Awakening Ceremony (3)

Seeing Marie come back to the room with a bucket of hot water and a damped cloth, Criselle decided to get something else.

 

"I'll get the curtains," she said and went over to the side to get the mobile partition.

 

Marie, who was carrying a bucket of hot water and damped cloth, nodded and went over to Vivian.

 

"Sister Vivian, I'll get your things after this. Please remove your clothes," she said and reached out for her clothes.

 

Before the ceremony started, Vivian removed her cloak, necklace and gloves in case they might get dirty. But they forgot to bring it with them upon coming here. Usually, when the members train on the Training Grounds, they don't wear their cloaks and necklaces.

 

"Wait!" Vivian said and held out a hand. "What are you doing?"

 

"To wash you."

 

Vivian blinked a few times.

 

Is this common behavior for women or just this place…?

 

These women aren't lesbians, right…?

 

She studied Marie and Criselle's faces.

 

Marie was in her late teens and an extremely gorgeous long-haired brunette that if Vivian was back in her original world, she would no doubt be a high-fashion model. She had the face -- foxy eyes, high cheekbones, full lips and flawless white skin --, the body, the height which was about 6ft, the bone structure and the elegance. And compared to Vivian, the only part where Vivian won was the bust size.

 

As for Criselle, she was in her early 30s with short blonde hair and was average by all measures. And when compared to Vivian, the only 2 things she could defeat her were her height which was around 5'5 and her friendly face.

 

"It's okay, I can wash myself and I prefer to wash myself inside a bathroom," Vivian said and tried to get up.

 

Criselle finally arrived with the mobile partition.

 

"Sister, you don't need to remove all of your clothes, just your armor, shirt and pants will do."

 

"But you guys already did so much for me. I don't want to take advantage of it anymore."

 

As a man in her previous world, Vivian wasn’t used to being helped or assisted by strangers.

 

Criselle sat down next to her on the bed.

 

"I'll be honest with you, sister. I don't know if you're aware of this but although most people in the Temple would want to help each other because we're all proud of being part of this Temple, another reason why we're adamant in helping one another is because of Class Magic."

 

"Class Magic?"

 

"Do you know what's the common requisite in learning the Class Magic of Priests?"

 

Vivian recalled what Joshua told her.

 

"I only know what Brother Joshua told me in getting [Greater Heal]."

 

"Let me guess, he told you it is to ease the suffering of others, right?"

 

"Yes."

 

"That is the truth. And the more you help people, the faster you will learn Class Magic.”

 

“So you’re only helping me because you want to learn Class Magic?” 

 

A sweet smile appeared on Criselle and Marie’s face.

 

“That’s part of it,” said Criselle. “But another part is that most Priests are naturally inclined to help others. Have you ever heard about that choosing a Class should be based on a person’s personality?”

 

“More or less.”

 

“However, if you're not comfortable about us helping you wash, it's okay, we understand. After all, you just joined yesterday so it may certainly feel strange from your point of view."

 

If they told her that they just simply wanted to help her out of the kindness of their heart without expecting anything in return or having any hidden agenda, most people in her position would naturally be suspicious and decline it. However, after learning the real reason, now it made sense to her and it significantly dropped her suspicions.

 

"I now understand, sisters."

 

Criselle and Marie nodded.

 

Vivian scratched the back of her head and let out a wry smile.

"Just so you know, I've been out the whole day doing Holy Missions and Quests, and then there's this one. So I might smell a bit…"

 

Criselle and Marie chuckled.

 

"Oh sister, this is not even close to what we face when doing Holy Missions," said Criselle.

 

Marie nodded.

 

"Well, if you guys are still interested in helping me, then I will accept it."

 

The two flashed her a smile and then helped her undress and wash while talking about so many topics -- where Vivian was from, about her being an adventurer, what her previous Class was and many other things.

 

And of course, Vivian also threw questions at them.

 

***

 

The next day.

 

Vivian woke up inside the dorm room.

 

Last night, after being helped by Criselle and Marie to wash, they talked for a bit before they all left the infirmary.

 

Although Vivian was allowed to sleep in the infirmary, she declined because she didn't want to sleep there alone in case something happened.

 

In her mind, it's better safe than sorry.

 

Criselle and Marie even offered to accompany her but she declined them because she also needed to go back to her dorm room and wash her clothes.

 

She got up from her bed and looked around.

 

Just like yesterday, she was the only one left.

 

She rubbed her forehead.

 

I keep waking up late…

 

Pop.

 

Pop.

 

"Yawn…!'

 

She made some popping sounds with her neck as she yawned. She then tied her hair and got up to do her morning routine.

 

***

 

At the cafeteria.

 

When Vivian entered, she immediately headed straight to the counter. And as she was making her way there, she tried to look for Criselle.

 

Within the cafeteria, about 8 customers were sitting, eating and chatting on the table, and there were 2 personnel behind the counter.

 

She's not here…

 

Or perhaps she's in the back…?

 

There was a door behind the counter which Vivian believed led to the the kitchen and storage room.

 

She finally arrived at the counter.

 

"Hi, good morning. I'm here for my first free meal of the day."

 

"Okay, please wait for a moment," the Brown Cloak Priest said and began preparing her meal.

 

A moment later, the Priest handed her meal to her on a tray.

 

Looking at the meal, Vivian's eyebrow rose.

 

Unlike the past 2 days, this time it was different.

There was a bowl of beans with thick soup, a piece of bread, and a small bowl of meat and vegetable soup. And as usual, a mug of beer.

 

"Thank you, brother,” she said and smiled.

 

"You're welcome, sister,” he said and smiled as well.

 

***

 

At the library.

 

Vivian was carrying the book that Marie lent her yesterday as she entered.

 

Annabelle, the old and kind-looking White-Cloak librarian, was sitting behind her desk made eye contact with her and they both gave each other a small nod with a smile.

 

Vivian then turned her head away to look for someone.

 

She saw Marie who was sitting with Carr and Said at one of the tables and waving at her with a smile on her face.

 

She waved back and headed towards them.

 

When she arrived at the table, Carr and Said greeted her with a smile and a nod to which she replied back as well.

 

Marie, on the other hand, got up from her seat and turned towards the two men.

 

"Talk to you guys later~"

 

She grabbed Vivian's hand and dragged her away to another table.

 

"How are you, Sister Vivian?"

 

"I'm fine."

 

"So you were really serious last night about resuming our tutorial lessons."

 

Vivian's brows knitted together.

 

"Why wouldn't I?"

 

"Because you know, the ceremony last night."

 

They both sat down at the table.

 

"I'm already fine," Vivian said and placed the book on her hand on top of the table. "And plus, I can't stand doing nothing or wasting my time doing unproductive things."

 

Marie's eyes landed on the book that Vivian placed on top of the table before returning her gaze to Vivian.

 

"You're done reading it?"

 

"Yeah. But there are times when I encounter longer words or words with complicated spellings that I still have to pause and recall the alphabet for a moment."

 

"I see. But your progress is already very impressive. Just yesterday you didn't know the alphabet and now you've read a book."

 

Vivian glanced at the book.

 

Rather than a book, in her eyes, it was nothing but a pamphlet or no different from a children's book. It was nowhere close enough to even stimulate her mind.

 

"Can you recommend me another book? If I just continue reading this book, I'll only end up memorizing it rather than actually learning how to read faster."

 

"Okay, wait for a moment," Marie said before getting and going over to the bookshelves.

 

When she came back, she handed a book over to Vivian.

 

"I recommend this."

 

Vivian received it and read the title.

 

"The First Priest And The Demon General?"

 

"You're an Adventurer, right? That book shares some passages of how the First Priest N'eua, the First Light Saint and the founder of the Temple of Priests, teamed up with two people who later became an inspiration for creating the Adventurer's Guild."

 

Vivian's eyes blinked a few times.

 

Is this just a coincidence…?

 

The first book she read was about the creation of the world and how the Temple of Priests was defending it from the demons, demon-worshipers, the Cult of Infinity and the heretics.

 

Well…

 

At least 4 times thicker…

 

It will give me more time to practice reading…

 

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
 
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Chapter end