Chapter 222: Power Dynamics of the Sanctuary

“Welcome! I was waiting for you, Rex-kun!”

When we announced our arrival at the Adventurer’s Guild in the Holy Capital as designated beforehand, we were guided to one of the guild’s reception rooms.

And without much of a wait, Foka-san entered the reception room with a beaming smile.

“Right away, your formal baptism as a Divine Child!”

“Rather than that, I would like to hear the details of the request, though.”

I don’t know what ‘right away’ means here, but since I don’t want to get involved in troublesome matters, I decided to gently dodge the topic.

Or rather, she hasn’t given up on that talk yet, huh.

“No room for discussion, I see.”

Foka-san shrugged her shoulders looking disappointed.

Could it be that it was just a joke?

“Understood. Then we will do the formal baptism after the request is finished.”

…It seems it wasn’t a joke.

“I will pass. Rather than that, please tell us the details of the request.”

“Too bad. But true, we don’t have much time, so shall we return to talking about work?”

Perhaps feeling like talking seriously about work now, Foka-san straightened her posture and stared at us.

When she acts like this, she really gives off a Saintess vibe.

“Actually, I want you all to participate in a certain journey.”

“A journey?”

“Yes, a special ritual called a pilgrimage.”

A pilgrimage… from the sound of it, it feels like a journey for normal believers, though?

“A pilgrimage is a ritual to resolve problems when trouble arises between the temples of the Six Great Gods in the Holy Capital. And I want you all to participate in this journey as external helpers.”

I see, considering Foka-san’s explanation, it reeks of a rough situation.

Is that why she made a request to us adventurers?

“Then we just have to travel together with you as your guards, Foka-san?”

“No, the journey I want you to participate in is not ours.”

Huh? It’s not?

“Eh? Then what are we supposed to do?”

“Rex-kun, I want you all to participate in the journey as helpers for the Temple of the Chief God.”

“The Temple of the Chief God? What do you mean?”

Nnn? The conversation is getting tangled somehow.

Isn’t this a request from Foka-san?

“Rest assured, I will explain properly.”

Saying that, Foka-san began to explain to us the reason pilgrimages are held in the Holy Capital.

“But before asking you to do the job, let me explain about this Holy Capital as preliminary information.”

“About the Holy Capital?”

“Yes. Because it’s important information for you to accept the request.”

“Understood.”

Since Foka-san is saying this much, it must be necessary information.

“This holy land is the land where the gods are said to have descended in the age of myths.”

Yeah, this part is just like the contents I heard from Norb-san on the way here.

“It is said that at that time, the world was on the verge of destruction due to many conflicts and calamities.”

Heh, that’s a myth I never heard in my previous life or the one before that.

It’s an image quite different from the myth I heard in my previous life.

That one was a story with a much stronger image of glittering gods.

“One day, a young man who grieved for the devastated world set out on a journey to save the world.”

Ooh, it’s starting to sound like a hero’s tale!

“…However, the young man’s journey was extremely harsh, and countless times the young man fell to his knees and almost gave up. Yet each time, the young man stood up and continued his journey. All for the peace of the world.”

Foka-san’s light yet passionate storytelling draws us into the narrative.

“…Before long, five comrades with the same aspirations gathered under the young man. The young man continued his journey with his comrades, advancing while repelling numerous hardships.”

Perhaps because she has traveled across various regions as a Saintess.

The hardships of the youths spun from Foka-san’s mouth sound very authentic.

“And the gods, who had been watching over the youths’ journey from the distant celestial realm, acknowledged their pure and righteous deeds, descended to the surface, and bestowed wisdom and divine protection upon the youths. Obtaining the assistance of the gods, the youths used that power to restore peace to the world.”

Ooh, so this is where the gods come in.

It would be nice if the gods lent their power directly in reality too.

“After the world became peaceful, the youths designated the land where the gods descended as a holy land, and built temples there. And the youths became the heads of the temples they themselves built, namely the first Popes, and came to be respected by many people. And they lived happily ever after.”

” ” ” ” ” “Ooooh—” ” ” ” ” “

Having listened intently to the story, we inadvertently burst into applause.

Man, Foka-san is really good at preaching too.

“Due to such reasons, this land flourishes as the headquarters of the respective churches worshipping each god. However, because of that, things have become a bit troublesome.”

“Troublesome?”

It seems this is where the main topic starts.

“Yes. This is the headquarters of each church that enshrines the Six Great Gods. In other words, it is the place where the most important people among the gods’ believers live. It would have been fine if they were far apart, but with them gathered this closely, friction is bound to arise.”

I see, in other words…

“A power struggle?”

At Meguri-san’s merciless remark, Foka-san shrugged her shoulders.

“Embarrassingly enough.”

So it ends up like that after all.

Well, looking at the scenery outside, I had a feeling.

“In the past, because the world was in turmoil, the authority of the temples of all gods was balanced, but these past few hundred years have been a peaceful era with no problems that could be called a world crisis, so a misalignment has started to occur in that balance.”

“Peaceful…”

“World crisis…”

Then, for some reason, everyone reacted to Foka-san’s words with eyes that had lost their light.

“Oh my, did something happen?”

” ” ” ” “No, nothing at all.” ” ” ” “

Why did everyone avert their gazes in unison?

“To be specific, the influence of the Temple of the Chief God, which acts as the mediator for each temple, has fallen, and instead, the speaking power of the Temples of the War God and the God of Commerce has increased.”

“Huh? If it’s a peaceful era, wouldn’t the War God’s influence weaken too?”

At Foka-san’s words, Mina-san tilted her head.

“No, even in a peaceful world, there are many wars between nations and skirmishes between individuals. So the War God’s influence doesn’t change much.”

“Ah, I see.”

In this era, the threat of Demons seems to be less compared to the past, but in exchange, conflicts between humans seem to be increasing.

Well, regarding that, even in my previous life, humans fought amongst themselves in between battles with Demons, so what people in power do never changes no matter the era.

“When the world becomes peaceful, public order improves, and merchants find it easier to travel far. That’s why the power of the believers of the God of Commerce grows stronger. But the power of the believers of the Chief God conversely decreases.”

“Why is that? The Chief God is a god of politics, so wouldn’t he be worshipped by people in power?”

This time, Liliera-san asked a question.

“At the bare minimum, yes. But what people in power desire in their actual lives is money and wisdom for national administration, right? So money and faith gather at the temples of the God of Commerce and the God of Wisdom. In an era where the world is in turmoil, a person in power who strongly worships the Chief God can obtain the endorsement of being a person suited to take leadership, but…”

“In a peaceful era, situations to exercise strong authority itself become fewer.”

“Yes. And if they frequently exercise strong authority, it will breed resentment.”

“So that means the number of people who genuinely worship the Temple of the Chief God has decreased.”

Hmm, danger past, God forgotten, huh.

“Especially among civilians. Because this is a capital of believers, not nobles, it’s even harder for believers of the Chief God to settle in the Holy Capital.”

I see, in that sense, the weakening of the Temple of the Chief God might be a problem unique to the Holy Capital.

Inside a nation, at the very least donations and visits to the Church of the Chief God are likely carried out to demonstrate the legitimacy of those in power.

“But does that have something to do with us being called?”

As expected, we adventurers can’t do anything about problems between temples in the Holy Capital.

“Yes, that brings us to the main topic this time.”

“In this Holy Capital, a divine ritual is held once a year. And the representative coordinating the divine ritual has been the Temple of the Chief God for generations, but…”

Here, Foka-san let out a large sigh while massaging the bridge of her nose.

“The Temple of the God of Commerce started insisting that the divine ritual should be led by their powerful temple, rather than the Temple of the Chief God whose faith has declined. And once something like that was said, the other temples couldn’t stay silent either. Before we knew it, all the temples started saying they should lead the divine ritual, creating a hostile atmosphere.”

“Wow.”

I can just picture that scene.

“However, since there isn’t much time until the divine ritual is held, we can’t drag out the meetings endlessly. And an all-out war between temples is completely out of the question.”

Because of that, Foka-san raised her index finger and spoke of a method to resolve that situation.

“Therefore, we decided to resolve the problem with a certain method used since ancient times when opinions clash.”

I see, so that’s where the story comes back.

“That is exactly the pilgrimage. The arduous journey the first Popes once traveled to bring peace to the world. A ritual simulating that. Well, it’s something like a little race. And you see, for that pilgrimage, calling in external helpers is permitted.”

” ” ” ” ” “Helpers.” ” ” ” ” “

I see, which means that’s us.

But if so, this pilgrimage seems like quite a dangerous ritual.

“Since comrades gathered under the young man who began the journey even in the myth, borrowing the power of outsiders is not something to be ashamed of. Rather, it’s recommended because it’s proof of having obtained the trust of many people.”

Heh, this is somewhat refreshing, since it’s often said that rituals like this are normally things you achieve with your own power alone.

“Well, the true motive is that the Temple of the God of Commerce forced it into the customs as an excuse to gather skilled adventurers and knights with the power of money, though.”

“Oh my.”

It turned into a shady story after all.

“Because of that, I want you all to help the Temple of the Chief God, who cannot even prepare influential helpers.”

At any rate, I understand the situation.

…But there’s something I’m a bit curious about.

“Foka-san, why are you helping the Temple of the Chief God? If the other temples are aiming to lead the ritual, wouldn’t your Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess be doing the same?”

Right, I don’t understand the reason Foka-san is helping the Temple of the Chief God.

However, that reason was immediately revealed from Foka-san’s mouth.

“I won’t deny that the higher-ups at my place certainly think that way. But, no matter who wins a struggle for initiative, grudges will remain, right? In that case, it’s the least offensive if the Temple of the Chief God conducts it as usual. It won’t have much impact on the sphere of influence either.”

“Sphere of influence?”

“Yes, if another temple clumsily wins and the initiative shifts, there will be a clear change in the power dynamics between churches in other countries as well. To put it simply, a hierarchical relationship will be formed. If that happens, it will affect the sphere of influence between nations, and in the worst case, it could become the trigger for a war.”

Wow, that’s scary.

“That’s exactly why, knowing that the pilgrimage ritual was proposed, I issued a nominated request to you. To ensure that you, an S-rank adventurer, wouldn’t be snatched by other temples.”

“Which means you did the same for the other S-rank adventurers?”

“I am looking for them, but unlike you, they don’t have proper bases, so they’re hard to find.”

“Ah, I see. It’s true that Rex-san has a base in the Royal Capital, so he’s easier to find than the others. Finding an S-rank adventurer is usually a huge hassle.”

“Exactly. To be precise, Rex-kun is about the only one who regularly returns to the place he decided as his base. Even if the others make a base, they never visit it at all.”

Foka-san showed irritation at the fact that she couldn’t gather the other S-rank adventurers.

I guess everyone is busy.

“That’s why I definitely want you all to lend us your power. Even in the worst case that you refuse, I won’t hold a grudge. But at the very least, I want you to refrain from lending your power to other churches.”

Bowing her head deeply, Foka-san asked us to lend our power.

That being said, it’s quite a troublesome story.

Religious matters involve a lot of trouble, after all.

Above all, I’m scared we might get targeted whether we win or lose.

And the real reason she told us we could refuse the request was probably because she wanted us to refuse requests from other churches.

She must have thought it better to pay 10 gold coins and have us hear the circumstances than have the balance between nations collapse and lead to war.

But just as Foka-san said, it certainly seems better for the Church of the Chief God to win as always, rather than another church winning.

If Foka-san keeps quiet about it, taking the job in disguise like we did in Tyran is also an option.

“…I think it’s fine to accept it, but what will everyone do?”

“Let’s see, I think it’s fine to accept it too. It’s a nominated request from the Saintess, and if we refuse, it feels like that would turn into a bad situation in its own way.”

“I’m fine with it too! Fighting monsters is fine, but I’ll pass on wars and stuff!”

“Personally, I don’t want to get involved in troublesome matters, but the fact that not doing it will lead to even more troublesome matters is agonizing. I wonder if we can deceive them with a disguise?”

“I have no problem if the reward is large.”

Liliera-san, Jairo-kun, Mina-san, and Meguri-san agreed.

“I am…”

Only Norb-san seems to be troubled.

If you say it can’t be helped, it can’t be helped.

Because Norb-san is a believer of the God of Wisdom, after all.

“Norb, you worship the God of Wisdom, right? Won’t this be bad for you?”

Perhaps concerned about that, everyone didn’t force Norb-san to participate.

“…No, the teaching of the God of Wisdom is to teach knowledge useful to people. And also to gather knowledge that benefits the world oneself. Knowledge related to power is also important, but it is not desirable for a believer of the God of Knowledge to be swallowed by a lust for power and abuse knowledge.”

However, Norb-san forcefully announced that we should accept the request nonetheless.

“…Yeah, it’s decided. Foka-san, we will accept that job.”

“! Thank you, everyone!”

When we accepted, Foka-san showed a beaming smile and offered words of gratitude to us.

And then she said this with her following words.

“Then, please become girls.”

“…Pardon?”