“Kent, Rachel. Is the cleanup finished?”
“It’s done.”
“Yes, finished.”
As soon as the shop cleanup was completed, Margaret spoke to Kent and Rachel.
“Were you perhaps waiting for us?”
“It’s true I couldn’t move, but I was definitely waiting.”
Kent asked Margaret, and she replied.
“If that were the case, you could have told us. We could have left the rest to others and come by ourselves…”
“Doing the work you’re given until the very end is very important. Besides, we had to buy them time for their preparations.”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“No, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Kent couldn’t quite catch what Margaret said after talking about the importance of work, as she had spoken too softly. He asked again, but she expertly changed the subject.
“Auntie, are you perhaps inviting us to dinner?”
“Hmm, it’s not quite that, but if you wish, I can after I’ve finished my business. Kent, would you like to join?”
“Huh?”
Margaret, taking Rachel’s cue, invited Kent to dinner.
“Please think of it as an apology for my foolish wife causing you trouble. I’d be happy if you would accept the invitation.”
“Understood.”
Kent felt he couldn’t refuse after being asked by the Queen like that, so he decided to accept.
“It should be about time.”
Margaret said, glancing outside.
“Those who are free, pay attention to the castle! I repeat, those who are free, pay attention to the castle!”
Guards were running through the town, shouting something.
“Something interesting is about to begin. Lola, can I have a moment?”
“Y-yes.”
Margaret, with a seemingly amused expression, called out to Lola.
“You’ve been here the longest and know this shop best, so I wanted to ask you: where around here offers a good view of the castle?”
“If that’s the case, how about the rooftop of this building?”
“Oh, but there are many taller buildings around here. Do you think you can see the castle from there?”
Marie’s Bakery No. 2 was in a prime location in the commercial district, and the surrounding buildings were quite tall. This building was only two stories high, so Margaret assumed other buildings would obstruct the view of the castle. However, Lola’s unexpected answer surprised her.
“It’s a little difficult to get to the rooftop, so I’ll guide you.”
“I’m counting on you, Lola.”
Led by Lola, Margaret, Kent, Rachel, and it seemed other employees were also interested, followed behind Lola in a procession.
“Kent, could you give me a piggyback ride?”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes, otherwise I won’t be able to reach.”
Lola stopped mid-way down the corridor lined with employee rooms on the second floor and said this. Kent hesitated slightly at Lola’s request, but with the curious eyes of everyone watching, he couldn’t refuse.
“Here we go. Heave ho!”
“Yes, please don’t move. I believe there’s a hidden lid around here. Let me open this…”
” ” “Wow” ” ”
Lola opened a hidden lid in the ceiling. The other employees watching were amazed.
“I had no idea there was such a contraption here. I didn’t know.”
“This is my first time knowing, too.”
Rachel and Kent exclaimed in surprise, having never known about such a mechanism in the building.
“Kent, please don’t look up and talk. It’s ticklish.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Kent unintentionally looked up, captivated by the pleasant scent of Lola and the feel of her thighs. Lola squirmed at the sudden sensation but, seeing Margaret watching, didn’t say anything further and quickly returned to her task.
“Now, if I move this… Ah, there it is. If I turn this handle…”
As Lola turned a handle hidden in the ceiling, a section of the ceiling a little further away split open, and something emerged.
“A hidden staircase!”
“Amazing! This is fun!”
Kent and Rachel were excited as they watched the hidden staircase descend with a clattering sound from the ceiling.
“Thank you, Kent. That’s enough. You can let me down now.”
“Understood. Here goes, slowly.”
Kent slowly lowered Lola, whom he had been carrying on his shoulders.
“The store manager and Kent didn’t know about this mechanism either, did you? The previous shopkeeper made this for escaping in case of emergencies because he was involved in various wrongdoings. You can get to the rooftop through here. The rooftop is structured to be hidden by the roof, making it invisible from the outside.”
Lola explained as they walked through the attic passageway.
“Here we go. Climbing this ladder and opening this will lead to the rooftop.”
Lola climbed the ladder installed at the end of the passage and pushed open a round lid in the ceiling, letting in a cold outside breeze.
“Wow. I had no idea there was a rooftop here. You couldn’t tell just by looking from outside. Although the view is mediocre with all the tall buildings around, you can clearly see the castle.”
Even with everyone who had followed them up, the rooftop was spacious enough. Rachel pointed towards the castle, and everyone looked in that direction. Thanks to the roads and parks cleverly avoiding obstacles, as Lola had said, only the direction of the castle was clearly visible, and the castle walls could be confirmed.
“By the way, there’s a rope here. If you lower this down, you can go outside. It was all prepared, but it was never used.”
Saying this, Lola took out a rope from a box placed in a corner of the rooftop and showed it to them.
“When the previous shopkeeper was caught, it was quite a commotion. I’m just disappointed I couldn’t be part of it, knowing about your existence earlier.”
Margaret muttered after hearing Lola’s explanation.
“And the town guards are telling everyone to look towards the castle, but what’s going to happen?”
“Hehehe. You’ll know soon enough.”
Kent asked Margaret, but she smiled as if to say, ‘See it with your own eyes.’
“Ah, ah. Mic test, mic test.”
“That voice…”
Suddenly, a voice came from nowhere. It seemed to be audible throughout the town, and people on the street below looked around curiously, trying to find its source. However, to Kent, the voice was familiar.
“It’s Emily’s voice. I wonder what she’s planning, involving the entire town.”
Rachel, who also recognized the voice, exclaimed.
“Hehehe. It seems to have begun. There were parts I couldn’t imagine from just hearing about it, so I’m looking forward to how it unfolds.”
Margaret watched the castle with great interest, awaiting events.
“We will now begin the performance, “The Descent of God,” with the full cooperation of the Queen. Everyone, please direct your gaze towards the castle.”
After Emily’s announcement, the castle, illuminated by various colored spotlights—red, blue, yellow, green—emerged from the night sky.
” ” “Wow” ” ”
As the sun set and darkness fell, the castle, lit by a variety of colors never seen before, created a fantastical atmosphere. The people watching were astonished. And from somewhere, music began to play.
“This music…”
“No doubt about it. It’s the game music from Tale of School in Another World!”
The music playing was familiar to Kent and Rachel; it was used as background music in Tale of School in Another World.
“This is amazing. Even though we see the castle every day, it can look this beautiful depending on how you light it.”
Margaret seemed deeply moved as she gazed at the spectacle.
“Ah, the lights went out.”
Suddenly, the lights illuminating the castle went out, and Natali exclaimed.
“Hey, look. I see something.”
“Are those people on the castle walls?”
Cibol and Lola exclaimed in surprise. The castle walls began to display images of people walking through the town, with the scenes changing rapidly from various locations.
“Is this projection mapping?”
“I think it is. I never thought I’d see this in this world.”
Rachel and Kent had an inkling of the technology. It was a technique used to project images onto buildings for entertainment, often seen at theme parks, events, and festivals.
“Older brother, it’s amazing. Now it’s showing an image of the sky.”
At some point, Rachel had taken Kent’s hand and said excitedly. The imagery had switched from the townscape to the sky.
“Incredible. Is this the town we live in?”
Someone on the rooftop exclaimed in surprise. Now, an aerial view of Tiol appeared, and everyone on the rooftop was captivated.
“From above, this is what the town looks like.”
Margaret also watched the video with great interest. Accompanied by music, the video swirled through the town, then gently flowed through aerial shots of grasslands and mountains, before switching back to the castle, scrolling to an overhead view.
“Oh? Someone’s descending.”
“Oh, Older Brother. It’s not just the video. Look up, look up!”
A beautiful woman in flowing white clothes appeared in the video. As if synchronized with the video, something descended from the sky, glowing brightly.
“Amazing. It’s incredible. That must be God.”
Margaret said, gazing at the glowing object descending from the sky. Since the castle was quite a distance away, Kent could see the glowing object with the naked eye but couldn’t discern if it was a person. Judging by the video, he could infer that the descending figure was being supported, but since it could be recorded or composited, he couldn’t definitively say it was the same thing.
“So bright!”
As the glowing object landed on the castle, the surrounding area flashed intensely, and darkness enveloped the night.
“Thank you all for your cooperation in today’s “Descent of God.” We now conclude the screening.”
Emily’s announcement ended, and the fantastical scene from before vanished, returning the town to its usual state. Although it lasted about 20 minutes, the projection left a deep impression on the townspeople.
“Natali.”
“Cibol.”
In a corner of the rooftop, Cibol and Natali gazed at each other, their hands intertwined, still immersed in the afterglow of the video.
“Alright, alright, it seems to be over. Let’s stop with the lovey-dovey stuff and head downstairs. We got really cold standing in the direct cold wind.”
At Rachel’s command, the employees descended one by one using the ladder.
“Kent, Rachel. Thanks to you, I was able to see something wonderful. Thank you.”
“We didn’t do anything, though? Right, Older Brother?”
“Yeah, we didn’t do anything in particular.”
With all the employees gone downstairs, only Kent, Rachel, and Margaret remained on the rooftop. Seizing the moment, Margaret expressed her gratitude to the two.
“That video was Hanako’s idea, and Emily, Al, and Mike cooperated. I think it’s related to an event at the shop, but they said they wanted to make this day special. I jumped on board with that plan. The result exceeded my expectations. It was the day God descended. It’s a good idea to make this a special day next year and have everyone, not just the shop, get excited about it.”
This day became the catalyst, and through the Queen’s efforts, December 25th became a public holiday in the country from the following year onward. It was named the “Festival of Descent,” marking the day God was believed to have descended upon this land. This was further publicized to be related to the god enshrined in the sanctuary, and from the next year, events were organized under the leadership of the sanctuary.
