Gated Paradise
The gray priest didn’t take me to a medical room for poor commoners. It was a well-furnished room that, judging by what I knew from the gate’s waiting rooms, was probably for merchants with connections to nobles and wealthy visitors.
The reason probably lied within my clothes. You could roughly tell how wealthy someone’s family was by their clothes — how much cloth was used, was it embroidered, how did it look, and so on. My normal clothes were a different story, but my baptism outfit was extremely frilly and while it lacked embroidery, it had small flowers sewn onto it and looked pretty fancy. My hairpin was clearly special and handmade too, so at a glance, I probably looked like a girl about as wealthy as Freida.
...But well, I didn’t need to go out of my way and point out that I was a poor person. It was the priest who made the mistake, and to be honest, I had no idea how they would treat me if I corrected them. What was the harm in keeping quiet?
“Please excuse me.” As I furrowed my brow in thought, the grey priest sat me onto a bench. I held my swaying body steady by gripping the armrest and immediately the priest took out my hairpin and delicately removed my shoes.
...Um, what?! He did it so smoothly I didn’t even know how to react. It was like when Jutte fussed over me at Freida’s house. The gray priest was clearly used to taking care of other people.
I opened my eyes wide in surprise, forgetting to thank him, and before I knew it he had stood up, made the nearby bed, and princess carried me onto it.
“Awww. Um, I’m really okay.”
“It is not good to lie before the gods. This is a temple.” But I’m not lying...
Once on the bed he gently put the covers over me. He then placed my hairpin on a table next to the bed and my shoes in front of it. He felt more like a trained servant than a priest. It honestly felt really weird.
“Please rest here. I will come check on you later.” The priest left the room and shut the door behind him. It was true that I still felt weak, so I just stayed in bed and waited for my energy to return. I could use the time to think of an excuse for why this had happened. My family would definitely probe me for answers, but I couldn’t tell them I just laughed too hard. That would make Lutz mad too. But thinking about Lutz made me remember him doing the Gl*co Man pose, which made me laugh again.
I waited in bed and my strength slowly returned. I clenched my fists open and closed to test my grip strength. Unfortunately, I had to use the bathroom.
There was a chamber pot right by the bed, but I didn’t see any water nearby so I didn’t know how I would clean up afterwards. I could imagine that the people who usually stayed here had servants and didn’t clean up after themselves, but that wasn’t the case for me. Plus, I didn’t want a priest I had never met before to do it for me. Ideally I could ask someone where the water was and stealthily clean up myself.
I sat up and tried shaking my legs. They felt strong enough to not give in immediately. I did my hair and put my hairpin back in. Freida had a bell beside her bed to call servants, but this room had no such thing. This was an emergency. I had to go look for someone. I didn’t know how long it would take to find someone, so I had to act fast before I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I slid off the bed, put my shoes on, and escaped the room.
The pillars and walls had decorative reliefs, but in general the hallways were pure white and stretched on infinitely. My footsteps echoed and intensified enough to be quite loud, but I couldn’t hear anyone else walking. It seemed like the best thing to do would be to walk back to where the ceremony was being held.
...Wait, what? Did I turn the wrong corner? The temple was generally pure white, but I was starting to see bits of color here and there. It became clear that the statues and reliefs getting more fancy wasn’t just my imagination. I had seemingly wandered my way into an area for nobles.
The blood drained from my face. I could only imagine bad things happening if a noble found me here.
...Oh no. I have to hurry back! I spun around and started nervously speed-walking back to where I came from, legs trembling. I wanted to get out of the noble zone as soon as possible. I made sure to look at distinctive parts of the hall to keep track of where I was.
...I saw that carving before, right? I think I remember this tapestry...
As I turned corners looking for the medical room I had been in, I heard a steady set of footsteps walking this way. If I had left the noble zone I would have welcomed that with open arms, but I didn’t want to be found right now. I wanted to hide. I would be fine if it was a priest, but what if it was a noble?
I looked around in a panic, but there was nowhere to hide in the hallway. I was found and caught in seconds.
“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” A firm voice rung out, originating from a female priest with tightly bound hair. She had the sharp look of someone who knew how to do her job, but at the same time she felt kind of like a sexy secretary. She wore a grey robe like the priest who had carried me here, but it had a different design. I couldn’t tell if the designs distinguished men and women or if those participating in the ceremony wore different robes. Speaking of which, it hit me that there weren’t any female priests at the baptism.
I let out a sigh of relief that she wasn’t a noble and immediately apologized for trespassing in the noble zone.
“I’m sorry. My name is Myne and I was taken to a medical room after collapsing. I had no servants with me and there were no bells, so I left to look for someone. I got lost and before I knew it, I was here...” The woman looked me over head to toe, then sighed. She put a hand on her cheek and as she sighed wearily I found myself unable to look away from her.
“I will take you to the chapel where the ceremony is taking place once I have finished my business. Can you follow me for a moment?”
“Yes, thank you.” The priest’s eyes narrowed slightly and she continued walking, her footsteps echoing as she went. I jogged to keep up with her, but if I kept that up I would collapse in no time. It was a stroke of luck that she had business just a single room away.
“Please wait here for a moment. I will be finished soon.”
“O-Okaaay...” I nodded, breathing heavily. The female priest glanced at me with brows furrowed in worry, then pushed the door open.
I put a hand on the wall to catch my breath and looked into the room the priest had just entered since the door was still open. Once I saw what was inside, I gasped hard and froze in place.
“...Is this, a library?” It wasn’t too big of a room, but the walls were covered in bookshelves. Most of the shelves were packed with wooden boards and loose pieces of paper. There were some closed shelves with locked doors that probably contained the more precious books.
There were two long desks in the middle of the room with slanted tops to make reading easier. The desks resembled those I had seen in college lecture halls and the benches were long enough for about five people to sit next to each other. And finally, the tops of the desks had six thick books placed next to each other on them, connected by sturdy chains.
“...It’s a (chained library).” It had been my dream back in my Urano days to go to a foreign library with a long history. This was a fantasy world and not a foreign country, but still, it would be fair to say that my wish had finally been granted. In the past I had wanted so, so badly to go to a foreign chained library and touch the history protected by linked metal.
I put a hand on my chest and trembled. My heart was pounding so fast I could feel the blood rushing through my whole body. Something I had wanted for my whole life was now miraculously right in front of me. Warm tears spilled out of my eyes one after another.
“I-I’ve never seen one of these before...” Not only was it my first time seeing a chained library, it was my first time as Myne seeing a collection of books large enough to be called a library. Again, it was only a single room and it wasn’t that large, but it was basically a cavern of hidden treasure for me given how long I had lived without seeing any books.
...This is the true paradise created by the gods. The gods I worship are here!
“Praise be to the gods! Glory be to the gods!” When in Rome, do as Romans do. Overjoyed as I was to see a library, and a chained library at that, I made the Gl*co Man pose and then genuflected on the ground to express my gratitude. I was kind of shaky on one leg, but I wanted to believe that my overwhelming gratitude was being conveyed.
I rubbed my face and hands with my clothes to make sure I wasn’t dirty. Once I had confirmed my hands were clean, I took a determined step forward to follow the woman into paradise.
“Excuse m— pbbhhh?!” My face slammed into something, as if I had charged right into an automatic door that didn’t open. I hit it so hard that I was actually seeing stars in my eyes.
“Ooooww...” I crouched to the ground and held my face while using my other hand to search for an entrance. My hand couldn’t move past a certain point in the doorway. There was some invisible wall blocking the way. I tapped it with my palm, but the invisible wall blocked me and stopped me from going inside.
“Bwuh? B-But why?” The woman from before went inside without issue. I couldn’t understand why only I was being denied entry. I felt the world darkening around me and I hit the invisible wall as hard as I could. It didn’t budge an inch. There was paradise right in front of me but I couldn’t go inside. There were books in sight but I couldn’t read or touch a single one of them. Did the gods approve of torture this cruel and unreasonable?
...I’ve been denied books so long, and now this. Stupid gods! Give me back my gratitude!
“Come on, let me in! I want inside toooo!” Books were so rare and expensive that only nobles owned them. Said nobles also had magic tools they used just to keep kids quiet during the baptism ceremony. It wasn’t strange that they’d use some magic to keep their precious books safe. I understood that, but it was just too cruel. The despair of seeing a library I couldn’t enter was so much that tears dripped from my face. I couldn’t even work up the energy to wipe them away.
“I want to reaaaad...” The female priest from earlier returned, holding a bundle of what looked like work documents. She looked down at me clinging to the invisible wall, crying, and took a sharp step backwards.
“...May I ask what you are doing?”
“Uwaaaaaaah! Why, why, why can’t I go inside?!” I asked while pounding the invisible wall. The priest looked back at the library and realized what had happened.
“These books are precious, so only those given special permission within the temple may enter this room.” she said, shining a light of hope down onto me. If only those affiliated with the temple could enter the room, I just had to join the temple myself. The gods had not abandoned me yet. I would use the last months available to me to read these books cover to cover. I wiped my tears and snot away, then shot my hand up.
“Question, please. How can I join the temple?”
“...I suppose the simplest way would be to become an apprentice shrine maiden.” It seemed that women were called shrine maidens, not priests. I had been making a mistake by calling this woman a female priest.
“Okay then, I want to be an apprentice shrine maiden here! How can I become one?”
“You need merely get the permission of the High Priest or the High Bishop. Now, shall we go to the chapel?” The shrine maiden tried to cut the conversation short there, but I shook my head.
“Where is the High Bishop?”
“The baptism ceremony has ended by now, so he should be in his room. Would you like to go there now?” I could tell that the woman was getting completely weirded out, but she was a precious source of information and I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
“Yes! I can’t go home like this!”
“...I will consult the High Bishop.” I didn’t know if she had been impressed by my unshakable resolve or if she was dealing with me based on the wealthy appearance of my clothing, but the shrine maiden let out a defeated sigh and took me to the High Bishop’s room.
I had apparently gotten lost pretty deep inside the temple, judging by how close his room was. I stood waiting outside the extravagant doors while waiting for my entrance to be permitted. I looked around and saw expensive art and furnishings all around me, confirming that indeed the top dog of the temple was fairly wealthy.
“High Bishop, there is a girl who wishes to become an apprentice shrine maiden...”
“Willingly?” I could hear some of their conversation through the slightly ajar door. I got a little nervous, like someone waiting for an interview, and I checked to make sure I looked okay. Part of my outfit was a bit stiff with dried snot and tears.
“Yes, she came here today for the baptism ceremony.”
“Hmm. I may as well meet her.”
“Please, come in.” I wanted to stride in confidently, but the door was heavier than expected. Having no other choice, I pushed the door with all my body weight and slid inside once there was a big enough crack.
“Excuse me.” The High Bishop’s room resembled Freida’s room. There was a table with chairs around it fairly close to the door for meeting purposes. The corner of the room furthest from the door had a bed with thick drapes, and on the other side was a workspace.
The workspace had a large desk and two bookshelves. There was also a decorative shelf where a thirty-centimeter-tall statue of a god rested, along with the bible I had seen during the ceremony. There was also a candle there, placed symmetrically such that the bible was exactly in between it and the statue.
The shrine maiden and High Bishop were in the workspace, so I walked in that direction with as much dignity as I could muster. I could tell the High Bishop was staring right at me, so much it hurt. I took deep breaths and steeled myself. I was about to have a job interview. This interview would decide whether or not I could enter the book room.
“What is your name?”
“Myne. Please, High Bishop. I want to be an apprentice shrine maiden. I beg for your permission to become one.” I clasped my hands in front of my chest as I begged. The High Bishop gave an amused smile and put his pen down.
“In that case, Myne. Could you tell me why you wish to become an apprentice shrine maiden?”
“Because there’s a room with books here.” I answered, which must have been an unexpected answer given by how his eyes widened.
“...The book room? You can read?”
“Yes, though there’s still a lot of words I don’t know. My vocabulary will grow as I read more books. I would like to spend the rest of my life reading the books here.” The High Bishop sighed and rubbed his temples. He slumped his shoulders to an exaggerated extent and shook his head.
“You seem to be mistaking something. This temple is a place of worship. Priests and shrine maidens serve the gods.”
“That’s right. I understand. That thick bible you read from today for us is filled with stories about the gods, right? Well, that bible is basically a god to me. I want to read about the gods until I die. I want to know all about the gods.”
“You are a biblical fundamentalist?” The High Bishop’s eyes flashed. I wasn’t sure if I should say yes or no to that.
After a bit of thought, I decided that the average kid my age wouldn’t know what that meant. At times like this, it was best to keep things simple and not say anything unnecessary.
“I haven’t heard that phrase and am not entirely sure what it means, but I would like to read the bible and there’s no doubt in my mind that I want to learn more about the gods. Believe in my passion as one who receives the God of Fire’s divine protection. I want to become an apprentice shrine maiden and spend the rest of my life reading the books here to learn everything about the gods. Do my prayers and wishes reach your heart, High Bishop?” The High Bishop, a little thrown off by my desperate and repeated pleas, looked over me and nodded to himself.
“I feel your passion. If you so wish, you can indeed become a shrine maiden apprentice. However, a child from a family such as yours will need to match their passion with a donation of equal dedication. Do you know how much you will need to donate?” He was probably trying to rip me off since I was wearing expensive clothing. If you want to get in the temple, hand over some cash. But I already knew that the church wouldn’t be a pretty organization that ran off dreams and rainbows. If I could get in by paying money, I just had to give some of what I had on hand.
Speaking of which, I had heard that a single book would cost several small golds. If granted access to the chained library, I would be able to read at least ten books as thick as that bible. My only source of context was Japanese rental libraries, but generally you could access all books in the library for the price of one book. Considering that I would be able to read all the stuff packed in that book room for half a year, and considering that I would still have plenty to leave with my family, I could donate a large gold without feeling too bad about it.
“I’m not sure what a normal donation would be, but... I can donate up to one large gold of my own money.”
“A-A large gold?!” shouted the High Priest so loud spit came flying out of his mouth. The shrine maiden looked stunned as well and put a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Judging by their reaction, I realized I had offered far more money than what was normal.
“Oh? Is that too much? Well, that’s just my maximum offer, I can pay less too.” The High Bishop looked at the shrine maiden, coughed to collect himself, then looked at me with much more serious eyes.
“Aaah, well, we of the temple consider your passionate desire to become an apprentice shrine maiden quite splendid. However, as today was the baptism ceremony, haven’t you already decided on a job? Do you belong to any organizations?” It was true that if I had already settled on a job, I wouldn’t be able to suddenly drop it and become an apprentice shrine maiden out of nowhere. But I planned to work at home and thus had no obligations anywhere.
“I am registered with the Merchant’s Guild, but I’m not working anywhere. I’m sickly and was planning on working at home.”
“At home? Are you a merchant’s daughter? You cannot belong to any organization if you are to become an apprentice shrine maiden. You can leave the Merchant’s Guild and become an apprentice shrine maiden, but do you have your parents’ permission to do that?”
“I just saw the book room today, so I haven’t discussed this with my parents yet...” I faltered there. I couldn’t answer about the Merchant’s Guild either. I needed to be registered there to sell things.
“I’m not sure if I can leave the Guild. What would happen to all the money I’ve saved and all the products I plan to make?” I murmured to myself to collect my thoughts and the High Bishop overheard. His eyes widened.
“The money you’ve saved? Your products? Are you not helping your parents with their work?”
“No, not exactly.” This was my chance to market myself to the temple. Thinking back to what I had read about interviews in the past, I summarized everything I had done and what I had earned from it. All in all it took about a minute.
“...Hmm. It might be wise for me to negotiate with the guildmaster to allow you to remain registered even after becoming an apprentice here.” My efforts were successfully, judging by the High Bishop’s impressed smile. It would be a big help for me if someone with authority negotiated on my behalf. I said my thanks and left dealing with the guildmaster to the High Bishop.
“I’ll ask my parents if I can become an apprentice shrine maiden.”
“Certainly. If they refuse or you have any worries, don’t hesitate to come to me at once. You can come here to read books as you desire. Entering the book room still is out of the question, but I will allow you to read my bible here.”
“Really?! Yaaay! Praise be to the gods!” I made the Gl*co Man pose, and instantly I could feel body tilt. The blood drained from my face. It seemed that I had passed my limit without realizing it. My energy slipped right out of my body. In its place I could feel the heat starting to rampage inside of my body.
...Oh no. I got too excited. Without Lutz around, there was nobody to stop me and hold me back when I got too excited.
“...I’ve really done it now.” Plop! I fell to the side and stopped moving. It sucked that I couldn’t move, but at least I was still conscious. I shifted my focus to keeping the still-slight amount of Devouring heat within me bottled up.
“What?! Are you alright?!” The High Bishop watched me collapse with a shocked expression and shot out of his chair, knocking it back. The shrine maiden calmly looked at me on the ground and murmured quietly to herself.
“...Speaking of which, I believe she mentioned collapsing during the ceremony.”
“She what?!” replied the High Bishop, eyebrows shooting up.
I apologized to them, still unable to move.
“I’m sorry, I got too excited. Please wait a moment, I can’t move right now.”
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