Five days had already passed since Kousuke and his companions began their investigation of the Aris Temple’s library.
It wasn’t that they had found nothing during that time; quite the opposite.
On the fifth night.
Kousuke and the others, while cross-referencing the day’s findings in their inn room, had reached a conclusion.
“This is probably confirmed now.”
Everyone nodded at Kousuke’s words.
Since around yesterday, they had limited their research to the temple itself, not the town.
The effect, after all, was behaving exactly like that of Vermilia Castle.
This also meant that Kousuke’s intuition upon arriving in town had been spot on.
From the Church’s perspective, they likely preserved the temple’s effects as a divine gift in their library to emphasize its authority. However, this had backfired.
They probably hadn’t anticipated that other buildings would possess effects similar to Aris Temple.
Alternatively, it’s also possible that they knew about Vermilia Castle but, believing it to be lost, the priests at the time didn’t hesitate to leave the temple’s records as they were.
“But what do we do now? Even if it has the same effect as Vermilia Castle, it’s not proof that the Prost Clan is involved!”
It would be ideal if they could find any mention of the Prost Clan or something like the Vermilia Jewel, but they hadn’t discovered anything of that sort.
Furthermore, Kousuke and his companions’ objective was to confirm whether the Prost Clan existed, not to dig into the past.
They hadn’t found any books mentioning the Prost Clan even when they were investigating the library.
“Hmm. That’s the problem. If things are going well in their current state, there’s no need for us to poke around, is there?”
What Kousuke said also presented a dilemma.
If the Prost Clan had indeed allied with some members of the Church during their persecution and chosen to live in seclusion in this remote area, then perhaps Kousuke and his group didn’t need to interfere.
What Kousuke and the others were currently certain of was only that Aris Temple possessed divine gifts similar to Vermilia Castle.
“If someone from the Prost Clan has truly survived and is maintaining this temple, I’d like to speak to them.”
“Indeed. We’d like to tell them that the current world is far more livable than it was back then.”
“But we don’t know where they are~?”
Peach’s words drew sighs from Kousuke and Shurein.
While their investigation of Aris Temple was going exceptionally well, there was no sign of the Prost Clan whatsoever.
If the Prost Clan were cooperating with Aris Temple, it was entirely possible that they would make sure to leave no record of their involvement.
There was a chance that Kousuke and his group’s meddling, when things were going so smoothly, could have the opposite effect.
“Now, what should we do?”
Kousuke tilted his head as he said that.
The possibility of the Prost Clan being involved in Aris Temple made it paradoxically harder to act.
“For now, I’ll go and examine the temple directly tomorrow.”
“Hmm. Then I shall continue rummaging through the books.”
“I’ll investigate the books too~”
“I will, of course, follow Kousuke-sama.”
With their individual plans decided, everyone went to bed in preparation for the next day.
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The next day, Kousuke meticulously examined the exterior of the temple.
If it operated on a similar mechanism to Vermilia Castle, examining the exterior wouldn’t yield much, but it would still allow him to investigate the flow of power.
That was the same for Vermilia Castle as well.
“…Even if it’s warmer compared to the outside, it’s still cold.”
“Are you alright? How about we go inside and warm up for a bit?”
Mitsuki said this to Kousuke, who was shivering from the cold.
She herself didn’t seem particularly bothered by the cold.
Seeing Mitsuki like that, Kousuke had a fleeting thought about how her body temperature regulation worked.
Kousuke was about to follow Mitsuki’s suggestion and re-enter the temple, but just before the entrance, someone blocked his path.
That person was the Temple Head, Adrian.
“Oh. Is your investigation of the temple finished?”
“No. Honestly, having been outside for a long time, I got cold, so I came in to warm up for a bit.”
Kousuke honestly replied to the Temple Head, who had asked as if seeking confirmation.
There was no particular need to hide the fact that he was investigating the temple.
“Oh, that won’t do. We wouldn’t want you to catch a cold, would we? How about a warm drink in my room?”
The Temple Head, for his part, had intended to invite Kousuke to his private room later and have a conversation.
He had come out in the first place to find out what Kousuke was investigating.
Meanwhile, Kousuke readily accepted the generous offer.
“That would be wonderful, but is that alright?”
“Of course. Besides, I’m curious about what you all are investigating. Since you’re here, I’d like to hear about it.”
“I see. In that case, I don’t mind at all.”
Kousuke knew that the temple authorities, more so than the Temple Head, had been keeping an eye on their activities.
He had let it be until now because they hadn’t taken any direct action, but now that the Temple Head himself had come forward, he thought it would be good to talk.
As expected, the room used by the Temple Head was furnished with splendid items.
More precisely, it was likely a reception room for guests.
Kousuke and Mitsuki sat opposite the Temple Head as they were guided.
“So, regarding your investigation, what part of the temple are you examining?”
The Temple Head got straight to the point, and Kousuke replied with a smile.
“I am an adventurer, but I am also a technician specializing in magic tools. Divine gifts like this temple are good studies for research.”
Although it deviated from their original objective, he wasn’t lying.
In reality, there were few opportunities to closely examine divine gifts other than those created in structures like Vermilia Castle.
Kousuke’s words caused the Temple Head to show an expression as if he’d heard something unexpected.
“Oh. I see. So that’s why you were investigating the temple and the town, and so on.”
“Yes. Information obtained from literature is also valuable, even more so than actually touching it.”
Kousuke answered as if it were the most ordinary thing, feeling the gaze of the Temple Head and the surrounding priests upon him.
Mitsuki, as usual, did not interject while Kousuke was speaking.
Kousuke, seeing the Temple Head appear to accept his explanation, decided to ask a question.
The answer to this question would determine their future course of action.
“Let me ask you one thing: I found an unused entrance on the side of this temple. Are you aware of it?”
“Hmm? An unused entrance, you say?”
The Temple Head responded with an expression as if he was hearing this for the first time.
Perhaps he didn’t know which entrance Kousuke was referring to, but his expression gave no hint of deception.
“Yes. It’s around where the exterior decorations stop.”
“That alone doesn’t tell me much… Can someone bring me the blueprints?”
When the Temple Head gave that instruction, a young priest hurried into the room.
In his hand was a document containing the temple’s blueprints.
Kousuke pointed to a spot on the spread-out blueprints.
“Around here.”
“There shouldn’t be any door there, though?”
“Well, it’s a type of hidden door. It can’t be helped that it wasn’t discovered until now.”
The Temple Head stared at Kousuke with wide eyes as he said that.
“You found that in just a few days?”
“I was lucky. If you had paid attention, the Temple Head might have noticed it too?”
Kousuke’s ability to find the hidden door was due to tracing the divine power that enveloped the temple.
He implied that even the Temple Head, if they put their mind to it, could trace it, even if they couldn’t use divine power.
“…I see. I’ll hear more about that later, but can that door be opened?”
“What do you think? I didn’t investigate it in detail because I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to open it.”
“Then, could you please investigate it? If you’d like, we can formalize it as a request.”
The Temple Head said that, likely keeping in mind that Kousuke was an adventurer. Kousuke, upon hearing this, smiled.
“If that’s the case, we would be the ones asking for the favor.”
“Understood. I will issue the request immediately, and if possible, we would like it done tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
Kousuke had no problem with it being a request from the Temple Head.
What lay beyond the door was, even for Kousuke, still unknown.
The results would have to wait until tomorrow.
