The Acolyte's Prayers Are Answered!

This test was said to only take a week.

Only a week?

That's cold comfort to someone who wasn’t meant to be here.

Hilda twirled her index fingers through her pink hair whilst she stared out of the window, mouthing out her past conversation to herself.

“If you can handle it, if, I promise that I’ll pay you back for it. This is a big favor, I know!”

Dredging up the memory made the pink-haired acolyte sigh.

"How would you even pay me back...?"

This was a fantastical world of magic, so many forms of payment were possible.

While there may be a legend of the demon king returning to terrorize humanity, that no bearing on Hilda here.

Indeed, the only “quest” of any sort Hilda had was substitute for someone else for a meeting.

That part seemed fair.

The fact the girl who asked her had an orange-cream hair color that didn’t remotely carry the same shade as Hilda’s vibrant pink should've tipped her off.

In fact, it did. On the spot Hilda rejected her in a huff.

“As if I’d say yes!”

But that girl knew of Hilda’s weakness.

Persistent pressure, coming from pleading lasting an entire day, was enough to make her give in.

‘A-alright… don’t keep making that face at me. I’ll only do it once.’

Recalling the memory alone was enough to make her start grumbling to herslef.

How could she be so easily tricked?

She wasn’t some little girl!

Why, she was closer to twenty than ten!

“Hi, my name’s Tiva, you invited me?”

That’s what she said as she stepped in to the cafe, trying to ingratiate herself only to find a group of people clad in priestly robes with a raindrop symbol adorning them.

Then her voice dropped in pitch, mimicking the boor that replied once she stepped into that cafe.

“Yes. You arrived. You have the makings of a great healer. We need your help now.”

“Ehwha? I-I’m only a simple acolyte! You can’t drag me off to anywhere you feel like!”

“Official Church business.”

“T-that… you have approval, but no name.”

“We truly need your help.”

“Can’t I have some of th-the snacks here before I go?”

“That will be fine, ordinary acolyte. You are to head to the Old Hedge.”

She stamped her foot in frustration.

“No, that’s not how they said it… tch… They were so imposing.”

If anything, the suspicious glances they gave an acolyte they were asking for help made her suspect it was some demonic cult.

So what if she was an obvious substitute!?

That should’ve meant being rebuked, not recruited!

For Hilda, thinking they'd not only believe her name was Tiva but that she was eager and willing to guard some gryphon statue out in the middle of nowhere at a roadside shrine felt too hard to believe.

Maybe that girl's sense of trickery rubbed off on her, or maybe there was no justice in this world and all liars would get away with it.

A long sigh escaped her lips.

She took a long sip of the elderberry tea, trying to let its aroma banish her pessimistic thoughts away.

For a wayside shrine way out of the way, well off the beaten path, for what few amenities there were to enjoy there were a lot more than what might be expected; even the view outside consisted of a beautiful blue sky, the bumpy signs of a road, and what looked like rows of bushes and not-quite trees.

It was already mid-autumn so there weren't many berries left, but the rows of orange leaves could paint their own picture.

Hilda tried to think about it from the perspective of those that brought her here, like the hunchback with an oval mask covering his fast that claimed to be a priest. He certainly knew all the verses.

If she were a proper priestess who could honor the Goddess, this was a vast bounty.

It only caused her to sigh again.

“At least there’s nobody around.”

Solitude could become a gift or punishment depending on the person and reason. If someone needed to cool off, being alone could become a boon. If someone needed to be cheered up, solitude could make it hard.

At this point Hilda had already experienced isolation as a part of her training, it wasn’t like it was a bother.

That was also in a place that didn’t have such nice carpeting like this shrine offered, allowing her to stretch.

All that truly annoyed her was the statue of the gryphon with a large talisman in the form of a gem with ornate carvings set in its forehead, situated right in the middle of the room.

With the shrine’s overall size being narrow, it wasn’t hard to accidentally bump into the statue. If it was disturbed, the talisman could slide off.

Hilda found out the hard way when she tripped earlier.

She started talking to herself again, putting a hand over her mouth to better mimic the man in the mask.

“Child, go and protect the seal of the gryphon. You only need to protect it for a week. Then we will return to judge you.”

It wasn't like gryphons, known to be wondrous creatures, didn't have their place in the Church of the Goddess.

But Hilda didn't get why this gryphon had to look so creepy and unbefitting of its surroundings.

The etching on its wings was jagged and evil-looking, its claws and talons were digging right into its perch, and its beak seemed like it could prick blood.

If anything, the only thing that didn't seem completely out of place was that gaudy-looking talisman.

Thanks to that, this shrine was always bereft of monsters, as it projected a barrier around its perimeter.

It also helped protect the simple furnace from the elements, which didn't otherwise have any blessings or magic empowering it.

Such a powerful protective charm had to be the work of angels.

Hilda knew it couldn't be anything else.

Yet, right as her reminiscence was coming to an end, she noticed something in the shrine beginning to move. There wasn't exactly much to find in the room so it immediately stood out.

The talisman slid right off.

She stared.

It didn't stop.

Hilda's legs moved on their own as she dove on the spot to catch it, scrambling up to her feet to put it back on. She sighed in relief as the click told her all was well, the talisman was secured.

"S-Saafe..."

For a moment it looked like the gryphon stared right back at her. That shouldn’t scare Hilda as it was much too small. If it weren’t attached to the pedestal she could probably take it off herself. Some would say she didn’t need to feel truly concerned it would transform into a giant beast.

There was one problem with that; Hilda was but an acolyte, on top of that, someone with no power of her own to wield.

All in all, she was but a ordinary, if pretty, human girl, and not even someone with a truly high status.

She knew that if there was any powerful magic in here, she'd be as good as dead if it were unleashed!

Even the sense of unease running up her neck was enough to make the maiden falter. Hilda knelt, facing away from the gryphon, clasped her slender hands together, and prayed.

"Now I'm letting a statue scare me... This is the worst week... Oh Goddess, please help me..."

Constant training taught her that the Goddess would help her. No matter what bothered her, she'd help in any way she could.

Granted, there was also the Dark Goddess who handled all the misfortune in the world, but Hilda knew there was no chance of her interfering with her prayer.

No chance at all.

Suddenly she felt something fall on her head.

"Oww! W-What was-"

Hilda didn't even get a chance to finish grumbling before it slid off her head and onto her hand - the same talisman she'd put on the statue only two minutes ago.

The sound of stone cracking reached her ears next.

Her gaze snapped up.

A full sized gryphon, much larger and angrier than Hilda, its feathers black and tattered, its beak pitch as night, its eyes beady and full of hate, was staring back at her.

There was no way it should fit in the shrine. Blinking didn't make it disappear.

Only courage told her it was a mere illusion conjured by the statue... yet it didn't feel like it would stay an illusion for much longer.

Alarms flashed off in Hilda's mind.

Before she could scream she scrambled to her feet, passing straight through the illusory gryphon, and slapped the talisman back atop the statue's head.

All at once that nightmarish gryphon disappeared.

The statue's eyes grew dull.

Only then did she realize they had been glowing.

This temporary relief didn't stop Hilda from breaking out into a pant.

Now she knew something was wrong.

But there was nobody she could turn to for help.

If she left this alone, something terrible could happen.

It felt like this only happened because she prayed.

"Goddess, why!?"

In her despair the scent of elderberry tea wafted to Hilda’s nose.

“Eh… hn…?”

She closed her tear-stricken eyes and breathed deeply. Come to think of it, she hadn’t finished her cup before the talisman fell.

“Ahh…”

To her relief it was still warm.

For all the fear Hilda felt, this tea was too good to resist.

She made a mental note to bring some back if she survived.