Chapter 230: The Beginning of the Pilgrimage, the Legendary Explosion

” ” ” “Ohohohohohohoho!” ” ” ” (Noisy, low-pitched voices)

Arriving at the venue for the pilgrimage, we were overwhelmed by the sight of the countless Amazons gathered there.

“What is this…”

Yeah, ‘what is this’ is truly the only thing I can say.

That’s how much the venue was buried in muscles.

Umm, these people really are women… right?

“Oh my, if it isn’t the party from the Temple of the Chief God.” (Deep bass voice)

“Fweh!? U-Umm…”

Suddenly spoken to by a giant, no, giant Amazon you had to look up at, Tracy-san shrank back in fear.

Yeah, I totally understand that feeling. Because this person is incredibly burly.

“Oops, excuse me. I am a pr… I am Martha, serving the God of Commerce.” (Deep bass voice)

“Eh? Ah, yes. Hello. Umm… I-I am… Tracy.”

The female priest who called herself Martha shifted her gaze from Tracy-san to us.

“By the way, I do not see your Temple Head around?” (Deep bass voice)

It seems Martha-san’s objective was not us, but the Temple Head.

“Th-The Temple Head is not participating this time…”

“What! Could it be she has fallen ill!?” (Deep bass voice)

“Hiek!? N-No… The Temple Head is getting on in years, so she decided to sit out this time…”

Even while being intimidated by Martha-san’s giant body, Tracy-san somehow managed to reply.

Yeah, anyone would be overwhelmed by that.

“Oh, is that so. Then I shall pray to my god for the Temple Head’s health.” (Deep bass voice)

“Th-Thank you…”

Martha-san formed the holy sign of the God of Commerce at her chest and clasped her hands to pray to the god.

“Umm… well… did you need something from us?”

When Tracy-san asked Martha-san what her business was after she finished her prayer, Martha-san gave a cheerful, low, heavy laugh.

“No, no, I just came to offer my greetings.” (Deep bass voice)

“I-I see… is that so. Thank you for your courtesy.”

“Then I shall take my leave. Let’s both do our best.” (Deep bass voice)

“Ah, yes, let’s do our best!”

It seems she really did just come to greet us; Martha-san left without doing anything in particular.

“Th-That surprised me. I never thought we’d be spoken to by the Temple of the God of Commerce~.”

Having apparently been quite tense, Tracy-san let out a large sigh and slumped her shoulders.

“I never thought there would be anyone to speak to our declining temple…”

Ah, I see, she was surprised in that sense.

But that just goes to show how much the authority of the Temple of the Chief God in the Holy Capital has fallen.

I understand why Foka-san feared the power balance between temples collapsing.

In other countries, it’s rare for such a blatant difference in power between churches to exist, after all.

Depending on the country, there are times when the churches of a single god are numerous or scarce, but it’s extremely rare for such a massive gap to occur in a place where churches of multiple gods coexist.

Above all, this is the holy land of each church, so it’s all the more abnormal for the difference in power to be visibly apparent.

“Hmph, chatting amicably before we’ve even started, the Temple of the Chief God has plenty of leeway, huh!” (Thick, gruff voice)

“Fuhyah!?”

Appearing while raising a loud voice was an incredibly burly female priest with a sharp glare.

“Eh, w-who are you?”

Spoken to by an unknown person once again, Tracy-san was bewildered.

“Are the folks at the Temple of the Chief God all lacking in manners!? It’s common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking others!” (Thick, gruff voice)

“Hiek!?”

Although it was a one-sided false accusation, the sheer intensity of it made Tracy-san look like she was about to cry.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m Tra…”

“Hold it, sis.”

However, the one who stopped it was Jairo-kun.

“You’re the one who started talking to us, ain’t you the one lacking in manners?”

“What did you say, you bastard!?” (Thick, gruff voice)

Argued back by Jairo-kun, the female priest with the gruff voice bristled.

“Starting a conversation without introducing yourself is way more rude. The guy from earlier properly introduced himself, you know?”

“You b-… Hmph, very well. I am San… Sunny. Little girl, name yourself.” (Thick, gruff voice)

“Ja… I’m Janet.”

“Janet, huh. Hmph, I’ll remember that name. Let me tell you, the pilgrimage is not so lenient that little girls like you can achieve it. If you don’t want to get hurt, you should withdraw while you can.” (Thick, gruff voice)

“Haha, thanks for the advice.”

“Tch… Don’t regret this.” (Thick, gruff voice)

Spitting those words out, Sunny-san immediately turned on her heel and left.

“What did that guy come here for?”

In the end, Sunny-san also went back without doing anything in particular.

Could it be she came to greet us too?

“Umm, Janet-san… thank you for earlier.”

Tracy-san offered her thanks to Jairo-kun.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You protected me from that scary person, right?”

When Jairo-kun tilted his head wondering what she meant, Tracy-san told him it was thanks for protecting her from Sunny-san.

“Ah, that. Don’t worry about it. She pissed me off so I just did it on my own.”

“But thank you. Standing up to such a scary person is amazing.”

“It’s no big deal.”

Well, we’re actually guys, after all. It’s true that I didn’t feel he did anything as dangerous as Tracy-san thought.

“Fufufu, you were going at it quite flashily.”

As Jairo-kun and the others were talking, a familiar voice joined the conversation.

“Foka-san!?”

Yes, the one who came was Foka-san.

And the figures of female priests—who were also robust—seemed to be Foka-san’s comrades.

“Yes, I am a priest serving the Earth Mother Goddess, my name is Foka. Nice to meet you all.”

Having apparently watched the exchange until now, Foka-san offered her greetings first.

Well, we’ve known Foka-san for a long time, actually, but since we’re in front of Tracy-san, it’s better to pretend it’s our first time meeting.

I accidentally called her name, but since Foka-san is a celebrity, maybe I can smooth it over?

“S-Saintess Foka-sama!? Wh-Why!? N-No, n-nice to meet you! I am a priest serving the Chief God, my name is Tracy!”

Tracy-san panicked at Foka-san’s appearance, but as expected, since it was the third time, she somehow managed to return the greeting.

Is this also thanks to greeting Martha-san and Sunny-san?

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to work with you, Tracy-san.”

“Fuwah!?”

Seeing the figure of Foka-san smiling with a smile full of affection, Tracy-san’s body suddenly swayed and tilted.

“Uwawah, watch out!”

Norb-san hurriedly caught the staggering Tracy-san, whose face had turned bright red.

“H-Hau~, to think I could speak with the renowned Saintess Foka-san…”

It seems Foka-san’s fame is immense even in the Holy Capital—no, especially because it’s the Holy Capital.

Looking at the jelly-legged Tracy-san, Foka-san chuckled softly, turned her back to her, and spoke to us in a low voice.

“Fufu, you were surprised by all the amazing participants, weren’t you?”

You say it like it’s just a little rare, but that’s not just a little.

“They don’t look like women at all. Are they actually guys?”

“Hey, even so, that’s ru…”

Because Jairo-kun spoke his mind far too clearly, I hurriedly tried to stop him, but Foka-san let out a giggle.

“Yes, exactly.”

” ” ” ” ” ” “Eh?” ” ” ” ” ” ” “

Moreover, far from scolding him, you admit it!?

“Their true identities are, just as you say, men.”

” ” ” ” ” “Eeeh!?” ” ” ” ” ” “

At Foka-san’s outrageous statement, we reflexively raised our voices.

“What do you mean, they’re men!?”

However, Foka-san put a finger to her lips and sent us a ‘shh’ gesture.

(What do you mean?)

(Exactly what the words mean. Don’t Rex-kun and the others have some idea?)

Have some idea? Even if you say that…

(((Ah)))

The ones who reacted to Foka-san’s words were three people: Liliera-san, Mina-san, and Meguri-san.

(Did you realize something, Liliera-san?)

(Ah, yeah. I think I probably figured it out.)

However, Liliera-san averted her eyes with a somewhat distant feeling.

(In other words, they did the same thing as Rex and the guys, right?)

Eh? That means…

(Those people also drank the sex-change magic potion and became women.)

(((A-Aaaah!!)))

Hearing Meguri-san’s words, we finally understood the meaning of Foka-san’s words.

(Seriously! Those guys were seriously men!?)

(Or rather, the other churches were doing the same thing!?)

I never thought there were people other than us who became women with magic potions.

Or rather, there were people willing to drink such a medicine…

(This is an open secret in the pilgrimage ritual.)

Towards our surprise, Foka-san continued her explanation.

(Only women can participate in the pilgrimage. But monsters and bandits attack during the journey, and the journey itself is simply harsh. The priests of the Holy Capital have many excellent individuals, but even so, the number of female priests capable of fighting with the prestige of the temples on the line is limited. To begin with, fighting is not the job of a priest, after all.)

Ah, certainly, now that you mention it, the role of a priest serving the gods is to save people, and it’s by no means a combat profession.

There are exceptions like the priests of the War God and temple knights, but even so, they don’t normally fight actively.

Besides, priests’ magic leans more toward defense and recovery than offense. In that sense as well, they wouldn’t be suited for combat.

(And so, the priests of the God of Commerce started using the recipe for the feminization magic potion that was conveniently found. Then, whether intentionally or by accident, that information leaked out, and everyone started thinking ‘if the Temple of the God of Commerce is using such methods, then us too’ and began using it. Consequently, each temple, free from the restriction of gender, began gathering skilled individuals from all over the world in search of stronger pawns.)

((((((Uwaah…))))))

So the majority of those participants are actually men…

But I see, since they gathered skilled individuals from all over the world, the venue has such a rich international feel.

The person over there is clearly dressed in an Eastern style, and the burly person over there with dark brown skin and silver hair is a man from a southern country, perhaps?

They all came all the way from distant places just to participate in the pilgrimage, and drank a feminization potion, huh… With what feelings did they drink that potion?

(But I was truly surprised by Rex-kun and your party.)

Here, Foka-san said something meaningful.

(What do you mean?)

(You can probably tell by looking at them, but the appearance after the feminization potion follows the original body.)

(Haa.)

Unless it’s a magic potion where the transformed appearance is predetermined, if it’s simply feminization, there’s no doubt the original body serves as the base.

(Therefore, when they feminize, their trained bodies remain as they are, turning into girls. Even if their mother was a delicate beauty, they don’t necessarily resemble their mother. But Rex-kun and your party are undeniably cute girls, aren’t you? Let’s just say your original quality was good, or rather, you had the aptitude for it… hm?)

Foka-san formed a grinning, happy smile. Or rather, she’s kind of scary…

“Hey, hey, who’s scrawny? Look closely. See, even my abs are totally ripped!”

Saying that, Jairo-kun lifted his shirt to show his stomach.

” ” ” “!!??” ” ” “

In that instant, the gazes of the entire venue gathered on Jairo-kun.

“See? I’m totally ripped…”

“Hey, idiot! What are you showing!”

Seeing that sight, Mina-san hurriedly covered Jairo-kun to hide his stomach.

“What are you saying? It’s just a stomach, right? There’s nothing embarrassing about being seen.”

“Normally it is embarrassing!”

Mina-san grabbed the sleeve of his clothes along with Jairo-kun’s hand and pulled it down.

“Good grief, act a little more like a woman!”

“What are you talking about, I’m a g…”

“A girl, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Receiving Mina-san’s piercing glare, Jairo-kun hurriedly nodded.

(For that reason, about 90% of the female participants are men. So there’s no need to hold back just because your opponent is a woman, okay.)

(Haa…)

At that point, I suddenly became curious about the people near Foka-san.

These people are quite burly too, so could it be…

Thinking that, when I tried to look at Foka-san’s comrades, they immediately averted their faces.

Are they shy?

If the reason is that they don’t want to be seen by an acquaintance, I can understand, but there’s no acquaintance among Foka-san’s comrades…

(Well then, if we talk for too long we’ll draw suspicion, so we will excuse ourselves here. I pray for your good fight, Rek—no, Rakushi-chan!)

Seeing off Foka-san and her group as they left saying that, Jairo-kun suddenly muttered.

“…By the way, Bro… Big Sis.”

“What’s wrong, Ja…net-chan.”

“If 90% are men, that means 10% are women, right.”

“That’s… true.”

We somewhat looked around the venue.

We could spot the figures of normal women like Foka-san and Tracy-san there, but even so, their number didn’t even reach 10%.

Which means…

“Which ones are the real women…!?”

“Ja…net-chan, I think it’s a loss if you care.”

Or rather, I really think it’s better not to care…

[Quiet! We shall now commence the opening ceremony of the pilgrimage.]

While we were talking about such things, someone who appeared to be an organizing official announced the start of the ceremony.

Looking closely, seats for the organizing officials were prepared beside the venue, and elderly priests were already seated there.

And when we participants quieted down, an old priest wearing exceptionally well-tailored priest robes stood up from the officials’ seats.

[Welcome, maidens who have come for the pilgrimage.]

” ” ” ” “Pfft!!” ” ” ” ” “

The entire venue burst out laughing at the word ‘maidens’.

Yeah, I really don’t think ‘maidens’ fits this lineup… I mean, 90% are men, you know?

[Ahem, originally, the ritual would have been conducted under the leadership of the Temple of the Chief God as usual, but due to objections raised, in accordance with ancient covenants, we are to inquire of the gods through a pilgrimage. Everyone participating in the pilgrimage shall fight fair and square…]

The speech about the pilgrimage by the representative old priest began… but.

“It’s long…”

“When will it end?”

Yes, the old priest’s speech was very long.

It was the same in my previous life and the one before that, but speeches like this being long is the same no matter the era…

[Then, we shall commence the pilgrimage.]

And so, the long speech finally reached its end.

[Then, I pray for everyone’s good fight. All together, depart!]

The start of the pilgrimage was announced, and everyone began to move all at once… but.

“Oooooh!? H-Hey, don’t push!?”

“Uwawah, watch out!?”

Because everyone started running all at once, we were forcibly pushed from behind, nearly losing our balance.

It was then.

A click sound rang out beneath our feet.

” ” ” ” ” ” “Eh?” ” ” ” ” ” ” “

KABOOOOOOOOOOM!!

And with a tremendous sound, the venue was engulfed in a massive explosion.

◆ Organizing Committee Members ◆

“Ooh, it’s particularly flashy this year.”

Seeing the participants caught in the explosion, we deactivated the defensive magic items we had set up beforehand.

“Fumu, it seems one of the participants accidentally stepped on a combat magic item that happened to be buried, and unfortunately caused a massive explosion.”

Normally, such a thing would be impossible, but anything can happen at the venue of the pilgrimage.

Because every trouble is a trial bestowed upon the participants by the gods.

“My, what a disaster. I wonder if the participants are safe?”

We confirmed that the participants flying out from within the explosive flames were believers belonging to our respective temples.

“Ooh, the participants from our side are safe. Man, it’s a good thing I gave them expensive defensive magic items just in case.”

“Ours too. Although I never thought they’d have to use their trump card this early on.”

“Oh, it seems the other temples are safe too. Since the danger of the pilgrimage increases year by year, everyone is fully prepared, it seems.”

The pilgrimage is a ritual to simulate the arduous journey of the first Popes and dedicate one’s piety to the gods.

Perhaps because of that, for some reason, incidents that would be impossible on a normal journey happen one after another during every pilgrimage.

Therefore, each temple hires skilled adventurers and mercenaries, and further protects them with expensive magic items.

“It seems that every temple’s plan to aim for a start dash by equipping defensive magic items and high-speed running magic items paid off.”

It is no exaggeration to say that what is necessary to win the pilgrimage is certain strength, abundant financial power, and connections to procure high-performance magic items.

That is exactly why…

“Hm? Wait a minute. The Temple of the Chief God hasn’t come out, you know? Could it be…”

“Come to think of it, I heard they have no leeway in their budget because they are in decline. Could it be they were caught in it due to insufficient countermeasures?”

“What a tragedy! To think the Temple of the Chief God would drop out this early on!”

Those without power, money, or connections don’t even have the qualification to participate.

The fact that the most experienced Temple Head withdrew this year citing her age is likely a major factor too.

“But come to think of it, perhaps it was for the best. The danger of the pilgrimage increases as it progresses. It might have been better for those girls to drop out here.”

The Priest of the God of Knowledge said such things with feigned ignorance, even though it was your subordinates who planted that magic item.

But that’s not just the Temple of the God of Knowledge.

All the trials that occur on this pilgrimage are, in reality, nothing but sabotage operations between temples.

We merely call them ‘trials of the gods’ to cover up such blatant, unnatural acts of sabotage.

Yes, if what is necessary on the surface for this journey is power, money, and connections, what is necessary behind the scenes is villainy and stratagems.

Because devout piety is completely useless.

“Oh, the smoke has started to clear. It would be good if there were any survivors.”

With the smoke of the massive explosion finally clearing, the old hag of a priestess of the Earth Mother Goddess spat out something transparently false.

Because this woman is shockingly greedy even for us believers of the God of Commerce, she was abandoned halfway in exasperation by the priest called a Saintess in her own temple.

Thanks to that, her plan to make a massive profit under the guise of the Saintess’s healing magic was ruined, and she threw a tantrum; it’s a famous story.

“If there are any survivors, I shall have the young ones from my place treat them. Of course, I shall let them pay the treatment fees later.”

See, there it is. I truly wonder why this woman worships the Earth Mother Goddess.

Well, it’s probably because fighting over customers with other believers of the God of Commerce would decrease her profits, or something like that.

Whatever. If those guys are alive, I suppose I’ll treat them a little cheaper than this old hag.

It’s what you call mercy from me.

While I was thinking such things, I saw something moving in the smoke.

Ooh, lucky bunch. To think they were alive.

That being said, it was an explosion of that magnitude. There’s no way they’re completely unharmed…

“Ah~ that surprised me.”

” ” ” ” ” …Eh? ” ” ” ” “

“Suddenly exploding, what on earth is going on?”

“Hey, hey, what a grand welcome right off the bat. Hey, Tracy-sis, is the pilgrimage always this noisy?”

“N-No, I don’t think it’s like this… but I only know the stories I heard from the Temple Head.”

“Then does that mean that just now was someone’s sabotage? Quite a bold thing they did, haven’t they.”

“Bold is not the issue here!? The killing intent is way too high! You’d normally die!”

“It’s smoky.”

“Kyufun.”

What emerged from there was the figures of the priests of the Temple of the Chief God, without a single scratch on them.

” ” ” ” “Huuuuhhhh!?” ” ” ” ” “