238 - - CHAPTER XXIII -- MAJORITY OF THE EARTH

"That's the Holy Land: ......"

We have continued our journey and have finally arrived at the final stop on our pilgrimage, the Holy Land.

"Hey, I'm finally here ...... and no more demons chasing me ......."

I turned around to see Ms. Tracy on her knees with her hands on the ground, bowing deeply toward the sanctuary.

I see, as a servant of God, the holiest place is a special place, isn't it? So it's a very special place for us, isn't it?

"Yes, you did a great job. You did a great job."

"Yeah, I'm really impressed with you."

"You really did a great job. ...... You're a big deal."

Everyone is working on Tracy, who is very moved.

"But still ......."

Returning our gaze to the sanctuary, we are drawn to its mysterious formations.

"A huge pillar of earth."

Mr. Megli was right, the sanctuary was a huge column made of earth placed on the plain.

It was a little bigger than a small area, and the height was the same.

A spiral path was carved around the circumference of the column.

It's a strange shape.

"It doesn't look like it came naturally. Someone must have made that shape on purpose."

You are all right, it was not made by nature.

I just feel like I've seen that shape somewhere before. ......

"Shall we go to the sanctuary then?"

""""Oh!!!""""

"Cufn!"

◆ ◆

When I arrived at the entrance of the perimeter road leading up to the sanctuary, I found a number of armed knights who seemed to be the gatekeepers.

The only strange thing was that they were all women.

"This is a sacred place. No one is allowed to enter without permission. Those who have no business here should leave."

If you are lost, just go straight over there and you will reach the village."

It seems that the knights have mistaken us for lost children.

No, we are participants in a pilgrimage. Permission to enter the Holy Land.

When Ms. Tracy tells them that they are pilgrims, the knights are surprised.

"Pilgrims?　You're here already?

"Aren't you coming too early!　We haven't finished the preparations yet!

""""""" preparations?

"Cufn?"

What do you think they mean by "ready"?

No, it's more than that. ......

"Well, what do you mean it's too early?　I thought the rest of the participants had already arrived."

Yes, after all, we never met any other participants except the first ones we met.

So, we thought other participants should have arrived at the sanctuary by now.

No, no one has arrived yet. You are the first arrivals.

""""""What?

We are the first arrivals!

When did they switch the order?

"I thought it was strange because we didn't catch up to them anytime soon..."

"I knew you had passed me somewhere."

I had a feeling.

However, Liliela, Mina and Megli seemed to have guessed what to expect and didn't look too surprised. Did they all know?

"But when in the world did they overtake us?"

Well, I didn't see them in any other towns or villages. ......

Oh, maybe they found something very important to worry about, and they were all working on it!

And maybe they were fighting outside to keep the town from being damaged.

That makes sense. ......

"Apparently, we were pretty lucky."

It's a real blessing in disguise that we were late to the party and didn't run into any nasty trouble!

"Hmm, I have the sense that there's clearly something wrong."

"That's the usual ......."

"What?　What's that thing?"

"Uh, so, um, we'd like to ask permission to enter the sanctuary: ......"

"Oh, yeah. Okay. We can't refuse to accept people who are on the pilgrimage."

Tracy asked, and the knights opened the way for us.

"Let's go, then!"

"Oh!"

Mr. Gyro cheerfully replies to Tracy's call and runs out to the perimeter path.

We followed him, but as soon as we entered the perimeter, I felt something strange in the air of the sanctuary.

"Hmm?"

Is this a ...... ward against the malevolent?

But the effect is pretty weak. I guess this means that if you wanted to force your way in, you could.

"Good luck!"

Don't get hurt!"

We could hear the knights cheering as we climbed up the perimeter path.

"Thank you!"

Yeah, they're good people.

All right, then, let's get fired up for the challenge!

◆

"Wow, this is the inside of a sanctuary."

After climbing up the outer path, we came to the top of the columnar sanctuary.

"So many big buildings!

Liliela was right, there were many big buildings on top of the sanctuary .......

"What's that?　What are those buildings ......?"

"What's wrong, Mr. Laxi?"

"Oh, no, nothing."

I think I have seen this building somewhere before.

While I was thinking that, female priestess-like people appeared from a nearby building and hurriedly went to another building.

Excuse me, I am a participant of the pilgrimage, where do I have to go to complete the pilgrimage?

"What?

When Tracy called out to them, the priestesses looked at her at first, but soon their expressions became flustered.

What?　A participant of the pilgrimage?

"Too early!　You haven't even activated the ordeal yet!"

""""""" activation of the trials? """""""

I remember you were saying earlier that you weren't ready for the ordeal.

"Oh, no, that's right. The last ordeal in the sanctuary is not to solve the problems of the residents, but to make them feel at home in a special facility.

"Oh, I didn't know that."

A special facility. Is it some kind of temple-like place where some kind of ritual is performed?

"But the facility hasn't been activated yet, so you can't take the ordeal. ......"

"Is that so?"

"Actually, the ordeal facility takes a while to get up and running. As in previous years, we had planned to start it up during the time when the pilgrims still had time to arrive, but this year it took a particularly long time to start up. ......"

"That's a problem, isn't it?"

It takes a long time to get moving.

I feel like I've wasted my time.

"I'm sorry. This is something we can't help you with. ......"

The priests bow their heads in apology.

"No, don't worry about it. The gods have given us what we have here. Whether they move or not depends on the will of the gods.

I'm glad to hear you say that.

I see, if it was given to us by God, it means something that we are slow to move.

I wonder what the gods have in mind for us.

"You must have pushed yourself very hard to reach the holy place so quickly, haven't you?

It will be a while before the ordeal is activated, so until then, take your time to rest and regain your strength. Rest is a necessary part of the journey.

The priests suggested that we rest in the sanctuary until the ordeal facility was activated.

"As an apology, we will prepare accommodations for you, but until then, please go sightseeing in the holy land. Please be careful not to enter the places where you are not allowed to enter, as there are guards in those places.

We looked at each other and discussed what to do.

"It's okay, isn't it?　In any case, if the ordeal doesn't work, we can't do anything."

You're right, and Tracy needs to rest. She just went through something that drained her mind more than her strength and magic ......."

Liliela and the others suggested that Tracy should rest.

It's true, it's better to be in perfect condition to undergo the ordeal.

This kind of consideration is something that only women can do. We fake girls can't come up with such a thing.

We agreed with her idea, and Tracy accepted to take a rest.

"Okay. We'll take your word for it.

Then please enjoy the sanctuary until the attendant calls for you."

◆

"Then let's take your word for it and have a look around the sanctuary. What about you, Tracy?　Do you want to take a break somewhere?"

No, I would like to visit the holy place too. If I rest halfway, I might fall asleep.

I understand. Shall we go then?

We decided to look around the sanctuary and were surprised at its unexpected size.

"I thought it was big from the outside, but when I actually went inside, I realized how big it was.

In fact, the inside of the sanctuary was as big as a small town.

"But I thought a holy place would be more like a sacred place where there is nothing but a temple, but there are more buildings than I expected.

Indeed, it is more like a corner of a town than a place for rituals.

But it doesn't feel like a town with all the big buildings.

Yes, it is true that there are many large buildings like a cathedral rather than a residential area.

It certainly doesn't feel like a residential area.

"Hey, hey, let's go inside. If there are no guards, we can go in, right?"

Seemingly bored just watching from the outside, Mr. Gyro suggested that we go inside.

"Well, since it's a good opportunity, let's have a look inside, shall we?

Everyone nodded in agreement with Mr. Gyro's suggestion.

"If it's a sacred place, maybe there are some treasures there!"

"Mr. Megli, you must not make such a statement in a holy place!"

"That's right!　You will be punished by the gods!"

And then Mr. Norb and Tracy started lecturing Mr. Megli, who had inadvertently slipped up.

"d*mn, I'm so careless ......"

As we entered the nearby building, a reception counter was waiting for us at the entrance, and we walked through it to the back of the building.

"What's that?"

"Oh, there's a big painting on the wall!"

"There are some kind of handicrafts on display. Are they local products of this area?

Everyone looks around the building with great interest.

"Hmm?　What's this?"

Mr. Megli, who opened the door leading to the back room, nodded his head.

We were intrigued by his words and looked inside as well, and found a room with square holes of various sizes in the floor.

"What is this place?　What's with the shallow holes in the floor?"

"And what about the mirrors and strange iron ...... wall hangings on the walls?"

Tracy pointed to a small round chair and a mirror, each with a curved metal tube and a flower-like metal mass above and below it.

"Is there a mirror, or is it a makeup table?　It's a little short for that, isn't it?"

"It's a sacred facility, so maybe an ancient vanity table?　Or is it a place to prepare for some kind of religious ceremony?"

People were trying to guess the purpose of the surrounding equipment, but I knew that such speculations were wrong.

"Oh, there are a lot of holes in the yard outside the window!

It's true. Unlike inside, the holes outside are irregularly shaped. It looks like a pond in an aristocratic mansion.

Seeing the pond-like hole outside the room that Gyro and his group found, I am convinced that my prediction is correct.

But why such a facility in a holy place ......?

"But it was just right. I'm going to take a rest.

Tracy then exhaled loudly in a small chair nearby.

"Oh, it's a little small, but it's nice to be able to sit in a chair."

Apparently, Tracy was more tired than expected.

Hmmm, maybe this is just the thing.

I searched through the facility with the help of my memories from my previous life, and it didn't take me long to find the room I was looking for.

"There it is. It seems that facilities like this have a similar structure for the placement of equipment.

I open the maintenance door of the equipment installed in the room and check its interior with the magic light.

"I knew it, this place has gone bad. This is usually the cause of failure of this type of magic item. Also, ...... this part is also deteriorated. But this part is fine. Yes, they are made of good materials.

I replaced the broken parts by processing the demon materials I had on hand, and immediately operated the facility to check it.

"Okay, now that the wiring is fixed, the power is connected. Now all I have to do is push this switch over here and open this valve ......."

A few moments later, a tremor echoed through the air, "Gobo!　Gobobo!　was heard.

"Oh my God, what is this?

I hear the panicked voices of Liliela and the others as I return to the others.

When I returned to the room, I found that it had been transformed into a space surrounded by steam.

"Whoa!　Water is coming out of that hole!

"This one too!　Water ...... no hot water comes out of this hole!"

Just as Mr. Gyro was amazed, a large amount of hot water started to overflow from the sides of the holes that had been dug in a regular pattern, filling the holes.

"Yeah, everything seems to be moving.

"Mr. Laxhi!　Did you do this?

I was about to answer the question when another group of female priestesses came into the room.

What's going on?

The priestesses looked around the room and were astonished at the sight.

"What in the world is this?

Oh, by the way, did I just move the facilities of the holy place without permission?

I should have checked if it was OK to fix it before I did it.

"I'm sorry, but a part of the facility was broken and I fixed it without permission.

I fixed it!

"Yes, the wiring and some of the equipment in the control room were old and deteriorated, so we fixed them up by replacing parts with materials we had on hand."

"Huh ......!"

"Well, I'm sorry I took the liberty of fixing it. I just wanted to use it to give my people a break."

"Rest?　This hot water?"

"Yes, I was thinking of fixing up the bathing facilities here so that people can relax."

""""""" bathing facilities!

Yes, this room was a bathing facility.

The many holes in the room are bathtubs.

And the place with a low-back chair, a mirror, and a metal tube growing out of the wall is a washbasin.

The pond outside the room is an open-air bath.

"Yes. You mean the bath."

""""""" bath!?"""""""

"Bath" is that bath?　Is that what the nobility goes in?"

Yes, that's it. However, this is not a bath for nobles, but a public bath.

"Public bathhouse?

Yes, it's a bath where everyone gets together.

Yes, this was a public bathhouse that I sometimes used in my previous life.

"Together?

Liliela and the others blush at the mention of "together" and look around alternately at themselves and us men.

"Oh, no, of course we have separate men's and women's bathrooms.

"Yes, that's right. ......"

Liliela breathes a sigh of relief with an obviously relieved look on her face.

Yes, even in my time, there were separate baths for men and women.

It wasn't so long ago when people didn't care much about gender differences, but let's not mention that. It would cause unnecessary confusion.

"I can't believe it, is this all a bath?

The priests roll their eyes at the bathtubs still pouring hot water.

"How much firewood will it take to fill all these bathtubs with hot water?

Apparently, the girls are concerned about the consumption of firewood to use the bathing facilities.

"No, you don't need firewood because the water here is heated by magic items and hot spring water pumped up from deep underground.

"You don't need firewood?

"Great, a bath that doesn't require firewood!"

"And if you use magic items, then there's no need for wizards to magically boil water every time. ......"

The priests look around the bathtub with great interest.

"Hmm?　You, that bath has bubbles coming out of it, are you sure it's OK?　Is it broken?"

One of the priests pointed at the bubbling bathtub and asked if it was broken.

That's a bubble bath," said one of the priests, pointing to the bubbling bathtub. The bubbles have relaxing and massaging effects.

"Wow, bubbles have that effect.

"Well, you see that hot water gushing out of there at a very high rate?　Isn't that thing broken?"

Another priest pointed to a small bathtub with water swirling around at great speed.

That's a hydro bath. The purpose of this bath is to massage the back by applying a strong stream of water to the back.

"Massage in the bath ......"

"There are also carbon dioxide baths that relieve stiffness with weak lightning and are good for beauty.

""""" for more details!!!"""""

"Whoa!"

And all of a sudden, the women in the room came up to me and started screaming at me.

"How do you take a beauty bath?

Are there any other baths that are good for beauty?

Their eyes were beyond serious.

"Well, uh, you can just take a normal bath. If you operate the washbasin over there, hot water will come out, so you can get in without contaminating the bathtub if you wash your body there first. And the outside bathtubs are natural hot spring water pumped up from deep underground, so the water itself has a beauty effect. Also, it seems that each device that pumps out the hot water has a magic item that removes blemishes and swelling, etc."

""""" Let's get in there now!!!"""""

Everyone announces unanimously that they are going to take a bath.

Well, that was my original intention.

"Yes, yes, now that the magic item is fixed, we'll have to see how it works.

"Yes, we need to make sure, everything!"

Hmm, check to see if it's fixed!

"Well, that's why a lot of people have to use it and check its effectiveness. The effectiveness must not vary from person to person."

"Wow, I can help you too!"

"Me too!"

I'll help you!

Well, don't we all have to take our baths so seriously?