Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 7: Chapter 5

Kyle and Seran now headed for the most famous tower in the whole town. And as expected, the plaza where it stood was crowded.

So thats the Tower of Beginnings. Its a lot smaller from up close, too.

As Seran stated, the tower from up close held the same impression as it did when they gazed at it from afar, making it barely smaller than the average tower of a larger town. Standing around the tower was the Sacred Palace, as they called it, which made it impossible to see the bottom of the tower. The princess is supposed to be living in that Sacred Palace, but unlike in Galgan or Zilgus, you could feel a strict barrier between the noble and the common. Even so, the place was crowded with people praying toward the tower, giving offerings to the gods, creating a bristling atmosphere.

StillIsnt all this a bitcareless?

Only a small fence stood between them and the entrance to the Sacred Palace, and you could barely see any guards around. Of course, nobody would even attempt to storm their way inside, but all of this made it feel very much achievable.

That might be true, but who would even look at it this way?

Really? Well, not my place to worry about it, I guess, Seran listened to Kyles comment and just had a look in his eyes like hed lost interest and started walking away from the people.

Lot of people around here, huh?

Since they were following people around where they went, they eventually reached this place as a naturality, crowded everywhere with pilgrims and followers of various religions. The goal of this crowd was the wall right ahead of them. It was a wall painting, filled with a myriad of colors.

So this is the Vixs Wall, huh? The location speaking of the various gods legends.

The dragon who had painted this mural was so precise in his work that he became a legend in itselfthe matchless painter Vix. The one standing out the most inside the whole painting was the Goddess of Earth Cairys, seen as the younger sister of the goddess Mera. She is the god with the most faithful followers and influence in this world, with many legends telling of her stories, and her presence on the mural was greater than most other gods. And Kyles attention moved toward something else. In front of the Goddess were the angels, said to serve the goddess, fighting a human warrior.

UmThis isone of the nameless heroic tales, right? Seran stood next to Kyle as he commented cluelessly.

So you knew as much?

I do, but dont ask me for the details or whatever.

Despite himself being the one who brought it up, he seemed utterly uninterested and responded with a yawn.

This is one of the few rare instances of a so-called [Descent] where a god directly shows themself in front of humans.

Kyle seemingly had something to say about that, as his voice was rather calm. A long time ago, more specifically two thousand years and more, there was a large island to the south of this continent. Neither humans nor demons lived on that island, so it was mostly inhabited by animals and wildlife. However one day, a mysterious miasma started spreading from the center. It didnt take long for the island to turn into an inhabitable hellscape. Eventually, this miasma began spreading, poisoned the water, and quickly made its way in the direction of the continent. Feeling that Loindars might suffer the same fate as the island eventually, a single human prayed to the gods for help, and the one to answer was the Goddess Cairys.

Nobody knows what exchanges were held between the human and the Goddess. However, the human was granted a trial, and they managed to complete it. As a reward, Cairys began her [Descent] and granted the human strength. She destroyed the cursed island and saved Loindars. That was all passed down in time, so nobody even knows the name of that hero. And ever since, the gods never showed up in front of humanfolk, and it was seen as the only example.

A direct encounter with a goddess? Sounds fun.

Yeah, absolutelyHah.

Kyle didnt believe that a simple prayer would bring salvation, and he understood better than anybody that their strength wouldnt be lent to humanfolk. On the mural, the hero was surrounded by angels, watched over by the goddess.

Hey, staring at this murals pointless, so lets go somewhere else.

Youve got it easyBut, good point. I got somewhere I want to check, so thanks for the reminder. Kyle checked the map he received from Dalia as he said so.

Where?

The temple of the Mera cult.

Even within this town made for worshiping the gods, the temple for the Goddess Mera was located far in a corner. It was surrounded by a tall fence to the point you could barely see anything.

Whats going on here?

The fence was sturdy, depicting much stronger surveillance than in the previous instance, leaving Seran bewildered.

Its been locked upAnd no sight of other people around.

There were a few people who watched the temple from afar, just like Kyle and Seran, but none of them came any closer, so they couldnt possibly be followers of Mera.

We came all this way, soNot gonna check it out? Seran played with the fence when another voice called out to them.

You, please stop.

Looking over, they were greeted by a young and gentle-looking man, possibly someone from the ministry.

You arent allowed to enter.

Ah, wellMy bad.

Bad at dealing with people like this, Seran looked over at Kyle, asking for help.

Apologies for my friend here. Kyle showed a sincere apology, leaving the man relieved.

As long as you understand, I dont mean to be a botherI am a faithful follower of Cairys-sama, tasked to look after this place. My name is Radain. He showed a polite greeting, so Kyle did the same.

Id like to askIs the situation of the temple like this because it belongs to the Mera cult?

No, any faith is allowed on these holy grounds. In fact, this is intended to protect the temple.

Protectyou say?

Radains face grew grim as he explained.

YesAs you surely know, a small fraction of Mera followers are ratheraggressive toward other non-humans.

Ah, I see.

Mera cult followers always try to rid humanfolk of races other than humans, sometimes even attempting moreaggressive matters. And if a victim of such acts came to Sura and saw a temple for the Goddess who urges the cult to do soWho knows what they might do? In fact, Kyle could see several places where damage had been done to the temple, even attempting to light it on fire.

Since we have no followers of Mera-sama to look after it, it fell upon us who adhere to Cairys-samas wishes and periodically clean it.

This must be related to the fact that Cairys and Mera are sisters.

Makes sense why it looks so deserted, Seran said as he nodded to himself.

So there are no followers around.

At the very least, thats what it looked like on the surface. Kyle had hoped to understand something after coming here, but it seemed like thisll be fruitless.

Thanks for telling us. This is a token of my gratitude, so I hope you accept it.

Kyle took out a gold coin wrapped in paper. In situations like these, this was an act perfectly normal, so Radain accepted the money with no hesitation, offering a prayer for Kyle.

Thank you very much. I hope the blessing of Cairys supports you

Kyle didnt know how to feel about receiving a prayer like this, but he decided to accept it with a smile.

All this talking got me hungry. Wanna eat something?

You didnt do jack shitright? Also, you just had something from the stall.

Seran was walking around while eating this whole time, leaving Kyle in disbelief.

And youre fine not eating anything?

Of course Im gonna eat, you dumbass. Kyle had also eaten on the way here, but he immediately agreed with Seran.

If this wasnt some holy land, Id be getting drunk tonight.

Seran wasnt even drinking all that much on the regular, but there were times when hed just gulp down bottles on end, and today seemed to be one of those days. Of course, there existed bars even here, but they definitely werent open during the day.

A regular restaurant should be plenty, right? Where could we Kyle started walking, only to stop in his tracks. Hey, Seran

Yeah, I know. But, theyre different. Im guessing a different party.

Makes sense. This time, even I can feel it.

Both Kyle and Seran immediately realized that someone was watching them, but the other party was not trying to hide it whatsoever. It showed clumsiness and inexperience.

Or maybe a provocation? No, it might be a regular person.

Kyle was aware of his own popularity, so to speak, so he expected to garner a certain level of attention. However, this one felt different from a regular gaze of interest or admiration.

Thisshes looking at you specifically. Im gonna head around, Seran said and moved away.

Kyle pretended to wait for him and started thinking.

If theyre looking at meIt must be someone related to the Mera cult, but who would make it this obvious?

After a while, Seran returned, and they started walking again. However, Seran didnt seem as tense as before.

Did spot them from afar. Its a woman.

A womanWait, hold on.

No worries. Shes an amateur.

Amateur refers to someone with no skills of tailing people or having any power to fight.

I feel no hostility or bad intentions whatsoever. And she seems more like a fragile young ladyI spotted some guards a bit further away from her. Like she was hoping to find a chance to talk. Anyway, I dont think shell do us any harm.

Just as he said, Kyle didnt feel any hostility, either. If so, she could have just talked to them, and Kyle turned around in hopes of seeing her, where he spotted her clearly. She definitely was a woman with a hood covering her head. Her way of walking seemed determined yet graceful like she was nobility. She most likely attempted to hide herself in the shadows, but that only made her stand out even more, as even bystanders gave her weird looks.

Fine, then.

The girl almost bumped into another citizen and frantically apologized, almost falling over in the process. Witnessing that, Kyle began feeling restless so he approached her. It was rather templated, but he turned the corner and waited for her to follow, then blocked off her path.

Eeek?!

Right as she turned the corner, she saw Kyle in front of her and squeaked. To make sure she couldnt escape, he had Seran stand guard behind her.

OhOhOh

She seemingly hadnt realized that she was caught red-handed, looking around panicked. Beyond the hood, she was hiding silver hair. At this point, Kyle had somewhat figured out who this woman was, but he still asked just to be absolutely clear.

Umwho might you be? He called out to her with a gentle tone.

If his guess was correct, he could not allow himself to act rudely toward her.

I-Its an honor to meet you! My name is Sakura. If you happen to have timedo you think I could talk with you?! Please?!

With a quivering voice, the woman bowed in front of Kyle with momentum that might have caused a storm on the opposite side of the world. This person was none otherthan Princess Sakura, also known as [Glorious] Sakura.