◈ 346. [Side Story] New Year’s Day (2)
Temple. Central Hall Corridor.
In this place full of people praying, I looked up at the statue of the Goddess and had thoughts that might be a little blasphemous.
‘Does this goddess actually exist?’
No, I never meant to deny the religion of this world! (I will be punished! My afterlife!)
It seems that gods actually exist and are active in this fantasy world.
Right now, even my father (emperor) seems to enter the spirit world alone and fight with the gods of other races every day.
I wondered if this Goddess, who is revered as the protector of mankind, also exists with a substance.
Are you floating somewhere and watching the ssambakjil of the summer?
‘Is it because the Goddess religion spread so naturally throughout life? I have never heard any explanation about the goddess who is the object of worship.’
Standing next to the statue of the goddess, I heard Saint Marherita reciting the same prayer over and over again in a hoarse voice.
“We are grateful for the grace of the Goddess who brought light to all mankind on this land, and we gather the faithful hearts of the believers who have gathered here this year… … .”
It’s like a New Year’s prayer. Your voice is hoarse and your eyes are puffy. You must be having a hard time today.
‘I wanted to ask Marherita, but I can’t. I’ll have to pay attention later and ask the right person.’
Quite a number of people were in the middle of offering their prayers while filling the central hall here.
Looking around carefully, I saw that all of my party members were praying with their eyes closed.
“… … .”
I don’t have a particular religion, and I don’t know much about the existence of this goddess.
Still, I believe that the act of wishing with all my heart has meaning in itself.
Like everyone else, I put my hands together in front of my chest, closed my eyes, and prayed with all my heart.
‘I hope that no one will die and go out to fight the future battles.’
Even if I know it’s nonsense.
Still, this is what I wish for right now.
I prayed.
***
“What did you guys wish for in the New Year?”
After praying, I went out into the courtyard of the temple and asked the party members.
“Oh, of course it’s privacy. You don’t have to answer.”
Then, Damian smiled and replied with an innocent face.
“I wished that everyone would be healthy and not sick this year!”
“Damian… … !”
this… … this angel guy! Why are you so kind! It’s okay to make a little more selfish wish!
All the party members looked at Damian with tired eyes, probably feeling the same way, but Damian smiled innocently and tilted his head.
Happy New Year to you… … .
“Compared to Damian, it seems like a wish that only fills my stomach.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Junior said his empty wish.
“I prayed that my younger siblings, who live far away, would get along without any major incidents.”
“Ah, I see.”
Did Junior say that he was feeding his younger siblings?
The war orphans Jupiter reaped. Among them, Junior, the eldest, seems to be in charge of making a living.
“How are all your brothers and sisters?”
“Whoops. Everyone is doing well because Her Highness paid generously. It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face, so I’m a little worried.”
“When Crossroads becomes a safer place, everyone will be invited… … .”
“Thank you for just your words.”
Suddenly, the face of the old electric wizard with a cheerful smile flashed through my mind.
If Jupiter were alive, would they have made a masterpiece together for the New Year?
I’m going to hit Jupiter’s share and stab Junior with a little bit of money. I want my younger siblings to eat a hearty meatball stew.
“Lucas, what about you?”
“I am… … .”
When asked what he wished for, Lucas hesitated for a moment before answering.
“… … I begged you to track down Mason and put an end to it.”
“oh.”
During the last infiltration of the task force, all of them were killed and captured… … I thought it was, but it turned out that Mason pretended to be dead and managed to escape.
And Lucas blamed himself for missing Mason. It was because he couldn’t be sure to kill him.
No, I almost cut my upper body in two, but no one knew that I would escape alive… … .
“The bad relationship with Mason started with me. So, I will finish.”
“okay… … I will be able to finish it soon.”
No matter how much, I wished for this as a New Year’s wish. A little wish turn (?) is a waste. I wish I could have asked for something better.
‘… … Mason said he was going to the Lake Kingdom to deliver Fernandez’s will to the Demon King.’
And that doctor is the complete surrender of mankind to the monster.
Fernandez is even about to become emperor to declare it… … .
… … Thinking about it again, I don’t know what the hell this is. It’s beyond absurd to the point where it’s absurd.
It’s a flow that can’t be understood by normal human thinking.
‘How did Fernandez come to do this? On what basis, for what?’
In the end, I have no choice but to meet Fernandez and ask him. Anyway, it’s not something we can do right now… … .
We saw the last party member, Evangeline. Evangeline, who pursed her lips, gave a small reluctant reply.
“… … Please make it bigger.”
“what?”
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“Oh, I begged you to grow taller!”
iced coffee.
Is that… … .
He nodded his head with a face that we all knew. Evangeline huffed at her blushing face.
“What! Did you add to my height?! Are my wishes ridiculous?!”
“No, nobody said that… … .”
No one has the right to laugh at other people’s wishes.
I lightly patted Evangeline on the head.
“Don’t worry, you’ll grow taller later. The prince guarantees it.”
You might rather miss this time. It was small and cute, but I did.
Evangeline, who was dissatisfied with my patting, glanced at Lucas.
“So, am I taller than Uncle Lucas?”
“uh? hmm… … Might that be a little overkill… … ?”
Do you want to grow bigger than that? is he too big?
Lucas, who was listening to the story with his arms folded, laughed and laughed, and Evangeline could not stand it and rushed to bite Lucas.
Guys. This is a temple. let’s go quietly
After completely exiting the courtyard of the temple, it was also crowded in its own way.
Let’s take a look. A fortune-telling shop was selling this year’s fortune-telling lottery. Several priests were shouting hard and promoting.
“Now, come and pick up a fortune-telling note! Try your luck this year!”
It was a method of giving a fortune-telling note for each donation.
I handed out the money to the party members at this spot. old I’m going to buy and eat with this, make an offering, and take a savings account.
“Okay, then shall we draw this year’s fortune?”
So I approached the donation box.
Among the many offering boxes, one side was particularly noisy. The crowd of people continued to let out sighs and moans. what. what’s up yeah
Let’s get closer… … .
“Love luck… … ‘No hope’.”
Chew!
… … A woman with light blue hair gently tearing a fortune-telling note in half. Discover Serenade.
Serenade threw the fortune-telling note torn in half on the floor and took out a gold coin from her bosom with a smile on her face.
“One more, please.”
“Yes, yes, uh, here… … .”
The priest in charge of the donation box over there held out the box containing the note trembling like an aspen tree, and Serenade pulled out another note to confirm.
“Love luck… … ‘Don’t expect it’… … .”
Chew!
Another torn fortune-telling note rolled on the floor.
Upon closer inspection, Serenade’s feet were piled with fortune-telling notes torn in this way… … . No, are you doing fortune-telling resema until you get a result you like? is this ok?
“Love luck… … ‘Unrequited love is pain’… … Ha ha.”
Again, the fortune-telling note was torn with bad results. The people who were watching also groaned and suffered.
Hiding behind and watching this scene, I winked at Damian.
“… … Is the original fortune-telling note full of such bad words?”
“No, it would be less than 1 percent of the total percentage… … How can a serenade lady choose only those things… … ?”
yeah… … will be one of the two Bad draw luck, bad love luck… … .
“uh?”
Then my eyes met with the serenade who was brushing her hair.
“Wow, wow! Your Highness the Prince?!”
Terrified, Serenade hurriedly pushed away the fortune-telling notes piled on the floor with her feet, and ran to stand in front of me with a red face.
“Did Your Highness come to make a wish to the goddess too?”
“huh. Because it’s a new year… … . Serenade you too?”
“Whoops. yes. If not at a time like this, when else can I shamelessly beg the goddess for my greed?”
right? You came here to make a wish, right? Aren’t you here to do fortune-telling?
As I approached the donation box, Serenade quickly kicked the fortune slip left on the floor and pushed it away.
“Hey, hey! Would Your Highness want to see the fortune teller too?”
“Um~ I’ll make a donation, but I don’t want to see the fortune.”
Taking out a bag of gold coins from my pocket, I grinned.
“Destiny is something we create ourselves, right? I think the will we have is more important than fortune.”
“… … .”
Then, the serenade with a blank expression for a while,
“Yes, Your Highness is right. What’s important to fortune, what’s important is my heart… … !”
Soon he smiled brightly and nodded his head.
I swallowed the tears inside.
Actually, I like the culture of watching things like this for fun, but now I purposely threw out this comment to comfort the serenade. I’m glad you seem to have eaten well.
After finishing the offering, we left the temple together.
“Anyway, it just went well. I was going to visit you at the mansion later.”
Serenade smiled at the entrance of the temple and took something from her bosom and handed it to me.
“It’s a New Year’s gift, Your Highness. please accept this.”
“huh? what’s this?”
A sphere made of glass… … was The inside was filled with dirt and clear water, and blue corals were visible in the middle.
“It’s called Terrarium. You can think of it as a kind of flowerpot for growing those blue corals.”
“Blue coral?”
“yes. The blue coral reef that the mermaids treasure… … is a piece of This time, luckily, we got one in the hands of the guild… … .”
The blue corals in the small terrarium were beautiful. It seems to emit a little blurry light.
“It is said to bring good luck to the owner. Among the mermaids, it is said that there was a custom of giving this coral as a gift before sailing.”
“Hoo.”
“It shines clearly in the deep sea and is said to have served as a milestone for mermaids.”
Serenade laughed. Her silver eyes widened.
“I hope that Your Highness will be filled with only good luck on the road this year.”
“Thank you, Serenade. I’ll sleep well.”
It’s a bit strange that I, who denied my fortune just a moment ago, snapped another lucky charm, but well, good is good.
Taking the terrarium in my arms, I shyly scratched the back of my head.
“What? I haven’t prepared anything… … .”
“If you keep a girl’s gift well, it will be a great gift for her.”
The serenade standing in front of her wagon slightly bowed her waist.
“Then let the girl go. Happy New Year, Your Highness.”
“You get a lot, Serenade. Please be happy this year.”
The people of the Winter Silver Merchant who were waiting in the carriage said, ‘Why are you so late, Lord Dan!’ ‘I’m so behind on work!’ With the same sound, the carriage started.
Serenade waved desperately out the window and was dragged away.
You’ve been busy since the first day of the new year. No, it might be busy because it’s the first day of the new year.
After looking at the busy temple people and the busy top people, I looked back at my non-busy party members and smiled.
“Now then, shall we lie down and get some rest?”
Originally, it is a national rule to take a nap on the warm floor in the afternoon on New Year’s Day!
***
Back at the manor house, it was still before lunch.
The party members have all disbanded, and now it’s time to relax until the afternoon.
‘Before rest… … .’
I took the terrarium in my arms and headed to Ader’s room. Because I have something to ask you.
“Hey, Ader. Are you there?”
As I opened the door and entered, I saw Ader sitting in a chair, blankly.
“Oh, lord! Are you here!”
Ader reacted with a slight delay. Come on. Like buffering lag.
“I came to ask about the Goddess Church.”
The first time we met, Ader this guy introduced himself as being close to a god.
It’s not reliable at all, but it has some transcendental abilities.
Then, of course, wouldn’t you know about the goddess? She wanted to ask.
“Ah, you are welcome! I was going to tell you something about the Goddess!”
“huh?”
“[Goddess Blessing]! Didn’t you say that you would add it as a response to the [Dark Event]?”
The [Goddess Blessing] that Ader talked about in the past.
As the name suggests, the blessing of the goddess.
It is a function that allows you to apply a buff to an ally once per stage, and you said that you can use it by consuming achievement points.
I was told that they would add it as a countermeasure, since they were being helplessly attacked by the monster’s [Dark Event].
Ader put on a triumphant expression, then thrust his chest forward and declared proudly.
“This time it’s done! It can be applied starting from this defense battle!”
