The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 250 Sea Spirit Festival

On the morning of the Feast of the Sea, Eric woke up earlier than the statue of the goddess in the harbor, so he was able to arrive at the harbor before she was adorned with flowers, listen to the sound of the waves, and watch the first rays of the morning sun fall on the statue.

The morning sea breeze was cool, and Eric hunched his neck slightly, turning his head to look at the cleared bay.

Most of the ships that had been moored there had already sailed elsewhere. At this moment, only a few huge sailing ships remained in the harbor, neatly arranged on both sides of the bay, so that the goddess of the harbor could see them at a glance without obstructing her view of the ocean.

“Queen Vermer…” Natalia began softly.

Following her gaze, Eric also saw the Queen Vermeer, which was third in the row; it was the sailboat they had come from Sunset Harbor on.

"It seems that even if we were brought here, it wouldn't have significantly improved our competitiveness against the Ocean Goddess. But ranking third is probably not bad."

Natalia chuckled softly, "Perhaps this is already the result of the upgrade."

The two enjoyed the morning sea breeze for a while, then walked together to the viewing platform erected on the other side of the harbor.

According to intelligence agent Kasha, the viewing platform was set up yesterday afternoon. It was an all-wood structure. When Eric climbed up, he deliberately stomped on it, but the platform remained stable despite the loud noise. Natalia immediately told him to move to the front.

The viewing platform faces the bay and is slightly lower than the Ocean Goddess statue. The two princes are seated at the highest point, with a sunshade overhead.

The city's nobles and wealthy merchants are also arriving one after another, offering flowers before the statue and then taking their seats below.

Eric spotted Duke Leo among them; his seat was only slightly lower than theirs. They exchanged a few pleasantries across the table, but the Duke seemed hesitant to speak.

Both of them knew what he wanted to say, and deliberately avoided responding to him.

As the sun rose higher, Eric saw the crowd thronging the harbor's perimeter melt open like lard scalded by a hot iron, and the long procession of the governor's palace slowly approached.

"What a grand affair! Anyone who didn't know better would think it was the governor's birthday celebration today," Eric said, leaning against the table.

Natalia nodded. "It's a good thing we didn't come with him."

The two men were of noble status and lived in the governor's mansion. Danvers had naturally invited them to come over this morning, but they had decisively declined.

The governor's ceremonial guard did not stop until they reached the statue of the Ocean Goddess. Danvers alighted from his tall carriage and personally presented a large bouquet of gold flowers to the already abundant flowers piled up at the base of the statue.

"What kind of flower is that?" Eric looked at the flowers that were faintly shimmering with gold from afar, and for a moment he couldn't even tell whether they were real flowers or carved from gold.

“Golden Rose.” Natalia recognized it at a glance. “I happened to see the governor’s gardener tending to this flower yesterday. He said it was cultivated by soaking it in water mixed with gold powder, which makes the shimmering gold on the flower look more natural.”

Eric had nothing to say.

As Danvers presented the flowers, the guards of the Governor's Palace quickly erected a platform more than half a meter high behind him and then laid out a red carpet on it.

After offering the flowers, Danvers prayed for a while before the statue, then went up to the platform and greeted all the spectators.

"This kind of step is definitely indispensable..."

Eric leaned back, looking towards the other side of the harbor.

There are five viewing platforms, one of which surrounds the harbor or the statue of the goddess. Different groups of invited guests are seated in different areas. For example, the viewing platform he is looking at is occupied by clergy from the cathedral.

In theory, he should sit with them, but those who can sit here are traditional nobles like Duke Leo, so there's nothing wrong with him sitting here.

He also preferred to sit with Natalia rather than the monks.

Kasha, resting her chin on her hand, watched Danvers giving a passionate speech beneath the statue. Her gaze swept around and met his again.

—She was a special guest, an exception.

"...The grace of the Ocean Goddess is the foundation of Westwind City's eternal prosperity!"

Danvers' opening speech finally came to an end. He raised his arms under the statue, and the surrounding stands erupted in applause.

Then, Danvers descended from the platform, and a group of Oceanic priests dressed in blue robes slowly entered the arena. On that platform, facing the statue of the Ocean Goddess, they began a series of complex sacrificial rituals.

Whenever the priestesses raised their hands and mimicked ocean waves as if they were being electrocuted, the spectators would make the same prayer gesture, making it seem as if the entire viewing platform was leaking electricity.

Eric, of course, didn't need to imitate them, and he had to try his best not to look at them lest he burst out laughing. On the other side, on the viewing platform of the Yela Church, no one made a move.

He looked at Natalia, who found it hard to pretend she hadn't noticed his gaze.

"...I won't imitate it."

"Just feel free to do it."

A moment later, the ceremony finally came to an end. The priestess of the Oceanic Church waved her hand, making a lifting motion, and two muscular young men with bare upper bodies carried the offerings that had been prayed for all day to Danvers, who had been standing below.

All eyes were now on him.

He prayed over the offerings for half a minute, then turned around and walked towards the sea, with the two young men carrying the offerings behind him.

Eric examined closely the things they were carrying: flower baskets filled with fresh flowers and fruit, intricately carved wooden boat models, bottles containing what appeared to be wine, and a ribbon covered with unreadable writing.

Upon reaching the harbor, Danvers walked into the sea along the temporary steps laid out for today's festival, until the water reached his waist.

He turned around, took the flower basket that had been placed on the water from the two occult clergymen, slowly turned around, and then gently pushed it. The flower basket floated a short distance along the sea before suddenly capsizing and sinking, disappearing completely.

"Ah," Natalia exclaimed instinctively, while applause erupted from the surrounding viewing platforms.

“This means that the sea goddess has accepted Danvers’ sacrifice,” Eric reminded her.

Natalia nodded; she remembered too.

Amid applause, Danvers returned to land from the sea, waved to both sides, and then gestured to the nobles and wealthy merchants on the viewing platforms in the harbor, asking them to offer gifts to the sea goddess.

The viewing platform suddenly became much more lively. Eric glanced at the flower baskets at Natalia and Kasha's feet. The two of them were just there for the fun, but they had also carefully prepared offerings for the sea goddess.

Because of his special status, he could only watch, but it saved him a lot of trouble.

“I will pray to the Ocean Goddess along with Your Highness,” Natalia said to Eric as she prepared to descend from the platform.

"Remember to make it clear first that I am Yela's saintess, so as not to frighten the goddess."

She smiled and walked to the seaside with Kasha. She followed the nobles into the sea, pushed her offering onto the surface, and watched it float briefly before suddenly sinking.

The seawater reached her waist, and her sleeves were mostly wet. Natalia looked at the spot where the flower basket had sunk, while the nobles around her prayed with expressions of contemplation or bewilderment.

With a splash, Kasha, who was next to her, suddenly dived into the sea.

She was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, Kasha burst out of the sea with a splash and wiped her face.

“The ocean goddess has already taken away the offerings.”

"..."

Natalia looked at her, then at the water below her waist. "Really?"

Kasha nodded earnestly, wringing out her long, soaking wet hair with her hands.

“Then let us hope that our wishes will be delivered to the sea goddess along with the offerings,” Natalia said, showing no intention of diving down to see for herself.

The two stood in the water for a while before returning to the shore, leaving wet footprints with each step.

For this reason, the nobles who had finished their sacrifices did not return to the viewing platform, but went home instead—the carnival in which everyone participated was about to begin.

Seeing Natalia, who was half-soaked, and Kasha, whose hair was completely wet, Eric asked, "Do you want to go back to the governor's mansion to change your clothes?"

Kasha looked back. "I want to take another look."

Natalia glanced down at her long dress, which was half wet, and said, "Let's wait a bit."

So the two returned to the high platform, sat beside him, and watched as the nobles returned to the shore one by one and then left, leaving fewer and fewer people on the viewing platform.

"Citizens of the city—"

Feeling that it was about time, Governor Danvers raised his hands and looked at the ordinary citizens who had been waiting outside the venue. "Offer your sacrifices to the goddess of the sea!"

The guards maintaining order retreated to the side, and the ordinary citizens of Westwind City cheered and rushed towards the bay, offering their own unique sacrifices.

"Look over there!"

Eric followed Natalia's arm and saw seven or eight people carrying a simple wooden house that was nearly two meters high, slowly walking towards the water's edge.

"They can hold so much stuff in here, even the governor can't compare."

Natalia smiled inexplicably, "This is probably what they offered together to the sea goddess."

Kasha suddenly transformed into a bird, flew over, circled the small wooden house, carefully examined its contents, and then flew back to tell the two, "Is it almost full?"

Natalia couldn't help but stand up and look towards the harbor. "What if it sinks as soon as it hits the water?"

“I’ve heard that the farther the ritual floats before it sinks, the more pleased the sea goddess will be. These people should have been somewhat prepared,” Eric said.

Natalia didn't speak, staring intently at the other side.

As she watched, the wooden house slowly went into the water. It didn't sink immediately, but instead, with the help of seven or eight people, it floated forward for quite a distance before suddenly capsizing.

She didn't even realize that she had been holding her breath after drifting out of the cabin, and only now did she take a deep breath.

And the lower half of the body, soaked by seawater, belatedly felt a chill in the sea breeze.

"Let's go back to the Governor's Mansion."

Just as the three were about to leave, a long horn sounded simultaneously from several giant ships anchored in the harbor.

"What does it mean?"

Eric stopped and looked back, and Natalia, who was behind him, also stopped abruptly.

“I don’t know…” Natalia placed her hand on his shoulder and looked back at him. “Perhaps it’s part of the ritual, the sacrifice to the sea goddess is over?”

“The sacrifices for ordinary citizens will continue until sunrise tomorrow,” Eric said, stopping a passing local to ask.

"The sound of horns? Oh, those are the large ships anchored there. They've completed their sacrifice to the sea goddess. They just launched a whole small boat as a ritual offering. Didn't you see?"

Eric clicked his tongue. "Just two minutes short, and we missed it."

The passerby expressed his regret, then reminded him that the festivities of the Friars Abdul Rahman officially begin at noon, and if he wanted to have more fun, he should go to the vicinity of the Governor's Palace, where there is free food and drinks and more people.

"Okay, that's exactly where we're going."

"Before that, take your wife back to the hotel to change into dry clothes. Look, her face is all white from the cold," the passerby said, pointing to someone beside him.

"..."

Eric turned to look at Natalia, whose face was rapidly turning red.

“I am not his wife,” she said quickly.

"Oh." The passerby gasped in surprise, then turned and walked away.

Eric glanced at her lower body again, then said nothing more, "Let's go."

As for Kasha, because he was very uncomfortable being wet, he had already turned into an owl and was perched on his shoulder.

Back near the Governor's Palace, the surrounding streets were already filled with long tables, and all sorts of delicious food and wine were being served.

As the passerby had said, these things are all free, provided by the generous Governor Danvers, and anyone can come and eat and drink as they please once the revelry officially begins.

The same lively scene will unfold inside the Governor's Mansion, but there are conditions for participating.

The guards at the gate recognized Eric and Natalia at a glance and did not stop them, but the few outsiders who had unintentionally followed them were stopped.

"Huh? Can't we go in here?"

"This is the Governor's Mansion, kid. You need to show me an invitation to go in."

Eric glanced back at her, then looked at Natalia. "Which side of the commotion would Your Highness like to join in?"

"I want to change my clothes first... Why isn't the Sea Spirit Festival in the summer? It's actually getting a bit chilly now."

Natalia tugged at the skirt clinging to her thighs. Luckily, she knew she was going into the water today and had specially worn a long skirt that wouldn't be see-through when wet.

"Tomorrow will be October, Your Highness."

"But isn't this the south?"

“That’s relative to Lutia,” Eric paused, “'Even in Port Vermeer, at the southernmost tip of the continent, it gets cold in winter.'”

His expression was somewhat subtle as he said this, and Natalia paused for a moment, then said, "Really?"

Neither the banquet inside the governor's mansion nor the revelry outside had begun yet. Natalia changed into dry clothes and stayed in her room without going downstairs.

It was already afternoon when Eric came to knock on her door.

"Danvers has sent someone up here to ask us to come down. What does Your Highness think? Should we come down now?"

"It is too early?"

Natalia glanced back out the window. "And the revelry will continue until sunrise tomorrow."

“I think so too.” Eric leaned against her door. “That’s why I told you to rest and send them away first.”

Natalia glanced at him, then turned and went inside. "Come in."

The two looked down from the window. Although they didn't quite understand, there were already quite a few guests in the courtyard of the governor's mansion at this time.

“Perhaps in the minds of the local nobles, the Sea Goddess Festival should be spent in a day of revelry, and only by fully immersing themselves in it can they express their gratitude to the sea goddess,” Eric said.

Natalia nodded and turned to look at him. "The Church of Yela doesn't seem to have any special holidays that allow people to relax."

“We’re rather…serious,” Eric said, looking down at the crowd. “Or rather, rigid.”

"It seems inappropriate for Your Highness to say such things."

"I am me, and the church is the church."

Natalia's gaze lingered briefly on his face before turning back to the distant harbor.

"Look."

Eric looked over; it was quite far away, but he could still vaguely see many people offering sacrifices to the sea goddess at the harbor.

“I think the people over there are the ones who are truly relaxed,” Natalia said, then smiled as she recalled the group carrying the wooden house. “It was quite interesting.”

"Then let's go over there."

Eric pointed downwards, "Show yourselves first, then quietly head to the port. Nobody will be watching us all the time."

Natalia knew she had agreed before she even considered it. "Should we go there quietly?"

"There will probably be quite a few people trying to strike up a conversation with us right now, and I don't want to get entangled with them."

"Hmm...like Duke Leo?"

Eric sighed, "When His Highness mentioned his name, I felt guilty about abandoning my duties to relax at the port."

Natalia frowned and smiled, seemingly considering whether she should cherish this good opportunity to negotiate with the nobles.

“…Then I take it back.”

Eric was slightly surprised by her choice, then said, "Maybe we can stay a little longer. There are people at the port all day long; we can go there in the evening."

"Is this some kind of self-consolation, that you tried your best today?" Natalia looked at him.

Eric shrugged. "I guess so."

“Then we should make the most of this afternoon.” Natalia pushed herself away from the windowsill with both hands. “Let’s go down now.”

So in the afternoon, the two of them roamed around the courtyard of the governor's mansion. They didn't talk much about business, but they did meet quite a few people—except for a few visitors from the north, no one would talk to them about supporting the front lines at this time.

Of course, we also drank some alcohol.

As evening fell and no one was watching them, Eric and Natalia left the governor's mansion and returned to Westwind Harbor, where the ritual of offering sacrifices to the sea goddess was indeed still ongoing.

Ordinary people, carrying offerings that may not be very valuable but are full of heartfelt sentiments, step into the sea to convey their simple gratitude to the gods.

As darkness fell, candlelight was released onto the sea in the harbor.

The two stood on the shore, enjoying the sea breeze and watching the lights on the sea surface twinkle like stars.

(End of this chapter)