This is a continuation of the previous chapter’s sidestory, “A Dire Problem.”
Peach had gone to visit Schmidt.
Normally, a beauty like Peach would attract considerable attention walking alone, but she received virtually none.
Among the Tower members, Peach was the best at acting covertly.
For this particular matter, Peach had come because of the desire to avoid acting too openly.
“Oh? Is that Miss Peach? How unusual.”
Schmidt, unaware of the circumstances, said this upon seeing Peach.
He had contacted the recipient after the ordered item arrived, but he hadn’t inquired about who would be coming.
“That’s right. Well, I have various circumstances on my end as well.”
“Is that so? Well then, here is your ordered item.”
Where Schmidt gestured, over twenty books were stacked.
“That’s quite a lot!”
For a single author to have published this many books on one theme, it undoubtedly ranked among the top.
“I was surprised when they arrived too. So, may I ask the reason for ordering these?”
“I believe you’ve already sensed it without me having to say it, haven’t you?”
“…I see. It must be quite difficult.”
“It’s fine for now, but considering the future, you see.”
“I suppose so. …Ah, are you alright? They look quite heavy.”
Schmidt panicked as Peach attempted to carry all the books in front of her at once.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t carry them, but she would completely lose sight of what was in front of her, making it very dangerous.
He called out to her, thinking this, but when he saw the pile of books disappear the moment Peach lifted them, he immediately understood the situation.
“You were able to use the Item Box spell?”
“I can’t use it. What I can use is this.”
Peach said so and indicated the bracelet.
“N-no way, is that an Item Box magic tool?”
“That’s right. Isunani made it for me.”
Upon hearing this, Schmidt swallowed audibly.
“Could you mass-produce it…?”
“Apparently not. They say it uses Dragon’s hide as a material.”
Schmidt’s expression went from hopeful to despairing in an instant.
Dragon’s material was not something you could easily obtain.
When Crown was being established, they had provided some for a few individuals, but he knew that was an exceptional exception.
Of course, Schmidt knew that Kousuke could easily gather Dragon’s material if he wanted to, but he wouldn’t rely on him.
He understood that having items that were few in number worldwide would only become a source of dispute, unless a certain amount could be prepared.
“I see. That is unfortunate.”
As a merchant, Schmidt would have liked to see it mass-produced, but if it was impossible, it was impossible.
“Ah, but he did say he’s considering if it can be substituted with something else.”
“I certainly hope he succeeds in that.”
“Still, Isunani is busy with various things, so it will likely be a while yet.”
“I will wait patiently. …Ah, excuse me for detaining you.”
“Not at all. Thank you for making time for me.”
They both bowed their heads as they exchanged greetings.
For Peach, her purpose in coming here was accomplished once she retrieved the books.
The reason she mentioned the bracelet was also to express her gratitude for this time.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t something she could give away, but she felt it was valuable enough to at least talk about.
Of course, it was also because she had anticipated that the books would be bulky and heavy.
Having obtained the books she sought, Peach hurried back to her companions, who were waiting for them.
***
Several days had passed since Peach received the books from Schmidt.
Incidentally, Kousuke was unaware that they had obtained the books.
The management layer naturally had private rooms for them, and the books were distributed to those individual rooms.
Kousuke wouldn’t go barging into their private rooms without good reason, so the existence of the books wouldn’t be revealed.
If they were to be revealed, it would be through Schmidt, but since he seemed to have sensed their purpose, he wouldn’t mention it to Kousuke.
Kouhi and Mitsuki seemed to have some inkling, but neither of them intended to tell Kousuke.
Thus, Kousuke was kept out of the loop regarding this matter.
This situation would likely continue for a while until a clear answer emerged.
For now, they were in the process of searching for any hints from the books.
Since the content related to mythology, Silvia was particularly engrossed in reading the books.
Colette visited Silvia in her private room.
“How’s it going?”
“Let me see. It’s quite interesting to read. There are even stories that are impossible in the myths obtained from the temple. Eventually, I want to read through all of them.”
Colette offered a wry smile to Silvia, whose eyes were completely shining.
“Researching them as myths is fine, but don’t forget the original purpose.”
“Of course. …Unfortunately, it’s not very promising.”
“Ah, so you too?”
“Yeah. I’ve asked others, and it doesn’t seem to be going well.”
“We might need to have an alignment of understanding with everyone.”
“I agree with that. …But where should we gather?”
Since they didn’t want Kousuke to know, they couldn’t act too conspicuously.
“I think any of our rooms would be fine. If we say a different topic beforehand, Kousuke-sama wouldn’t find it strange.”
“Well, that’s probably the safest way.”
Triggered by this conversation between the two, the decision to gather was made.
“So? What’s the actual situation?”
Once everyone had assembled, Shurein began.
“The species and other things are in complete disarray. If there are any overlaps, they are merely coincidental.”
“The same is true for me.”
“Me too~”
“The lack of commonalities is, in itself, a characteristic.”
As everyone felt, those who had been blessed with children of gods had very few commonalities.
Of course, since there were over twenty compiled stories, there were similar tales, but when asked if they were commonalities, one could only tilt their head.
“In the first place, since the partners were all goddesses, our genders are reversed.”
As Shurein stated, they had no idea how the difference in gender would affect things.
“That may be, but if that were a problem, I don’t think we would have received such an oracle.”
Silvia, who had had a divine union with Eris, stated this with certainty.
“Um… there’s something that’s been bothering me…”
“What is it? Since we have no leads at the moment, it’s best to voice anything that comes to mind.”
Everyone except Peach nodded at Floria’s words.
“There are many stories about the children of gods achieving great things, but don’t you think there are few stories about the parent who conceived them~?”
At her words, everyone except Peach had a look of sudden realization.
“Indeed. For someone who has researched this many stories, the crucial parts are lacking.”
“Perhaps the stories were never passed down, or they were intentionally suppressed?”
“Considering ordinary circumstances, it’s more likely to be intentional.”
All eyes turned to Silvia, who answered with certainty.
“Why do you say that?”
“If the temple had been involved in the birth of the children of gods, they would surely have remained as myths.”
Silvia reasoned that because they were not temple officials, the myths were not recorded, and additionally, information identifying them was hidden as if in concealment from the temple.
And at Silvia’s words, everyone looked at each other.
Since this is a rather important discussion, it will continue for a bit longer.
Frankly speaking, the crucial parts could not be written in this section.
