Volume 2 - CH 9

Chapter 9 – I Met The Priestess Again

The next morning, after checking out of the inn, we headed for the city’s north gate.

I opened my [Item Box] and retrieved Dest and Grand Cabin.

“Good morning, Master!”

“Good morning, Dest. Take care of us today.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

Dest replied in a strong voice and gave a vigorous salute. On the other hand, Iris and Surara seem to have not slept enough and are repeatedly making small yawns.

“Fuwah… Are you not sleepy, Kou?”

“Master-san, you are more energetic than me… Munya…”

It’s true if you ask me.

Since coming to this world, I’ve always felt refreshed when I wake up. The quality of my sleep has probably been greatly improved thanks to [Transmigrator].

This time, I decided to leave very early, but there were guards, Adventurer’s Guild staff, and people from the ranch at the north gate to see me off.

“Take care, Dragon Slayer-san!”

“Come again!”

“Thank you for protecting the city!”

“I’ll never forget you guys!”

It’s really a blessing to be sent off with such warm words like this.

We waved to the people of the city and got into the carriage.

Surara jumped onto the sofa on the first floor and started to sleep soundly. He didn’t look like he was going to wake up even if I shook him, so it was probably best to leave him like that.

“I think I’ll have a nap too…”

“Why don’t you take the bed upstairs then?”

The carriage has two floors, with two bedrooms on the second floor, one in the front and one in the back. It’s very comfortable and will be perfect for a nap.

“I think I’ll do that. I’ll be in the back room, so wake me up if you need anything.”

Iris yawned widely one last time and walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Soon after, the carriage began to move.

If we continue along the road to the northeast, we will reach Surier in the evening.

I sat on the sofa on the first floor for a while, looking out the window, but I was getting bored, so I opened the door at the front of the carriage and stepped out onto the platform.

I could see Dest’s back right in front of me.

I sat down on the right side of the platform. I could see the surrounding scenery clearly from here.

“Master, is there something you need?”

As Dest pulled the carriage, he glanced at me.

“I just wanted to get some fresh air. Do you mind if I stay here?”

“Of course not! You’re more than welcome!”

“That’s good to hear. Well then, I guess I’ll take my time.”

I looked at the scenery in the surrounding area. The grasslands around here provide a great view.

Birds were flying in the distant sky. The morning sun was shining brightly, and a refreshing breeze was blowing.

“…I guess I’ll read a book.”

I took out a novel book from my [Item Box].

I’ve already finished reading two volumes of this book, so this will be the third.

It’s an action entertainment novel about thirteen pirates with rich personalities battling for treasure. I found myself finishing the book before I realized it, as it was a fascinating intellectual battle using skills.

“Fuh.”

I put the book back in my [Item Box], got up from the seat, and stretched widely.

“…Hmm?”

I looked ahead and saw a little girl sitting on a stump along the road. Her silvery hair glistened in the sun.

I recognized the girl.

Lily Luna Lunaria.

She was a priestess of the God of War religion, and in her letter to me, she had left a note saying that she would be coming back to thank me soon, but was she waiting for that?

“Dest, stop for a moment.”

“Very well.”

The carriage gradually slowed down and came to a complete stop just past the stump.

I jumped off the platform.

The girl stood up from the stump and came trotting up to me…

“You’re Kou Kousaka-san, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

I nodded, and the girl bowed her head.

“I’m Lily Luna Lunaria. I would like to thank you for saving me from a dangerous situation the other day.”

“It’s no problem. What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to thank you for saving me from the Devil Treant the other day.”

I knew it.

It seems that Lily is a very disciplined girl.

But why was she waiting for all the way in a place far from the city?

When I asked her about it, she gave me this answer.

“I have a skill called [Foresight]. My dream told me. Today, at this time, Kou-san’s carriage will pass by here.”

“You mean you followed the dream’s instructions?”

“Yes.”

Lily nodded with a serious expression.

“I feel like it’s kind of rude to ignore my dreams when I’m being told what to do…”

That’s kind of an interesting way of thinking.

I think this girl is truly a very serious person, and she’s so righteous that she even tries to be polite to her skills. I personally like the way she behaves.

“Um, Kou-san.”

“What is it?”

“In my dream, I was asked to ask you this question. …Do you have the [Transmigrator] skill?”

Well, how should I respond?

It’s not that I’m actively hiding my skills, but it’s complicated to explain about [Transmigrator], so I basically keep it to myself.

When I wasn’t sure how to answer, she continued.

“I have a skill called [God of War’s Shrine Maiden]. If you have [Transmigrator], I have something important to tell you and something to give to you as well.”

* * *

[God of War’s Shrine Maiden].

When I heard that phrase, what crossed my mind was Iris.

She had a skill called [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden] and had a mission to “hand over the Dragon God’s Red Jade to the [Transmigrator].”

Maybe Lily has the same kind of mission.

The name of the [God of War’s Shrine Maiden] and the [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden] are also very similar.

I thought about it for a while and then told Lily.

“It’s true that I have [Transmigrator]. …This is going to be a long story, so why don’t we talk about it in the carriage?”

“I understand. I’m sorry to bother you.”

So, I walked back to the carriage with Lily.

Since Lily was also planning to head for Surier, I instructed Dest to continue along the planned route.

When we got into the carriage, Surara, who had been asleep on the sofa on the first floor, had just woken up.

“Fuwahh… Good morning, Master-san. …Arere?”

After yawning widely, Surara noticed Lily’s appearance and raised his voice.

“Hey, hey, that’s the girl you saved before, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. You remembered well.”

“Fufu! I’m a clever Slime, you know!”

Surara looked a little proud of himself and then jumped down from the sofa and came to Lily’s side.

“Hello! I’m Surara!”

“I’m Lily. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes, nice to meet you too!”

Surara grew a little taller and bowed.

“Is Lily-oneechan here for Master-san?”

“Onee-chan…”

For some reason, Lily nodded her head with a sullen expression.

“Yes. I have something important to tell Kou-san and something to give him.”

“Oh, really? I want to hear the story too!”

“I don’t mind. What about you, Kou-san?”

“Surara is an important friend of mine. Of course he’ll be fine.”

“Yay! Master-san said I’m an important friend! I’m a companion Slime!”

Surara jumped up and down happily on the spot and did a somersault. He looked very happy.

When it comes to important friends, Iris is one of them, and I would like her to be here. But it would be rude to wake her up when she’s asleep, so I’ll share the information with her when she wakes up.

…As I was thinking about it, Iris came down from the second floor.

It seems that she has woken up.

“Good morning, Kou. The bed upstairs is very comfortable. Thanks to it, I slept very well. …Ara, that girl…?”

“Yeah. She’s the priestess we rescued the other day. Apparently, she was waiting for us on the road.”

“Thank you for the other day.”

Lily turned to Iris and bowed her head in a polite gesture.

“I’m Lily Luna Lunaria. Please take care of me.”

“I’m Irisnote Fafnir, an A-rank adventurer. You can call me Iris.”

“Then please call me Lily. We are both shrine maidens, and I look forward to working with you.”

From her words, it seems that Lily knows that Iris has the [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden].

Perhaps she learned about it from the effects of her [Foresight].

“The same? Um, what does that mean…?”

On the other hand, Iris doesn’t know anything about Lily, so naturally, she had a puzzled look on her face.

“Lily has a skill called [God of War’s Shrine Maiden].”

I told Iris that and then turned my attention to the sofa by the window.

“For now, why don’t we sit down? Let’s get settled, and then we can talk.”

“Right, let’s do that.”

“All right.”

“Yees!”

We all agreed, so we headed for the sofa.

I sat down on the sofa by the window at the back of the room, and the three of them sat down as well.

“I’ve already told Kou-san that I have the [God of War’s Shrine Maiden] skill.”

The first one to speak up was Lily. She began to explain the situation with a serious look on her face.

“It is a skill that is only available to human women once every few hundred years. As an effect, it can bring out the power of items with the name of the God of War.”

“…That sounds just like [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden], right?”

I nodded a little at Iris’s words.

If we replace the word “God of War” with “Dragon God” and the word “Human Race” with “Dragon-folk” in Lily’s explanation, it will be the same as the explanation of [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden].

“I know that!”

Surara shouted cheerfully.

The ancient scholar said so! The [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden] and [God of War’s Shrine Maiden] are paired skills, and when the two are combined, something amazing happens!”

“Something amazing?”

“Yeah! Something amazing! …But I don’t know the details. Sorry, Master-san.”

Surara’s eyes were downcast.

Lily patted him on the head as if to comfort him and then continued to talk.

“There are two missions of the [God of War’s Shrine Maiden]. The first is to give this bow to the [Transmigrator].”

She then took out a large wooden bow from inside her priestly robe. It was about two meters long, clearly taller than Lily.

I wondered where she had hidden such a large object.

“My priest’s robe has become a kind of magic tool.”

Lily said in a supplementary tone.

“It has a limited capacity, but it can carry a small amount of luggage.”

In other words, it’s a pseudo-item box. It’s the same as Iris’s pouch.

After my questions were answered, I received the bow from Lily.

The bow is very old-fashioned, but when I held it in my hand, it was warm and pulsating as if it were alive.

“…Hmm?”

I’ve seen this bow somewhere before.

I looked up and turned my gaze towards Lily.

The right shoulder of her priestly robe has the God of War religion symbol painted on it. It was a cross between a sword, a spear, and a bow, but the bow design was very similar to the one Lily had handed me.

“Did you notice that?”

As if she sensed my inner thoughts, she said.

“The emblem of the God of War is a drawing of three sacred weapons that bear the power of the God of War, the Warden. They are the magic sword Gram, the Yggdrasil Bow, and the Unmarked Holy Spear. ──The one I gave to Kou-san is one of those, the Yggdrasil bow.”

“…Wait a minute.”

Iris raised a small hand to speak.

“I’ve heard a little bit about the Yggdrasil Bow. It is usually enshrined in the Great Temple of the Holy Land and is only seen at a big ceremony once every fifty years. …Is it safe to take such a thing out?”

As the name suggests, the God of War religion believes in the Warden, the God of War.

Yggdrasil Bow has the power of the God of War in it, so naturally, it should be a very important item for the God of War.

If you think about it normally, it doesn’t seem like something that can be taken out so casually.

However, Lily said with a calm expression.

“There is no problem. The [God of War’s Shrine Maiden] mission is to give the Yggdrasil Bow to the [Transmigrator]. I have been entrusted with the full authority to handle the sacred weapon.”

“So you’re saying that there’s nothing for the God of War to complain about?”

That’s good.

To be honest, I’d rather not be in a situation where I have to make enemies with a religious organization at all costs.

Anyway, now that I have the Yggdrasil Bow in hand, let’s use [Appraisal] first.

Yggdrasil Bow (sealed): Also known as the “Bow of the Calamity Slayer”. It is the natural enemy of all calamities. It can only be handled by those who possess the [Transmigrator]. Currently, its power is sealed.

A sealed, calamity-slaying bow.

What a tantalizing setting.

I don’t know what the conditions are to break the seal, but there are more than calamities after the Black Dragon, and it may come in handy when they return in the future.

I store the bow in my [Item Box].

“Yggdrasil Bow” was added to the list in my mind.

The list was sorted in Japanese syllabary order, and just above the bow was “Yggdrasil’s Branch x 1”.

This was the one I had produced yesterday morning with [Material Alchemy].

Both the bow and the branch have “Yggdrasil” in their names, so I wondered if I could use them as materials to create a new weapon with [Creation]?

The recipe is… not available.

However, there seems to be some kind of connection between the two, so let’s leave that for the future.

When I was thinking about this, Lily breathed a small sigh of relief.

“I’m glad I was able to hand the bow over to you, Kou-san. Now I have accomplished one of my missions.”

“You have one more mission, right?”

“Yes.”

Lily nodded.

“The second mission is to find another sacred weapon, the magic sword Gram. I’ve heard that it was lost thousands of years ago. Kou-san, do you have any idea what it is?”

“If it’s Gram, it’s right here.”

“Eh…?”

Lily rolled her eyes in surprise.

I got up from the sofa and went out to the left corridor.

I open the [Item Box] and take out Gram from the magic circle that floated in the empty space.

It was a big sword, over two meters long, with a silvery blade.

“…That’s a tremendous amount of divine energy.”

Lily gulped.

Perhaps she sensed the power of the God of War that resided in Gram.

“That’s the Dragon Slayer’s magic sword Gram… I can’t believe Kou-san already had it…”

This development was completely unexpected for Lily, and she had a stunned expression on her face.

“So the place where Gram is located didn’t appear in your [Foresight]?”

“Yes. What I saw in my dream was only to the point where I handed the Yggdrasil Bow to Kou-san today.”

In other words, from this point onwards, this is an unknown development for Lily.

“Where did you find Gram, Kou-san?”

“In an underground city near Aunen. Can I keep this in my possession?”

It is probably one of the most important items for the God of War religion, and there is a possibility that it might have to be returned.

However, Lily said.

“Gram is also one of the sacred weapons, and its handling is left to me. You can keep it.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

For me, Gram is like a partner who has overcome the battle with the Black Dragon together with me.

I’d like to thank Lily for her words because, to be honest, I didn’t really want to give it away.

As I was feeling relieved, Iris raised a small hand.

“Can I have a word?”

“What’s the matter?”

“I was wondering from what you said earlier, do you have the [Foresight] skill, Lily-chan?”

“Yes, I do. I have been helped by [Foresight] many times since I was little.”

“I see, thank you. …You’re just like her.”

When Iris turned her eyes out the window, she whispered to herself.

‘Her’ is probably Iris’s twin sister, Felice.

Felice had passed away three years ago and possessed two skills: the [Dragon God’s Shrine Maiden] and [Foresight].

In that sense, she was similar to Lily, and it was natural that Iris would remember Felice.

I was nodding to myself, and eventually, Surara opened his mouth.

“Hey, hey! What are you going to do now, Lily-oneechan?”

“From the God of War’s headquarters, I’ve been told that after I complete my mission, I’m to be an escort for the [Transmigrator]. If you don’t mind, can I accompany you on your journey?”

“I’m fine. How about Iris and Surara?”

“I don’t mind either. Best regards, Lily.”

“I’ll be glad to welcome you, too! Yay, yay!”

“Thank you very much.”

She stood up from the sofa and bowed her head.

“Once again, please take care of me.”