The words on the page gradually faded away.
However, Celia remained deeply immersed in those words, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
What did it mean by... “fate will leave you with no other choice”?
Was it threatening her? That she had to rely on sacrificing spiritual items just to survive?
Should she really believe it?
If she didn't, what would she do if someone really wanted to kill her? She knew absolutely nothing about this extraordinary world, let alone how to face an unknown death!
Celia felt herself going a bit crazy, but at least one thing was certain.
She had to try and find some spiritual items first. That way, if someone really was trying to assassinate her, she might actually save her own life. And if it was lying, she wouldn't lose anything by sacrificing them anyway!
With this in mind, she whispered to the notebook:
“How do I find spiritual items?”
The notebook did not respond again...
Seeing this, refusing to accept defeat, Celia raised her voice slightly and asked again with an air of mock solemnity:
“O ancient and unpredictable Notes of Destiny, by what means should I discover and observe spiritual items...?”
Still no response...
“Saintess profanity! Saintess profanity! Saintess profanity!”
Angrily tossing the notebook aside, still feeling unsatisfied, she gave it a fierce glare before sitting back down at the altar to eat her fruit.
“Hmph, what a useless notebook, always trying to scare people!” she muttered.
Having said that, she didn't forget to spit in the direction of the notebook, only to instantly change her expression as she cradled another fruit, praising devoutly:
“The Goddess's offerings are still the tastiest. Praise the Goddess!”
Just as she was feasting, a tolling bell suddenly echoed from afar, dull and long.
“Dong—”
Celia quickly set down the fruit and covered her ears.
In the Church of Life, the bell tolled twice before morning prayers. The first was an hour before the prayers began, and the second was at the start of the prayers. The first tolling usually rang a full thirteen times before stopping.
She waited quietly until the thirteenth toll passed and the world returned to silence.
“Sigh, time for prayers again...”
Though her heart was full of resentment, Celia quickly cleared the altar, hid the somewhat sacrilegious offerings under the bed, threw on her holy robe, picked up her holy scripture, and prepared to head out.
The cathedral wasn't too far from her residence, only a ten-minute walk away, so she still had plenty of time to prepare.
Looking around to double-check her surroundings, her gaze fell once more on the notebook not far away. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to hide it in the inner pocket of her holy robe.
Once she was sure she hadn't missed anything, she pulled up her hood and walked out the door.
...
Vytania, a theocratic kingdom in the northwest of the continent of Fanaria, was ruled by the Church of Life. The place where Celia currently resided was Leytin City, a small border town in the southwestern corner of the kingdom.
Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, many simple stalls had already been set up on both sides of the street. Most sold fruit, with plump skins still glistening with condensation.
Celia swallowed hard, forcing herself to look away as she silently quickened her pace.
The public oven at the street corner was already lit, and a woman wrapped in a coarse linen shawl was sliding fermented rye dough into the hearth.
Not far away, a handcart rolled over the cobblestones, its axle creaking loudly. Several baskets of cabbage and turnips gathered from nearby farms were piled on the cart, dew still clinging to their leaves.
In the distance, she could faintly see the towering bell tower, next to which stood Saint Sophia Cathedral, her destination.
Continuing down the street, an intersection appeared ahead. Celia turned the corner and entered another street.
After walking a short distance, the cathedral came into view. The entrance was packed with people crowding around, seemingly receiving relief meals.
Looking around, Celia noticed a fresh parchment notice posted on the nearby bulletin stone:
“The High Tower Council of the North has officially issued a witch-hunting decree and reached an agreement with Pope Constantine of Vytania. In the coming days, the North will send envoys to assist the theocracy in purging heretical cults.”
The High Tower of the North? What are they coming to the theocracy for?
I hope they don't come to Leytin City. I heard those people from the North are a bunch of obsessive maniacs!
Below that was another notice:
“At the Star Academy in the neutral land of Midgard, students have recently committed suicide one after another. The headmaster has issued a public warning, suspecting contamination by some unclean entity. Please remain extremely vigilant in the coming days. May the Goddess Verdandi have mercy.”
This world is so dangerous!
While lamenting in her heart, she let out a helpless sigh.
Sigh, aside from those bizarre prayers, at least the Church of Life is still relatively normal...
Rate on N.U.
