Vivian, who was lying down on her bed, slowly opened her eyes.
Thud.
She stretched her body but her hands hit a wall.
"Ugh!" she groaned in annoyance.
It has been hours since the convoy of carriages led by 5 giant lizards left the city.
I'm so hungry…
Back in the compound, before boarding the carriage, she ate 3 meals.
Vivian got up from her bed and then looked at the window.
What time is it…?
She couldn't exactly tell the time. All she could see was an endless plain of grass with some occasional trees and giant rocks in the distance.
I guess if I look at the heat and the position of the sun…
Noon or past noontime…?
She opened her bag and took out a small hand mirror and a comb.
The mirror was one of the things she bought for this trip.
She brushed her hair as she checked her face.
Tch…!
My makeup on my left face is messed up…
I will have to do it again…
I'll also do my lipstick again…
Since she will be traveling, she decided to not wear that much makeup, just enough to hide the veins crawling on her neck to her chin and her almost purple lips due to her abnormally pale skin caused by her blue blood.
She took out her makeup kit, lipstick and a bottle of perfume.
Once she was done, she tied her hair into a ponytail and then exited the room.
I'm really so fucking hungry…!
Outside of her room, she went over to the dining or lounging section.
This section had 4 tables -- 2 on each side -- and the chairs were benches with cotton. There was also a small kitchen at the corner near the cockpit.
At one of the tables, Vivian saw Marie, a woman who glared at during her first Holy Mission and another girl.
These 3 women were her roommates and all of them were White Cloaks, and they were having tea and some snacks.
She made her way to them.
"Hello, sisters, is there still some room for me to sit?"
Unfortunately, the rest of the tables were occupied and Vivian was hungry. And plus, she figured that it would be bad for her social status if she showed odd behavior or something like she was distancing herself from her roommates.
"Sister Vivian, please," the third girl said and scooted over to the side.
"Thank you, Sister Kara," Vivian said and smiled before sitting down.
Vivian then noticed that a lot of eyes were staring at their table, especially from the tables occupied by men, but she ignored them.
Truth be told, they were all beauties with Marie as the most beautiful and also the tallest among them.
And as for their ages, the woman who glared at Vivian during her first Holy Mission was 21 years old, Marie 19 years old and Kara 18 years old.
"How was your sleep, sister?" asked Marie.
"Not bad," Vivian said before looking at the side to see if there was some waiter or something. "But I'm starving."
A man sitting in the kitchen noticed Vivian looking in his direction and made eye contact with her.
He got up and went over to her.
"Good afternoon, Honted Priestess," the man said and bowed. "May I take your order?"
He handed over a menu to Vivian and she began reading it.
Vivian knitted her brows and then turned to the waiter.
"I don't see any price?"
"All expenses will be covered by the Temple of Priests during this trip so everything is free," said the waiter.
The waiter wasn't a Priest. Instead, he was part of the Temple of Tamers in charge of managing this trip.
"Oh… I see," Vivian said and then pointed at the menu. "I want 2 of this and 1 of this. Also 2 of this."
"And for the drinks?"
"I want water and wine."
"I will be back with your order," the waiter said and bowed.
"Thank you," Vivian said and smiled.
The waiter finally left.
Vivian turned to the women.
"So what were you guys talking about while I was asleep?"
"Sister Elena and I were sharing stories about the Holy City and also the Holy Crusade," answered Marie.
"I see."
They were currently heading to Brew Town. And from there, they would go to the Holy City where the Temple of Priests' main branch is located and also where all the Saints, including the current one, rule.
And as for who Elena was, she was the woman who glared at Vivian during her first Holy Mission.
"Sister Vivian, is this your first time going to the Holy City?" asked Marie.
"Not just the Holy City, but the Holy Kingdom itself. And yes, it's also my first time joining a Holy Crusade. By the way, the Holy City, that's where we will be training for one month before we can officially do our Holy Crusade, right?"
"Yes."
From what Vivian has gathered, there were 5 Divisions.
Infantry Division.
Air Division.
Sea Division.
Inquisitory Division.
Exploratory Division.
For a Priest who is new to the Holy Crusade, they will have to undergo Basic Training and Training Course which lasts for a month.
The Basic Training will be held in the Holy City. Meanwhile, the Training Course will be held wherever the headquarters of the Division they're applying for is located.
"What Division are you two joining?" Elena asked Vivian and Kara.
"I haven't decided yet," said Kara. "But I'm interested in joining either the Air or Exploratory Division."
Marie and Elena turned to Vivian.
"I'm thinking about joining the Exploratory Division."
"Sister Marie and I are thinking about joining the Sea Division this time," Elena said proudly.
"How many Holy Crusades have you guys participated in? Maybe you can give me some pointers that only seasoned veterans such as yourselves would know," Vivian said and flashed a very warm and kind smile.
One of the things Vivian learned about disarming people is to make them feel like they're the most interesting person in the world without having to sacrifice your sense of self-worth because that will only invite them to bully you.
"Well, since you and Sister Kara would be participating in the Holy Crusade for the first time, my advice is very simple: Complete every task and never let your guard down."
Marie smiled and then took over.
"What Sister Elena meant is that should be consistent in completing your tasks in order to get promoted.
"In the Holy Crusade, although the color of one's cloak still holds some value, they generally follow a different hierarchy structure. Starting at the bottom, there's Crusader, Sergeant, High Sergeant, Lieutenant, High Lieutenant, Captain, High Captain and Chapter Master.
"And during your time in the Holy Crusade, this is the hierarchy structure you must follow. Whether you're a Brown, White, Gold, Red or Gray Cloak, it doesn't matter."
"I'm confused. Why? I mean, wouldn't that just make things confusing or cause division among our brothers and sisters?" asked Vivian.
"That is true. However, this was made to separate civilian and military life.
"Whether we admit it or not, not everyone in the Temple of Priests would want to live a militaristic life. Others just want to live a happy and peaceful life. If the Temple were to force everyone to live a militaristic life, it would be no surprise to anyone if many of our brothers and sisters ended up leaving the Temple and not many wouldn't want to join our Temple.
"Moreover, there's politics. Yes, the Temple of Priests holds a lot of power in many cities. But we can't control everything because we don't have enough manpower. And if we did that, only 2 things would happen: We make the rest of the world our enemy or we engage in internal wars within our Temple.
"And while we're busy fighting amongst each other, our enemies and third-party organizations would take advantage of that."
"I see. I understand now," said Vivian.
In Vivian's head, even without her secrets, especially her blue blood, she too wouldn't be interested in joining the Temple of Priests if it was run in a militaristic way. Although the pay and social power of being a Priest were nice, they weren't enough to sell her freedom.
"And for the second part that Sister Elena meant," said Marie. "Although the Temple of Priests can resurrect people from the dead, sometimes complications can happen."
A worried expression flashed across Kara's face.
"What kind of complications, Sister Marie?"
"Don't you know that in order for [Resurrection] to work, one needs at least 50% of a person's corpse?" Elena answered.
"Yes, I've heard about that. That's one of the things I paid attention to once I joined the Temple."
"There are many other complications," said Marie.
"Like what?" asked Kara.
"Let's just say there's a reason why there is an Inquisitory Division."
Kara didn't say anything and tried to understand what Marie actually meant.
"Just make sure to always keep your guard up," said Elena.
"Excuse me," a male voice interrupted.
It was the waiter and he brought Vivian's order.
Finally…!
"Thank you," Vivian said as the waiter placed the dishes in front of Vivian.
"Please enjoy your meal, Honored Priestess," the waiter said and then left.
Looking at the dishes in front of Vivian, there was a surprised look on Marie, Elena and Kara.
Even the people from the other tables couldn't help but stare and be shocked.
What Vivian ordered were 2 giant large steaks, a giant bowl of beef stew and 2 long breads with butter. And considering her height which was only about 5'4" and her thin frame, it didn't match her.
Tch...!
I'm going to ruin my lipstick with this…
"Let's eat," Vivian said and smiled before digging in.
"Thank you, sister," Marie said and smiled as she picked up her tea.
"Thank you, too," Elena said and did the same thing.
"Thanks, Sister Vivian…" Kara said and did the same thing as well.
Marie placed her tea down.
"Well, it's always refreshing to see a woman who has a very healthy appetite."
"True...!" said Kara.
"Oh, do you remember that time when it was the birthday of…" Elena began sharing a birthday story during a Holy Crusade that she participated in.
Vivian stopped listening halfway through because it was mostly just about food, parties and names that sounded irrelevant.
When the waiter who delivered the dishes sat back at his station, he was surprised to see that it was only Vivian eating. And it wasn't like Vivian was struggling to eat it. She was eating fast but in small bites, just enough for anyone not to be able to accuse of her being ill-mannered.
Nevertheless, the food on the table was disappearing at an alarming speed.
Ever since Vivian got the [Greater Origin Transformation], for some reason, her appetite has grown so much that it was unbearable.
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…
https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades
There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.
Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain a lot of spoilers or dispel a lot of mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 225-230 are posted there.
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Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.