Page 16

Chapter 16 - Volume 1 Chapter 16: A Nun's Prayer

(Maany Corhel Matt)

I am Maany Corhel Matt.

I am a human, and I am currently thirty five years old.

My current occupation is a Nun. I work in the village of Sadin, and I live with my mother Maressa, and assist Father Marbon in his duties to the church and orphanage. I have served for fifteen years.

My talents lie in the direction of a [Mage], a [Cleric] to be specific. I can use magic that is aligned to healing, or to the element of light. I of course studied other magics, but those two are my specialties.

Despite being a nun of the religion of Vantinom, I do not view demi-humans with disdain like the western branches.

I serve a branch that is much more open minded about the world, the Vantinom-Grella branch.

The Grella branch was created four centuries ago by an Elven priest of the same name. He saw the darkness and corruption within the higher echelons of our religion, believing themselves to be superior to all other beings. Grella created a new branch, attempting to counter it.

The main branch treats all non-human and non-elven species as demons, therefore marking everyone else as worthless things they need to destroy.

But the only species that are truly demonic are the devils and succubi/incubi, who can trace their ancestry to hell.

The demi-humans really aren't as horrible as the main branch portrays them to be. They just live differently, with their own traditions and values.

As long as they commit no crime, they should not be punished for being different.

We also worship the goddess, Vantinom, in our branch, exactly like the main branch. But we welcome the other species with open arms as long as they convert into our faith.

The Grella branch is more active in the southern part of the land. It's incidentally where more demons live.

"There really are only two types of people in this world. The type that commits crime, and the type that doesn't." Those are the words spoken by Grella.

We do not oppress the other species of the world, unlike the main branch who actively try to exterminate them with extreme prejudice.

But... Grella also lacks the popularity of the main branch. We hold less power and sway than they do, and as a result, our branches are mostly placed into churches in poor or far-away regions. However, we are resilient enough to not be eradicated by the main branch.

Oh, I have started rambling again... right, the orphanage.

Our orphanage functions as a small society that can function independently, with a certain amount of self-sufficiency. The [Fighter] and [Mage] children will be provided by the [Commoners], their [Fighter] and [Mage] talents will be cultivated, while the [Commoners] work to provide the orphanage.

Initially, I thought this was a good plan where everyone will be assigned duties, and everything will be fine as long as everyone completes their duty. The reason I thought so was because, ideally, 90% of the children would be [Commoners] while the 10% are [Fighters] and [Mages].

But recently, this generation in particular, the number of [Fighters] and [Mages] have risen. As a result, the [Commoners] are faced with the problem where they need to provide for more, but lack the numbers to do so.

And the [Fighters] and [Mages] have grown arrogant, basking in their fake superiority. This caused many headaches for my mother, Father Marbon, and myself. We have no idea how we can change their attitude.

This really isn't something that can be changed instantly. As there are cancer and tumors that are hard to remove in normal society, the same can be said to our orphanage.

We have to remove the root of the problem before anything major happens, but how?

... Let's talk about the more notable children in the orphanage.

There is Agrell, an outstanding [Fighter] among the children. He is fourteen.

Agrell was born with immense strength, and Father Marbon has complimented his decent talent in sword-play. He might become a [Swordsman] in the future.

He has a strong sense of justice, but he is dimwitted, extremely gullible. He will be leaving the orphanage when he reaches fifteen, and I truly worry for him.

For the [Mages], there is Mitty who is also noteworthy.

He is thirteen, and already in a [Party] with Agrell. They should become good partners in the future.

He has decent talent in magic, but has a temper, and is mean to the other children.

Oh, and there is also another noteworthy child. It's a girl.

She is really special, and not exactly in the normal way.

Her name is Grace, and she seems to have been cursed.

Ten years ago, she was placed on our doorsteps on a stormy night. When we looked at her, there was the visage of a dark, slender, monstrous being. We have never seen or heard anything like it, it startled all three of us.

After using the [Stone Tablet of Identification], we confirmed that she wasn't human.

Endermen.

"What is an Enderman?" We wondered. Father Marbon used some cloaking magic to hide that information, and to make it so that every time she was identified with the stone tablet, it would show that she is human.

She is extremely brilliant and talented when it comes to magic. She has very strong control over the elements, except for water. She learned how to use Dark element spells all on her own. One could almost call her a genius.

In the past, whenever someone looked her in the eyes, she would go on a rampage. She will destroy almost anything that is nearby, and doesn't listen to any of our commands. This lasted about three minutes as long as nobody looked her in the eyes again.

... Then, Walson came with a pair of glasses. Nobody knew how he got them, but just that it worked.

Walson is a [Commoner], and Maressa, my mother, deemed him to be extremely bad. Saying that he likes to cause trouble, and she often sends him into the Naughty room.

But personally, I think Walson is doing the right thing.

Grace was often bullied, and it was Walson who drove them away most of the time.

We adults often tell the children stories about legends, heroes, and adventures. Walson took those words, and became a hero in the eyes of Grace through his actions.

He must be feeling cheated every time he is sent to the Naughty room. How sad.

I cannot override my mother's authority, and therefore I cannot stop her from sending him to the naughty room, nor can I get him out of it. But I always knock on the window and ask him if he wants food or not.

He has never answered my inquiry though. "Is he angry at us adults?" I thought at first.

But it seems like I was too close minded.

Walson continues to smile, sometimes unrepentantly.

Please keep smiling, Walson. Don't let our injustice taint your smile.

Unlike most children, he does not like to be affectionate with me. He also doesn't seek affection from Father Marbon or my mother. How strange.

He smiles more often than the other children, making the other children seem very grim and weary.

Sometimes, the orphanage receives children whose parents had no space to house them. Meaning that there are children who live in the orphanage but still have a family.

Sometimes the parents will come and visit, and then the children who are truly parentless will often cry.

But I have never seen Walson cry.

I occasionally tried to get closer to Walson. I was curious, and wanted to know what he was doing. But I never could catch him.

I asked the other children, and they said that Walson always disappears for a very long time.

He is a [Commoner], and therefore is supposed to work on the farm. So at first I thought he was shirking his duty to go and play.

But when I went on a patrol, I was surprised to see that he has the most organized farm out of everyone. It was evenly squared and spread.

When I look at his eyes, I sometimes see wisdom and age that does not belong in the eyes of a child.

He is ten years old, and one hundred and fifty centimeters tall (4'11") yet he seems very reliable.

Whenever Grace is not studying, she always spends her time with Walson.

I am worried.

He seems too mature...