I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 32 May Your Heart Be Clear
However, despite saying that, DuPont still had a hard time keeping his composure while singing the hymn. He had to exert a lot of effort to avoid bursting into laughter, and the song ended up being sung very casually.

Fortunately, with so many apprentices, no one should notice his abnormality. He only needs to lower his voice and hum along to the melody to get away with it, just like many others.

Yes, there must be quite a few people like him who just hum around aimlessly. At least DuPont saw several apprentices with their eyes closed, looking like they were about to fall asleep. They were just there to get by, and their faith in women was definitely not much stronger than his.

Most monks are not very devout; in fact, they are less devout than many ordinary people.

This is not surprising. Even mage apprentices can understand how much they have to put in to learn spells and become mages, rather than relying on faith in a magic lady to learn spells and acquire spell slots.

If I have enough talent and enough effort, I don't believe I can achieve these things, so why should I believe it?

It is said that many mages outside do not believe in Mystra at all, and they do not even go to church. The greatest respect they can show to the Lady of Magic is to say a few auspicious words to the emblem before performing a spell experiment to wish her good luck, so as to avoid being tormented on the Wall of Unbelievers after death and being a shallow believer for eternity.

But Harua is, after all, the headquarters of the Magic Church. The ceremonies and Masses here are very formal and indispensable. Apprentices like him have to go to the surrounding churches to worship even if they are not in the academy. Only after becoming a formal mage or reaching adulthood can they sit in a chair to pray and enjoy watching this silly boy sing hymns.

However, DuPont felt that the pastor conducting the choir looked at him several times, but when he looked at her, her gaze was not on him. She simply looked at everyone normally and slowly conducted the choir with the incense burner connected by the silver chain, elegant and beautiful.

However, this female pastor looked quite young, but her breasts were surprisingly large, and her figure was much better than that of Anne in front of me.

Is the food at this church better than in our own cafeteria?
While DuPont was lost in thought, he didn't notice the young female cultivator in charge frowning slightly, but she quickly recovered. Apart from the incense burner shaking a little more, everything was normal.

After the hymn was finally sung, the girl stepped aside, and a female pastor wearing a chainmail coat and robe came before the crowd. She cast a spell with her hands, and all the candles in the church were instantly lit.

DuPont had met this man once before; he was a pastor named Dorothy, who was known for her magnanimity.

At this moment, Dorothy once again revealed her halo, which represented her divine lineage. Her expression was solemn, as if a divine messenger had descended. She held an ancient book with a sacred glow in her hand and chanted scriptures aloud.

"We must always remember that magic is a profound and mysterious art, a gift from the Lady, and a supreme privilege enjoyed by those who can use it."

"We love magic for what it is, not just as a weapon to change reality according to our own will. True wisdom lies in knowing when not to use magic."

"We must persist in learning new spells and creating new spells. The Lady always favors the brave and innovators. We will also grow in the process of using magical skills, becoming people with true wisdom and a broader and more balanced way of thinking about things. The gates of the Lady's Kingdom will always be open to these people."

"While keeping this in mind, always remain humble, keep arrogance at bay, and always remember the lady's generosity."

After the pastor finished speaking, all the believers shouted in unison, "Praise be to the lady!"

For a moment, the church resembled a pyramid scheme, even the flames of the sacred candles tilted slightly, as if an unseen deity was listening intently. Seeing this, DuPont couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Even someone like him, who has no religious foundation, was filled with admiration upon seeing this scene. If this had been seen in the past, it would have been easy to develop a sect with millions of members. The true God is indeed different from a fictional deity.

After finally getting through this process, the next step is to explain the sacred rituals. The basic process is to tell how great the goddess of magic is, how she defeated the evil goddess Shar and thwarted the conspiracies of many evil gods, and how she allowed mages to use powerful magic, and so on.

It must be said that this was indeed a kind of generosity. The first Goddess of Magic granted mages too much authority, to the point that she herself was killed when a high-ranking arcane mage from the Nether era stole her authority with a 12th-level spell. After the second Goddess of Magic came to power, she directly prohibited everyone from researching spells above the 9th level, so that those arcane miracles never came again.

However, upon closer reflection, the current development of magic should far surpass that of the Nether era. In particular, the new era's magic system allows someone with an intelligence of 14 to become a magic apprentice, so it can be said that he is also one of the beneficiaries of this era.

By this time, some of the mages sitting in the audience had quietly slipped away, leaving only a few formal mages who truly revered the goddess and were willing to waste their time there. When an old priest in a high-ranking dark blue priest's robe came out to announce the completion of the ceremony, the service finally ended. The apprentices greeted and bowed before the goddess and the priest, and then they were free to leave.

DuPont was doing these things idly, and when it was his turn, he looked at the exquisite stone sculpture inlaid with gemstones in front of him, and only one thought came to his mind.

It would be great if you gave me these; a few of them could probably pay off my debt.

After looking at the goddess, Dorothy turned to the priest. Dorothy clearly remembered DuPont, and when she saw him, a somewhat mysterious smile appeared on her face: "It's you. How have you been lately? Are you feeling better?"

"I'm alright." DuPont honestly showed his bandaged arm: "But I encountered a gray wolf when I went out and was badly injured."

“You can come find me later.” Dorothy covered her mouth with her hand, her alluring eyes making DuPont a little uneasy. “The goddess has been very satisfied with the academy’s devotion lately, especially with an outstanding young man like you. Don’t worry, this doesn’t require any extra sacrifices.”

I'm not good enough, my foot! I'm not even that devout when it comes to women. I'm afraid she's just lusting after me again. But if I don't put myself to sleep, that's not a bad thing.
DuPont inwardly disagreed, but outwardly agreed repeatedly, continuing to walk forward while glancing down at the young female cultivator, his gaze involuntarily drifting downwards.

The girl's bust size was obviously much smaller than that of Pastor Dorothy. However, Dorothy was clearly at the age of ripeness, while this petite girl in front of him was probably about the same age as him, yet she still had such a full bust, which was truly rare.

"The lady will bless a devout believer like you." The girl's smile was warm and gentle as she offered her blessing, but when she saw that the person in front of her was DuPont, the corners of her mouth, which had been turned up, froze slightly, and she took a deep breath.

The girl struggled to lift the incense burner around DuPont's head, a difficult task for someone much shorter than him. After doing so, she didn't look DuPont in the eye, but simply whispered a blessing: "May your heart be at peace."

"Thank you, monk," Dupont replied casually, then suddenly felt something was amiss.

He hadn't paid much attention before because they were far apart, but now he felt like he'd seen her before or heard her voice somewhere else.

(End of this chapter)