Volume 18 Side Story (1-3)

Side Story 1, The Two Priestesses

Lirica was currently working at the Temple of the Living God, cleaning up.

The Temple of the Living God was a temple located on the fifth floor of Amamiya Tower.

The temple did not have an official name at this time.

It was called the Temple of the Living God for convenience, since the main deity worshiped in the temple was the living god, Kousuke.

Looking back, Lirica felt that she had done something quite shameful in the past when handling this temple.

To atone for this, she spent her time cleaning the temple when her party was not on an adventure.

Her party members said that there was no need to go to the trouble of doing something tiring on a day off, but Lirica had no intention of stopping this activity.

The cleaning activity at the temple was partly to atone for her past deeds, but now she also had another purpose.

It was to contact those who were cleaning the temple as well as the believers who were visiting the temple.

Today, only a few of the adventurers worshiped the living god.

After all, he did conquer this Amamiya Tower, and then the six surrounding Towers as well.

Moreover, he became worshiped as a god from a mortal.

This achievement became a success story of unbelievable proportions among adventurers.

It was only natural that there would be those who would seek to take advantage of this.

Lirica, incidentally, was one of them.

Of course, as a miko, she had her own original deity, but there was no rule that forbade a miko to believe in more than one deity.

Basically, a miko was supposed to have faith in only one deity, but there was no rule that forbade them to believe in more than one deity.

While cleaning the prayer room to pay her respects alongside an elderly woman who had become a familiar face to her over the course of several visits, a murmur broke out at the entrance.

"Eh? Wha, What?"

"Wow, this is unusual."

The old lady said to a puzzled Lirica.

"Oh, is this your first time, Lirica?"

"Umm, what is it?"

Lirica, who had no idea what was going on, tilted her head and asked the old woman next to her.

"The priestess of the main deity of this place came here. She seldom visits us, so we don't get to see her very frequently."

"…Eh?"

Lirica shouted in surprise.

She had known that a deity was enshrined here, but she had not known that the deity had a miko.

Moreover, she had no idea that the priestess sometimes visited this temple.

"Well, that priestess told me not to spread the word as much as possible, so maybe only those who have actually seen her like this know about it."

Listening to the grandmother's voice, Lirica looked toward where the commotion was taking place.

There were two women there.

One was dressed in a priestess's outfit, and this one was probably the priestess of the present deity.

The other was not wearing a priestess's outfit, so one could tell that she was not a priestess.

And she was incredibly beautiful.

The miko was also, by ordinary standards, a person of considerable beauty, and if she were to walk around town alone, she would undoubtedly attract the attention of the opposite sex and the same sex alike.

But the other woman was a more complete beauty than that.

"Oh my, this is another dazzler."

The grandmother's voice brought Lirica back to herself.

"Hasn't that beautiful woman been here before?"

"Well, I don't know. At least, I've never seen her before."

As she watched them while they talked, the two of them walked through the worship room, attracting attention, until they arrived at the altar.

In the temple of the living god, no idols were enshrined.

Most major deities, including the three major goddesses, had idols, but it was not unusual for a goddess to have no such object at all, and no one had anything to say about it.

For such deities, not the goddess themselves, but an object symbolizing the goddess, was placed instead.

Regarding the living god in this temple, a board was enshrined.

Of course, it was not a mere board, but a replica of a status card, which was considered to be the living god's greatest achievement.

Incidentally, when Kousuke heard that the board was to be enshrined, he commented, "What the heck is that?" But the members wisely did not tell anyone else about it, so that fact was not conveyed anywhere.

A woman dressed in the robe of a shrine maiden proceeded to the board and offered a prayer.

Then a sigh escaped from everyone.

She was simply praying, but her appearance was like a painting.

Lirica's eyes were also drawn to it, but she also noticed the other woman.

The woman was looking at the miko, but was also taking in her surroundings.

In addition, she could guess the reason why she was so attracted to the priestess in her prayer.

She could feel a solid connection between the priestess and the living god…

"…Ah."

And at the same time, she felt a connection to a symbol that she had thought was just a board.

Until now, she thought that it was simply an imitation of a status card, but she was reminded that she was completely mistaken.

***

The woman who was not a priestess looked at Lirica, as if she had heard Lirica's voice.

Lirica shrugged her shoulders when she felt the woman's gaze, but the woman then turned her gaze back to the priestess without doing anything.

Lirica thought that would be the end of it, but alas, that was not the case.

After she finished praying, the woman whispered something in the priestess's ear, and this time the priestess looked at Lirica with interest.

Not stopping there, she came closer to Lirica.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Sylvia. May I ask your name?"

She said,

Inwardly scowling, Lirica answered with her name.

"My name is Lirica."

"I see. You have sensed the connection between me and the living god, haven't you?"

"Eh…?"

Lirica, not expecting to be noticed, couldn't help but wonder.

"Oh, don't be surprised. Peach isn't dressed as a priestess, either, but she's a person with a similar background."

"That's not true~"

The woman called Peach had said, but Lirica thought that was impossible.

Otherwise, she would never have noticed herself.

As Lirica was thinking this, the woman who called herself Sylvia came staring at her.

"Wha, What is it?"

"Well… I just thought that you may be able to make a connection with him.

"Eh, really? Are you certain?"

Lirica asked with enthusiasm, to which Sylvia responded with a wry smile.

"Yes… Maybe if you could fix that kind of fumbling?"

Lirica's face reddened as Sylvia, whom she had just met today, saw through her own shortcomings.

"Eh, umm…"

"Well, since it's just a suggestion from me, It's up to you whether you want it or not."

With these final thoughts, Sylvia left, accompanied by Peach.

Lirica, who had been so taken in by the whole event, later regretted that she had forgotten to ask why they did not assign priests and priestesses.

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Side Story 2, Inspectors (Part 1)

"You're a provisionally registered group, don't be so cheeky!!!"

A loud yell echoed through the guild's reception hall.

This attracted attention to the source of the noise.

This was quite a lot of people since many adventurers were gathered in the hall at this time of the day, searching for work.

At the center of the noise was Geric, a large man who had been making a lot of noise recently. He was a mid-level adventurer who had been working in this northern town for some time.

Those who had been adventurers in this town for a long time looked at Geric with bitter expressions.

The large man was an adventurer who had recently drifted to this city and was carrying a registered Crown Card issued by Amamiya Tower.

In contrast, the adventurers who had not made it to Amamiya Tower were using provisional Crown Cards issued at the reception desk here.

According to Crown regulations, there was no significant difference between full registration and provisional registration.

However, the card provision via full registration would display ones' status on the card. It was considered a status symbol among the adventurers.

Geric, who had recently arrived in town, was making a lot of noise as if to show off his status.

Of course, Geric was not the only one with this registration card. Most who had the card had returned to Amamiya Tower to escort the large trading party.

Once they realized that they were the highest ranked adventurers left, they began to behave in this manner.

The commotion itself was a common occurrence.

There was an unspoken understanding that the first one to get the job posted on the bulletin board would be the one who got it first.

But of course, it was an unspoken agreement and not written in Crown's rules.

This was why some of them were so arrogant, and what Geric was doing was especially awful.

Geric was trying to take a lucrative job from a newcomer thanks to his registration card.

Crown generally does not get involved in these disturbances.

Of course, Crown may intervene if there was violence within Crown, but Geric was cunning enough not to cause violence.

He only threatens to take the request away from them.

Normally, someone of a higher rank would stop them, but since Geric was the highest ranked person with a registered card there. There was no one to stop him.

Though, there should have been no difference in ability between those with full registration and provisional registration.

Although this explanation should have been given at the time of registration, the reality was that the distinction had already begun to be made among the adventurers.

Normally, those threatened by Geric would give up and look for another request, but today's adventurers were different.

The adventurer replied with a firm and just argument.

"But I found this request first. I have the right, don't I? Besides, there should be no difference between a provisional registration and a full registration."

"Shut up! You've never even been to headquarters, what do you know!?"

This was bad, thought the adventurers who had been watching the commotion.

Looking at Geric, he was already looking like he was about to cause trouble.

Then someone intervened.

"What's going on?"

A young man's voice came from the counter side, that was, from the Crown's staff.

The adventurers looked in that direction, and when the man came out, he had a look of annoyance on his face.

"Oh. Is this not Mr. Geric? How can I help you?"

"Oh, Branch Manager Rodogel. Oh, I was just teaching him a lesson on how to behave, since he has no idea of his place in the world.

"Oh, that's not nice."

Both Rodogel and Geric looked at the young adventurer with a smirk when he called Rodogel a branch manager.

Rodogel had been appointed branch manager of this northern city just a month or so earlier.

Originally, the position had been held by someone dispatched from Crown headquarters, but Rodogel, a member of one of the most powerful families in the city, was now in charge.

To put it bluntly, Rodogel's appointment as branch manager was not well received among the adventurers.

This was clear from the commotion that had just erupted.

"For the time being, I'll have you come to my room. You'll have to take responsibility for this commotion.

Rodogel said this not to Geric but to the young adventurer.

"I had nothing to do with it! Why do you assume that it is my fault!"

"I am not asking your opinion right now, okay? I am asking you to come to my room and tell me your story."

The tone of his voice was calm, but it was clear from his expression that the branch manager was clearly on Geric's side.

The adventurers who had been watching the proceedings now averted their eyes so as not to be caught in the middle.

The young adventurers knew what would happen if they listened to the branch manager, and they had no intention of following him.

However, if they disobeyed the branch chief, they would certainly not be able to make it as adventurers in this town.

He began to think about giving up and moving to another city, but a third voice further interrupted him at this point.

"Please wait. I don't understand the meaning of taking only this person with you under the current circumstances. Could you please explain?"

It was a young woman who came to Rodogel.

Rodogel looked at the woman for a moment, took one look at her, and said.

"I don't have to explain all that to you, a slave."

"That's not an answer, and at Crown, even if you're a slave, you're guaranteed certain right, correct?"

Of course, not all slaves were guaranteed such rights.

Such as criminal slaves.

However, for other slaves, it was the norm at Crown to treat them as equals to ordinary people, as long as they were recognized for their achievements.

"You dare to challenge me as a mere slave?"

"If you had behaved properly as a branch manager, a slave like me wouldn't have to speak to you.

The exchange between the two people left those around them gaping.

The exchange between Geric and the young adventurer had already been blown out of the water.

"And by the way, there are rumors that you have been favoring your own people to increase their ranks, right?

If his people were good at their jobs, there would be no problem.

However, simply favoring one's own people and raising their ranks was against regulations.

The female slave's words caused the surrounding adventurers to grow restless.

Rank was that important to adventurers.

"… Hmph. I guess the word 'daredevil' means someone like you… That's enough. Hey."

As Rodogel said this, several of the adventurers present stood up and began to approach the woman.

But before their hands could grab the woman, another group of adventurers stopped their actions.

"Oops. Sorry, but I'm not going to let you touch her. Geric, is it? You too."

With that voice, the other adventurers who had been following Geric's instructions stopped their actions.

"Hey, what the hell, you guys! Are you defying me?"

"No, that's not it… it just can't be helped, right? People like us have no choice but to follow those who are higher in rank."

The adventurer standing in front of the female slave smirked as he said this.

"…What?"

"Ghazala-san, please don't say it in such a misleading way."

The surrounding adventurers reacted in surprise to the name 'Ghazala', which the female slave had mentioned.

As one of the adventurers who had made a name for himself by bringing in expensive materials from Amamiya Tower, his name was well known in this northern town.

"Well. You're not mistaken, isn't that right, Inspector Lisa Floren?"

The name Gazala called had caused ripples to spread through the reception hall of the Crown branch in the northern city.

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Rodogel's appointment to the position of branch manager in the northern city was based on the insistence of the northern city.

Of course, there was no need for Crown to listen to such a request.

Wahid and his team could have rejected the request itself, but they decided to accept it temporarily.

They knew quite well the possibility of people becoming leeches, but they were willing to accept the request for future prospects, and quicken expansion.

Once accepted, a person was nothing more than a member of one position in the organization.

The organization would decide how the person would be treated.

There could be complaints from the outside about how they were handled, but it would be meaningless for an outsider to interfere in the management of the organization.

Even if political pressure was exercised.

As a result, Rodogel's appointment as branch manager was a result of the two parties' mutual interests, and he did more than Wahid and his team had expected.

In a bad way.

Starting with favoritism towards his own people, to forcibly increasing the ranks of his favorites, and finally to the elimination of adventurers who he didn't like.

In such a short period of time, they had violated the regulations in just about every possible way.

Although they were trying to see how things would turn out, there was no improvement in the end, so Lisa was assigned to resolve this situation.

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Side Story 3, Inspectors (Part 2)

Rodogel finally came to his senses when Ghazala's words had been heard by the adventurers.

"Inspectors! What are they?"

"Oh~. Hmm… I'm not sure. Just please give your best regards to the inspector. …Oops, as for you, stay put."

The conversation, which Ghazala thought was cool, ended up being tossed to Lisa.

His final words were directed at Geric, who tried to escape.

As for Geric, another fellow who was working with Lisa immediately kept an eye on him.

Lisa, now being the center of attention, couldn't help but sigh.

"I don't want to be the center of attention. Why didn't you just stand out and continue on? Instead of tossing it to me… Haa… well, I was going to identify myself anyway, so I guess it's fine."

After complaining to Ghazala for a moment, she turned her gaze to Rodogel.

"What's an inspector… well, it means exactly what it says: a person who has the authority to punish anyone who commits any crimes within Crown."

"I, I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Of course not. Why should I bother to tell you when you've been committing crimes since the beginning?"

Lisa cut off Rodogel's nonsensical defiance.

"But I'm the branch manager! It doesn't matter if you're an inspector or what, but you can't punish me as a slave!"

At Rodogel's words, Lisa let out a sigh.

Rodogel was right, Lisa was a slave. But….

"Indeed, I am a slave… But still, you don't understand Amamiya Tower's main principles at all, do you?"

"What are you talking about?

"Well, I'll let you all hear it for yourselves. One of our basic principles is the treatment of slaves. Even if they are slaves, depending on their work, they are treated the same way as normal people, understand?"

Slaves, to begin with, could not defy their masters.

Conversely, they would never envy their masters.

Depending on the time and occasion, these characteristics could make them good for any organization.

"In Amamiya, for example, the treatment of slaves is incredibly good. I'd love to see if any slaves who don't take things seriously or don't work even exist."

Gradually, Lisa's tone became more and more enthusiastic.

Ghazala saw this and admonished her with a wry smile.

"Hey, hey, inspector. You're getting off-topic."

Lisa's expression turned into a gasp, and she cleared her throat with a cough once.

"Ah, anyways, as long as I am an inspector, even if I am a slave, it means that I am entitled to do whatever I want to you. No, rather, you could say that it is because I am a slave?"

"…"

"That's why you should just give up."

"…Kakakaka."

Rodogel, who had been listening silently until then, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Do you really think any of these people would believe you, a so-called 'inspector' after being told something like this out of the blue?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. All I can say is that I have never heard of inspectors. I am the branch manager and I have never heard of them. Your story is crazy. No one is stupid enough to take such a story seriously!"

Rodogel's words caused a stir around him.

It was only natural.

It was unbelievable that Lisa, a slave who had suddenly appeared on the scene, had such authority.

In this case, Rodogel's words were more credible.

If the inspectors were known to the public, Rodogel's strong argument would not have been accepted.

But when Lisa and Ghazala heard Rodogel's words, they looked at each other and laughed.

"No, no. It's really funny when it's so much like I imagined."

"In this case, let's just call it a quirk."

Rodogel responded to their dialogue as if he had known from the beginning.

"What do you mean?"

Ignoring Rodogel's words, Ghazala produced a card from his pocket and flicked it toward the receptionist.

"Take this card to the machine and read it."

Before Rodogel could stop him, one of the receptionists picked up the card and placed it on the machine to be read.

Unbeknownst to all but the people involved, the person who picked up the card was also a slave. One of the people in charge, who also had the responsibility of reporting regularly on the status of the branch.

During this time, Rodogel hesitated to stop him because he did not know what the card was about.

If he had known, Rodogel would have tried his best to stop him. However, the suspicion of everything the other party stated had delayed his decision.

That time would evidently turn out to be crucial.

The woman at the reception desk scanned the card and the other female receptionists who were watching were stunned to see what was displayed there.

They had never seen anything like it before.

Rather, they just heard stories about it.

Crown cards, apart from those of other guilds and official guilds, are marked by color to indicate something other than the usual ranks.

If someone was a regular adventurer, the color would be blue, if they were recognized as a contributor to the Crown, the color would be red, and so on.

The first thing any would-be receptionist would have heard about, were cards that were coloured platinum.

The person with such a card was considered an important person in Crown.

However, they had never seen a card with such a color before.

Another reason why the people holding such cards were considered important, was because it had an essential authority attached to it.

"Platinum card…"

"….Huh!!!??"

One of the receptionists muttered, and Rodogel couldn't help but exclaim.

Of course, Rodogel knew what that card meant.

"You seem to know what that quirky card means."

Ghazala said, but only those in charge of operations had any reaction. The adventurers outside the counter were simply confused since they did not know what this meant..

For those adventurers who had been left behind, Ghazala continued his explanation.

"Simply put, one who holds that card can revoke the permission to use the transfer gate to Amamiya Tower."

Ghazala explained it simply, but it took some time for its meaning to sink in.

However, the adventurers were gradually getting a sense of what it meant to have such an authority in Crown. Especially when the headquarters was located in Amamiya Tower.

"In a nutshell, it means you would lose your position and never be able to set foot into headquarters, right?"

Conversely, it meant that anyone with this platinum card occupied a position of considerable importance to Crown.

"Just so you know, it's no use trying to get rid of that card, okay?"

Lisa said to Rodogel, who was about to move to do something about that card.

"Many people have misunderstood, but the card itself is just something that allows you to see your status. Even if it is lost or destroyed, the person's personal information has already been registered, so another card can be reissued at any time."

Naturally, it would be impossible to impersonate someone, which was common sense, so she didn't mention it.

"I'll prove that it's mine, so can I have it back?"

Lisa said and walked toward the receptionist.

"Wait a minute…!"

"Whoa, hold it right there"

Rodogel's actions were quickly stopped by Ghazala.

One of the receptionists shakily offered the card to Lisa, who took it back.

Upon accepting the card, Lisa immediately proved that the card belonged to herself by applying magic power to it.

The reason why Ghazala was holding the card and not Lisa was solely for precaution.

"Now we have proof, right?"

Undoubtedly, Lisa's magic power had activated the card.

No one would have thought that Lisa was a fake after all this.

Naturally from now, only Rodogel's own people would follow his orders. Furthermore, Rodogel's crimes could no longer continue.

Eventually, Crown was able to install a new branch manager without losing credibility at the last minute.

The new branch manager was selected by Crown, and because of Rodogel, it would be a long time before another branch manager would be selected from the people of the northern town.