Kousuke, invited by Kokoro, headed to the Lily Shrine with Mitsuki and Silvia.
Kokoro had invited Kousuke to the Lily Shrine because it was gradually becoming established as a tourist destination, and more people were coming to see the four shrines.
She wanted him to personally confirm the situation and also because she thought that if the number of visitors increased any further, it would no longer be a place they could casually visit.
Although it was sometimes difficult to understand due to her position, Kokoro genuinely liked Kousuke.
By the way, the slight twitch in Silvia’s expression when she said she would go along was not Kousuke’s imagination.
From Kokoro’s perspective, it was because Silvia, a senior priestess and Kousuke’s attendant, would be scrutinizing her, which made it impossible to relax.
While Silvia was usually gentle, her eyes sharpened when it came to matters of the gods.
Kokoro led the other priestesses admirably, but she still felt she was no match for Silvia in any way.
With a strange tension wafting through the air, Kousuke and the others left the Lily Shrine.
Having traveled using the Teleport Gate, it was best for Kousuke and his group to exit directly from here.
Of course, they made sure not to be seen by other tourists.
In any case, the Lily Shrine within the Lily Shinto Shrine was a “sacred area” inaccessible to general visitors, so there was little to worry about regarding that.
Putting that aside, as Kousuke exited the main entrance of the Lily Shrine, he encountered a certain person.
“Hey, Sol. You seem to be working seriously.”
“Wh-What is it, Kousuke-sama! What brings you here?”
Kousuke had addressed Sol, who was on guard duty to prevent unauthorized access by general customers.
“Now, now. You shouldn’t say that name here.”
“Ah!? M-My apologies!”
Kousuke responded with a wry smile as Sol bowed his head.
Possessing a certain degree of common sense, Sol was now involved in guarding the Lily Shrine and the entire Lily Shinto Shrine.
However, his inherent nature had not completely disappeared, and even when meeting with management, he remained stiff.
By the way, he was smiling now because he knew no one else was around, but if there had been other visitors, Mitsuki would have surely imposed some form of punishment.
The fact that it didn’t escalate was because Kousuke raised his right index finger and brought it to his lips.
In other words, it was Kousuke’s considerate gesture to let it pass this time.
Seeing Kousuke’s gesture, Sol turned pale and bowed again.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Ah, well. It’s fine for this time. Please be careful next time.”
Kousuke, judging that further conversation would lead to the same repetition, abruptly cut off the discussion.
When conversing with Sol, such assertiveness was sometimes necessary.
With Sol, who was enthusiastically acting as a bodyguard, now joining them, the group began touring the three surrounding shrines.
Sol, not daring to repeat the same mistake in front of Mitsuki, dutifully performed his bodyguard duties (?).
The path Kousuke and his group initially took was from the Lily Shrine towards the northern shrine, but not many people were walking there.
However, this was simply because few tourists extended their visit to the Lily Shrine, and it wasn’t that there were no people overall.
In fact, upon arriving at the shrine located on the north side, people were entering and exiting in groups.
Watching the scene, Kousuke wore an impressed expression.
“Wow. Indeed, the number of people is increasing.”
Considering there were no visitors at all when the shrines were first built, this was a great improvement as a tourist destination.
After all, there was no intention of making money from it.
If this many people were coming to just one shrine, their initial objective had been achieved.
As a guardian of the Lily Shinto Shrine, Sol had become known among repeat visitors.
While Sol’s presence might have drawn some attention, Kousuke and his group paid it no mind and went to see the other shrines.
As it turned out, there was no significant difference from the northern shrine they saw first, and the number of tourists was about the same.
With approximately a hundred people across the three, it could be said that a considerable number were visiting.
“…I see. It certainly seems to be going well,” Silvia concluded, observing that there were no major disturbances or confusion.
Upon hearing this, Kokoro clenched her right fist behind her back, unseen by Silvia, though Kousuke noticed it but kept it to himself.
The Lily Shinto Shrine at Amamiya Tower had become a popular tourist spot among female adventurers for a certain reason.
The Avatar had originally been popular among adventurers active on the Central Continent.
Furthermore, Amamiya Tower was the only place on any continent, including the Central Continent, that had a shrine and temple officially enshrining the Avatar.
Therefore, it was only natural that it would become popular, as one had to aim for Amamiya Tower to offer formal prayers.
So, why had it become popular among female adventurers…
“Hey, hey! They say one appeared over there!”
“What!? Really? Should we go?”
“Let’s do that!”
Urged on by a companion who had obtained some information, other female adventurers began to move.
And at the place she advanced to, there was a female adventurer happily petting a fox.
“Ah, how enviable.”
“It looks so comfortable~”
“It’s so docile!”
Saying such things, the female adventurers looked enviously at the one petting the fox.
The reason they could only watch from a distance was that they knew from past rumors that the fox would immediately run away if they got too close.
If they deliberately approached and scared it away, they would earn the resentment of both the person involved and the onlookers, so no one was foolish enough to step on such a landmine.
An unwritten rule had gradually formed: only those who could successfully touch the fox were allowed to do so, while others could only watch from afar.
And this was the reason why the Lily Shinto Shrine had become a popular tourist spot for female adventurers.
Upon hearing that a fox had appeared somewhere, they would head there, and while observing the fox from afar, they would hope for another one to emerge.
Thus, the female adventurers, who had been moving from place to place, eventually heard a strange rumor.
“H-Hey. Did you hear? Apparently, something amazing appeared?”
“Something amazing? What’s that?”
“I don’t really know, but they say it’s amazing.”
“Hmm. Shall we go check it out anyway?”
Although they didn’t understand the meaning of the rumor, they were sure that a fox was present, so they started walking towards the source of the rumor.
And upon seeing the sight, the female adventurers understood the meaning of the nonsensical rumor and were then faced with a scene that seemed otherworldly.
“…Wow. This is certainly amazing.”
“Yes, it truly is amazing.”
In their line of sight was a man surrounded by multiple foxes. And not just two or three, but at least ten. These foxes were constantly approaching the man, as if asking to be petted.
Fortunately for the female adventurers who witnessed this scene, the man, seeing them looking on enviously, called out to them, “Would you like to try petting them?” The foxes, which normally would never allow anyone other than their chosen person to pet them, seemed to understand the man’s words, as they did not run away when the women petted them. Thanks to this, the female adventurers were able to spend a blissful moment.
…By the way.
At that moment, the female adventurers all harbored the thought of “could it be,” but not a single one voiced it.
It’s as if they were thinking, “Whether it is or not, that person (those people)…” lol.
By the way, although not written in the text, Mitsuki and the others were also present nearby.
And so, another legend was born. (In a story-like manner).
