Millennium Witch

Book 3: Chapter 267: The First Priest

The peaceful days passed one after another, and time gradually slipped into November.During this period, Yvette headed into the Snowfields roughly once a week, taking different routes each time, recording different landmark scenes and adding them to her great map. Then she would come back, soak in the hot springs, and enjoy good food. Life was quite comfortable.

On the way back and forth, whenever she rested at Forgehold—the midway supply station between Icehammer City and the Snowfields—she would occasionally hear scattered rumors: that the elusive “Snow Priestess” who appeared in the Blizzard Belt to guide the lost was actually a servant of the God of Serendipity.

For now, this news had only just begun to spread and had very little impact. While she vaguely suspected the misunderstanding had probably started because of her, it boosted the Silver Witch’s presence in the Snowfields, so she had no intention of correcting it.

As for what the Snow Priestess herself thought of this—

Let’s just say, if she wasn’t happy about it, she’d come out and clarify things on her own.

If she didn’t, that meant she accepted it by default.

Meanwhile—

Sara, the waitress at Snowmist Lodge, finally discovered what was special about the holy statue Miss Yvette had given her.

Though she was a Snow Country native with a fairly robust constitution, she did have a few minor chronic ailments. For example, stomach problems that meant she couldn’t eat spicy food or drink alcohol as recklessly as other Snowfield folk, which was miserable. And then there was an old injury in her shoulder that made it hard for her to do any heavy work and caused plenty of inconvenience.

But lately—she couldn’t pinpoint exactly when—it had suddenly dawned on her that her stomach problems were gone. She could eat anything she wanted. Her shoulder injury had vanished too; she could use as much strength as she liked without any pain.

She was delighted, of course, but also deeply puzzled. After thinking it over, she realized all these changes seemed to have happened within the last month.

At this point, she didn’t think too much of it. She just assumed she’d “taken better care of herself,” and left it at that.

It wasn’t until a sudden crisis in late October that she finally understood the reason why.

One late night, the adventurer Barton—the same one who used to pester her endlessly—somehow managed to dig up her address. He slipped into her home under cover of darkness, intending to violate her.

At the critical moment, the Silver Witch’s holy statue suddenly shot out a bolt of lightning that charred Barton into a lump of blackened coal. A breeze passed, and he crumbled on the spot, saving her the trouble of even having to dispose of the body.

This left Sara utterly stunned.

She’d grown up hearing the legends of the Snow Emperor and regarded Him as the supreme spiritual pillar in her heart. But in practice, the Snow Emperor only revealed miracles when the Snow Country was in great danger, such as during natural disasters.

So she had never imagined that not only did the mighty God of Serendipity truly exist—She would actually manifest and protect someone as small and ordinary as herself.

That feeling of being personally watched over by a god completely shattered the unwavering faith in the Snow Emperor she had carried in her heart for more than ten years.

She would still believe in the Snow Emperor, yes—but her devotion could no longer compare to the fervent faith she now felt toward the Silver Witch.

At the same time, she realized that the recent improvements in her health had to be connected to this statue as well. She’d received it from Miss Yvette at the beginning of the month; the timing matched perfectly.

So, after a sleepless night spent in shock, she waited until the next day at noon for Yvette to finally come out for her first “breakfast,” and approached her with a heart full of reverence and confusion to ask how she should move forward.

Now that she was a devout follower of the Silver Witch and had received the Goddess’s protection, she felt she ought to be praying and worshipping at a proper temple of the Silver Witch Church. Otherwise, she couldn’t calm her heart. But she’d never heard of the Silver Witch Church existing anywhere, so she had no choice but to turn to Yvette.

“You don’t know what to do?” Yvette asked calmly after listening to her somewhat jumbled explanation.

Sara nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes! Miss Yvette, the Goddess really did protect me. Where should I go to pray and worship Her?”

“Can’t you just do it at home? You already have the holy statue I gave you, don’t you?” Yvette said.

“That feels way too casual. And the Goddess saved me. I… I feel…” Sara looked at her anxiously. If she were just an ordinary believer, it might have been one thing. But she saw herself as personally protected by the Goddess—half a god’s favored, at the very least. If she kept being as casual and sloppy about it as before, how could she hope for the Goddess to feel her gratitude and devotion?

“I see. You want to do something for the Goddess, right?”

“Yes, yes, exactly!”

“Then, are you willing to join the Silver Witch Church and become an official priest, spreading the Goddess’s glory across these Snowfields? If you can sow Her glory across the Snowfield lands, the Goddess will surely sense your sincerity. And given how humbly the Snow Emperor speaks of the Goddess in His own teachings, I don’t think He would object,” Yvette said.

The entire second half was pure nonsense on her part. If she really believed that, she wouldn’t still be on edge about getting caught by the Snow Emperor.

Exchanging blows from afar like she’d done with the Sun God was one thing; but if she had to face a god head-on, then for safety’s sake, she’d always choose to retreat first—just like that time she ran into Tertia.

What, you say she’s playing mind games with thin air?

Hmph. This is called being cautious and advancing step by step. I’d say it’s you who doesn’t get it at all.

“Join the Church? I really can?” On the other side of the conversation, Sara froze for a moment when she heard Yvette’s suggestion.

Because of the Snow Country’s unique geography and long-standing isolation, she naturally assumed that the outside world had always had a Silver Witch Church—probably a powerful one—only the Snow Country people didn’t know about it.

“Of course.” Yvette nodded. “From today on, you’re a member of the Silver Witch Church. Here in the Snow Country, the Church is only just beginning to take root. Pastor Sara, I hope you’ll work hard. Once the Church has enough fame and devoted believers in Icehammer City, you’ll be a founding elder of the Church’s Snow Country branch. When that time comes, your future will be limitless.”

Founding elder.

Thinking of the arrogant shamans and ritual priests of the Snow Country’s ritual council, who casually issued orders to small settlements, Sara began to daydream. Could she really become someone like that one day?

“I’ll do my best!” she said resolutely.

After becoming the first priest of the Silver Witch Church in the region, Sara didn’t receive any Benediction at all—not even financial support.

In Yvette’s view, saving her life was already mercy enough. Until she saw proof of Sara’s capabilities, she couldn’t afford to casually dole out what little Benediction she had.

An Apostle at the 1,000-mana-point tier was worth a full two months of Adelock’s output.

Sara, on the other hand, was brimming with enthusiasm. She might be a native of Icehammer City, but her ancestral home was a settlement just outside the city. She could start with her extended family there, spreading the Goddess’s faith step by step.

As long as she could organize the first small local group of devoted believers of the Goddess, Yvette would provide her with financial backing. Then she could move on to other settlements to preach and build things up.

There were only two things that left Sara a little confused. First, she had no idea what position Yvette actually held within the Silver Witch Church. Second, Yvette hadn’t given her any sort of formal doctrine. Instead, she’d told her to refer to the local Snow Emperor myths and write up a set of teachings suited to Snow Country culture herself.

Which, no matter how she looked at it, seemed more than a little outrageous.