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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
Thanks to Kurara’s oracle, Kousuke and his group were able to easily access the books reserved for the clergy, and they decided to start their investigation immediately.
Shrein and the others began their investigation immediately, but Kousuke had other concerns.
That was to express his gratitude to Kurara.
Normally, it would not be possible to immediately perform the Divine Oracle, but in this place, the situation was different.
In the Temple of Arcis, the deity Kurara was worshiped as the main deity, so it was easy to perform a Divine Oracle.
However, it could be done only because it was Kousuke doing it.
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As soon as he activated the Divine Oracle, Kurara responded.
[Ara ara. Thank you for taking the trouble to contact me.]
[No, rather, I would like to thank you.]
[It’s okay. I have to do something for you once in a while.]
[I’m glad to hear that.]
[What are you so surprised about now? There are many goddesses who want to help you. If I don’t help you here, I will be criticized.]
[Ahahaha, sorry about that.]
At first, Kousuke inwardly thought that she was overreacting, but when he thought of the situation with the Goddesses at the Sanctuary, all he could do was have a wry laugh.
He was not fooling himself by laughing. Probably.
Making up some incomprehensible excuse in his mind, Kousuke thanked Kurara once again.
[Thanks to you, I was helped.]
[It’s okay. I’m more than grateful for you just visiting the Sanctuary. Besides, I have other matters to look forward to this time.]
[Other matters?]
The way Kurara said it, it sounds like there may be something else involved other than finding the Prost Clan.
[I’m sorry. I can’t tell you right now. But I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it.]
If they could not say, then there must be a reason for it.
In such cases, it usually wouldn’t work out well if he knew ahead of time.
Kousuke, sensing this, didn’t ask any more questions.
[And it really pains me that I can’t help you any further, you know?]
[Well. We got more than enough help, it’s okay. We have to do what we have to do ourselves.]
[Is that so? Well, I did expect you to say so. Oh, well… That’s too bad. I think it’s time to go.]
When Kurara said so, the Divine Oracle suddenly became unstable.
This was because he was forcibly contacting them without any tools, so this kind of thing could happen.
Even though it was a Divine Oracle between two Gods, it was inevitable that it would be subject to restrictions.
If it had been a Goddess like Eris, who had strong ties with Kousuke, they could have talked a little more.
[See you at the Sanctuary.]
[Yes. I will pay a visit soon…]
Kurara seemed like she wanted to continue, but unfortunately, the Divine Oracle was cut off.
This was the end of the conversation.
There was nothing Kousuke could do about it, so he let out a sigh and headed for where Shrein and the others were.
The temple director showed him to the place where the library was kept, which was naturally used by other priests as well.
Therefore, the Divine Oracle was performed in an unoccupied area.
After the Divine Oracle, Kousuke returned to the library. Shrein and the others were sitting down and reading some books in the library.
Some priests were glancing at them.
Shrein and the others must have noticed this, but they pretended not to notice.
Such glances would have been depressing when they were reading, but at least they did not seem to be affected by anything external.
Of the three who were paying attention to the book, Mitsuki looked up when she noticed Kousuke had returned.
“How did it go?”
“Well, nothing particularly problematic. We thanked each other and that was it. We didn’t have much time.”
“I see.”
“Well, how’s it going over here? Well, I suppose I could guess that you have just started looking around.”
Mitsuki nodded at Kousuke’s words.
“That’s right. We have a good idea of where we can find the books we are looking for, but we are still a long way from where we started.”
Since there was a good amount of books in the collection, it would take some time just to find the books that contained the desired items.
They were already prepared for it to be a long-term project.
Kousuke reached for one of the books in the library, which was stacked on top of the others, and immediately started looking through it.
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Kousuke and the others returned to the inn after the first day’s research and were discussing the contents of the books they had read today.
Incidentally, Mitsuki covered them with a Barrier to prevent their voices from leaking outside.
“So, how was it?”
Shrein was the first to respond to Kousuke’s question.
“As well as can be expected. There was nothing more than the usual history about the temple.”
“I’m having the same result…”
“I see.”
Peach and Mitsuki nodded in agreement.
“Well, that’s to be expected, I think? There’s no way we’ll be able to find a clue so easily.”
Kousuke could have predicted this result, so he was not particularly discouraged.
Rather, it was great to have Kurara’s help on the first day.
It would literally be asking for punishment to expect any more help from Kurara.
After this, they need to search for some kind of clue on their own.
Kousuke and his group came to Arcis in the hope that, because of the town’s history, there might be some old stories left behind.
In that regard, it would be great to be able to search the library of the temple, which was said to have existed from the time the town was founded.
However, they did not think that books that would be detrimental to the temple would be in a place where many people would be able to come in contact with them.
Sylvia also pointed this out to them.
Rather, such books would be forbidden and kept in a place where only high-ranking priests could touch them.
Kousuke and his group went through the temple’s collection with this level of expectation in mind.
It was possible that they would find clues in these books.
“Perhaps the origins of the temple itself could give us a clue.”
Kousuke muttered, to which Mitsuki responded.
“The Barrier that covers the town?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
To find out what kind of Barrier could survive the harsh winters in a mountainous area, it would be good to find out about the temple itself.
Maybe they could find out there if it was anything like the World Tree or the Vermilion Castle.
“Should we check that area tomorrow?”
“Yes. Well, I’ll confirm details about the temple. You guys continue to check out the town’s history.”
The three nodded in agreement to Kousuke’s instruction.
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“I see. Have they returned to the inn?”
Adrienne, the temple director, had received the report from one of the priests who had been keeping watch over Kousuke and the others.
The head of the temple was not trying to do anything by setting up surveillance.
He was just trying to find out what the group was up to, to the extent that an oracle was given to him by their Goddess herself.
It was a natural behavior for the head of the temple to do.
Knowing this, Kousuke also ignored them.
“Yes. The important book collection they were examining was, as they said, only about the history of this town.”
“I see.”
While replying to the report, the temple director tilted his head.
The history of this town did not seem like the sort of thing that an ordinary adventurer would investigate.
Whether the adventurers who receive oracles directly from their main Goddess were normal or not was another matter.
“Anyway, it looks like they will be back tomorrow, so please continue to observe.”
“Understood.”
Adrienne hurriedly added to the priest, who was about to leave after replying.
“Please don’t do anything unnecessary, okay?”
“…Yes.”
The descent of the Goddesses, which had not occurred not long ago, was still fresh in the minds of the priests.
It was an event that made the priests realize once again that they were wrong in their belief that the Goddesses were confined to the Sanctuary and did not directly interfere with the world.
As the head of the temple that protected Arcis, there was no way they could let something like that happen again.
In the end, the only thing Adrienne could do was to watch and see what Kousuke and the others were doing.
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