The Divine Hunter

sword easily if he held the hilt with both hands on the same spot, but when he did it the traditional way, his hands — being in different places — stopped coordinating.
The strength would sometimes go in opposite sides, causing the blade to slip out of Roy’s hands.
If he couldn’t coordinate well and swung the blade the wrong way, Roy could end up hurting himself.

 

No wonder Letho wouldn’t let me practice with Gwyhyr.

 

“Holding a sword the right way is one the basics, but its importance can’t be underlined enough.
If you don’t perfect it, you can’t master the more advanced techniques.
Let me demonstrate.
Look closely.” Letho didn’t involve any footwork.
Instead, he lunged ahead and slashed downward, performing a simple slash and thrust.
At the same time, he talked about the nitty gritty of hold strength and the key to the movements.

 

“Anything I need to know about this stance?”

 

“Not yet.
You’ll be practicing the right way to hold a sword today.
Depending on your proficiency, I’ll teach you basic footwork in a day or two.
As for the basics of attacking, well, you’ll have to wait until next week for that.”

 

Roy nodded.
After going through some training, Roy realized the way of the sword wasn’t as exciting as he used to think.
Even the simplest movement had a set of theories behind it, with countless battles to prove its efficacy.
Spending the whole afternoon practicing a single movement was boring Roy.
Eventually, his excitement started withering away.

 

Letho wasn’t surprised to see that.
“Regretting your choice? The training’s only going to get harder.”

 

“Not a chance.” Roy wouldn’t back down.
“I’m not going to give up.” He went through the same boring routine once when he was practicing his marksmanship.
Roy didn’t stop training, and sweat drenched his clothes.

 

When the sun had set, the sound of a bell rang through the temple.
As if on cue, the priestesses stopped working and headed toward the canteen, chatting happily.

 

Roy and Letho followed the crowd into a hall that was beside the main one.
It was big, bright, and filled with long tables that were situated between the dozens of pillars that held the hall up.
Roy thought it could house two to three hundred people.

 

The tables were covered with blue-striped cloth, and candelabras sat atop them.
Around them were pots filled with food, and the priestesses sat around the tables, looking serene.
They were speaking in a hushed tone after entering the hall.

 

Roy was fiddling with the cutlery, looking uneasy among the priestesses.
There was only one man around him — Letho.
Everyone else were young ladies mostly in their teenage years, the best years of their lives.
Their skin glowed healthily, though their clothes didn’t look pretty.
Their voices were soothing and silvery.
They were delightful to hear.

 

There weren’t many men in the hall, making him and Letho a rare sight.
Some of the bolder girls would stare at them curiously, while some of the shier ones would look away, though they would steal some glances from time to time.

 

Most of them would only look at Letho for a moment before turning away, as if he were a monster who’d gobble them up if they looked at him wrong.
However, they were interested in the boy beside him, so they kept staring at him.
The boy in question was feeling quite uneasy from the stares he was getting.

 

Men have always been the ones who flirt first, but I think something’s wrong here.
Be coy, ladies, Roy thought.
He tried his best to ignore them by shifting his focus to the steaming pot before him.
He could taste the scent of potatoes, turnips, carrots, and all sorts of veggies, as well as the aroma of chicken and pork.

 

When everyone had come in, the chef started distributing the bread to them.
She took the bread out of her basket and put it on everyone’s plate.
Then everyone would ladle the soup before them into their plates.
Once they were done with the soup, the bread would be soft enough to eat.

 

After the chef was done giving the bread out to everyone, Nenneke, the administrator of the temple, put her hands together and started praying.
Much to Roy’s astonishment, Art and Arri started imitating her. She took one week to whip these two into shape when the whole troupe had trouble with them? The head priestess is something.

 

Kantilla was right by the kids.
She noticed Roy looking at them, so she grinned and waved at him.
Roy nodded at her.

 

At the same time, the priestesses and the believers started praying.
All sounds of talking died down, leaving only the recitals of holy prayers.
Roy caught words like “merciful,” “kind,” and “magnanimous” during the grace.
All of a sudden, he was caught up in the solemn atmosphere.
Roy then looked around and realized he was standing out too much, so he stared down and started praying.

 

The prayers were done a while later, then everyone started digging in.
Letho whispered, “Why’d you do that, boy? Planning on becoming a woman?”

 

“Don’t you think we stand out too much if we don’t pray along?” Roy chomped down on his potato, then the flavors of spice and meat burst in his mouth. Holy shit, this is good. 

 

“Melitele’s believers are mostly women.
She’s the goddess of fertility and pregnancy.
And she’s the guardian of women in labor.” He popped a piece of chicken in his mouth and gulped it down, bones and all.
“Only women worship her.
Well, in most cases anyway.
Why’d you play along? And we don’t really need religion.
Witchers don’t do that.”

 

“You’re the boss.
I’ll stay away next time.” Roy wasn’t interested in gods anyway.
Then he met the eyes of a young girl, and she quickly looked down.
Roy’s lips twitched.
“But I have some questions.
They’re providing food and education for girls all over the world, so it costs a lot, doesn’t it? Where do they get the money then?”

 

“The priestesses charge their patients.”

 

“But most people are poor anyway.
Won’t they lose money long term?”

 

“Yes, but just because the wealthy are in the minority doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of them.” Letho finished the last piece of chicken and ladled some more soup into his plate.
“Aside from the usual diseases, the priestesses also cure infertility and some rare diseases.
They don’t work all the time, but a lot of nobles trust their skills.
The priestesses take as much money as possible whenever they’re working for a wealthy client.”

 

He paused for a moment.
“And the richer believers would tithe every year.
This is the center of the religion after all.
They have to keep it up at all costs.”

 

Roy finally realized why they could keep the temple open. Nenneke’s a rich woman.

 

“There might only be women here, but nobody would be stupid enough to attack them,” Letho continued.
“Because the men’s wives, daughters, and sisters worship Melitele.”

 

Men control the world, while women control men. That quote suddenly popped into Roy’s head. Those guys can’t afford to disrespect Melitele when the whole family worships her.
She’s one wise goddess.

 

***

 

Letho went to Nenneke’s lab after dinner to process the ingredients, while Roy told him he’d go out for a bit.
The boy went to the forest nearby and spent two hours there.
In the end, he managed to kill two rabbits, netting him ten EXP.
After that, he went back to his room in the temple to meditate.