Chapter 112
I made up my mind. I'll raise the faith people in this world have in me, build up my divine power, deliver an oracle, and save this world!
I'll deliver the oracle to Leon himself or to the king of this country. I'll definitely save this world—the world of humans. I won't let those monsters have their way!
It would be easiest if Leon or the king came to the church in the central district, but neither of them is coming. There's nothing I can do about that. So I'll have to deliver the oracle while they're away from the church.
But delivering an oracle to places outside the divine realm, other than the church in the central district, takes a huge amount of divine power... Dozens of times as much, maybe? As things stand, I don't have nearly enough.
So first, I'll raise people's faith and increase the rate at which my divine power accumulates. Then I'll use that stored-up power to deliver an oracle. It's a perfect plan, isn't it?!
Of course, if I can't raise people's faith, the plan will fall apart... But there's no way that will happen. I'm the one doing it, after all!
I was all fired up, but right after I came up with that plan, something happened that completely sapped my motivation. You see... Leon came all the way to the entrance of the prayer room!
If he went into the prayer room, I could deliver an oracle. And if he touched the goddess statue, I could speak with Leon directly instead of through an oracle. I was so hopeful.
And yet... And yet, why didn't Leon come into the prayer room?! Normally, if you thought your abilities might be thanks to Goddess-sama, you'd at least say a prayer or something!
I was depressed for a while after Leon left. I thought I wouldn't have to work hard to solve everything, but... It felt like having a dorayaki right in front of you and not being able to eat it.
But there's no point in moping, so I'll raise people's faith just as I originally planned. Well, the only thing I can do to raise their faith is make the goddess statue glow...
Still, that's better than doing nothing. For now, let's take a look at what's happening in the prayer room.
...There aren't many people. There are only three.
Two elderly men and a young woman are praying fervently. It's better than having no one there, but seeing so few people makes me sad. Just how far has faith in me fallen...?
At any rate, it seems best to make it glow as soon as possible. Let's see... The light should be white and soft. Sherriffy once told me that people revere that kind of light as the most sacred. With the divine power I have now... I can keep it glowing for about a day.
All right... Glow!
"W-what is this light...?"
"It's Goddess-sama! Goddess-sama has descended among us! Praise be~!"
"What a sacred light... Goddess-sama... You haven't abandoned this country after all..."
Hee-hee, perfect. The three people in the prayer room are so shocked that they've gone weak at the knees. If lots of people see this light, their faith in me is sure to rise! Come on, stop sitting there in shock and go bring the others here.
...None of them are moving. Why not? Are they so captivated by the sacred light that they can't look away? Maybe I should turn the light off for a moment...
Ah, all three of them have come to their senses and started moving. They were captivated by the light, after all. Once lots of people gather, I'll make it glow again, and if I repeat that, people's faith will definitely rise and my divine power will start accumulating faster. See? I can do it when I try!
After that, I repeated the process for a while, making the statue glow for a set amount of time whenever people gathered. I started early in the morning, and now it's almost evening. My divine power is nearly depleted too... I think I'll stop here for today and rest.
I've worked so hard. It should be all right to use the little divine power I have left to summon a reward, right...? I justified the expenditure to myself and summoned a crepe.
Leon recently developed crepes. It would be rude not to eat lots of them, right? Mmm, it's so sweet, and it smells delicious... I'm so happy.
As I was enjoying my crepe and taking a break, the prayer room at the Central Church began to grow noisy. I wonder what happened. I haven't done anything else...?
Curious, I took a look and saw a man with a familiar face enter the prayer room.
Wait... That face... Isn't that the king of this country?! Why did he come here?! Was the goddess statue glowing really such a big event that it brought the king here?!
You should have told me that sooner! If I'd known, I would have saved enough divine power to deliver an oracle... I'm practically empty now!
I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I save some?! I'm really such an idiot... Well, I can keep it glowing for a few more minutes. I should at least do that, right? Ugh, I'm such a failure...
...I'll never make that mistake again. From now on, I'll use just a little divine power every day to make the statue glow, and save the rest so it can accumulate. That should raise people's faith, and my divine power will build up faster too!
Some time later...
"Mishurine, it's been a while. Have you been working hard?"
"Sherriffy, you came to visit?! Thank you!"
Sherriffy came to see me. I'd been incredibly bored lately, so I was really happy. Overjoyed, I flew over to Sherriffy and hugged her.
"W-wait, what are you doing all of a sudden?"
"I've been so bored lately, I can't tell you how many times I've thought about going all the way to Earth!"
"Bored...? Weren't you supposed to be busy raising people's faith?"
"I am, but... I'm saving my divine power for the oracle, so I only use a little every day. That's why I'm bored."
"That's not your only job, is it? Are you keeping a proper eye on Leon? What about the Demon Forest and the other countries?"
"W-well, I was going to get to that later... Or, well, from now on. Besides, I don't have any divine power..."
I'd completely forgotten about my other duties. But I don't have any divine power, so there's nothing I can do even if I observe things. Still, Sherriffy would say it's important to stay informed...
"Mishurine... How can you say you're bored when you haven't even done what you're supposed to do?! And what's that in your hand? Isn't that a crepe?"
Sh-Sherriffy is scary... Her eyes are frighteningly intense. That's the face she makes when she's really angry. W-what should I do? I have to run!
Just as I tried to fly away from Sherriffy, she grabbed me by the arm.
"How did you get this?"
"I-it's because Leon developed crepes in this world... I summoned some so I could taste-test them..."
"Taste-test them? Is that really the only reason?"
"Y-yes. Of course it is!"
"Is that so? Then what are all those crepes piled up behind you?"
Oh no... I'd forgotten that I'd just summoned a huge pile of them.
"Th-those are for testing whether I could eat a lot of them without getting tired of them..."
"There's no need for a test like that! You're already saving your divine power because you don't have much, so what are you doing wasting it?!"
Sherriffy is giving me the scolding of my life. She's terrifying... Somebody help meee!
"Do you really intend to protect this world?! You took a soul from my world and brought it here! I won't accept an ending where you let that soul go to waste...!"
"I-I'm sorry. I really am thinking about it! In a little while, I'll have enough divine power to deliver an oracle to humans outside the divine realm. Then I'll deliver one to the king of this country!"
"Really? Do you think it will go that smoothly?"
I-I don't know that myself, but it'll be fine. I'm the one doing it, after all. There's no way I'll fail... Probably.
"It'll be fine!"
"Haaah... Fine, whatever. Just do your best. For now, here's a little care package. Savor these, and stop summoning crepes! Do you understand?"
Wow! There are so many dorayaki, manju, and all kinds of Japanese sweets! There's even a whole cake!
"Sherriffy, thank you so much!!"
I'm surrounded by so many sweets from Earth... I'm so happy.
"Well, I should get going."
"What?! You just got here! Isn't it too soon to leave?"
"But wouldn't I just get in the way of your work?"
"Not at all! Everyone needs time off!"
"You do nothing but take time off..."
"That's not fair~. I was looking forward to seeing you, Sherriffy."
Leaving right after she'd arrived really would be too soon. There were still so many things I wanted to talk about.
"I have lots of crepes, so why don't we have a crepe party?"
"What kind of party is that?"
"We eat crepes and talk about how wonderful they are."
"That doesn't sound very fun..."
"Sherriffy, that's mean!"
"Hee-hee... I'm joking. All right, I'll stay and talk with you a little longer before I go."
"Really?! Thank you!"
It's been so long since I've been able to have a leisurely chat with Sherriffy! Everyone needs time like this now and then.