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Chapter 5 - The Temple(2)



“They say that person has the power to kill the four-headed dragon with a single strike…!”

That’s the story from the Four-Headed Dragon Legend quest.

“I heard they can even make the island in the sky fall…”

That’s the story from the Falling Sky Island quest.

“They say they can part the sea with a single swing of their sword?”

That’s the story from the Overturn the Deep Sea quest…

‘Really…’

Somehow, despite all these events not having happened yet, it seems this Goddess has been going around boasting about me. More accurately, it’s probably to make the people of the temple believe in me, but still, this is too much.

At this rate, my face is so red it’s hard to even lift. Well, of course, I did do those things, but that was all in the game, and the real me is different!

Well… honestly, now that I can freely control these bodies, if I were told to do the same things, I might be able to.

“They say they can blow away a mountain with a single sneeze…”
“I heard their arrows can reach the moon.”
“What? I heard stars fall when they just flick their finger.”

I can’t do that! That’s clearly an exaggeration that’s obviously a lie no matter how you look at it!

Among the whispers I heard while walking through the temple, half were accurate, but the other half were all seemingly baseless, false rumors.

They say rumors spread faster than words, and exaggerations spread even faster than rumors, but this is too much.

However, since I couldn’t show my reaction, I tried my best to let these words go in one ear and out the other as I followed the Pope leading the way into the temple.
After walking for a few minutes, we arrived at a room deep enough in the temple that the whispers of the priests could no longer be heard. Only then did the Pope enter the room and offer me a seat.

“Please, sit here.”
“Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. Rather, I should be the one thanking you.”

The room I followed the Pope into was so luxurious that it truly seemed fitting for only a Pope to use.
Although I haven’t seen it yet, I think it would take a room of this country’s king to compare to the Pope’s room.

As the Pope and I entered the room, Magid closed the door and stood behind the Pope in a reverent posture, while I sat down in the seat offered by the Pope.

As I plopped down, I felt the softness of the sofa, like cotton candy. Oh, the Pope’s chair is indeed amazing.

I bounced on the sofa a few times, feeling its top-quality comfort as soon as I sat down, but before I could fully enjoy it, the Pope began to speak.

“It seems I haven’t explained things properly until now, which may have caused some suspicion. So I’d like to explain to you, Traveler.”
“I have a general idea, but go ahead. Please explain.”

I nodded at the Pope’s words. I needed to know more about the Pope anyway, so I was planning to ask him questions. If he was willing to explain first, there was no reason to refuse.

And when I asked for an explanation, the Pope seemed to ponder where to start his story, then began to speak.

“It was exactly four days ago. Lady Iriel bestowed upon us an oracle. Although oracles were frequent, four days ago she appeared in person to deliver it, causing the citizens of the Kingdom of Phara to mistake it for the Epiphany Day (the day when the god first descended) which is four months away.”
“Oh…”

So you’re saying Goddess Iriel caused quite a commotion, almost creating a crisis?

I didn’t hear the rest, but I judged that because she had done something so unusual and spread stories about me, they were treating me this way now, and that judgment was quite accurate.

“And Lady Iriel told us this: A traveler from beyond the world will arrive, so serve her with all your heart and strength. She said, ‘She is the one who can overturn heaven and earth, subjugate nature, and at the same time prevent the destruction of the world.'”

My, she spoke quite grandly. I inwardly clicked my tongue at the flowery words Iriel had supposedly used to describe me, as heard by the Pope.

It wasn’t hard to understand why she said I could overturn heaven and earth and subjugate nature. It was all true, after all.
But isn’t it too much, Goddess, to just cause all this trouble without consulting me and then disappear?

I vowed that if I ever get the chance to meet her, I would give that pretty cheek of hers a good slap.

However, those playful thoughts were brief. As I reconsidered the Pope’s words, I tilted my head in doubt.

“But how did you determine that I was that traveler? I know that I attract a lot of attention, but I don’t think that’s enough to judge me as the traveler Lady Iriel spoke of.”

How did the Pope and Magid determine that I was that traveler? Although they were correct in the end, I asked out of curiosity about their reasoning, and the Pope gave a very simple reason that even I could understand.

“It’s simple. We felt Lady Iriel’s divine power from you.”
“Divine power?”
“Yes. Unlike the holy power we handle, it’s the divine power that Goddess Iriel herself wields. It was stably coiled inside you, Traveler. Seeing that, we were certain you were the Traveler.”

I see. I was curious about how they had judged, but if that was the reason, I could understand. The phrase I had recalled several times until now, which I had seen before falling into this place.

One of them was ‘[I, Goddess Iriel, will dwell within you so that your heart does not crumble.]’

There was no doubt this was true, so it was only natural that the Pope had sensed Iriel’s energy that was said to dwell within me.

As I understood and nodded, the Pope, relieved that his words had been well conveyed, now asked me with a rather serious look.

“Then, Traveler. I know it might be rude to ask, given that you already have your own thoughts and will, but nevertheless, for the peace of my inner self and that of the believers, I must ask. How do you plan to prevent the destruction of the world? Please, if there’s anything we can do to help, allow us to do so.”
“How… you ask?”

It was a question that could be called sudden if anything. If I hadn’t met Liana before coming here, it would have been a question I couldn’t answer.

Where we are now in time. How much time is left until the war. And what the relationship is between these avatars given to me and the characters of this world.

But after meeting Liana, I became certain. And based on that certainty, I had a plan, but I couldn’t possibly tell the Pope about it. After all, if I spoke of this plan, it would be like advertising that I know the future.

However, that doesn’t mean I was going to hide everything from the Pope. Even if not directly, I could tell him indirectly.

Of course, before that, I needed one confirmation, so I looked straight into his brightly shining eyes and, before answering, demanded that he affirm one thing.

“Before I speak, Helestinus. Can you swear that you will help me without questioning my actions?”
“Of course. Even if you don’t tell us your method, Traveler, we will dedicate our lives to being of help to you.”
“I share the Pope’s sentiment. Probably everyone in the temple feels the same way.”

The Pope answered my question without a moment’s hesitation, and Magid also agreed with his words and bowed his head.

Seeing their sincere determination, I let out a short sigh and stood up from my seat.

If I’ve said this much, it should be okay to ask and show them. Although I can’t tell them the entire plan, they’ll find out eventually, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

I finished my brief contemplation and opened my eyes.

“To the question of how I will prevent it, I can only answer like this. I will raise heroes.”
“Heroes… you say?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you everything right now, so I’ll just ask for one thing. Please secure five positions at Lua Academy. You need to get professor positions for swordsmanship, martial arts, archery, and magic, and a chef position for the cafeteria.”
“Professor positions at Lua Academy… It’s not difficult to secure them, but why do you need as many as five?”

What I asked the Pope for were four professor positions at Lua Academy and a chef position.
Naturally, the Pope asked me why I needed so many positions, and before answering, I quietly muttered ‘Avatar’.

Then, a translucent hologram window appeared in front of me. I pressed my hand on my new character among them and opened my mouth.

[Do you want to select Mage – Meiel?]

“If you ask why five positions are needed… I can only answer that it’s because of this…”

As soon as I muttered ‘Select’, my body was enveloped in light and transformed. Kama’s tall height shrank to less than 160cm, and the short white hair grew into dark blue wavy hair.

And my mature and precocious voice and manner of speaking changed to that of a girl who seemed about to fall asleep at any moment.

My body transformed into the appearance of a completely different person. The Pope, who had been watching every step of my transformation, realized why I had demanded as many as five positions and let out an exclamation.

“Oh, oh…! I see, so you possess multiple bodies?”
“Yes… that’s right.”

I nodded at the Pope’s words and looked at my reflection in the jewel of the staff I was holding with both hands.

What was reflected in the pure white jewel was a girl with charmingly deep dark circles under her eyes. The small girl’s face was half-covered by a robe that came up to her nose, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

If Aria had a noble and fierce aura, and Kama had a kind and gentle aura, then Meiel, the mage, had a cute and disheveled aura.

If I were to compare, it might be like the atmosphere of a cat curled up just before falling asleep. Although I wasn’t sleepy at all and was actually quite energetic, I couldn’t help but give off that impression with a face that looked like it was about to fall asleep at any moment.

By the way, this body is definitely supposed to be 20 years old, but it’s really small.

As I was reflecting on my appearance in the jewel and making observations, the Pope seemed to have sorted out his initially confused thoughts. His face, which had been filled with surprise, was gone, and he bowed deeply to me with the same kind smile as before.

“Don’t worry. I will make sure to secure the positions at Lua Academy you requested by tomorrow. As a bonus, I’ll arrange the time well so that there won’t be any inconveniences. If that’s for raising the heroes you mentioned as your goal, we will do our best.”
“Mm… do your best. To be honest, it’s a bit burdensome, but…”
“Pfft…!”

As I waved my hand and said that, I heard a snorting sound from somewhere. I turned my head, wondering if someone else was there, but all I could see were the Pope and Magid.

Moreover, seeing the Pope still bowing so uncomfortably, I quickly turned my attention away from the sound I had just heard and helped him stand up.

This is why fanatics are such a hassle. And the problem is that they’ve become attached to me.

“Haah…”

It seemed that while things might become easier, the road ahead didn’t look entirely smooth.


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