Hearing Anna's words, the three girls' laughter gradually faded.

Becoming a noble?

Which commoner didn’t wish they were born into nobility? But they lacked noble bloodlines, the natural elemental affinity bestowed by the goddess, and they weren’t men who could earn recognition and merit from important figures. There was no way for them to become nobles.

Becoming a noble’s mistress was the best fate they could hope for in this life.

After a long silence, Kelly said thoughtfully, “Although it’s very rare, commoners can become mages. We don’t have any in BlueStone, but I’ve heard there are some in GreenPine. Besides, Anna, if you want to be respected, you could also become a priest.”

“A priest? Like Father Louis?” Anna asked eagerly, her curiosity piqued.

She had some scattered terms in her mind from the original memories, but they didn’t form a coherent knowledge base. Words like papacy, pope, bishop, priest, pastor… they were all in her head, but she didn’t know what they specifically referred to.

“If you are blessed by the goddess as a Holy Light body, you can enter the church as an apprentice and then become a priest. Father Louis is also a priest; he presides over the church in BlueStone,” Kelly explained. Having worked as a maid in the earl's house for several years, she knew things that many commoners couldn’t imagine.

Originally, Abigail had laughed at Anna’s idea but then added, “If you have a natural elemental affinity, you can join the mage association and study to become a one-star mage, after which you can become a baron.”

Fiona scoffed, her mood souring at Anna’s talk of becoming a noble. She snapped, “But do you have five gold coins?”

Abigail and Kelly fell silent at Fiona’s words.

“Five gold coins?” Anna asked, puzzled. Her current salary was ten silver coins a month, so even if she saved everything, it would take her over four years to save up that amount.

Abigail and the others earned slightly more than she did, but it would still take them nearly four years to save that much money.

Fiona sneered, “To find out if you have the Holy Light body or a natural elemental affinity, you have to be tested at the church or the mage guild. Each test costs five gold coins.”

She seemed pleased to crush Anna’s impractical dreams, yet there was a hint of bitterness and resentment in her emotions.

Anna pressed her lips together. If that was the case, she wouldn’t be able to think about it for years.

Considering the demon looming over her, she didn’t even know if she had those years. She was unsure when the demon might lose patience, and she was desperate to become a mage and gain the power to contend with him.

“Is there no other way than paying five gold coins for the test?” Anna asked, unwilling to give up. “Maybe I could teach myself?”

“Do you know how to read?” Fiona sneered. “Even if you do, where would you find those precious books? I heard each one costs over ten gold coins!”

Back in her own world, Anna was a college graduate, but here, she was indeed illiterate.

Literacy rates in this world were very low; even some nobles couldn’t read, let alone commoners. The language here wasn’t English either; Anna relied on the original body's memories to communicate without issues.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

So, even if a magic book were placed in front of her, she could only stare at it in frustration.

Seeing Anna's dejected expression, Kelly quickly tugged at Fiona and said to Anna, “Actually, there’s still a chance! The goddess loves everyone. Every five years, clergy members come to select Holy Light bodies, and the most devout people get the opportunity to be tested!”

“What kind of people are considered the most devout?” Anna asked.

Kelly hesitated and said uncertainly, “The goddess would probably send down a divine message.”

To hell with the goddess’s divine message!

Anna looked up at the sky. It was very bright, with no sign of divine retribution.

If even cursing the goddess didn’t bring any punishment, it showed that either the goddess didn’t exist, wasn’t all-powerful, or simply didn’t care about such small matters. The selection of Holy Light bodies every five years was evidently also a small matter.

This meant that the standards were likely set by the clergy, and as an atheist in a world with magic, she might be weeded out from the start by some peculiar spell.

Anna asked without much hope, “When will the clergy come next?”

“Last year, so we still have four years to wait,” Kelly replied.

Anna sighed inwardly.

Four years—that was long enough to save up five gold coins.

But before that, the demon might already get rid of her. If she were in his place, she wouldn’t want to wait that long either. With his bad temper, she doubted he could wait even three months.

“If you’re really confident, you could borrow money from someone and go to the church for testing,” Fiona suddenly said, eyeing Anna. “If you’re a Holy Light body, the church will refund the five gold coins. But if you’re not, the money is gone.”

Anna smiled at Fiona. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

It seemed the church’s fee was to deter commoners. If the test were free, the church would be busier than a marketplace with everyone wanting to get tested.

As for the five gold coins for the mage guild, there was likely no refund necessary. If magic books cost at least ten gold coins, it was clear that only the rich and noble could afford it. If one couldn’t even pay the five gold coins for testing, how could they afford the further training required to advance? For those who were poor, there was no need to test from the start.

For Anna, who had nothing, every path to becoming a mage or priest seemed blocked.

This was the cruel reality faced by all commoners in this world.

Anna looked at Abigail and the others. They seemed equally disheartened.

The disparity between rich and poor, the solidified social hierarchy.

They might not understand these terms, but they lived in it and despaired because of it.

"Forget it." Anna said with a smile, changing the subject. "Parish is sick. Don't you want to "visit" him?"

Hearing Parish's name, the three girls' eyes lit up, and their spirits instantly revived.

Fiona complained, "You know Parrish only has eyes for you. He never notices us."

Abigail and Kelly echoed, "Yeah, exactly!"

Anna thought to herself, if he really noticed you, you'd be in big trouble.

She said, "Parish always has his meals on the balcony. You can see him from the garden below."

Their eyes brightened at her words, and they immediately started planning how to catch Parrish's attention during his meal times.

The housekeeper had penalized them for the incident where they had fallen in front of him, but he hadn't said they couldn't casually fall while off-duty!

Abigail, Fiona, and Kelly mainly took care of the small garden and usually weren't very busy. During their free time, they often came to Anna. When Anna was informed she needed to stay a bit later today, the three were with her.

Anna's regular working hours were until seven in the evening, but since Vodo had asked her to bring dinner to Parrish, she had to stay a bit longer.

Upon hearing that Anna was going to deliver dinner to Parish, the three girls headed over first. Their tasks were complete, and they didn't need to go home. If anyone asked why they were still in the garden at that time, they could say they had unfinished work.

From Parrish's residence, one could clearly see the garden below.

The three didn't dare make too much noise, playing and laughing quietly like butterflies flitting among flowers. They knew Anna would soon bring dinner, and Master Parish would certainly look down from the balcony and notice them.

So, at one moment, Abigail accidentally fell against Kelly, the next, Fiona stumbled into Kelly, and then Kelly tripped and fell to the ground...

Inside the house, Rothgar watched the scene outside. Recognizing the three maids who had previously bullied Anna, he paid closer attention.

For the past two days, Anna hadn't shown any unusual behavior in his presence. The harassment he anticipated from these three maids towards Anna hadn't occurred. He knew it must be that cunning human woman who had deftly defused their attempts.

The noise outside grew more distracting. Rothgar abruptly stood up and headed downstairs.

The three girls were thrilled to see Parish approaching under the moonlight. Was their plan really working?