Chapter 221: Nominated Request from the Saintess

“A nominated request from Foka-san?”

Having come to the Adventurer’s Guild to look for requests, we were contacted by the guild that a nominated request had come in from Saintess Foka-san, an S-rank adventurer with whom we previously explored the dangerous ruins discovered deep within the Karbang Mine.

“Yes. She says she wants you to come to the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess in the Holy Capital as soon as possible. She says the request details will be explained on-site, and you can decide whether to accept the request or not at that time. The reward is 1,000 gold coins, and 10 gold coins will be provided in advance as expenses for traveling to the site. She says there is no obligation to return this even if you do not accept the request.”

“10 gold coins for expenses and no obligation to return it is quite generous. The reward amount is also large, so this might be quite a troublesome request.”

“Yeah. The fact that she says it’s okay to refuse the request despite all that gives off the scent of trouble.”

Liliera-san and Mina-san were groaning and racking their brains.

“But we can get 10 gold coins for free! If we fly vroom with flight magic, it won’t cost carriage fare, and we can save on inn fees! We should accept it!”

As expected of Meguri-san, she’s unshakeable.

“Ah, and also, she says if you have comrades of certain ability, please bring them along by all means.”

“Does that mean it’s okay to bring everyone?”

“Yes. Since it is not a nomination for a single S-rank adventurer, but for Rex-san’s party.”

Which means it’s not that troublesome?

“Yes, yes! I think we should accept it!”

Meguri-san agrees without a second thought.

“Umm, if it’s a direct request from the Saintess, I think we should accept it. Besides, if it’s about the Holy Capital, I think I can be of some use.”

A proactive opinion came from Norb-san, which is rare.

He usually speaks up after everyone else’s opinions are out, so it feels a bit strange.

Conversely, Jairo-kun is still silent.

“What do you want to do, Jairo-kun?”

“Hmm, the Holy Capital is that, right? A place where a bunch of old church geezers and the like are endlessly giving sermons or lectures, right? Is there any need for us adventurers to go?”

Ah, Jairo-kun likes fighting on the front lines, so he’s anxious about what he’ll be made to do in such a stiff place.

“It’s free to hear the request and refuse it anyway, so maybe it’s fine just to hear them out?”

“Hmm.”

Even so, he still doesn’t seem enthusiastic, and Jairo-kun is groaning.

“You idiot. Aren’t you forgetting something important?”

“Something important?”

Mina-san, who seemed to have finished discussing with Liliera-san, returned to Jairo-kun.

“Rex is involved. Of course it’s definitely going to become a big deal.”

No, wait a minute.

“Ah, right!”

Don’t say ‘Ah, right!’ Jairo-kun! And don’t look convinced while clapping your hands!

“Yeah! Since Bro is with us! Of course it’s definitely going to be a grand adventure!”

“It is not! I’m just living a normal adventurer life! I haven’t been on any grand adventures like that!”

” ” ” ” “You haven’t… been on a grand adventure?” ” ” ” ” “

Eh? Why is everyone looking at me with a face saying ‘what is this guy talking about’?

“At any rate, the troublesome part is that it involves the church.”

At that point, Liliera-san brings the topic back.

“Requests from church officials are mainly of two types.”

“Two types?”

“Yeah. One is requests aimed at low-rank adventurers, like wanting them to procure a large amount of herbs they’re short on. This happens when battles with large monster swarms occur suddenly and they run out of potions, so it’s not that rare. The troublesome one is the other. Requests from temples in large cities are almost without a doubt troublesome matters.”

Hearing those words, Norb-san made a bitter face.

“Because large temples have many people, the number of clergymen who demand bribes or commit injustices increases accordingly. When that happens, you get requested to do jobs bordering on crime, or asked to clean up after their messes. And if the client is stingy, they apparently complain and cut the reward.”

“The reward is 1,000 gold coins, after all.”

Ah, this is just like the story of the corrupt priest who repeatedly did evil deeds under the shield of authority, which was also in the adventures of Great Swordsman Raigard.

In the stories, divine punishment usually falls upon the corrupt priest in the end, though.

“But the one who made the request is Foka-san, who is called a Saintess, and from when we adventured together before, she didn’t seem like the type to be stingy with rewards.”

“Which means it’s a troublesome matter that’s difficult to handle with just the church. If anything, there’s a high possibility it’s the rough stuff Jairo-kun is hoping for.”

“Ooh! So that’s how it is after all! As expected of Bro!”

Wait, why did that lead to ‘As expected of me’!?

“In other words, the request is no different from what we always do. Then, 1,000 gold coins and 10 coins for expenses is a great deal! We can’t afford not to accept it!”

Meguri-san really liked those 10 gold coins for expenses.

“Well, everyone seems to agree, so I suppose it’s fine to accept it.”

The fact that we can refuse the request is good!

And so, we decided to accept the request from Foka-san.

But I didn’t think for a second back then that it would lead to that situation because of it.

Since Foka-san asked us to come as soon as possible, we decided to travel by flight magic and stay at an inn in the nearest town when it got dark.

And right now, we were receiving an explanation about the Holy Capital from Norb-san in our inn room.

“The Holy Capital, it is the headquarters of those who serve the gods. It is said to be the place where the gods first descended to this world, and also the place where the gods left the surface. For us who serve the gods, it is no exaggeration to say that serving in the Holy Capital is a dream.”

“In other words, it’s like a country bumpkin wanting to live in the city.”

“…Y-You’re a bit off, Jairo-kun.”

A vein has popped on the forehead of Norb-san, who was explaining about the Holy Capital, which is rare.

Yeah, that’s a bit rude, Jairo-kun.

“In the Holy Capital, there are main temples that enshrine the Six Great Gods: the Chief God, the Earth Mother Goddess, the War God, the God of Commerce, the God of Wisdom, and the Night God.”

Fumu fumu, this part is the same as in my previous life and the one before that.

“The Chief God is the leader of the gods and presides over decisions and discussions. It’s mainly the god worshipped by people in power. The Earth Mother Goddess presides over the harvest of the earth and healing. She is worshipped by farmers and apothecaries. The War God, as the name suggests, presides over battles, so he is worshipped by knights, mercenaries, and adventurers. The God of Wisdom presides over wisdom, and is worshipped by mages and scholars. The God of Commerce presides over business and contracts, and is mainly worshipped by merchants, but adventurers also sometimes worship him because they work by accepting requests. Finally, the Night God is the god who presides over sleep and tranquility, and is also the god who protects people from calamities coming from unseen places, such as the darkness or future events.”

“Come to think of it, which god do you worship, Norb-san?”

“My family has worshipped the God of Wisdom for generations. As he is the god presiding over wisdom, our role is to accumulate wisdom and lend that wisdom to the country’s government.”

The God of Wisdom faith rarely gets deeply involved in politics.

Because if left only to humans, they would surrender to their desires and cause terrible situations, so occasionally an oracle supposedly comes down from the god to stop the humans’ rampage.

Of course, there seem to be many countries that don’t listen and end up in terrible situations, though.

“So there are lots of different gods, huh.”

” ” ” ” “Eh?” ” ” ” ” “

At Jairo-kun’s words, everyone made faces saying ‘what is this guy talking about’.

“Jairo-kun, you learned this from the village priest… right?”

“Did I? It didn’t matter, so I don’t remember.”

“Oh, God, please forgive him…”

Norb-san crumbled while holding his head and began begging the gods for forgiveness.

“Well, it can’t be helped. A country farmer only has the recognition that a god is a god, after all. It’s common for them to only know about the god the priest of their own village believes in.”

The one who defended Jairo-kun was Liliera-san.

Come to think of it, Liliera-san was also born in an agricultural village that was swallowed by the Monster Forest.

“Yeah, yeah! Besides, it doesn’t cause any trouble even if I don’t know that stuff!”

Well, that’s true, but I really hope you don’t say that in front of the people of the Holy Capital we’re heading to.

“Jairo-kun! Absolutely do not say that in front of the people of the Holy Capital, okay! This isn’t just on the level of being disrespectful!”

Just as I was thinking that, Norb-san started to gag Jairo-kun with an incredibly intense attitude.

“O-Oh…”

Because the usually quiet Norb-san had such an intense attitude, even Jairo-kun was a bit overwhelmed.

“Right, right, Saintess Foka-sama is a High Priestess who worships the Earth Mother Goddess.”

“Even though she’s a High Priestess, she works as an adventurer?”

“In her case, she became an adventurer when she was a priestess, and she was recognized for healing many people and making the majesty of the goddess known, and became a High Priestess.”

“In other words, she’s a promoter backed by actual ability.”

Mina-san says something sharp.

In fact, even in my previous life, there were many activities where they’d send church officials to the front lines to raise the church’s authority.

Still, from the perspective of the people fighting on the front lines, they were grateful for an increase in recovery magic users, so there were no complaints.

“The Holy Capital where the Saintess resides. I, being inexperienced, was not granted permission to go, but my grandfather said it was a land lined with truly magnificent temples.”

Norb-san’s face as he muttered that was filled with longing for the unseen Holy Capital.

“So this is the Holy Capital.”

A few days after leaving the Royal Capital, we who had continued traveling by flight magic finally arrived at the Holy Capital.

“…”

“How should I put it…”

“It’s dazzling, isn’t it.”

While I was wondering how to phrase it harmlessly, Mina-san said exactly what she felt upon seeing it.

“There’s definitely lots of valuables and money!”

“…”

“Well, how should I put it, it really feels like a city church.”

“…”

“It’s super vulgar.”

“…”

“It was a land lined with magnificent temples, right.”

“…”

Please stop, everyone! Norb-san is crouching down covering his face in mid-air!

But so this is the Holy Capital.

Certainly, as everyone says, it gave off a very nouveau riche vibe, or rather, it was a sight that practically screamed they were overflowing with money.

Even if the era and architectural styles change, the atmosphere you feel from it doesn’t change, huh.

“Magnificent… solemn… sacred…”

Yeah, whatever I say right now will likely have the opposite effect.

Let’s leave him be.