In the afterword yesterday, I wrote that “The Gathered Clerics” was ending, but that was an illusion.
…I’m sorry. It was a joke.
After uploading episode 4, I thought of this story and wrote it, so I forgot to correct the afterword.
I have corrected the afterword for episode 4 as soon as I noticed.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Having finished their tasks, Silvia and Peach were running some errands in the city of Mikusen.
The errands weren’t anything major, just shopping to pick up some personal items.
Normally, they obtained necessities for living among the management layer through the Crown.
However, for items they use personally, like those this time, they would come out to town to get them.
Although, the management members are not the type with strong material desires, so they rarely go out to procure things.
This time, the two had a meeting with the church, so they planned to buy a few things on the side.
Silvia wanted accessories needed as a cleric, and Peach wanted tools necessary for fortune-telling.
As expected of a city of clerics, Mikusen boasts the best selection of such items on the continent.
Since these were not absolutely essential items, both of them intended to buy the things they had been putting off until this opportunity.
Shopping for two women couldn’t end with just one store, and an incident occurred when they visited several shops.
They happened to bump into Karin and Shuri, the two women who were representing their side, at the same shop.
The four who bumped into each other exchanged glances, as if involuntarily.
Even Silvia and Peach had no intention of continuing what had happened earlier in this place.
As they waited to see how the other party would react, Karin stepped forward towards Silvia.
“…There’s something I couldn’t confirm in the previous meeting. Is it alright?”
For some reason, Karin’s demeanor now was different from their previous meeting, and she seemed hesitant about how to interact with Silvia.
“Regarding the temple in the tower, nothing has changed, has it?”
“No… I want to talk about that as well, but this is a different matter for now.”
Silvia tilted her head.
“…A different matter?”
“Yes. Your name is Silvia Rufius, isn’t it?”
“I am indeed Silvia Rufius, but…”
With a vague sense of foreboding, Silvia instinctively tensed up.
“Then, you are truly Silvia, the ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’?”
At Karin’s question, Shuri, standing next to Karin, wore a surprised expression.
A Shrine Maiden Princess is the highest-ranking position among young shrine maidens.
Incidentally, it’s a position that can only be filled with a divine oracle, so it’s not unusual for it to be vacant.
If one searched the world, there might not be a single one, but sometimes multiple people are appointed.
Naturally, being in, or having been in, the position of Shrine Maiden Princess means one is an elite among elites as a cleric.
Silvia, who had been questioned by Karin, smiled and replied.
“If that is the case, then what?”
“…No. I apologize. It’s not that I intend to do anything. However, for someone like me, just being able to meet you is a joy.”
Karin’s eyes as she said this were completely those of a maiden in love.
“Karin, was it? …I have already left the temple. From the temple’s perspective, my position as Shrine Maiden Princess should have been revoked.”
“…But! To us, you are…!”
Silvia stopped Karin, who was about to pour out her words, with a hand gesture.
“For me, it’s already in the past. I decided to leave the temple of my own judgment. I still believe that decision was not wrong.”
Silvia’s firm declaration silenced Karin.
“Thanks to that, I have now become recognized as a divine maiden. …Though I am still immature.”
Substituting for the silent Karin, Shuri spoke up this time.
“…Even after abandoning the position of ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’?”
Shuri doesn’t know as much about Silvia as Karin does.
However, as someone in clerical service, she has knowledge about the position of ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’.
On the continent where Shuri is from, no one has held the position of ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’ for at least the last several decades.
Incidentally, she had heard rumors that there had been a Shrine Maiden Princess on Karin’s continent.
Silvia tilted her head slightly and said.
“In the first place, the ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’ is determined by divine appointment. Just because I left the temple doesn’t mean that position disappears.”
After taking a breath, Silvia continued.
“Well, after I left the temple, they unilaterally revoked my ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’ position. I wondered at the time why such a thing was permissible without any divine oracle.”
It wasn’t a difficult explanation; the church simply declared it unfitting for someone who had left the temple’s registry to hold the position of ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’.
At the time, she couldn’t confirm her status, but she imagined that if she had been able to check then, she would have had the title of ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’.
The reason Kousuke didn’t have the title when they met was that he had already been told through a divine oracle that she was not the ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’.
As usual, it was an Oracle without the aid of Divine Tools, so the information was fragmented and uncertain.
Silvia was already traveling to various places at that time, so the position of ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’ was not particularly useful.
Incidentally, the reason she was no longer the ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’ was due to her age.
One can only become a ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’ until they reach adulthood.
Adulthood in this world is at the age of fifteen. Since she had passed that age, she was no longer a ‘Shrine Maiden Princess’.
“…Does the Living God know about this?”
“Of course. I told him.”
Silvia told Kousuke about her time as the Shrine Maiden Princess before he became the Living God.
Silvia almost laughed, recalling that Kousuke’s only reaction at the time was “Hmm.”
Silvia, having already accepted it as a past event, had no intention of causing trouble for the church.
In retrospect, Silvia realized that Kousuke had sensed that about her.
“…You won’t come back, will you?”
At Karin’s words, Silvia gave a bitter smile.
“There’s nothing to come back to. I am already his maiden. My place to return to is with him, not this temple.”
Silvia’s firm reply made Karin’s face contort.
“As a friend from old times, I offer you this advice: what I said at the temple just now is a warning to everyone present. If you don’t properly convey it to your affiliated church, you will be truly abandoned by the gods.”
“If you can’t properly take the warning from that meeting, then it can’t be helped, can it~”
Peach, who had been silently watching until now, chimed in.
She felt it was about time to end the conversation.
“You can tell them whatever you wish about me. However, if you don’t convey what needs to be conveyed properly, I cannot guarantee what will happen.”
“…Are you threatening me?”
At Shuri’s words, Silvia sighed.
“The fact that you’re already interpreting it that way is the problem. What I said at the temple was not my personal opinion, but a matter that I was instructed to convey through a divine oracle.”
To be precise, she had heard it through Divine Union, not a divine oracle, but she had no intention of explaining that.
“It’s not about me, but if you don’t properly convey it as a divine oracle, I won’t be responsible for whatever happens.”
Feeling that further explanation would be meaningless, Silvia looked at Peach and urged her to leave.
Peach nodded and began walking in the same direction as Silvia.
The remaining two stood there stunned for a while, not trying to stop Silvia.
…Somehow, it has continued to episode 5.
With this, the story related to the temple and the church has finally concluded.
This time, “Interlude: The Gathered Clerics” is truly over.
Should I insert more stories like this in the future?
Or, since the tower is the selling point of the story, should I focus on writing about the tower?
The balance is difficult…
