26 The Church

A/N: Thanks for the kind reviews. I really appreciate it. :)

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I watched as the scenery changed from big mansions with beautiful and well-maintained gardens with fountains, to smaller buildings, most of which were shops and other amenities meant for the rich people who lived in the inner part of the city.

We soon crossed the gate separating the core of the city where the rich lived from the second and main layer. This was where more than 90% of the population of this city lived, the common residential area.

I watched the still unfamiliar roadside with stone-based buildings that gave a proper medieval feel. The buildings were usually one or two storied tall, but since this was the main road of the city, it was filled with famous shops and such, some having 3 or more floors even, but never above 5. Only the towers and important administration buildings were allowed to build anything bigger than 5 floors. I had no idea why though. There was probably a rule like that in my old world, but me being an ignorant person in the ways of society and law never bothered to care. Honestly, I didn't care about it much here either.

Moving on, I looked at the sidewalks, that actually had street lamps powered by not electricity but a configured magic stone with runes on it. There were enough objects and themes on the street to give you a medieval impression of the city. Same with people's attires, at least the average commoners. But here and there, some things seemed almost out of place, yet normal to me. This world had its version of some of those modern devices and tools that the people from present-day Earth were used to or knew fairly well. All that thanks to the industrial era this world was slowly, but surely, stepping into.

And finally, the most important resource of any city/country/world: the people. I had seen it a few other times in the past when I was taken outside the mansion gates, but this world had more than just humans. Of course, I knew that already, due to my knowledge of the game, but seeing them in real life was something else entirely.

How did it feel to have a dog or cat ear or tail? How did the people with horns dealt with them? Didn't it hinder them while sleeping sideways or something? Did the said parts affect their personality? Well, I actually had a hypothesis for that question. Yes, demi-humans were slightly affected by their non-human heritage. They were, for the most part, the same as humans but they could have certain quirks that humans didn't have.

This had actually led to discrimination in the past by humans who were at the time the most populous species. They still are. But that was in the past. Now we lived in a world where such an act of discrimination is frowned upon, if not downright illegal.

I observed the various races of people as the carriage ran on the wide street. People too noticed the fancy carriage with the emblem of the Marquis and then waved. Yes, not bowed, but waved. Well, some did bow out of respect, but the guards accompanying our carriage didn't stop and behead others for disrespecting. Thanks to the advancement in the ages, the giant wall between nobles and commoners was slowly diminishing. It wasn't completely gone, but for most parts, lower nobles were treated as governors rather than lords and upper nobles—from the Count and above—were treated as lords cum celebrities. Quite weird in my opinion. But I also liked it better than the strict authoritarian lordship where a commoner couldn't even dare to look at a noble in the eye lest they were beheaded for being rude to their lords. That's how it was in most medieval monarchies.

The people here were not scared of their lords, but they admired and worshipped them. My mother, the current holder of the Marquis title, was especially popular due to her kindness and caring persona which were reflected in the policies she implemented. Most of the commoners lived a good life thanks to her lenient rule. Most. We don't talk about slums since they are just too much to deal with even for a Marquis. It's a mud pond of necessity.

Of course, some people didn't fancy my mother's rule, but they were in a very small minority, and honestly, fuck those bitches. They could go and die for all I cared. With such an understanding and caring lord, how dare they raise their dissatisfaction? This, by the way, was something I wasn't told but discovered in one of my said 'outings' with my family. No way my mother or anyone in the household would tell me something like that. But the 'Observe' skill was quite handy to read people.

Anyway, I looked at the waving people. My mother and sisters too were looking at them. We returned those waves with some of our own, which made the people incredibly happy. I never truly understood the thrill of these 'fans' who got so elated from a smile or wave of the hand from their beloved celebrities. Why did it make them so happy? I never had such feelings of fanboyism towards anyone. At least no one in the real world. I might have been crazy for some anime characters maybe. Mostly female ones. But that's understandable. Anime girls are much more superior to real girls. Fight me if you disagree. (A/N: Me too. XP)

After an endearing trip on the main street with people waving and cheering for us, we finally reached our destination, the church.

***

It was a large structure with intricately designed towers and domes, resembling the churches from Earth, but having some uniqueness too, with the front having various runic designs, banners, and colorful windows. The church was completely white, other than those colored banners and windows.

The Church of the Goddess of Light, Theona. One of the 13 main goddesses of the world of Cryotopia.

The church building was on a slightly elevated level. There were wide white stairs that lead from the ground level to the large open gates above. There was a wide hallway that was somewhat visible from down below.

Below the stairs stood an old man and his entourage, ready to receive our family.

It wasn't every day the Marquis household visited the Church, even if my family was religious and donated to the Church periodically.

The old man, wearing an outfit that seemed to announce of his high religious stature, came forward and greeted us with a polite smile.

"It is an honor for us to receive the great Maximus family. Please allow me to be your guide today during the young sir's Foundation building process."

My mother, as the head, took the lead and replied in kind.

"Archbishop William O'Gorman, it's a pleasure to meet you again. I'm elated to see you well. I'll be troubling you today with my son's Foundation grading ceremony."

"Please, lady Maximus. It is no trouble at all. I was honored to do the same to Young Miss Emma, and I'm honored today."

"Fufu, thank you for your kind words. But my dear son has already achieved his Foundation Tier 1. It happened last night on its own. Our head wizard had theorized it would happen after Alex suddenly got ill a week ago. My son's natural-born talent bore fruit last night, one day before his 15th birthday."

My mother's words leaked her proudness for her dear son, me. She was definitely among the happiest people in the household when I told everyone the news. Alice was up there with her and while Emma grunted due to jealousy—which by the way she had no right to; that monstrous girl of crazy potential—she still congratulated me with a smirk. Something told me she was also amused. Something I'll understand better in our later practice sessions.

The others too congratulated me accordingly as they got wind of the news. It was a happy occasion after all.

I let my family know about it last night after changing my Tier from 0 to 1. I didn't mind being called talented or people thinking I had potential. Unlike how it was with most such stories, I was sure that letting people know of (some of) my talent would do me more good than bad. It was quite normal for noble children to be talented, due to their bloodlines and the care they receive. And it was harsh for those who weren't. Those who had a lower grade foundation such as Copper or below. They are the ones who suffered and were discriminated against. And I didn't plan to be the victim of something like that. No point in completely hiding my potential and appearing like a useless bum, only to be disdained by everyone in the nobility.

So, with the help of Realm Limiter skill, which had leveled up once allowing me to suppress partially or fully my foundation grade as well, I limited it to Sliver grade. A grade that was normal for talented children, but not too crazy like Gold or… Platinum. That one came with a lot of crazy stuff.

I'll stay in the above-average category and avoid any issues that the higher and lower grade children face respectively.

The archbishop was surprised to hear the news. It's not every day, not even for noble children, to achieve a feat like that.

"Hoh. That's wonderful news. It seems the Maximus household has a bright future with two out of three heirs already showing great talents. I can only be intrigued to see what amazing feat the youngest miss here shows."

He smiled kindly at Alice, who hid behind me, her hands tightly clutching mine. She was not great with outsiders. Understandable, since she barely ever went outside and interacted with people other than the family and some maids. Even less than me, who rarely went outside the mansion. Emma seemingly had more experience outside than me, since she was older than me and had more chances to go out before my reincarnation. But not that much.

Young noble children were caged in their mansions with everything they needed since they were precious and were in constant danger outside. Cons of being the heir of someone important.

Anyway, after some more chit-chat, the archbishop guided us towards the place inside the church where they would grade my Foundation.

***