novelraw Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Sacred Mark! This was clearly a Naughty Mark!
The Job Center was a facility found in most towns. Although Bedrock Town sat right up against the Black Forest and was a small city built around adventurers, it still had a Job Center of its own.
"Welcome— oh?"
The cat-eared young woman standing behind the counter froze mid-smile the moment she saw Lilu.
"Fred," she said, pointing at Lilu, her voice sharp with accusation, "this is an Elf Race child, isn't it? Where did she come from?"
"Miwa, don't get the wrong idea! I found this kid in the Goblin Forest."
"Heh, you think I'd believe that?"
Whoosh! The gentlemen in Self-Patrol caps appeared! Hero Fred was arrested by the gentlemen in Self-Patrol caps!
"Miwa, it's not what you think…… please let me explain……"
Clang! The door slammed shut, and the Job Center fell instantly quiet. Aernis wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and frantically offered several prayers to her Ancestral Spirits in her heart.
"Little sister," Miwa said, her face breaking into a warm smile, "what's your name?"
"Lilu."
"And your background? Do you have any family nearby?"
Lilu shook her head, her Twin Tails swaying back and forth with the movement of her little head, looking utterly adorable.
"Miwa," Aernis seized the moment to rub Lilu's head, "this kid probably lost her memories in the Goblin Forest. Some things are better left unremembered."
Miwa understood instantly. The look in her eyes as she gazed at Lilu filled with a few more shades of sympathy. The way she was being stared at made Lilu's skin crawl — it was the feeling of a hamster being watched by a tabby cat.
"I……" Lilu decided to make a move, "I want…… I want to take the Class Trait Test."
"Of course," Miwa switched into professional mode in an instant, "please come this way, and place your hand on the Crystal Ball."
"Alright."
Lilu rubbed her little hands together and, with a nervous heart, placed her hand on the Crystal Ball. The Crystal Ball instantly released a dazzling white light that swallowed the entire room whole. Lilu's eyes lit up at once — does this mean a Heaven-grade Spirit Root has been detected? My luck is finally turning around, hahahaha! But as the light faded, three letters floated up inside the Crystal Ball: "R*Q."
Ah, this…… Lilu turned to stone on the spot.
"Miwa," Aernis pointed at the Crystal Ball, "what class is that?"
"Strange, this kind of lettering has never appeared before." Miwa began flipping through a thick book. "White light should mean a Holy-type class without a doubt, but what class is R*Q? Could it be some kind of extremely rare Hidden Class?"
Lilu's face wore a smile, but her heart was cursing. The Goddess was absolutely not giving her any way to survive!
Miwa flipped through the book for a long while and finally gave up. She picked up something resembling a telephone receiver and held it up to the cat ear on top of her head, then moved the pointer on the engraved dial to the position of a cross.
"Cain, I've got a promising Holy-attribute talent here — does your Church want her?"
"Holy crap, seriously?! I'm on my way!"
Three minutes later, a large man carrying a cross kicked the door open and burst inside. Lilu stared at that massive, bull-like frame — and only then, belatedly, did she realize this was actually a Minotaur. Wait, a Minotaur Priest — something about this feels very wrong! Wrong, wrong! Why would a Minotaur be a Holy-type cleric!
The test was performed again. Minotaur Cain stroked the beard on his chin and fell into deep thought, his bell-like eyes fixed on the three letters R*Q glowing within the white light, as though he had fallen into some profound and mysterious state of mind.
"I know! This is a Divine Oracle! This child is the Holy Maiden of our Church!"
Lilu: Huh? Why don't I know anything about this?
But Aernis felt her heart sink. A Church Holy Maiden had to be pure and untainted — yet it was obvious that Lilu had been taken by that Fred guy just yesterday. If the Church ever found out that Fred had deflowered their once-in-a-century Holy Maiden, that guy would probably be hunted to the ends of the earth by the Crusader Knights. For the sake of her good friend, Aernis decided to keep her mouth shut.
A moment later, a thoroughly bewildered Lilu was escorted by the back of her collar to the only white building in Bedrock Town. Looking at the cathedral-like structure before her, Lilu was suddenly struck by a powerful urge to turn around and run. She had a feeling that once she stepped inside, she would never come back out! An immense dread washed over her, her legs began to tremble, and the urge to wet herself crept up from her lower abdomen. Just as she was about to turn and bolt, Minotaur Cain Blood-Horn hoisted her up by the scruff, and the poor Lilu swung through the air with teary eyes, like a broken ragdoll, and was tossed down right in front of the Goddess Statue.
Looking up at the benevolent Goddess, Lilu's mouth twitched. Wasn't this the very Goddess who had dug a pit for her? Though — why did her chest look bigger? Her waist looked slimmer too, and her rear end a bit perkier. Had this statue been touched up?
"Bishop Serina, this is the candidate suspected to be the Holy Maiden."
"Oh, an Elf Race — it seems she'll be able to serve as Holy Maiden for quite a long time."
A melodious voice reached her ears. Lilu nervously shifted her gaze, and saw a beautiful young woman dressed in white vestments and wearing a Triple Crown walking toward her. This young woman had an extraordinarily large chest, practically bursting through her vestments — two massive watermelons seemed to hang from her bosom — while her slender waist looked as though it could be wrapped in a single hand, and her long snow-white legs peeked in and out of view beneath the high-slit vestments. Her cool, otherworldly face resembled that of an ascetic fairy, paired with a long cascade of golden hair — she was nothing short of a sacred beauty.
Lilu was stunned: So all the clergy in this world are built like this?
"Child, welcome to the Goddess Church. Let me first take a look at your power."
As she spoke, the Cardinal Archbishop known as Serina extended a slender finger and lightly tapped the center of Lilu's brow. Lilu's eyes were too busy staring at the two great mountains across from her to notice the gesture at all. The next instant, a sacred white radiance enveloped the solemn Sanctuary, and Serina's eyes grew brighter and brighter, her lips murmuring "Ah, indeed a Holy Maiden!" — but the color drained steadily from Lilu's face. Within the light, she seemed to see the wicked, grinning face of the Goddess.
"Hehehehehe," the Goddess laughed with wicked delight, "soul who has crossed time and space — shall I bestow upon you the mightiest power of the Holy Maiden?"
"Nooooo, please don't—!"
In the midst of Lilu's heart-wrenching screams, a ray of light descended upon her lower abdomen.
"That is……" Serina's eyes burned with fervor, "the Sacred Mark that symbolizes the Holy Maiden's identity! Ahahaha! She really is the Holy Maiden! She truly is! This is simply…… Amazing!"
She couldn't wait to lift Lilu's little skirt, both eyes glowing as she fixed her gaze on Lilu's lower abdomen. Lilu looked down at the golden Tattoo that had appeared on her pale little belly, and her eyes nearly rolled back as she almost fainted on the spot — this was no Sacred Mark! This was clearly a Naughty Mark!
Damn Goddess! She really wasn't giving her any way out!
"I don't want to be a Holy Maiden, goodbye!"
Lilu sprinted toward the Church's front doors on her two short little legs, but the thick, heavy doors slammed shut right in front of her. The Minotaur's enormous body blocked her path, and the war hammer in his hand struck the floor with a resounding thud. Lilu immediately changed direction and fled the other way — only to run straight into a soft, gentle paradise. It was only then that she noticed: beneath Cardinal Archbishop Serina's enormous chest, there was absolutely nothing underneath!
Hold on — is this Church actually legitimate?