Goddess Kaleidoscope

"Damn it!!!"

In the temple kitchen, Romian was preparing breakfast when she suddenly heard a commotion from the corridor. Then she saw Kanna frantically flying in from outside. The little one's belly was bulging; it seemed she had eaten too much, which was affecting her flight.

Immediately afterward, Olivia, barefoot and wearing a nightgown, rushed in, her unkempt blonde hair standing on end like a bird's nest.

Romianne was completely stunned by the scene!

What are you doing?

"Catch, catch that thief! Cough cough..."

Leaning against the kitchen doorframe, breathless, Olivia pointed with a trembling finger at Kanna, who was trying to hide herself with a pot lid. The pampered young lady wasn't good at running, and coupled with her hunger from just waking up that morning, she nearly fainted from exhaustion.

Romian looked at Olivia, then at Connor, and noticed that the little one's mouth seemed to have a lot of food crumbs stuck to it. She immediately understood everything.

"You!"

Romian helped Olivia, who was almost exhausted, back to her room. She then asked Kanna, who had made a mistake, to fetch a bucket of water from outside, and helped Olivia wash up.

Back when Olivia arrived yesterday, Lude had specifically told Romian that Olivia was a rich young lady who probably didn't have much self-care ability and didn't have any servants with her. So, since she was new here, he suggested that she share a room with Romian and take care of her a little.

However, Lu De also made it clear to Romian that he wasn't asking her to be this young lady's personal maid, but rather to teach her how to take care of herself. If she dared to throw a tantrum or boss Romian around, she should tell him immediately, and he would personally step in and teach her a lesson for her bad temper.

So while helping Olivia wash and change, Romian carefully taught her how to do these things herself.

When Olivia heard that Romian would only help her for a week at most, and that she would have to do these things herself after that, she pouted and said somewhat reluctantly.

"Why can't we just have the maid do these things?"

“But no one in the temple is anyone else’s servant! We are like fathers and daughters or sisters without blood ties. We should help each other, not just take care of each other one-sidedly.”

"Really? But when I went to the kitchen just now, I clearly only saw you working there."

"No, not at all! Everyone has their own responsibilities. I'm just better at cooking, so I'm in charge of preparing breakfast. As for the others you didn't see, Senior Sister Shanis and Senior Sister Hydra are sweeping the courtyard and the steps of the main gate, while Senior Sister Aina is cleaning the main hall. Everyone is busy."

"Then, what about the priest? What is he doing?"

"Master! He has an incredibly heavy workload every day, working tirelessly at the temple, the school, and with the lord. He has helped so many people, and it is my honor to share his burdens!"

Romian's eyes lit up when she spoke of her most respected master. She considered herself just one of the many people Lude had helped. It was he who reached out to her during the darkest, most hopeless time of her life, pulling her out of the abyss and taking her as his disciple. Romian always held the most sincere gratitude in her heart towards Lude.

With Romian's help, Olivia quickly tidied herself up, dressed in suitable clothes, and left the room with Romian.

Seemingly to prove that what she had said earlier was true, Romian took her to the courtyard to see Shanis and Hydra sweeping fallen leaves, and then to the main hall of the temple, where she saw Aina, who was practically slumped on a bench wiping dust.

Seeing the other person's listless appearance, Romianne asked with concern.

"Senior Sister Aina, what's wrong with you?"

"I...I have no energy..."

"Are you hungry? I'll go cook right away, it'll be ready in no time!"

"It's no use... Master is an idiot, a super, super idiot!"

"???"

Aina's tearful expression left Romian and Olivia completely bewildered. After asking, they learned that Lude had arranged a new trial for her the day before. Upon hearing it was a "trial," Romian thought it was alright, after all, trials were a tradition of their Medicine God.

When Romian first became a trainee priestess, Rude gave her a trial booklet. As long as she completed the corresponding trials, she would receive the goddess's "blessing". In the past six months, Romian has completed more than ten primary trials and obtained three "temporary divine spell slots".

Now that Senior Sister Aina has also started her trials, Romian subconsciously thought that Aina would also be promoted to junior priest, and even thought it was a good thing.

"Good luck with your trial, senior sister! I'll support you!"

I'll do my best.

Leaving the main hall, Romian took Olivia back to the kitchen, eager to continue preparing breakfast. Olivia was also starving, so she moved closer, showing great interest in the dishes Romian was going to make.

"What are you planning to do? What are these white, granular things?"

"Oh, this is called fried rice!"

End of this chapter

"Fried rice? What's that?"

As a native of Durand, this was the first time in Olivier's life that she had ever heard of "fried rice."

Generally, bread is the staple food of the Turan people. The poor eat hard black bread with various stews, while the rich and noble eat soft white bread with meat. Rice, on the other hand, is an imported food, and many locals are not even familiar with it.

The rice in Songshu Town was a new crop that was introduced last year. Luo Mi'an still remembers the ecstatic reaction of her master when he received the rice seeds ordered for a large sum of money from the merchant, as if he had obtained some kind of rare treasure.

Because they didn't buy many seeds, most of the first year's harvest was saved as seeds, and they only ate steamed rice once.

Luo Mi'an had a good impression of the rice when she tried it for the first time. It was softer and more glutinous than bread, and had a subtle sweetness when chewed. It was a perfect match for the braised pork that her chef had cooked that night!

But what truly impressed Romian, even shocked her, was Lude's reaction. Her master had barely taken the first bite when tears streamed down her face, startling everyone at the table.

Afterwards, Ludwig explained that he had simply been overcome with emotion upon seeing the object, and hadn't been able to control himself. Romian saw a fleeting look of melancholy in his eyes at that moment.

Because her master loved rice, Romi'an then proactively learned a great deal about cooking this ingredient from Lu De. This year, with a bumper rice harvest, Lu De paid extra attention to his twenty-odd acres of rice paddies, sparing no expense in investing large amounts of fertilizer and using his divine power to protect their growth. In the end, he managed to achieve an average yield of nearly 1,500 jin per acre, realizing his long-cherished dream of "rice freedom"!

Under Olivia's curious gaze, Romian skillfully poured the diced ingredients and leftover rice into the pot one by one, then stir-fried them over high heat. Her Argonian bloodline gave her natural strength; she could easily toss a large iron pot with one hand, leaving Olivia speechless. The aroma of the fried rice made her mouth water.

"This fried rice... smells delicious!"

Soon, a pot of steaming fried rice was ready, and the others in the temple followed the aroma to the dining hall. As soon as Rude arrived, he saw Olivia following closely behind Romian, her beautiful blue eyes fixed on the fried rice in the pot.

Tsk tsk! I won't eat hot pot, but I'd rather have fried rice.

According to the dining rules set by Rude, the first principle is not to waste food. Romian had long known the appetites of everyone in the temple, so she could always control the amount of food she cooked to be just right.

However, the newcomer Olivia has not eaten with everyone yet, so Romian doesn't know how much she eats, hence there is more fried rice in the pot than usual.

With her stomach empty and food supplies depleted, Olivia had long lost the toughness she had shown yesterday. Her bold statement of "I'd rather starve than eat" was completely forgotten. Holding a wooden bowl in both hands, she watched longingly as Romian filled it to the brim, and then eagerly shoved a large spoonful into her mouth.

"Mmm... this fried rice smells so good!?"

Starving Olivia ate spoonful after spoonful of fried rice, completely unaware that everyone else at the table was silently watching her. Lude suppressed a smile, thinking to himself, "The 'it smells so good' principle really works everywhere."

"Hey, don't just eat fried rice, there's also egg drop soup and pickled vegetables. Oh, and there's the new spicy sauce this year, try mixing it with rice."

Perhaps she was really starving, or perhaps the spicy sauce was just too appetizing, Olivia ate three large bowls in one go, temporarily surpassing Aina, who had a poor appetite, and becoming the new "King of Rice".

It wasn't until she had eaten and drunk her fill that Olivia finally realized how outrageous she had been while wiping her mouth.

"So, Miss Olivia, are you satisfied with the food here?"

"Uh... okay, hiccup!"

After breakfast, Lude had planned to take Olivia to the school to see if the young lady could enroll, but he quickly remembered that it was Sunday and there were no classes there. He should stay at the temple today and occasionally do his job as a priest.

Speaking of which, ever since the population of Pine Town skyrocketed, growing from a small village of about four hundred people to a town of tens of thousands, Lud has found it difficult to hold sermons in the main hall of the temple, which can only accommodate three hundred people. With his current prestige and the local population, he can easily summon most of the town's residents to hold a sermon, and the hall is already completely overflowing.

Therefore, when the temple holds sermons, they are usually held on the hillside in front of the main gate. Rudd sets up a high platform at the entrance and then amplifies the sound using divine magic. The believers in the town can either come to the temple to listen or stay at home, as long as they open their windows, they can hear it. The effect is no less than that of a village broadcast on Earth.

The weekend sermon broadcasts are a routine event in Pinetree Town, and generally, unless the heavens intervene with thunder to steal the microphone from Lud, it can be described as rain or shine.

After finishing his meal, Lu De stood up and waved to the group of beautiful female disciples.

"Elbow! Let's set up the stage!"

With a hint of curiosity, Olivia followed them out. She watched with puzzled eyes as the group moved a set of tables and chairs to the open space in front of the temple's main entrance. Then, without Lude reciting any prayers, he simply flicked his hand and released a divine spell of unknown effect. A strange circle of light appeared on the ground, perfectly encircling the tables and chairs placed in the open space.

"What are they trying to do?"

"At the evangelistic meeting, be careful not to stand in that circle; that's where the divine magic is effective."

Although she still didn't know what was going on, Ophia obediently took half a step back, keeping her distance from the mysterious circle of light on the ground.

This young lady, though a notorious troublemaker in the capital's education circles, was far from stupid. Before determining the exact effect of the aura, she wisely chose to observe from the sidelines.

Once everything was ready, Lude stepped into the circle of light and sat down in a chair. Romian pulled Olivia to the back, then took two pairs of cotton plugs from Shanis and handed one pair to Olivia.

"Put them on. They won't interfere with listening to the sermons; they're mainly for protecting your ears."

"what!?"

Olivia looked puzzled. Just then, Lud coughed twice, his voice booming like thunder, which startled her so much that she almost fell to the ground.

"Fellow townspeople and villagers, this week's sermon is about to begin!"

End of this chapter

The sound was amplified dozens of times by divine magic, allowing Lud's sermon to cover the entire town, so everyone could hear it clearly. For the locals, listening to the priest tell stories on the weekend was an important "religious activity" that they absolutely couldn't miss!

When Olivia lived in the capital, she was invited to attend some sermons of major religious sects with her mother. The speakers were all very famous religious masters. Ordinary people would not have the opportunity to attend their sermons even if they wanted to, because they simply could not afford the high donation fees (tickets) required for admission.

But during Ludd's public sermon, which reached the entire town, he didn't ask for a single penny in donations from the people. Even more interestingly, the content of Ludd's sermons was completely different from that of the elders from the major religious sects.

As soon as the other person sat down, they began to tell one short story after another in a lighthearted tone that seemed completely out of place with solemnity. The stories all appeared to be myths, featuring goddesses and vivid, engaging plots that even Olivia found fascinating.

The sermon began at 10:00 AM and continued until noon, when the temple bells rang at 12:00 PM. Rudd announced that the morning sermon was now over and that the afternoon session would officially begin at 2:00 PM. He then raised his hand and removed the amplification circle beneath his feet, and the sound returned to normal.

Olivia then saw Shanes rush forward first, holding a wet towel.

"Master, what a wonderful sermon! You spoke so well!"

The three stories Lude told this morning all featured Shanis, the "Goddess of Love," as the main character, so she took up the majority of the faith that gathered. In addition, Shanis recently saw that Aina had reached the intermediate threshold of the fourth tier, and she was very envious. She hoped that Lude could arrange for her to be included as well, so she was particularly attentive at the moment.

Lude naturally understood Shanis's little scheme. His next "Phase Two Plan" already included promoting Shanis and Marigis in Pine Town, while cooperating with Winnig to promote the three sisters among the dwarves, drawing on the experience gained by Aina, so that they could also advance to the fourth tier as soon as possible.

However, as his own strength continued to improve, Lude did not become complacent and began to relax. In fact, he felt a little anxious because Aina was about to break through.

They were safe because they were weak, as they were too weak to even attract the attention of the great gods. It was like people living on a high mountain who couldn't see what the ants at the foot of the mountain were doing.

As the Pantheon's fame grows, Rudd has no idea how long this "newbie protection mode" can last. And what attitude will the veteran gods have towards the rising stars?

Therefore, Lude's next development plan, in addition to continuing to improve the strength of Aina Shanes and the others, also includes creating a new batch of "second-generation gods" to further expand the scale of his own pantheon.

This approach is similar to the idol groups in the entertainment industry on Earth, which can provide fans with more choices, and there's always one that suits you.

The ultimate goal is to improve the overall quality through quantity.

Regarding the list of deities for the second phase, Rudd has tentatively drafted four: the god of music (in charge of art), the god of wealth (in charge of making money), the god of balance (in charge of law), and the god of war (in charge of warfare). These are all standard "conceptual deities." The corresponding divine positions either do not yet exist or their meanings are not clear enough, thus giving Rudd room to work with the list.

The amazing thing about this world is that, theoretically, if you can convince enough believers, you can create any god you want. And this concept of a divine position can be either a division of the existing one or a completely new creation; whether it's grand and noble or utterly base depends entirely on how well you package it!

In fact, a month or two ago, Rudd had already begun preparing for the second phase of the Gods through weekly sermons, with Rudd making occasional cameo appearances in the Goddess's short stories. Rudd was quite adept at this process.