“Thank you, Father.”
The sparkle returned to Shulim's eyes.
Rezerian nodded in satisfaction, then glanced askance at Yamen.
“Just keep at it, Shulim. As long as you don't end up like a certain someone who's practiced swordsmanship for years and is still stuck on the Third Stance...”
“Hey, hey, Dad, I heard that! Is mastering the Third Stance really that bad?! Stop joking around!”
“Alright, alright, it's getting late,” Rezerian said, ignoring Yamen's protests. “Shulim, you should go wash up and have breakfast.”
Shulim looked up at the height of the sun and bowed to Rezerian.
“Yes, Father!”
With that, she turned and left the courtyard.
Behind her, the sounds of Yamen and Rezerian arguing echoed.
“Hey, Dad, don't ignore me!”
“You have the nerve to complain? Look at how you swung your sword just now. Do you even call that Hayeral Swordsmanship?”
“How is it not?!”
“Heh, talking back now? Fine, let me show you what the real Hayeral Swordsmanship looks like!”
“Huh?! Wait, Dad, what are you doing? Wait...”
Splaaaaash!
After washing away the sweat in the bath, Shulim changed into her school clothes and entered the dining room.
Currently, Lilia was the only one in the dining room.
Seeing Shulim arrive, Lilia smiled and said, “Come quick, Shulim, the bread is getting cold.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Shulim sat in her seat, picked up the warm bread in front of her, spread jam on it, and ate it with fresh milk.
Only the two of them were having breakfast. It wasn't that the others didn't eat breakfast, but rather that almost no one else was at home.
Although her eldest brother, Sieg, had finished his wilderness training long ago, he had not yet graduated. Once he graduated with a certificate from the Imperial Knight Academy, he would be able to smoothly inherit their father's title in the future.
Her second brother, Reid, wanted to make a name for himself. He had joined the Imperial Army six months ago and was currently still a recruit in the military camp.
Her third sister, Luti, wanted to become a teacher and had gone to Count Leicester's capital to pursue her studies.
As for her sisters Lumia and Lucia, their situation was a bit special.
Because of their rare Light Affinity talent, they had also passed the Seven Heavens Church's selection six months ago. Currently, they were serving as clerical candidates for the church and were likely studying in the Church City.
As a side note, Shulim had not participated in that selection.
Other than them, only Shulim and Yamen were left at home. Yamen was not yet of age to leave home, so he should have been eating with them at the dining table. However, since he was currently receiving their father's “guidance,” the bread at his seat could only slowly grow cold.
Having finished her breakfast in the dining room, Shulim bowed to Lilia.
“Mother, I have finished my meal.”
With that, she left the table.
“Alright, be careful on your way.”
Lilia's voice echoed from behind her.
Tidying her clothes once more, Shulim stepped out of the front door.
“Father, I'm heading out!”
As she passed the courtyard, Rezerian was instructing Yamen in “true swordsmanship” by way of a beating.
“Oh, be careful on your way.”
“Wait, Shulim, don't leave yet! Save me, quick!”
“Oh? Still have the strength to talk? Then let's double the weights.”
“Nooooo!”
As the iron gates of the Hayeral estate closed behind her, the sound of Yamen's agonized screams in the courtyard gradually faded into the distance.
The Hayeral estate was located on the southeastern edge of Mente Town, while the preparatory school lay toward the northwest, built right next to the Adventurers Guild.
This meant Shulim had to traverse most of the town's streets to get to school.
...
The warm sunlight spilled over the streets, and the pedestrians on the road gradually grew in number.
“Oh, Shulim, heading off to school so early?”
“Yes, good morning.”
“Hey there, little sister! Would you like a skewer of sweet cake? It's very sweet!”
“No thank you, I've already eaten breakfast.”
“...Wine... wine... I can still drink...”
“...Sigh, I heard from some adventurers that monsters have been appearing in the forest around the mines behind us lately!”
“For real? Somewhere so close?”
“Absolutely real. Supposedly, several people have seen them! There's even an unidentified flying monster that glows in the air!”
...
“...And thus, the merciful Earth Mother Goddess resolved the worries of the God of Wisdom, Wisos. Because of this, profound wisdom and the tools that make our lives increasingly convenient gradually spread across the land...”
At a street corner, the town's young priest was explaining the church's doctrines and promoting the greatness of the gods to several young women.
“Ah~, how magnificent~ Mr. Priest, I'm truly so moved. I really want to listen to you speak all day. I wonder if you are free today to come to my home and preach?”
“Me too, Mr. Priest! Please come to my house and teach me the doctrines!”
“And me...”
The young women swarmed the priest, competing to invite him to their homes, their eyes glued to his face.
It made one doubt whether they were actually listening to a single word he said.
The priest seemed somewhat troubled by this.
“Ahem. Beautiful ladies, please watch your words. The great ones are the gods, not a humble believer like myself.”
“Ah, yes, yes, that's exactly what I meant! My tongue just slipped earlier, I shouldn't have said that. Mr. Priest, please come to my house and lecture me~!”
“Mr. Priest, don't just speak to her, look at me too~!”
“Mr. Priest, my house is quite spacious too~...”
Faced with the passionate women, the priest was momentarily overwhelmed.
Just then, he spotted Shulim passing by.
An idea immediately came to him.
“Ah— little girl over there, Miss Shulim, please wait a moment!”
Hearing someone call her name, Shulim stopped, tilted her head, and looked at him.
The priest immediately pushed through the crowd surrounding him, saying with an apologetic expression:
“Apologies, ladies. I have important business to discuss with this young lady. We shall save the preaching for next time.”
“Aww... how disappointing...”
“Mr. Priest, you must come to my house next time~!”
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Priest...”
The young women dispersed one after another.
“Haha, of course, of course!”
The priest brushed them off guiltily while secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
“Is there something you need? Uh... who are you again?”
Shulim asked as she looked at the priest.
“Err... You can just call me Father, young lady of the Hayeral family.”
The priest replied, then continued, “Thanks for today, you really did me a favor. Those ladies are taking their jokes too far. Someone even pulled my coat sleeve just now...”
Just as the priest was grumbling,
“Ah, I remember now!”
Shulim seemed to finally recall his identity.
“You're that guy who used to follow the old priest around! After the old priest died two years ago, you inherited his duties, but you spend all day dreaming of transferring to the Central Cathedral!”
The young priest's lips twitched.
Is your way of remembering people a bit off...?
“Is there nothing else? If not, I'm going to school.”
With that, Shulim prepared to leave.
“Sigh— wait a minute. Although I only said that to get away from them, I actually do have something to tell you.”
The priest hurriedly called out to Shulim.
“It's about your two older sisters. A messenger passed by with news of them. If your parents have time in the next couple of days, tell them—especially Lady Lilia—to come hear it.”
“So it's news about my older sisters, Lumia and Lucia. I understand, I'll let Father and Mother know.”
Many things within the church were kept private, including the status of training clerical candidates. Therefore, if they wanted to get any updates, they could only wait for the church to send word.
As a side note, the reason Shulim knew so much about the priest in front of her—besides him being the town's only church staff member—was also because of her mother, who had almost joined the church in the past, and her two older sisters, who were now members.
One could say that the Hayeral family had fairly frequent interactions with the church branch in Mente Town.
Her father had been friends with the former priest, and the inside scoop that this young priest spent all his days dreaming of moving to the prestigious Central Cathedral had actually been casually revealed by the former priest.
“Haha, that's a huge help! Now I don't have to make a special trip.”
The priest said with a relaxed expression.
“...Father, I think it would be better if you paid a bit more attention to church matters.”
“Ah, why?”
“Because at this rate, you might never make it to the Central Cathedral...”
“...”
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