down to open the cloth bag beside him. Inside lay a row of eggs, about twenty in total.
Erich nodded in satisfaction. This was his third reason for coming to the cathedral—they handed out eggs after mass.
Carefully tucking the eggs into his jacket, he picked up his empty tray once more and walked toward the line for soup refills.
Rate on N.U.
