Appraisal Ceremony (1)

Five and a half years had passed since Allen came to this other world. Spring had arrived, and it was now the middle of April. Telesia and Rodan were both fidgeting with excitement.

Today, Rodan had only filled the water jug at home. He hadn't gone to the fields.

"Don't say anything rude to the priest, okay?"

"Okay, Mama."

He gave the same answer he'd repeated more than ten times since yesterday. Telesia brushed the dust from his clothes with a flurry of pats.

"Telesia, Allen's a clever boy. He won't do anything like that. We're off."

Rodan took Allen to the center of the Pioneer Village. Telesia had to look after Mash, so only Rodan and Allen were going.

Today was the day of Allen's Appraisal Ceremony.

(My parents are really worked up about this.)

He recalled what he'd been told over the past few days.

The Appraisal Ceremony was apparently a way to assess a person's latent talents. Everyone, from royalty to serfs, had to undergo one when they turned five. It was required by the kingdom's laws. If the ceremony revealed that someone had a talent, it was even possible for them to become an officer.

(It sounds like one of the few ways for a serf to escape serfdom.)

Spring had come, and some fields had already been sown with wheat. There were fields neatly cleared of weeds, fields planted with leafy vegetables, and fields where weeds as tall as Allen had grown, perhaps left fallow. As they walked past the many different fields, he heard a familiar voice.

"Alleeen!!"

A girl with pink hair braided into a single plait and blue eyes waved with her whole body when she noticed Allen. Though he saw Krena almost every day, it had been a while since he'd seen her without a wooden sword.

"Hey, Krena. You're having your Appraisal Ceremony, too, right?"

"Yeah! They'll say I have a swordsman's talent! And then I'll become a knight!!"

Krena answered with a beaming smile. Gerda, built like a mountain of muscle, stood beside her. It was an important day for both of them, too. Apparently, the Appraisal Ceremonies were held all together once a year, in April. They didn't hold one every time a serf turned five.

As he listened to Krena talk about her dream—something he'd already heard yesterday and the day before—they passed through the fields and reached the neighborhood of houses. People had continued moving into the Pioneer Village after Allen's birth, and it had become quite a substantial village. He'd only visited the residential area a handful of times since he'd seen the magical beasts being butchered when he was one, but the changes were clear.

It was still before nine in the morning, the scheduled start time, but there were already quite a few people at the building that seemed to be a church.

(Wow, commoners really are different from serfs. Wait, are the commoners getting appraised, too?)

A crowd of nearly a hundred people had gathered. What caught Allen's eye was the dirt on their clothes. They all wore the same kind of hemp garments, but the serfs' were conspicuously stained brown. They spent their days working the soil in the fields, and without anything like soap, they washed their clothes with little more than water. There were the serfs with their patchy brown stains, and then there were the clean commoners. Even commoners must work in the fields, so perhaps they used soap or something similar.

The bell rang to announce nine o'clock. The doors opened, and a group of people who looked like priests filed out. Their clothes were completely different from those of the commoners: they wore matching, seamless outfits. They ushered everyone inside the church.

(This is my first time going inside a church.)

Allen entered the church with Rodan. From the outside, it had looked about two stories tall, but it seemed to be a single-story building with an exceptionally high ceiling. There were no seats in the hall they'd entered. At the far end stood a pure white statue of a male god, like something out of Greek mythology. There were also statues of several other male and female gods.

(So those are the gods of this other world. The one holding something like a stalk of rice must be the god of harvest. The one with a weapon looks like a god of war.)

The statue standing at the center of the far end looked like a man in his late twenties. He had long hair reaching down his back and a well-built physique. His eyes were closed, and he wore nothing over his upper body. He had no wings.

Allen remembered receiving a message from one of this world's gods through the Grimoire when he was one. He hadn't heard anything since.

There were several priests inside the building. They asked everyone to sit toward the back, so the people settled onto the wooden floorboards in groups. Once everyone was seated, the oldest priest began to speak in front of the pure white statue of the male god.

"Thank you all for gathering here today for the Appraisal Ceremony."

The commoners bowed their heads, so the serfs followed suit, assuming that was the proper etiquette. It seemed the commoners visited the church regularly. Allen bowed along with everyone else. The elderly priest continued.

"The Creator God, Elmea-sama, grants equal opportunities to all. Those of you born as serfs may not know this, but heroes of the kingdom have been born from among the serfs as well."

Murmurs spread through the church. Heroes born among the serfs? Many of the people gathered in the hall were parents whose first child had just turned five and was attending the Appraisal Ceremony for the first time. They and their children were hearing for the first time that a hero could come from the serfs.

The Pioneer Village had been established ten years ago. When they first began clearing the land, they had to pull out tree roots and remove stones, then struggle to build homes and make fields. The first two or three years brought poor harvests, and they were in no position to have children. But in the fourth and fifth years, the crops had gradually begun to grow more reliably.

As things improved, more families began having and raising children. Rodan and Telesia were one such couple. Allen had been born during the Pioneer Village's baby boom. Around thirty children born during that boom were gathered here.

"Saint Clasis-sama was born a commoner. And Sword Saint Doberg-sama, who continues to serve the kingdom to this day, was born a serf."

The priest's voice rang through the murmuring hall. Was that really true?

(Ah, I see.)

Allen alone seemed to understand. He remembered something from five years ago, before he was reincarnated. In this world, heroes and Sword Saints really did come from the lower classes. They never came from the royal family or the upper nobility. The more difficult a Job was, and the stronger it could become in the future, the more likely it was to go to someone of lower standing—a commoner or a serf.

(So the setting from when I came to this world is still in effect. That's why they have everyone appraised, including serfs who might have undiscovered talent.)

The priest went on to give a brief explanation of the Appraisal Ceremony. An appraisal crystal rested in front of the elderly priest. If someone placed their hands on it, the results would appear on a life-size black metal plate towering beside him.

"When you place your hands over this crystal, your talents and abilities will be displayed."

(Hmm. So the crystal doesn't change color or light up; the appraisal results appear as text. And they're made public. Well, with this many people here, there probably wouldn't be any way to keep them secret.)

While Allen was busy thinking, the Appraisal Ceremony moved forward.

"First, Peromus, child of Devoji, place your hands over the crystal."

The elderly priest gave instructions while looking at something like a scroll. It seemed to be a register of the thirty or so children. Led by Village Chief Devoji, Peromus walked to the crystal at the front of the hall.

As the village chief directed him to place his hands there, Peromus held both hands over the crystal. It glowed faintly, and its light spread to the black metal plate beside it. Silver letters appeared on the plate.

(Whoa! It's just like the Grimoire! Could it be that the Grimoire has the same function as the Appraisal Ceremony?)

"Oh! You have a talent for being a merchant. Congratulations!"

【Name】 Peromus

【Stamina】 C

【Magic】 D

【Attack】 D

【Durability】 C

【Agility】 D

【Intelligence】 B

【Luck】 B

【Talent】 Merchant

The appraisal results had a field showing a person's talent. The word Merchant appeared, and cheers went up. Village Chief Devoji hugged Peromus. Peromus looked happy, if a little crushed by the embrace.

(Oh? Are they happy as long as someone has a talent? And the abilities are shown as ranks.)

Allen opened the Grimoire and began taking notes on Peromus's appraisal results. Next, a commoner boy was called. When he heard his name, he went with his parents to the crystal and placed his hands over it.

The appraisal results appeared on the black metal plate.

The boy and his parents looked disappointed. The Talent field read 'None.' But the church's appraisal seemed absolute, so they said nothing and stepped aside for the next person.

(I see. Not everyone has a talent?)

The appraisals continued one after another. After Peromus, most of the status ranks seemed to fall between C and E, and the Talent field read 'None.' The commoners were called first, so none of the serfs had gone yet. Apparently, people could leave after their own appraisal was finished. Some left, while others stayed to see the results for the remaining children.

"I-I did it, Papa! I've got the Axeman talent! It says Axeman!!"

The seventh child to be appraised was sturdy-looking, and the priest told him he had a talent for wielding an axe. The boy and his parents hugged each other, overjoyed by the results.

【Name】 Dogora

【Stamina】 B

【Magic】 D

【Attack】 A

【Durability】 B

【Agility】 C

【Intelligence】 D

【Luck】 C

【Talent】 Axeman

(Wow! That's the first A I've seen in someone's stats. Does that mean it's hard to get even a B without a talent?)

As he wrote everything down in the Grimoire, he analyzed the characteristics of the Axeman Job.

The commoners' appraisals seemed to be over, and children dressed like serfs began to be called. Like the commoners, many of the serfs were told they had no talent.

One serf child was found to have a talent for being a priest. The priest told the father and child that he wanted to speak with them afterward.

(They sure are taking a while to call us. Still, it's helping me analyze the talents.)

Allen and Krena were the last ones left.

"Now then, Krena, child of Gerda, place your hands over the crystal."

"Yes!!"

Gerda led Krena up to the crystal. Smiling, Krena held both hands over it. Since they were near the end, most people had left, but a few families were still watching.

When Krena placed both hands over the crystal, it shone more brightly than ever before. As the light faded, the appraisal results appeared on the black metal plate.

"What?!"

The remaining families and the priests stared in shock at the extraordinary radiance. Gerda's whole body language showed astonishment, too.

"Wha—?! N-no way... I-it's appeared!"

The elderly priest was trembling.

"Wha—? Priest, what are the appraisal results?!"

Gerda couldn't read the letters displayed on the metal plate. Almost no serfs could read anything beyond their own names and those of their family members. Gerda couldn't make out anything on the plate besides daughter Krena's name.

"S-Sword Saint! Krena's talent is Sword Saint!"

【Name】 Krena

【Stamina】 S

【Magic】 C

【Attack】 S

【Durability】 A

【Agility】 A

【Intelligence】 C

【Luck】 B

【Talent】 Sword Saint

"S-Sword Saint?!"

"A Sword Saint has been born!"

The church hall erupted in commotion. Everyone looked from the black metal plate to Krena and back again.

"Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be 'swordsman'?"

Krena tilted her head and looked disappointed. She didn't seem to understand what was going on.

The black metal plate displayed Krena's talent as Sword Saint, along with stats far beyond anything the other thirty children had shown.