Published at 25th of March 2019 9:40 pm

Chapter 222: Shrine of Gods

I overdid it there, but I don’t regret it.

It is a phrase that is normally seen in newspapers and weekly magazines.

But I didn’t think that the day I thought this would be when I am in a parallel world.

Now that I think back on the day Samal was summoned, there were other ways to deal with the situation that would have been more beneficial.

Thinking about it in advantages and disadvantages, I chose a disadvantageous one.

Samal returned to his original tool form, and is now in the laboratory of Shiki.

There’s the need to research a lot in order to be able to utilize the powers of that tool, and it will take time and personnel.

In essence, I have thrown away my chance to obtain a fast way to return to Japan.

“…But well…” (Makoto)

Looking outside from within my work room, a monologue comes out from my mouth.

As I thought, I don’t regret it.

If possible, I want to return to Japan. That’s the truth.

But if that means I will have to leave Asora and everyone, my answer is no. I haven’t reached any conclusions with the Goddess.

And to endure the insults thrown to my parents in order to return? That would be a no.

I want to return home, but I am probably not that hurried about it.

“Also, I am already learning the customs and the way of acting in this world. A sh*tty world huh…” (Makoto)

Even so, there are comfortable places similar to Asora and Tsige.

This room that was completely empty, is now decorated by a lot of things that the people of Asora gave me. I also received books recommended by Rembrandt-san and representative Zara, and also from my teacher colleagues. Right now, it even feels like this room is a bit cramped.

Even if it’s a world that’s ruled by that Goddess, it doesn’t mean I have to hate everything.

As a whole…I like about 5% of it.

Not 50%, but 5%, so it doesn’t change my opinion that I hate almost everything.

“Fuh~. Now that I think about it, in Japan, it is almost the season for plums. When that passes, it will be the season for the cherry blossoms. I think cherry blossom viewing is an event that Tomoe would be happy about.” (Makoto)

Rapum blossoms, plum blossoms, and then, cherry blossoms.

When I was in Japan, I always went around every year in March.

I think cherry blossom viewing is the main event in spring.

But in the famous places for cherry blossoms, there’s normally food carts lined up and it becomes more of a festival.

That’s why, even if my sight remembers the fully bloomed cherry blossoms, in terms of my sense of smell, it wasn’t the scent of cherry blossoms, but the floured food and skewered food as well as the scent of alcohol.

Especially in holidays and in the night.

Cherry blossom viewing huh.

If it’s cherry blossoms, there are in Asora as well.

When I looked around, I could see that there were a lot of mountain cherries, Kawazu cherry blossoms, and morning cherries.

I am used to seeing weeping cherries and Yoshino cherry trees. Omg, I didn’t know there were so many variations.

Things like fruits and vegetables that are clearly not the type that grow in the wild, are growing naturally in Asora, but regarding the cherry blossoms, I haven’t seen if they are the horticulture type.

The possibility is not zero. The one that has the highest worth in seeing is the Yoshino cherry tree, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look for it.

I personally would like to see the mountain cherries and the weeping cherries, but for a cherry blossom viewing event, it would be best if the ones we first see are the pink and fully blossomed ones.

But it is not like we are growing any cherry blossoms for the sake of viewing.

A place where we can appreciate the cherry blossoms and are growing in numbers huh.

Is there one?

If it’s the mountains, I can ask the animals in the mountains if they know.

Okay.

The faster the better. Let’s try looking now.

“It would be nice if it’s in a nice place in the mountains…eh?” (Makoto)

Asora has…expanded.

I haven’t done anything.

There’s been many cases when Asora expands by reacting to my magic power.

They happen mostly when I am sleeping.

In that case, this time is because…I defeated Samal?

I did use quite a lot of magic power and I tried summoning the arms.

I was a bit angered there, but…in terms of magic power, there are a number of possibilities I can think of.

“But this is a bit strange. I feel like the scale is pretty big.” (Makoto)

The expansion was bigger compared to the others.

The land that we are using in Asora is comparable to how much land a base takes in the wasteland.

In other words, most of the land here is not used.

Even if the residents here have surpassed the thousands in total, there’s also the races that live in the sea.

This is just an approximate feeling, but the current vastness of Asora might be the same as the part of the Goddess’ world that is currently known.

But we don’t even have a country. The most we have are two towns and a few villages.

We totally have too much to manage.

At first, it was as if we were creating a town in a miniature garden, and yet, by the time I noticed, the miniature garden had transformed into a savannah. That’s how it felt.

The expansion this time feels slightly different from before.

I use [Sakai] and investigate the land that has expanded.

The new land was obviously created at the edges of Asora, so I am looking at Asora as a whole.

When [Sakai] is too wide, it is impossible to use it to check details.

Right now, it is fine if I can tell if it’s mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, or a sea.

With my previous experiences as reference, it has probably expanded 100 kilometers in every direction.

If that’s the case, this is quite the large scale.

“…Hey, you are kidding, right?” (Makoto)

As soon as I began investigating, I found something unbelievable.

I could tell my face had stiffened.

Asora itself is an outrageous place, but as expected, this is something I can’t believe immediately.

In a sense, it was the same as when I learned about the sea, or maybe I am feeling even more surprise than that time.

Ah, the same as with the sea…

That means…

One possibility came to mind.

“Waka!!!”

Right at that moment, Tomoe rushed into my room without knocking.

…From the window.

Well, you wouldn’t be able to knock if you enter from there huh.

Anyways, there’s no doubt she is incredibly agitated.

“Tomoe, please enter properly from the entrance. This is bad for my heart.” (Makoto)

“Running through the corridors is a waste of time! Right now, Asora is…right now it is…!!” (Tomoe)

“Calm down. I understand…probably.” (Makoto)

“W-Waka, why are you so calm?! This is of utmost importance you know?!” (Tomoe)

“How to say it, I was surprised, but someone who was even more agitated than me came to my room. Came in with a ‘Bam’ you see. Well, when the sea appeared, it was pretty surprising too.” (Makoto)

It is also because I have an idea of what’s going on.

Tomoe is agitated to the point that it is amusing.

It is probably because she knows Asora the most, and since she knows a lot about space magic to begin with, she ended up like this.

“When the sea appeared, I was at least able to narrowly understand! But this time, this is definitely impossible! If the formation of Asora is made possible by Waka and I, this is definitely impossible!!” (Tomoe)

“Well, you are right. Hey Tomoe, leaving aside if it’s a phenomenon we can understand or not, you understand that there are times when Asora changes completely even without us being involved in it, right? Like the time with the sea.” (Makoto)

“Regarding the miracle from that God of another world, well, yeah.” (Tomoe)

“Isn’t this time the same? He did say there would be more after all.” (Makoto)

“Waka… but…” (Tomoe)

“Let’s go investigate immediately. We shouldn’t agitate ourselves thinking about the possibilities of what happened, and simply accept them as something that has already happened. You see, lately, I have been feeling that there are things in society that are just pointless to think about.” (Makoto)

In the first place, I feel like living your life thinking in probabilities and rationale would be tiring.

In my case, the chances of me being transferred to another world has severals zeros lined up, and yet, here I am.

“…Is that an enlightenment?” (Tomoe)

Tomoe seemed like she was impressed, and at the same time, seemed to be worried as well; she had a complicated expression as she looked at me seriously.

That’s definitely not the case.

“Nope, it is an ‘I don’t care anymore’. I have learned that a lot can happen in life. So I decided to give up and accept the unreasonable and irrational points. In a positive way, that is.” (Makoto)

“To give up… Giving up in a positive way is a splendid conduct. Fumu.” (Tomoe)

“I won’t question what you have comprehended, but, you are going to the investigation too, right Tomoe?” (Makoto)

“Of course, I will accompany you. After all, in that place, there is…” (Tomoe)

“Yeah…” (Makoto)

“A manmade object after all.” (Tomoe)

“A manmade object.” (Makoto)

The voice of Tomoe and I overlapped.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

In the end, aside from me and Tomoe, Mio and Shiki joined us in the investigation.

All the followers.

I was thinking about searching for cherry blossoms, but it has been substituted by a long journey of repeating teleportations for around 30 minutes.

Because it was in a direction that has expanded and hasn’t been explored, we matched the pace of Shiki who’s the one that’s the least skilled in teleportation, and it ended up taking 30 minutes.

There’s no doubt that this is more like going out to a picnic for us, but for Shiki, it seemed to be pretty rough.

Well, we have arrived close to the location and the manmade object is in sight, so taking into account his recovery, we walk towards the objective.

“You really are unskilled in teleportation as always-ja na.” (Tomoe)

Tomoe makes an amazed expression at Shiki who has a dead pale face as he walks and breathes roughly.

“Even though we were teleporting so slowly, you still end up like this.” (Mio)

Mio didn’t make things easier for him.

Not only that, she went and comboed him.

The breathing of these two is still normal, and they don’t seem like they are in any pain.

I am also the same. Only Shiki is incredibly tired.

Even when I am sending him magic power and accelerating his recovery, he still looks like he is in pain.

“My apologies. It has been a while since I have done long distance teleportation repeatedly, so my negligence has gotten the better of me.” (Shiki)

Since the time Shiki grew able to go back and forth between Asora and the outside, he hasn’t used long distance teleportation that much.

He is using Asora as an intermediary to jump to a teleportation point.

I am basically doing the same thing as him.

Because that way is easier after all.

There’s also the fact that Shiki has not been that good at teleportation to begin with, and the moment he reached a level where he didn’t feel any inconvenience, he didn’t do much practice in long distance teleportation anymore.

I asked if he could endow a power like that to the rings, but it seems like the power of the rings isn’t something he created, but something that was already there. There are no rings that are blank, moreover, there’s no rings with teleportation powers.

The power of Shiki that is able to display a variety of abilities had an unexpected pitfall to it.

“If walking is rough, it is fine to take a rest for a bit, you know.” (Makoto)

“No, I am…fine. I am receiving your magic power, so…I will recover…in time…” (Shiki)

“I see. This is just for reference but, just how tired are you feeling right now?” (Makoto)

He looks like he is in pain, and yet, his walking seemed to be fine, so I tried asking out of curiosity.

Well, the eyes of Shiki are blazing with curiosity at the thing that we are heading to, so he will probably forgive me for asking this.

Curiosity is greatness.

Because even though we told Shiki that it was far, he was adamant in going.

“For example…I feel like, I have…run for…30 minutes…at full-throttle.” (Shiki)

“Ah, I see.” (Makoto)

You would die from that.

I can’t imagine doing a 30 minute run in full-throttle.

In the first place, is space teleportation something that comes with physical exhaustion?

My breathing has not been disarrayed in any of the instances I used teleportation though.

“Why are you boasting about your exhaustion to Waka? Are you an idiot?” (Mio)

“No, Mio. I was the one who asked.” (Makoto)

“No Waka-sama. We matched the pace of Shiki and moved slowly, and yet, the person himself is breathing roughly as he boasts? That’s the very definition of an idiot-desu wa.” (Mio)

Shiki is not even boasting to begin with.

His breathing is simply disarrayed and the color of his face is bad, that’s all.

“Right, now that I think about it, Mio, is there any sort of physical exhaustion when using the space teleportation spell? It is my first time hearing about that.” (Makoto)

Changing the subject, I move the direction away from Shiki.

“Ehm…I have not really felt that. It is on the level that if used correctly, it is okay, I think?” (Mio)

You think?

Mio uses magic in an instinctive manner, so it is hard to use her as a reference huh.

At the very least, it seems like she hasn’t felt much exhaustion.

Also, in Mio’s case, her stamina is overwhelming, so it makes it even harder to tell.

“…Don’t go teaching something so half-baked to Waka. Waka, space teleportation magic normally consumes a fit amount of stamina and magic power depending on the distance. Teleporting to and from Asora is a different case though.” (Tomoe)

“I see. I haven’t really felt it.” (Makoto)

“Eh…EEEH?!” (Shiki)

Ah, Shiki is looking at me with a face full of despair.

Your ‘eh’ is long.

Oh, I kind of feel like he is drawn back.

“Waka has stamina to begin with, and you always have your crazy body strengthening activated, so there wouldn’t be much point in taking others as reference.” (Tomoe)

“Crazy, you say.” (Makoto)

“Sadly, that’s the reality. I don’t think there will be a day when you teach space teleportation magic to others, but if that chance does come, I recommend you to first read some books regarding the subject so you can learn the common sense behind it.” (Tomoe)

“…I will. Thanks.” (Makoto)

Why is it?

I tried to do a follow-up for Shiki and change the subject, but now I am the one that ended up depressed.

“The teleport formations reduce the consumption of stamina and magic power, so it is in a range for practical use. ‘Using it skilfull and it will be okay’ like what Mio said is out of question, but it is possible to reduce the stamina consumption by enhancing your body.” (Tomoe)

“What, then Shiki can do just that.” (Makoto)

“Waka, Shiki used 4 rings and still ended up like this. That Shiki.” (Tomoe)

“…” (Makoto)

Shiki didn’t show any signs of responding to Tomoe’s words and simply continued hanging down his head and walking dejectedly.

Now that I look carefully, he does have the strengthening rings he uses for battle.

Just when did he…

He actually went through all that and still felt like running at full-throttle for 30 minutes.

“Well, with this as a lesson, I don’t know what’s the deal with you not being good at teleportation, but you should train-ja na. What’s the point of a follower if he ends up troubling his master-ja.” (Tomoe)

…

No Tomoe, try saying those words right back at you a few times.

Just a few days ago, you asked things like: ‘Where is the Asuka metropolis?’ and began asking questions of history and archeology that had no relation to samurais and had already surpassed the boundaries of what a high school student would know.

Like hell I would know.

I wanted to say: ‘Isn’t it somewhere in Nara?’

It seems like the old Nara had a lot of battles, so in that period, it wouldn’t have been strange for several Asuka metropolis to have existed in those times of war.

Just how far are you planning on turning back in the history of Japan?

What a fearsome love for Edo.

Even I haven’t gone so back, and am not that knowledgable about it.

If it’s events before the Edo period, I probably have a bit more knowledge than normal.

And yet, Tomoe had to get an interest in the troublesome minor warring eras.

At those times, they used to set things on fire a lot, and the lost of historical documents was incredible. Meaning, it is most likely a period shrouded in darkness even for the Japanese.

My knowledge is so small that it can be laughed at.

“Waka?” (Tomoe)

“Hm? Sorry, I was thinking.” (Makoto)

“Ah, sorry for interrupting. Was it regarding that building there?” (Tomoe)

Even with all that, Tomoe is always in a good mood.

Especially after this manmade object suddenly appeared in Asora.

There were several buildings.

I have confirmed their appearance with my eyes already.

I have also finished grasping the details of them with [Sakai].

When I try to use magic power for perception, it feels as if that place is an empty space with nothing there.

But when I look at it with the naked eye, or when I use [Sakai] to look at it, it is certainly there.

There might be a special type of barrier placed in it.

It is a place that wouldn’t be strange if that were the case.

“Yeah, there’s that too.” (Makoto)

“Waka-sama, is it okay-desu ka? It has been bothering since a while but, what is that?” (Mio)

Mio points straight.

What she is pointing at isn’t the buildings that are several kilometers away.

It was a ‘gate’ that I am used to seeing.

I don’t think it is related to Samal though.

It looks like a giant Shinto shrine archway.

There’s no way I would mistake that shape, it is certainly a Shinto shrine archway.

From there, it leads to a forest path.

“That’s a Shinto shrine archway, Mio.” (Makoto)

“Archway?” (Mio)

“As I suspected! That’s an archway, Waka?! Wuuh, this is the first time I have seen the real deal-ja! Listen well Mio, that’s a gate leading to the residence of a God. You can’t cross right in the middle, got it? And after that, you…” (Tomoe)

Tomoe is excitedly telling Mio about a variety of manners.

Mio made a face saying: ‘I messed up’, but it was already too late.

She was splendidly caught by Tomoe.

She was taught things like: the way to cross the archway, how to clean your hands, and the way to pay homage.

For some reason, she even began explaining the methods that are not the common ones, like the Izumo Grand Shrine one.

It is normally only 2 bows, 2 claps, 1 bow. With all that information, you will only make her confused.

If you are going so far in explaining, rather than the 4 claps, it would be better to teach her the 8 claps method that works even in grand festivals.

Most Japanese people know about it, but there’s no way that Mio who lives in a parallel world would know, and even if she knows of it, I don’t think she would be able to tell that there’s a meaning behind it.

When we arrive at the archway, let’s teach Mio and Shiki the simple way of paying homage.

“As expected, is there no doubt that it is what Waka-sama said?” (Shiki)

I nod at Shiki who has finally recovered.

“Seems so. It is still far, but there being an archway must mean that there’s a road to a shrine.” (Makoto)

“Road to a shrine?” (Shiki)

“Ah, sorry. Saying it in a simple manner…” (Makoto)

It doesn’t seem like we will need to wait before the gate, so it should be fine to give them a rough explanation about it.

If they want to learn in more detail about it, they can be the sacrifices of Tomoe- I mean, their students.

“Meaning that we will be entering the residence of someone with influence in the Shinto shrine. Well, just consider it a path leading to a temple in order to pray.” (Makoto)

“Temple… So a Shinto shrine is really a building with that kind of objective. The image of Gods in Asora isn’t that good though…” (Shiki)

“There’s exceptions, but just think of them as incredibly old temples. We will just have to look forward to what we will be seeing there. But I don’t think there’s the need to get so tense about it.” (Makoto)

“An old temple, I feel like those words in itself are already contradicting themselves though. An old temple is it. They are unintelligible words like when trying to describe Waka-sama.” (Shiki)

It seems like the image I provided to Shiki has made him even more confused.

Was it really that hard to understand?

I thought it went well though.

Well, let’s just leave Shiki alone.

That’s right. The manmade object that appeared in Asora is…a Shinto shrine.

This is just a possibility but, I think there’s no doubt that this is the other gift of the Gods.

A Shinto shrine as a gift from God…just saying it feels surreal.

Moreover, several buildings have appeared as well in this vast plot, so it makes it quite the present.

The full view is being obstructed by the forest, so not everything is in sight.

Honestly speaking, even when I have grasped everything with [Sakai], I still don’t know what this is unless I go around checking it out myself.

We advance towards the giant archway that is not coated in vermillion and seems to be made of stone.

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