Anna was unsure if Ovid was fully convinced. She started at him and suggested, “If you accompany me, I will give me half of my wealth.”

Unfortunately, she forgot that this person infront of her lacked any common sense, but regardlessly, Ovid agreed with Anna’s initial proposal and said, “I don’t need the wealth… I will accompany you anyway.”

Ecstatic yet surprised at his reply, Anna scolded but could not hide her true emotions, “How can you be like this. Since you are now my follower, you have to value yourself.”

Ovid thought what Anna said made some sense, and then in a soft voice, said, “Then, how about just ten per-cent of your wealth? Mother told me to never take advantage of other people, especially girls.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty rich and carry my money with me all the time,” Anna said proudly.

Ovid did not know how to respond to such a magnanimous way of speech. Recalling what his mother said regarding arguments with woman, Ovid chose to shut his mouth tight.

---

The two did not leave the city immediately after the conversation. They walked out from the front door into the crowded and noisy streets in the city. Buying a few pieces of flatbread, Anna chatted with the baker while eating the bread. She felt slightly sour. She also knew where this feeling came from and tried to distract herself by continuing to chat with the baker.

In the city of Juliana, there were stores on every street in the city. Even in the poorest sections, one could smell the enticing scent from freshly bakes goods. 

The people of the city and the empire dressed simply. They wore long tunics that made was easy to put on. Few women would add a stola atop their tunic that covered them from the neck to ankle, but stolas had many straps that could not be reached, so an additional pair of hands was needed. 

Wealthy merchants and nobles of high status wore a completely different set of clothes. The togas they wore were adorned with stripes that signified their status, though the body of the cloth was white. Ever since the time of Alexander, only royalty was permitted to adorn themselves in dyed clothing, which was always purple. 

The clergywoman dressed simple and clean too. They added a scapular to their outfit and nothing more. Some of the women of higher status would have their clothes made from wool imported from the South. Those wool were particularly famous for being breathable and brought coolness in hot days. 

The Julian Empire had inherited all the fashion trends from Alexander’s day. At that time, resources were scarce and human kings had to pay tribute to the elves, who were the dominant race at the time. For this reason, a lavish trend never appeared among the common man. 

Anna had lived in this city since her earliest memories. No doubt she had a distinct attachment to this place. Biting the flatbread, Anna could not help but look at these sceneries and imprinting them into her memory. When she had been young, she had explored nearly every major and minor attraction the city was known for. 

She had entered the long-abandoned Stoa Cistern and saw its beauty. After becoming frightened by a statue, she decided to watch the statue every day until she was no longer afraid. 

She had once climbed to the peak of Julia’s palace and took out the gems that decorated its’ famous dome. After Julia asked her why she said it was because the jewels would reflect light into a store she frequently visits.

She was particularly known for a scene that used to take place frequently around the capital. 

The little Anna at that time would grab a pan and spatula, banging the two together whenever it rained. She would laugh happily at that time while running through the rain. The folks in the city were frustrated and angry by these acts but knew that Anna had done this to alert those who had forgotten to collect their clothes that were still hanging outside. 

She, who was the sister of the almighty empress Julia, was the cherished celebrity who was spoiled by the entire capital. Let alone the ordinary folks, even the clergy, who were the pillars of the empire and its’ military was powerless to stop her. Julia controlled the clergy, so these powerful individuals were powerless.

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In brief, Anna was not feminine or enigmatic in the slightest. As a daring tomboy, she was notoriously naughty and mischievous.

These memories ran through Anna’s mind as she ate. 

The flatbread was very fragrant and soft to eat, but the sesame sprinkled atop it was a bit messy. After swallowing the last piece of flatbread, Anna took out a handkerchief and cleaned up the loose crumbs and sesame. She looked at Ovid, who was quietly standing by her side, packed up, and disappeared into the crowd.

The lady who sold Anna the flatbread probably would have never thought Anna was planning to leave the city for a long time. 

---

The city of Juliana truly is worthy of its’ name as the largest city on the continent. It took half a day just to walk from one side of the city to another, though many detours were made by Anna took extended the city spent walking by a great deal. Ovid truly adapted to the role of a follower, silently tailing Anna and watching her chat with the middle-aged women she came across. 

At last, the two arrived at a building in the North of the city, with small children playing around outside. The building had a tall, stone fence that hid the view of the happenings in the building. Anna pushed open the wooden door and walked in. 

Ever since Julia’s reign, all the knowledge in the world concentrated into the clergy. Whether it be agriculture, industry or business, the knowledge of it could only be accessed through the clergy. Now, it was quite simple to join the clergy, and people talented in their area were always welcomed, but the most important division of the clergy, was completely unaccessible to normal folks. 

That division was to do with all the magical manuals that exist within the empire. The talent one possesses when dealing with had always been determined primarily through talent, which was a measurable thing. Because of this, the Juliana Empire, which imports all its citizens, could easily tell if someone possessed inert talent in the field of magic. The ordinary citizens all have mundane skills at best, and could not achieve much even if they joined.

Regardless, the clergy was initiated by Julia when she had first come to power. As the oldest being in the world, and also having just accumulated all the manuals and tomes the empire possess through pillaging every noble family, church and library, she held the unique opportunity of completely monopolising all information that exists in the world.  

When the Papacy in the north was created, they had to create their own clergy, and over time, developed enough techniques to match the doctrine in the Juliana empire. However, the Southern clergy’s foundations were inevitably deeper, having accumulated one hundred thousand years of knowledge compared to a meagre ten thousand years.

The clergy was led by the matriarch, who was nominally independent, though there was no doubt it was a tool of Julia; through this tool, countless elites were created, each loyal to Julia herself. As the saying goes, ‘Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.’ Although there exist many branches in the clergy, the competition is largely healthy.

The current building is the headquarter of a recently established branch. Located at the edge of the city, it was only by chance Anna came upon this place. After walking through the humble courtyard over the wall, Anna met the bishop who was the head of the branch and began to happily converse with the woman. 

Ovid was a quiet kind of person and had no intentions of chatting up with the clergywomen in the church. Since he had nothing to do, Ovid picked up a broom leaning against the wall of the church, bringing to sweep away the dust that had accumulated. 

Once again, his actions were no doubt quite strange, but if taken into consideration that he had seldomly left his house, the reasoning became quite clear - Ovid had no concept of property.

The clergywomen dare not to treat Ovid inadequately since he had come in with Anna. Most left him alone, but one of the bolder girls chose to walk up to the quiet and strange kid.

“What kind of routine do you go through every morning?”

Twiddling her thumbs, the girl felt Ovid emitting a distant and aloof aura. It had taken her a lot of courage to finally ask Ovid for his daily routine so that she can copy it down and get equally nice skin as Ovid had.

Ovid’s hand holding the broom stopped and he answered obediently, not aware of the girl’s intention in the slightest, “Wake up at five. Use one minute and thirty seconds to fold the quilt. Two minutes to brush the teeth. Spend four-minute to shower, and eat a meal composing of 20 grams of oatmeal mixed 200 millilitres of milk, one egg, and two cups of water.”

The girl was surprised and asked, “How long have you been eating like this?”

Ovid replied naturally, “I have been eating like since I can remember.”

The girl sighed, realising that for beauty, so much effort had to be expended just in the morning. Who knew what kind of strict daily routine Ovid goes thorough every day?

In reality, Ovid was indeed a very rigid person. Everything he does is according to a schedule he had made in collaboration with his mother at the age of six. Since then, he would eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at exactly the same time, even finishing the meal and washing time according to the schedule. 

This sort of life was very healthy, but more importantly, familiar to Ovid. Though since his schedule had been interrupted by his sudden death and appearance in a separate world, he could no longer follow it rigidly. Still, he would feel the weight of the contents of food with his hand and eat it somewhat accordingly to his arrangements. 

The girl regardless wrote down Ovid’s schedule onto a piece of sheepskin and shared it among her fellow clergywomen. Some girls even decided to try out the routine for a few days to see if it truly works. Unfortunately, this lively discussion was abruptly interrupted by the sudden ringing of a bell. 

This branch is comparatively more autonomous compared to the other branches of the clergy. The girls could leave and go as they pleased, though there is a strict rule that every day at noon, a sermon would be preached. Although Anna was definitely no ordinary guest, it was still the respectful thing to do to leave the clergywomen be.

However, the contents of today’s sermon were quite unique, and Ovid and Anna were invited to stay.  

Anna, after a period of hesitancy, chose to politely refuse the invitation of the bishop.

Ovid, who by now had placed the broom back to its’ original position, could roughly tell why she had chosen to remain. 

She did not wish to regret her decision to leave the city.