Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 34 Level 2 Assistant Priest

"Come on, let's take a picture together, with Fafnir in the middle."

Little Fafnir, keep it up! I believe in you. Of course, this is also in line with the rules of our church and grammar school.

Your future will be better.

……

"Church of the God of Death Rank Sequence Certificate"

(Certified by the Eternal Sleep Temple of the Holy Kingdom of the Church of the God of Death)

Fafnir Beckett, eight years old, from Dawn Province of the Narns Empire, born in the Elven Holy Kingdom of Lorraine, has now been promoted to the Church of the God of Death.

Second-level Assistant Priest

Church of the God of Death, Elf Holy Kingdom, Lorraine Branch

Bishop (First Rank Bishop) (Signature and Seal): Zero Andre

Auxiliary Bishop (Third-Rank Bishop) (Signature and Seal): Viktor Zaitsev

Chief Night Watchman (Fourth-Order Bishop) (Signature and Seal): Kingsley Demery

Vice Principal of Grammar School (Fourth-Rank Bishop) (Signature and Seal): Fanning Van Rentin

February of the Holy Kingdom, 849

Fafner looked at the certificate three times.

The weight of the certificate made him feel a little dazed.

The document bears the signatures and seals of four bishops, and the official seal and lacquer of the Temple of Eternal Rest are stamped in the lower right corner, with a textured surface.

He carefully stored the certificate in his dormitory drawer, intending to show it to his parents when he went home in a few days.

Fafnir is wearing this priest's robe quite often now, and Mr. Victor asked him to get another one from the logistics department, which fits him perfectly.

……

The day before school started, when Fafnir returned to Grammar School, Martha and Ellen were standing in the open space in front of the dormitory building.

The two men were wearing faded old robes and each carried a cloth bag, looking like they had just returned from outside.

"Fafner!" Allen saw him first and waved.

Fafnir walked over and noticed that the two men looked better than before the holiday; at least their cheeks had some color in them.

"How have you been this past month?" Fafnir asked. He hadn't spoken to Martha and Allen much lately, as he was always in Port Ryan doing clerical work and sometimes didn't get back to his dorm until very late.

"It's alright," Martha said. "We found odd jobs at a textile factory near the docks. We work half a day and get a meal included. We earned a total of forty copper coins between us."

Allen added, "The boss was nice; he even let us help with the numbers and math."

Fafnir nodded and briefly talked about how he had spent several days at sea and worked in Port Ryan over the past month.

Of course, he didn't mention that the five intelligence officers from the Narns Empire were imprisoned in the inspection team's dungeon, and even with Bishop Andrei's magic, they wouldn't get any useful information.

Some things don't need to be said.

"By the way," Martha smiled, "Fafner, have you grown a little taller in the past few months?"

Fafnir paused for a moment, then looked down at himself.

"Maybe," Fafnir said. "The meat in the cafeteria wasn't for nothing."

……

The opening ceremony was held on Monday of the first week of the new semester.

This time, Fafnir was not standing at the very back.

He stood at the end of the faculty and staff line, wearing the black priestly robes of a second-class assistant priest with brown raven feathers embroidered on his chest.

The auditorium is still the same auditorium, and the seats are still the same seats.

There are more new students than last semester, about sixty or so.

The parents sat in the back row, some dressed in respectable formal attire, some with family crests pinned to their chests, and some with swords hanging from their waists.

Bishop Andrei stood on the platform and delivered a speech, the content of which was similar to that of the previous semester: welcoming the new students, encouraging them to study diligently, and revering the god of death.

But Fafner noticed that the dozen or so children in the last few rows of the auditorium were wearing rather old robes, some of which didn't even fit properly.

They sat there quietly, standing out from the neatly dressed parents around them.

Fafnir activated his spiritual vision and quickly scanned the area.

The spiritual aura of those children was mostly pure white, with some mixed with a few specks of pale gold, much dimmer than that of the elf children in the front row.

After reading the list of new students, Bishop Andrei paused, his gaze sweeping across the back of the hall.

"This semester, the church approved the grammar school to enroll more than a dozen students from impoverished families," he said, his voice not loud, but every word clear:

"They passed an additional entrance exam and will be studying in the same class as other students."

The atmosphere in the auditorium fell silent for a moment.

Fafner noticed several parents in the back row exchanging glances; some frowned slightly, some moved their lips, but no one spoke.

An elven knight in the front row leaned back in his chair, making a sound, and that was all.

There were some complaints, but this time no one dared to express their dissatisfaction in front of Bishop Andre.

Sister Fanning also took the stage and spoke about the library's borrowing rules and opening hours.

The opening ceremony is over.

As the parents gradually stood up, Fafnir paused, his gaze lingering on the children for a moment, before leaving expressionlessly when he saw several well-dressed parents walk past the impoverished students.

The children remained seated until most of the adults had left, then stood up and, led by a middle-aged priest in a gray robe, walked towards the dormitory building at the back.

Fafnir watched their retreating figures and recalled how he had been when he first arrived last year.

……

In the afternoon, Fafnir reported to the logistics department.

The thin old man is still there, and he seems to be in good spirits.

He looked up and saw Fafner, his gaze lingering on his chest for a moment before he pulled a form from the drawer.

"Fafner Beckett, Assistant Priest II, has had his position changed to 'Gentleman's Usher,' which is to assist in teaching," the old man read aloud while writing on the form:

"Your main responsibility was assisting Bishop Viktor Zaitsev with his courses in magic and bookkeeping, while also continuing to clean the corridors of the teaching building and the dormitory—did you voluntarily retain this role?"

"Yes," Fafnir said, "I want to keep my current routine."

After leaving the logistics department, Fafnir did not immediately return to his dormitory or go to the library, but instead went to the teaching building and mopped the corridor.

The mop is still the same mop, and the bucket is still the same bucket.

Just like last year,

But they are not quite the same.

Back in his dorm, he neatly arranged the four books—"Introduction to Spirituality," "Illustrated Guide to First-Order Spells," "Advanced Meditation Techniques," and "Spiritual Language of the Spirit World"—on the table, and hung his priest's robe on the coat rack behind the door.

He knew one thing: that certificate was not the end.

Whether it was a second-level assistant priest or a priest's robe with brown raven feathers,

What truly belongs to him are the numbers that rise little by little, the spells etched into his spirituality, and the ever-thickening "ledger".

Let's continue meditating and practicing spells!

……

Fafnir exited meditation and opened his eyes.

Outside the window, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, its light spilling onto the windowsill and making the porcelain cup that Mr. Victor had given it appear white.

Fafnir blew out the candles, lay down, and pulled the blanket up to his chin.

The clock tower in the distance announced the ten o'clock hour.