Kousuke confirmed the installations in the Southeast Tower, but like the Northeast Tower, there were no items generating divine power.
He decided to attribute it to the Tower LV not being high enough yet and left the Southeast Tower to Silvia for the time being.
After finishing checking the management menu for the Southeast Tower, Kousuke decided to return to the Amamiya Tower Management Layer.
“Welcome back.”
The one who greeted Kousuke upon his return to the Amamiya Tower Management Layer was Silvia, inexplicably bowing with a three-fingered bow.
As a side note, shoes are basically prohibited in the management layer.
Only the rooms housing the three original crystals and the room with the teleport gate were designated for wearing shoes.
In the first place, buildings on the Central Continent, like those in Japan, have an entrance where you leave your shoes.
The only exception, you could say, is for rooms generally open to the public in temples.
Naturally, with a lot of people coming and going, taking off shoes could lead to them being lost or stolen, so this was a preventative measure.
Kousuke was thinking such unnecessary thoughts, but of course, it was just to escape the reality of the situation before him.
His gaze shifted from Silvia to Colette, who was standing there with a strange grin.
“…Is this a prank, like that time with Colette?”
When asked this, Colette’s face instantly turned red, and she flapped her hands.
“N-no, no, that’s not it. Silvia is doing this on her own. Besides, please stop bringing up that time, I beg you!”
Colette, whose relationship with Kousuke had progressed in various ways, was finally catching up to normal people in terms of such knowledge.
Because of this, she was realizing that the situation when they first became intimate was unusual in many ways.
This was precisely why she was reacting like this, but Kousuke secretly enjoyed Colette’s expression when she was like this and intentionally teased her—a secret known only to him.
That said, everyone except Colette and Floria, who had as little knowledge in that area as the original Colette, could see right through it.
For now, leaving the blushing Colette to her own devices, Kousuke decided to ask Silvia directly.
“First, Silvia. It’s okay to lift your head now. …Can you explain?”
Silvia raised her bowed head and met Kousuke’s gaze directly.
“Yes. I have a request for Kousuke-sama.”
“A request? And what’s with the ‘-sama’?”
“That’s also related to the request.”
After a beat, Silvia began to say something Kousuke found utterly outrageous.
“Please make me Kousuke-sama’s shrine maiden.”
***
After managing to calm his emotions, Kousuke began to listen to Silvia.
Of course, he had already made her stop kneeling (or rather, prostrating).
“…So, what’s your intention?”
“What intention? You’ve already forgotten, haven’t you? You are already one of the gods!”
“…I wanted to forget, if possible.”
Silvia didn’t miss Kousuke’s muttered words.
“Please give up. While this world may not be aware, it’s already spread throughout the divine realm, you know? The gods would never forget.”
“The gods might, but the people in this world don’t, do they?”
Unfortunately, Silvia denied Kousuke’s naive thought.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It’s one thing if you’re going to spend your entire life in the tower, but that’s not the plan, is it?”
“…Well, I suppose not.”
Kousuke had no intention of being confined to the tower forever.
“If that’s the case, someone will eventually notice. While there are few who can use divine power, there are quite a few clergy members who can sense a god’s presence, you know?”
“…Eh!?”
Silvia sighed at Kousuke’s reaction.
“As I suspected, you didn’t know. In fact, the clergy belonging to the church are primarily focused on that. Healing with holy power is merely a means to acquire funds.”
It was a rather worldly discussion for clergy, but with power struggles naturally occurring, such considerations were likely already in place.
The larger the group, the more money it required.
“So, if I were to meet someone like Temple Head Laurel, for example…”
Silvia nodded at Kousuke’s concern.
“If you met directly, they would almost certainly notice the aura you possess. While they might not immediately realize you are an avatar of a god.”
The clergy of this world don’t train for nothing.
Especially in a world where the existence of gods is taken for granted, the training to sense their presence is conducted with even greater rigor.
They are sensitive to a god’s aura. That’s why, when Kousuke used Divine Power Summon on the Fifth Floor, he was able to immediately recognize the three summoned great gods as genuine.
“If they suspect you of meeting a god directly?”
“Almost certainly. After meeting a few times, they might even suspect you are a god.”
Hearing this, Kousuke let out a sigh.
“Ahhh~… This is troublesome…”
Kousuke genuinely started to wish he could just hide away in the tower.
“…Huh? So, how does that connect to my earlier request for you to make me your shrine maiden?”
“Normally, clergy members like us would not have our positions as shrine maidens or priests recognized by our respective gods.”
Even gods don’t have the time to deal with each person individually.
“However, very rarely, one can be directly recognized as a shrine maiden or priest by a god.”
“Is that different from blessings?”
“Of course, it’s different. Well, perhaps it’s the same from a god’s perspective, but for those who are part of the clergy, there’s a significant difference.”
Blessings and oracles are, after all, unilateral benefits from the god’s side.
But being directly recognized as a shrine maiden or priest by a god means that humans can also convey their voices. This holds great significance.
That is why the clergy belonging to the church diligently train day and night.
“The reason I’m asking to be made a shrine maiden is not only for my own sake, but also to preemptively stave off the inevitable petitions that will arise in the future.”
If there is even one shrine maiden, she can use that as a reason to refuse petitions from others.
Even though Kousuke is an avatar of a god, he physically exists in this world.
If Kousuke’s status as an avatar of a god were revealed, it’s easy to see a flood of requests to become his direct shrine maiden or priest.
Silvia believed that while written requests would be one thing, there would definitely be those who would come to confront him directly.
“In short, as long as it’s not revealed…”
Kousuke’s naive thought was cut short by Silvia’s words.
“If you can completely hide that aura, then it might be alright. However, can you do something that even Elisamil (God) cannot do, right now?”
“… … … Impossible.”
“And that is why I ask you to accept my becoming your shrine maiden.”
“…You have Eris’s blessing, but is that okay?”
“I already have Elisamil (God)’s permission.”
Kousuke’s final resistance was met with futility.
“… … … Understood. I permit Silvia to be my shrine maiden.”
the moment Kousuke said that, he felt something pass through him.
It was an unfamiliar sensation, but if he had to find something similar, it would be the connection he had with Kou.
Looking at Silvia, he saw she was equally surprised.
“…Even after being told by Elisamil (God) that you had become an avatar of a god, I held some doubt… but with this, I have confirmed it without a doubt.”
Feeling the power flowing into her, Silvia spoke.
Having trained as a shrine maiden since childhood, Silvia understood that the power flowing into her was precisely what she had sought in her training.
And that power was undoubtedly coming from Kousuke.
Therefore, she was able to physically confirm that Kousuke was undeniably one of the gods.
And Kousuke felt the same sensation.
This event, which shattered his previous disbelief, became an opportunity for Kousuke to reconsider his perspective.
Kousuke only remembered that he had intended to leave the Southeast Tower to Silvia when he got into bed that night.
“Side Story: Silvia’s Worry” has been collected here.
I originally considered putting it in just before this, but it was put in a side story because the timeline was so different.
