We enter the basilica.
To my surprise, the main nave combines a modern style with the Gothic architecture of the basilicas in my old world. The paintings on the ceiling and the statues along the walls depict seven women in attitudes of prayer.
Above the altar, the same symbol that crowns the spire stands out. As we approach the stairs, three people are waiting for us. I immediately recognize the cardinal, whose white robe is adorned with striking decorations. Beside him, his two attendants wear simple, plain white robes.
A few moments after our arrival, the cardinal makes a gesture, and a melody resembling the church music of my old world begins to play.
At the sound, my parents slowly make their way toward him.
Where is that music coming from? There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, but given the size of the hall, I wouldn't be surprised if they're hidden somewhere.
When we reach the first step of the altar, the music fades, and my parents offer a small bow. The cardinal then speaks:
"Welcome to the holy basilica of Interra! It is truly a pleasure to have a member of the distinguished Fiammetta family here with us."
"It is an honor that such an esteemed figure as a cardinal of Deus's holy church would recognize my daughter," my mother replies in a sweet voice.
I wonder what exactly this "recognize" means. From the looks of things, it seems to be some sort of baptism.
"By the authority vested in me by the Supreme Pontiff, I hereby declare this presentation ceremony begun."My parents remain in their place as the cardinal, along with his attendants, ascends the altar.
"Deus! On this day, we present before you Mrs. Fayna Fiammetta and Mr. Leonard Relish, hoping you will acknowledge their daughter."
So those are their names. I didn't know that. Usually, they just call each other things like "love," "dear," "darling," and "sweetheart." They're so mushy it makes me sick.
Fayna hands me over to the cardinal, who gazes into my eyes in a silence that quickly becomes uncomfortable. A look of confusion and distaste crosses his face.
What's his deal? Why is this old fool looking at me like that?
"Excuse me, Cardinal, is there a problem?" my mother asks.
"My apologies for the silence, madam. The unusual color of her eyes surprised me. Let us continue with the ceremony."
I know my eyes are odd, but there was no need to look at me like that, you moron!
"Deus!" the cardinal continues, resuming the ceremony. "As per your divine teachings, seven months after her birth, I present to you Hanae; I beg that you accept her and grant her your sacred blessing."
"Nos obsecro domine!"
What do those words mean?
"Hold the child for a moment."
With those words, the cardinal hands me to one of his attendants. The other one follows him to the back of the altar.
After a few seconds, he returns with a small golden knife, while his other attendant holds a scroll.
Why the hell does he have a knife?!
The cardinal approaches me and grabs my left hand.
Wait! What are you trying to do?! Get away from me!
Without realizing it, I start crying.
Seeing my reaction, the cardinal and his attendants freeze in place. My parents quickly come toward me.
"Hana, hold still, everything's fine." Leonard takes me into his arms and tries to calm me down.
"I'm terribly sorry. Hana is just very sensitive," Fayna says, sounding embarrassed.
"It's normal for babies to cry at this moment, but they usually do so after I cut them."
Why would you cut a baby?! Of course, they'd cry, you idiot!
Fayna gently strokes my hair.
"There, there, Hana. Don't cry. It'll be over quickly."
I feel a small cut on my left hand.
It hurt less than I expected… maybe I overreacted.
The cardinal takes some blood from my wound and smears it onto the scroll.
"It's also the first time a baby hasn't cried from being cut."
"Maybe she feels safe with us here," Leonard replies, while the cardinal simply listens.
"Deo Donante!"
The scroll glows with an intense light.
I recognize this reaction! It's similar to what my mother did.
Once the glow fades, the cardinal picks it up and reads it in silence. After a few seconds, he shouts:
"This can't be real! Bring another sacred scroll!"
His attendants, visibly shaken, rush to obey.
"Cardinal, is everything alright?" Leonard asks, worried.
I look up: Fayna looks like she's seen a ghost. She's trembling slightly, and her breathing seems shaky.
"Here you go, sir."
Upon receiving the scroll, the cardinal approaches me again. This time, he makes a deep cut on my right hand with rough force, and I cry out involuntarily.
You jerk! That actually hurt, you idiot!
Blood pours from my hand, pooling into a small puddle.
"Cardinal! The cut is too deep!" Leonard shouts angrily, moving toward him. But the cardinal ignores him and repeats the ritual.
"Dear, Hana is bleeding a lot!"
After a few moments, Fayna snaps out of her shock.
"Hana?! I'll heal you in an instant! Sanitatem Divina!" She points her right hand toward me, and a soft green light surrounds my wound. I feel a warm sensation, and my injury closes.
What… what did she just do?
The cardinal looks up, his expression shifting to one of ecstasy. With a smile of pure exhilaration, he shouts at the top of his lungs:
"Deus has blessed us! Oh, Deus! We must celebrate this miracle! Thank you for allowing this humble servant to witness your divine grace!"
Why did I have to end up with the religious lunatic? At least his attendants seem calm—I just hope they don't lose it when they finish comparing those scrolls.
I glance over at Fayna, and she has the same expression as before.
Alright, the only sane one here is my da…
I don't finish that thought; I feel Leonard's hands tighten around mine. That look—oh, I know it. It's the same look my dad gave me when he found out I crashed the car while drunk.
Leonard sighs, and in a stern tone, he speaks:
"That's enough, Cardinal! I won't tolerate this ridiculous behavior any longer!"
Noted. If I want to achieve my goals, it's probably best not to make him angry…
"Not only have you needlessly hurt my daughter, but you've also disrespected the Fiammetta family!"
The cardinal looks like he's about to respond, but upon noticing Leonard's gaze, he falls silent.
"P-please, give me a few minutes." He retreats toward the back of the altar with his attendants.
"My love, now is not the time to lose your composure."
"I'm sorry, dear…"
What's wrong with Mother? Even though Father tries to comfort her, she still seems frightened. I have a bad feeling about this.
A couple of minutes later, the cardinal returns with his attendants.
"Apologies for the delay. First, I wish to express my sincerest apologies to both of you for my deplorable behavior earlier."
Now you're calm, huh? Coward.
"Thank you for the apology. However, I would like to understand what led to your actions."
The roles have reversed now—Leonard is the one speaking, while Fayna, with her head lowered, remains silent.
"The reason behind my reaction is due to the results shown by the sacred parchment."
The cardinal signals his attendants, who bring forward both parchments.
My parents stare at them, astonished.
"Cardinal, is this even possible?" Leonard asks in disbelief.
I look over at the parchment; it displays a kind of chart with values expressed in letters. This system seems familiar—where have I seen it before?
"This is no joke; that's why I ran the test twice. Now, I'll explain the conclusions my attendants and I reached."
My parents remain silent.
"To begin with, your daughter has been recognized by Deus as Hanae Fiammetta, which means she possesses perfect affinity with the fire element. However, she also has the same level with water and a high affinity with the others."
Elements? What does he mean by that?
"I don't recall any Fiammetta having a perfect affinity with water," Fayna responds, puzzled.
"Few people are born with that capability. However, there's more—your daughter was born with two unique abilities that are unregistered: Composite Soul and Miracle."
Oh! Abilities and stats… now I remember. Is this world a game? If that's the case, I'm doomed; I'm not exactly a fan of video games.
"Why does Hana have two unique abilities?"
"I don't have a clear answer—that's why I was so surprised. As far as we know, only the seven daughters of Deus had more than one unique ability. Unfortunately, those records were never made public." The cardinal looks at me with that same, unsettling smile as before.
Alright, I don't understand any of this, and this creepy old man is starting to scare me.
"To conclude, the analysis predicts that by the age of seven, all her physical and magical traits will be ranked S—just like when Lady Stella was that age, but with double the magic reserves you had in childhood, Lady Fayna."
Wait, magic really exists?! That's ridi—well, actually, considering I died, met God, and reincarnated, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. Guess I should check where my magic scar is?
"With that said, congratulations! Your family has produced another prodigy—she's inherited all the strengths of the Light of Despair and the Invincible Phoenix."
Who on earth came up with these pathetic nicknames? They sound ridiculous…
"Cardinal, I kindly ask that you don't refer to my wife and me that way. That belongs to the past."
Maybe I shouldn't say anything… Actually, those titles sound kind of cool…
The cardinal smiles, clearly enjoying the chance to ruffle Father's feathers.
"Deus! Thanks to your divine glory, Hanae Fiammetta has been presented before you today. We ask that you watch over her until her final days."
Leonard hands me to the cardinal and removes the ribbon from my head. What was once a face of disgust now shifts to one of utter delight.
No, please, stop looking at me like I'm your sacred object of worship. I'd rather you go back to that grumpy look—I could at least ignore that.
"By the authority granted to me by the supreme pontiff as cardinal, I hereby conclude the presentation ceremony."
"Nos obsecro domine!" My parents and the attendants chant in unison.
The cardinal hands me back into Fayna's arms.
"Mrs. Fiammetta, Mr. Belial will be quite pleased with the new addition to your family, though I'm unsure how long the girl will remain with you." He gives a fake smile. "Please send him my warmest regards."
You've got to be kidding me! There's no way I'm giving up my ticket to freedom and unlimited resources!
I squirm, and Mother holds me tightly in her arms.
"Of course, Cardinal," Fayna replies, her gaze sharp and unyielding.
My parents stand, give a small bow, receive a scroll, and we leave the basilica.
"The carriage is ready, Your Excellency."
"Very well, let's go."
Fayna glances back at the cathedral, lowering her eyes for a moment before heading to the carriage.
Mother seems downcast, but… why? I don't get it. Ignoring that disgusting cardinal, I actually have great skills. Plus, I'm sure they won't hand me over to anyone—she should be happy.
We climb into the carriage, and Fayna and Leonard close the windows.
Hey! I want to see outside!
I start moving around, trying to get them to open the windows again, but I stop when I feel something fall onto my face.
"I'm so sorry, Hana… I'm the worst mother in the world." Fayna looks at me with a strained smile, trying to mask her sadness. "If I couldn't protect you today…"
Leonard places a hand on Fayna's shoulder.
"Darling, you—"
"They just hurt Hana right in front of me, and I did nothing! Do you really think I'll be able to stand up to the church or… to my father?!"
After a few seconds, Fayna breaks the silence that felt endless.
"I would have preferred if she had no talent at all… that way, I could fight for her." She gently strokes my cheek.
Fight for me? Wait, isn't being a prodigy a good thing?
Leonard moves closer to Fayna and holds her tightly.
"I'm no different. If it weren't for your family name, I wouldn't have been able to hold back the cardinal… I'm just a war hero." Leonard pulls back slightly, and they meet each other's gaze, a mix of anguish and determination. "In the eyes of the nobles, my word means nothing. If you think you're a bad mother, then I'm a lousy father!"
Suddenly, I feel an overwhelming urge to cry.
You're both wonderful parents!
I try to express those words, but all that comes out is a small cry, and I instinctively place my tiny hands over theirs.
"Hana? What's wrong, sweetie?"
My gesture seems to soothe Fayna. Taking advantage of the moment, Leonard speaks up:
"My love, I promise that no one will take Hana from us. I'll do whatever it takes to stop that, even if it means—"
"You won't be fighting alone, my love. I'll give my all as well," Fayna interjects softly. Her smile, as beautiful as a night sky, is laced with tears that sparkle like shooting stars. "As for you, little one, I'll protect you, even if it costs me my life."
"Even if it costs us our lives."
Both Fayna and Leonard stroke my head, hold each other's hands, and embrace me.
"It's been a long day for you. You should get some rest."
The truth is, I do feel exhausted and overwhelmed. How did they know I was sleepy? This feeling… what is it?
Within seconds, I drift off to sleep in my parents' arms.