Published: August 3, 2025
“...Now that you mention it, I heard from the high priest that there will be a meeting starting at the third bell today. But what exactly will this meeting be about? Fran, do you know?”
Since I had never heard the word “meeting” used in the temple before, I tilted my head in confusion and asked Fran. She blinked lightly.
“Come to think of it, Lady Rosemine, this will be your first time attending the meeting. The day after the baptism ceremony, the meeting is held to decide when and where the baptism ceremonies in the Noble District will take place, and who will be dispatched. Additionally, in autumn, they decide the destinations for the harvest festival. In spring, it’s about the prayer ceremony assignments.”
Hearing that, I clapped my hands. Last year, I was excluded from the meeting because I was underage to attend the baptism ceremonies in the Noble District, and because they didn’t want to grant any perks to commoners by sending them to the harvest festival.
From this year onward, as the head priest, I would have to attend every time. It really seemed that last year I was only a blue shrine maiden apprentice in name.
“Fran, I don’t know anything about the matters within the territory. Could you briefly teach me before the meeting?”
I had heard that once Wilfried learned to read, a teacher would be assigned to teach him geography and history. But I couldn’t possibly be sent to various places within the territory for the harvest festival without knowing anything.
“It’s difficult to learn everything in a short time, so shall I prioritize teaching you about the places you will be visiting?”
“...The meeting will decide the destinations, right?”
“Strictly speaking, the high priest has already made the decisions, so the meeting is more of an announcement.”
Apparently, the head priest used to decide before, but from this year the high priest makes the decisions. I only needed to approve what the high priest decided.
Fran started listing the names of villages, but without a map, I couldn’t grasp it all quickly.
“Fran, at least, may I have a map, please?”
“...We don’t have time to borrow one from the high priest now, so shall I first explain about the harvest festival?”
“Yes, please.”
As the name suggests, the harvest festival is a celebration of the year’s harvest in the farming villages and an offering of thanks to the gods.
An azure priest and a civil official always attend; the civil official collects taxes. The priests perform baptism ceremonies, coming-of-age ceremonies, and weddings all at once in the villages. By spring, food is already scarce and everyone is preparing to return to their summer homes, so it’s not suitable for festivals.
Also, in farming villages governed by nobles, in addition to rituals, the Lesser Holy Grails must be collected. Unlike the prayer ceremonies, where priests only needed to visit and bless the villages, the harvest festival seems surprisingly busy.
“Lady Rosemine, it’s the third bell. Let’s head to the meeting.”
The room for the meeting was about the size of a school classroom, with several long tables arranged to form a large rectangle.
A quick glance at the azure priests showed that although all were present, the tables were less than half full. The severe shortage of priests was plainly visible.
As all attention gathered on me, I walked along the long table and sat in the chair Fran pulled out for me. Sitting alone at the short side of the long table felt rather imposing, but then I remembered—I was the head priest and thus the highest-ranking. Since the high priest seemed more authoritative, I often forgot that I was the one ultimately responsible.
“I would like to begin discussing the autumn baptism ceremonies and the harvest festival.”
The high priest chaired the meeting and simply stated the decisions, so the meeting proceeded smoothly. At one point, Egmont complained about the changes in last year’s assignments, but fell silent after the high priest glared and said, “I fail to understand why you expect the same treatment as last year.”