CH 1022

1022 - White God Festival, Evening ④

【Please note that the 2nd Popularity Vote, pertaining the final votings and the Afterword Section ends at December 31, 2021, on 23:59】

Despite the fact that something strange happened, which I think was unexpected, but at the same time, predictable, I finished my prayers to Shiro-san.

As for the phenomenon that had just occurred, the Gods who were in charge of the prayer room just summed it up as “I guess your prayers were received by Shallow Vernal-sama”.

The atmosphere around me held some excitement and they seemed to be deeply moved, as if they had just witnessed a miraculous scene with their own eyes, but I personally feel slightly uncomfortable.

In the midst of all this, only the Found hadn’t uttered a single word, remaining in the posture of a prayer without moving an inch. It was a very peaceful prayer, as if time had stopped where she knelt.

[……Sky-san, errr…… Do you feel like Founder-san’s prayer would still take quite a while? If it’s going to finish some time now, I thought I’d better say hello.]

[Please wait a moment. She’s supposedly taken her spot in this room as a God, so I’ll go check the time she’s booked.]

Seeing her that serious with her prayer, there was no way I could just interrupt her, but considering what happened earlier, I thought I should at least greet her so I asked, to which Sky-san quickly makes her way over to the God in charge of the prayer room to confirm.

A little while later though, she came back with a very complicated expression on her face.

[……Apparently “about 6 more hours”.]

[……I’ll just greet her later.]

That’s an absurd amount of time for a prayer…… Do seriously religious people really pray that much?

[6 hours for a prayer sounds really amazing. I guess that’s to be expected from someone called Founder.]

[About that, Aoi-san…… It seems that she’s been here since morning, so she’s been praying for 9 hours already.]

[T- That’s amazing.]

[No, I think that’s actually rather short for her…… I heard that if she has no other plans, she always prays at the cathedral in the center of the Friendship City, and there were apparently times when “she stays in the prayer position for several months without moving”……]

She committedly takes the devout from the D right to the T…… She’s already a devout believer on a level that’s difficult to describe. Well, be that as it may, let’s give up on greeting her here.

[Well, I don’t want to interrupt her, so I’ll just hope we get a chance to say hello again.]

[Miyama-sama, why don’t you go to the Friendship City, Hikari, for sightseeing sometime? Aoi-sama and Hina-sama too, have only been there during the Festival of Heroes, right? The atmosphere there may be different from when the Festival of Heroes is being held, but the Friendship City is still a place with a great many tourist attractions.]

[Ahh~~ I see, that might be a good idea.]

Indeed, the only time I visited the Friendship City, Hikari was during the Festival of Heroes. There were so many stalls and people at that time that I didn’t have time to go around very leisurely, so I didn’t know the streets very well.

The first time I went near the Friendship City, I couldn’t go there because Neun-san, who was with me at that time, wouldn’t want to visit the Friendship City more than any other city in the world, so I really haven’t been to the Friendship City at a regular day.

It seems to be famous as a tourist city, with famous products such as Hikari Manjuu and a huge wall painting depicting the adventures of the First Hero, so just as Luna-san said, it really might be a good idea to go sightseeing there next time.

If it’s convenient for her, I could also greet the Founder at that time.

With these thoughts in mind, I left the chapel with everyone. Once outside, I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.

The sky is basically blue all the time in the God Realm, so if I don’t check my watch, I won’t be able to tell the time of day just from looking at the sky.

The time now is 3:30 in the afternoon…… I still had some time, but by the time we visit one or two more places, I think I should be thinking about heading towards the Sanctuary.

[……Even so, we’re meeting so many different people today, aren’t we? Normally, one wouldn’t run into so many famous people one after another……]

[Well, that’s because Kaito-san is with us after all.]

Lilia-san nodded at Sieg-san’s words with a somewhat resigned expression on her face. Well, it certainly was unusual to meet so many different people.

It’s supposed to be a rare thing for someone to simply meet all those people…… but for some reason, I keep running into them. If anything, I feel like we’re going to encounter someone again when we reach our next destination.

[……God of Sky, you were here huh.]

[God of Earth? Is something the matter?]

……We didn’t even reach our next destination. I kinda feel like Lilia-san is looking at me with an astounded look on her face…… but I don’t really think this is my fault.

[No, I thought that I should say my greetings to Miyama Kaito-sama, so since I have free time, I came to find your group.]

……It is my fault.

~ ~ Extra : Introduction ~ ~

“Founder”, Olivia

The head of the Friendship City, Hikari, Olivia is a special God created by Shallow Vernal. She is an independent being, a God not under the command of a Supreme God, and only Shallow Vernal has the right to give orders to her.

She is responsible for managing the Friendship City, Hikari, preserves the original Treaty of Friendship, and directly manages the Festival of Heroes.

The abilities she possesses are also extremely special, where “as long as she’s in the Friendship City, Hikari, she possesses overwhelming power comparable to the Supreme Gods”, but outside the Friendship City, her abilities are almost the same as that of a commoner.

She was the strongest being only within a specific domain, and as such, she didn’t participate in the battle in the God Realm.

In addition to this ability, she also has the ability to “ignore any kind of Teleportation Interference from anywhere in the world and teleport directly to the Central Cathedral of the Friendship City, Hikari”, “Automatic Resurrection in the Central Cathedral and Full Recovery upon death” and “unless Olivia allows it, no one would be able to tamper with the original Treaty of Friendship”, making her a being that specializes in protecting Friendship City, Hikari, and the original Treaty of Friendship.

In addition, she has been given absolute discretionary authority over the operation of the Festival of Heroes, and her opinions take precedence over the rulers, the Supreme Gods and the Six Kings when it comes to matters related to the Festival of Heroes.

Since only Shallow Vernal has the right to give her orders, she can be said to be in an extremely neutral position among the three realms.

She is basically serious and quiet, spending her free time praying to Shallow Vernal at the cathedral.

""

Also, priests are required to learn the basics in the cathedral in the Friendship City, Hikari before serving in the temples of their respective countries, and Olivia, the most authoritative person in the cathedral, is called the Founder, which has become her second name.