Volume 4 - CH 11

Chapter 11 – The Cathedral and the Divine Realm Again

We are finally heading off toward the cathedral.

Claretta-san is unusually walking in the lead. She is taking a somewhat fast pace… Perhaps the women know how Claretta-san feels, and they are kindly watching over her.

The cathedral is getting closer and closer. It is huge. A huge stone building can be seen at the end of the square. As I get closer, I see that it is a beautiful building with exquisite workmanship, and I feel that it is a special building that has grown in stature over the years.

After passing through the huge door, you will find an enormous space with a vaulted ceiling. Sparkling light pours down from the stained glass windows, and in front of the building are seven huge stone statues.

“I-it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah, it’s overwhelming.”

Just as Alessia-san said, we were simply overwhelmed by the huge space and the sacred atmosphere.

We all stood there for a while in a daze.

“S-should we go and pray?”

“Yes, you’re right; let’s go.”

“Ah, Claretta-san. I wonder if you can tell me the name of the deity enshrined in the statue.”

“Eh? Yes. At the front is the Creator God. The statues on the left and right are the gods of light, darkness, earth, fire, wind, and water. It is unknown when this cathedral was built, but it is said that the statues enshrined in it were handed down by the Creator God when the cathedral was built.”

“I-is that so? Thank you, Claretta-san.”

What about this? The statue in the front retains the image of the Creator God that I met, but the Creator God, who was supposed to be a boy, is now a young man with a sharp and dignified appearance.

…If it really is a statue handed down by the Creator God, then that’s really impressive. He must have made up his own god statue to his liking, saying, “This one is definitely cooler than.”

My heart, which had been overwhelmed by the sacred atmosphere, rapidly cooled down. It’s like I’ve seen the inside of some famous character. Oh, if there is stained glass, there must be a glass workshop, right?

Even if it costs a lot of money, I want glass cups and tableware. It would be nice if I could take a tour of the workshop.

“Master, are you not going?”

“Y-yes, I’ll come right away.”

While I was thinking, the members of Girasole were advancing to the front of the statue of the Gods.

I hurriedly proceeded through the cathedral and knelt in front of the statue of God. I closed my eyes and reported with gratitude that I had come to another world, that I was very grateful for the help of my ship summoning skills, and that I was enjoying my life.

“You are welcome. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Wataru-kun?”

“Ah, Creator God-sama, it’s been a long time.”

This is the divine realm, isn’t it? I thought he couldn’t interfere too much in the lower world. Did I cause some kind of problem?

“Um, Creator God-sama, did I do something wrong?”

“Hmm? No, you are not causing me any problems; why is that?”

“No, you said you can’t interfere too much in the lower world, so I thought I might have caused a problem.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant; that’s fine. I have my own statue there, which I gave myself. In a sense, it is a sacred place. So it’s okay for me to interfere.”

“I see. So what can I do for you?”

“Nothing in particular. You came to the cathedral, so I just called on you.”

“Oh, I see.”

It seems that I didn’t cause any problems or get in trouble because of my boring behavior. I’m glad to hear that. I wanted to ask him something.

“Yeah.”

“Um, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm, what is it? I’ll answer what I can.”

“Thank you. What about the money I spent on the ship summoning? If I buy a luxury liner, at least 500 platinum coins will disappear.”

“Oh, that money, huh? The money you spend is supposed to go to the God of Commerce. We don’t interfere in the lower world, but I think it is used on rare occasions to sneak in a catastrophe or something like that. Sometimes we’d flush it into a decent church, and sometimes we’d turn it back into metal and bury it in the mines.”

“I see. Okay, thank you very much.”

Hmm, is that good? It seems appropriate… Well, if the God of Commerce is involved… Well, let’s assume it’s okay because there won’t be any financial crisis or anything like that.

“Speaking of which, why do the statues of the god in the cathedral and the Creator God-sama look so different?”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s because, you know, that’s cooler.”

“Is that all?”

“What do you mean by ‘that’s all’? I’m the God who created their world. Being cool is important. Which world would you rather live in, the one created by an old man with stubble or the one created by a fresh young man?”

“Personally, I would rather live in a world created by a goddess. But if it’s between the two, I’d rather live in a world made by a nice, fresh young man.”

“That’s what I mean.”

I don’t understand what he means, but is that what he’s saying? Are we not talking about the same thing?

“I understand.”

“Oh, by the way, you are with the Girasole girls now, aren’t you? They’re in trouble. I think you should help them. If you do so, the God of War and the others will realize the power of the ship summoning.”

“What kind of trouble? Is it dangerous?”

“Yeah, th-“

“You mustn’t, Creator God-sama.”

“T-that’s what she said.”

“Excuse me. It’s nice to meet you, Wataru-san; I am the Goddess of Light. I will need a moment of your time.”

“Y-yes.”

She’s a stunning beauty with shiny blonde hair and great proportions. She’s like a beautiful secretary who can do it all. But now, she’s dragging the Creator God-sama behind her, delivering sermons.

She looks so tired even though she is so beautiful. Ah, she made the Creator God sit down on the floor. This is a serious sermon.

I’m really curious about Girasole, but it seems like I’m not supposed to ask the Creator God about it. But I am really curious about it.

I was called to the divine realm, left alone, and saw the Creator God being made to sit on his knees by the Goddess of Light and receive her wrath… may be a valuable experience, though I wonder what it will do for me.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, and sorry for the abruptness of my visit.”

“N-no, thank you for your continued assistance. I’m Toyomi Wataru. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Fufu, there is no need to be nervous. The Creator God-sama tried to tell you something that shouldn’t be spoken, so I had to intervene. I’m sure you are also concerned about it, but please be patient. And it is your choice to get involved in that matter or not. There is no need to help them because Creator God-sama told you to do so, so please make your own decision.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.”

I’m curious, but still, it’s no good.

“Um, Goddess of Light-sama, now that I’ve heard a little bit about it, should I go back to the Southern City as soon as possible? Do you think it will be a problem? Wouldn’t I avoid the danger of Girasole if I moved where I am now?”

“Whew, it doesn’t make any difference whether you stay in Palermo or go back to the Southern City. That’s all I can say.”

“Alright, thank you for answering my insolent question.”

“No, then, I still have something to say to the Creator God, so I will return you to your place.”

After being told this, my own vision was enveloped in light. The last sight I saw was Creator God-sama being made to sit on his knees with tears in his eyes.

I come back to the cathedral from the divine realm. Should I give Girasole any advice? But I don’t know anything concrete. What should I do?

At any rate, I can’t do anything with that information alone, so let’s just wait and see. You girls, be careful because I hear you’re going to be in trouble soon… No, where’s the psychic?

At any rate, I followed Girasole, made an offering, and left the church.

“The place was kind of a purification of body and soul, wasn’t it? What did you think of it, Wataru-san?”

“Yes, the atmosphere was sacred and moving.”

I answered that to Alessia-san’s question, although, to be honest, I was impressed when I entered. A glorified statue of the gods, a future in which troublesome things are confirmed, I feel like I’m missing out.

Oh, I think I was lucky to meet the Goddess of Light. She was truly a goddess. She seemed to be having a hard time, though.

Claretta-san is going to remain here and talk with the priest of the cathedral. We decided to go to the merchant guild and the adventurer guild. While exchanging our impressions of the cathedral, we went to the merchant guild.

I enter the guild and quickly identify the fox-eared lady at the reception counter and naturally go to her counter.

“Hello, my name is Wataru from the Kingdom of Latina. I have a question I’d like to ask you. Is that alright?”

“Yes, it’s fine. How can I help you?”

Huh? The self-introduction strategy failed for the second time in a row. Is this strategy no longer working? Does Palermo not have a culture of responding to self-introductions with self-introductions?

“I would like to know about reputable trading companies that deal in groceries, and I would like to know about the specialties of this country.”　　

“Very well. For groceries, the Ciriaco Trading Company has a good reputation. It has been in existence for many generations, but it is a solid business and is well-trusted by the locals. As for specialties, we have wine and tomatoes, especially wine, which is very popular in other countries.”

“I understand, thank you very much. May I have a map of the Ciriaco Trading Company?”

“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”

After receiving the map to the Ciriaco Trading Company, we headed for the adventurers’ guild.”

At the adventurers’ guild, the Girasole was reporting on their stay and gathering information about slime, so I killed some time by browsing the merchandise at the store so as not to attract any attention.

Hmm, wine… I’ve started drinking alcohol since I turned 20, but I don’t really know what it tastes like. It was just fun to make noise and drink with others, and I’ve never had an expensive alcoholic beverage.

If the business meeting goes well at the Ciriaco Trading Company, I’ll ask them to introduce me to some good wines, and I’ll stock up and go home. But wine is fine for a man, but I’m not sure if wine is fine for Camille-san as well.

Oh, yes, I’ll give her some pudding and ice cream, too, and I’ll get her to praise me as promised…　

“Wataru-san, we’re done. Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Shall we go?”

Oh no, I had inadvertently attracted attention. By being spoken to by Alessia-san, I was exposed as a related party. The piercing stares from the adventurers were painful.

After leaving the adventurers’ guild, we still had some time left, so we decided to go around the market for lunch.

“Have you gathered any information on slime?”

“Yes, but it’s not certain. We’ll talk about it later in the evening.”

“Understood.”

We went around the market and bought some things we were interested in at the stalls. Tomatoes are a specialty here, so I bought tomato soup, meat sauce, and even ketchup in bulk.

For some reason, Rimu was positioned on top of Carla-san’s head and begged me for something she was going to eat. It’s okay, though, because he’s cute. I wonder where all the food is going.

After visiting all the food stalls and feeling full, we decided to relax at the inn for the rest of the day. Back in the room, I chat and play with Rimu. Claretta-san returned before sunset, so we all had dinner together.

Claretta-san is very excited and explains how wonderful the cathedral is. I’ve never seen Claretta-san like that before. Her bouncing breasts are distracting me, though, so I can’t concentrate on what she’s saying.

After dinner, we gather in the Girasole members’ room to organize information about the adventurers’ guild.

“The information we’ve gathered is all a bit vague. Slimes that can use magic are said to be found in places where the forces of nature are strong, such as volcanoes for fire and grasslands for wind.”

“The problem is that we have adventured in many places, but we have never met a slime that can use magic, except for Rimu-chan, so it is difficult.”

“Is that so?”

“Dorothea and Marina both said that slime is their favorite for taming, so it’s not easy.”

“Hahaha. Sorry about that.”

“Fufu, yes, Wataru-san’s love of slime has definitely influenced Dorothea and Marina. But, well, Rimu-chan is so cute, so it can’t be helped.”

“Thank you.”

Rimu is happily jumping around on my head, being told how cute he is.

“So, there are no volcanoes around here. There seems to be a cave with strong winds about two days from here. It seems there are slimes there, so after Wataru-san’s business meeting, why don’t we go look for them?”

Everyone agrees with Alessia-san’s suggestion. It’s not that far away, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

I got a light tug on my clothes.

“What’s wrong, Carla-san?”

“I want to eat dessert. Also, Wataru-san, let’s go together.”

“Dessert is fine, but you mean to go to the cave?”

“Yes.”

I distribute pudding and ice cream to everyone.

“I’ll only slow you down if I go there, you know?”

“No problem. We’ll all protect you.”

“Right; it would be very helpful if you could come with us in terms of food and shelter.”

“Oh, I see. I don’t know how the business meeting is going to go, so I’ll make a decision after that.”

“Alright, what about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, I will go to Ciriaco Trading Company and have a business meeting. After that, I plan to buy new equipment.”

“Then we’ll see what happens. If you come, as Carla said, we’ll do our best to protect you.”

“I understand.”

After the discussion, we went back to our room, wiped myself off, had a lovey-dovey time, and went to sleep. Good night.