The spring on the 70th Layer was different from the springs on the previous layers. It was entirely an artificial structure. The enclosure holding the water that sprang forth was a perfect circle about three meters in diameter. Another unique feature was that the water erupting from the center of the spring rose about fifty centimeters, unlike the other springs. This seemed to indicate that this was the origin point, unlike the other springs.
Kousuke approached the three springs and examined each of their waters with God’s Left Eye. Two of the springs contained “Aether” and “Raspica Water,” which they had found before. However, the third spring was problematic. Kousuke confirmed the name of this new water, and with that, was satisfied by the results, which were somewhat as expected. The name of the third spring was “Sujarau Water.” With this, the three names, Eris, Spica, and Jal, were now complete.
Kousuke had also noticed another name. However, before confirming it, he looked at Ririka. “You mentioned feeling divine energy, but can you tell where it’s coming from?”
“Uhh, yes. Could you wait a little longer? I’m sure it’s from here, but I’m not sure what’s at the center…” Ririka replied, her eyes closed, as she had already been searching for divine energy even before Kousuke asked. It was easier to search for divine energy without unnecessary visual information. After searching for a while, Ririka found the central location. It was none other than the exact center of where the three springs were located.
“I think this is it…” Ririka said, tilting her head at the center. “Did something happen?” Kousuke asked. “Yes. I think this can be pushed, but I’m hesitant about whether or not I should push it,” Ririka said, pointing to something that clearly looked like a button on the floor. It was in a location where someone could easily step on it and press it without realizing it. However, things in such obvious places were often traps.
While Kousuke and the others were debating whether or not to push the button, Peach approached and suddenly touched it. “Peach!?” Kousuke hurriedly tried to stop her, but Peach replied with a confident expression. “It seems like it’s safe to push~?” It turned out she hadn’t intended to push it, but merely wanted to touch it. But the moment she touched the button, Peach made that declaration. Looking at her face, Kousuke could tell that her power was at work.
Peach, who was touching the button with her hand, tried to push it, but it was stiff and difficult to move. After fiddling with the button for a while, tilting her head, Peach looked towards Kousuke. “Mr. Kousuke, could you push it?” “Huh? Me?” “Yes~. I think only Mr. Kousuke can do it.” “Alright. Could you move aside for a moment?” Kousuke said, and Peach, who had been squatting and fiddling with the button, moved.
Kousuke switched places with Peach and, squatting similarly, pushed the button with his hand. To his surprise, it pushed in smoothly. The moment he touched the button, he felt it react to his divine energy. It seemed to have been designed to react only to those who possessed divine energy from the beginning.
As Kousuke pushed the button, a rumbling sound suddenly began to echo around them. “Master!” Kouhi immediately approached Kousuke, ready for anything, while Mitsuki kept watch over the surroundings. Nana, who was beside Mitsuki, also lowered her stance and prepared herself. As the ground rumbled, the surroundings rapidly changed. Their field of vision rose rapidly. The area where the springs were located was ascending, with the springs at its apex. By the time the rumbling stopped, a temple had appeared, with the spring area forming its peak. However, since Kousuke and the others were on top of the temple, they couldn’t see its entire form.
A staircase leading down had appeared next to the spring area, so Kousuke and the others descended. The area where the springs were, which had been their previous location, was now the second floor, and the area they descended to was the first floor, where an entrance to the outside was visible. The first floor was not divided into several rooms but was a large, open hall.
From the previous movement, the first floor should have been underground, but there was no unique smell of being buried in the earth for a long time. Instead, there was an atmosphere of tranquility. As Kousuke and the others observed the hall after descending to the first floor, Ririka’s attention was drawn to the paintings on the walls of the hall. Kousuke approached Ririka and asked, “You’re looking at them very intently, did you understand something?”
In response to Kousuke’s question, Ririka stared at the paintings for a moment and shook her head. “I can say that I understood, and I can also say that I didn’t.” “What do you mean?” Kousuke tilted his head at Ririka’s subtle reply. “First, I understand that these paintings depict gods from a very ancient era. However, I have never seen what is depicted here before.” In this world, with its many gods, few people know everything about all of them. Furthermore, some gods have been lost to time, so if this were written about them, even Ririka would be helpless.
“If I’m not mistaken, the three figures depicted here are the Three Great Gods,” Ririka said, pointing to a part of the painting where three women were depicted. Come to think of it, the faces of these women did have features similar to the goddesses Kousuke knew. However, Kousuke noticed that Ririka herself looked unconfident. “You seem quite unconfident,” Kousuke remarked. “Yes, to be honest, I’m not confident. That’s because the woman at the center, surrounded by the three figures, is someone I’ve never seen before.”
As Ririka said, there were several places in the paintings where three women were depicted. However, in all of them, a fourth woman was also drawn. Furthermore, this fourth woman was depicted as being in a higher position than the other three. “I have never heard of the existence of a god in a position higher than the Three Great Gods,” Ririka added. “I see,” Kousuke replied briefly. Ririka seemed to sense something from his words. “Kousuke-sama?” Ririka looked at him, tilting her head, but Kousuke shook his head. “No. More importantly, if that woman is in a higher position than the other three, can we assume this temple is dedicated to her?”
Sensing that she shouldn’t pry further from Kousuke’s attitude, Ririka no longer asked questions and answered his query. “Yes. However, given its scale, it might be more appropriate to call this a branch temple to honor achievements rather than the main temple.” “Ah, that’s true,” Kousuke agreed with Ririka’s plausible explanation.
After spending some time investigating the temple, Kousuke and the others quickly headed towards the Teleport Gate that led to the 71st Layer. Once they passed through that gate, they could return to the 70th Layer at any time. Although they hadn’t fully investigated the temple, Kousuke’s demeanor made everyone realize that it was probably best not to delve deeper into it. Kousuke, aware of this, had intentionally not brought it up. The fourth woman! I wonder who she is~? (Sincerely)
By the way, the third type of water was “Sujarau Water.” Did anyone guess the name correctly? lol (What? Was it too easy? S-sorry >_<)
