Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 13 Loyalty! Sincerity!

From that day on, the old man would set aside some time each morning to teach Charlotte about the knowledge and skills of the high priest.

However, the old man held an important position in the church and was very busy every day. Charlotte didn't want to bother him too much, and with the pressure of life, she worked extra hard.

Get into exam-preparation mode!

Let them see what hard work and sweat really mean!

He thought he had the High Priest's body in his grasp and could learn all the priest's skills in a short time, but he made no progress and couldn't even cast the simplest healing spell.

Charlotte stood beneath the statue of the goddess, lost in thought.

"How could this be... Does having a low intelligence stat really mean you can't learn quickly?"

"Priests might be related to intelligence, but it's unlikely that priests are related to intelligence." The old man comforted the dejected novice priest.

Charlotte felt that her head was pointed.

He did know that the higher the level of a skill, the more time it would take, since one had to learn the incantations and the flow of magic, and some even required specific postures.

But the most basic skills should be easy to learn at a glance, just like Kazuma Sato learning "stealing" and "basic magic" skills.

But now, I can't learn it at all.

The old man pondered for a moment and then said, "Believe in yourself. As long as you believe you can do it, you will definitely do it. Belief doesn't need a reason."

Ok? ? ?

Charlotte straightened her nose.

For some reason, he suddenly smelled a strange body odor.

"What does this have to do with belief?"

"Of course it's related. But we can talk about that later. I have a question." The old man's eyes were a little strange as he asked, "Do you seem to dislike the priesthood?"

"Well……"

As expected of an old man with rich life experience, he immediately saw the problem. Xia Luo did not hide anything and told him that he wanted to change his profession to become a Grand Magister.

"You mean, priests don't have offensive skills, that's why you don't like them?"

"Um."

"Who says priests don't have offensive skills?" The old man scoffed, "Whether it's the undead or demons, those rats in the gutter are beneath our notice! We priests are their natural enemies!"

The once kind and gentle old man revealed his disgust when talking about the undead and demons, his tone loud and murderous.

Like Chris, she hates evil (demons) as much as she does.

Both the Eris and Axis cults share a deep-seated hostility towards the undead and demons.

Charlotte quickly asked again:

"What about other types of enemies?"

"...Of course not."

The old man looked rather embarrassed.

Then what's the point of saying anything?

This world isn't teeming with undead and demons; there are also common monsters like goblins, slimes, and orcs. In fact, these kinds of monsters are the mainstream.

The high priest, lacking offensive capabilities, couldn't even defeat the weakest giant toad on the outskirts of the plains, which severely limited his abilities and was precisely why he disliked him.

...It's a lie.

It was simply because Charlotte was unwilling to admit that her intelligence was low, and that she wasn't even suitable for the lowest level of beginner, which was humiliating.

"Wait! What about belief? Where is the belief?!"

"Now we'll begin the explanation."

The old man gestured for him to calm down and slowly explained, "Nearly 9% of priests choose to join the church. Although most join the Church of Eris, some join the Church of Axis, or other small, less well-known churches. Very few people don't join the church. Do you know why?"

"...Because they have faith?"

"No, it's that they don't believe they can perform miracles. Priesthood is ultimately just a profession, but its responsibilities and skills are closely related to, or rather, bound to, the gods. This is a religious historical issue that has arisen over time."

"Won't saying that make the goddess angry?"

"Eris isn't that petty, and I'm stating the facts, aren't I?"

The old man smiled broadly.

For him, being able to worship such a magnanimous goddess must be a happy thing... It's just that her magnanimity is too great, and everything has become a foregone conclusion.

"so?"

"Therefore, many people do not believe in themselves but believe in goddesses, thinking that this ability is a gift from goddesses, and thus they can learn and use it smoothly."

"You mean emotional support?"

Spiritual support is an instinctive need that originates from the spiritual level. Many people cannot achieve this when they are working hard for themselves, but when they think of their family and friends, they can unleash powerful energy. There are countless examples of this.

"So that means?"

"So... kid, join the Cult of Eris."

The old man pulled out a church membership application and a pen from his pocket with such smooth and fluid movements that it gave him the feeling of exchanging postcards with a white-collar elite on their first meeting.

Charlotte smiled with relief.

When I arrived at the church, the old man didn't mention joining, so I thought they wouldn't invite me, but now it seems that's not the case.

At least it wasn't as aggressive as the Axis Church; instead, it guided her slowly, preventing Charlotte from immediately getting up and running away.

"Besides, you were brought by Lady Chris, yet you haven't joined the church... You wouldn't disappoint Lady Chris, would you?"

A dangerous glint flashed in the old man's eyes.

Charlotte quickly took the application form, swiftly wrote her name, and then raised her hands high, shouting:

"--loyalty!"

"Um."

The old man nodded in satisfaction.

Since it's free, I might as well believe it a little.

Charlotte wasn't opposed to joining the Cult of Eris, especially after being saved by Chris and receiving her tireless efforts to pave the way for him. Just like mentioned before, praying to her three times a day with gratitude wouldn't be a bad idea.

What's truly astonishing is that Charlotte immediately learned the priest's basic skill—healing—after joining the sect, giving the impression that one can only learn sect martial arts after joining a sect.

late at night.

The old man stood by the window, gazing at a church membership application form in his hand under the bright glow of the church's magic lamp. The name written on it was that of the newcomer he had personally invited to join the church that day.

"An atheist...?"

So-called atheists are people who do not believe in God or the existence of the supernatural, but Charlotte is not like that. Charlotte knows that gods exist, but she does not regard them as her faith. Instead, she treats them like friends.

Even he couldn't do that.

That's why the old man who saw through Charlotte's problem chose to explain it with facts, rather than trying to fool others with religious overtones.

He came with the goddess and was given special attention because of her extraordinary magic and spirit, as well as being one of the very few others with black hair and black eyes, and possessing various powerful and special equipment and abilities.

Could it be that……

A possibility came to mind.

However, the old man did not make a fuss. Instead, he put this application form together with the applications of other new members who joined the church today, without doing anything special.

He's a genius at playing dumb!

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P.S.: Please read on! Please read on! Please read on!