Capítulo 9: Vatican City
The eight hours of the trip flew by quite quickly for Alex, mostly he just repeated some particularly important points from church books, and towards the end of the journey he even managed to pass a few hours in a half-doze, sprawled on two seats at once. His childish body still had certain advantages. Already at the entrance to the Vatican, the pace of their trip greatly decreased. The car was stopped several times, demanding to show a special pass. The official version said that extensive construction work was underway on the territory of the Vatican, so there were very few ordinary tourists. Most of the cars moving along the road carried those who planned to become an exorcist, paladin, priest or scholar of the church. And because it was quite impressive, the corresponding exam was held only once a year. Those who lived in Italy had the opportunity to be examined in the Vatican itself – the center and the main headquarters of the Catholic Church. The rest of the countries usually had their own assembly point or even several.
After passing several checks, the car with two priests and a cleric who expressed a desire to become an exorcist finally got into the territory directly belonging to the Vatican. Unlike Alex's first world, here the city state had a somewhat large scale, although it was still one of the smallest countries in the whole world. According to official data, about two and a half thousand people lived here, but in fact this number was several times more. It's all about the underground system located under the whole city. It was here that those whose existence was not suspected by ordinary people studied and worked.
After driving deep into the city, the car stopped at one of the parking lots. From here, the spire of St. Peter's Church, which was the goal of their journey, was already perfectly visible.
In addition to the people who came here, several churchmen from the Vatican itself were already standing at the exit to the parking lot, escorting young boys and girls to their destination.
- Well, young Alexander, - getting out of the car, Father Albo smiled sadly. – Here we have to part.
"Only if I can pass," Alex smiled. The longing from parting with his teachers seeped into his face. – They say it's not just…
- You will pass, I'm sure, - Father Joseph, who came out after them, smiled encouragingly. – Your current abilities should be enough for the eyes…
"I hope so," Alex chuckled. – In any case, Father Albo, Father Joseph, I want to thank you very much. You have been excellent teachers, I am very grateful to you.
Father Albo put his hand on his shoulder. – We did what our faith tells us to do.
"God bless you, Alexander," Father Joseph quickly crossed his figure. – And say hi to Asia as soon as you see her.
After saying goodbye once again and thanking them for everything, Alex left the two elderly teachers and headed for the exit from the parking lot. A couple of young guys in church clothes quickly asked him about who he was and where he came from, then they checked their papers and another guy of about twenty escorted him to the square in front of the cathedral. Standing next to several adult women in monastic robes and children like him, Alex began to wait.
As time passed, the crowd in the square became more and more dense. Finally, after almost an hour of waiting, the gates of the square closed, and a minute later a tall elderly man dressed in a black and red cassock and a bright red cardinal's cap came out on the steps in front of the temple. The metal cross on his chest managed to swing several times before it stopped roughly in the center, opposite the main gate. The man glanced behind him and waited until the novice following him nodded affirmatively, carefully cleared his throat.
- Ahem... welcome to the Vatican, young children of the Lord. My name is Sergio Sebastiani, I am a cardinal priest of the Roman Catholic Church.
The cardinal's voice carried across the square as if he were speaking into a gramophone. Alex suspected, not without reason, that the novice behind the priest was using magic for this.
- Each of you has expressed a desire to continue serving our sacred church and Heaven itself. As you all know, the practical selection exams will be held tomorrow. Today, you will take up written and oral checks that will prove that you are fully aware and understand what awaits you on the chosen road!
Cardinal paused for a second, clearing his throat again, and then continued. Despite the extremely young age of those who gathered in the square, the silence was almost absolute.
- Now please follow the adults who are about to raise large posters over their heads. After going inside the temple, please observe order and silence, you will be divided into groups and allocated a room to stay ... may the Lord and the Holy Virgin Mary bless you!
After the cardinal left the "stage", the whole square began to move. Boys and girls from 9 to 12 years old began to form groups in the adults closest to them. Then, in turn, the groups passed through the main gate and entered the temple, where they were sorted by age and gender and escorted to their temporary rooms. Soon it was the turn of Alex and the small group in which he was a member. Having followed the others inside, he did not even have time to admire the beauty of the interior decoration, as one of the monks politely, but quite simply asked him to go along with a small group of boys, who looked about the same age as Alex himself.
They were escorted down a flight of stairs and then a few more floors below and down a long corridor before being stopped at a small door. Going inside, along with the others, Alex saw a completely modern spacious room, with many metal beds arranged in twos, one above the other. The room also had several shelves for personal belongings, as well as a refrigerator, a microwave and several small tables. In addition, despite the fact that they were clearly quite deep underground, fresh air was circulating around the room.
- Get settled and be ready, - standing in the doorway, their escort closed the door behind him. – The written exam is scheduled in an hour and a half. If someone is hungry, then walking down the left corridor from your room, you can get into the dining room and have a snack. I'll be in the last room on the right corridor, a big white door. If you have any problems or questions, you can contact me.
Finally slamming the heavy metal door behind him, their escort left. Twenty minutes later, having decided on his place and briefly got acquainted with his neighbors, Alex climbed onto the bed of the "second floor" and opened one of the books he had brought with him in front of him, leaned his head back on the pillow.
"Well, here I am, the holy of holies of the Catholic Church" - quietly chuckling to himself, he began to scroll to the page he needed. - "So, if everything goes according to plan, then in a couple of days I will be able to see Asia... okay, let's go. Repetition is the mother of learning, right? Succubi are monsters related to demons and sylvanas. Their habitat..."
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