This is the second part of today’s two-part update.
Please be mindful of sections you may wish to skip.
Kousuke was simply overwhelmed as he looked at the three temples standing before him.
Each temple was quite large compared to the surrounding buildings.
Of all the structures Kousuke had seen since arriving in this world, these emanated an overwhelmingly solemn and magnificent atmosphere.
And there were three of them.
These three temples, of course, were dedicated to the great gods Elisamil, Jamil, and Spica.
However, in this world’s religious views, it was rare for a single temple to enshrine only one god.
Led by the three great gods, other deities believed to belong to each of them were enshrined in their respective temples.
In the first place, having three temples in one city was unusual.
Most cities had only one temple, where a wide variety of gods were enshrined.
While this was sometimes the case for gods with many followers, gods with few followers rarely had shrine maidens or priests outside of their main temples.
It was not uncommon for gods to have no temples at all, in which case their believers would offer prayers individually. Of course, the methods of worship themselves varied greatly from god to god.
Kousuke was currently in the city of Mikusen.
This city, located in the southeast of the continent, was famous as a holy site on the Central Continent.
It was the only city on the Central Continent where temples dedicated to each of the three great gods were all present.
Many devout pilgrims gathered here, disregarding the danger of being attacked by monsters from all over the continent.
Naturally, individuals could not deal with monsters alone, so they came on pilgrim tours with guards.
It was also a city where many clerics lived to serve these followers.
The reason Kousuke and the others were visiting Mikusen was partly to scout the installation of a teleport gate, but also because of what Silvia had told him.
“…In Mikusen city?”
“Yes. That city is a holy site dedicated to the three great gods. In that city, I might be able to find a clue to performing the descent of the gods myself.”
“…I see. Well, I was planning to go there anyway, so do you want to come along, Silvia?”
“I would be very grateful if you would.”
“Understood. …So, what about the other members?”
“I will accompany you this time.”
Kouhi raised her hand as she said this.
“In that case, I’ll pass this time.”
It had been Kousuke’s wish for a while that one of Kouhi or Mitsuki remain in the tower when he went outside.
“…May I accompany you as well?”
Unusually, Shurein raised her hand to join the traveling party.
“What’s wrong? That’s rare.”
“Nothing, I just felt like traveling with Lord Kousuke for once.”
“Hmm? …Well, I have no reason to refuse, so it’s fine?”
“Really…!?”
Kousuke was surprised by Shurein’s delighted expression.
Come to to think of it, he had hardly ever gone outside the tower with Shurein.
It wasn’t solely because Shurein was a vampire.
In this world, vampires were not a prevalent species, but they were not particularly targeted for subjugation either.
They were treated the same as other demi-humans, although there were, as usual, countries that ostracized demi-humans.
The reason they hadn’t gone out together before was simply a matter of timing.
“Yes. If there are no problems on the 76th Floor, then it’s fine.”
“That should be alright.”
“Then there’s no problem. …Colette, it’s no use making that resentful face.”
“Oh no…”
Colette’s shoulders slumped as she said that.
Colette was currently undergoing training as a Shrine Maiden of Esena (World Tree) under Sheryl, the Shrine Maiden of the Elf Village.
“Because I’ve been told strictly by Sheryl-san through Kouhi.”
“Wh-When did that happen…”
Colette was currently prohibited from leaving the World Tree on the 73rd Floor while undergoing training.
The only exception was coming to the Management Layer when Kousuke was present.
This was an exceptional measure because Kousuke was connected to Esena.
However, it seemed that just being near Kousuke wasn’t enough.
The judgment on that matter belonged to Esena and Sheryl, so Kousuke didn’t quite understand.
“Do your best until Sheryl-san gives you permission.”
“…Haa~ I understand.”
Kousuke could only offer a wry smile to Colette, who dropped her shoulders again and sighed.
And so, this time, Kousuke, Kouhi, Shurein, and Silvia visited Mikusen, a party of four.
“Silvia, do you know which one is Elisamil’s temple?”
“It’s the one in the middle.”
“Understood. Then, shall we go in? …Is it alright for ordinary people to enter?”
“Of course.”
There was no point in being overwhelmed by the exterior forever, so they decided to go inside.
Kousuke first entered Elisamil’s temple, which was the initial objective.
However.
“…Hmm?”
As they reached the entrance of Elisamil Temple, Shurein let out a strange sound.
“Shurein, is something wrong?”
“No, just a moment… Hmm. …I have a different task to attend to. I’ll be back at the inn tonight, so I’ll part ways here for now.”
“Ah, wait, Shure— …they’re fast.”
Shurein walked off before they could stop her.
“Can’t be helped. We’ll go into the temple.”
“…Is that alright?”
“We’ve already secured rooms at the inn, so it’s fine. There’s no point in staying here, and we’ll just be in the way of others.”
“Understood.”
“Alright.”
The three of them, Kousuke, gave up on chasing Shurein and decided to enter Elisamil Temple as planned.
Upon entering Elisamil Temple, Kousuke was once again surprised.
It wasn’t due to the magnificence of the interior.
Of course, the interior was as magnificent as the exterior.
But besides that, Kousuke felt something unexpected.
The large hall just inside the temple was accessible to the public, and the statue of Elisamil was enshrined at the front.
Benches were provided, and worshippers prayed before the statue in their own ways.
What surprised Kousuke was not the statue itself, but the presence that permeated the area around it.
“…This is…”
Kousuke approached the statue and then settled himself on the floor.
Seeing this, Kouhi took out a cloth from her Item Box.
“Master. Here.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
Still in a daze, Kousuke spread the cloth on the floor, sat down, and crossed his legs.
He then closed his eyes and began to sense the presence.
Divine Power could naturally be felt. However, besides that, Kousuke felt a presence that he found nostalgic.
The presence Kousuke remembered was far stronger than the one emanating here.
It was clearly much weaker than at that place.
However, a part of the presence that drifted around the statue was undoubtedly the presence of the [Evergreen Garden].
Kousuke, with his legs crossed and eyes closed, tried to sense that presence.
Although Kousuke wasn’t consciously aware of it, this was clearly one of the practices performed by clerics as part of their training.
However, he performed it far more naturally than anyone Silvia knew.
Silvia simply stared blankly at Kousuke, who was trying to sense the divine presence even more powerfully, or perhaps far more deeply, before her eyes.
2014/6/9 Typo correction
