Goddess Kaleidoscope

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

In just one morning, Lisa had successfully become friends with Fran, and they could call each other by their first names. With Fran's help, she was also able to talk to the other students in the class, and they all got along quite well.

After the morning classes ended, Lisa followed Fran toward the school cafeteria. Along the way, they could see many students sprinting at top speed. Fran told Lisa that they were all rushing to get their meals. The school lunches were never insufficient, but the boys were obsessed with competing for the strange honor of being the "first to arrive at the cafeteria," which was a regular occurrence every noon.

It is worth mentioning that after learning about the situation, Principal Lu De not only did not impose any restrictions, but also ordered the cafeteria to prepare ten special plates printed with the words "Eat Rice Person". Only the first ten people to arrive at the cafeteria could take them, which directly made the competition for the cafeteria sprint even more intense.

Although it sounded interesting, Lisa didn't participate in the race because she had to follow Fran, and the two strolled leisurely to the cafeteria.

To paraphrase Fran, while being enthusiastic about eating is a virtue, running too vigorously before a meal can affect one's appetite, making the originally delicious food less appealing, which is actually another form of disrespect for the food.

When the two arrived at the cafeteria, there were already two or three hundred people in the hall, most of whom were queuing for meals, while the quick ones had already found seats and started eating. To Lisa's surprise, she actually saw Ludger in the queue, standing in the middle of the line. In front of him were ordinary students, but no one offered to give way to the principal.

Seemingly noticing Lisa's confusion, Fran spoke up.

“At school, many things require queuing, some according to height, some according to age, but here in the cafeteria, it’s first-come, first-served. This is a rule set by Principal Lu De, and he strictly abides by it, so naturally no one in the school dares to disobey. Let’s go! Let’s go queue up too.”

"oh oh."

Along with Fran, Lisa also received a lunch consisting of two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, a bowl of pork bone soup, freshly baked bread as the main course, and a freshly picked apple as dessert. The standard of the meal far exceeded Lisa's expectations. Although the amount of meat in the meat dish was not much, just a few thin slices of smoked meat, it was still better than what her family ate before her father became a knight.

The two were having lunch when a male and female student walked straight towards them from a distance. The girl waved and called out to them.

"Fran! Let's have lunch together!"

End of this chapter

A boy and a girl, students, walked towards them. Judging from their age, they were about twelve or thirteen years old, similar to Lisa and Fran. Lisa glanced at them briefly and noticed many similarities in their features, guessing that they might be siblings.

Another thing that caught Lisa's attention was that the two were not only good-looking, but their skin was also visibly fair and delicate, which made it clear that they came from very wealthy families and had never done any manual labor since childhood.

In contrast, although Lisa is the daughter of a baron, it has only been a recent development of her family for the past year, so she is not as well-maintained.

In fact, when she was a child, Lisa was once called "Monkey Girl" by the neighbors. She was wilder than many boys her age. She followed her older brothers around all day, going up mountains and down rivers, dreaming that one day she could become a knight in armor and fight alongside her father.

Unfortunately, Lisa's dream was not supported by her mother, who hoped that she could live like a normal girl.

By this time, the brother and sister had already reached the dining table. They clearly knew Fran and sat down directly.

What made Lisa slightly unhappy was that the girl actually sat down next to Fran and leaned against him very intimately. This made Lisa, sitting opposite her, regret her earlier decision to sit opposite him out of modesty.

With Fran's introduction, the two sides politely introduced themselves, and Lisa then learned that the brother and sister in front of her were the children of the Lord of Oyster Harbor and were currently studying at Brewster College.

It is worth mentioning that the two were also outer disciples of Priest Rudd, and had the status of monks. However, Rudd did not, like in a typical monastery, have them serve the gods in the temple and stay away from worldly desires. Instead, he first sent them to school to learn basic knowledge, while also allowing them to choose one or two subjects that interested them.

As things stand, they are no different from other students.

The siblings enrolled last semester and were classmates with Fran. Because they were born into nobility and had received an education at a young age, they were able to enter the advanced class earlier than Fran, who had a lower starting point. The older sister, Hima, was in the medical department, while the younger brother, Mochi, entered the newly established mechanical engineering department and was learning to build various machines from several hired dwarves.

Lisa didn't understand mechanical engineering, but she heard Hima complaining about her younger brother at the dinner table. She said that ever since the boy saw the dwarves' Koberi War Puppet once, he had been captivated by this giant iron figure and couldn't eat or sleep as if he had fallen in love at first sight.

Later, when he learned that the newly established Department of Mechanical Engineering at the school had specially hired dwarven lecturers who would teach mechanical forging, Mochi signed up without hesitation.

However, the two of them have only been in school for a short time, and have only attended classes for one semester and four months. It will take them at least two or three more years to see any results in their respective subjects.

During lunch, Lisa made two new friends. She got along well with the somewhat shy Mochi, but she felt a slight, not hostile, sense of antagonism towards Hima, because she noticed that the boy was being a little too clingy to Fran, and even invited Fran to go to the large public bathhouse near the school gate that evening during lunch.

Under the influence of a series of sanitation measures in Lud, a bathing culture has developed in the town of Pine Trees. More than 20 bathhouses have been built throughout the town, and people have become accustomed to washing away the dirt and fatigue of their bodies by taking saunas and baths after a long day of work.

The international students from other places quickly adapted to local customs, and Hima was one of the most enthusiastic. She felt uncomfortable if she didn't take a bath every day.

Lisa had heard a lot about the local bathhouse culture. The hotel she was staying at had a private bathroom in the backyard, and the lord's mansion, which was under construction, also had a large bathhouse in its design from the beginning. However, Lisa, who came from the south of the kingdom, had never gotten used to taking hot baths.

However, Fran had already accepted Hima's invitation, and Lisa, not wanting to be left behind, hastily agreed, albeit against her will, that she was also interested. Hima had no objections; in fact, she seemed quite pleased. The way Hima's eyes shone made Lisa vaguely uneasy, as if something was amiss.

"Speaking of which, I heard there's going to be a food festival in town around the middle of this month. Would you all like to go check it out together?"

"Sure! I'm really interested. The barbecue skewers in Songshu Town are absolutely delicious. I went back to my hometown for autumn break and didn't get to eat them for two whole months. I was so hungry I couldn't sleep!"

“Agreed! Pine Town may not be as big as Oyster Harbor, but it has a lot more delicious food. Fran, you are a culinary student. After you graduate, how about you become our head chef? I will definitely ask my father to pay you three times the salary.”

“Young Master Mochi, I appreciate your kindness, but I have other plans. If possible, I would like to travel to three continents in the future, searching for ingredients and honing my culinary skills. I hope to pass on the love of food of Lady Marygis, the Goddess of the Hearth, to more people.”

The faith of Fran and the other island boys has now been made public. Thanks to Lud's recognition and the fact that the goddess of the hearth, Marigius, is indeed not a notorious evil god, it was quickly accepted by everyone in Pine Town, where the religious atmosphere is relatively harmonious.

As the children were chatting, Lud, who had just finished eating, happened to pass by them. Fran quickly stood up and bowed to her. With her taking the lead, the other three children also stood up, quickly causing a chain reaction. A large number of students stood up, which made Lud wave his hand repeatedly.

"Oh, no need to stand up and bow. It's lunch break now, so everyone should relax. Students, please sit down and eat your meal properly."

At Ludd's urging, the students sat down to continue eating. Ludd smiled and nodded to Fran before leaving the dining hall.

After the other person had gone far away, Lisa whispered to Fran.

"Fran, are you very familiar with the high priest?"

"We're not exactly acquaintances, but the headmaster has been kind to us, and the goddess of the hearth whom I worship is also a deity of the pantheon."

"Oh! Is that so? But how many gods are there in the Pantheon? It seems like a few more are added every now and then."

"Since it's called the Pantheon, there must be many, many gods inside. Didn't the principal say that all believers are one family? As long as you don't believe in evil gods, then we're all one family!"

Regarding religious beliefs, children's thinking is relatively simple, and they don't have as many vested interests involved. Therefore, they are more receptive to the concepts that Ludd intentionally instills in them. They are completely unaware that their thinking has already undergone some subtle changes.

End of this chapter

For a whole week, the town's residents were preparing for the upcoming culinary event, and the invitations sent out by Lud were being answered one after another. Except for Viscount Maup of Oyster Harbor, who was summoned by King Duran and was currently outside the capital, all the surrounding lords had gladly accepted the invitations.

Besides these nobles, many caravans that trade with Lud are also heading towards Pine Town.

Large-scale celebrations often mean business opportunities. There is both local demand and in-demand goods, so businesses will not miss this great opportunity to make money.

The only town that didn't offer congratulations to Pine Town was Unos, the former "commercial center of the north." The local mayor had sent several complaint letters to Pine Town over the past year, demanding that it cease unfair competition that was harming Unos's trade.

When Ludger first arrived and settled down, there were two major towns around Pinewood Village: Riverwood and Unos. However, the mayor of Riverwood disregarded the lives of many settlers from the suffering villages during the Dragon Incident, forcibly intercepting and hoarding relief grain, and ultimately incurred due punishment, causing the town to decline.

The town of Unos also had problems with its mayor. The couple were extravagant and dissolute, squandering the great legacy left by the previous mayor, and repeatedly raising tax rates caused merchants to avoid the town.

At this very moment, under Lu De's management, Songshu Town rose to prominence, taking full advantage of favorable timing, location, and popular support, and quickly became the most important town in the north.

The couple in Unos Town hated them with a passion, but Rudd was extremely popular in the North, with close ties to several powerful figures. Furthermore, he had recently received the title of Saint, making him even more untouchable. So they could only watch helplessly as Pine Town flourished while their own territory gradually declined.

Lude didn't care at all about these losers.

Especially in the town of Unos, anyone who knows their past knows that the town's decline is entirely the fault of the current mayor and his wife. Not only are they levying exorbitant taxes and indulging in extravagance, but they also try to play both sides, taking advantage of being a neutral town in the north that has not been formally recognized, and trying to profit from both Earl Ramli and Duke Gamelin.

If the town mayor really had such political skills, that would be one thing. The key problem is that he only had wishful thinking and no ability to match it. In the end, he was disliked by both sides and was naturally abandoned by both sides after Pine Tree Town rose to prominence.

Currently, Lud has established a fairly stable base of influence in the north of the kingdom. Although his parish only covers Pine Town, its reputation already reaches millions of people. While there may not be a temple to the God of Medicine in the neighboring territories, various symbols have already quietly infiltrated and secretly absorbed faith from other sects right under their noses.

Three days before the start of the food festival, the delegation from the Duchy of Gamelin arrived first in Pine Town. In addition to the old acquaintance Rodriguez, the Duke of Gamelin, whom they had long admired, also paid a personal visit.

As the only duke in the northern region of the kingdom and the highest-ranking nobleman, Lud and Lady Srina, who had received prior notice, were waiting at the eastern crossroads of town with the town's leading figures to greet the delegation on the day of their arrival.

Three-year-old Baron Lothar was also present, dressed in a newly tailored aristocratic-style suit, standing at the very front of the welcoming crowd.

Considering that it was already late autumn and the local morning temperatures were somewhat chilly, the young baron was wrapped in a thick white cloak and stood beside his mother like a little snowman, so as not to let him catch a cold.

"Look! They're here."

"All guards, be alert and line up!"

Soon, a cavalry-led convoy with no fewer than ten carriages approached the town gate. The leading knight was helmetless, and his flowing blond hair was particularly dazzling. He was none other than the "Model Knight" Rodriguez, the first in line to the throne of the next Duke of Gamelin.

As the caravan approached, everyone's attention was drawn to the most magnificent carriage, which was adorned with the golden lion crest on the front.

A tall, handsome middle-aged man stepped out of the carriage. Rudd thought that, if nothing unexpected happened, this dashing man, who had a bit of Tom Cruise's looks, should be the legendary Duke Gamelin.

It is said that the Gammelin family has elven blood, which has become quite diluted in the current duke and his eldest son Rodriguez. However, even with this bloodline, the father and son still possess remarkable good looks, and their good looks last longer than those of ordinary people.

Relying on the "favor" of his ancestors, the current Duke of Gamelin is notorious for his womanizing ways. Despite being over forty, he still frequents brothels and is one of Ludwig's regular clients. Therefore, Ludwig arrived alone to welcome him this time, without bringing any of his female companions.

Although his personal life was not very proper and he often clashed with other lords in the north of the kingdom, he was not an incompetent fool; he was a very capable local strongman.

"Welcome, Your Grace."

"This must be Baron Kirk, and you are Lady Srina. Call me Jonathan. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

After introducing himself, the Duke smiled and touched the Baron's chest, displaying great poise. The Baron then looked at Lud, who was dressed in a pure white priest's robe, touched his forehead in a religious gesture, and spoke in a kind tone.

"I suppose you must be Saint Rudd. I have long admired your name, and today I am finally able to meet you."

"You're too kind, Your Grace."

After a round of pleasantries and business pleasantries among the guests, the Duke and his entourage, along with Rudd and the old lady, walked into the town. The townspeople had already been notified, so when they saw the priest and lord leading a group of strangers in, they all bowed and paid their respects.

The Duke observed his surroundings with great interest throughout the journey, nodding occasionally, and soon arrived at the specially arranged lodging.

Normally, when a lord from another region visits, the local lord would invite him to stay at his residence as a sign of respect. However, since the Baron's mansion is not yet completed, it is impossible to take the Duke and his entourage to stay in a drafty, unfinished house. Therefore, they were arranged to stay in the trading quarter.

The houses in this area were originally prepared by Lud for attracting investment, and the living conditions are not bad. The Duke did not care much about this. He said that he had heard about the situation in the baron's territory before he came. Since everyone would be neighbors in the future, there would definitely be more opportunities to visit each other.

At this moment, the Duke suddenly made a small request to Lud: to visit the temple of the Medicine God Cult. Although he was a follower of the War God Cult, he was not the kind of fanatical believer who could not tolerate other faiths. In fact, he had a good impression of the Medicine God Cult and wanted to visit the temple. He hoped that Lud could lead the way.

End of this chapter

Duke Gamelin, who was once a staunch believer in the Church of the Four Seasons, suddenly announced his conversion to the Church of the God of War about six months ago. At the same time, he revoked the Church of the Four Seasons' exclusive right to proselytize in his fiefdom and allowed other sects to establish temples on his territory.

The Duke himself did not disclose the reasons for doing so, and the Church of the Four Seasons also chose to remain silent in a very subtle way, without expressing any objection to the Duke's decision, giving people the feeling that they felt guilty.

However, some rumors, some true and some false, soon began to circulate, saying that the Church of the Four Seasons in the Duchy was trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the fiefdom, and even meddling in the issue of succession to the title. They did not want the eldest son, Rodriguez, to succeed to the throne, but instead wanted the third son, who was far less capable and prestigious than his brother, but was extremely devout to the Four Seasons, to take the throne.

After their repeated attempts to "admonish" him failed, these guys had a sudden change of heart and resorted to some shady methods behind the scenes, ultimately crossing the Duke's bottom line.

For political reasons, the Duke did not publicly punish the local Church of the Four Seasons, but expressed his stance and dissatisfaction by converting the church and allowing other religious sects to enter the territory.

Interestingly, this incident, along with the plague that occurred in Oyster Harbor earlier this year, created a chain reaction, directly resulting in a severe blow to the Four Seasons Goddess Cult's power and a significant decline in its influence in the northern region of the Kingdom of Duran.

The three most powerful lords, Duke Gammelin, Earl Ramley, and Viscount Maup, have all expressed their dissatisfaction and resistance to the Church of the Four Seasons, either openly or implicitly. Other minor lords naturally followed suit, trying to sow discord among the Church of the Four Seasons in their own territories. No one wanted to contradict these powerful figures who could beat them up at any time.

On the surface, the Four Seasons Goddess Cult suffered repeated setbacks, and the main beneficiaries should be the War God Cult and the Holy Light Cult, who successfully invaded the dioceses that were originally monopolized by the Four Seasons Goddess Cult, which was no less than religious territorial expansion.

In this process, Lude may not have opened up any new parishes, but by relying on his trade cooperation with the Cult of the God of War, the influence of the Cult of the God of Medicine also entered these areas. In other words, the Cult of the God of War was helping them to spread their religion.

Duke Gamelin's visit was primarily to meet the legendary Lud, with the intention of inviting him to preach in the duchy.

The Four Seasons Goddess Cult's subtle maneuvers made the Duke wary of these more powerful religious sects, prompting him to change his strategy on religious issues and attempt to introduce more sects to create a system of checks and balances.