With Shurein and Floria settled, Kousuke immediately asked Shurein, “What did you do?”
“What do you mean? That ritual was originally meant to offer prayers to spirits. I had Floria dance because I thought it would be compatible,” Shurein replied.
The ritual Shurein found was originally an old song passed down through the Vermilia Clan. In the Vermilia Clan, it was just a song and wasn’t known to be a ritual. Kousuke discovered it was a ritual through a document he found this time. Since he had the song, he thought he’d try combining it with Floria’s dance to see what would happen. What happened earlier was unexpected even for Shurein, but since they couldn’t stop halfway, they continued until the end. By the way, Floria was dancing as Shurein instructed, so she had no choice but to continue.
Hearing Shurein’s words, Kousuke put his arms together and wore a thoughtful expression. “Praying to spirits… To me, it looked more like the staff absorbed the spirits?”
While “absorbed” might sound like forcefully taken, it was more like the spirits were joyfully approaching the staff during the ritual. Kousuke chose his words carefully because, in the form of a ritual (contract), it seemed the spirits couldn’t refuse. “Even so… The words of the norito itself are simply prayers of gratitude to the spirits?” Shurein had also thought something would happen, but didn’t know what would actually occur until trying it. She never expected such a dramatic result.
As Kousuke began to question Shurein, who seemed bewildered, Floria intervened in a soothing manner. “Easy there. Kousuke, why are you so impatient? The spirits just joined the staff, right?” Floria gave Kousuke a perplexed look, as he seemed somewhat anxious. Silvia, looking at them, had the same expression as Floria. “Impatient…? Ah, no, sorry.” It was when Floria spoke that Kousuke realized he was speaking in an interrogative tone. He bowed slightly to Shurein and continued, “With the ritual just performed, that staff has moved closer to being a divine artifact from a sacred tool.”
“Huh…!?” Shurein exclaimed in clear surprise at Kousuke’s words, while the other two also widened their eyes in astonishment.
Generally, the difference between sacred tools and divine artifacts is not well known, but for Kousuke and the others who knew about divine power, there was a clear distinction. Simply put, sacred tools are tools that move using divine power, and divine artifacts are a type of sacred tool. Divine artifacts refer to sacred tools that possess immense power, akin to a god’s authority. Until now, the staff couldn’t quite be called a divine artifact, but through this ritual, it gained the power to be called one. It wasn’t that it couldn’t be called a divine artifact since it used an orb imbued with Clara’s power, but it still didn’t have that much power. It has now splendidly bloomed (?).
A little later, Shurein pressed her hand to her forehead. “Ah, so what you’re saying is? This staff has gained a will?” Shurein only knew of the three sacred treasures to be enshrined at the Lily Shinto Shrine, which she had seen up close. Kousuke had clearly stated that they possessed a will, so it wasn’t surprising that Shurein made that assumption. “No, that’s not quite it. Besides, not all divine artifacts have a will, do they?” The latter question was directed at Silvia. Kousuke’s knowledge mostly came from books, so it sometimes differed from general understanding. He was aware of this, so he confirmed with Silvia.
Silvia, her gaze directed at Kousuke, nodded once and added, “You are correct. However, generally, sacred tools and divine artifacts are not distinguished so clearly.” At the temple, there were specialized roles for identifying divine artifacts, so they were clearly distinguished. However, since both sacred tools and divine artifacts possessed power beyond ordinary comprehension, there wasn’t much of a significant difference in general public perception. In either case, if misused, they were dangerous tools.
“If the staff became a divine artifact from a sacred tool, is there any problem?” Floria asked with a troubled expression. Kousuke shook his head left and right. “It’s not that there are absolutely no problems, but it doesn’t mean the control of its power has become difficult. It’s the same as with other divine artifacts.” Kousuke’s concern was that Shurein, the user, was not aware that the staff had become closer to a divine artifact. If she were to play around with it without realizing it was a powerful tool, and it went berserk, it would be a terrible situation.
Shurein, the person in question, looked somewhat relieved. “So, the way I handle its power hasn’t changed?” “That’s right… I apologize if I sounded like I was threatening you, but it hasn’t changed so dramatically. However, for a while, it might be better to get used to using it rather than trying new things.” “Understood.” Shurein nodded with a solemn expression at Kousuke’s advice. Given what it was, it was better to be cautious. Kousuke wasn’t saying she absolutely couldn’t use it forcefully. For now, she just needed to use it as she always had to get a feel for it.
Glancing at Shurein, Silvia then asked Kousuke, “It’s good to be cautious about how to use the staff, but in the end, what kind of power has increased?” “That’s the thing. It seems most of the spirits flowed into the orb, so I’m not sure.” Kousuke’s answer made Silvia look puzzled. “What do you mean by ‘not sure’?” Although she had received advice from Eris and Clara, Kousuke was the one who made the staff. Silvia thought he would have at least some understanding. “That orb had Clara’s intervention, you see. I don’t really know what kind of divine authority Clara possesses or what phenomena occur when Shurein uses it.” “Ah, I see.” If it were a less powerful goddess, her divine authority could be easily identified, but as the Mother Goddess of the Earth, she possessed various authorities. There were likely many that Kousuke was not aware of. How these would manifest as the staff’s power was beyond Kousuke’s imagination.
After Kousuke’s explanation, Silvia turned her gaze to Shurein. “It might be necessary to perform a Divine Union and confirm with Clara (God). Though I don’t know if we’ll get an answer.” Even at the temple, they don’t have complete knowledge of all divine authorities. It’s unknown whether the goddesses are hiding them or simply haven’t revealed them. As Silvia said, whether Clara would tell them or not is something they wouldn’t know until they asked themselves. “Hmm… I’d rather not trouble you, but… we can’t afford to stand by in this situation.” Hearing Silvia’s words, Shurein grumbled with a difficult expression, but finally agreed. The staff is steadily leveling up lol Next, a discussion with Clara in the first half (?).
