The “Collected Clergy” started as an interlude, but it seems it will be longer than expected, so I might treat it as a separate chapter (a coined term).
Around the same time Kousuke and his group were conquering the South Tower.
Silvia was visiting the Mikusen Temple.
This was because a request had come through Crown for a meeting.
The request itself was for Kousuke to speak directly, but unfortunately, Kousuke was in the middle of conquering the tower, so they replied that he couldn’t come himself.
The church then said they would be happy to have a discussion even if it was with Silvia.
Silvia could have refused, but she decided to accept, thinking it was a good opportunity.
Of course, Silvia did not come alone.
Peach was with her this time.
Peach’s reason for accompanying her was, as fitting for a clan that undertakes behind-the-scenes work, to observe the structure of the Mikusen Temple with her own eyes.
Although it was hard to imagine from her usual appearance, Peach was indeed a member of the Succubus clan.
“What’s going on, Temple Head Laurel? Wasn’t the summoner who performed the Divine Power Summon supposed to come here?”
One of the men sitting opposite Silvia and Peach, across the table, suddenly said this.
Silvia remained silent, while Peach smiled as usual.
The room where Silvia and the others were now was arranged with a table in a U-shape, and three high-ranking priests of the Mikusen Temple were seated in the center.
Laurel, the Temple Head, naturally occupied the center seat.
Facing Silvia and the others were a group of four: two men and two women.
Silvia, having been introduced to the four, recognized all of their names.
They were famous figures within the church organization itself.
The one who spoke first was Zett, seated to Silvia’s far left. He was also positioned closest to the Mikusen Temple’s high-ranking priests.
Following Zett, they were seated in order: Karin, Shuri, and Tamar.
Silvia had heard of all four of them, as they were known for their exceptional abilities as clergy in their respective continental churches.
“…Lord Zett. We’ve already discussed this before, haven’t we? Lord Kousuke has other commitments, so another person would be coming.”
Laurel knew that Zett was intentionally bringing this up.
He just wanted them to understand that the four of them were dissatisfied with Kousuke, the ruler of the tower, not coming.
“Hmph. …It seems the church is being taken lightly.”
Zett’s gaze was directed towards Silvia.
He was dissatisfied that Silvia, dressed in a shrine maiden outfit, was there as the representative of the tower, bypassing them.
Silvia, understanding this, deliberately replied,
“…It appears there’s a misunderstanding in our conversation. I believe my presence here today was communicated to you in advance.”
“…Hah. You’ve grown quite arrogant with that face and body, haven’t you?”
At Zett’s insult, the Mikusen Temple members, including Laurel, changed their expressions.
However, the remaining three seated opposite Silvia and the others remained unfazed.
Seeing their expressions, Silvia couldn’t ascertain whether they had discussed this beforehand, but she speculated that they had anticipated Zett’s outburst.
Silvia didn’t have much to say about Zett’s words themselves.
After all, Kouhi and Mitsuki were always by Kousuke’s side.
Silvia by no means believed that she had reached her current position solely due to her looks.
“I don’t mind what you say about me… but do you understand that your words are also an insult to that person?”
At Silvia’s words, Zett clicked his tongue softly and averted his gaze.
“However, isn’t this meeting supposed to be to decide who will be dispatched to the tower’s temple? Are you going to make that decision?”
This time, Karin spoke up.
She completely ignored Zett’s previous remarks as if they hadn’t happened.
“Huh? When did it become that kind of discussion? We were told that a meeting would be held to convey the future policy of the tower.”
Karin showed a slight look of surprise at Peach’s words, as she hadn’t expected her to speak up at this moment.
“So, it’s about accepting one of us, isn’t it?”
“Oh my, oh my~? When did we say we would accept any of you?”
Peach tilted her head.
“Wh-what!? You mean you don’t intend to accept us?”
Even Laurel and the others looked surprised by this.
The temple that was established in the Amamiya Tower was blessed by the Three Great Gods.
It was customary for the church to have high-ranking priests and shrine maidens manage such temples.
This was precisely why they had selected and sent one representative each from the famous figures of every continent.
These representatives were the four people seated before Silvia and the others.
However, unfortunately, such traditions meant nothing to Kousuke.
Silvia had already anticipated this matter through their previous discussions and had decided on their response.
“Yes. Currently, bringing in people from large external organizations would not benefit the tower, so I have been informed that we are permitted to refuse such situations.”
“…Are you sane?”
This was from Tamar, seated on the far right.
One would normally think twice before completely rejecting the intentions of the church, which had sent such talented individuals.
After all, the four present here represented the church organizations of their respective continents.
However, unfortunately, Kousuke, whom Silvia and Peach served, was not ordinary.
“Yes. He clearly instructed me to convey that. And incidentally, I agree with his decision.”
“Me too~. Rather, it’s the opinion of all the members managing that tower.”
Ultimately, Kousuke made the final decision, but a discussion had been held among everyone beforehand.
At their words, Zett shot them a piercing gaze.
However, Silvia and Peach seemed unfazed.
They wouldn’t be able to stand before Kouhi and Mitsuki if they couldn’t withstand such a look.
In many ways, the members of the management layer were well-trained.
“W-wait, Silvia. Then, what about the management of that temple?”
Laurel was flustered.
Laurel himself had intended to select from these four representatives and assign others from their own ranks.
“For the time being, we will use slaves for cleaning and such.”
At Silvia’s nonchalant reply, Laurel gripped his head as if trying to suppress a headache.
To have slaves manage a temple blessed by the Three Great Gods, merely by cleaning it, was a complete waste of the temple’s potential.
The four representatives naturally felt the same.
This time, Shuri wore a genuinely puzzled expression.
“…And will the gods of the Three Great Gods be satisfied with that?”
She said this knowing that even if a blessing was granted once, if the subsequent reactions were unfavorable, they might be abandoned.
“Of course. We have naturally obtained permission from the Three Great Gods for this matter.”
However, Silvia’s reply went beyond that.
Her subsequent words caused the expressions of everyone except Peach to change.
“Incidentally, the Main God of that temple has agreed to this. Even the Three Great Gods cannot intervene in that decision.”
The Main God refers to the deity enshrined in that temple.
Generally, one of the Three Great Gods would be enshrined as the Main God, but Silvia’s words, suggesting a deity other than the one who bestowed the blessing, made them change their expressions in surprise.
Of course, the Three Great Gods who bestowed the blessing had some right to intervene, but Silvia had intentionally said it this way.
And, as she had planned, everyone except Peach misunderstood the situation favorably.
“…Could it be that the Main God of that temple is a being superior to the Three Great Gods?”
“That’s highly unlikely. However, I also do not know the exact standing of that person among the gods.”
“…Who are you referring to?”
“I can’t possibly mention it first. …However, now that I have brought it up here, an oracle might be granted today.”
With Silvia’s words, the meeting was adjourned for the time being.
The magnitude of the information provided at this meeting was too great to be immediately processed.
They also needed to properly confirm the “oracle” that Silvia mentioned.
After all, they didn’t even know if Silvia’s words were true, yet everyone believed them.
The entire group present did not realize that they were being influenced by Silvia’s words.
Who will become the Main God will be revealed in the next chapter.
Well, you can probably guess who it is from Silvia’s dialogue lol.
…Or rather, I couldn’t finish it in one chapter >_< To be continued in the next chapter. 2014/6/29 Typo correction
