“And so, with your name decided, let’s talk more about what will be expected of you here.” After a far-too-long detailing of how he used to read bedtime stories to each of the saints when they were younger, except specifically for Yhan since he thought he was ‘too old’ for them, it seemed like we had finally gotten to what mattered. I let out a deep sigh, trying to realign my thoughts in my head, before looking to High Father Teres again.

“Rain, I’m sure you can tell, but we are not a particularly wealthy household. We will not be able to pay you much, but I hope that you could find it in your heart to help us in our time of need nonetheless. As I bear much of the responsibility of your being summoned, I will make sure that you are taken care of to the best of my abilities as the High Father of the Church of Verus. With that in mind, I’d like to discuss finding a position that suits you best within our humble Church.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what to say. It felt a bit strange. When I first came here, I was simply shipped off to train at the paladin barracks with some Great Paladin that didn’t even serve Verus, but now it seemed there would be an actual discussion. It was hard to fathom, but had my attitude so far given me some leverage in our meeting? I had to admit, today had already been far different from what I expected..

To start with, why was there a discussion at all? It was my understanding that he wanted to train someone who would be able to stand by the saints’ sides and protect them with complete dedication. Yet it seemed as though we were simply skipping that part of the process. I couldn’t yet tell if this was a positive change or not. Had he lost trust in me as a person due to my behavior so far? I didn’t think I was behaving too coarse, but I’ll admit that it’s hard for me to observe my actions from an outside perspective.

Thinking negatively, I was completely unremarkable. My weakness could be seen by the thin arms I held at my side, or the lack of noticeable muscle across my body. I didn’t look like someone that would be able to protect the saints in any way, shape or form. From this perspective, it would be logical to keep me on as a simple maintenance person, or maybe a cook if I had the required dexterity and knowledge. This was under the assumption that they kept me around at all, instead of simply throwing me out to the wolves, wishing me a good day while leaving me behind.

Thinking positively, I had demonstrated an ability to remain calm in my current situation outside of the very start. I accepted what had happened to me with little fuss, and showed that I was cooperative under these stressful and uncomfortable circumstances. I treated the High Father and Saints with respect the entire time, at least from my point of view. Of course, that was only obvious of me considering the time I spent in service of the Church. Even with the limited interaction I ended up having with them, it had still been my duty to make sure nothing happened to those in high positions as a paladin of the Church.

Let's think positively for now. I have to assume that I made myself appear more trustworthy. With that said, I wasn’t sure what discussion we were to have. I didn’t appear as someone who was capable of much. My body was scrawny compared to before, I’m sure I looked like I could barely hold up a sword. Wouldn’t training be the obvious result when I looked like this while a defender was necessary?

Hands clasped together in my lap, I opened my mouth. “What are your thoughts right now? If you are to ask for my preference, the simpler the better. As you can clearly see, my body isn’t exactly the most bulky. Anything too physical at the moment would be out of my league, although I’m not averse to working out to build my muscle.”

“Hmm. Well, let’s start with something simple at the moment, yes? For now, how about you take care of menial tasks around here? Much of our priesthood is currently busy in preparation for an upcoming meeting with the other major religious figures of Eastern Balan. We’ll be meeting at the Seat of the Holy Ark in Tuluva, so the Church of Prayer and Hope will be mostly empty, save for a few priests left to conduct maintenance and the growing Saints. It would be great to have someone else dedicated to cleaning while we are away, so that the other priests left here can focus on more dire maintenance. How does that sound?”

I put my hand up to my chin for a moment in thought. I was fine with whatever for now, but I had to quickly get stronger in preparation for what was to come as well. I should start making a checklist of things to do in the next few days so I can organize my thoughts, but for now I would need to wing it. So let’s start with the obvious.

“That’s fine with me. It sounds like an important meeting, and I’m sure it would bring a tear to your eye to come back seeing cobwebs and dirt everywhere in the church. Then, I’ll help with the cleaning while you’re away. However, I’d like to limit the time spent in the day for cleaning to six hours if possible. I’d like to have a bit of time for myself in the day as well, so I can,” I purposely trailed off for a few seconds before continuing, “adjust to my new circumstances. I hope you can understand, sir.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“That’s perfectly fine with me! You can discuss your workload with Korrinn, as handles the allocation of household tasks. I hadn’t exactly planned to work you as a slave while you’re here, ohohoho!” Yeah, whatever. I haven’t forgotten the endless torture I went through so I could become a ‘worthy Paladin in service of Verus’, you know?

“Well, let’s leave the rest for after my return from the Seat of the Holy Ark. There is much for us to discuss still, and such boring talks should be saved for when we are more acquainted with each other if you ask me!” Another hearty laugh echoed off the walls of the room.

“I suppose that is enough for today then, no? I’ve probably kept you for far too long by now.” I looked out the window behind him. The sun had already started to set outside. I hadn’t realized how much time had passed during his… ranting. Maybe I inadvertently passed out or something. I could already barely remember the things he said back then. “I only have one more question before we part for now, Rain. Do you think you can become a trustworthy member of our Church? While it may be difficult to abandon whatever you hold in your heart right now, I hope that you are someone that I can put my full trust in. I would hate to have to send you out with my own hands in the future, after all.”

Silence. It was a question I knew the answer to, but that I didn’t want to say.

When I was first summoned six years ago, when I first arrived here and was paralyzed with fear, he asked this same question. My answer was a resounding, ‘fuck you,’ as I was sent to the paladin barracks to begin my training. Obviously I didn’t feel the same way as before, but…

“High Father Teres. I have two things to say in regards to your question. I hope that you can take both into consideration.” I cleared my throat and stayed silent for just a moment before continuing. “I’m not someone who holds religion in his heart, and I do not believe my feelings on the matter will ever change. If you were to ask if I could become a devout follower of Verus, then I would answer that in my life, there will never come a time that I can wholeheartedly call myself a believer.” Silence. The back of his hands were propping up his chin as he looked at me. I could feel a bead of sweat drip down my forehead as I carefully planned out my next words.

“However… If you were to ask me to wholeheartedly serve the Church, then I would do it without a doubt in my heart. I hope you can understand my meaning when I say that I cannot find it in myself to serve a higher being than myself, but my dedication to the people of the world is second to none. Whether it be my previous world or this one, all I want is to see the smiles of the people I care about after a hard day’s work.” With that, I closed my mouth.

“I see. So you say that while you will never be a true priest under the banner of Verus, you will serve the people of the Church to enrich their lives. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir. That’s exactly what I mean.”

“I see.”

Silence settled into the room. I watched as High Father Teres gently stroked his beard in deep thought. I watched as the orange rays of the setting sun illuminated his back, shadowing his front in tandem. I kept my mouth shut the entire time, not taking my eyes off of his figure the entire time.

I could have lied. I knew that. In fact, that was exactly what I had done after some time in training before. In hopes of being able to escape that grueling training that I felt I wasn’t cut out for, I begged to be accepted as a member of the priesthood, to be given the cloth of a priest and allowed to pray all day. I’m sure I said a lot that day.

It was the only day that I remember High Father Teres looking down at me in disappointment. I remember seeing his face, and I remember the rage I felt. Knowing that my current situation was his fault, yet he still deigned to look at me like I was the issue.

“I understand, Rain. I’ll respect your feelings on the matter. Strictly speaking, we do not require someone to be a member of the Church in order for them to serve it. We’re far too small to worry about that sort of thing, you see. And besides, I do still owe you some sort of recompense for the situation you’re in! Ohohoho!” WIth that, the matter was settled. My mind settled down while listening to his roaring laugh. For the next month or so, I would be living in the Church as a member of the cleaning detail. It sounded as though it would be almost entirely my job to clean the Church while they prepared to leave. On their return, we would renegotiate to see where I should end up.

Essentially, it was a temporary position while they decided what to do with me. I found it a bit interesting how my fate had already changed from the first day of my life in the past, but I figured it was better to just accept it for now. Thankfully, with this, I could work out in my own time to build up muscle. My days would probably become far longer than my nights, but I could put up with it. It would be nowhere near my worst trial after all.

In the end, everything was preparation to prevent the coming calamity, after all.

“Let’s end our talk here. I truly have kept you for far too long at this point. I’m sure you would like to rest, yes? Come with me, I’ll show you out! Father Korrinn should be in the common room based on the time, perhaps helping get the younger Saints ready for bed. Why don’t you go see him? He’s probably picked out a room for you to stay in by now.” I nodded my head as we both stood up, heading over to the door. “Oh! And before you go, why don’t you take this? Think of it as a little keepsake from me! I’m sure it’s not much for a young man such as yourself, but I hope that you can think of it fondly in remembrance of today’s meeting.”

Saying that, he walked to the bookshelf off to the side and handed me a book. ‘The Rainman’s Meteorology Survey.’ Certainly, I’d be happy to have a constant reminder that I was named after a children’s book. I hesitantly took the book from him.

With our business concluded, High Father Teres opened the door to his office and ushered me out.