kscans

Chapter 212 - A Fateful Encounter?

The day after receiving Anatea's blessing, Yuri, having rushed through his guidance for Faren more quickly than usual, which earned him a strange look from Faren, though he pushed through by saying he'd explain later, headed for the church in a hurry. A concerned Old Man Audel and Dona, who had learned that this was related to Yuri's transformation, accompanied him. Yuri had wanted to refuse them, as he was worried his status would be exposed in connection with the appraisal certificate, but he couldn't turn away the two who were genuinely worried. Besides, right now, confirming the matter of the blessing was more important than the appraisal certificate. If the strange change that had happened to him, appearing as a girl for the first moment, was truly the blessing of Anatea...

"We'll have to do something about this, won't we?"

With the Grand Market fast approaching, a characteristic that would make him stand out was out of the question.

"But Grandpa, can you just refuse a blessing you've received from a god? Won't the goddess get angry?"

"I can't do something so disrespectful as to refuse it, of course. But someone in a holy profession might know some kind of countermeasure, don't you think?"

As they were talking about this and hurrying along the road to the church, Yuri noticed the person.

"Ah, it's the Priest-sama."

"What? From the church Yuri-kun is heading to?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that perfect?"

"It is."

They were close enough that he could probably hear them if they shouted, but they were reluctant to stand out by raising their voices, so they jogged up to Priest Naudo and called out to him.

"Good day, Priest-sama. I apologize for interrupting you, but I'd like to talk to you about something."

The Priest didn't seem to recognize him for a moment, but as soon as he realized it was Yuri...

"You! Hide yourself at once! You're being targeted!"

Huh?



Sister Aruta, seeing Yuri as a prime customer, had issued a strict order to find his whereabouts in order to solidify their connection. At that point, information came from Nico that "Yuri is an acquaintance of Eto." Eto had also grown up in this church and was now employed as an apprentice cook at Adon's mansion. Given that he had casually donated five gold coins, the boy must be the son of a wealthy man or something similar. If so, there was a high possibility that he had an acquaintance with Adon, a prominent figure in this town. If they had Eto mediate between them and the boy, and they mishandled it and upset the boy, they couldn't ignore the possibility of disaster befalling Eto.

Considering this, a reckless charge was out of the question.

Priest Naudo, having escaped the church while Sister Aruta was agonizing over what to do, had been searching for Yuri to warn him when Yuri himself called out to him. That was apparently the situation.

"So that's what was happening."

It all started because Yuri had casually donated a large sum of five gold coins. Realizing this, Old Man Audel and Dona cast blaming glances at him. Hadn't they told him to stop his conspicuous bulk buying, which he had done so much of last year? From Yuri's perspective, however, that was a donation, not bulk buying. So Yuri puffed out his chest, confident that it was fine, while Old Man Audel and Dona looked as if they wanted to say that wasn't the point. Yuri smoothly ignored their blaming glances and thought. If that was the situation, then it was probably a bad idea to get close to the church today.

"We can't just stand here talking in the middle of the street. Shall we change locations?"

They bought some fruit water from a nearby stall and rested in a convenient patch of shade.

"Thank you for going out of your way to warn me. Actually, I had something I wanted to consult with you about, Priest-sama."

With that, Yuri explained all the things that had happened to him since yesterday.

"What! You received such a strong blessing?!"

People who receive the blessing of the goddess Anatea appear from time to time, but not many receive a blessing with such a strong effect. If Sister Aruta knew he was so favored by the goddess, she wouldn't dare make a careless move. He must tell her this at once and check her movements. Also...

"If you've received such a blessing, I must report this to the church higher-ups. Please be aware of that, Yuri-kun."

"Um, I'd rather not do anything that would make me stand out too much."

"Ah, don't worry. The blessing of Lady Anatea is originally intended to protect children like you from such troubles."

"Yes?"

Priest Naudo then began to explain the blessing of Anatea to Yuri, and the other two, who had no idea what he was talking about.