The Chaotic Stone Sauna

by Nagaharu Hibihana

  “He said that it’d be worse to keep everyone we’re staying with in the dark...”

  In other words, it was safest to reveal all the information now, rather than wait until a troublesome situation popped up or having the information be leaked before having a chance to talk about it. It might worsen the relationship between the pilgrims and her, but nothing terrible would happen as a result of that. Haruno thought about it and decided that Touya was making the right suggestion. Her face grew red after thinking about how Touya kept looking out for her all this time, which Daisy keenly noticed and started poking her cheek about.

  “Haruno, you’re red~ Hey, Sera. Who’s this Touya guy?”

  “He’s another Hero of the Goddess, and also Haruno’s lover!”

  “Uh-huuuh... and here I thought you were just boring and stiff. Not bad...”

  “Don’t say that with that grin on your face, Sera! Didn’t you end up promising him to bathe together, too?!”

  “Th-that’s...!”

  “Oh, now Sera’s red too.”

  Daisy flew from Haruno’s shoulder to Sera’s head, lightly tapping her atop her soft hair. The two of them were just teasing fodder for Daisy right now.

  “L-let’s stop talking about that. We need to discuss what to do tonight!”

  “You’re right...”

  “Pft, you guys are no fun.”

  “This is important!” Haruno said, then took Daisy from Sera’s head and squeezed her tightly into her chest. Daisy looked a little uncomfortable, but her wings were trapped right now and she couldn’t escape.

  “Loosen up a little. Can’t breathe.”

  “Oh, sorry...” Haruno loosened her grip and Daisy dug her face out of her chest, gasping for air. She had been more than a little uncomfortable.

  That aside, if Haruno wanted to start traveling to the temple of the Goddess of Wind, they had to figure out what to do with the group of pilgrims. Just as Touya said, she would have to explain what they knew to everyone. The truth behind the battle between the first sacred king and the demon lord.

  “In my case... I believe going along with you, Lady Haruno, falls in line with the wishes of the Goddess of Light. But I also think it might go against the will of the temple.” Sera spoke in a serious tone, but her expression started to look a little solemn.

  “To be honest, I think the chances of the pilgrims coming along with us is low...”

  “I thought those girls all chose to follow the Goddess of Light rather than living a secure life in the temple, am I wrong?”

  “No, you’re right. But that’s where the problem lies.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Haruno and Daisy both cocked their heads, and Sera started speaking meekly. “It’d been a slight issue for Sir Touya to start collecting blessings from other goddesses, but in this case, you’re trying to meet directly with the Goddess of Wind...”

  “...I understand now.”

  They were acting under the official title of Heroes of the Temple of the Goddess of Light, and it might cause a problem if they were to proactively act for the sake of other goddesses.

  “So in that case, wouldn’t it be a problem to have Sera come along?” Daisy asked with furrowed brows.

  “I’m not a pilgrim, so I can act on my own accord. There’s nothing wrong with me cooperating with someone who’s not a follower of the Goddess of Light.”

  “Mhmm...” Daisy leaned back on Haruno’s chest after hearing the answer, looking disinterested. Imps were a race of demons, so they probably weren’t very interested in the no-nonsense clerics of light.

  In any case, traveling wouldn’t be an issue for Sera. Haruno believed in her. The problem lay with the group of pilgrims. If traveling to meet the Goddess of Wind would be a problem, then how would the girls react? Haruno and Sera discussed all the possible reactions they could think of and how they would deal with them. Daisy took a jab at them once in a while, too.

  They lit a bonfire that night and gathered all the pilgrims into the garden. There, Haruno explained everything Touya had discovered in Hadesopolis and everything she had discovered in Athenapolis.

  The existence of the city of Hadesopolis in the void, as well as the sixth goddess, the Goddess of Darkness.

  How the first sacred king sealed the Goddess of Darkness on accident, which created the void, and then how all of those events had been concealed.

  How the demon lord was actually summoned from their world at the time.

  How the Goddess of Darkness ruled over demi-humans, and that demons were just a type of demi-human.

  How during the 500 years the Goddess of Darkness had been sealed, all the demi-human nations had been taken over.

  How Athenapolis was one of them, and how the temple of light had a hand in it.

  How the temple of wind in Athenapolis was a dummy.

  How much of this information had been divulged by the Goddess of Darkness after her seal had been lifted.

  How they had retrieved a grave marker, the ace up the first sacred king’s sleeve to defeat the demon lord—and how they had gotten a ketolt craftsman to confirm it was the real deal.

  She explained everything besides the fact that the Goddess of Darkness was with Touya right now, and the demon lord’s true identity. She made the explanation more convincing by revealing that Touya had heard the voices of the goddesses, and that the Goddess of Darkness was being kept safe at the moment.

  It was a difficult story to believe right off the bat, but the grave marker served as proof. It was the final weapon used in the battle between the first sacred king and the demon lord, left embedded in the ground. It wouldn’t be hard to believe that once you factored a hero summoned by the Goddess of Light into that equation, some crazy miracle might have occurred. There were some tough points to get through, but she emphasized that it was the temple of the past who had made those mistakes, and she wasn’t accusing anyone of the current temple. She hoped that that would help open some of their minds.

  Everyone was dumbfounded and speechless. Even Daisy’s eyes were wide open. The only one smiling was Prae, but that was likely just because the speech had been too difficult for her to understand.

  Sera was next to speak. She said that shunning demi-humans was not part of the Goddess of Light’s teachings and that the temple’s past actions went against the Goddess’ ideas of justice and morality. Hearing a cleric condemning the temple was the final straw that got everyone in an uproar, and the commotion reached its peak.

  It was now Haruno’s turn.

  “I intend to take up the Goddess of Wind’s invitation and set out to travel soon. I won’t ask any of you to come along with me. Please, every one of you should think about where to go from here.”

  She couldn’t order them under the authority of a hero. Nor could she plead them. Considering her status as a hero, it wouldn’t have been treated as an ordinary “please.”

  Thus, Haruno simply asked everyone to think about it. All that was left to do was wait and see. She let everyone return to their rooms for the night.

  Haruno remained in the garden to talk with Prae a little longer. She looked somewhat dejected from behind.

  She could tell that she’d have to say goodbye to the pilgrims she made friends with. She was trying to play tough, but probably had a lot on her mind as well.

  The first who decided she would come along was Daisy. Imps typically didn’t believe in the existence of any gods, so she had gotten curious about the Goddess of Darkness. They planned to hold off on telling people about Rakti until after everyone decided whether they would come along or not, then secretly tell those who would come along.

  After a while, Lumis, Sandra, and Rin showed up with their luggage in tow, saying they would come.

  “I want to become better friends with Prae and Daisy.”

  “I’m worried about leaving Sera alone to protect Lady Haruno.”

  “If we’re not together, then I won’t be able to swing that sacred sword aro
und anymore!” Rin yelled the last line with a clenched fist.

  The reason they were later than Daisy was because they wanted to speak with the pilgrim leader first. They had gone in fully prepared to give up their ranks as temple knights, but the leader told them with a wry smile to go ahead and act as independent temple knights, not as part of the pilgrims. The leader was similar to Sera in the sense that she believed more in the Goddess than in the temple itself. If she hadn’t been the leader, she probably would have agreed to join Haruno. She may have been jealous of those three for being able to be so reckless as to say they’d give up their ranks. Haruno detected a hint of those feelings in her wry smile.

  That leader visited Haruno first thing the next morning.

  “I’m sorry, but...”

  “I see... that’s unfortunate.”

  The leader indeed couldn’t come along. She didn’t think Haruno was wrong, but she had to stay behind to fulfill her responsibilities as the leader. Haruno had expected as much, so she was able to hear her out calmly.

  Next came the practical matters. They agreed to split the funds between them and the pilgrims fifty-fifty. They would also take along enough horses to travel with. The pilgrims would continue to act as Haruno’s guards until she set off.

  “We’re just as angry about this situation are you are,” the pilgrim leader laughed.

  Not everyone thought the same, however. That same day, a group of over ten pilgrims said they would be leaving the mansion.

  “We were fooled by you.”

  “We were fooled by the sacred family and the temple of light.” Haruno gave a firm reply to the snide remark and stares. She had spoken about Hadesopolis knowing that some people might react like that. She wasn’t going to falter, though. If the pilgrims thought she wasn’t emotionally prepared, then they underestimated her.

  The pilgrim couldn’t find anything to say in return, gathered her luggage with a vexed expression, and hurried out the door like she was running away. She must have realized, too. The fault was in the sacred family’s and temple’s hands no matter how you spun it.

  Those girls wouldn’t stop being pilgrims, however. They were simply moving to another lodging in the city.

  Haruno had plenty of things on her mind but chose not to voice them, focusing on packing her things instead.

  First was preparing for Prae and Daisy. They would have to get new clothes.

  Haruno was worried at first since they were both far from human size, but the craftsmen in Ficus Brand assured them they could get the job done within a week.

  “Will it be alright? I know we’re asking a lot from you...”

  “Don’t worry! If the Goddess of Light preaches about justice and morality, then we will preach that underwear is justice! We will most certainly prepare underwear that will satisfy our customers’ needs.”

  “I-I see... I’ll leave it to you, then.”

  “I can’t tell if these guys are amazing or amazingly stupid...” Daisy said exasperatedly as the lady shop attendant measured her three sizes, looking overly zealous for some reason.

  They ordered a rucksack for Prae as well. She would need a place to store her belongings as a new party member.

  They didn’t have many choices as far as armor went. Daisy’s clothes just needed to be as sturdy as possible. Prae would receive a breastplate made from lesser boar fur as well as a pair of gauntlets. She didn’t want any boots and chose to wear sandals instead. Apparently she didn’t like anything that made her feel constricted. Her clothes were overall fairly revealing, with her stomach showing at the moment.

  They also purchased a giant tower shield, the biggest in the shop. It was surprisingly inexpensive. These items usually increased in price relative to the size, but once they got so big that no one could use them anymore, their price points would plummet.

  As for weapons, Daisy had no choice but to use a needle in place of a sword. They retrieved a sturdy sewing needle used to make stuffed animals and shaped it like an estoc sword. Daisy wobbled a bit with the sword on her back, but she seemed pleased with it.

  As for Prae, she had only a few weapon choices, just like with her armor. The most she could do was swing a weapon around mindlessly, so they recommended she use a blunt weapon called a mace.

  They also requested that a thick tree branch be shaped to have an easy to hold handle, then wrapped thin iron plates around the tip to create a bludgeon. It was a mostly smooth, simple design. Haruno and the others could barely pick it up, but Prae grabbed it and started swinging it around like a feather. The weight of it alone was enough to carry some heavy destructive power. The party got a glimpse at how frightening a cyclops could actually be.

  They had run into plenty of problems until now, but the biggest was getting a blanket. Bedding was one of the most important items for travelers. However, a normal blanket would be far too small for Prae. She said she didn’t need one and had been sleeping without one up until now, but that was no reason to call it quits.

  Ficus Brand was able to take care of this issue as well. Blankets were always a burden for travelers since they were so bulky. Haruno couldn’t exactly relate since she had traveled with the pilgrims and several cargo wagons, but it was an unavoidable issue for those who traveled on foot.

  The Ficus Brand’s solution to that was a multi-purpose cloak that could also be used as a blanket. Also designed to be cold resistant, it was one of their most popular products. Haruno’s party bought five of those multi-purpose cloaks for themselves since they were ready-made. Prae’s would need to be specially made, but the shopkeepers were more than happy to help. It would be an easy order for them. On the other hand, Daisy’s order would be more expensive since it required detailed craftsmanship. They decided to buy a blanket made using a hand towel instead. It was a cute size and also had an embroidered pattern on it, so she seemed to like it.

  They went on to order their food, and their preparations took almost a week in total. In the meantime, the senators, temple of light, and inspectors were all keeping busy trying to resolve the demi-human scandal. The city was filled with rumors related to that incident, the battle between the first sacred king and the demon lord, Hadesopolis, and the Goddess of Darkness. The pilgrims who had left the mansion had most likely spread them around.

  Also, the temple of light visited Haruno to offer an apology. They had considered the relationship between Haruno and Touya and decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to leave Haruno angry. She took the opportunity to request that they make rescuing past victims the highest priority. The temple had no means to reject, seeing as how they’d had no hand in resolving the incident. But to maintain their authority, they used all of their influence to start seeking out those past victims and freeing them.

  Haruno had actually predicted this course of events. She had requested that the inspectors and temple free the past victims as a way to redeem their reputation. This way, the inspectors could show that they didn’t condone unethical activities within the senate, and the temple could announce that the actions conducted by the temple in the past did not represent them now.

  She didn’t take any particular action toward the senate. They wouldn’t be able to conceal evidence or cover up their actions anymore, and Haruno felt that that was enough for now. Since they had been exposed, their only option was to give appropriate punishment to whoever had been involved in the incident.

  “The inspectors do honest work.”

  “The temple of light won’t forgive any injustice. We are different from the temple that once took over other nations.”

  “The majority of the members of the senate had nothing to do with the illegal activities.”

  Each party advocated for themselves. It was all for the purpose of self-protection, and Haruno had predicted exactly that. They had their own well-being in mind. If that was the case, then Haruno made them rescue the past victims as a way to push each group toward their goal. That was Haruno’s way of thinking.

  The s
enator that the inspectors arrested on the fifth day was indeed the owner of the mansion that Daisy had interrupted a discussion in. This was an entirely expected outcome as well. Without that connection, Daisy wouldn’t have been falsely charged and become a criminal raver.

  The other participants of that secret discussion were the pastor and another high-ranking senator who had accepted bribes to accommodate their plans. They were both arrested as well, of course.

  Ironically enough, they had the Oath Seal placed on them and were forced to confess each and every last one of their deeds. A clearer picture of the case was painted thanks to that, and they were able to make further progress on rescuing victims as well. It would take much more time to resolve everything, but Haruno believed they would finish the job they started.

  She figured she should disassociate herself from the incident before departing on her journey, so she handed all her copies of the documents to the senate. Perhaps as a result of that, the day before Haruno’s departure, she was awarded with a medal and monetary compensation. She had achieved high merits from this case.

  She split the reward money fifty-fifty with the pilgrims just like they had with their funds for the journey. The medal was called the Olive Moon Medal. It depicted three olive branches underneath a small crescent moon. It was a particularly honorable medal awarded to someone who helped protect the peace in Athena.

  Her party members were also allowed to participate in the ceremony, so Sera, Lumis, Sandra, Rin, Daisy, and Prae were all invited to join. It also served as a way to represent her acceptance of demi-humans.

  The ceremony would be held in a large hall with an equally large set of doors. Prae would be able to enter the building just by ducking down a little. Prae’s ceremonial dress was a simple mantle with an elegant embroidered pattern on it. An elf had once worn a mantle in the audience of the sacred family, and it had been recognized as formal ceremony attire since. Yes, just like the time the legendary pervert Ficus appeared in front of the king wearing nothing but a leaf over his nethers.