The dim kerosene lamp could not dispel the surrounding darkness, only casting a small circle of light that just managed to illuminate the expressionless face of Norton, who was dressed in a pristine white priest's robe.
The creaking of a wooden table came from inside the wooden house behind him, along with a voice filled with fear and a hint of pain.
"Father Mia... can the blessing truly be completed?"
"Of course, my son, this is a blessing exclusive to a priest, noble and sacred. All right, no more talking." Father Mia's voice sounded ancient and excited.
In reality, he was indeed quite old, already sixty-nine, which was considered elderly in this era.
Norton found the sounds from inside the wooden house unbearable, his face contorted with extreme disgust, feeling that even the slightest noise was torture to him.
Oh my, I didn't expect that even after transmigrating, this classic Central European show could still appear before my eyes.
The wick of the kerosene lamp flickered continuously, and finally, the sound of the table slowly ceased.
Not long after, an old man dressed in a black and white priest's robe walked out of the wooden house with a satisfied expression.
The priest's aquiline nose twitched slightly, and a hint of fatigue finally appeared on his wrinkled face.
"Very good, son, remember to come back here next week for the blessing. With my blessing, you will be able to receive a black bread every day. And now, I think you can leave."
"Ye-yes!" The voice from inside the room was fearful and trembling, and then, under Norton's gaze, a small figure stumbled out.
Under Father Mia's benevolent gaze, he tremblingly supported himself against the wall and walked towards the dimly lit path where candles flickered.
The boy's back disappeared around the corner of the wall, and the benevolence on Father Mia's face vanished with him.
He looked at the young Missionary, who had returned to his expressionless state, and finally nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good, Norton, with your presence, our blessing process will not be disturbed."
"It is my duty, Father!" Norton bowed slightly, responding respectfully, with no trace of his earlier expression of disdain and disgust.
Looking at Norton's handsome face, seeing his respectful expression, Father Mia sighed with a hint of regret.
Alas, it was all his fault for coming late; if he had come a few years earlier, Norton wouldn't be so unfamiliar with him.
The young Norton was unaware of the miserable state he was in within Father Mia's mind; he merely lowered his head slightly, his face filled with genuine reverence.
After taking another look at Norton's handsome face, Father Mia reluctantly dispelled his thoughts.
"I remember you are twenty years old, aren't you?"
"Yes, Father!"
Father Mia pondered for a moment, and after some thought, he spoke: "You were raised by the church, and from a young age, you underwent the baptism of doctrine. I believe your faith is already firm enough! So, you should also participate in next week's Mass. Prepare well these next few days; tomorrow, I will have someone explain the Precautions of the Mass to you."
"Yes, Father!" Norton nodded respectfully, a hint of surprise appearing in his heart.
Not surprise for the Mass, but because he could finally go out.
He was transmigrated in the womb; he couldn't see his surroundings at birth, and by the time he could, he was already in this church.
He was raised by the previous priest, and after the previous priest died of old age, Father Mia was sent by the Papal State to take over the priest's position.
He couldn't be sure where he had transmigrated to, only that the era should be similar to the Papal State period in medieval Central Europe. However, judging from various church systems, this was clearly not Central Europe, at least not the Central Europe of Earth as he remembered it.
For example, the church's Missionaries were not recruited externally; all Missionaries were orphans adopted by the church. When they reached twenty years old, they would begin to preside over Mass, transitioning from a priest to a Missionary.
Before they began to preside over Mass, these priests were not allowed to step out of the church, not allowed to stand in high places, not allowed to look into the distance, not allowed to converse with outsiders, and usually could only wear hooded priest robes, walking with their heads bowed.
The surroundings of the church were also guarded by various church soldiers in white armor, who had surrounded all areas around the church, leaving no possibility of escape. Any priest who violated the precepts and was caught would be directly beheaded.
Over these twenty years, Norton had seen no fewer than ten priests beheaded, and because they all lived within the church, he knew all of them. This also made him dare not step out of the church, only waiting until he turned twenty to become a Missionary, then he could freely enter and exit the church.
So, after twenty years of transmigration, he had never once left, not even reaching the church door, and naturally could not determine what kind of place he had transmigrated to.
"All right, you may go back." Looking at Norton again, Father Mia waved his hand, dismissing Norton.
"Yes, Father!" Norton bowed again, then turned and walked into the dim alleyway.
The interior of the church was very large; from the priest to the lowest-ranking resident believers, there were over a thousand people in total. Although he couldn't be sure what kind of world this was, he could roughly infer from the state of the church that this place was most likely in a Papal State era.
Norton returned to his room.
Adopted orphans were only believers before the age of ten and could not be called priests. Believers lived ten to a room, similar to the large communal bunks he had in school in his previous life. After turning ten and undergoing the priest's baptism, they could become priests. From this level, they could have their own small room.
A priest's room was not large; it was a standardized room, less than six square meters in total. Besides a bed, at most, it could only fit a table and a cabinet for storage.
Norton's room was even more rudimentary; there wasn't even a cabinet, only a small bed covered with straw and old clothes, and a small table with a kerosene lamp and two religious texts on it.
Other than that, perhaps there were only some leaves stuck together on the floor.
They still exuded a faint hormonal fragrance.