I remembered Kirai took me to the Town.
We passed by a long queue just outside the Grand Temple ground.
"What's with the long queue?"
Kirai stares at me in wonder. "How strange. Is this your first visit to the Grand Temple?" her sympathetic expression annoys me. I pull a long face trying to escape from her trying to make fun. She giggles. "It's a normal view every day. But, you never heard about the temple of wishes before?"
'I bluff out my mouth out again.' Hahaha... I tried to hide my awkwardness. "Well, you know me. I am what they call a mundane girl."
Kirai nodded with understanding, hurriedly getting into a simple cabin or an open carriage. No horse in sight. I glanced at Kirai, about to ask, but I shut it and got into the carriage as well.
"You look puzzled." Kirai looks at my way. "Well, since you're a mundane, I should explain further."
"No worries." I look away, scratching my ear. 'Somehow, I don't plan to stay longer anyway..'
But, like a kindergarten pupil, I stare at her attentively. Not because of the historical details she was describing but her animatic way of telling rendered me speechless. She ended up giving me the whole history and reasons behind what conspire every day inside the temple of wishes.
I doubt this world really is this simple and carefree with only making wishes, and it will be granted like making a wish before blowing those birthday candles.
All this is possible after the Goddess of Star, Desiree, descent into the world and starts fulfilling the wishes of all creatures. No catch? It is so good to be true. It's more like wishing upon the fallen stars to me. It makes me even more curious how this Goddess is getting her power.
"But, no simple wish. Only the deepest wishes can make it happen." Kirai ends her long lectures. It rendered me strangely that the mundane people were not the last ranked in the pyramid society. Society rather looks down on those mundane for their lack of ambition. According to Kirai, Mundane happened due to several rare cases. Either you're not interested in having your wish fulfilled, or your timing is not correct. Well, I work hard for everything I strive/ aim to do. No shortcut. I was not impressed. Maybe not yet.
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"How long are we going to go?"
"We're here." We arrived at an open space beyond the high trees.
"Oh." it was not what I expected it to be. The market took us nearly half a day to reach. But nothing interesting to see at all. I even can see the end of the market stand from where I stand. I silently counted the stall available with my fingers. So this is what they call town? "Now, what should we be visiting first?"
"Well, we should visit the temple's tower for some incense stock & herbs. Also, a special mixture of myrrh for the High Priest Romou."
At the mention of the High Priest's name, with distaste, I cringe away. Kirai giggled at my reaction. "Well, let's be done with it before he blamed me for being late to return."
"Don't worry. Today, we will be staying overnight in this town."
It turns out that the special mixture took two days to finish, and while waiting for the temple tower, Kirai brings me on a tour of the tiny town or would I say village. We end our tour with a visit to the nearby river. Kirai walks towards a huge tree & whispered a few words. A moment later, a white sparkle appears, and its roots & trunk moves to make a barrier like a pond surround us inside the river. The little pool starts to fill with water.
"Let's take our time to bath & cool ourselves."
"What did you say to the tree just now?"
"Oh, my bad. These were my deepest wishes. My purest wish. I want to be able to protect myself & family from those monsters, Knud." Kirai had already shed her clothes and hung one of the hanging branches. Knud, one of the monsters, derived from the human's greed of making wishes for themselves. Their origin was unknown. According to some urban legend, the oldest Knud was known to be King Alastair. Once to govern the South Kingdom, before one day, he disappeared. King Alastair is well known for his greed, selfish & cruelness to his subject. His endless greed has cost the lives of his children, and his people were the poorest among the seven kingdoms.
The emperor can't stand to watch idly the suffering of the South Kingdom had gathered his men to conquer the Southland only to find the people were on their knees along the streets with a white flag hanged on the watchtower. That day, they own the land without shed any blood or lives. Rumours start to spread upon the other land, and soon the other kingdoms begin to send in their supports to the emperor to avoid any war on their own land.
The Knud lived away, secluded from other noises of the living people. They are the lowest human ever after the Mundane. Mundane people still have hope to be another kind of respective people, but Knud, even their last hope for getting back to normal people, doesn't make their wishes disappear. They begin harassing the other human being or other living creatures for pleasure & revenge or out of jealousy.
These led to more killing to quench their jealousy for their own unfulfilled greed. It reminds me of the human being in my own world. Selfish, greed, ego. All these emotions have killed their own soul to the point of killing their own family to get what they desire. Normally the family inheritance, power, influence etc. What a pitiful world.
I can't think of anyone but my dearest professor. Professor Kendrik. Before he stole my research paper for his own gain, he was the nicest, sweetest person I ever met. He was like a father to me, especially during the passing of my mother. It took me almost a month of mourning her. He came to visit & recommended that I should get some time out from my research paper. I was grateful for his thoughtfulness.
His fake smile blinded me. I never saw it coming. When the mourning period ended, I returned to my research only to be disappointed with a notice of discontinuation from the faculty management. Nights & days, pouring my tears & sweat into that very research for me to graduate. I went to hell getting back my research paper only to be humiliated & chased out from the office. After a week of back & forth getting into the faculty, I was dumbfounded by the announcement of a successful research paper from the University management & all kredit went to professor Kendrik.
I was devastated. His happy face facing the camera during the interview looked too ugly and fake to watch. Such a schemer with greed for success that did not belong to him will never get higher than a leap, and I left the faculty. Never look back.
"Hey, stop daydreaming & come join in!" Kirai yelling disrupts my memories that I had long already forgotten. "Or the Knud will catch you." Her last words give me goosebumps, and I hurriedly shed my own clothes and join her.
After an hour of fun soaking & bathing at the river, we dried ourselves and made our way back to the town's Inn for a night stay. It was nearly dark when we reached the Inn. But unfortunately, we were too late as someone else has just occupied the last room. The Inn's owner told us that we were lucky to come to town at the right time and asked us to stay for the harvest festival by the local people. The reason it was fully booked for the night for three nights.
I stared hard at Kirai, crossing my arms.
"What? D… Don't you glare at me like that." Kirai words stuttered, trying to avoid me. "Maybe because we're just the apprentice priestess." She delayed check-in into the Inn early in the day. Ignoring my suggestion, she proudly says there always be a room for a priestess in town or anywhere in the Thyel Empire.
"Yeah, way to go, miss Priestess," I asked her sarcastically. "Looks like we're be sleeping on the ground tonight." Kirai went flushes with guilt silently move to the back.
"May I suggest the rooftop of our Inn? As a sincere apology from me." The owner chipped into our conversation, giving his precious lodging to us, watching us nervously.
"Thank you very much, Mr Kali. We'll take up your offer then." I smiled at him sweetly and pulled Kirai to my side with a glaring smile. "Please lead the way, Mr Kali."