This is an explanation chapter.
Just because there are merchants piggybacking on the pilgrimage group doesn’t mean that Kousuke and the others are protecting all of them.
The barrier that Kousuke sets up when combat occurs is only for the two wagons of the pilgrimage group and their own wagon.
Therefore, the piggybacking merchants must protect their cargo wagons themselves when the caravan is attacked by monsters.
Kousuke isn’t issuing instructions to not protect them either, so when combat breaks out, Nana eagerly runs off to defeat the attacking monsters.
As a result, Nana’s actions end up protecting the other merchant caravans as well.
“Even so, is it alright? It looks like they’re even taking the monsters your familiars defeated?”
Zento, who had been watching the adventurers deal with the monster attack, asked Kousuke this.
In the direction Zento was looking, adventurers who were guards for the merchants were unthinkingly stripping monster materials.
It was obvious even to an outsider that they were desperate to finish their work quickly to avoid being left behind by the pilgrimage group.
“I wouldn’t say it’s alright, but isn’t it unavoidable? It takes time to strip everything, after all,” Kousuke replied.
Seeing Kousuke so easily dismiss the matter, Zento gave a wry smile.
From his attitude and words, it was clear that Kousuke didn’t have much need for the monster materials that could be obtained in this area.
Furthermore, considering Kousuke’s Rank, he understood that the money obtained from the monster materials found here would not be a significant amount.
What was important to Kousuke now was not the materials obtained from monsters, but how to safely and quickly bring the pilgrimage group to their destination.
Zento, understanding this, didn’t press the matter of the monsters any further.
“Well then, it looks like it’s almost over, so shall we depart?”
Zento said this while aware that the merchant escort adventurers were still skinning monsters.
The pilgrimage group, while allowing freeloaders as a form of charity, was not adjusting its actions to match those of the freeloading merchants.
When Zento said to go, it meant the pilgrimage group was starting to move.
Since Kousuke and his group had no intention of skinning monsters themselves, their departure preparations were minimal.
They merely stored the carcasses of the defeated monsters in their magic item box and Item Box to prevent other monsters from being drawn to the area.
This also saved time as they didn’t have to spend it skinning the monsters on the spot.
Kousuke looked around, confirmed that Shurein and the others had finished their work, and then signaled his departure before nodding to Zento.
“Yes. We’re ready anytime.”
“Is that so? Then, let’s go.”
As Zento got into his wagon, Kousuke and Silvia boarded the same wagon.
While Kousuke and his group were fighting, the priests and shrine maidens riding in the pilgrimage group’s wagons did not participate in the combat.
As can be seen from Silvia, there was no shortage of clerics who could participate in combat.
Moreover, when the pilgrimage group was attacked, those riding in the wagons were considered to be participating in combat as part of their training.
Therefore, during the initial combat, some of the accompanying priests and shrine maidens had attempted to join the fight.
However, perhaps realizing they would be more of a hindrance than a help, they settled into waiting inside the wagons.
Silvia’s presence also played a part in bringing about that arrangement.
It was faster for Silvia, being a fellow shrine maiden, to convey Kousuke’s wishes than for Kousuke to say anything himself. That’s why she was riding in the same wagon as Kousuke in case of any issues.
Even now, Silvia was not in the driver’s seat but on the wagon bed, diligently engaged in information gathering (?).
“…In other words, is there a major reorganization taking place on the North Continent right now?”
The shrine maiden sitting opposite Silvia corrected her confirmation.
“Rather than ‘taking place,’ it would be more accurate to say ‘has taken place.'”
The holy cloth she wore was from the North Continent.
Everyone present was a cleric, so she likely knew this.
Silvia, while looking impressed by the information she provided, was internally surprised by the unexpected news.
On the North Continent, the church organization held sway, for better or worse.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that changes in the upper echelons of the church in each area determined the overall policy of the continent.
As Queen’s retainer, she had access to detailed information when she was in charge of temple affairs, but now her focus was on managing the Tower.
Therefore, she was not very familiar with recent developments.
However, with the information from the shrine maiden before her, she had a general understanding of the situation on the North Continent.
Ever since they had made a move on the Central Continent, various power struggles had been ongoing within the North Continent’s church for a long time.
At least, as long as Silvia was publicly active, those struggles had continued. But from the shrine maiden’s words, she could infer that they had ended.
If the internal turmoil on the North Continent subsided, they might turn their attention outward.
This was not particularly good news for the Central Continent.
Of course, the policies the North Continent would adopt under its new system remained largely unknown.
However, it was naturally expected that Towa and Kokoro would also be gathering such information.
Kousuke could imagine that they were taking appropriate countermeasures and responses.
While it wasn’t entirely unrelated to Silvia, it was information she could listen to from a slightly distanced perspective.
The relationships between continents or nations were not directly relevant to Silvia. What concerned her more was how the North Continent would react to Kousuke’s upcoming Divine Realm Conversion of the Central Continent.
The Divine Realm Conversion would cause significant shifts not only on the North Continent but on other continents as well, and naturally, it would affect Kousuke.
While nothing direct would happen to Kousuke, who was confined to the Tower, he would be significantly impacted in terms of faith in him as an Avatar.
Even considering past events, it was unlikely that people’s faith would directly affect Kousuke in any way, but the possibility of something happening was undeniable.
This could also be inferred from the fact that he could now grant blessings to Ririka and the others.
Determining what might happen to Kousuke was, in Silvia’s opinion, an important part of her job.
The information Silvia was gathering from the pilgrims was not limited to the North Continent.
Within the Central Continent, there was no end to discussions about how Kousuke’s story was spreading and how he was being worshipped.
The conversations tending to focus on Kousuke were not intentional on Silvia’s part; rather, it was because Kousuke’s influence as an Avatar had grown significantly in the Central Continent.
While he couldn’t quite be placed above the Three Great Gods, he was certainly talked about more than other gods.
Given that Razek Amamiya considered the Avatar to be their main god, this was perhaps natural, but it also indicated how widely faith in Kousuke had spread among the people since he was publicly declared an Avatar.
This was not a faith that spread merely through divine pronouncements or rumors from the gods, but a faith that had truly taken root among the people.
Confirming this with the pilgrims, Silvia’s thoughts turned to the Divine Realm Conversion of the Central Continent and the Lily Shinto Shrine she had built at Amamiya Tower.
This was a summary of the current situation in the North Continent and the changes in how Kousuke was worshipped in the Central Continent.
If not for opportunities like this, she wouldn’t be able to write about it while confined to the Tower.
Sending out the pilgrimage group was one of the reasons for this.
