"What kind of place do you think the temple will be like?"
"Hmm. This is just a wild guess, but maybe something like Ancient Greece?"
"That’s a pretty broad generalization... though I suppose I can see where you’re coming from."
Yuzuki-san spoke with a fairly high level of excitement as she peered out the carriage window, while Kusunoki-san joined the conversation with her usual calm, natural demeanor.
I had to hand it to the power of white rice—it was truly magnificent. The awkwardness that had plagued our group felt like a distant memory, and our conversation flowed with surprising ease. Was this a sign? Had my communication skills leveled up, making me a more social person?
We were currently on our way to a temple where a God resided to receive a blessing, having finished breakfast and a short rest.
"Speaking of which, Lilia-san, I forgot to ask—what exactly happens during a blessing?"
"Oh, I was wondering about that too!"
"Let’s see. To put it simply, you receive a God’s protection. It’s easiest to think of it as having a type of defensive ward cast over you. Since we’re heading to the Temple of Health, you can just imagine it as magic that prevents illness."
That made sense. It was more or less exactly what I had imagined.
I also learned that blessings performed by priests—the ones commoners usually received—were essentially just good luck charms. However, a blessing performed directly by a God provided a tangible, clear effect.
There was a catch, though: it wasn't free. In fact, it was quite expensive. These Gods were surprisingly materialistic.
The three of us fell into a stunned silence.
"...Um, I know what you’re thinking, but this is the temple’s primary source of income."
"To give you an idea of the cost," Lunamaria added, "a blessing from a priest is a flat rate of one iron coin. A blessing from a God depends on their rank, but it averages about one gold coin."
If I recalled correctly, an iron coin was worth 10R... so a priest’s blessing was about a thousand yen. A God’s blessing, however, was 10,000R—or a cool million yen. No wonder only nobles could afford them.
"As a side note, while today’s blessing from the God of Health is one gold coin, the blessing from the Goddess of Love that Milady received previously cost five gold coins."
"Five gold coins?!" we all shouted in unison.
"Lu-Luna!"
"...Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any effect," Lunamaria concluded with a sigh.
"G-Guu... nununu..."
Thanks to Lunamaria-san’s habitually unnecessary commentary, Lilia-san’s face turned a deep shade of crimson.
It was a cute reaction, but the atmosphere in the carriage was getting a bit strained. I decided to change the subject using something that had piqued my interest earlier.
"B-By the way! You mentioned the 'rank' of a God. Is there some kind of hierarchy among them?"
"Lu—Eh? Yes... there are three main ranks: Low-ranking Gods, High-ranking Gods, and Supreme Gods. Standing above them all is the Creator God. Generally, the ones who maintain temples in the Human Realm are Low-ranking Gods. To receive a blessing from a High-ranking God, you need more than just money; you need a high standing in the eyes of the God Realm. Usually, only someone of a King’s status can receive one."
My attempt to pivot the conversation worked. Lilia-san stopped glaring at Lunamaria-san and focused on my question. I wasn't exactly trying to save the maid; I just didn't want the mood to turn sour... but please, stop giving me a thumbs-up, you useless maid!
"As for the Supreme Gods—the Three Great Gods who govern Time, Fate, and Life—it’s virtually impossible to even see their faces outside of the Hero Festival, let alone receive a blessing. On extremely rare occasions, they might visit the Human Realm, so if you’re incredibly lucky, it might be a different story, but..."
Even just the titles "God of Time" and "God of Fate" sounded incredibly intimidating.
But thinking about it, the Hero Festival was an event where the Six Kings, the Three Great Gods, and the Creator God all gathered. Just how massive was this festival going to be? Part of me was excited, but another part was genuinely terrified.
Before long, the carriage pulled up in front of a temple that was every bit as massive and solemn as I had expected.
"...That’s a lot of people," Kusunoki-san whispered.
I nodded silently, sharing her sentiment. If I had compared this blessing to the New Year's shrine visits back in Japan, I probably should have expected this kind of crowd.
However, even Lilia-san and the others looked genuinely shocked by the spectacle.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"It’s certainly strange. I’ll go find out what’s happening," Lunamaria said before heading toward a woman in robes—likely a priestess—to investigate.
"Um, Lilia-san, is a crowd like this unusual?"
"Yes. It would be normal for a local church, but this is the Main Temple. Usually, the only people who come here at this time are nobles receiving blessings... and since the fourth day of the New Year is typically the busiest, I specifically scheduled us for the fifth to avoid the rush."
"Maybe everyone else had the same idea?"
"...Even so, the fifth is usually much quieter. Every year on this day, High-ranking Gods are invited to the Royal Palace to bless the King. Since it’s a rare chance to catch a glimpse of a High-ranking God, most nobles and priests should be gathered at the palace."
I see. Nobles put a lot of stock in social networking, so the chance to potentially gain the favor of a High-ranking God who didn't usually live in the Human Realm was a big deal. It made sense that they would flock to the palace.
Lilia-san had deliberately picked today because it was supposed to be the one day the temple was empty. Instead, it was more crowded than ever.
As Lilia-san finished her explanation, Lunamaria returned with a panicked expression.
"Milady! I’ve found the cause... it seems we’ve arrived at a truly incredible moment."
"What do you mean?"
"It’s not confirmed yet, but according to the rumors, the Goddess of Time herself might be stopping by today."
"The Goddess of Time?!"
She was one of the Three Great Gods, the second-highest authorities in the God Realm after the Creator God.
"Yes. Even the priests don't seem to know the full details, but she’s likely visiting to inspect the Summoning Magic Circle that experienced the anomaly. Apparently, she’s checking in on the local deities while she’s at it."
"I see... That explains why so many priests and local nobles are here. This is quite the predicament. I certainly didn't see this coming."
"We can’t exactly come back another time, either," Lunamaria pointed out. "We’ve already sent word of our visit under the Duke’s name."
"True. Those who aren't here for a blessing shouldn't be inside the Main Temple yet. Let's head in."
There was likely a massive power gap between a High-ranking God and a Supreme God. People probably figured that rather than seeing a High-ranking God who visits the palace every year, they would take the gamble on seeing a Supreme God who was almost never seen outside of the festival.
For the priests who served the Gods, this was probably a "drop everything and run" situation.
The distance wasn't that great, but navigating the massive crowd took a toll on us. By the time we actually reached the temple, I was already feeling exhausted.
"Ugh... I think I'm getting crowd sickness."
"I know exactly how you feel, Hina-san. Even I’m struggling a bit..."
"Even if it’s just a rumor, it’s a chance to potentially be noticed by a Supreme God. Since their visits to the Human Realm are so rare, I suppose this chaos was inevitable," Lilia-san added with a weary sigh.
"Are you okay, Kusunoki-san?" I asked.
"Yes, thank you. It really helped having you walk in front of me, Miyama-san."
Once we were inside the temple, the crowd thinned out a bit, just as Lilia-san had predicted. Still, there were several times more people than usual.
I noticed a particularly high number of priests, all of whom looked incredibly tense. It seemed the rumor about the Supreme God’s visit was likely true.
Nevertheless, the blessings were proceeding as scheduled. Lilia-san and Lunamaria handled the paperwork, and a priest came to guide us. At that point, I had to separate from the girls.
Apparently, it was mandatory to wear special ritual robes to receive a blessing, and since we had to change, the men and women were sent to different rooms.
Given the separation, I expected the robes to be somewhat revealing, and I wasn't wrong. The garment I was given in the dressing room was made of a material similar to high-quality silk, and it felt more like an undershirt than a robe.
It wasn't see-through, but the thin white fabric left very little to the imagination regarding one’s physique. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't get to see Lilia-san and the others wearing this.
The plan was to wait in a large hall and be called in one by one for the blessing. This meant that the room I was about to enter was going to be filled with men wearing nothing but these white, dress-like ritual robes. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to turn around and go home right then and there.
The priest who guided me mentioned that while the room wouldn't be packed, there were dozens of people waiting, and I could expect a wait of over an hour. At that point, it wasn't a blessing—it was a trial by fire.
When we reached the door to the hall, the priest bowed deeply and hurried off to his next task.
I stood before the door to the "garden of men," wanting nothing more than to flee. I took several deep breaths, steeled my resolve, and pushed the door open.
"..."
The sight that greeted me was not, in fact, a garden of men.
A gentle, pleasant breeze brushed against my cheek, carrying the sweet fragrance of flowers.
"...Huh?"
In front of me, a riot of colorful flowers bloomed in stunning beauty. When I looked further out, I could see the horizon where the blue sky met the earth. It was a magnificent, solemn landscape that felt as though I were looking down upon the world from the heavens.
"Wait... What?! Eeeeeeeh?!"
My involuntary shout went unanswered. In fact, it seemed like there wasn't another soul in sight.
Dear Mother, Father—I went to the temple to receive a blessing, but when I opened the door, it wasn't a waiting room. It was a hanging garden.