Chapter 61: Chapter 60 – Providing

After leaving Hamet Garden behind, Scarlett and Allyssa began making their way to where the Providing Ceremony was held. It didn't take them much longer than ten minutes.

The space itself that it was being held in was a massive square, surrounded on all sides by lines of yellow-leafed trees that separated the square from the nearby buildings. Several roads ushered people into the square from all directions, with large crowds already waiting in the mostly-full space. If Scarlett were to guess, there were probably at least a couple of thousand people here.

The street they had been following from Hamet Garden led into an area of the square that was cordoned off with wooden fences, and mostly only appeared to house those that were more well-off. A decent amount of people were gathered in this section as well, but it was nowhere near the rest of the square. It was also clear that not all of the nobles who had attended the Elysian Proclamation attended this event.

A large raised platform of smooth white stone stood at the center of the square. On the platform stood several figures, all wearing the elaborate gold-emblazoned red robes distinctive to the full priests of the Followers of Ittar. None of their faces were visible, covered by those strange golden masks that were perhaps best described as an odd octagon of two overlayed squares. Scarlett was pretty sure it was supposed to represent the sun, though that wasn't the first thing she thought of when seeing them.

Situating themselves in an empty spot close to the edge of their section, Scarlett and Allyssa waited for things to begin. After some time, one of the priests stepped over to the center of the stage. Unlike the other priests, this priest's robes also had two silver vestments hanging over his shoulders. As they raised their arms, a lot of the noise and chatter around the square quieted down.

"Revered citizens of our glorious empire," their voice rang out, somehow resounding out across the whole square. It was a man's deep voice, and Scarlett could almost feel the reverberations down to her bone. "The end of this auspicious festival is nearing, but there still remains time."

The priest gave a brief pause, as if waiting for his words to sink in and everybody in the crowd settle.

"Many of you have endured much through the year. This period is not simply a commemoration of the resplendent glory of Ittar's light that has been generously bestowed upon us all, but also to celebrate the labor performed by his beloved children. The blood and sweat that has been shed, whose fruits will soon be reaped, providing for us, as Ittar bears his rest."

The priest continuously rotated as he talked, peering out across all of the people gathered around the center platform.

"We, the Followers of Ittar and conduits to his will, shall as ever provide our aid during these times. To those destitute and starving, as well as to those in need of Ittar's grace. This is part of our sacred duty, as it has been since the birth of this brilliant empire. A duty that we have always allowed those most devoted of Ittar's children to partake in."

He gestured to one of the other priests, who pulled out a large scroll from their robe, before walking forward and handing it to him. It seemed the priest who was speaking was the head priest for this event.

"There are yet many efforts shepherded by us followers of the resplendent sun. The renewal of the damage wrought by the blaze-damned dragon of devastation in the Blasted Lands continues to this day, as does the relief given to those affected by the drought in the southeastern regions of the empire the previous year. Blessedly, as in preceding years, there are many in this empire who care for their fellow man and woman, who willingly choose to aid in providing for those who themselves cannot. As is praxis, all of you shall bear witness to these individuals' selfless displays."

The head priest opened the long scroll, which unfurled far enough to reach the white stone of the platform he was on. "First amongst those of the providers, carrying on the hallowed charge of their great forefathers and Ittar's chosen lights, is the offering bestowed upon us by the crown!" he announced with vigor. "All defer yourselves before Her Imperial Highness Hilde Priscilla Verddun Teronia, the second star of the Empire!"

Scarlett saw how the crowds of people gathered in the square began lowering their heads following the man's words, and she did the same. Normally, this probably wouldn't have been considered enough when it came to showing deference to the imperial family, but considering how the people outside of the VIP section were packed tight like sardines, they probably made exceptions for this event.

A few seconds later, as people started raising their heads again, Scarlett noticed a short figure in a white dress nearing the platform with the priests on it. The second princess was carrying a small gold chest in her hands, climbing up a set of stairs until she stopped before the head priest.

It was impossible to make out any details at the distance they were at, so Scarlett couldn't tell much of what the princess was doing, but she did feel that it was a bit harsh forcing such a young girl up on a stage in front of these many people.

Of course, being a princess, she might actually be used to it. Scarlett had only met her briefly, so she couldn't really say too much on the matter. And she wasn't one to often care too much about people unrelated to her.

...Still, this one did irk her somewhat.

The other priest, the one who had given the head priest the scroll, stepped closer to the princess to receive the golden chest in her hands.

"From the chosen light of the Empire, a gift of twenty million solars!" the head priest announced. "As is due, Her Highness' name will be recorded in the Hall of Providers along with her ancestors."

Scarlett almost did a double-take at the amount of money donated. She had not been expecting sums like that to be on the table. That wasn't something she could beat, no matter what she did. Evelyne had warned her some of the donations were pretty massive, though. And maybe that's what one would expect from the imperial family, considering they were one of the most powerful families in this world. Twenty million probably wasn't too much, by their standards.

The second princess soon left the platform, returning to a section of the cordoned-off area where there were two decorated chairs set up, and a number of Solar Knights standing guard. Regina was there too, as well as the two members of the Royal Guard that had been with the two princesses earlier in the garden.

"Continuing down the list of providers, in the order in which they were entered, next is Countess Morley of Chillburg!" the head priest's voice sounded out once more.

This time a woman looking to be somewhere in her thirties climbed onto the platform, holding an odd-shaped helmet with clear green patterns across the face. It looked somewhat like a beetle head. The same priest as earlier stepped forward to receive it.

"She presents an old heirloom hailing from Zovivios as her offering," the head priest declared and looked toward his fellow priest. The other priest appeared to study the helmet for a few seconds, before turning to the head priest and saying something that couldn't be heard.

"An artifact, it appears!" the priests soon announced. "And estimated at a worth of no less than two hundred thousand solars! A worthy offering for a citizen of the empire!"

Scarlett arched a brow. Two hundred thousand, just for one artifact? That had to be a pretty powerful item. Maybe even considered legendary-tier in the game. She wasn't sure if [Moonshadow's Crown (Epic)] and [Pastoral Glade's Bulwark (Epic)] would have been able to beat that, if she had decided to go with those as her offerings. And it still didn't seem to be enough to be considered for the Hall of Providers.

...It had been a good choice on her part to not aim for the monetary value today.

The head priest continued down the list of 'providers', most of which appeared to be either nobles or rich merchants of some kind. A lot of them just offered money straight out, mostly ranging anywhere from fifty thousand solars to one million. There were still a decent amount of magical items and artifacts though, all of which seemed to be appraised on the spot by the second priest who had to be some kind of appraisal expert.

Scarlett couldn't quite figure out how they determined what was considered worthy enough to let you be 'recorded in the Hall of Providers', though. One count had given nine hundred thousand solars, which was the lowest amount she observed being considered enough when it came to pure cash. But there was one merchant that had gifted an assortment of magical items appraised at six hundred thousand, which was apparently enough for some reason.

She had originally assumed things like this would have been decided after everyone had given their things, but clearly, that assumption had been wrong.

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"Are you providing something too?" Allyssa asked her at one point after a good amount of people had already performed their donations.

"Yes, I am," Scarlett said as she observed the central scene. "Although I believe there is still some time until then. Our admission was rather belated."

Because she had wanted to make sure Fynn was successful with his task before they did anything, they hadn't sent in the official entry for their donation until early this morning. Evelyne had told her it was fine though. The Followers accepted new entries almost all the way up until the ceremony itself. She had also double-checked with Evelyne that what she was donating was okay. The younger woman had appeared pretty surprised by what it was, but she had said that there shouldn't be a problem with it.

"Is what you're offering as insanely expensive as some of these other things?"

Scarlett glanced at Allyssa with a small smile. "It depends on who you ask. There are some who would offer no more than one thousand for it."

There were always vendors in games that wouldn't pay you any more than scraps for even the most valuable items, just because they were locked into some quest or other.

Allyssa gave her a curious look. "To me that still sounds pretty expensive, but that's not really a lot to these people, is it?"

Scarlett shook her head. "It is not."

"Sooo, I'm guessing its worth more to them?"

"I would hope so. But we will have to wait and see."

Allyssa's eyes narrowed at Scarlett. But soon she shrugged her shoulders, pushing a lock of blonde hair away from her face as she turned towards the platform in the middle. "Kat said you were like that sometimes, as well," she mumbled.

Once more Scarlett found herself wondering exactly what Kat had told these kids about her, but she decided to ignore it as she focused her attention on the current events.

People continued to climb onto the platform and give their offerings for quite some time—there had probably been about two hundred or so of them by now, even though a lot had given relatively small amounts—until eventually, Scarlett's name was called out. She hadn't been quite certain when her turn was, so she had already moved closer to the center platform to be ready.

Turning to Allyssa, she signaled for the pouch of holding that the young Shielder had, taking out the item she needed from inside. It was a chalice made out of pure gold that glittered in the sunlight. Along its rim were several bright red gems that almost seemed to shine on their own. As the light reflected on the side of the chalice, strange symbols also appeared at its base.

Eyeing it for just a moment, Scarlett then started walking towards the center with quick—but not hurried—steps. As she reached the platform and started climbing the stairs, the head priest continued speaking.

"She presents an old item hailing from the early days of the empire, possibly bearing strong ties to prominent members of the clergy," he declared, turning to look at the priest in charge of appraisal as they were about to receive the chalice from Scarlett. That other priest stopped, however, just as they were about to grab it.

Scarlett watched as the masked person stood still for several seconds, finally reaching out toward the chalice with almost shaking hands. She let it go without issue, and the priest gently held the artifact up as they turned it around, studying the symbols on it.

The head priest seemed a bit confused as to why things were taking longer than usual, but stayed quiet. Scarlett saw some of the heads in the crowds moving around with slight confusion as well.

That was also the point that Scarlett realized she was standing in front of thousands of people right now, but she didn't allow that thought to go too far. It was true that she had never been close to being in front of this many people before—even if you counted the Elysian Proclamation—but it didn't feel uncomfortable at all to her. Rather, she would almost say she felt a sense of enjoyment from it.

Though that was most likely a remnant from the original.

Eventually, after almost thirty seconds of relative quiet had passed, the priest in front of Scarlett lowered the chalice and turned towards the head priest, taking a step closer to him. She heard the priest speak in a vaguely feminine voice, but it was too soft for her to make out any details. The reaction from the head priest, however, was quite unmistakable. His head spun to stare at the chalice, and it looked like he was almost about to reach out to it to check it himself. He stopped himself, though, and after a moment he turned his attention back to the surrounding crowds.

"I-It appears as if the importance of this chalice has been strongly understated. Not only does it hail from the early days of the empire and bear strong ties to Ittar's followers, but it also bears strong ties to Ittar himself! For this is none other than one of the ten Chalices of Canon!"

Scarlett heard audible gasps from the other priests on the platform, as well as from a few of the people nearest the platform.

"An artifact such as this..." the head priest continued, looking towards Scarlett. "Its value is simply not something we can measure in solars. This is a sacred relic of god, belonging to one of the original deacons of the Renascence!"

Scarlett held back a smile. She had expected them to like it. The original quest to find this item was something you got from one of the deacons, and they'd had a similar reaction when first seeing it. Although at this point in time they wouldn't be aware of its location, so there shouldn't be a problem with her finding it by herself.

"The Baroness' offering is of a kind we have not seen for a long time," the head priest proclaimed. "Long have the Followers of Ittar been in search of the remainder of these sacred relics, and it is an unmistakable illustration of her dedication and fervor that she has found and returned this Chalice of Canon to us! Her laudable actions will have her name recorded in the Hall of Providence as an exemplary icon of devotion to the empire from one of its citizens!"

There was some cheering from the crowds as the priest holding the chalice carefully carried it back to one of the other priests who placed it inside a large coffer. Scarlett began leaving the platform, walking down the steps of the stairs with a calm gait as everyone's eyes were on her.

She had to admit, seeing the looks on the faces of some of the nobles nearby as they now gaped at her was quite entertaining. Especially as she had seen some of them scoffing at her as she walked up.

Allyssa was staring at her with wide eyes as she neared her, and Scarlett stopped beside the woman with a small smirk. "It appears as if you were correct. It was indeed worth more to them."

Allyssa just let out a laugh at that.

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