NomAsh: I really liked this one. We finally get some sort of explanation of why things got to be like this.
Translation: NomAsh
Editor: Zioming
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NomAsh: I really liked this one. We finally get some sort of explanation of why things got to be like this.
Translation: Google + Deepl
Editor: NomAsh + Zioming
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Support us to maintain this site and translations: https://www.patreon.com/kuhakuchisaac or https://paypal.me/ChisaacXu
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Short Story 7 – The Shrine Maiden’s Oracle
Author’s notes: I wrote a short story with some backstory for the hero summoning, that I haven’t talked about until now. One of the drawbacks of this chapter is that, basically, ‘things that the main character paid no attention to aren’t really mentioned’. It can’t be helped, since it’s written from a first person perspective…
Claude’s (a as supporting character) short story is coming soon. I’m proud to say that it’s one of my best so far.
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This happened about half a year before Shindou Jin and his schoolmates were summoned to another world.
On this day, a ceremony that would determine the fate of the world was being held at a temple in the capital city of Elgant Holy State, a large country to the north of Eludia Kingdom where Shindou Jin and the others would later be summoned. Elgant is among the ten most powerful countries in the world, and is the centre of the ‘Goddess Religion’, the followers of which believe in the existence of the Goddess. The ‘Goddess Religion’, by the way, is the world’s most prevalent religion, with followers in every country in the world, so, influence-wise, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Elgant the most powerful country in the world. Since Elgant is a theocracy, it has no king, but instead has a pope as its head of state. Though, to be precise, the one at the top of this country is actually the Goddess.
“So, what are the results of the Oracle?”
In the temple’s hall, a middle-aged man dressed in priestly robes asked a nun. All the people one would call the ‘Big Shots’ of Elgant Holy State are now gathered in this very hall. This shows you just how important this ceremony really was.
The Oracle is a means of receiving the ‘Words of the Goddess’, so it’s of the utmost importance in this country. In the temple’s ‘Oracle Room’, the Shrine Maiden who’s been approved by the Goddess, by performing a specific ritual can hear her voice. Of course, doing so does not always result in an answer, as an Oracle is only received a couple of times a year at best.
“According to the Oracle received by the Shrine Maiden, it’s Eludia Kingdom that shall summon the heroes.”
“It’s not our country…?”
“I thought this time…”
Many of the Big Shots sighed at the nun’s words.
That day, what they were going to learn was ‘which country will summon the heroes’.
Just a month prior to this Oracle, the Goddess warned of the rise of a new Demon Lord. A Demon Lord is a powerful demon, who appears periodically in this world. It is said that its appearance is a ‘calamity’ that even the power of the Goddess cannot prevent, and that only a hero can defeat it. In fact, there are no records of anyone other than a hero defeating a Demon Lord in the past.
Basically, demons are an evil race that dwells in the area west of Eludia Kingdom, commonly referred to as the ‘Demon Territory’, which they rarely wander out of. Or more like, it’s difficult to travel to and from the area to begin with, since there’s a massive mountain range surrounding it. However, that’s not the case whenever a Demon Lord appears. Then, demons will flood out of the ‘Demon Territory’ in an attempt to eradicate all the humans of this world (demi-humans included).
In the past, there have been many times when a Demon Lord appeared, and each time, humanity suffered considerable losses. Also each time, heroes were summoned from another world by following the Goddess’s Oracles. Furthermore, there’s a rule to these Oracles: exactly one month after the ‘rise of a new Demon Lord’ is announced, an Oracle with ‘instructions for summoning the heroes’ will be passed down. These instructions include the ‘place’, ‘time’, and even the specific ‘ceremony’ that has to be performed, and if either of these isn’t followed to the letter, the summoning will fail.
The ‘Hero Summoning’ is also a symbol of status of sorts, and the influence of the country that successfully performs it, will often increase. As such, it’s not hard to imagine that it was a kind of honour, Elgant Holy State was eager to acquire for themselves.
“Well, if you think about it, it might not be a bad thing for the Eludia Kingdom to be chosen this time around. Their state religion is also ‘Goddess Religion’, and their royal family has close ties to our country.”
“That’s right. There’s also Kastal Queendom, which benefited from the ‘Hero Summoning’ once in the past, next to it, so it’s unlikely that the heroes will be inconvenienced in any way.”
Once these middle-aged men saw the advantages of the summoning being performed by Eludia, they all started nodding in agreement. By the way, the one who pointed out these advantages was Pope Christopher, the most powerful man in Elgant Holy State.
“Hmm, but Eludia directly borders the ‘Demon Territory’. Even though the heroes’ growth rate is incomparably faster than a normal person’s, won’t they be in trouble if they’re attacked before the heroes can properly grow.”
“Didn’t you read the scriptures? The country that summons the heroes will become a sanctuary that the demons won’t be able to enter for the following month, thanks to the power of the Goddess manifested during the summoning. Rather, one could say that summoning the heroes in Eludia will directly strengthen the frontline.”
“R-right, I-I knew that… Then, that’s a big relief.”
To Christopher’s amazement, the Big Shot who clearly hasn’t read the scripture, started laughing awkwardly while breaking into cold sweat.
However, we can’t be relieved just yet, since some countries still lost half of the summoned heroes during that first month.
Christopher smiled bitterly without saying it. Even though they’re heroes summoned from another world, they’re still human, and even though they grow really fast, there may still be individual differences, so it’s not a given that they’ll be able to face the demons by the time that first month is over. There is no doubt that the Eludia Kingdom will face unprecedented danger. From time immemorial, the heroes have always subjugated the Demon Lord without fail, but the Pope understands better than anyone, that there’s no guarantee.
“So what is the date and time of the summoning?”
“It will be six months from now. It is to take place inside the shrine of Eludia’s Royal Palace. We have already made preparations to notify them.”
There’s a good distance between Elgant Holy State and Eludia Kingdom, and since it’s best to notify them early, a tamed bird-type monster will be used to send the news.
“Thank you. Oh, and don’t forget to select someone to assist with the summoning.”
“Yes. I know what to do.”
Elgant Holy State has summoned heroes many times in the past and has accumulated a great deal of knowledge regarding it. Although they haven’t managed to become the country doing the summoning this time around, they aren’t so distrustful as to not share their know-how with others.
“So then, how is Mary, no, the Shrine Maiden doing?”
Mary is the name of the current generation’s Shrine Maiden. Although she is only 18 years old, she performs her duties with dedication and has a good reputation.
“She’s very worn out. I don’t think she’ll wake up for another 2 or 3 days…”
“Is this also how it usually goes…?”
One of the Big Shots murmured.
The Oracle has been often described as ‘hearing the voice of the Goddess’, but this is a little misleading, as, a more accurate description would be that ‘the Goddess speaks by possessing the body of the Shrine Maiden’. Naturally, this places a heavy burden on the one performing the Oracle. Normally, an Oracle is just a couple words long, but when it comes to the ‘Hero Summoning’, a detailed explanation is required, and so the burden on the Shrine Maiden increases considerably. As expected, the indisposition of Mary, who’s the second most important… no, perhaps even more important than the Pope, casts a dark shadow across the faces of the gathered Big Shots.
“Then, I’ll go see her next. I’m glad that she’s safe, but let’s still use ‘Recovery Magic’.”
“Oh, I’m sure Mary-sama’s recovery will be much quicker with the help of Christopher-dono’s world-renowned skills.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere. And you’ll never know the burden of an Oracle until you’ve experienced it yourself.”
The Pope remained unmoved, despite the praises from the (previously laughing) Big Shot. In fact, Pope Christopher is said to have the best aptitude for ‘Recovery Magic’ in the whole of Elgant Holy State. To begin with, one of the reasons why he was elected for the position of the Pope, was due to his powerful ‘Recovery Magic’, so the Big Shot’s praise in this case wasn’t just lip-service. In addition, the burden of the Oracle would normally be treated as ‘a trial from the Goddess’, but in this case, due to the circumstances, they have no other choice.
After that, they discussed the preparations for the ‘Hero Summoning’ and the summoning ceremony described by the Oracle, and then the meeting ended for the day. According to past records, there will be another Oracle within a week to explain what wasn’t explained this time, as well as to give supplementary information.
~~~
After the meeting, Christopher went straight to the sleeping Shrine Maiden’s private quarters. It’s a clean, tidy, spotlessly white room, without a speck of dust.
“Then, Pope-sama, please take care of Mary-sama.”
“Yes, I’ll do what I can for her.”
The nun who was in the room said so before leaving. It is well known that the Pope treats the Shrine Maiden as he would his own daughter, so she saw no need to stay inside. Well, in this particular case, this was the wrong thing to do…
Once the nun left the room, the Pope opened a window. It was a sunny day, with no clouds, so a pleasant breeze entered the room.
You’re sleeping well, I see.
The Pope looked at the Shrine Maiden, sleeping calmly in her bed. Even though her long sleep was caused by the exhaustion that came about as a result of performing the Oracle, you wouldn’t know it by looking at her peaceful expression.
Making sure not to disturb her sleep, the Pope leaned over her and used his ‘Recovery Magic’…
“U…”
…not. Instead, he stabbed the Shrine Maiden in the heart with a single thrust. The knife made almost no sound, instantly taking the girl’s life. The Pope’s face showed no trace of emotion, as he confirmed his kill, before extracting the knife and jumping out through the open window.
Then, he returned to his own room with determined steps, opening its heavy door.
“Guh, guh…, kill me… already…”
Inside, there was a middle-aged man with the same face as Pope Christopher, no, he was the real Pope Christopher.
A dark sword with a sinister shape had been thrust into his belly.
Unbeknown to him, this sword’s name is actually ‘Magic Sword – Eternal Pain’, and it has the power to prevent the victim from dying while maintaining their wounded state.
It would later on be used on the Queen of Kastal Queendom.
“Hahaha, fine then. You’ve already served your purpose, so I might as well kill you.”
The Pope that killed the Shrine Maiden replied with a somehow wicked smile floating on his face, dispelling the resolute atmosphere he had until now.
“Purpose… you say…?”
“Right. I mean killing your precious Shrine Maiden. Just a minor task really.”
“Wha…!?”
The real Pope, who couldn’t believe what the fake one just said, opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, without saying anything.
“How does it feel to have someone you thought of as your daughter be killed by someone looking exactly like you? Isn’t it wonderful? Hahahahahaha!”
“You… demon… How dare you,… to Mary…!”
The real Pope wanted to kill the fake, who kept teasing him, but sadly, neither his strength nor determination proved enough. Even though a person dear to him was killed, he still couldn’t do anything. All that was left was waiting for his own death.
“That’s right. I am a demon, my name is Romarie. One of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Generals, ‘Romarie of Fabrication’. We hadn’t known each other for long, but it was fun nonetheless. Thanks. Kukuku, a demon posing as the holy land’s Pope, nothing could beat this masterpiece.”
“Bastard! You bastard!!!”
He struggles while thinking “at least let me hit him once”, but his fists still didn’t reach Romarie.
“Ah, I almost forgot. You can rest assured. I set it up in such a way that everyone will think that it was the Pope who killed the Shrine Maiden.”
“Huh…?”
“See ya.”
Saying that, the demon pulled out ‘Magic Sword – Eternal Pain’ from the real Pope’s stomach.
While the sword has the effect of ‘preventing the victim from dying while maintaining their wounded state”, it also ensures that only death awaits them once it’s removed.
“Gaah…!?”
Not only is the girl he thought of his own dead, he will die as well, while also being seen as her killer. The Pope who’s been subjected to such a cruel fate, died with despair on his face.
“Hahahahaha, well, that was a good sight. This is why I can’t stop transforming into others.”
With the Pope now dead, the Romarie’s [demon’s] appearance suddenly changed. It became a woman with purple skin and long blonde hair. The skin and hair colour typical for a demon.
Romarie [This particular demon] has the ability to perfectly transform into other people. Her role is to impersonate influential people and secretly destroy opponents, who could put the demon race at a disadvantage.
One drawback of her ability is that the copied person has to stay alive while it’s active, but this has been solved by using ‘Magic Sword – Eternal Pain’.
Or rather, she doesn’t even consider it a drawback anymore, since now she gets to see the reaction of the impersonated person to what she’s done while impersonating them.
“Well, now that the shady work is done, it’s about time I moved on to the next mission.”
As she said this, some sort of pitch-black robed figure emerged from her shadow.
Romarie didn’t seem bothered by this, and simply opened the letter passed on to her by the robed figure.
“Thanks. Hmm, next is… transforming into the Kastal Queendom’s Princess. Nice, transforming into the head of a country twice in a row is simply the best.”
The enemy of mankind, disguising herself as the head of a human country and doing as she pleases. It’s one of Romarie’s favourite hobbies.
“Ah, that guy’s in charge of the preparations. That’ll make things extra easy for me. If it’s a mission ordered by Demon Lord-sama, he’ll go out of his way to go far and beyond the required results.”
Leaving behind such a vague statement, Romarie left the room. She borrowed the appearance of a servant that was purposefully left half-dead, in case she was discovered…
~~~
Some time later, a nun, suspicious that the Pope hadn’t come out for some time, entered the room and found the Shrine Maiden’s dead body. Considering the circumstances, she went to the Pope to ask him what had happened, only to find that he had committed suicide in his own room.
The murder weapon, the knife that killed the Shrine Maiden was still in his hand, and he seemed to have stabbed himself to death with it as well. The room was splattered with blood, as though he had repeatedly stabbed his stomach, seemingly trying to gouge it out.
Thanks to this, the Pope was concluded to have been the culprit of the Shrine Maiden’s murder, which led to a scandal that greatly shook the country.
The deaths of those two were so shocking that the matter of a servant, who was also found dead in the Pope’s room, wasn’t even mentioned.
The Holy State, that lost its Shrine Maiden in this matter, couldn’t receive any more Oracles until the next Shrine Maiden was chosen, and missed the Oracle that was to be given one week later.
Perhaps, if they had received the Oracle that time, later history would have changed greatly.
Truly, no one in their wildest dreams would have imagined that the Goddess herself intended to suggest cancelling the ‘Hero Summoning’.
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Author’s notes: Still, posting a short story about a priest dying, on the 25th of December, left me with a bad aftertaste.
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