We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Sanctuary.
To my surprise, Louisaine and I clung to each other. Seeing us, Airi-san smiled even more deeply.
“Oh, was I interrupting? But you wouldn’t want me to see you in such an embarrassing state, would you?”
“W-Well, that’s true… But more importantly! Why are you here, Airi-san!?”
This was the Forbidden Territory.
Deep within the treacherous forest that spread to the west of the Sacred Mountain.
Beneath ancient ruins, the existence of which even we did not know.
Why was Airi-san there?!
“Hah! Don’t tell me Airi-san also used the ancient ruins to teleport here!?”
“Elnea-kun, if that were the case, then Airi-sama should have appeared from below the stairs further in than us.”
“Now that you mention it? No, we shouldn’t be prejudiced, Louisaine. Airi-san teleported before we arrived and was hiding!”
“If that’s the case, then both Louisaine and I wouldn’t have been able to detect Airi-sama’s hidden presence, and we’ll be punished by Mist-san and Mother Alice, won’t we?”
“Ugh…”
Since we were entering unknown territory, neither I nor Louisaine had let our guard down.
Well, I did get a little carried away by base desires.
But we weren’t the type to neglect our surroundings. So, I didn’t think Airi-san had been hiding near the ancient ruins and surprised us.
Then, why did Airi-san suddenly appear behind us, near the entrance of the ancient ruins?!
“Isn’t it simple? I followed the traces you left and chased after you with all my might. And I just caught up. Should I have been a little earlier? Or a little later?”
“I wish you had been neither!”
My shout echoed down the stairs leading into the underground.
“Oh, I’m sorry?”
Airi-san smiled without apology. As she did, she walked over to Louisaine and me as if it were natural.
“So, to answer your question, Louisaine-chan. The remnants of the human race’s prosperity, and at the center of the continent, lies the ‘Sanctuary’ of the Temple Religion, right?”
Why was Airi-san so knowledgeable about human religions?
Was it knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years of life?
Putting that question aside.
Louisaine nodded at Airi-san’s answer.
“Yes. Airi-sama is correct. Elnea-kun couldn’t answer it, so he’ll be punished by me later?”
“Eh!?”
Is this a reward?
“Still, it’s strange, isn’t it? If it’s a place that flourished at the center of the continent and is still called the ‘Sanctuary,’ why didn’t they just keep living there?”
What did she mean? I looked at Louisaine to get a better explanation of Airi-san’s words.
Since Louisaine and I were still hugging, her face was so close that our eyelashes almost brushed.
“Elnea-kun, you’re lacking in knowledge.”
“I’m sorry, Louisaine. I’ll be punished a lot later, so could you teach this foolish me?”
“I suppose I have no choice,” Louisaine said with a very happy smile, and then added to Airi-san’s explanation.
“The human race was driven out of the Sanctuary.”
The human race prospered at the center of the continent.
But, at some point in time, their prosperity came to an abrupt end.
Still, the human race did not move from the center of the continent, their former center of prosperity.
“However, this was thousands of years ago. The human race lost even the Sanctuary at the center of the continent.”
“The Sanctuary was lost? Why!?”
Why did the human race lose the Sanctuary? To my question, Louisaine showed a troubled expression.
“Actually, the details of that part are not well-known.”
“Eh!?”
“I also don’t know what caused the human race to lose the Sanctuary.”
If Louisaine doesn’t know, it means no one related to the Temple Religion knows. At least, the reason for losing the Sanctuary has not been passed down in the temples of the Armēdo Kingdom or the Yorttenitos Kingdom.
However, the history of the human race during the era when they lost the Sanctuary seems to have been passed down.
Louisaine continued.
“The human race, driven out of the Sanctuary, entered a long period of wandering.”
Numerous severe trials and a succession of harsh difficulties.
But the human race continued to move forward without giving up.
“The human race believed this to be the Goddess’s trial and faced it with sincerity. And the ones who were the spiritual support of those people and guided them until the end were the Holy Four Families, whom you also know, Elnea-kun.”
“Madeline’s ancestors were even more amazing than I thought!”
Led by the Miko of the Holy Four Families, the human race continued their long journey of wandering.
And then, they found a new place to settle.
That is what Louisaine taught me, the current Temple City.
“That’s why the human race cherishes the Temple City as the ‘headquarters of the Temple Religion’!”
It is precisely because it is the “Promised Land” that the human race reached at the end of the Goddess’s trials that they cherish, protect, and worship the Temple City.
And it made me realize anew how noble the lineage of the Holy Four Families is.
“Elnea-kun, but the story doesn’t end there, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you considered why we humans still call the center of the continent ‘Sanctuary’?”
“The reason why it’s still called Sanctuary even though it’s a place we were driven out of and lost… is it too weak to just say it was a place of former prosperity?”
Airi-san quietly watched our exchange without interfering.
I pondered, thinking hard.
And then, I had an idea.
“…Could it be? The human race has a reason for continuing to call the center of the continent ‘Sanctuary’? And since the legends about the Sanctuary are preserved in the Temple Religion, not among the common folk…?”
Normally, historians would be the ones knowledgeable about history. However, when it came to legends about the Sanctuary, Louisaine was the one speaking primarily, showing a deep connection to the Temple Religion.
Why was that?
And why “Sanctuary” in the first place?
“In other words, there must be something very important to the Temple Religion at the center of the continent? That’s why the clergy still call the center of the continent, where humans once prospered, ‘Sanctuary’?”
“Fufufu, that’s correct.”
“Yay! Then, can I have my reward for being correct?”
“I can’t help it, can I? But that will have to wait until we get back.”
Then, what is this important thing in the Sanctuary? To my question, Louisaine gave a bitter smile.
“Fufufu. Elnea-kun, you’ve finally gotten there, haven’t you? Then, I shall tell you. In the Sanctuary, the most venerable person of the Temple Religion remains.”
“The most venerable person? You mean the Queen of the Temple City?”
“In a sense, the Queen of the Temple City is also the most venerable person. But that is not it. In the Sacred Area, the Princess Miko, the founder of the Temple Religion, is still waiting for the human race to return.”
“Eh!? Princess Miko?”
T-That means…!?
“Alice-mother and Michelle-san are from the Sacred Area, aren’t they?”
“Y-Yes. And Alice-mother said there’s the Queen and the Princess in there…”
Airi-san is the Miko Knight who protects the Sacred Area.
“Then…? The Sacred Area was the Sanctuary all along!”
Ah, so that’s why. I recalled Alice-san’s thoughtfulness.
Alice-san had asked me not to tell Shooting Star Sama and the others about their true identities or where they came from, right?
“So, Alice-san and Michelle-san are from the Sanctuary?”
But then, the story doesn’t add up? As I tilted my head, Louisaine provided a further explanation.
“The human race was driven out of the Sanctuary. However, some people remained in the Sanctuary. Those are the Princess Miko and those who serve her.”
Then, Louisaine continued.
Although her upper body was leaning on me, her resolve was serious. This story was very important to anyone who belonged to the Temple Religion, and I could feel the tension transmitted through her tightly pressed upper body.
“The human race will eventually return to the Sanctuary. That is the noble wish and goal of the Temple Religion. Therefore, in the Temple City, pilgrimage groups aiming for the Sanctuary are frequently organized even now.”
“Really? Then, some people have visited the Sanctuary too?”
I casually asked what kind of place the Sanctuary was, and Louisaine’s expression turned troubled.
“Elnea-kun. The human race was driven out of the Sanctuary and finally reached ‘The Promised Land’ after a long journey. Therefore, heading to the Sanctuary means retracing those harsh trials. Besides, didn’t Alice-mother say? It’s not easy to enter the Sacred Area.”
“Only the chosen can enter the Sacred Area, right? And Alice-san and the others, the Miko Knights, are responsible for selecting them and preventing those without qualifications from entering. Then…?”
“From the past to the present, there are no reports of pilgrimage groups that set out for the Sanctuary returning safely.”
I held my breath.
I don’t know how many pilgrimage groups were organized and how many people aimed for the Sanctuary.
However, no one who went to the Sanctuary, reached it safely, completed their pilgrimage, and returned to the Temple City.
I was stunned by this fact.
“The Sanctuary… the Sacred Area, Alice-mother’s hometown, was truly a special place, wasn’t it? The reason Michelle-san and others desperately tried to call Alice-mother back must also be related to that.”
Well, Michelle-san probably had the strongest personal desire not to lose her own mother.
“This is an ancient ruin that connects the Sacred Area and the Forbidden Territory, isn’t it?”
Then, perhaps we could go to the Sacred Area, which even carefully selected pilgrimage groups couldn’t reach, if we used the ancient ruins? I didn’t think that.
After all, the spatial transfer of ancient ruins is still an unknown art.
The witch and Ada-san were sealing them up, weren’t they? It probably doesn’t have the simple performance we imagine.
If we activated it without sufficient knowledge, we wouldn’t know what would happen. There’s always the possibility of being arbitrarily sent to an unknown place and being at a loss, like Sefina in the past.
“We won’t use the ancient ruins. Definitely. If we’re going, I want to go to the Sanctuary on my own! Like, riding Nimia or Revalia and going vroom!”
“Elnea-kun, can riding Nimia-chan or Revalia-sama be called going on your own?”
“Uh, that’s…. But, you see. We are messengers of the Dragon God! I don’t think borrowing the power of the Dragon Race is necessarily wrong!”
“Fufufu, that’s an excuse, isn’t it?”
Regardless.
First, we need to thoroughly investigate the ancient ruins. That’s why we came here, right?
Huh?
Then, what business does Airi-san have, following us, who came to investigate the ancient ruins?
Finally, Louisaine and I turned to face Airi-san.
Airi-san had patiently watched our exchange until now.
Airi-san, who had been watching, then smiled and said, “Well then.”
“I came because I have a request for you, a messenger of the Dragon God.”
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