The Church of Yves was located at the very center of the small town. Even so deep in the night, there were still a few eager worshipers lingering around, hoping for Blessings.
The good news, then, was that Leonidas didn't have to wait until the morning. The bad news, though, was that hiding his actions was near impossible, not that he ever truly had a chance at succeeding anyway. Considering his stature and his uncoordinated movements, 'stealth' wasn't exactly something he was great at.
Leonidas' current look was about as far from inconspicuous as one could get.
His clothing was in tatters, drenched in blood that was both his and not his. His hair was a mess and his skin was so pale he already seemed to have a foot in the grave.
For some reason, Leonidas both had his tail wrapped around his waist and an odd bulge on his back, making his already terrible look even more ridiculous. It was only made worse by the fact the weight of his tail seemed even heavier now than it ever had been, making his steps even slower than usual.
The worshippers lingering around Yves' Church gave him a glance before they turned away, their prayers becoming more fervent. It was as though they were pleading to Yves to never become like him.
The Church was a modest construct of wood and irregularly shaped stone. It was objectively quite shabby, but to Leonidas who had spent his whole life in this town, it was the grandest structure he had ever seen.
Outside, there was a wooden statue of a beautiful Half-Beast woman. Unlike Leonidas who had elven-like ears, this Half-Beast woman had a furry pair atop her head, accentuating her beauty all the more.
She wore a long flowing dress and a halo hung above her head, cleverly balanced atop her ears to appear as though it floated in the air.
This statue was, unsurprisingly, of the Goddess Yves. Though Leonidas had no love for this supposed Goddess, it could be said that he wasn't looked down upon for his Half-Beast lineage in thanks to her. That said, there were plenty of other things for him to be looked down upon for.
Despite the fact this town worshipped a Half-Beast Goddess, the Half-Beast population totaled one–Leonidas alone. It could be said that this town, then, worshipped Yves out of necessity rather than choice.
In this Era, a town without a God was akin to a sinking ship. It was impossible to survive without the protection of one.
Leonidas did his best to bow as low as possible without allowing his body to collapse. He felt that if he fell now, he truly wouldn't have the strength to stand any longer.
He didn't want to lower his head to this statue, but being any more stubborn at this point would only result in death. Blaspheming a God, and before her Church no less, was among the most foolish things a person could do.
There were many worshippers huddled around the statue, not too far, but also not too close to it. Though Leonidas looked quite terrible, anyone who had lived to the age of maturity in this place had long since learned how to mind their own business.
After bowing as lowly and sincerely as he could muster, Leonidas slowly trudged past the statue, struggling up a set of five stairs before weakly pushing at the wooden doors of the Church.
A small chime rang. The sound was delicate, but it soothed the soul.
Just taking this singular step, Leonidas felt that his very being had been refreshed.
This wasn't too surprising to Leonidas. When one shares a Race with a given God or Goddess, stepping into said God's territory would give one a small buff. Even though Leonidas was only half Half-Beast, he still received a portion of the Blessing, giving him just a small bit more strength.
The first floor of the Church wasn't what one would expect. It would be obvious to guess that there'd be a place of worship, maybe several rows of seats and a rise to an altar. But, the Church of Yves was nothing like this. In fact, it could be said that no Church in this world was like this.
The first thing Leonidas saw upon entering was a small stone well filled with a small pool of water. There was not a single other structure in sight other than the silent wooden walls of the Church, there wasn't even a door to another location.
It seemed that this small stone well was all the Church had to offer. However, Leonidas wasn't put off by this.
Wincing as he uncurled his fingers, Leonidas peeled one of the coins he had been holding away from his split skin and dried blood. Though his heart hurt, he threw an entire silver into the well, clenching his jaw.
The moment the bloodied coin splashed into the clear waters, a small light seemed to radiate outward.
Leonidas felt a wash of energy sweep over his body as he quickly recovered. Though the moment was fleeting and Leonidas at most healed by 10%, he still felt far better than he had before. He couldn't help but be in awe at the power of a God.
"Speak your wish."
At that moment, a sweet voice drifted into Leonidas' ears. Though it sounded enticing, there was a clear detachment that made it feel as though a puppet was talking rather than a real person. From Leonidas' understanding, this was just one of the many Avatars of the Goddess Yves.
Leonidas took a deep breath.
"I would like to become a clergyman of the Church of Her Holiness, Yves."
There wasn't an immediate response. The pause was so long that Leonidas felt that he might have done something wrong, or worse… he feared that he might be rejected. Didn't the Church only care about money? They couldn't really reject him… right?
"Please proceed with the offerings."
It was only after Leonidas heard this that he exhaled a breath he hadn't known he was holding. He had finally taken the first step.
Leonidas painfully peeled what remained of the coins from his skin. Though using the pouch would be more convenient, as long as he could hide his true wealth, he would.
The truth was that he had managed to scrounge up the ten silvers he needed from the bodies of Lacroix and Bennett.
At the time, he had been surprised they held so much. But then he remembered that these two were Gauteron's errand boys. The money was, in all likelihood, not theirs to begin with. There was no way two bottom feeders like them could possibly scrounge up that many coins.
But, this was also great. Now he could put off using his mother's coins for as long as possible and make her efforts stretch further. In the future, should he ever achieve some sort of success, he would never forget the woman who sacrificed everything for him.
Leonidas was under no illusion that his killing of Lacroix and Bennett would remain under wraps for long. Ironically, though, one crime would cover for the other. The first crime being their murder and the second being the fact that he had such wealth to begin with.
In this world, this was a crime in and of itself.
The energy exuding from the small stone well became even fiercer this time around. Leonidas felt his whole body enveloped by warmth and even the knife wound in his chest closed, leaving nothing but smooth skin and dried blood.
Leonidas was pleasantly surprised, he even felt that he could stand his back up just a bit straighter. He hadn't expected to gain a full heal like this.
Just as he was lost in his sudden boon, a flash of light caught his attention. At that moment, the outline of a doorway formed and an entrance creaked open.
On the other side, a man with a face that seemed carved of stone appeared. He was a head shorter than even the slouching Leonidas, but for some reason, Leonidas' heart thrummed with fear. He felt like this man could kill him with nothing more than a single thought.
The short man wore black robes. On his collar, there was a wooden pin that looked like a curved fox tail with a halo hovering above it. This pin was none other than the Emblem of Yves.
The short man looked Leonidas up and down. Despite Leonidas' terrible appearance, he didn't seem to care enough to comment. However, his gaze did seem to soften when he noticed Leonidas' tail. Despite not being a Half-Beast himself, it seemed this short man had quite some respect for Yves.
"Follow me."
"Yes." Leonidas didn't hesitate, walking forward as fast as he could muster.
The short man seemed surprised by the depth of Leonidas' voice. It was definitely not the sound one would expect to hear from a man who practically looked half dead, not to mention Leonidas' lankiness. But, he didn't dwell on it.
Taking a half turn, the short man clasped his hands behind his back and began to walk away, expecting Leonidas to follow.
"My name is Barat. For as long as you can sustain it, you may call me Father."
Leonidas wasn't surprised by this. The Father of a Church was simply the overseer of the Clergymen. In this context, Clergymen referred to all of those beneath the Apostles, but in service of the Church.
The Father could be considered close to the status of an Apostle, but he was still a half-step below.
It wasn't very surprising for a man of such stature to come to personally receive Leonidas. In a town like this one, the number of people who could afford to pay ten silvers a month was minuscule at best. The last time they accepted a Clergyman was easily several months ago.
If one had such money, they would be more likely to try and gain a spot as a squire and gain the tutelage of a Knight. Though a Knight was also considered to be a Clergyman, there was clearly a difference in status.
"The rules of the Keep are simple. You will awake at the crack of dawn every day to complete your assigned chores. These chores will be given to you by the Head Clergyman. Only once your chores are complete will you be given free time and be allowed to use the facilities to walk your path to becoming an Apostle."
These lines felt clearly rehearsed. There was likely no part of Barat that believed Leonidas would become an Apostle. Or, more accurately, he didn't care to speculate.
Leonidas was led down a long hallway with wooden walls. He was just barely able to avoid scraping his shoulders against both sides as he followed Father Barat. However, his heavy steps made the floorboards creak as though he might fall through if he applied any more pressure. He couldn't help but think that the inner workings of this Church were far larger on the inside than it seemed from the outside.
"Illicit relationships are not allowed amongst Clergymen. Fighting is not allowed amongst Clergymen. Stealing is not allowed amongst Clergymen. Those found breaking these rules will be expelled."
Barat came to a stop at what was seemingly a dead end.
"On this day next month, your offerings will be due. Failure to meet this deadline will result in immediate expulsion.
"You will find your Clergyman robes fitted to your size on your bed by the morning. You have three hours to rest."
With that final word, Barat pressed forward and opened a door Leonidas hadn't been able to see until now.
A blinding light caught him off guard. By the time his vision cleared, Barat was nowhere to be seen and all that was left was a room of metal-framed bunk beds.
Of the bunk beds here, there were only sleeping figures in maybe 30% of them. So, most got both bunk beds to themselves, using one for storage and the other for sleep.
Too tired to think much, Leonidas picked a pair of bunk beds quite far from everyone else. The bed frame creaked and threatened to shatter beneath his weight. But, luckily it was just sturdy enough.
Leonidas didn't even realize when he fell asleep, but he was definitely well aware of when he awoke.
A strikingly cold rain of water poured onto his face, the sharp roar of a none-too-pleased Head Clergyman making his ears ring.
Leonidas' blurry vision and distorted hearing didn't clear immediately. He could faintly see the image of a yelling man with spittle flying from his mouth, but he only managed to catch the very end of the words he spoke..
"… You're on stable duty, you little piece of shit! Daring to ruin my schedule by oversleeping, we'll see how you deal with this, then!"