Goddess Kaleidoscope

End of this chapter

For outsiders unfamiliar with the Medicine God Cult, Songshu Village presents an incredible sight every morning: the entire village, young and old, puts aside everything else and gathers on the main road in front of their homes, facing the direction of the temple, to perform a collective dance.

Because this kind of "religious activity" is nowhere to be seen, it often attracts onlookers from other places who are unaware of the truth, and the Rainbow Circus members are one such example.

Servis was woken up by the temple bells in the morning, which caused her to have a brief outburst of "morning grumpiness," scaring the other members of the group half to death.

As a single woman nearing thirty, Servis, like many women her age, has been troubled by her skin problems. Besides the universal desire to look good, she is also the star of her own Rainbow Circus, and her appearance is directly related to the circus's revenue.

In her youth, Servis also harbored dreams, feeling that she should have higher aspirations and become a truly accomplished artist.

But harsh reality soon taught young Servis a lesson: 99.99% of the world had no interest in the art she craved. These vulgar people only wanted to see blouses, ass, and long white legs; their minds were filled with pornography!

So, under pressure to survive, Servis gradually came to terms with it.

Making money is nothing to be ashamed of!

However, as she gets older, a midlife crisis arrives without her realizing it. Her figure begins to change, and her skin is no longer smooth and delicate. In order to maintain her beauty, Servis tried many methods and made many efforts, one of which was to ensure she got enough sleep.

Therefore, the six o'clock bell in the morning was like a death knell to her.

Left with no other choice, Servis got up early. As soon as she stepped out of her hotel, she saw villagers dancing in the street, a scene that was strangely spectacular!

What are they doing?

"The hotel owner told me that this is a blessing dance of the Medicine God Cult. He said that if believers insist on dancing it every day, it can protect their health and reduce illness."

"There's such a saying?"

"That's what the local priest said."

The team member shrugged, indicating that he had just heard about it from others and didn't know the specifics.

Serviss considered herself to be well-traveled and knowledgeable, but this was indeed the first time she had ever seen such a scene.

"Tour leader, are we really going to put on a few shows here?"

"Of course! I already spoke with the village chief yesterday, and he said the threshing ground can be lent to us for three days free of charge, and everything will be done according to the old rules."

Servis planned to stay in Pine Village for three to five days, perform a few shows to get a feel for the local villagers' income. However, she also knew that no matter how wealthy a village was, its spending power could never compare to that of a large, densely populated city, so performing there was just a way to make up for it.

In terms of strength, Rainbow Circus is a medium-sized group that is neither the best nor the worst, so they are not picky in many ways.

However, before the performance officially began, Servis had to pay a visit to some prominent local figures. Those in their line of work had to be careful around both the legitimate and criminal worlds; no one dared to offend them.

Moreover, Servis knew very well that she should not be careless just because it was a small place. As the saying goes, shallow waters breed many turtles and gangsters everywhere! Seemingly simple and honest country folk can sometimes be more ruthless than many city gangsters when they get angry, and they have no scruples when they are ruthless.

Fortunately, Pine Village didn't seem like a chaotic place at first glance, and the local security situation was good. So Servis figured that since she had already spoken to the village chief yesterday, as long as she visited the temple and the self-defense group, there shouldn't be any major problems.

So after making some preparations, Servis took some small gifts and went out.

She first went to the militia headquarters, because it was very close to their hotel, less than fifty meters away. Servis had already inquired beforehand and learned that the head of the village militia was Ron, the eldest son of the village chief Rom, a big guy nicknamed "Black Bear."

However, when Servis arrived at the entrance of the Self-Defense Force headquarters, she unexpectedly discovered a meeting place of the Cult of War.

"Strange! Was there a War God Cult here before?"

Upon noticing the familiar emblem of the Church of Ares, Servis was taken aback, a host of questions swirling in her mind. She was unaware of what had transpired in the area two months prior, and therefore found the current situation extremely strange.

Because the Cult of War is one of the three most well-known and powerful cults in the world, under normal circumstances, wherever they are, unless there are also the other two of the three major cults, forming a three-way balance of power, they will definitely be the largest church power in the area.

However, the situation in Pine Tree Village was exactly the opposite. The Medicine God Cult was the only dominant force, while the War God Cult only had this inconspicuous little meeting place.

So, with this question in mind, Servis led his men to the door of the meeting place and curiously peered inside. Suddenly, a young man's voice came from behind them.

"Madam, is there anything I can help you with?"

Turning around abruptly, Servis saw a young monk whose head was already "completely barren," and the badge hanging on his chest was the insignia of a monk from the War God Cult.

This young, bald monk was none other than Eru, a War God Cult monk who had once participated in the Valiant Army, and he was also a disciple of the late high priest Narad... or at least he once was!

After Narad and his mentor Gerallis died one after another, a power struggle broke out in the Duran diocese of the Cult of War over the position of archbishop. Bishop Volar of the Ramli sub-diocese, for his own benefit, decided to abandon Pine Village and at the same time befriend the Cult of Medicine God. The two sides signed an agreement on the sale of the divine medicine.

After the agreement was signed, the Cult of War abandoned its plan to establish a temple in Pine Village, leaving only one monk to set up a religious meeting place in the village. This person left behind was Eru, who was not only a former disciple of Narad but also the youngest son of the Kingdom's Minister of Finance, Masdaq.

Ural took him under his wing and then deliberately left him in Pine Village to manage the meeting place. However, Eru's time in Pine Village was not very pleasant.

Forget about proselytizing; the Medicine God Cult has already taken root in the local community. Eru is weak and alone. Even if the Medicine God Cult doesn't try to trip him up, he can't attract many believers on his own. So Eru is idle every day, while Priest Lud occasionally comes over to chat with him.

To his surprise, someone actually came to the entrance of his usually deserted meeting place today, which made Eru somewhat at a loss.

End of this chapter

"Madam...are you here to pray?"

"Uh, no... okay! We are."

Facing the young monk before her, Servis was too embarrassed to say that she had come over to take a look because she thought his gathering place looked so shabby and pitiful, completely unworthy of the name of the Church of War. The sarcasm in her words was far too strong.

So, having no other choice, Servis, who did not actually believe in the god of war, had to bite the bullet and go inside to pretend to pray.

The group followed Eru into the house. The interior decoration was not bad, but it was completely out of step with the God of War's usual golden style. It had a cheap feel that was both comfortable and shabby. The thought that this place belonged to the God of War's religious site made them feel even more embarrassed.

Eru seemed to notice the surprise in Servis's eyes, and couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. But for him now, there was nothing he could do about it.

The so-called "meeting place" is, to put it bluntly, a substitute that is put together out of necessity when people don't have the money to build a temple but still want to hold religious gatherings. It mainly exists in sparsely populated and impoverished rural areas, or in small religious sects that are struggling to survive in the cracks of big cities, where they will make do with such a temporary measure.

It's really rare for the War God Cult to humble itself like this!

Incidentally, no statues of gods were enshrined inside the assembly hall. Only a stone tablet bearing the emblem of the God of War stood in the center of the main hall for believers to use in prayer. This was mainly because the God of War had decreed that his statues should not be placed in places that would damage his reputation.

Therefore, it is forbidden to enshrine the statue of the God of War in such a shabby and simple place as a gathering place, otherwise the gods will be angered and punish you.

After glancing around briefly, Servis, eager to get to her business, pretended to pray before the church emblem, then got up to leave. But Eru, who had been watching her for a while, suddenly recognized Servis.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Servis from the Rainbow Circus?"

"Uh... that is indeed me. Do you recognize me, sir?"

"Oh! It really is Miss Servis! I... I've seen your performances before, I'm a fan!"

Upon hearing Servis's admission, Elru became so excited that he became somewhat incoherent.

The young man claimed to be Servis's number one fan. Whenever their circus tour passed through the town of Cantriel near the capital, Eru, who was practicing at the local temple, would make a special trip to watch, especially enjoying Miss Servis's performances.

Hearing Elru talk about how great his performance was as if it were his own treasure, Servis, who originally just wanted to give him a few perfunctory words and make a quick getaway, couldn't help but feel a little smug. After all, it's always nice to have someone flatter you.

In fact, Servis does have a lot to brag about. Compared to ordinary performing arts groups, Rainbow Circus's shows also cater to the tastes of the lower classes and include GHS elements. However, Servis, as the leader of the troupe, has not given up her pursuit of art.

The Rainbow Circus's proudest grand finale is the acrobatic musical "The Canary Who Hums Love Songs," in which she herself performs. The most unique feature of this show is that Servis sings in her sweet voice while performing highly difficult wire acrobatic moves.

Therefore, Servis was very proud because she was the best singer among the acrobats, and no one in the singing family was a better acrobat than her!

Under Eru's flattery, Servis's smile grew even wider until her companion reminded her for the third time with a cough, at which point she realized there was still important business to attend to.

In high spirits, Servis told Eru that her circus was currently in Pine Village and was preparing to perform several shows there, hoping that Eru could come and support them.

The two were having a pleasant conversation when suddenly there was a knock at the door of the meeting place. Servis turned around and looked at the door, only to see someone she didn't expect standing there.

Good morning, Miss Servis.

"Lord Lud?"

Servis, who had intended to pay her a visit, never expected to encounter a priest from the Cult of Medicine God within the assembly hall of the Cult of War. Furthermore, she failed to notice that the nun beside Ludwig had changed, but was still remarkably young and beautiful, possessing a figure that even her nun's habit couldn't conceal.

Servais had traveled far and wide and heard many strange rumors, such as "the untold secret between the archbishop and the young nun." In addition, the Medicine God Cult was famous in the Duchy of Gammelin for its "mysterious oil," which made Servais think of some strange images.

Who knows, Lu De himself might be using the Medicine God Cult's miraculous medicine?

Not knowing what Servis was thinking, Lud was also taken aback when he saw her chatting and laughing with Eru in the meeting place.

Lu De's assessment of this woman was that she was slick and worldly-wise! After all, someone who travels all over the country and makes a living by performing couldn't possibly be a naive and innocent person if she had lived this long.

However, Lude was also very curious as to why this guy was here.

Lude's main purpose in coming here was to discuss some matters with Eru. Taking advantage of the current amicable relationship between him and the Cult of the God of War, Lude hoped to directly utilize their existing network of connections to procure some items that were unavailable locally.

The astute Servis vaguely sensed that Lud and Eru had something important to discuss, and whatever they were talking about, it was best for someone of her status to remain silent.

So Servis politely said that she had to leave, and before leaving, she reminded Eru to remember to come to their circus performance the next evening.

After Servis left, Lude noticed that Eru was still staring blankly at her departing figure, so he waved his hand in front of her eyes. Eru then snapped out of his daze and said somewhat embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry, Lord Lud, I... I was thinking about something just now."

"No need to explain, I've been through this myself, I understand."

Lud said with a smile, then took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Eru, instructing him to use the raven raised by the Cult of War to deliver it to the Bishop of Ural, who was currently heading to the capital to compete for the position of Archbishop.

Lude already knew about Eru's background from his second brother, Erwin. He was the youngest son of the Masdaq family. Although he was the youngest in the family and had virtually no hope of inheriting the family business, he was sent to the Cult of the God of War to train because he was found to have the aptitude to become a priest.

This kid used to be Narad's disciple, but now he's the messenger between Lud and Urals, responsible for relaying messages between the two sides.

Logically speaking, for such a sensitive position, Ural should have appointed a trusted confidant. However, he chose Eru, a former member of the opposing faction, clearly intending to send a "friendly" signal to the Masdaq family behind Eru.

End of this chapter

Returning from the Cult of War's meeting place, Ludlow found a stack of circus tickets in his pocket. The tickets weren't paper, but rather small, meticulously carved wooden plaques. These were a small gift from Servis before she left, allowing Ludlow and Eru to watch their circus performance for free.

Lude wasn't very interested at first. As a transmigrator who had seen the advanced culture of Earth, he found the traditional entertainment in this other world to be both boring and dull, and it couldn't satisfy his spiritual needs at all. He would rather spend the time watching the circus performances writing his own little notebooks!

But Lude immediately thought that while he might not be interested, his girls might. Taking a break now and then could help balance work and rest.

Upon returning to the temple, Rudd announced at dinner that he would take everyone to see the circus performance the following evening.

Upon hearing this news, the expressions of the people present varied. Shanis, who had gone out with Ludwig during the day, already knew about this, so she remained very calm. Hume, on the other hand, was not very interested, but if everyone else went, she wouldn't mind going along to join in the fun.

Only Aina, who is currently having a falling out with Lude, desperately wants to go but is too proud to admit it, and her expression is quite understandable.

At the crucial moment, Romian once again played the important role of an understanding "thoughtful little angel," taking the initiative to go to Aina's side, holding her hand, and begging Aina to accompany her to see the circus performance, calling her "senior sister" repeatedly.

To be honest, after calming down for almost two days, Aina was no longer as angry as she had been at the beginning. So when she heard that there was a circus performance, she really wanted to go. She was just too proud to show her happiness on her face.

Fortunately, Romian came out at this moment and gave her a way out, so Aina reluctantly agreed to go with her.

And so, Lude, with his "whole family," arrived at the village's threshing ground on time the following evening. The Rainbow Circus had already set up their large tent for the performance, and a clown holding a sign was selling tickets at the entrance.

The sign thoughtfully considered that the vast majority of ordinary people were illiterate, so it featured three large copper coins to inform the villagers of the ticket price.