"Thank you, Father."
The light returned to Shulim’s eyes.
Razelian nodded in satisfaction, then shot Amon a sidelong glance.
"Just keep at it, Shulim. As long as you don’t end up like certain people, swinging a sword for years and still stuck at the third form..."
"Hey, hey, I heard that. Since when is mastering three forms not enough? You’ve got to be kidding."
"All right, all right. It’s getting late," Razelian said, ignoring Amon’s protest. "Shulim, go wash up and eat breakfast."
Shulim looked up at the sun, judged the height of it, and gave Razelian a proper bow.
"Yes, Father."
Then she turned and left the yard.
Behind her, she could already hear Amon and Razelian arguing again.
"Hey, don’t just ignore me."
"And you still have the nerve to complain? Did you even look at the way you were swinging just now? You call that the Hayeral sword art?"
"Of course I do."
"Oh, still talking back? Fine then. I’ll show you what the real Hayeral sword art looks like."
"Wait. Hold on, what are you doing? Wait..."
After washing the sweat off in the bath, Shulim changed into her school clothes and entered the dining room.
At the table, only Lilia was there.
When she saw Shulim, Lilia smiled.
"Come on, Shulim. The bread’s getting cold."
"Yes, Mother."
Shulim took her seat, picked up the warm bread in front of her, spread jam on it, and started eating it with a glass of fresh milk.
Only the two of them were having breakfast together.
It was not that the others skipped breakfast. Most of them simply were not home anymore.
Zieg had long since finished his field training, but he still had not graduated. Once he did and earned his certificate from the Imperial Knights Academy, he would be able to inherit Razelian’s title without trouble.
Reid wanted to make his own way in the world, so half a year ago he joined the Imperial Army. He was still just a new recruit in camp.
Ludy wanted to become a teacher, so she had gone to the capital of Count Lester’s domain for further study.
As for Lumia and Lucia, their situation was a little different.
Because they had the rare gift of light magic, and because they had passed the Church of the Seven Heavens’ selection half a year ago, they were currently studying in the church city as clergy candidates.
As a side note, Shulim herself had not taken part in that selection.
Other than that, only Shulim and Amon were still at home. Amon was not old enough to leave yet. Normally he should have been at the breakfast table too, but since he was currently under Razelian’s personal instruction, the bread at his place would simply have to go cold.
When she finished eating, Shulim gave Lilia a small bow.
"Mother, I’m done."
Then she stepped away from the table.
"All right. Be careful on your way."
Lilia’s voice followed her from behind.
After straightening her clothes one more time, Shulim stepped out the front door.
"Father, I’m heading out."
As she passed through the yard, Razelian was in the middle of instructing Amon in what looked very much like swordsmanship by beating him with a stick.
"All right. Be careful."
"Wait, Shulim. Don’t go. Save me first."
"Oh? So you’ve still got the energy to talk. Then let’s double the weights."
"No."
As the Hayeral family’s iron gate closed behind her, Amon’s scream gradually faded into the distance.
The Hayeral estate sat near the southeastern edge of Mente, while the prep school stood in the northwest part of town beside the Adventurers’ Guild.
Which meant Shulim had to cross most of the town on foot every morning.
...
Soft morning sunlight spread across the streets, and more and more people were beginning to fill them.
"Oh, Shulim, off to school this early?"
"Yes. Good morning."
"Hey there, little miss. Want a skewer of sugar cakes? They’re nice and sweet."
"Thank you, but no. I already had breakfast."
"... booze... booze... I can still drink..."
"...Sigh. I heard from some adventurers that monsters have been showing up in the forest around the mines lately."
"Seriously? That close to town?"
"It’s true. A bunch of people have seen them. And there’s some strange glowing monster that flies in the air too."
...
At one street corner, the young priest from town was explaining church teachings and praising the greatness of the gods to a small group of young women.
"...And so, through the Earth Mother’s kindness, the troubles of Visos, the God of Wisdom, were eased. That is how profound wisdom, and the tools that continue to make our lives easier, gradually spread across the land..."
"Ah, how wonderful. Father, I’m so moved. I could listen to you all day. Do you happen to be free today? Maybe you could come to my house and teach me more there."
"Me too, Father. Please come to my house and explain the teachings to me."
"Me too..."
The young women crowded around him, each trying to invite him home, every pair of eyes fixed squarely on his face.
It was enough to make anyone question whether they had actually been listening to a word he said.
The priest looked troubled.
"Ahem. Ladies, please choose your words carefully. It is the gods who are great, not a humble servant like me."
"Oh yes, yes, that’s what I meant. I just spoke too fast and said the wrong thing. That was terrible of me. Father, you should come to my house and correct me personally."
"Father, don’t only talk to her. Look at me too."
"Father, my house is pretty big too..."
The priest was getting visibly overwhelmed.
Then, by pure luck, he spotted Shulim passing by.
At once, an idea came to him.
"Ah. You there, miss. Shulim, wait a moment."
Hearing someone call her by name, Shulim stopped and tilted her head at him.
The priest immediately stepped away from the crowd and said apologetically, "Sorry, ladies. I actually have something important to discuss with this young lady. Let’s save the sermon for next time."
"Aww, what a letdown..."
"Father, you have to come to my house next time."
"See you tomorrow, Father..."
The young women gradually drifted off.
"Yes, yes, of course."
The priest answered them with a nervous smile, clearly relieved.
"Did you need something? You’re... um... what was it again?"
Shulim looked at him and asked.
The young priest’s mouth twitched.
"Just call me Father. That’s enough."
Then he added, "Anyway, thank you. You got me out of a difficult spot. Those women’s jokes are getting more and more out of hand. One of them was even tugging at my sleeve just now..."
Right in the middle of his complaint, Shulim suddenly lit up.
"Ah. I remember now."
The priest had a very bad feeling about this.
"You’re the one who used to follow the old priest around all the time, and after he died two years ago you took over his duties, but you still spend all your time dreaming about getting transferred to the Grand Cathedral."
The young priest’s face twitched again.
That is a very strange way to remember someone.
"If there’s nothing else, I need to get to school."
Shulim started to turn away.
"Ah. Wait, wait. I only said that to get rid of them, but I really do have something to tell you."
The priest hurriedly stopped her.
"It’s about Lumia and Lucia. A courier passed through with some news about them. If your family has time in the next day or two, have your parents come by, especially Lilia."
"So it’s news about Lumia and Lucia."
Shulim nodded.
"All right. I’ll tell Razelian and Lilia."
A great deal of the Church’s business was not open to outsiders, including information about clergy candidates still in training. If a family wanted updates, they usually had to wait until the Church sent word.
As a side note, the reason Shulim knew this priest so well was not only because he was the only church official in town.
It was also because she had a mother who had once nearly joined the Church, and two older sisters who actually had.
So, all in all, House Hayeral had fairly regular dealings with the church branch in Mente.
Razelian had also been friends with the previous priest, and the old priest had once let slip that this younger one spent half his life fantasizing about a respectable posting in the Grand Cathedral.
"Haha. That helps a lot. This way I don’t have to make a special trip myself."
The priest sounded genuinely relieved.
Shulim looked at him for a moment.
"...Father, I really think you should take church matters a little more seriously."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because if you keep going like this..."
She paused.
"...you might never make it to the Grand Cathedral."
"..."