Thanks to Clara’s oracle, Kousuke and his party were able to easily access the library exclusively for clerics, and decided to begin their investigation immediately.
Shurein and the others started their investigation right away, but Kousuke had a different matter to attend to.
That matter was to express his gratitude to Clara.
Normally, it would not be possible to have a Divine Union so quickly, but the circumstances were different here.
Aris Temple enshrines Clara (God) as their Main God, so Divine Unions are easy to perform.
Even so, it was something only Kousuke could do.
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As soon as the Divine Union was initiated, Clara responded.
“Oh my. Thank you for going to such lengths.”
“No, thank you.”
“It’s alright. We should do something for you once in a while, too.”
“I’m grateful that you say so.”
“What are you saying? There are many goddesses who want to cooperate with you. If I didn’t help, I’d be blamed.”
“Hahaha.”
At first, Kousuke thought she was being overly dramatic, but as he recalled the goddesses he had met in the Divine Realm, he could only laugh.
He was not simply laughing to cover it up. Probably.
While making incomprehensible excuses in his mind, Kousuke thanked Clara again.
“I was saved thanks to you.”
“It’s alright. We’re already helped just by you coming to the Divine Realm. Besides, there are other things I’m expecting this time, you know.”
“Other things?”
Clara’s phrasing suggested there was something more besides finding the Prost Clan.
“I’m sorry. I can’t say right now. But I believe you will reach your goal properly.”
The fact that she couldn’t say meant there must be some reason.
In such cases, it often doesn’t go well if you know too much beforehand.
Sensing this, Kousuke didn’t ask any further.
“Also, it pains me that I can’t offer any more help than this?”
“No. It’s alright. we have to do what we need to do ourselves.”
“Is that so? Well, I suppose you would say that. …Oh. What a shame. It seems it’s time already.”
As Clara said that, the Divine Union suddenly became unstable.
This can happen when forcefully connecting without any tools.
Even though it’s a Divine Union between gods, it’s inevitable that there are limitations.
If it were with gods with a strong connection to Kousuke, like Eris, they would have been able to talk a bit longer.
“Well then, see you in the Divine Realm again.”
“Yes. That’s right…”
Clara seemed to have said something more, but unfortunately, the Divine Union was abruptly cut off.
That was the limit.
There was nothing Kousuke could do about it, so he let out a single sigh and headed towards where Shurein and the others were.
The place where the books were kept, to which they were guided by the Temple Head, was, as expected, also used by other clerics.
Therefore, the Divine Union was performed in a place where no one else was around.
When Kousuke returned to the library (?) after the Divine Union, Shurein and the others were seated, engrossed in reading several books.
Several clerics were glancing at Shurein and the others.
Shurein and the others were probably aware of this, but they pretended not to notice.
Although such gazes would be annoying while reading, they appeared to be unaffected externally.
Among the three who were focused on the books, Mitsuki noticed Kousuke’s return and looked up.
“How was it?”
“No, nothing in particular. We just thanked each other and finished. We didn’t have much time, either.”
“I see.”
“So, what about the important stuff here? Well, I suppose you’ve just started looking, but…”
Kousuke’s words were met with a nod from Mitsuki.
“Yes. For now, we’ve identified where the promising books are, but we’re still at the beginning.”
Given the considerable number of books, it would take a significant amount of time just to find the book containing the information they were looking for.
They were already prepared for a long haul.
Kousuke reached for one of the books stacked on top of each other and immediately began to read it.
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After finishing their investigation on the first day and returning to their inn, Kousuke and his party discussed the contents of the books they had read.
By the way, Mitsuki had set up a barrier to prevent their voices from leaking outside.
“So, how did it go?”
Shurein was the first to respond to Kousuke’s question.
“As expected, I suppose. It was just a general history of the temple.”
“Same here~”
“Indeed.”
Peach and Mitsuki nodded in agreement.
“Well, that’s only natural. It’s unlikely that we’d find any hints so easily.”
Kousuke had expected this result, so he wasn’t particularly disappointed.
Rather, the help they received from Clara on the first day was significant.
Expecting any more help than that would be literally sacrilegious.
From now on, they would need to find something that might serve as a hint on their own.
Kousuke and his party had come to this town of Aris with the expectation that because the town itself had a long history, old stories might remain.
In that sense, being able to examine the temple’s library, which is said to have existed since the town’s inception, was significant.
However, they did not believe that books detrimental to the temple would be accessible to many people.
Silvia had also warned them about this.
Rather, they suspected that such books would be stored in a place accessible only to high-ranking priests, as forbidden texts.
Kousuke and his party were investigating the temple’s library with this prediction in mind.
Even among such books, there was a possibility of finding something that could serve as a hint.
“Perhaps the origin of the temple itself could be a hint.”
Mitsuki reacted to Kousuke’s mumbling.
“The barrier that covers the town, you mean?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
To understand what kind of barrier could allow them to overcome the harsh winters in a mountainous region, it would be best to investigate the temple itself.
They might also find out if it was similar to the World Tree or Vermilia Castle.
“Should we check that area tomorrow?”
“Yes. Then, I’ll check the temple. You all continue to investigate the origin of the town.”
The three agreed to Kousuke’s instructions and nodded.
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“Is that so? They have returned to their inn.”
Adrian, the Temple Head, received a report from one of the priests who had been watching Kousuke and his party.
The Temple Head was not setting up surveillance with any particular ulterior motive.
He simply wanted to know what a group that had received an oracle directly from a god was trying to do.
It could even be considered a natural course of action for the Temple Head.
It was precisely because Kousuke understood this that he had ignored the surveillance.
“Yes. The books they were investigating were, as they said, only about the history of this town.”
“I see.”
While replying to the report, the Temple Head tilted his head.
The origin of this town was not something an ordinary adventurer would investigate.
Whether an adventurer who receives direct oracles from the Main God is ordinary is another matter.
“In any case, they plan to come again tomorrow, so please continue to monitor them.”
“Understood.”
As the priest who was about to leave replied, Adrian hastily added.
“Please be sure not to interfere unnecessarily.”
“…Yes.”
The descent of the gods, which had occurred after a long time, had not yet faded from the memories of the clergy.
It was an event that made them realize anew that their perception that gods stayed confined to the Divine Realm and did not directly interfere in this world was mistaken.
As the Temple Head responsible for protecting the temple of this town, he could not allow the same thing to happen again.
Ultimately, the Temple Head’s limit was that he could only watch over Kousuke and his party’s actions.
The Temple Head, Adrian, is a cleric with a proper (of all things?) sense of duty.
Placing a watch on them is within the scope of normal actions for a Temple Head.
After all, they are individuals who receive oracles from the gods.
