Blessing.
　It is the blessing of the gods that is considered essential in this world.

　The "guidance" of being given a spirit stone is considered to be very gratifying, not simply because of the "spirit stone yummies!" but also because of the fact that the gods we believe in can point us to the path we should take.
　It's also said that those who know each other through guidance can become lifelong friends, and I guess it's God's intention ...... to be close to those who know each other through it, because it's the right path that God points them to.
　The fact is, I've met a lot of people through His guidance, too. The whole lifelong friendship thing is frowned upon, frankly, but if you can get to know them well, it's better than that, right? Yup.

　And one more thing that's important.
Vocation.
　A person's vocation is what they are best suited for. Well, this means the same thing as a vocation in Japan, but nosey God designates it for us.

　A vocation is given to you when you receive a blessing.
　Normally in this world, you receive a baptismal blessing on your 10th birthday, but if you're 10 years old, you're in elementary school in Japan. It's an age when people don't even think of a job.
　But in this world, it is customary to be baptized at the age of 10, and of course there is a good reason for this.
　When one is given a vocation, one's understanding or talent for the job blossoms and one becomes five times more efficient than normal.
　This is confirmed by my swordsman's vocation, and I certainly feel that I am learning to handle the sword, fight with the sword, and carry myself at an accelerated rate.
　However, there is no way to tell if this is because he was given a vocation, or if he is just displaying such a talent to begin with.
　Anyway, if you have a vocation, you will be promised five times more efficiency, your profession will be decided, and the Great Spirit Master will decide the direction of your life. Then it's better to be early, right? Probably, that's why we receive a blessing at the age of 10.
　I don't know if it's a good idea that the path you should take is decided at age 10, but there's no need to worry about it, and depending on how you look at it, you may have the "insurance" of a vocation that allows you to play other games .......
　It seems to me that if you have the motivation, you can do pretty much anything you want without your vocation.
　It's only "5 times" more efficient. What makes it 5 times more efficient is a mystery to me: .......

　Now, they say that 'no profession is noble or lowly', but unfortunately, that's not true in this world.
　There are good jobs and bad jobs.
　Just as I have a vocation to be an impostor, a less-than-ideal vocation may appear, or simply a hierarchical vocation may appear as a vocation.
　A swordsman, spearman or archer who is skilled in handling weapons....
　A warrior, a warrior who specializes in battle itself, and a hunter who uses a bow to hunt. There is a knight who fights with faith and justice.
　I've heard that there are rare jobs such as the 'Holy Knight (Paladin)' and 'General'.
　My "unique job" is an exception, but it's obvious that it's a basic job or a high level job, just like in games.

　Well, from the Japanese point of view, it's cruel that such a thing is decided at the age of 10, but in other countries, the mainstream way of thinking is like "There's a job for that child... ...... .



　--Anyway, that's the blessing.

　The next day after Orica's birthday party, we visited the temple and bumped into the family of a boy who was to be blessed on that very day.

　He was a cute little boy with chestnut-colored hair.
　He was being accompanied by his parents, dressed in his brand new, pure white baptismal clothes, and was being briefed on the blessing. He may be nervous, after all, but he has a serious expression on his face, with his mouth tied in a straight line.
　Naturally, it is our elven priestess who explains the blessing.

　Oh ...... it's cute, Priestess-chan ....... My elves are cute, too, but they're still a bit of a habit.
　Black and white ones are good, but sometimes yellow ones like Takuan are good too, which is a relief or maybe ......, or maybe a chopstick rest or maybe ......, or maybe pickled vegetables for the Japanese. .......

　The priestess has a staff that is as tall as her golden height and is dressed in the same colorful festival clothes (kazura) as usual. On her head, she has a cute little horned priest hat that looks like a buffalo man.
　What is that moe hat? It's the first time I've seen it, but it's like a formal festival hat.
　I had the blessing ceremony done with no appointment when I was there, but in fact, it might be a proper appointment, or I should ask for it beforehand, and in such a case, I might dress in full formal dress.
　The hairstyle is also different from the usual, the back of the hair is up, only the momiage part is hanging down and the front hair is parted to the side. She looks more enthusiastic than usual in her makeup.

　It's cute. It's godd*mn cute. It is simply cute. It is cute without any eccentricities. The pointy ears are cute. Their flaxen hair is cute. Tiny and cute. Loose clothes are cute. Arrogant and cute. Cute and clear-headed. Cute hat. Emerald green eyes are cute. Her low nose is cute. Her cherry-like lips are cute. Her small face is cute. Her narrow neck is cute. Her humble bulge is cute. Cute wooden shoes. Cute smile. Cute voice. Elf is cute. Super cute.

...... I feel like I'm being compared to something very rude.
The Lord likes the priests, doesn't he? The Lord likes the priests, don't you? But even the Lord is reckless in his aim. We should compromise on something close at hand.
...... It's so cute that he's casually appealing to seniors!

　Deanna, Marina and Elepippi are saying something, but it doesn't matter!　I set up my digital camera with a telephoto lens attached and took all the pictures I could of the priestess.
　I've tried to photograph her many times before, but I've never had the chance. Today, there are a lot of people (I don't know if they're relatives or onlookers) because we're doing a boy's blessing (I don't know if it's a relative or a spectator), and it's easy to do it in a sloppy way.
　Along the way, of course, the priestess noticed me, but I fooled her well. There's no such thing as a camera in this world, so there's no such thing as an ONAWA for sneak peeks.


'Phew ....... I got a good picture ....... That boy is pretty cute too, and I'm glad of the results. It's not just gravure, I think we got something that expresses the solemnity of the ceremony.

　I took nearly a hundred shots, and I was satisfied with the results.
　My boys must be cute elves too, but an elf-chan who is a priest in his day job is still something else.
　The boy's parents looked at me suspiciously as I took a picture of them with my suspicious movements, but all was forgiven with a special excuse: "I'm testing my magic tools for a bit at the behest of the elf-sama, seriously.
　Well, if it was anything, I could print a few copies of it as a memento and give it to them as a gift.
　Huh?　I think this is good for business, don't you?　...... No, it's indeed dangerous to be in a business that depends on tools? There would be a limit to the excuse of being an elven village product.

　The blessing of the boy didn't quite start.
　Strictly speaking, it started as soon as we arrived (me, Deanna, Marina, Elepippi, and Rebecca-san are accompanying us today), but there seems to be an arrangement for the ceremony, so the important part of giving the Great Spirit's blessing was hard to come by.

The blessing is quite long. My time was pretty special, it only took about a minute.
That's right. It is a sacred ceremony to become an apostle of the Great Spirit on the occasion of the 10th birthday. Most of the time there is a banquet after the ceremony. Jiro's was a special case, and more importantly, there were no reservations.
I see.
Oh, but he's about to give his blessing.

　If you look at it, the priestess is about to hold the boy's hand at the altar and give him a blessing (or more accurately, the Great Spirit would give it).

　Poof, after a moment of brilliance, the priestess announced the success of the ceremony.
　The parents hug the boy for congratulations. The boy is relieved and smiles, too.
　His mother anxiously asks, "What was your vocation? I ask.

　We watched the scene with a honk.
　It's not an exaggeration to say that this is the first rite of passage for a boy to become an adult. He will go on with the rest of his life in pursuit of the vocation he has chosen here.

''I can't wait to see what his vocation will be, despite being a stranger,''
You will be blessed with a good calling. He's a good boy, a good boy.
Well. The parents' outfits indicate that they are heirs to a barber's fortune. So, if we get a barber, hooray for a barber. ......
Can you tell by what you're wearing: ......?
　Maybe it's because it's an important ceremony, or maybe she's wearing beautiful clothes that go out of style, or maybe there's a barber element to it.
'You're dressed in red, blue and white.
　A barbershop sign.

　Elepippi doesn't say anything, but looks at the boy with a divine expression on his face.
　It's his usual sleepy expression, but it's not a sign that he's celebrating a blessing (・・・・・) like everyone else.

'What's the matter?'　Elepippi wasn't too interested in that?
...... It's not like that. Young master. It's just .......
"Just?
...... I was, you know, a thing. I'm sure the seniors and captains were the same, but ......
What are they?

　Before I could think of what the thing was, the boy opened the vocation board and announced his own vocation.

'Hmmm, vocation, vocation, vocation!　Oh, there it is!　It's out, mommy and daddy!　My vocation is ......, wow!　Knight!　I am a knight in shining armor!　Yes!

'Oh, my God, really!　I can't believe there's a knight out of our house: ......!
Congratulations!　We're so proud of you!
'Thank you!　Dad! Mom!　I'm going to be a great knight!

　Oh. It seems that the boy's vocation was 'knight'.
　The boy's parents, the boy, and those who seem to be his relatives are all excited. They shake the boy's body and give him congratulations.
　The boy, too, flushes and gives a radiant smile in return.

　The solemn atmosphere of earlier was replaced by a jumbled clamor.
　A man in attendance is giving some instructions to another man. Another man is also giving some instructions to a boy who seems to be his disciple. The women were gathering and started to discuss something.
　Hmmmm ....... I thought I understood that a blessing is a big event, but it's something amazing.
　Is it like this for everyone? Or was the boy special ......?　

That was something amazing. A blessing. Well, whatever it is, celebratory events are very exciting.
It is the will of the Great Spirit.
............... Yes, there is. Really.
............

　Unlike Deanna, who was her usual self, Marina, Elepippi and Rebecca were staring at the boy with indescribable expressions.

'Do ...... what's up?'

　Especially Elepippi's face was pale and she didn't even flinch.
　I asked her if she was okay, but she seemed to be out of her mind.

...... Marina is fine. It's a good thing that you've got a good idea of what you're looking for.
'I was in a slightly different situation because my dad was that, well, ....... Besides, I was a double. I'm not sure if it's hard to look at ...... but it's a little hard to look at ...... any more.
............

　Oh, well, all three of them are women and 'knights': .......
　Elepippi is silent the whole time. I was trying to touch her shoulder to see if she was really okay--

　Eleeleeleele.

　Elepippi suddenly threw up.


　Rebecca and Marina let Erepipi out, caring for him.
　The people who had come to the temple helped them clean up.
　As they cleaned up, they asked, "What's wrong with her?　'Did you eat something bad in the morning?' he asked, to which I replied, 'Probably so.

　When we finished cleaning up and walked out of the temple, Elepippi was still shaking with a bloodied face. Rebecca and Marina were sitting on either side of him, huddled together to hug his shoulders.
　Elepipi was giggling and tearing up, as if she had become a little child.

　We stayed there for a long time until Elepippi calmed down.


I'm sorry for the ...... annoyance I put on you, young man. I thought I had already gotten over it, but ...... I guess I've been hurting a lot more than I thought I would.
...... It's fine.

　Afterwards, Elepippi spoke in a dull voice.

　Elepippi had grown up with his parents' expectations of him, and he wanted to live up to them. And on her 10th birthday, she was given a blessing.

　However, her calling was to be a 'knight'.

　Her parents show blatant disappointment.
　The relatives who sighed grandly and left their seats.
　As much as they expected her to be, the disappointment must have been great. This should have been a day to celebrate, literally.

　And most unfortunate of all, Elepippi didn't know that women were not allowed to be knights.

　So, like the boy, she was innocently happy.
　It was a dream to be a knight .......
　But that hope for Elepippi would be blown away in an instant.

　He saw the boy and his parents rejoicing in their innocence, and he had a flashback to that time.
　It's so different from his own time. Too different. And.
　It's a disgusting story just to imagine it. Maybe it's not too much of a stretch to throw up.


　A boy whose vocation as a knight comes out is a Knight Candidate (Esquire), and he enters the Knight Training Institute. After a few years of training there, he would become an official Knight of the Imperial Order.
　Of course, even as a knight-candidate, the wages are paid by the state, so knighting is a popular flowery occupation, although it's a job with good honors and rewards, and one that is rarely achieved.
　However, for girls, it's almost always the same as it was for erepipi.

The "man" and the "woman" in "Knight".
　This was the reality of this world.




　◇◆◆◆◇




...... So I'd like to have one of these posters up in the temple. And if you can, if you get another knight's daughter, I'd appreciate it if you could introduce me to it.
Wow, it's a beautiful painting. Did you draw it, Giraud?　For my part, I've been heartbroken about the female knight issue. I'll be happy to help.
Thank you. Thank you, Priestess .......

　I asked the priestess to let me put up the poster as planned.
　In addition, I also made a small but significant donation.
　Normally this is something you do when you receive a blessing, but I was broke when I did it, so I didn't pay it, and they made it a promotion payment.
　Furthermore, I was going to ask you not to spread rumors about the existence of noble elves after the incident with Deanna, but I decided not to do that because if I was going to be in the knightly corps anyway, I had to sell my name to a certain extent.

　For the poster, I printed out an illustration of a cool female knight that I downloaded from a Japanese computer graphics site and had Orica write the text. I think the text may have been a bit cheesy, but no problem. There were many like this in black companies.
　No one would apply for the job after seeing this, but I hope the number of children who have a trauma like Elepippi will decrease as much as possible.


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　We're looking for a crew!

　The Knights of Artemis, a non-profit organization based in Elishe, is looking for female knights to join its ranks.
　Would you like to become a knight defending an elven princess?
　You've been given the vocation of "knight" but you haven't had a chance to make use of it: ......, so you lament!　All ages and races are welcome, so feel free to contact us!
　Details of activities will be given at the time of the interview.

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