While the surroundings showed various reactions, the performer herself, without confirming them, was solely focused on her dance.
This was the first time she was using the divine sword she held, but Floria’s body was reacting in various ways without her conscious effort.
She was amazed, wondering if this was the effect of a divine tool with its own consciousness. However, relying entirely on the divine tool for its special effects (?), Floria continued to dance.
When Floria was dancing, she was unaware of her surroundings, so she didn’t know what kind of reactions the audience was showing.
Because of this state, she also had no idea what Silvia or Kousuke were showing, and Floria was focused on completing her dance until the end.
The dance Floria was performing, while having individual forms, did not have a predetermined sequence from beginning to end.
Therefore, what kind of dance it would become depended solely on Floria’s mood at the time.
Because of this, Floria herself didn’t know how the dance would unfold at that moment.
That is why she was completely unaware of what movements the divine sword was making and what results it would bring.
In short, Floria herself had no grasp of what was about to happen, and only Kousuke accurately understood what was transpacing.
About ten minutes had passed since Floria’s dance began.
The audience, who had been captivated by the dance during that time, finally began to notice the anomaly in the venue.
The trails of light that had occurred with each swing of the divine sword were not disappearing and were remaining in place.
And at the very moment Floria’s dance came to an end, the remaining trails of light emitted an even stronger light.
If one had the eyes to see, they would have understood that those trails of light were functioning as magic circles.
“Huh? What is this?”
While Floria, who was the cause of it all, was dumbfounded, the magic circle emitted an even stronger light.
The intensity of the light caused everyone in the venue to cover their eyes with their arms and hands to shield themselves.
And then, in the sky above the venue after the light disappeared, a being with three pairs of six wings had appeared.
As the entire venue erupted in a commotion at the sudden appearance of the spokesperson, Mitsuki, who was floating in the air, spoke.
Of course, magic had been used to obscure her face from those in the venue.
“I witnessed a magnificent dance that made excellent use of the divine tool’s characteristics.”
As Mitsuki spoke, she slightly raised her right hand.
In her hand was a magatama that shone with seven colors.
The audience didn’t know what the magatama was, but they understood that the shining light was the same light generated by the magic circle from before.
The power generated from the divine tool by Floria’s dancing had been gathered into that magatama.
“I am looking forward to seeing what kind of power your next dance will reveal…”
Mitsuki said, and then disappeared without a sound.
For a while, the audience was surprised by the spokesperson’s appearance, but then, applause that started from some seats spread throughout the entire venue.
Hearing the sound of the applause, they could understand which performance was more fitting to possess the divine tool, compared to the temple’s performance held earlier.
However, the audience here had forgotten all about that and were simply showering Floria, who had performed the dance, with unreserved applause.
***
In a room within the arena, still retaining the heat from before, Silvia and Floria, the participants of this whole affair, along with temple officials had gathered.
Looking at the faces of the temple officials, there was no need to put into words who the victor was.
However, the Temple Head, who desperately wanted to ask about one thing, opened his mouth and addressed Silvia.
“There’s something I’d like to ask, is that okay?”
“…What is it?”
“When did you realize it?”
Unlike when they had met the other day, Horace had dropped his pretense of polite speech. His psychological state was that acknowledging defeat in this matter was unavoidable, but he wanted to emphasize his position as Temple Head.
To Horace, Silvia replied briefly.
“From the beginning.”
“What?”
“I knew from the moment I received this divine tool from its previous owner, before you came to the bar.”
To be precise, she had known even before that, but Silvia had no intention of explaining such a thing.
“…I see.”
Horace and the other temple officials, having already given up on obtaining the divine tool, or perhaps shaken by Floria’s dance, had lost the momentum they had from their previous meeting.
They had looked down on Silvia’s group as mere adventurers, so the shock was that much greater.
The Chief Priest, instead of Horace, who had fallen silent after saying only that, asked.
“Why did you know?”
To that question, Silvia looked directly at the Chief Priest and replied.
“You may not remember, but the Avatar is one of the gods who govern tools, you know?”
“That…”
“Even if you cannot receive direct oracles, you must know many ways to receive revelations from the gods. Or do you require my teachings?”
The Chief Priest, who was pointedly reminded that he was being asked for instruction by someone he had looked down on as a mere adventurer, was speechless. He tried to bluster his way through with his position as Chief Priest, but in the end, what Silvia had just said was the core of the issue.
Seeing Horace and the Chief Priest fall silent, Silvia decided to press her advantage.
“You emphasized the position of the gods you believe in, but for people like us, what’s important is not the gods themselves, but our own faith. This is fundamental, is it not?”
Her words were a scathing criticism of the temple officials who, solely focused on obtaining the divine tool, had failed to even question the gods. As a result, Silvia had successfully obtained the divine tool.
No counterarguments came from the temple officials gathered there.
“Rather than looking down on us as newly emerged gods, I recommend you focus on your own training.”
“Sil, that’s enough.”
Floria, judging that it was time to stop, called Silvia by her nickname and put an end to it. It seemed Silvia’s prior anger was still lingering.
Looking startled at being stopped by Floria, Silvia shook her head left and right once, then continued.
“…Indeed, there’s no point in saying more. In any case, this divine tool belongs to us.”
No one from the temple officials stopped Silvia as she reached for the divine sword.
Some time after Silvia and Floria left the room, Horace muttered.
“…We were told off.”
“…Shall we take action?”
The High Priest, clearly unenthusiastic, asked Horace if he wanted to take some action against Silvia. This was said because, as an organization, the temple could not simply let the matter rest after being berated. However, Horace shook his head left and right. The proceedings of the arena performance were already known to the townspeople. In such a situation, spreading strange rumors about Silvia would only be seen as the temple’s jealousy. The High Priest’s unenthusiastic expression was likely due to these circumstances. Furthermore, Horace was beginning to suspect Silvia’s true identity. If he were to probe carelessly, it might lead to unforeseen consequences. It would be better to listen to her words. After all, she was said to be the closest to the gods among the shrine maidens in the current world. Horace, with a mixture of various thoughts, let out a deep sigh.
This was a long overdue scene for Mitsuki. Many of you probably predicted the descent of goddesses, starting with Spica, didn’t you? Please don’t complain that she only appears for a few lines! This marks the end of the interactions with the temple. I believe this chapter will conclude with the next story.
