For some reason, the horse in the lead kept turning its head to stare at them, its eyes seemingly filled with hostility.
’The animals in this world are pretty smart.’ The horse reminded Colin of that butting War-Frenzy Goat he had encountered before.
"Alright, thank you, you two strong young lads," the old Priest said. "I always say people shouldn’t be judged by their bloodline. This Half-Orc is a fine young lad too!"
He then hunched his back, turned, and lifted the tarp on the back of the cart to reveal pumpkins, apples, and several burlap sacks full of charcoal.
"Look here," the old Priest said. "These are all fine things I just bought from the base of the White Tower. We could make a sweet, crispy apple pie or something."
The old Priest said, "I have to deliver things to a few nearby villages first. Just follow this main road straight ahead to get to the Church. You can all go on ahead and get settled."
"If it’s on the way, we’ll go with you and lend a hand. Can we put our luggage on the cart?" Colin asked.
"Of course, of course! That would be wonderful, thank you!" the old Priest said as he re-harnessed the horse at the front.
Colin and the others then placed their luggage in the back of the cart, lightening the load on their shoulders.
The group, along with the cart, continued down the dirt road.
Colin glanced at his Task Log and was surprised to see a new task.
-----------------
[Quest: Escort the Priest]
[Status: Not Started]
[Reward: Uncalculated]
-----------------
’This might just be the easiest task I’ve ever taken on,’ Colin thought.
They hadn’t gone far when the old Priest, sitting at the front of the cart, asked, "Miss Tiefling, you must be from the White Dove Monastery, correct?"
Orelia asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
"I came from that Monastery as well. Around the Holy City, it’s probably the only place that takes in Tieflings, my sister," the old Priest said with a smile.
’No wonder this Priest isn’t afraid of Kase. It turns out he and Orelia are practically acquaintances,’ Colin thought.
Orelia said, "I am honored to meet you, Brother."
"You’re far more impressive than me. Seeing that ring on your hand, you must be a field agent, right? Ordinary Adventurers can’t become field agents," the old Priest said.
Orelia lowered her head and said, "Th-that’s because I was lucky enough to meet some powerful teammates."
"It’s all the same, isn’t it? There’s a reason you were able to join this team," the old Priest said. "Not me. When I was young, my legs would turn to jelly at the sight of a goblin, so how could I risk my life fighting monsters? I served as an Assistant Priest at the Cathedral for fifteen whole years before the bishop finally showed mercy, made me a Priest, and assigned me to this poor parish, which doesn’t get many monster attacks."
The two continued to chat at length.
A nostalgic expression appeared on the old Priest’s face as he heard stories about the White Dove Monastery.
This freed Colin from having to make small talk. He walked on in peace, reviewing his own information and occasionally whispering to Ale about the Ancient Empire.
The group continued on under the sun, and before long, the road led them to a small village of a few dozen households.
Small villages like this were common in areas where one’s safety was assured.
These small villages were surrounded by others like them, with neatly divided plots of farmland lying in between.
In the middle of these scattered small villages, there was often a larger village with communal facilities like a mill and a bakery.
Together, these hamlets formed a single manor.
This residential pattern allowed people to reach their fields more quickly without being too far from communal facilities like the mill and bakery.
Of course, in areas where security was poor, people were more inclined to band together in larger settlements, which made it more convenient to pool money to hire Adventurers or to form a Militia.
Villagers on the outskirts spotted the cart, then turned and ran back toward the village, shouting as they went, "Father John’s here! Father John’s here!"
The old Priest stopped the cart by the village well.
As if on cue, he and Orelia both called out, "Come and get it! The food from the Church is here!"
The people from the few surrounding households—mostly women—immediately approached with baskets in hand. The old Priest and Orelia then began to unload supplies from the cart and distribute them.
When Colin saw this, he gestured for the others to help distribute the supplies.
Having been in this world for so long, he had read a great deal about countryside life in books.
In this world, the Church and faith were a crucial part of society.
Rural churches often shouldered responsibilities such as providing social welfare, organizing production, and resolving disputes—duties the feudal nobility were unable to fulfill. In a way, they were an indispensable part of the social order.
That’s why most churches had the right to collect tithes and were exempt from taxes.
This was because in normal times, they organized production and maintained order, and when disaster struck, it fell to them to provide a safety net for the unfortunate souls affected by the calamity.
Larger branches of the Church shouldered even greater social responsibilities.
The Divine Hall of Knowledge held a near-monopoly on most knowledge and Magic; the Divine Hall of Wealth controlled the entire society’s finances and held the authority to set prices for magical materials; the Divine Hall of Invention monopolized many new and wondrous inventions...
Even knowing that the Gods were real, Colin had actually underestimated the importance of the Church and faith in this world.
In fact, many farmers weren’t even that devout.
They believed in the Gods and paid taxes to the Church not out of fanaticism or ignorance, but because it was a key part of maintaining social stability and order.
But at the same time, Colin couldn’t help but wonder, ’Assuming the Gods didn’t exist, and there weren’t so many good people inside the Good God Churches, what would this system look like?’
’If that were the case, countless human tragedies would surely occur.’
"Thank you, sir. Are you the new Cultivators?" a villager asked as she took the pumpkin Colin handed her.
"They are a group of kind-hearted Adventurers who are just passing through," the old Priest said.
A middle-aged woman nearby asked, "Adventurers? How are things up north?"
"We have a feeling the Winter Calamity is almost over, but nothing is certain. You should probably save up some food and Gold Coins just in case," Colin replied.
"Is it another damned conspiracy? Or some other piece-of-shit Cultists? Can’t they ever just give it a rest?" the middle-aged woman grumbled.
"Just take your pumpkin. The Morninglord won’t let you starve," the old Priest said, annoyed. "Less complaining, more doing."
"Old Guy, tell your God to get this mess under control! This year’s spring planting is a disaster compared to last year’s!"
"That’s blasphemy!"
The two started bickering back and forth.
Colin and his companions were a little tense at first, but when they saw that the other villagers were completely unfazed, they relaxed and went back to work.
After a few more traded retorts, the middle-aged woman left.
Father John licked his lips, looking like he wasn’t quite done yet, and then shouted to a middle-aged man not far away, "Jose! Did you get those refugees we sent over last time all settled?"