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Chapter 12: Live To Sienna Pt.12

Roy took the lead, walking forward, before she could even give an answer. She followed him through a small side gate at the back of the temple and saw a small garden the size of a square room.

All the plants there were of the same kind, grass with five leaves larger than her palm. Some were so thick that they came up to their waists.

Sienna gave a loud laugh as she looked at the garden awkwardly. It wasn’t built well enough to be called a garden. It occurred to her that it looked very much like Roy, the owner of the garden.

“Is it that much of a mess? It’s actually my first time gardening. It’s a shame that the priest serving the Goddess of the Earth can’t even garden.”

Contrary to what he had said, the condition of the plants was extremely good. Rather, because they looked so good, the plants looked more like colonies rising from the ground than plants that were being grown to cultivation.

“No, that’s not it. It’s amazing. But, it’s all one kind. What’s the name of this plant?”

“It’s called hemp.”

“Why are you planting it? Don’t you usually plant vegetables such as salad ingredients or tomatoes in a garden?”

“It’s a stimulating plant. At this time of the year, many children suffer from pneumonia or influenza in the back alleys of the city. They even lose their lives. That’s why I planted it in advance. Hemp is often used as basic medicine, and some children can overcome their own illnesses while it supports their stamina and physical condition.”

He was partly to blame for his childish appearance, and his playful smile and light accent made her feel like he wasn’t a priest at all, but listening to Roy’s story made her feel great.

Because of the existence of classes, some people were treated worse than animals, and sometimes, even five slaves would cost less than a horse. It felt great to be able to understand and reach out to the poor in this place.

“That sounds great, Priest Roy Whist.”

After Sienna’s words of admiration, he said, scratching at the back of his head, “It’s OK. It’s only natural for a man of the Goddess. More than that, Sienna, please be at ease and call me Roy.”

“How can I dare call a priest by his name so indiscreetly?”

“Priesthood is not a position, it’s kind of like a job. You don’t have to worry about it that much... Well, if you feel uncomfortable, please take my last name off and just call me Priest Roy.”

“OK. Then, I will do so.”

A small bird sat on his shoulder as he nodded. The bird with black wings and gray plumage had a patch of orange plumage around its neck like a scarf.

“Chirp, chirp!”

The bird ran around, jumping all over Roy’s shoulders. Roy, as if familiar with the bird, put the grain kernels he had taken out of his pocket on his palm and stuck them out for the bird. The bird ate a few grains from his hand and flew away.

“Every time I see it, I’m intrigued. You easily calmed down the rampaging horse last time, and you talked to Coco. How is that possible?”

“Ha-ha! It’s just something I’ve been doing since I was a kid... I could just read the animals’ minds.”

“Then, can you read people’s minds?”

When asked that by her, Roy changed the subject, “No. Unfortunately, I can’t do that. I don’t know if it’s because people’s minds are more complex than those of the little ones. More than that, I owe so much to miss Sienna...”

“Not at all!”

Sienna flatly refused any debt he might feel toward her knowing that he would say he was paying back her kindness like before. How could he repay her kindness? There was no need for it. The priest of a small temple, who had few followers, could not have money, and even if he gave her money, she did not want to receive it.

However, she could not let things go on as they were because, in his mind, he felt he was still indebted to her. She took a great liking to that temple. Though it wasn’t like the Goddess of the Earth was really going to give her an answer, just entering that quiet, cozy space had given her peace of mind. That was why she wanted to return to that space from time to time.

“It’ll be hard for me to come to the temple again if the priest’s heart continues to feel like he owes me a debt. I want to come over often while I stay in the capital...”

“But, it’s true that I owe you...”

Roy had a troubled look. It was good for Sienna to start visiting the temple more often, but there were circumstances that made him unable to let go of repaying her kindness.

Sienna reached an answer easily, however, “Do you want to be friends with me, priest Roy?”

“Friends?”

“Let’s be friends. In friendships, there’s no such thing as becoming indebted to each other after helping each other out. This time, you were lucky that I was able to lend you a helping hand, but later on, I may end up asking for your assistance. Then, at that time, you can just help me. Friend’s don’t quibble over such stuff. I don’t have to ask you for anything. Do you not like it?”

He answered her loudly, “No! I want to be friends with Sienna.”

“That’s good. Then, from now on, you don’t have to think of repaying my kindness or say anything on that matter.”

Roy nodded and said, “Yes. Then, miss Sienna will come visit the temple often. Normally, friends often go over to each other’s homes to play.”

She scratched her cheek at his words and said, “Oh, is that so? Actually, I’ve never had a friend.”

“Really? So, I’m Sienna’s first friend?”

“My hometown, Heidel, doesn’t have anyone around my age... Come to think of it, Roy is my first friend. What about Priest Roy?”

“I have a friend who grew up with me in the temple when I was young. Embro Lillian. He’s very energetic and quite the noisy rascal. If there is ever a chance, I’ll introduce miss Sienna to him.”

Sienna nodded and said, “If I’m good at this, I might make another friend thanks to Priest Roy.”

He made a big affirmative statement at Sienna’s words, “He’ll want to be friends with miss Sienna like me.”

Sienna was about to ask him what kind of person Embro Lillian was, but she heard a voice calling for her coming from outside.

“Anyhow, it seems my companion has come to fetch me. I’ll have to go on and head back.”

After listening to Roy’s request to come find him often, Sienna left the temple.

*

Sienna went and visited the temple every day after that day.

In the past, she had gone to clothing stores or jewelry shops in the hopes of showing off at her coming-of-age banquet, but now, she didn’t feel the need to do so. Rather, she felt more comfortable going to the temple to help Priest Roy. However, Chelsea seemed unhappy about it.

“The only thing I’ve seen in the city is this small temple,” she said curtly as if she were stomping her way to work every day. “It’s not the time to be doing this. Instead, shouldn’t we be going out to look for your ceremony dress? You need to buy one before all the pretty ones sell out.”

“It’s all right. You don’t have to be in such a hurry.”

In truth, she couldn’t buy the best clothes even if she ran to the store to buy her dress at that moment. In the past, Sienna had been excited to shop around and buy dresses and jewelry. Even then, at her banquet, she was laughed at for wearing an off-season dress.

I had been worth it to know. The garments of the aristocrats participating in the banquet had not been pre-made, but had been custom-made by their famous designers, who had also been invited to her banquet.

The dresses sold at retail shops were not for the aristocrats, but for the rich commoners. There were no aristocrats who bought clothes at shops unless they had just come from the country like Sienna or lived in obscurity.

The luxury of the ladies was beyond imagination, and the price of one of their dresses was more than that of a carriage.

Those expensive dresses were difficult to wash and could hardly be worn more than a few times.

Because of the abundance of skilled embroidery and attached jewelry, the dresses couldn’t just be sent to the laundry. The jewelry had to be removed, and that would tear part of the sewing. Then, the dresses would be washed and rebuilt. The cost of reprocessing those dresses was also astronomical.