Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 181. The Bumpy Family And The East Slum

“The church was quite pushy, wasn’t it?”

Could this be why Eutis didn’t want to bring me here? Though, she shouldn’t know that much about the situation.

“Ah, about earlier…”

I scratched the back of my head, pondering how to explain.

“You mean the talk about the new god or something? I… didn’t quite get it. It sounded too complex.”

She gave a slightly troubled smile.

Ah, I see. She might think I’m a bit unhinged. Well, if someone claimed they were asked by a god to deliver a letter, anyone would think they’re crazy. By all accounts, that’s the impression of a lunatic.

It’s fine if she thinks that, though I don’t feel good about it at all.

“You’re heading to the Temple of Teramis next, right?”

“…Yes.”

Her somewhat pitying gaze stung. I briefly considered explaining everything but dismissed the idea—there’s a chance she could get caught up in it all. Not worth the risk.

The Temple of Teramis was far simpler than the Heoris Church. Still, it was much grander compared to the temples in Tessa’s Aigas. Most likely, Heoris is the dominant religion in this country.

Its symbol combines a crescent moon and a waxing gibbous moon, representing a lunar goddess. Speaking of moons, this world has two of them. Makes me curious about the gravity dynamics.

Given the moon and goddess imagery, I assumed a female priest would appear. Instead, a man with a face as round as a full moon showed up.

…I’ll skip the details of what happened in the temple. Why? Because it was nearly identical to what happened at the Heoris Church. The only difference was whether the priest’s face was round or square. They’re not doing this on purpose, are they?

At least the Teramis priests weren’t as pushy, so the conversation went smoothly. I mentioned the vessel here as well, so maybe some information will come from it.

When I brought up the elixir called the “secret medicine” in Heoris, they strongly emphasized that Teramis surpasses Heoris in healing. It’s the only thing they were adamant about.

Well, neither church is my main plan, so I’m not expecting much. Even the goddess I created isn’t entirely reliable, but considering the results so far, it’s probably not a lie. If they call it a cure, it should work.

The real issue is rebuilding the slums in exchange for the medicine. Things are going surprisingly smoothly right now, but the hard part starts here.

I recall being dragged into volunteering for urban renewal at a shuttered shopping street under the guise of corporate social responsibility—no pay, no time off. That project went terribly.

Two major reasons: one, the shopkeepers lacked motivation and were uncooperative. Having lived through the bubble era, they just retorted, “Will this restore our profits?!” and acted as if it wasn’t their problem. It was infuriating.

The second reason was my boss at the time. No matter how many innovative ideas the younger employees proposed, he dismissed them, opting for safe, outdated ones instead. Yet, negotiations with the shopkeepers were left to the juniors. No wonder it failed.

Compared to that, this is better. At least the slum residents are eager to work. Judging by their attitudes during the mirror transport, they might need some fundamental mindset adjustments to tackle laziness or blame-shifting, but they’re still a thousand times better than trying to motivate workers in C-country back home.

“Well then, there’s still daylight. I’ll take a quick look at the east slum before heading back to the car.”

Taking out a cigarette and lighting it, I casually waved at Eutis.

“What? The slum?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard the folks in the eastern slum are a bit unruly. You can head back.”

“But…”

“It’s nothing major. Just a quick scouting trip. Don’t worry about it.”

“The eastern slum is dangerous. Going alone is—”

“Hey, you know my skills, don’t you?”

I tried to sound confident, but I wasn’t being completely honest. To be frank, I didn’t want her to become a liability, so I wanted her to leave.

“Well… if it’s you, Akira, you should be fine.”

She’s perceptive enough to piece things together from the stories and circumstances, even if she hasn’t seen me fight. Anyone can tell it’s nearly impossible to subdue a large-scale goblin hazard with just four people (…and a horned girl).

“Anyway, you’ve got your own tasks to handle.”

“…Understood.”

I didn’t want to discuss the new god today, so parting ways early seemed like a good idea. With a light wave, I started walking.

◆

The east slum was the epitome of despair.

The stench of stagnant sewage, the hollow eyes of residents slumped in the shadows of decrepit buildings—it all screamed hopelessness.

The groups of people huddled together, however, had piercing gazes, wary of outsiders. Their vigilance brought a pang of homesickness for some reason.

Anyway, I came to check things out…

“Akira.”

“Whoa!?”

I almost jumped out of my skin when a voice called me from behind.

“Y-Yaralai?! Don’t scare me like that!”

“Akira, you must stay more alert.”

“You’re just too damn stealthy!”

I’ve gotten pretty good at detecting presences, though. Damn it.

“Did you come to catch villains?”

“Villains…? Oh, you mean the guys who stole the mirror. I want to know if it’s a group or just one person. Any leads?”

“Slaughter them all?”

“That’s terrifying!!! Let’s just do some reconnaissance first!”

“Understood. This way.”

I’d delegated the investigation but didn’t get the details… Prioritizing training every night over this was a mistake. My bad for forgetting to ask.

Deeper into the slum, we found a trash-filled alley where men wrapped in rags lay sprawled about. …This is awful.

“This is their base.”

Makes sense. A scene of makeshift shacks strung between narrow buildings—this place looks like the end of the world. A fitting den for criminals.

…Huh?

“Hey, Yaralai, does that guy look familiar?”

“Which one?”

I pointed to a man cloaked in a robe, shrouded so thoroughly that it was clear he wanted to hide his identity.

“…I don’t know him.”

“Is that so…”

I wasn’t sure, but I suspected…

“He’s likely one of the cronies attached to city councilman Digion Sandel.”

The same guy who tried to kill me before. I only caught a glimpse of his face, but my intuition tells me I’m right. My job back in the day honed my ability to read people.

…Or maybe it’s always been like that.

Whatever. Thinking about the past won’t help now. Still, seeing Digion’s lackey here is concerning.

“Hey! What are you doing here?!”

A boy from the western slum suddenly jumped out of a nearby window and yelled at me—it was Stod, part of the self-proclaimed “New Moon Zebras” gang.

“Yo. Still kicking?”

“Why are you acting so friendly?! Are we pals or something?!”

“Good to see you’re doing well. Where’s your buddy, Cood?”

“Shut up and listen to me!”

Yep, kids should be this lively. Actually, he’s not really a kid—more like a young guy.

…Suddenly, I feel old.

“Do you want more candy or sweets? You’re such a kid.”

“I didn’t say that, you moron! Are you out of your mind?!”

“Ah, right. Would you mind showing me around this area?”

“For the last time! Are we friends or something?!”

Stod’s attitude was as stiff as ever. Maybe life in the slums leaves people calcium-deficient?

I shrugged, exasperated.