Chapter 87: Madam Mina's Fortune Telling Shop
This afternoon's course is one of the few professional courses that freshmen in the seminary can take.
Therefore, Aiwass and Lily did not wear their usual blue and white school uniforms, but instead changed into the seminary's own uniform. This was a set of white robes that looked and functioned exactly like a clergyman's uniform, except for the lack of the designation of holy order.
——Because this course is called [Prayer Studies].
It mainly teaches the etiquette and procedures of praying to the nine gods based on different purposes and needs, in different occasions, and using different materials.
Scriptures, prayers, sacrifices, rituals, taboos...
This course is not difficult at all. The only difficulty is the large amount of memorization. Because of the large amount of memorization, this course has to be taught from the first semester of freshman year to the third semester of sophomore year.
At the time, Bishop Mathers hadn't taught Aiwass the sacred art of "prayer" because it simply couldn't be taught. The seminary's primary purpose was to spend two years teaching these aspiring priests how to pray to the Ennead Gods—aside from restoring mana, certain ritualistic divine arts also required prayer.
While priests primarily rely on the candlelighter, they are ultimately priests serving the Nine Pillars. This means they also need to understand and attend to the beliefs, traditions, and rituals of the other eight Pillars. During festivals associated with the other eight Pillars, priests will also don their attire and perform corresponding ceremonies.
Because of this, priests are considered the first profession among the Nine Great Daos to have in-depth knowledge of other Daos.
The lecturer of this course, Ms. Meiya, looks quite young.
She had dark brown curly hair tied into a ponytail that fell over one shoulder. She wore the same red bishop's robe as Bishop Mathers, and her eyes were a gentle, light blue.
Although she asked students to call her "Ms.", she looked like she was only in her twenties. Her cheerful and cheerful demeanor not only endeared her to students but also made her look much younger.
Even compared to Lily, who has a calm temperament and always smiles gently like an older sister, Ms. Maya looks younger.
The students also like this young lecturer who is nominally a lecturer but acts more like a senior student.
But only Aiwass knew...If nothing unexpected happened, this should be the rejuvenation brought about by the "Fire Worship Method".
She must have truly been a "lady," married and even bearing children. The fire ritual restored her body to its ideal state, undoing the pain and aging she had endured. It restored her to the youthful body of her youth... and after her body had recovered, her mental state and personality had also been restored.
“…Huh?”
When Ms. Maya saw Lily pushing Aiwass into the classroom for the first time, she looked at him in surprise.
The blue-haired girl passing by Aiwass saw this and smiled and explained for him, "This is Aiwass, Ms. Meiya. Did you read the Glass Steps newspaper the day before yesterday? He was the great detective that day~
"Mr. Aiwass's legs aren't very good, so he has to use a wheelchair. How about... could you diagnose him?"
"That shouldn't be necessary, Angela..."
Ms. Meiya shook her head: "Please take your seat first."
Why would he need my diagnosis? If he could really cure it, couldn't he just use the Sacrificial Fire himself?
Maya looked at Aiwass again with some surprise, and politely performed a strange etiquette towards him: Maya stretched out her hand, pointed once on her head and shoulders, and drew a triangle.
Aiwass just smiled gently, clasped his hands together, crossed his thumbs, bowed his head and closed his eyes in prayer.
Seeing this, Maya's attitude towards Aiwass obviously improved.
——This is the etiquette that Bishop Mathers taught him after he discovered that Aiwas quickly learned the fire worship method and was exposed to the path of dedication.
When Transcendents on the same path were close enough, the superior could sense the aura and approximate strength of the lower one's path. In other words, all the dedicated Transcendents in the school could sense that Aiwas had entered the Transcendent realm and completed an advancement ritual to reach the second energy level.
This is basically the graduation standard.
The hand gestures Mathers taught Aiwass were the code words used by the clergy of the Church of the Nine Pillars to identify each other. This was to ensure that Aiwass would not be treated differently when he returned to school.
Ms. Meya's gesture means that she serves the Church and has a bishop-level mitre.
This is what she is asking Aiwass, who guided you on the path of dedication?
After all, not all pastors come from seminary.
How many people can graduate from a seminary in a year? Many rural churches operate on a mentor-apprentice system. From a young age, they are taught step-by-step, and once they learn, they automatically join the church. Anyone who holds the title of "bishop" has the authority to preach and teach sacred skills to those who are qualified for the consecrated path.
Another possibility is that he was taught by no one. He was self-taught through mystical texts, mastering the mystical arts of the path of devotion and embarking on this path. In this case, his profession might not even be "priest." And Ms. Maya might not be so friendly to Aiwass.
Because this means obtaining the extraordinary power of the corresponding path and enjoying the social status of the corresponding path, but not fulfilling obligations or following rules.
For example, if someone acquires the mystical skills of the Path of Authority through a tantra or other esoteric text, a high-ranking inspector might mistake him for one of their own, sensing the aura of the Path of Authority. This could lead to the creation of "fake inspectors" or "fake priests."
And there's an even more serious problem: you can only enter a single path once. Once you obtain a transcendental profession from a particular path, you can only "advance" and there's no turning back. If Aiwass had obtained another profession from the path of devotion, he would never have become a priest. According to church rules, the church's carefully selected "sacred skills" cannot be easily disclosed.
If Aiwass had someone to lead him in, he would definitely be able to understand Ms. Meiya's code words.
The gesture that Aiwass responded with means that he is now just a "prayer" - he has not received the title of a priest, does not have a clergy position, and does not currently work for the church, but someone has taught him.
That didn't matter. Meiya didn't care whether she worked for the church or not. As long as it wasn't another profession on the same path, it was fine.
Meiya felt ashamed of her subconscious suspicion, so she said lovingly: "Just sit next to me, Mr. Aiwass. It's not convenient for a wheelchair to go up the stairs."
"That would be troublesome."
Aiwass said softly, "Ms. Meiya."
While waiting for the other students, Maya sat in her chair and chatted quietly with Aiwass: "I heard about the incident where you solved the case. I thought you had already embarked on the path of wisdom... I didn't expect that you are actually a pastor. And you have entered the second level at such a young age...
"I wonder which bishop guided you?"
"Bishop Mathers," Aiwass replied.
Hearing this, Maya's eyes suddenly widened, a look of disbelief on her face: "Huh? Mathers?"
"What's wrong?"
Aiwass caught something unusual in her mood.
"Samuel Mathers?" she asked.
"Yes."
Aiwass realized that Bishop Maya might know Mathers, so he asked, "Do you know him?"
Meiya hissed, her expression becoming somewhat subtle.
She secretly glanced at the students and found that they were all looking over and paying close attention to the movements at the podium - they seemed to have become accustomed to the fact that they could eat melons with Aiwass.
So Meiya lowered her voice and covered her mouth with her hands.
"My name is Maya Mathers. He is my brother."
...That's not good.
Aiwass's expression also became a little strange.
Although Maya didn't know, Aiwass knew it himself - Mathers had actually taught him the sacred art last Friday. The day after that was the 15th, which meant that Aiwass advanced immediately after advancing.
This is too shocking!
It's not a big deal, it's just too high-profile.
Although not many people may believe this...but Aiwass still likes to keep a low profile.
But fortunately, Maya gave an answer that made Aiwass feel relieved:
"—But he and I have been at odds for a long time because of his relationship problems. I haven't spoken to him in about ten years."
Although she said that they had a falling out, it was obvious that she and Aiwass had become closer because he was Samuel's apprentice.
How could this be called a falling out? It's more like a fit of anger...
"...So, why?" Aiwass was a little curious.
He also felt a little gossipy: "Bishop, what kind of relationship problems did he have?"
"That day, Samuel brought back a girl who was eleven years younger than him and said that this was his wife and they were married."
Meiya frowned. "Samuel was 29 at the time, and the girl was only 18."
"I remember Bishop Samuel was from Avalon?"
Aiwass asked in return: "Girls should be able to get married at the age of 18, right?"
"Yes, men and women can get married at the age of eighteen. The problem is... if most people want to get married, they must have been in a relationship for many years, right? That girl was only eighteen when she got married. So when did Samuel meet her?"
Meiya gritted her teeth and slammed the table when she said this. "He said at the time that he had just met her and it was love at first sight! Do you think I would believe it? Should my parents believe it?"
"...It's not completely impossible, right?"
Aiwass's expression was a little subtle. It seemed that the concept of "flash marriage" didn't exist in this era.
But having said that, Samuel does seem a bit suspicious...
But soon, Maya's words made Aiwass a little serious: "Of course, there is a possibility of love at first sight. But the problem is, later we asked the detective to investigate - she is not from Avalon.
"She was a member of the Iris family, and ultimately, she chose the path of beauty. At the time, the sixth faculty of the Royal Law University hadn't even opened yet. Yet, a member of the Iris family, rather than studying at the University of the West in her own country, traveled thousands of miles to Avalon to study theology, and then pursue the path of beauty. And in her first year, she married her advisor.
"—Do you think this makes sense? I don't even need to think about it, it's weird no matter how I look at it!"
“…It’s really not very reasonable.”
Aiwass frowned, realizing something was amiss. "But Bishop Samuel doesn't seem like such an impulsive person..."
"That's what we all said."
Meiya whispered, "So we kept telling Samuel to calm down and separate from that girl for a while! But he didn't listen at all. Eventually, he moved out and rented a place on his own. But I heard a few days ago that he was elected as a spiritual councilor, so at least we don't have to worry about his life anymore..."
"What's his wife's name?" Aiwass asked.
"Mina. I forgot her last name, but she should be called Mina Mathers now... Calculating, she should be thirty-five years old this year.
"She runs a fortune-telling shop, selling fortune-telling tools and also doing fortune-telling for others. But she's not a prophet who has adapted to the Tao, so what fortune-telling abilities can she possess? She's just a liar... I really don't know why Samuel likes her so much.
"Whenever you're free, why not go visit him? After all, you have a mentor-apprentice relationship, so visiting your mentor is perfectly normal. Since you mentioned it so suddenly just now, I'm also curious about how that woman is doing..."
Meiya clasped her hands together and whispered to Aiwass, "Mr. Aiwass, please help me! I have a favorite tantra book on the path of devotion in my collection. I can give it to you when the time comes... Of course, if there is really no chance, it doesn't matter. As long as you can try to ask my brother, I will give you the book -"
While Maya was saying this, Aiwas' pupils suddenly trembled.
It's not for the reward.
But when he heard the name, he suddenly thought of something.
——The name of the mall in the game is "Madame Mina's Fortune Telling Shop".
Aiwass would never forget this name. He believed that no player would forget it.
...To be honest, I will definitely go and take a look if I have the chance.
This month, I updated a full 220,000 words! I didn't even take a single day off. I'm so strong!
Then I will report the results. The number of readers has exceeded 10,000 and the average subscription is now 12,000. Thank you all for your support——
There is still time to vote at the end of the month~if you don’t vote, it will expire!
(End of this chapter)
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