Third Holy Mission (2)

Somewhere in Luxen City.

A group of 10 Priests, 1 white cloak and 9 brown cloaks, were accompanied by 8 knights, 2 nobles, 2 helpers: a butler and a maid, and 2 carriages that was carrying supplies.

They were walking in a neighborhood that looked like a slum area.

Vivian's eyes wandered around as she saw at the homeless people everywhere. There were children playing around and there were adults standing or sitting on the street and looking at them, especially at the 2 carriages carrying supplies.

Rub, rub, rub…

A certain stench lingered around Vivian's nose and she suppressed the urge to cover her nose. She opted to rub it instead as if it were itchy.

I don't want this…

Some of the kids that were playing passed by close to her and she got a whiff of them. Although she suppressed the desire to recoil from disgust, she subconsciously held her breath so that she couldn't continue smelling them.

God, please…

Please don't let them touch me…

I beg you…!

She tried to distract herself with the notes that Lily gave her. 

However, after remembering that they were walking and they were also in a slum area, she tossed the idea away because she might step or bump into something. 

She took a glance at her companions.

Among the Priests, 7 of them were women and 3 were men. 

Meanwhile, for the knights, they were all men, ranging from 18-35 years old.

And as for the 2 nobles, one was a man in his early 20s with an extremely thin frame accompanied by a butler in his 40s, while the other one was a woman in her mid-20s who was the same as Melissa's body and was accompanied by a maid in her 30s.

Coincidentally, the 2 nobles were walking beside Melissa, with her in the middle.

"Lady Priestess Melissa, did you hear the rumor of why that damned heretic betrayed humanity?" the noblewoman asked giggly as if she was a 14-year-old girl talking about a big secret.

A few of the knights accompanying them winced when they heard the word "damned heretic" came out of the noblewoman's mouth.

"What was the heretic's name again?" asked Melissa.

"Ronaldo, Lady Priestess," said the male noble.

"Thank you, Lord Havier."

Havier's face beamed. He placed a hand on his chest and offered a graceful and slight bow.

"There's no need to thank me, Lady Priestess Melissa. You are after all busy with far more important matters so it's understandable that you're not up with such events."

The female noble wanted to roll her eyes but didn't dare to.

"Lady Priestess Melissa," she said, causing Melissa to turn to her. "Apparently -- and this is what I've heard from the other noble ladies. The story about that damned heretic having feelings for the Third Queen turned out to be true. He planned to lead a rebellion against the King and have the Third Queen as his wife."

Melissa raised an eyebrow.

"Wasn't that damned heretic the Third Queen's knight before she became the Third Queen?"

"You are indeed correct, Lady Priestess Melissa. As a matter of fact, before that, they both used to be adventurers -- well, before the Third Queen became a queen, she secretly became an adventurer without the knowledge of anyone and that's when she and that damned heretic met. And now there are rumors that the Third Queen must've played a role in that failed attempt of rebellion. She's also being suspected of knowing the current whereabouts of that damned heretic."

"How did His Majesty take it?"

"So far, nothing, both in private and public. His Majesty is still in the main city with the Fifth Queen. However, the Queens from the other cities have begun sending envoys to the main city to have the Third Queen and her son's royal status removed."

"And what was the Third Queen's reaction?"

"Also nothing."

"Perhaps it's because the rumors are actually true?" asked Havier.

Melissa didn't answer and stared into the horizon as she was thinking of a deep and philosophical topic concerning the universe.

"Lady Priestess," said the female noble. "There's more. Due to the incident, there's also another rumor spreading that the Third Queen's son, Prince Caspian, must be the damned heretic's son."

Melissa turned to her and knitted her brows together.

"That can't be true. No matter how you look at it, the Third Queen's son is the spitting image of His Majesty when he was still young. But unfortunately, His Highness isn't as talented as His Majesty."

"You're right, Lady Priestess!" Havier said before turning to the female noble. "Lady Sachion, I don't mind you sharing juicy and exciting rumors, but to tell such obvious lies to Lady Priestess Melissa is an insult!"

Sachion snorted and muttered under her breath as she looked away.

"Now, now, stop fighting," Melissa said with a serene look on her face. "Isn't there a saying that every legend has an element of truth in them?"

"You're absolutely right, Lady Priestess Melissa!" Havier immediately replied without missing a beat and then shook his head. "My, my, I feel like every time I'm blessed to have to have a conversation with you or just hear you speak, my knowledge of the world and life only seems to expand. You truly are a paragon of beauty, grace, intelligence and talent, Lady Priestess Melissa!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that your flattery won't get you anywhere?" Melissa said and looked away with a noticeable blushed cheeks.

"But Lady Priestess, it's true! At least for me, it's the truth… And I swear to all the Elemental Gods!"

"Me too, Lady Priestess!" said Sachion, causing Melissa's already blushed cheeks to blush even more.

Meanwhile, Vivian and everyone, except for the butler and maid looked, away. 

Hmm...

Is the Temple of Priests this powerful that the nobles can openly talk about royalty like this, especially in front of knights…?

Or is this fat Priestess some kind of a big shot…?

As far as Vivian knows, there are rankings among the colors of a Priest's Cloak -- Brown, White, and Yellow with Red and Gray as the special positions.

She continued to distract herself by observing her surroundings.

Her brows knitted together when she saw homeless adult men begging on the street.

Why are there poor people in this world…?

Unlike the world she came from, based on her understanding, this world didn't have an unemployment issue and therefore there shouldn't be poor people.

Sure, it was a dangerous world due to the existence of magic. However, there were jobs like being an adventurer. And although people are limited to the Magic Arts they can learn, everyone can learn Physical Arts.

Vivian shook her head.

I guess no matter what world there will always be weak, lazy and entitled people…

Hmm…

I wonder what kind of lame and pathetic excuses are the losers of this world giving to justify their own worthless existence…

Back in her original world, Vivian was born and raised in a country that wasn't exactly poor but wasn't exactly rich either, just right in the middle. And because of that, she was able to see firsthand the reality of both sides -- extreme poverty and extreme wealth.

It wasn't even common for her to see 10-year-old girls selling peanuts, water and cigarettes on the streets, day and night, rain or shine in order to help feed their families.

So in seeing such sacrifice, resilience, work ethic or whatever that's called from a little child, in Vivian's head, she couldn't think of any excuse that a grown adult, especially men, can give to justify why they're poor and lazy.

Unless of course if the said adult was born with a legit physical disability. 

Even the word "depressed" doesn't exist in Vivian's vocabulary.

And plus, Vivian's father was a very strict man. He would kill her, her original body, if she turned out to be a deadbeat.

Vivian looked at her hand and formed a fist.

Even the owner of this body…

24 fucking years old…

And yet, not only was she poor, but she also didn't have any skills that I personally had to level them up…

Including the [Fire] and [Poison Mastery] that don't even require magic to unlock…

What a worthless lazy bitch…

***

The group finally reached their destination.

It was a large two-story building and there was a group of people waiting for them at the entrance.

Vivian knitted her brows together.

Is this an orphanage or a nursing home…?

The people waiting at the entrance to welcome them were from different age groups -- from children to old. However, there were more children.

A woman in her mid-30s stepped forward and bowed.

"Thank you for visiting, Lady Priestess Melissa, Honored Priests, Lord Havier and Lady Sachion! Everyone is excited to see all of you once again!"

"Yes!" the kids cheered.

Meanwhile, the old people either smiled and nodded or prayed.

Melissa stepped forward.

"Please don't mention it, Cara. In accordance with the pack between the Temple of Priests, His Majesty, the nobles and sponsors, we are simply performing our solemn duty in easing the pain and suffering of those in need."

"We still would like to express our gratitude to the God of Light, His Majesty and everyone else for this blessing," Cara said and bowed.

The kids and the old people did the same.

Seeing them, Melissa, Sachion and Havier nodded in satisfaction.

Melissa then turned to Havier.

"Lord Havier, if you will, please."

"Yes, Lady Priestess!" Havier said before turning to the leader of the knights.

The leader of the knights made a salute and then turned to the rest of the knights.

"Unload the cargo."

"Yes, sir!" said the knights as they saluted.

While the knights were unloading the cargo, Melissa, Sachion, Havier and the rest of the Priests were escorted to the building.