More People Know

"That line snapped… what do you mean by that?" the old woman fazed by Rosine's choice of words.

"Her past, Mrs. Poly," the priestess gracefully pointed out. "I greatly hope to the Goddess that I mistook what I saw. As I were looking into her memories, there's a void, a cold dark nothingness."

"…" Mrs. Poly was speechless. Her lips were shaken, struggling to find a word to reply, but alas to no success.

"That darkness," said the priestess continuing, "is the anomaly I was saying earlier. My magic conveyed to me that her missing memories were around the time she was born until she's at four years old."

Hearing that sends chills down the old woman's rusted spine. Amidst of that, she pulls a string in her stream of thoughts, figuring what the priestess truly meant.

"Oh, Goddess… do you mean, she has no recollection of her past at all?"

Rosine nods in a horrified expression.

"…Yes." Turning her attention to the sleeping girl, she explains to Mrs. Poly, "It bothers me why this child does not show any memories of her life since birth. I understand most people wouldn't remember their time as a baby, but I, as a priest, am capable to see the memories that an individual could not by borrowing the power of the Goddess through the system.

However, Oria is different. I couldn't see anything in her mind of those times."

"…Is it possible that she suffered a tragedy till it erased her memories?"

"I'm afraid that couldn't be possible, Mrs. Poly. That would only lead to her forgetting, but not in the case of her memories turning into nothingness. Even the system didn't detect this oddness..."

Sighingly, the old woman looks at Oria's sleeping face, "Yeah, I guess yer right. …That's too bad. I honestly hoped I could trace her parents, help her current guardians, too."

"Yes, I agree. I was hoping to see her parents' faces. But I saw nothing. I hate to say, but her disappeared memories made it ambiguous whether she's a victim of that massive kidnapping crime or not."

In a husky voice, Granny Poly remarks, "Even though her psyche condition is similar to those kidnapping victims?"

"Yes. Because of this, we cannot conclude anything yet," the priest sounded disappointed. But soon, her smile appears like a sunrise "Though, all is not lost."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Staring to the old lady's wrinkled face, she replies, "I did say that Oria had no memories of her past. But that doesn't mean she doesn't remember anything. I can at least tell where her trauma comes from."

"O-Oh, really? Mind telling me, Rosine?"

"I don't mind. But please brace yourself."

The old woman gulps, preparing herself for the worst. "…Please tell."

Rosine loses her smile again. In her serene voice then discloses about Oria's past as a slave. Subsequently, her expression turns horror. She tells Mrs. Poly about the abusing and violence she received during that time. Hearing this sends the old woman into a shocking state. What she previously thought about her was confirmed.

Caressing her forehead, she lowly says, "…So, I was right on the spot."

"I'm sorry?"

"I… I had some ideas of why she was freaking out when Katze and I touched a topic about her past. I had feelings that she was probably a slave, but it just felt unreal, I denied such thoughts. Oh, Goddess… it's painful to take it in."

"Her past of being a slave was the one bothered me the most. I could not believe a group of devilish humans existed." the priestess didn't say a word. She, too, was shaken after seeing those existing memories of her.

"Now that this has come to light, it's hard to not say that these slavers were connected to the kidnapping incident, ain't it?"

"Yeah. I had a line of thought like that, yes. I might need to report to the Apostle about this."

"Please do. But uhh… Rosine. If I may ask you a favor, I would like you to not say a word of Oria's origins to anyone."

The sky-blue-haired woman agrees, "Very well. I promise in the name of Goddess Altria I shall not tell anyone about this. But as a priest, a servant of the Goddess, I have a duty to follow: to cure her trauma."

"Keh-heh. Of course. That's also the reason why I brought Oria here."

"It will take a considerable amount of time, but I will not matter it. I wish her to be able to overcome those nightmares and be able to stand on her own two feet in society. Just imagining what she went through was enough to make me feel nauseous."

"I admire your empathy, Rosine. But weren't you going to leave before the snow falls?"

"Hhm," Rosine shook her head. "After witnessing such tragic memories, I don't think I will ever find peace in my heart if I abandon her. I will stay. After all, my little sister will be more than happy to stay here. The children, too, will be happy if I stay."

"Keh-heh-heh. That's really nice of you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Having you here certainly brings ease to this old, withered woman."

A moment later, Mrs. Poly remembers she needs to go to the market. She leaves Oria at the priestess's care, to which Rosine gladly accepted. The old lady takes her tote bag on the round wooden table and excuses herself.

On the road to the market, Mrs. Poly can't remove the thought that Oria was a slave. It just revolves around her brain.

"…Poor child," she mumbled.

Her mind then remembers Sqidral Dux, the wizard who introduced her to her for the first time.

"I wonder… did he know anything about this? Hmph, it would be careless if he didn't notice this. No, he must've known. If not, he wouldn't tell us to not pry into her past. Oria as a slave…"

It is at that moment she realizes one of the words Dux said before he left again.

"…Just tell the people not to wander uphill."

Those words resonated within her for several times. Soon, a candle has lit in her brain. Her intelligent mind has pieced a puzzle piece. It brings her a possibility that she can hardly fathom. But uncertainty halts her mind from going further.

"No, I have no exact proof. Well, I'll ponder 'bout it at a later time, I guess. Maybe when Dux returns."

With that, she keeps that information at the back of her head while she proceeds with her shopping.

…

..

.

Thirty minutes later, Oria awakens herself on a bed inside the chapel. She wipes her eyes and looks around her once more.

"This place…"

There's no one around her.

"If I wasn't wrong…" Oria tries to remember, how did she end up in there. "…oh, right! Granny Poly brought me here. And there's another woman's voice. Who was it again?"

Oria then remembers the young woman's voice who tended to her mental issues.

"That's right… when she used a magic, I suddenly feel all my fears are gone. I didn't see her face, though… I closed my eyes the entire time. Oh, dear, is she mad at me because I did that? Maybe it's best for me to look for her and apologize."

The young silver-haired girl heads out through the door and encounters a white-bearded clergyman.

"Oh, are you a patient, young one?"

"I… (maybe I should say yes.) …yeah. Umm… a kind woman helped me."

"Priestess Rosine, isn't it? Indeed, she's a lot of help to me, too. This indeed the blessing of the Goddess Altria."

"Huh?"

"Oh, how rude of me to not introduce myself! I am Bishop Arun, the head priest of Fred Village chapel. Priestess Rosine is the one who nurtured you back to health, dear."

"Priestess Rosine… ah! (That's right. That's her name!) Where is she now?"

"Oh, she's giving a story to the children outside. I humbly suggest you join and listen to her, too. All children love her storytelling."

"Hm! I will! Thank you, Grandpa!" with that Oria hurriedly go out of the chapel.

"…Kyeh-heh. Grandpa, eh? Now I wonder how my granddaughter fares in the capital. Welp! Time to prepare a mass this afternoon."

As the young girl hits the pavement, she encounters few villagers passing by. This time, however, she does not feel any deathly sensation when looking at people.

"(That feeling is gone… is this the result of the kind woman's magic?)"

The world in her eyes now regain color. Not only those blackening eyesight from before is gone, now she feels great. The cold air of the nearing winter can be breathed peacefully.

"Hi, there, kiddo! Oooh, that's a pretty silver hair you have! Playing by yourself?" the villager who passed by asked. He's carrying a considerable amount of iron posts.

"Erm… no?"

"What? Ah, I see. Are you lost?"

"N-Not really, actually. I'm uhh… looking for Priestess Rosine."

"Ah! I see, I see. You want to attend her lesson, don't you? Well, step right ahead, kiddo. She often tells stories at Uncle Marcus's blacksmith. Go to the backyard and you'll find her."

"Oh, umm… thank you, mister."

"Yeah-haha, no worries, kiddo. All of us here helps each other. No one gets left behind. Well, then. Gotta go! My buddies are waitin' for me."

"Y-Yeah…"

Seeing the villager left her in such happy face, Oria herself found it surprisingly amazing that she doesn't fear people anymore.

"(Wow… this is great! Priestess Rosine's magic is incredible! I can make conversations with people around me!)" Oria celebrated her tiny success. "(O-Oh, right. I must go and find her first! I must say thank you and apologize to her.)"

At the edge of the village, near the border marked by palisade walls, there's a building that houses a large amount of smithing equipment. Inside can be heard a group of men forging something with their hammers.

However, going in there isn't her goal. Oria goes around the small building and notices a wooden fence covering the backyard. As she enters through the door, she sees the alluring priestess reading a storybook to roughly twenty other children. They are all seated to wooden stools.

"(That must be Priestess Rosine…)"

And just when Oria arrives to join…

"…they lived happily ever after. The end."

Her story ends.

"Very well, then, children, that is all for today's story. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the story of a legendary hero."

One of the children whines about her leaving, "But what if you're not gonna make it? You said you'll leave soon!"

"Nooo! Please don't go! I really love your story, Miss Rosine!"

"Papa told me you're one of the best priestesses ever! It's a shame if you just leave us!"

Rosine in her divine smile kindly responds to their childly desires, "Ahahaha… that's really sweet, all of you. In case you haven't known yet, I'm planning to stay here a bit longer. Maybe we can all hear stories during the festival!"

"Really?"

"You mean it?"

She nods to everyone, "Yes. It will be a lively start of this year's winter."

Almost simultaneously, the children shouts happily when she confirmed of her stay.

"Yaaay!"

"Thank you, Priestess!"

"You're the best!"

"We're waiting for the next story!"

"Yeehaw! I think I'll work hard so I won't miss her next stories!"

The kids are eager to hear more. But as the day rises, they all have their own activities to do.

"Well, gotta go. Papa will be frowning at me if I'm late to help him."

"Yeah. I don't want mom to work on her own. See ya!"

"Yeah, see ya."

In a rush, Oria goes outside again and hides behind the wooden fence. As the boys and girls leave for their respective activities, Oria peeks through the slit of the wooden fences. Only four children remain with her. With that, the silver-haired child enters the backyard again and greets the priestess in person.

"Umm… h-hi, there! Priestess Rosine!"

The children there and the priestess reflectively look at her. Rosine smiles as her eyes see the child talking to her freely without any sign of distress.

In a serene voice, she greets her back, "Why, hello there, Oria."