The author, who is already past chapter 150, just now realized this.
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The meeting the next day began later than scheduled.
The church side informed Silvia and Peach that preparations were taking long.
They understood the reason without being told, and the two agreed.
Silvia, in particular, had not only been a shrine maiden but also belonged to the church.
It wasn’t difficult to imagine what kind of impact yesterday’s oracle would have.
Rather, she was impressed that they had decided to hold the meeting in such a short time.
For Silvia, there were only two more objectives for this meeting.
Once those were achieved, she wanted to return to Amamiya Tower and continue her management.
She really didn’t want to leave the management of the tower that had just been entrusted to her, but there was nothing she could do about it.
After all, she was the only one the church side would seriously listen to.
The clerics of the church looked at Silvia with expressions as if they had bitten into something bitter.
Of course, their expressions were a result of hearing the content of yesterday’s oracle.
“Judging by your expressions, it seems the oracle’s content was conveyed without being deliberately misinterpreted.”
Silvia’s opening remark further stiffened the atmosphere in the room.
Only Peach, sitting next to her, was smiling as usual.
Silvia continued, stopping one of the church representatives from saying something.
“Let me state this first: I have been officially recognized as his ‘Shrine Maiden.’ Please respond to me as such from now on.”
“WHAAAT?!”
Almost everyone raised a surprised cry.
The rest were unable to even utter a sound.
Seeing their reactions, Peach tilted her head slightly.
“Is it that surprising? We’ve been constantly together at the tower, so wouldn’t it be stranger if you weren’t recognized?”
“It can’t be helped. Unlike him, other gods do not always exist in this world.”
“Hmm? Does being recognized as a ‘Shrine Maiden’ mean a lot?”
“Well, yes. Though I don’t know how the ‘Shrine Maiden’ of an Avatar will be treated.”
In the first place, a “Shrine Maiden” is treated as a spokesperson for gods who rarely manifest in this world from the divine realm.
That’s why they are treated specially, and how Kousuke’s “Shrine Maiden” who always exists with a physical body in this world will be treated has not been strictly defined.
This is all because an Avatar is an existence that has appeared for the first time in history.
Even though an Avatar is in the position of being both human and god, a god is still a god.
The church side probably couldn’t lower the value of the position of “Shrine Maiden.”
“…Are you saying we should acknowledge such a thing?”
“That’s a strange thing to say. Whether one is a ‘Shrine Maiden’ or not is decided by the god themselves. Why is the church’s permission necessary?”
“There was no such matter in yesterday’s oracle.”
“Since it wasn’t in the oracle, are you saying Silvia’s words are a lie? How short-sighted.”
Peach sighed, as if exasperated.
Although it was a transparent provocation by Peach, no one fell for it.
Peach wasn’t expecting it either.
“I am not a cleric, so I am not that proficient with gods, but what do you think a god would feel if their own words were ignored?”
“It certainly wouldn’t be a good feeling. That’s precisely why there’s such a thing as divine punishment.”
“Despite that, it feels like you’re ignoring the words of the gods and saying whatever you please?”
“It can’t be helped. Originally, gods cannot easily manifest their power in this world.”
“Ahhh. Is it like children playing pranks while their parents’ eyes are closed?”
“That’s a good analogy.”
They were saying whatever they pleased in front of the clerics before them.
Finally, someone couldn’t stay silent after hearing so much.
“…Hey. You’re saying quite a lot, aren’t you?”
It was Zett.
“? Did I say something wrong?”
“I think it’s a fitting phrase for an organization that interprets oracles to suit their convenience and increases their power.”
The discussion about dispatching to Amamiya Tower had somehow turned into an interrogation of the church’s way of operating.
“Enough…!”
“Priest Zett, please stop!”
At Laurel’s restraint, Zett, who was about to fly into a rage, gritted his teeth and glared at the two.
Laurel had sensed that Silvia and Peach were deliberately provoking them.
That’s why she stopped Zett.
“And as for you two, you should stop denigrating the church with baseless accusations.”
At Laurel’s words, Silvia and Peach looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“Wh-what’s so funny?”
“No, I apologize. However, it was the exact reply I expected, so I couldn’t help but laugh. Please forgive me.”
With Silvia’s words, Laurel realized that her reaction had been anticipated.
However, she didn’t understand why they were acting this way.
“…What is this about?”
“Actually, there was a request we received before coming here. As for the rest, it’s probably best if you hear it directly from him.”
Silvia said and took out something like a small box from her pocket.
It was a Divine Union Tool made by Kousuke.
It wasn’t the usual Divine Union Tool that Silvia or Kousuke used.
It had been improved to convey the god’s words to a large number of people.
“Jamil, thank you for waiting. You can speak now.”
“Thank you, Silvia.”
The words spoken from the Divine Union Tool sent a shiver down the spines of all the clerics present.
They understood that the voice they heard was indeed that of Jamil.
“Now then. Honestly, I wish you had realized this on your own without me having to do this. But since I’m nearing my limit, I decided to intervene.”
Everyone listened intently to Jamil’s words, not daring to move.
“As Silvia and Peach just said, stop interpreting the oracles to suit your convenience.”
With the direct words from a god, no one dared to interject.
They all knew that bargaining with a god was meaningless.
In fact, anyone who trained at the church was thoroughly taught what would happen if they did such a thing.
“Don’t think you’re safe just because you manage the temples we protect. We can abandon you at any time, you know? You are not unaware of the tragedy of the Terolema Temple, are you?”
The tragedy of Terolema Temple was an anecdote told like a fairy tale to the clerics of the church.
It was a story from long ago, about a temple that, with the blessing of the gods, boasted immense power, but eventually incurred the wrath of the gods and lost its temple, the symbol of its power, in an instant.
“Don’t think that just because you have received our blessing once, you can use that power as you please. Useless excuses are meaningless too… Well, it seems time is up, so I must go now.”
With those words, Jamil’s presence disappeared from the Divine Union Tool.
Although Jamil had unilaterally spoken his mind and left, for those in clergy, those words were the oracle itself.
Receiving such a direct oracle should have been impossible unless a god actually manifested in this world.
Yet, the Divine Union Tool in front of them had easily made it possible.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the Divine Union Tool placed before Silvia.
Silvia, knowing this, put the Divine Union Tool away.
“The assembled clerics” have become longer than I anticipated.
It will continue a little longer.
…If I go on detours, the story of the tower will never progress…orz
