Meeting the Goddess

So, after another hard day’s travel, Kyle and his party arrived in Ruben, only to be greeted by a rather subdued atmosphere.

Imperial soldiers in full armor were quite visible in various places, and only then could Kyle guess the reason for the heavy air in Ruben compared to his first visit.

‘Indeed. The Church of the Moon is definitely a target.’

Rumors were rife about the large-scale investigation into the Eyes of Dawn, but it seemed that the first target was indeed the Church of the Moon.

Even though it’s technically an area belonging to the Empire, Ruben, like the Britia Holy State, the base of the Church of the Sun, is treated as a kind of extraterritorial zone.

With unfamiliar soldiers taking up positions in such a place and busily inquiring about people, the atmosphere couldn’t possibly be good.

The fact that the eyes of the believer guarding the entrance and conducting identity checks felt somewhat unpleasant, unlike before, must have been because of that.

It seems that Ruben has transformed into a place that doesn’t exactly welcome outsiders, unlike before.

“It feels uneasy somewhere.”

“You’re telling me.”

Sylvia also noticed this and muttered with a slightly frozen expression, and Kyle nodded.

Then, he silently patted her shoulder, which seemed unnecessarily tense, and moved forward with the group.

Since they didn’t come to do anything wrong anyway, there’s no reason to feel guilty.

They just need to finish what they have to do and return.

“Welcome… Hmm?”

Passing by the tinkling bell, they entered the lodging where they had stayed during their first visit.

The owner guarding the counter seemed to recognize at a glance that they were outsiders, and his eyes widened slightly.

Fortunately, judging from the fact that he didn’t frown, Kyle guessed that the people here hadn’t yet reached the point of rejecting outsiders.

“Do you happen to have any rooms available?”

“How many people are you looking to accommodate?”

“Four.”

“Hmm…”

Kyle spoke on behalf of the group, but for some reason, the owner stared intently at him before turning his gaze to the back.

At that moment, Sylvia and Anise, standing side by side behind Kyle, peeked out.

As if waiting for this moment, the two of them eagerly tried to convey their intentions, mixing in gestures.

Vermillion, watching the two from behind, had a question mark floating above his head.

‘What are they doing?’

Could they be practicing how to send signals in preparation for the Eyes of Dawn?

But if that’s the case, why are they practicing it in a place like this?

“We only have two rooms available right now.”

“…Do they happen to have two beds?”

“No. But they’re quite large, so there shouldn’t be any problem for two people to sleep together.”

‘Oh, crap.’

He had expected the rooms to be plentiful since there didn’t seem to be many guests, but what is this situation again?

He considered just sleeping with Vermillion, but even if the beds in these ordinary lodgings were large, they would be insufficient for two grown men to sleep together.

In the end, it would come down to men and women sleeping together, which would just be a repeat of last night.

“Kyle, we’re fine, so don’t worry about us. Right, Anise?”

“Of course. We’re fine, so get those rooms, Kyle.”

“…Alright. Then, two rooms, please.”

However, since the two women he was most worried about said this in unison, Kyle had no choice but to accept reality, albeit reluctantly.

If it doesn’t work out, there’s always the option of lying down on the bare floor, so he’ll just have to find a blanket somewhere.

As he received the keys and trudged up the stairs, he faintly heard the two women whispering behind him.

“So, Anise, last night too…?”

“Yeah, Vermillion let me because I said I was cold.”

“Me too. Hehe, we really hit it off.”

“We’ve saved ourselves the trouble tonight. The owner was very perceptive.”

The sounds of the guests chattering loudly on the first floor muffled the conversation, but it was probably for the best.

If he had known the inside story, Kyle might have collapsed, clutching the back of his neck.

Because of that, he couldn’t sleep a wink last night and had to stay up all night.

Still, thanks to that excuse, he was able to rest his head on Sylvia’s lap on the way to Ruben, but he didn’t want to cause such trouble again.

“Then, shall we drop off our luggage and then each explore the town?”

“That would be good.”

“Sylvia, where are you going first?”

“I’m going to follow Kyle around.”

With that, Kyle and his party split into two rooms to organize their luggage, then immediately left the lodging.

In Kyle’s case, his destination was determined from the start.

＊＊＊

Ruben, called the sacred ground of the Church of the Moon.

Befitting its name, Ruben is home to the largest temple of Lethe, the goddess, in this empire.

Kyle, who headed straight there without going anywhere else, was followed by Sylvia like a child chasing after their parents.

Kyle was trying to match his pace, but perhaps because of her eagerness, the distance would widen again if he sped up.

And then Kyle would belatedly notice this and narrow the gap, creating a funny situation where she would catch up.

“You seem particularly hurried today, Kyle.”

“Sorry. Was I too fast?”

“I didn’t mean to scold you, so don’t worry about it. I was just curious because it’s the first time I’ve seen Kyle this impatient.”

Sylvia shook her head at him, who scratched his cheek with a look of apology.

To her, Kyle was a man who didn’t feel impatient even in the face of most things and always analyzed situations coolly.

Except for when unexpected accidents like last night happened.

So, she felt that there was some fun in watching this side of him.

Of course, feeling joy at seeing him impatient wasn’t exactly a good thing, so she quickly erased it from her mind.

“Please stop. This place is currently not open to outsiders. Please return immediately.”

Soon, as they reached the entrance of the temple, one of the men standing on either side of the door stepped forward and stopped Kyle.

Originally, temples are places that can be visited even by those who are not believers of that particular church, but it seems that the rules have changed recently due to various reasons.

Kyle frowned and took a step back, as he hadn’t anticipated this.

“What’s wrong, Kyle?”

“…It seems that outsiders are currently not allowed to enter. This is troublesome.”

“If it’s outsiders… does that mean believers of the Church of the Moon can enter?”

“I suppose so.”

But Kyle is not a believer of the Church of the Moon, so he has no way to enter.

Unless there’s even a symbol to prove it.

If it doesn’t work out, he thought about temporarily knocking them unconscious with magic to get inside, but if he were to be noticed by others, it could become even more difficult to deal with.

As Kyle was pondering what to do, Sylvia confidently stepped forward instead.

“Excuse me. I heard that if one spouse is a believer, the other spouse is also allowed to enter, is that correct?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. That is correct, but are you a believer?”

“Yes. Although I’m not a devout believer… would this be proof enough?”

Then, after talking to the man, she took out a white, round object from her bosom.

It was an object with small ornaments that looked like platinum around it, and at first glance, it looked like a pendant, and at another glance, it looked like an ornament attached to a belt.

The man who saw it was startled and widened his eyes.

“I-I apologize. Please come in.”

“Thank you.”

“……?”

Then, he showed courtesy to an excessive degree and cleared the way.

Sylvia subtly grabbed Kyle’s hand and pulled him inside.

Soon, when there were no ears to hear, Kyle, who had been feeling puzzled, cautiously asked her a question.

“…How did you do that? What is that thing?”

“This is a kind of token given to devout believers in the Church of the Moon. I heard that my grandmother was a very devout believer until just before she passed away. She left it to my mother, and I inherited it.”

“Ah.”

Sylvia explained, making a circle with her hand and putting the object inside.

Only then did Kyle, who had grasped the situation, exclaim.

In other words, she used a kind of halo left by her grandmother to tell a lie?

It was something that believers would be horrified to hear, but Kyle wasn’t the type to fuss about such things, so he rather expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got in easily.”

“It’s nothing. Although it’s not exactly a substitute…”

Kkok.

Then, Sylvia smiled and reached out, grabbing Kyle’s hand, which she had let go of for a moment, with more force than before.

She intertwined her fingers, causing a look of bewilderment to cross Kyle’s eyes.

Sylvia, noticing this, blurted out an excuse.

“We came in under the pretense of being a married couple. I think it’s better to act like this here.”

“I guess so.”

Although it was a somewhat clumsy excuse, Kyle nodded, as he couldn’t fail to understand.

It would be troublesome if they were suspected of not being a married couple and kicked out.

Besides, the temple is quite large, so they could easily get lost, so this would be better.

He didn’t know why she had to intertwine their fingers, but if he thought of it as just sealing their hands more firmly, it wasn’t something he couldn’t accept.

“Welcome, believers. Have you come to meet the goddess?”

Soon, as the two people crossed the hallway and arrived in front of a large door that could easily accommodate two wild boars, another man guarding the entrance greeted them kindly.

It seems that having come this far was as good as a guarantee that they were believers, so he treated them gently, thinking of them as fellow believers.

“Yes, we have.”

“Thank you for your visit. I hope the goddess will welcome you.”

As Kyle nodded, the believer smiled happily, as if truly grateful, and let the two people inside.

Even though nearly decades have passed since the goddess’s response disappeared, the existence of believers who still come to hear her response must be appreciated by the church.

Kyle also regarded that person as a truly devout religious person and entered inside with Sylvia.

Soon, the door closed quietly without making a sound, as if it were afraid, and the torches that flared up on all sides and the huge stone statue erected in the center came into view.

But still, no voice was heard.

Could it be that Lethe is still away, as the rumors say?

Just as Kyle was about to express his disappointment, thinking that.

Paaaat─!

“K-Kyle…!”

“……!?”

Suddenly, the magic eye engraved on Sylvia’s right eye began to emit red light in all directions without its owner’s command.

As if resonating with something.

Kyle, surprised by this, rushed to check on Sylvia’s condition.

– …Finally, the one who will awaken me has come.

A strange woman’s voice echoed in the ears of the two people, or rather, in their minds.