The Valkyries daily job was to specifically protect young priestesses, safeguarding the important assets of the Cathedral, and to keep any filthy men away from these valuable goods, even male clergy weren’t allowed; they had to stay far away.
Of course, Samimi was sternly critical of such commodification of women; it was too humiliating.
Along the way, she realized she had already encountered many priestesses who had been victimized by this system.
Genius Launcher Wolf Beika and her own sister at home, that apprentice priestess Ju Jie, were victims as well.
They simply refused to be little vases clinging to men. They wanted to rise to the top by their own strength, yet in the end, one ended up in worse straits than the other.
If they hadn’t met the great Samimi, they might still be up to some shady business in a sewer somewhere.
That said, Samimi didn’t hate this system so much that she wanted to wipe it out completely.
If something exists, it must have its reason for existing especially if you can even steal from it.
Everyone knew it was wrong, and those inside also knew it was wrong, but it had to exist. This was called the gray zone a buffer area between black and white.
You say the Cathedral sends out so many beautiful priestesses to serve nobles and the wealthy as playthings, and is there anything truly inhuman going on? Not really, it seems.
It might even help stabilize Human Race society, bringing greater unity within, at least that’s what some people would argue.
“Brother, all I can say is, everyone has their own path, hehe.” Samimi arrived at the Platinum Cathedral, grinning broadly.
The Valkyrie at the gate glanced at her but didn’t stop her she could go in as she liked.
After all, who would ever guess that the secret nightmare of this timid, adorable, fuzzy little priestess would be an old man from the Black Alley?
“Tang~” As soon as she entered the grand hall, Samimi couldn’t help exclaiming.
This was definitely the most luxurious women’s bathhouse she had ever seen far grander than the new one that had opened in Bagua Town. Inside, it was packed to the brim, all filled with youthful, elegant maidens absolutely no old hags with sagging skin in sight.
Samimi went to the changing room and was instantly dazzled her eyes darted all around, not knowing where to look, because everywhere she looked, there was nothing but bare skin, full of springtime beauty.
She just loitered in the changing room, changing at turtle speed, lingering in a corner with her blanket—taking ten minutes to remove one robe, all just so she could sneak a few more glances.
But soon she realized there were also Valkyrie patrols in the changing room, and it seemed like a Valkyrie at the door was already eyeing her.
Samimi had no choice but to quickly strip naked, clutch a towel, and head into the bath.
The interior of the Platinum Cathedral had been remodeled into an enormous hot spring pool. There weren’t any fancy or gaudy smaller pools, just a single massive water pool, all steaming and misty, with all sorts of beautiful, fair things floating about.
“Waaa—” Samimi exclaimed with delight, but still went to the side to use a flower-shaped showerhead to rinse off before soaking in deeper.
The hot spring was vast, but there were still plenty of girls floating about, so inevitably some physical contact happened.
Samimi was already very experienced with hot springs. For pretty girls, this was an essential way to restore their SAN Value and relieve stress. Soaking for a bit made her whole body and mind relax, her pulse smoothing out, and her little hands wandering where they shouldn’t well, there was nobody here she had to be wary of anyway.
“Merchants, priestesses, and happiness.”
This was one of the perks of being a gender-bent protagonist she could waltz right into places forbidden to men, enjoying all the benefits.
And since she was an old man in spirit, her SAN Value recovery rate was much faster than the average person’s.
“Hmm?” Samimi soon noticed there were some familiar faces among the girls in the hot spring her classmates, and even that twin-tailed rival who always gave her a hard time.
But with their hair down, she couldn’t even recognize them at first glance.
Oh well, she wasn’t close to those classmates anyway, so she just pretended not to know them and continued secretly checking out the priestess girls from other classes.
Even though some of them were the scheming “golden beetle” type girls, while soaking in the hot spring everyone acted friendly and elegant, letting themselves relax and putting aside their usual ambitions to enjoy a moment’s comfort.
After relaxing, with her SAN Value fully restored, Samimi left the Platinum Cathedral with a big smile on her face, feeling utterly refreshed.
Then she wandered through the main district of the Sheep Cleric Symposium. Now that she had a sense of direction, she was no longer afraid of getting lost and could stroll as she pleased, exploring like an adventurer.
Everywhere she went was new, and every Cathedral had its own unique function. Unfortunately, she couldn’t just go up and touch everything, nor could she just open random donation boxes, since nobody wanted trouble.
Now, her objective was perfectly clear: the Funeral of the Pope. When the time came, someone was sure to put on a show.
So, whatever happened at the Sheep Cleric Symposium was no longer important she just needed to find a way to sneak into the Funeral of the Pope.
But this wasn’t a difficult task; the Cathedral’s internal defenses were riddled with holes it was all too easy to find a loophole. She could just sneak in that very day.
“Are you thinking about how to get into the Funeral of the Pope?” Suddenly, Qiqi Lin appeared at her side like a ghost.
“Ah! Why did you sneak up without a sound? You scared me to death!” Samimi almost jumped.
“That’s just how we Jingling Tribe are. That’s why Jingling Tribe members are either archers or assassins,” Qiqi Lin replied.
“But you’re a mage,” Samimi retorted.
“Exactly, and because of that, I was exiled from the Jingling Tribe,” Qiqi Lin said.
“Doesn’t the Jingling Tribe have mages?” Samimi asked.
“In the Jingling Tribe, Human Race, and Half-Peng Race, the number of mages born is extremely low. And even if one is born, it’s useless. Because these races don’t have thousands of years of accumulated magical knowledge like the Human Race. Human magic isn’t compatible with the magic of other races. Me becoming a mage was more like a curse,” Qiqi Lin analyzed.
“Forget it, let’s not talk about sad things. Why’d you grab me so fast, anyway?” Samimi asked curiously.
“I’ve found a way for us to sneak into the Funeral of the Pope. Let’s go discuss it in your room,” Qiqi Zhu said.
“Why not your room? Yours is more professional,” Samimi replied.
“You really are troublesome. No more nonsense, time waits for no one.” Qiqi Zhu was not about to let Samimi have her way, and directly pushed her forward.
Samimi didn’t get angry at all; instead, she laughed sweetly and led Qiqi Zhu toward her own room.
After all, Qiqi Zhu was the very first equal-status friend she had made in this other world.
She knew many members of the Church, but none of them were truly her equals most of them were just Demon-Hunting Nuns’ lackeys.
Qiqi Zhu was the only female clergy member who didn’t treat her like a Cathedral idol, nor did she blindly cooperate with her actions, but at the same time, she didn’t worship her either.
This kind of relationship should be called Spring Friendship.