Chapter 360 - Chapter 3: Ordination to Bishop
A week after the exam, I came to the Royal Capital again. Finally, I'm to be ordained as a Bishop. The Ordination ceremony is apparently to be held at the Great Cathedral of the Royal Capital Great Church. For my part, I wanted to do it modestly using the prayer hall of the orphanage, just like when I became a priest. At the very least, instead of the Great Cathedral, couldn't it be the shrine for priests on the grounds?
"...What are you saying?" When I conveyed my modest wish to the Archbishop, he looked at me as if he were looking at a mysterious creature. Next, when he signaled to the secretary, several letters were taken out from a box on a shelf by the secretary's hand.
"This is from the Chief Priest of Finis. This is from the Royal Capital Great Church Head of Northern Gram. This is from the Royal Capital Great Church Head of Primordia, and this is from Archbishop Price, one of the Vice-Heads of the Medioland Royal Capital Great Church. Each is a congratulatory message that reached the Archbishop via the magic circle for sending letters. And these are the congratulatory messages from the Kings of each country, brought by the ambassadors of those countries who will attend the Ordination ceremony, starting with the Sertorian King and Queen." When I looked at Harris-sama, he gave me a thumbs-up.
What exactly do they intend? "Jeanne. You were kidnapped in Finis the other day, weren't you? And you'll be going to various countries from now on, won't you? Regardless of what you think, we can make your Ordination ceremony widely known. By doing so, Jeanne's safety is guaranteed." The Archbishop told me.
After returning from Finis, Harris-sama apparently involved the King and brought the talk to each country. In short, it's to prevent a recurrence. Finis has the debt of me being kidnapped in their own country, and by a priest at that. Northern Gram has Eowyn-sama. But Primordia was a surprise. It might be the Beowulf effect.
"I got a good feeling when I met them the other day. Well, Henry-sama and the others also have various connections with that country. Besides, Cadogan-sama has considerable expectations for Jeanne's magic. We obtained their ready consent." Harris-sama boasted.
Indeed, I have various connections with Primordia too. Besides, it's helpful in various ways that Cadogan-sama... the Western Church, is supporting me. Wait? Hold on a second.
"Um, Archbishop. Did you just say that the ambassadors of those countries, starting with the King and Queen, will attend my Ordination?"
"Yes, I said that. It's on par with an Archbishop." I feel like I'm going to faint. Is this something that's allowed to happen...
"What are you saying. Jeanne has been ordained as a knight of various countries, hasn't she? Just with that, guests will naturally come. Besides, when Catherine returned to being a church priest, the ceremony had guests from countries all over the island. Compared to that, it's still nothing." Archbishop, the subject of comparison is wrong. Please don't compare me with someone who became a Bishop in her teens and even defeated the Demon Lord. There's no point in complaining.
The next morning, at an hour when the stars were still twinkling, I went to the Great Church, and a male priest about the same age as me, who was like a gatekeeper in a small room next to the main entrance, unbolted the door and opened it. Just like that, I'm guided to the waiting room. "Morning service is currently in progress. Please change into your vestments and wait for a while. The guide, Bishop Phillips, should be appearing." He left the room and closed the door just like that.
While I was waiting after changing into my vestments, I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, it was Phillips-sama wearing vestments. "Good morning, Phillips-sama."
"Good morning, Jeanne." The ceremony starts after the sun rises. There's still time. Phillips-sama kindly said, "Let's have a simple meeting," so I decided to confirm the order of the ceremony.
"As I told you yesterday, first there will be an opening greeting for the ceremony from the Archbishop. It's the time when the sun rises. After that, we enter, but until then, you will wait at the south entrance with me. And..." In short, I follow Phillips-sama and kneel before the Archbishop. Since questions according to the ritual will be asked, I answer "I so swear" to all of them. After that is the oath to the Goddess, and it seems I can say anything for this.
"What kind of thing do you intend to swear, Jeanne?" It's probably for confirmation. If I say something too radical, it'll feel out of place, and it would be troublesome for the Church too. In my case, it's coexistence and co-prosperity as usual. I was even praised by the Archbishop.
"I intend to swear to follow the teachings of the Goddess and aim for a world of coexistence and co-prosperity."
"That's very like you, Jeanne. I think it's a wonderful thing." When Phillips-sama was ordained, it seems it was to engage in plague measures and save as many sick people as possible. Harris-sama apparently swore to protect the citizens as a priest of the national church. Everyone is practicing it. By the way, the Headmistress, who became a Bishop at the youngest age in history, apparently said she would subjugate monsters and protect everyone. If it were a time when the Demon Lord had appeared, she would surely have declared she would defeat the Demon Lord.
Harris-sama and the other Bishops are already lined up in their vestments. Behind them, priests in vestments are lined up in a row. Furthermore, behind them are the guests. There was the bearded King and the always-splendid blonde Magdalena-sama. There were also several ambassadors I became acquainted with at the dinner party. On the opposite side, the north entrance, many acolytes are lined up, singing a song praising the Goddess.
The sun has already risen. The statue of the Goddess, with the morning sun rising from the east behind it, looks as if it has a halo. Many candles are lit in front of it. From the skylight in the high ceiling, fresh morning light pours in, and the acolytes' song enhances the solemnity of the ceremony. The tension, which rose whether I liked it or not, made me feel sick. I instinctively cast Refresh on myself. I felt refreshed.
"Jeanne. Calm down and take a deep breath."
"Yes, thank you very much." Phillips-sama, seeing my state, called out to me.
Fortunately, Phillips-sama guided me in everything. I walked behind Phillips-sama, knelt at the place he pointed out, and he told me when to answer by putting strength into the hand he placed on my shoulder. "I return the priest's ring and receive the Bishop's ring." Since he said that for me, I didn't miss the timing to hold out my hand. He also pointed out the person to hold it out to, so I managed to avoid returning it to the Archbishop by mistake.
"Jeanne, I appoint you as a Bishop." Told so by the Archbishop, he puts a ring on my finger that is one size larger, indicating I am a Bishop. "Jeanne has now been ordained as a Bishop. There has not been a stray priest for a long time who did not belong to the Church, mastered ancient language, and furthermore obtained the recommendations of three Archbishops. This is also the result of her own training. Everyone present, please celebrate Bishop Jeanne's future." At the Archbishop's words, everyone gave a grand round of applause. The one giving a particularly large round of applause with both hands raised above his head is the ambassador of Northern Gram. More than embarrassment, my heart somehow became full, and I just bowed my head many times while saying my thanks.
The ceremony is over once the Archbishop leaves. I have to exchange greetings with the guests again. The first ones to come were the King and Queen. "I'm glad you didn't move the same side's hand and foot at the same time. Congratulations on your appointment as Bishop, Jeanne." It's the King. Did I look that nervous? I became energetic because I cast Refresh, though.
"Congratulations, Jeanne. I thought you might stumble during the oath, but you were able to say it smoothly." It's Magdalena-sama. Did I look that unreliable? Or am I being teased? "Thank you very much. I managed somehow." Besides them, starting with the Northern Gram ambassador who gave a particularly loud congratulatory message, other ambassadors also gave their congratulations.
"Good work. You were splendid."
"Thank you very much. It's thanks to Phillips-sama's guidance." When we left and went down to the waiting room, Phillips-sama praised me. One of the acolytes brings wine and cups. After saying thanks and having him leave, I exchanged a toast with Phillips-sama and finally was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Jeanne. Good work. I was worried you might trip and fall somewhere, but you were fine." The one saying something rude as soon as he enters is Harris-sama. "I managed somehow."
"You were nervous, weren't you?"
"Yes. I haven't been this nervous since the first time I visited the palace and was decorated."
"I thought so, I thought so. That's how it's designed, after all."
"Designed?" Harris-sama says that ceremonies, whether at the palace or the church, proceed in a way that gives tension to the person participating as the party involved. Well, I've been an acolyte since I was ten, so I had a vague inkling. Magnificent and solemn rituals enhance authority.
"Well, anyway, I'm glad you could be ordained as scheduled without any trouble." I truly think so. Today's Ordination follows passing the ancient language exam last week. The guests had all cleared their schedules. Realizing that, my legs shook even now.
When I went to the Archbishop's office led by Phillips-sama and Harris-sama, the secretary and the ancient language examiner were also there; all four Bishops of the Royal Capital Great Church were present. "It's been a while since all four of us were in the Archbishop's office like this." The secretary says. Harris-sama, who is in charge of the palace and external affairs, is flying all over the place. In addition, Phillips-sama recently became the Director of the Royal Medical Research Institute. He should be busy with preparations for the opening now.
"This is also thanks to Bishop Jeanne. What do you think, Archbishop? We received a donation of top-quality continental wine from the Northern Gram ambassador. Why don't we all make a toast to celebrate Jeanne's start?" The secretary says, and the Archbishop agrees that it's a good idea. It must be Eowyn-sama's arrangement. I'm starting to feel apologetic.
"Um, you seem to be showing me various considerations, but is it okay?"
"Don't worry about it. If someone says they'll give you something, you should just take it gratefully. I'll say thanks to the ambassador later." It's Harris-sama, the external affairs person.
"Um, wouldn't it be better if I also went to say thanks?"
"You'd better not do that." To my surprise, Phillips-sama opposed it. "The Northern Gram ambassador also has it hard. If you were to go to the ambassador's place, the ambassador would definitely be fired if he didn't provide hospitality that Eowyn-sama would be satisfied with. Just leave him be. Bishop Harris will handle it well." I was surprised. Donations to the Church are accepted, but donations to individuals are not good. However, it's etiquette to provide hospitality to visitors. The Northern Gram ambassador, so to speak, donated the wine barrel according to the rules. Otherwise, it would be a huge expense.
"That's how it is. So, just drink without hesitation." Somehow, the more I know about the human world, the more troublesome it is.
After gratefully tasting the donated item, I go to the palace with Harris-sama. Henry-sama and the others are going to celebrate for me. Of course, that won't be all. Harris-sama says it's better to avoid the guests, so when we exit through the back gate, there were Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama wearing their usual stray clothes.
"Hey, Jeanne. Good work. I thought you might start dancing, but you were fine." It's Henry-sama. That's going too far, no matter how you look at it. For some reason, people who say rude things are appearing one after another.
"Thanks to you, I managed to finish safely without dancing. By the way, where were you?" If they were there, they would be next to the King and Queen, but I didn't see them. "We were in the general seats. It's unbearable to be subjected to a barrage of greetings. We leave such things to the current generation." I see. So that's why they don't normally appear in official places. Indeed, it would be bad if the predecessor stood out more than the current one. They do think about things, despite how they look.
"By the way, Jeanne. Since you've become a Bishop, you can learn barriers." I finally remembered at Eleanor-sama's words. Come to think of it, that was the case. However, I've heard that the barriers of high-level mages aren't that big of a deal. At most, they block rats.
"They aren't something to be mocked like that. Being able to almost completely block F-rank means monster hunting will become easier!" It's Harris-sama. I wonder. I feel like it's faster to gather them with bait and unleash Over Flow as usual.
"That's right. And you can also completely block ghosts." This time it's Eleanor-sama. I have plenty of ghost acquaintances, so I have no intention of blocking them. Why are they so insistently recommending barriers?
Wait? "Um. Could it be that to master them, training or something like that is necessary?" They all smile together. "It's not training. It's practice. Your magic control will also improve, killing two birds with one stone." I think they're the same thing.
Harris-sama says the basis of a barrier is drawing a circle. For example, draw a circle on the ground. By doing so, the ground can be divided into the inside and outside of the circle. Whether you trap something inside the circle or conversely hole up inside it yourself, the basis is the same, apparently. "If we consider the Exorcism Formation that Catherine and Harrison used as the maximum class, there are several minimum class ones. First, start from there."
"But I heard you learn barriers from a prophet."
"That's right, but like magic, I don't know if you'll learn it. Just because you became a Bishop doesn't mean anyone can learn it. And unlike magic, to master it, you need practice under a proper instructor. Harris will teach you." It seems it's advantageous if you've learned support magic. Well, certainly, a barrier is for making a place to protect yourself and isn't suited for attack. And since a Bishop is something appointed by an organization made by humans and not by the Goddess, I thought it would be something like that to some extent. Fortunately, I can use Shield, Defend, and Magic Reflection. If I could use Increase Defense, I'd have mostly completed the defensive type, but even now I can use three, so it's quite advantageous.
"Let's have the prophet see you immediately."
"From now?"
"Yes. The Refresh has worn off and you've calmed down, right? When you came out, I was worried you might fail at something because of the combination of the Refresh effect and the tension making your mood high. You must not cast it with full power when you're nervous. And next time there's an opportunity like this, Calm would be better." Eleanor-sama's words make cold sweat run down my spine. I certainly cast it with full power... No wonder everyone was worried... Could it be that the reason Phillips-sama was constantly leading me was because of that? Phillips-sama is an ultra-high-level mage. He must have noticed I was in a strange state...
"Well, such things happen. Normally, the guide doesn't take your hand and foot, but there were many guests. I'm truly glad you could be ordained as scheduled without any trouble." Stunned by Harris-sama's words, I was led away, half-dragged.