Chapter 24: The God-Favored One

After concluding the special prayer, Priestess Catherine prepared four slips of paper, briefly recording the details of the ceremony before signing her name and stamping them with the seal of the Temple of Luck in Golden Wheat Town. Guild Master Nova, standing beside her, also added her signature and seal.

This service counted as a completed commission for Li Rui and Paul’s group, entitling them to payment. Each slip could be exchanged for twenty gold coins at the Adventurers' Guild counter. Naturally, Kate the archer, who had not stepped onto the small dais, was excluded.

Once the slips were handed out, Priestess Catherine dismissed the rest of Paul’s team but requested that Li Rui and Guild Master Nova remain. Upon hearing this, Li Rui felt a mix of anxiety and overwhelming excitement.

*Could it be that the Goddess of Luck has truly turned her gaze upon me?*

For those who are wicked or harbor dark secrets, the gaze of deities from the lawful or neutral alignments is a curse. But for someone like him—neither evil nor particularly righteous, and possessing a "cheat" that hardly qualifies as a grand secret—earning the favor and blessing of a benevolent deity was an absolute windfall. It was the kind of opportunity one would seize as often as possible.

Since the priestess wanted to speak with him, and he happened to have matters to discuss with both her and the guild master, he stayed behind. Under their expectant gazes, Priestess Catherine led them into a small side chamber.

This room was clearly reserved for guests; aside from a tea table, sofas, a rug, and a few framed paintings, it was sparsely furnished.

*Tap, tap...*

Unlike the stone tiles of the temple, this room featured oak flooring. As they entered, the wood emitted a soft, warm resonance. Li Rui followed, but upon noticing the exquisite furniture and decor, he froze and glanced down at himself.

The clothes he had brought from Earth when he first arrived in the Endi world were long since ruined. Aside from his undergarments, he had discarded everything else in the forest, and his current attire had been scavenged from a corpse. His pant legs were caked in mud and torn, his boots were filthy and worn with dried clay stuck to the heels, his tunic was dusty and ragged, and the leather armor was stained with the black, crusty remnants of dried blood.

Looking at the pristine, thick, cream-colored rug beneath the expensive olive-green velvet sofa, he felt a jolt of alarm. He was far too dirty. He stood rooted to the spot, terrified of staining the carpet or ruining the delicate velvet cushions with his grime.

Priestess Catherine noticed his embarrassment. She approached with a kind smile and said, "Do not worry, let me assist you."

She began chanting an incantation, her fingertips glowing with a faint white light. It was a transmutation cantrip—*Prestidigitation*. As her glowing fingers brushed his shoulder, all the dust and mud on his body vanished as if it had been nothing more than a phantom.

"Come, please be seated. There are things I wish to discuss with you."

Li Rui took two steps forward as invited, pleased to see no muddy footprints left behind. Though he had witnessed true magic, he felt no sense of wondrous joy. As the saying goes, "He who takes gifts is beholden to the giver." After receiving the priestess's help, he suddenly felt quite awkward about what he had intended to ask them.

*Stay calm, stay collected... It is just a simple cantrip that any spellcaster can perform countless times a day. Do not let it affect your judgment,* he reminded himself.

Stepping onto the rug, which felt as soft as a cloud, and sinking into the warm, plush embrace of the sofa, he steadied his thoughts.

"Priestess Catherine, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

The priestess picked up the tea set and poured a cup of fragrant, sweet black tea for everyone before speaking slowly. "Mr. Li Rui, how much do you know about the Goddess of Luck?"

Li Rui took a sip. The sweet, fragrant liquid was the first of its kind he had tasted since arriving in this world, and it was refreshing. Paul and his team had been dismissed after their business was concluded, denied the luxury of sitting for tea. It was clear that this was a private conversation.

Li Rui cleared his throat, recalled the information on the Goddess of Luck from "Jay’s Memory of Common Language," added a touch of his own interpretation, and proceeded to heap praise upon the Goddess.

A satisfied smile spread across Priestess Catherine’s face. "Since you know so much and hold the Goddess in such high regard, why not consider embracing her faith?"

As she spoke, she produced a coin from her robes. Just like the giant, rotating gold coin atop the Temple of Luck, this one was blank on one side and bore the smiling face of the Goddess on the other.

"Mr. Li Rui, perhaps you are unaware, but moments ago, the Goddess cast her gaze upon you and bestowed her blessing. You are now a Favored One."

Li Rui’s eyes lit up. "A Favored One?!"

This was completely unexpected. He had thought that by projecting his memories into the divine realm, he might at best pique the Goddess’s interest or perhaps receive a minor blessing for a bit of luck. He never imagined she would grant him the status of a "Favored One."

What was a Favored One? It was a walking signboard—a living testament to the virtues the deity wished to promote. While "Jay’s memory" held little information on the subject, even a backwater bumpkin like Jay knew that becoming a Favored One meant one would never have to worry about food or shelter again.

"Indeed, a Favored One," Priestess Catherine confirmed with a nod, offering him the coin bearing the holy symbol. "As a Favored One, it would be wonderful if you chose to pledge your faith to her. That is why I asked you to stay."

Li Rui took the coin but did not immediately agree to convert. His knowledge of the Goddess came entirely from Jay’s memories—a man who had lived his whole life as a local simpleton, knowing only the Goddess of Luck and barely remembering the names of any others. As an outsider, Li Rui found it difficult to accept the idea of a deity interfering in his life or the prospect of serving in a divine realm after death, as the locals did.