Chapter 18: I can now bless people freely, right?

Once again, I moved some of the earthen walls and then built new ones so that the new area would be surrounded by walls as well.

I also built terrace houses and wells.

Given these, the new villagers should have decent shelters.

I still had points left, so I decided to build a church, as the guide recommended.

<<150 village points will be consumed to build a church. Proceed? *[Yes]||[No]>>

I selected Yes.

Afterwards, a small church appeared. Small compared to other churches, at least. In our tiny village, it was just about the right size.

“Luke-sama, is this…?”

“Yes, Millia, it’s a church.”

“…I wonder what it is; somehow, I have this feeling that I should go pray in this church.”

As though something was guiding her, Millia entered the church.

Of course, I followed behind her.

Within was as normal as a church could be.

Millia continued walking until she reached the altar further inside. She then knelt down and prayed.

With bated breath, I watched her for a while. Before long, Millia lifted her head up and opened her eyes.

“Luke-sama, I’ve received the Gift. [Oracle], I mean.”

“Wow, great!”

In my awe, I accidentally let out a shout, which echoed in this empty place of worship.

“Now that I have this, I can bless people freely, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think we should I go call in someone with a potential Gift right away. …unless of course, if you prefer to take a rest first?”

“No, that won’t be needed. On the contrary, I insist that we do this as soon as possible.”

I haven’t had a chance to use Villager Appraisal on the newest group, so I didn’t know yet how many of them had Gifts or the potential to have Gifts.

Out of all the villagers I had used it on though, there were 13 people that could receive Gifts. 5 of those 13 weren’t adults yet, so only the remaining 7 were the options right now. By the way, because the strain on the body was so heavy, it was generally advised to wait until reaching adulthood before trying to receive a Gift.

“What do you mean, village chief?”

The people I called seemed to be puzzled, so I began explaining.

“What? I, I can have a Gift?”

“But I thought only some nobles can receive a Gift? As far as I can tell, our people have been nothing but farmers for generations…”

I quickly denied their false information.

“Certainly, lineage plays a large role in the likelihood of receiving a Gift, as well what kind of Gift they would receive. However, social status doesn’t play a role at all in those things.”

“““………”””

They were not fully convinced.

Oh well, I guess it’ll be quicker to convince them with results than with words

And so, I asked Millia to begin giving each of them a blessing. She began with Balrath-san, Belrith-san’s brother.

“Balrath, you have received the Gift of [Sword Techniques].”

“What is this sensation? Something, I can feel something flowing into my body.”

=======================

Name: Balrath

Age: 32 years old

Village Bond Level: High

Suitable Occupation: Soldier

Gift: Sword Techniques

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Through Villager Appraisal, I confirmed that the parentheses around his Gift were removed.

It seemed like he could now use the Gift.

“Balrath-san, please have this sword.”

“Are you sure about this, village chief?”

“Absolutely. I’m sure you and your Gift will find more use for this than I ever would.”

Our village couldn’t make our own swords yet. So, other than the two swords that Selen wielded, the only sword we had was the one I brought.

“How… even just holding a sword properly was something I’ve never been able to do before, but now, it feels like it’s part of my hands.”

After he received the sword, Balrath-san wonderingly said so.

“Thank you, village chief. I might not be young anymore, but I promise you I’ll train as much as I can to become strong enough to protect the village.”

Balrath-san declared so.

After him, Millia also blessed the others. In addition to the first ones I discovered—[Comprehension of Concoctions], [Labyrinth Exploration], and [Literary Talent]—there were [Master Farmer], [Green Magic], and [Spear Techniques].

I had never before heard of [Master Farmer]. Much like its name implies, it was a Gift that pertained to agriculture. However, since it belonged to a 20-year-old man who was already working in the fields, there was nothing special that needed to be done.

[Green Magic] was a Gift that concerned wind and weather magic. If the user has become skilled enough, they would be able to summon rain freely. …that’ll help us farm, right?

[Spear Techniques] was the [Sword Techniques] for spears. The one who got it was a 15-year-old man. He was young, so whether we assign him as a guard or as a hunter, he would likely flourish.