The Church

The appraisal results were a major disappointment. I had been counting on the higher value to help me immediately, but now it looks like I'll have to develop a new plan.

I was initially skeptical when the appraisal told me the item was 'unappraisable,' but then I saw the rest of the report. 'Probably of divine origin'? I couldn't believe it. How could something like this even exist and be so easy to get? I just had to give an old man a couple of coins I could easily get from hunting monsters and I got a divine artifact?

I was so lost in thought, trying to make sense of the 'Unappraisable, Probably of divine origin' verdict, that I barely noticed when a loud bang echoed throughout my mind. Suddenly, my body jolted as a bolt of electricity shot through my body. My body was getting hotter and hotter until suddenly every feeling disappeared and it went back to normal.

'Dammit, I learned nothing. It even sent a shock throughout my body so there has to be someone that could appraise this. That scammer old man was acting all suspiciously to draw attention away from his scam products. I'll see if the church knows anything about it when I get there. Maybe they know more than what's written here.

With those thoughts still lingering in my mind, I headed towards the temple as I followed the path told to me and I finally reached its entrance. The guards near the door raised their eyes to reach mine as I approached the door. I got through without any problems after a quick look and proceeded into the church undisturbed.

As soon as I entered though, things changed drastically for better or worse depending upon how you looked at it. A large crowd had gathered in the middle of the church and one person who seemed very important stood next to the altar with two priests by her side. They must've known she would cause some sort of commotion because they both held up hands telling everyone else to calm down while also talking to the Noble-like woman.

She stood tall before them wearing a red robe with the golden embroidery of a Sun. Her blonde hair flowed freely behind her head and hung loosely against her shoulders as she spoke to the priests. Even though her smile seemed to be infectious there were some around them who had disappointed faces among the group.

After reaching the back benches I got close enough to hear the talk between the blonde-haired girl and the two priests.

"So there aren't going to be any priests available for the next two weeks? Even though I requested ahead of time?"

"Yes, I'm sorry lady Zaya. Unfortunately, the priest that was to attend your tournament had gone into the dungeon with an adventurer party a couple of days ago and no one has heard from them since." One of the priests said with sweat rolling down his face. He looked like he was truly terrified of the young lady. She didn't look to be threatening to me at least, but people tended not to mess with nobles.

"We have a priest shortage in this city and it's been reported to the main temple so we have to wait two weeks for replacements to be sent here. Currently, it's just him and I running the church, cleaning, healing the city folk and adventurers, taking care of the orphanage, and setting up prayers for the community until then." The other priest chimed in and said with an awkward face. He didn't seem like he wanted to be here at the moment but still had the excuses lined up for the ready.

That explained why I hadn't seen anyone else except these two priests working inside. The guards outside didn't even have the insignia of the church so they are probably given by the governor of the city. But where did all the priests go? I had heard from Finn that the church had many priests. Did they leave town or…? No, that can't be right. If they left, wouldn't I notice? Or maybe they're out doing errands?

Suddenly, another voice rang loudly over the chatter. "My lady, there's someone else here we should let him finish his business before we handle things." A butler appeared out of thin air and made my presence known to the group.

At that moment all of the eyes went on me and one of the priests spoke up.

"What can I help you with sir?"

He asked politely despite being nervous. With only a few words, I managed to catch the attention of most of the room. There weren't too many people present besides myself, the two priests, and the noblewoman and her entourage standing around them. So I decided to explain everything clearly and concisely instead of beating around the bus.

"I got an item that I need some info on." I said while taking out the item and handing it to the priest who had approached me.

"I'm sorry sir but we don't have anyone capable of appraising things right now. You'll have to bring it to a professional and have it done by them." The priest said while keeping a smile on his face.

"I have an appraisal result right here that I got but I think I would need someone with the knowledge of a priest to understand it." I said while handing over the item and the appraisal results over to the priest.

After looking at the appraisal results and taking a close look at the item, with my permission he proceeded to try and put holy power into the item but still got no reaction from it.

"I'm sorry sir, you're going to have to try and bring this item to the main temple if you want to get any information on this item. Even then it could be an item from a different temple so you may have to go to different temples before you find the right one." The priest said while handing back the item and the appraisal results to me.

"Ah, okay then. Thank you for your help." I said with a dejected voice. I couldn't help but be bummed out that I had wasted a trip and most of my time for today.

"Is there anything else that I can help you with?"

"Yeah, can I make a donation?" After I heard about the orphanage I decided to make a donation to help the kids. I had tons of money from the demons so I could part ways with some of it to help those in need.

The priests' eyes shined and he proceeded to help me make a donation and sent me on my way for the day after thanking me. It was already 4 in the afternoon by the time I was done and the sun was setting so I decided to go to a restaurant for dinner before heading home to practice some more.

It wasn't long before I found a nice little place called 'Keld's Restaurant.' As soon as I walked in, I felt comfortable and relaxed. Everything seemed clean and well-maintained. This is exactly the kind of establishment I needed to relax and unwind in. Not many people were there yet since the dinner rush hasn't happened yet so the waiter was surprised to see me.

"Welcome in, what can I get started for you."

I was helped to a nice dinner and left for the inn before more people had managed to come in so I had the nice restaurant atmosphere to myself.