VIO Ch 71.1 – Looking for a Scholar (V)

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translator: mii

editor, tlc: chiizuholic

After telling Rille that he would leave the rest to her, Vio left. Then Rille, her sister, and the priests came into Samarelli’s house.

In a bad mood, Dawn fell silent. Yuan brewed tea and brought it to the table. “Here you go.”

Thank you very much,” Rille and Reina both said before picking up their unglazed cups.

“What? You guys are related to the devil’s family? Was wanting to know the situation in Nada town’s temple just an excuse? Were you actually paid to approach me?”

Rille grew angry. She raised her chin and sourly retorted, “My, saying such a thing, aren’t you quite rude? I serve Master Violant, but don’t lump him in with His Grace and Lord Rupheus!” She continued, “His Grace and Lord Rupheus are not involved in this matter. Master told me he wants to know what’s happening in the temple of Nada town, so we’re just investigating it.”

“Then, is your master involved with the priests of Nada town’s temple?”

“The temple’s priests? We don’t know them. I’ve been serving Master’s side for years, and the only time he even went to the temple in Nada town was to receive a blessing when he came of age. In the first place, we wouldn’t bother coming here if we were familiar with the goings-on of the temple,” Rille argued.

Reina heaved a small sigh and soothed her sister. “Rille, please stop that. Mister Samarelli suffered bitter experiences in Nada town’s temple. He’s had a hard time.”

“But Sister, the way he speaks badly of Master vexes me. Master’s also suffered bitter experiences. He’s having a hard time even now!”

Rille got so worked up that she started to cry.

Shocked, Dawn looked to Reina. “W-what? I just said a few bad words about him. She doesn’t have to cry like that, right?!”

Reina spoke with a troubled face, “Ah, I’m sorry, Mister Samarelli. My sister is… how should I say this… emotional? She loves her Master very much?”

Ryan and Bell, the young priests who accompanied them, smiled wryly as they comforted Reina.

Ryan said, “Please calm down, Miss Reina. You shouldn’t make that kind of expression.”

“But Ryan, she got it right, didn’t she?” Bell replied.

Reina cleared her throat. “Anyway! We want to have a good understanding of the situation in Nada town’s temple. My sister indeed serves the second son of Duke Lesserhain, but I serve as an apprentice of the assistant head priest. Please rest assured. It is one of my duties to stamp out the corruption in the temples. We didn’t have a chance to discuss much last time, so I look forward to working with you today.”

Rille had heard from Reina that she could only speak to Dawn for a bit last time because the man had to attend to an emergency patient. That was why she came with her today.

“I look forward to working with you,” Rille echoed as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and bowed her head.

Dawn stared at Reina in surprise. “You serve as an apprentice of the assistant head priest at that age?”

“Yes. My father is the assistant of the head priest, so he teaches me his work.”

Ryan added, “Miss Reina is famous for her talent. She has a good memory and does her tasks well. Moreover, she is so strong that she can also be an escort. Everyone is sca— I mean, everyone respects her.”

Reina glared at Ryan, who had been about to say that she was scary. “Ryan?”

“I’m sorry!” Ryan cowered.

“Since your father is the assistant of the head priest, then your family has a good standing despite being commoners. That’s why your sister can serve the Duke’s family…” Dawn nodded, convinced. He then glanced at Rille.

As Dawn said, Rille’s father’s position in the temple was high. To be precise, he was the third rank from the top.

The priests’ hierarchy went as thus: the head priest as the highest rank, the deputy head priest, the two assistants of the head priest, the priest, the assistant priest, the junior priest, and the apprentice.

With the Great Temple as the center, the priests were dispatched to the other temples in other regions. However, even if two priests nominally had the same rank, the one who worked at the Great Temple was superior.

“My family has a connection with Count Thalia, so they recommended my sister to serve an upper-class family to learn manners. Rather than that, were you a priest in Nada temple, Mister Samarelli?”

“No, I was an assistant priest. I could have been a priest if I had passed the tests, but I didn’t pass any of it.”

“Huh? Even though you’re smart enough to be a doctor?” Surprised, Rille reflexively turned to Reina.

Reina had a bitter look on her face. “It seems the priests in Nada town got promoted by using underhanded methods. That was where our conversation stopped last time. Mister Samarelli, you said you had more things to say, right? May we please hear it?”

Dawn sighed. “I don’t really want to remember it…” Then he noticed Yuan watching them sneakily from the kitchen. “Yuan, go upstairs.”

“Father, I want to listen to your story, too.”

“No. A child shouldn’t butt into a conversation between adults.”

“But Father, the person earlier who looked very kind talked about you working as a botanist, but you turned him away. I know Father wants to work with plants instead of being a doctor. Why did you refuse him? Are you going to refuse these people too?”

It turned out that Yuan was dissatisfied with his father’s exchange with Vio. The boy took this opportunity to speak of it vehemently.

“Yuan…”

“It’s okay, Father. Both of these people and the one that came here before are shiny. Look, there are shiny things here and there. Father, you can see them as well, right? People that look shiny are good people. Father also looks shiny, so I’m sure of it. And I didn’t see anything shiny on that mean uncle too.”

As Yuan did his best to explain his theory to his father, Rille and the others who were listening to him cocked their heads.

“What is shiny?”

“Rille, do you see anything?”

“No, Sister. I don’t.”

While Rille and Reina conversed, Bell asked Yuan, curious. “Who is the mean uncle who doesn’t look ‘shiny’?”

“It’s the bald uncle who burned Father’s wheat field. Most priests are shiny, but that uncle and the people around him weren’t.”

Rille and the others looked at each other.

Apparently, not everyone was ‘shiny’ in Yuan’s eyes.

Dawn gave a sigh of defeat. “My son is talking about spirits. He seems to have inherited my eyes. So don’t mind him if you see him laughing at thin air.”