~ Chapter 11: The High Priest ~

While being carried by our parents, we entered the church. The inside was just as impressive as the outside. There was a big statue of the goddess Sapherya at the other side of the room. In front of it were countless rows of benches for the pious believers who came to pray. Both to the left and to the right were several smaller statues of the other gods in the pantheon of this world.

We didn't move from the door, and not long afterwards, a priest similar to those outside came over to greet us.

“Ah! The Drakarys family! Welcome to our humble church! May the Goddess Sapherya hold you in her care!” he said spreading out his arms and showing us a big fake smile.

“Greetings. May we all be in the Goddess' grace.” father replied.

Cassandra was immediately annoyed by this fellow and swiftly turned her gaze away from him. Well, she was always the one to spot through the lies and fake expressions of other people.

I remembered when mother caught a cold and tried to cheer us up with strained fake smiles. Cassandra pouted her little cheeks off until mother gave up on doing that. Afterwards, the little girl smiled and hugged her.

As for me, if I dared to lie... I received a Death Glare from sweet little sister. For this reason, I always trained when she wasn't looking. With Telekinetic power, it was easy, but when it came to Magic Energy, things got complicated because she could sense it too. As such, I only trained when I was together with her or mother. I feared the thought of getting bombarded with her endless 'why?' questions.

“You are here for your meeting with the High Priest, correct?” he asked.

“Yes. Could you please tell him the the Drakarys family has arrived?” father asked.

“Certainly.” he bowed and then left.

A moment later, a different man approached us, but his smile was genuine. Unlike the other priest, this one had a bit of a belly, but he was still far from being considered as fat. He wore the same white clothes as the other priests did, but the difference between him and them was the hat on top of his head. It covered his hair and let only his face to be seen. In terms of looks, he was average at best.

“Welcome, my friends!” the old man gave father a hearty handshake.

“It is good to see you as well, High Priest Caladeveren!” father replied politely.

“Koser Reynald, Madame Melissa, a pleasure as always!” he made a small bow.

Since both me and my sister didn't feel anything dubious about this fellow, we weren't on guard. Overall, he looked like a typical 'nice guy' priest, unlike the dude from before.

“High Priest Caladeveren, it is a pleasure to see you as well! Today, we brought our children to see if they will receive a Blessing from the gods.” mother explained in a polite tone of voice.

“Of course! Please, follow me.” he turned around and started walking “I see that little Leonidas and the charming Cassandra are growing up well. No health problems, I take it?” he asked.

“No. Except for a headache or two, they never caught even a simple cold!” mother replied in a proud tone of voice.

“That's a good sign! Soon enough, these two bundles of joy should be able to start learning magic and the letters of our tongue!” he said with a laughter.

“We are stong!” Cassandra declared with a proud look in her eyes.

You are missing a letter there, little sister. I thought when I heard her.

“Of course, you are!” mother cuddled her, and she giggled in reply.

“Strong you say, huh?” I said in a low voice.

Cassandra heard me and didn't hesitate to pierce me with her glare.

I quickly turned my head away, pretending like I didn't notice.

I forgot that she has the same sharp senses as I do... I grumbled in my mind.

Shortly after, we arrived in a room at the back, where an impressive statue of the goddess Sapherya was placed. When I looked at her, well... her clothes and posture put too much emphasis on her chest area, not that I was bothered by it.

“Mother is bigger.” Cassandra remarked.

“Pardon?” our poor mother tilted her head in confusion, but us men knew EXACTLY what that little devil meant by that.

“Well... Ahem! Yes, please place your daughter on the altar in front of the statue for her to receive a Blessing. As you know, this will remove any and all diseases she may have contracted so far as well as allow her to heal from illness faster for the next ten years until her body becomes strong enough. At the same time, if she is a child favored by the gods, she will also receive a permanent Blessing from them!” the priest nodded after he finished his explanation.

“We understand.” mother and father said at the same time.