Chapter 118

A shrine is erected at the top of a mountainous area where there is a mine. It was the morning of the fifth day of the spring month, the day after I had welcomed Kanayama-Hiko in addition to Kanayama-Hime, whom Yuri had previously welcomed there.

As usual, Yuri was holed up in her office, signing documents that required the monarch’s approval and checking the reports that were coming in from various places. On this day, a child who visited her office proposed a new plan for the development of the city.

However, the plan did not come from the <Kikyou> of the construction unit.

It was proposed by the captain, Firefly, on behalf of the children of the <Red Plum>.

It was the first time that Yuri had ever seen a city plan submitted by a unit other than <Kikyou>.

After reading through the document, Yuri immediately understood that the proposal was very typical of the children of <Red Plum>.

“It’s a very interesting idea. The idea of building a city from this perspective had never occurred to me or <Kikyou>.”

“Hmmm. I’m honored to be praised by you, Master.”

In response to Yuri’s words, Firefly smiled happily.

The city plan submitted by the <Red Plum>―――to put it simply: “Let’s build a new city where the eight million and one gods can live.”

Yuri, who is one of the main gods of this other world, has the unique ability to establish a connection link with another world that he knows by consuming a small amount of the “Faith” gathered from her followers.

The events of the past few days have already proven that Firefly can invite the gods of『Leangard』, the in-game world of『Atros Online』, to this world if she performs the invocation ceremony.

In the city planning document submitted by <Red Plum> this time, the city itself, with a population of 30,000 to 40,000, was proposed as a huge “Shinto Shrine”. ―――In other words, there was a proposal to build it as a shrine.

By setting up many shrines in the city, we can welcome many spirits of gods from『Leangard』. This way, we can build a large living space where people and gods can coexist.

“Hmmm…”

The proposed plan has two definite “benefits” to be gained by implementing it.

―――It seemed to Yuri that way.

The first is that in the original game of『Atros Online』, the act of inhabiting the land with the spirit of a god is itself a clear benefit to the land.

In the case of Kanayama-Hime and Kanayama-Hiko, if they are enshrined in shrines and made to inhabit the land, the amount of ore buried in the surrounding land will naturally increase over time, providing a long-term benefit.

Other gods also provide various long-term benefits by inhabiting the land, so if we build a city and welcome many gods, we will be able to artificially create a “Blessed Land” with enormous benefits.

That sounded like a very interesting idea to Yuri.

Of course, the benefits of ruling a city with the promise of wealth would enrich the Yuri Empire.

Even the expectation that the effort of building one city might yield the same amount of profit as several normal cities was not an exaggeration.

Another advantage is that if we can invite all the spirits of the gods that exist in『Leangard』to settle in this other world. From now on, the children of the <Red Plum> will be able to freely use the spirits of the gods at their own will, without Yuri having to [Connect the World].

<Red Plum> is a unit consisting of only children with the profession of <Tamayorime>. As you can see from the word <Tamayorime>, in their occupational name, they have the unique ability to make the divine spirit “Mitama” reverberate in their bodies, in other words, they can use the divine power by carrying it in their bodies.

When it reaches the maximum level of 200, <Tamayorihime> will be able to carry up to three spirits in her body at the same time.

The current children of the <Red Plum> all have the spirits of the three pillars of『Amaterasu』, 『Kamimusuhi』, and 『Shitateruhime』 in their bodies.

Amaterasu is probably so famous that every Japanese person knows her name.

In Japanese mythology, she is the goddess of the emperor and is also sometimes referred to as the “Sun Goddess”. In『Atros Online』, only characters with <Miko> lineage who have reached the extreme level of 200 are allowed to summon her, and she is treated as a God of Great Prestige.

Kamimusuhi is one of the three or five gods said to have been involved in the creation of the world in Japanese mythology, and can only be summoned by a <Miko> character who has reached the extreme level of 200.

As a god who was involved in the creation of the earth, when you carry it on your body, you get bonuses specialized in the operation of magic that targets the land, mainly the art of warding.

In particular, the bonus of [Zero Cost of Magic of Wards on Land] is very strong, and the children of <Red Plum> who have this god in them do not need to consume any magic power to maintain them, even if they have deployed many [Barrier Ward] and [Temperature Control Ward] in cities and villages around the country.

In the game of『Atros Online』, she is the wife of Ame-no-Wakahiko, the Goddess of the Bow who inherited the Ame-no-Makako-Yumi and the Ame-no-Habaya after her husband’s death.

It is also possible to summon an infinite number of Ame-no-Habaya to guide fire from a very long distance.

He was known as a powerful god in the game when he was inhabited, as he could shoot arrows and attack the enemy unilaterally from a defense point that was made robust by multiple deployments of wards.

All of these are spirits that the children of <Red Plum> have had in their bodies since before they came to the other world, that is, since Horaji Yuri was playing the game『Atros Online』.

One of the strengths of <Tamayorihime> is that it can switch the spirits in its body at will, so it can select the three gods according to the abilities it wants to strengthen at the time. Since arriving in the other world, the children of <Red Plum> have never changed the spirits that reside in their bodies.

―――Rather, it was impossible to change the Spirit itself.

In the world of『Leangard』, the spirits could be summoned at any time as needed, but in this other world, the connection has been completely severed.

Just recently, Yuri has been able to [Establish a Connection with Another World], and now it is possible to change the Spirit. In the past, the children of the <Red Plum> were, in effect, fixed with the spirit when they came to the other world.

But―――that’s only possible if we invite the spirits of all the gods that existed in『Leangard』to settle down in this other world.

As defined in Shintoism as “Divine Spirits are Infinitely Divisible Beings,” the gods of 『Leangard』can increase their existence by “Dividing Spirits” in any number of ways, so the children of <Red Plum> will once again be able to freely replace their spirits.

In particular, I think that the benefits of the God of Bow,『Shitateruhime』, are often overlooked in the current situation where other troops have more than enough fighting ability themselves.

If we can invite a whole set of gods into this world, and the children of the <Red Plum> can freely replace their spirit. There is no doubt that their abilities will become more diverse and deeper.

(If we only consider the two advantages, we should probably do it immediately…)

On the other hand, Yuri thought of some of the disadvantages.

Building a shrine is equivalent to preparing a sanctuary.

If it is a normal sized shrine, the amount of consumption is not much, but… If you want to build a shrine the size of a city, you will naturally need to consume an enormous amount of materials to create a shrine of that size.

As for the materials that the demons drop, there will be no problem. Even if we temporarily consume a large number of materials, we will be able to procure them again little by defeating the messenger beasts that Yuri summoned.

The only problem is that we have enough stockpiles of other materials such as sakaki, willow wood, linen, and Japanese paper. To create a Shinto shrine, the earth must be filled with a large amount of Omiki (sacred wine) and millet, and the rice and millet used to make the wine are grains that have never been seen in this other world.

If we want to do it, the stockpile will probably be enough.

But if you think about the future… it’s a little problematic to consume a lot.

(… What should I do?)

Yuri doesn’t want to ignore the fact that <Red Plum> has come up with a plan.

However―――it is difficult to say whether this proposal is important enough to implement.

Yuri knew that she could expect the children of Red Plum to work well even with the current three gods in their bodies.

Looking back on the past year Yuri spent in the other world and recalling the many achievements they have made. This has already been proven.

『―――I’m sorry, Sister. May I have your attention, please?』

A voice suddenly rang through Yuri’s pondering brain.

Even though she couldn’t see the face, Yuri knew immediately that it was Meteora’s voice.

She hadn’t expected to be spoken to in guild chat two days in a row, though.

“What’s the matter, Meteora? Would you like me to connect to individual telepathy again?”

『No, it’s okay, it’s just a quick matter for today.

―――Now that Kanayama-Hiko has awakened, he and Kanayama-Hime would very much like to visit Sister to greet her. May I have permission to use the [Transfer Gate] that we are using?』

Yuri was a little surprised to see that it had already materialized yesterday.

Considering the fact that it took Kanayama-Hime several days to materialize, it was quite fast.

Perhaps the hammer was able to materialize early because it was a good match for Kanayama-Hiko.

The “Hammer of Heavenly Light” is probably derived from the “Ame-no-Mikage,” or “Ame-no-Mahitachi.”

As the grandson of Amaterasu, he is very well known as the god of smithing.

Kanayama-Hiko is also known as the “God of Mines” and is often regarded as the “God of Smith”, so even if there is no direct connection between the two gods, there may be a high affinity between them.

―――Well, whatever the case may be.

If the other party wants to meet, of course, Yuri has no objection.

“I’ll allow it. Will they be here soon?”

『They would like to visit Sister as soon as possible.』

“All right. I’ll come and get you. Tell them to wait for me at the point where I pass through the [Transfer Gate].”

『Understood. I’ll tell them that.』

The guild chat conversation with Meteora was quickly settled.

The [Transfer Gate] that Kanayama-Hiko and Kanayama-Hime would use was the one that Yuri had set up so that the children of <Kikyou> could quickly get to the city that was currently being built.

One of the gates is located in a new city being built in the mountains, and the other gate is located in an unused room in the Yuritania Palace.

So, Yuri can pick them up from that room.

“Firefly, we’ll talk more about this proposed plan later… 

―――No, I think it would be a good idea to consult with both Kanayama-Hiko and Kanayama-Hime before making a decision.”

“I see. It would be a good idea to ask the opinion of the gods who we will be welcoming.”

When Yuri was working in Japan, her grandfather used to say, “When you can’t decide on your own, it’s good to get an outside opinion to add to your decision.”

Now that Yuri is in a different world, she can’t see him anymore… But Yuri hopes that the lessons she learned from her grandfather will not be wasted and that she can make use of them in this world.