Chapter 48

7/20 This is the first post.

The time was around 10:00 according to my watch.

After lingering for nearly two hours at Paiser's weapon shop, I left and sat on a bench near the church, holding a skewer of meat and a fruit I had bought for the first time.

The selling price of the equipment I brought was 100,000 beke.

I remembered getting the leather armor for free halfway through, and when I said I didn't need the money, it turned into a repeat of the previous situation.

The mysterious negotiation between Paiser and me flared up again.

In response to Paiser's offer of 300,000 beke—

"I have to sell it at a high price if I buy it at a high price! If that's the case, buy it cheaply and sell it cheaply to a new junior hunter!"

—this powerful straight punch exploded, and I managed to silence Paiser somehow.

"Ugh..."

I couldn't help but grin at Paiser, who couldn't come up with the next words.

I still don't understand why I feel this way even though the amount of money I get is reduced.

Well, a disassembly knife is probably a weapon that you want but can't afford, especially at first.

I wouldn't have been able to buy it if it weren't for the reward from the mayor.

Since second-hand knives don't often come on the market, I must have contributed a little by selling three of them.

In return, if I ever get involved in [Enchantment], I intend to ask Paiser without hesitation, so it ends up being a win-win relationship.

"Phew, what a nice day..."

While watching a flashy-haired parent and child walking, I mumbled about how peaceful it was and bit into the skewer of meat.

This town had its bad people, but that's the same wherever you go.

It's just a matter of ratio.

Thinking about it, Bezato is a very peaceful town.

A good small town in the best sense.

Time passes slowly, and you can enjoy a relaxed feeling on your days off.

(I still have a fishing rod in my room. I didn't catch anything last time, so maybe I'll go again when I have a day off...)

With that thought, I headed towards the church entrance, still holding the fruit.

At the entrance, the young sister who had spoken to me first was sweeping.

"Hello~"

"Ah! You're the one who came the other day, right? Merries! Merries!"

(Ah, so fast! Too fast!! Does this girl dislike me!?)

I was shocked by the quick handoff, but I couldn't help but follow the young sister who ran into the church.

As I trudged along, I saw Merries wiping the pews in the chapel, so I called out to her.

"Hello~"

"Oh, boy. Why are you dressed so casually today? Are you thinking about changing your job again?"

"No, no, I don't think I can change that much with just a few days of training. Today, I just came to pray to the goddess... or rather, just to pray. I had a day off, so I thought I'd stop by."

"Well, well, you're a devout one. If you get tired of being a hunter, you might consider becoming a [Priest]."

"Haha..."

Since I can't say that I already have the [Divine Oracle] skill for priests, I handed over the fruit as an apology and said I wanted to pray for a while.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone around now... I have some things to sort out, so I was thinking of praying for a bit longer. Is that okay?"

"Most people start to come in after the noon bell, so this time should be fine. You must be thinking about your job choice, right? If someone comes, I'll let them know, so pray to your heart's content!"

"Thank you. I don't know if it's delicious, but if you like, please share it with everyone. I feel bad about what I did to the priest."

"That's not necessary... but this is a Rapol fruit! It must have been expensive?"

"Eh? Well, it's not a problem, so don't worry about it."

"Even the old man doesn't mind, but I feel bad... But since it's a gift, we'll gratefully accept it. Let us know when you're done praying. We'll cut a piece for you too!"

"Thank you! I'll go pray then."

With that, I headed to the designated spot in front of the goddess statue.

It's not that the fruit will make a difference, but with this, I should be able to pray for a while longer, and Merries will take care of it.

Let's start...

(Goddess, I'm ready. Whenever you're ready...)

Since I'm not using the [Divine Power] skill, it's quite unclear, but I hear a noisy, mixed voice.

"Call... ready... go..."

She mentioned a barrier, so I guess she'll call me when my consciousness reaches her.

I closed my eyes in anticipation, and just like last time, I felt no particular discomfort as a cheerful voice came from in front of me.

"Okay, you can go!"

This voice is Lady Ferin.

As I expected, I opened my eyes to see three unfamiliar women standing in a peaceful landscape, just like before.

"I think I've already spoken to some of you... but nice to meet you, I'm Loki."

I greeted them calmly, but inside, I was far from it.

My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

"Finally, we meet. I am the goddess of commerce, Riste."

"I am the goddess of abundance, Ferin!"

"Hehe, I am the goddess of life, Feeliru~"

—This is what it means to be captivated.

(...As expected. Just like the three of them, they are all incredibly beautiful, though of different types.

Lady Riste has long, lustrous silver hair and sharp, beautiful eyes that exude elegance. She looks like an intellectual, slender beauty who would look great in glasses.

In contrast, Lady Ferin has a short, crimson hairstyle that exudes cuteness. However, her body is quite demanding. Ah, her thighs are dazzling.

And Lady Feeliru, with her light brown, wavy perm, exudes a healing, gentle aura, but her body is even more demanding!! What is that chest... Her face is so beautiful that even an idol would run away barefoot... Scary... All three are too scary...

I would literally kneel and beg to meet someone like this. The club in Ginza that my boss once took me to had some hidden beauties, but compared to these goddesses, they would cry and beg to go home. If there were a secret goddess club, it would surely take over the world.)

"L-Loki-kun!? You're leaking everything!!"

"Putting all your effort into beauty... Ugh! Hehe, hehehe..."

"Do you like big ones? You have a cute face, but you're a boy, aren't you, Loki-kun~"

"Ah!? S-S-S-S-Sorry!! Please, not the divine punishment!!"

"Divine punishment is Rea's exclusive right, so don't worry~ Besides, no one is angry~"

"Yup! If you're being praised, there's no reason to be angry!"

"Compared to the two of you, my body is quite slender. Just calling it that is enough. Come, please, this way."

She led me to a round table with four chairs on the grass.

The three of them sat as they pleased, and I sat in the empty chair, immediately greeted by a pleasant aroma.

Looking at it, a steaming cup was placed in front of me, which seemed to be tea.

But it wasn't there when I sat down, so when did they prepare it?

It's a mysterious phenomenon, but in the world of goddesses, it's probably just a waste of time to think about it.

I hesitated to drink it right away, so I enjoyed the smell of the tea, and Lady Riste, sitting across from me, spoke.

"Thank you for taking the time to come despite your busy schedule."

"No, no. I was worried about what would happen the first time I was brought here, but after we reconciled, I wanted to meet you all, so it's fine."

"Right, right! That's it! You survived by biting Legal and Rea, which is unprecedented!"

"Those two have a calm temperament, so we initially approached you with the three of them, Legal and Rea, and Alicia, who acts as a mediator."

"I heard about how I was called. Since I didn't come through the proper channels, it's natural that the goddesses who manage this world would be cautious."

"It's a relief to hear that. We know that your skills won't bring about a major catastrophe, so you can rest assured."

"Yup, yup! We're interested in you, Loki-kun, and the mysterious skills and knowledge you possess!"

"You have information related to the core of this world that we don't know~?"

"How about that? I don't know how this world was created. But from what I've heard, I think you understand your abilities better than the goddesses do."

"That's frustrating~ As Rea said, even when I look directly at your soul, the [Divine Eye] doesn't work!"

"It's strange that I can read your thoughts, but your soul is here, right!?"

She said, and I immediately looked at my body, but I was wearing clothes normally, and my skin wasn't transparent, so I couldn't really feel it.

It would make more sense if my whole body had been transported.

"Yes, we've only brought your soul here from your body. We can't bring your body with us."

"That means my defenseless body is left in the church, right...?"

"There aren't many people who would do evil in a church, so I think it's fine~ Besides, we've cast [Time-Space Magic]~"

(That's too casual...)

"The time flow is different between this world and the other world?"

"Right, right! We can't completely stop it, but the time flow is much slower, so it's fine unless you stay for a very long time!"

"Before it becomes a problem, it will become difficult to maintain your soul, and you'll be forced to return to the lower world."

Hmm...

They seem to be using some advanced magic, but I don't understand what they're doing at all.

I can only think that they are truly goddesses.

After that, we continued to have a very peaceful conversation over tea.

I told them what I knew from my status screen, and they taught me that reading thoughts and extracting souls are actually skills.

Hearing that, I couldn't help but get excited and wonder if I could use them someday, but they said that many of these special skills are only given to goddesses.

Even if a race could obtain them, the effects and difficulty of acquisition are usually proportional, so it would be impossible for a short-lived human to obtain a skill that is incomprehensible.

It's a sad revelation, but skills that can only be obtained by long-lived races make my heart race.

As I listened to the talk about lifespans, a simple question came to mind.

"Do the goddesses have no concept of lifespan?"

"We are the managers of the world, so we have been granted the [Eternal Life] skill by Felza."

"A skill that races can't obtain~"

"I see. So that's why you maintain such beautiful appearances that people want to worship forever... Felza is quite stylish. No wonder people come to the church. Actually, I'm quite dissatisfied with how the statues don't resemble you at all."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"If there were cameras in this world, I would want to put your beautiful faces on the walls of my room... Hmm? Would a smartphone work? No, no, the development process..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Is there no skill in this world to take pictures or videos and print them out?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"We don't understand what you mean (～!)?!"

"I see... That's a shame... Very disappointing..."

"You're not just thinking it, you're saying it out loud now!"

"The more I read your thoughts, the more embarrassed I become..."

"Being praised so much makes me not know what to do~"

All three of them blushed slightly and looked a bit embarrassed, and their dignified appearance almost made me fall over.

But Lady Riste broke the atmosphere with a serious face.

"It's about time. Loki-kun, is it okay if I ask you one last question?"

"Eh? E-Eh, what is it?"

Her determined gaze made me wonder what she would ask and instinctively braced myself.

"What was the name of the world you were originally from?"

"Hmm? Well, I don't think the world had a name, but the country I lived in was called 'Japan.' In a broader sense, I was born and lived on the planet 'Earth.'"

"I see... So it was 'Earth'...?"

"Does that have any significance?"

"No... Well, I think it's okay to tell you to some extent."

"One of the worlds managed by Felza is Earth~"

"According to Felza, it's the most successful example among the worlds she manages, and we sometimes bring Earth souls here to emulate its success!"

"Is that related to what Lady Rea was worried about... that this world has been abandoned?"

"Ouch... That hurts..."

"To be honest, due to the reliance on magic and skills, this world's civilization has stagnated for a long time."

"It's predicted to continue stagnating and eventually come to an end~ That's why the wisdom and knowledge of 'Earth,' which built an advanced civilization without relying on magic and skills, are needed in this world~"

"...So, is the hero Takuya one of them?"

"Oh, you already knew? Yes, he is one of them."

"I see... I think he's from my hometown. In other words, he's probably Japanese. From his name, I think so."

"That's right~ He's spreading knowledge from 'Earth,' so it's worth the effort to use his skills~"

I see.

I see, I see, I see!!

The purpose of the goddesses, the treatment of people from other worlds, and what is required of them.

—A sense of connection between various points.

The existence of glasses, which are not typical in this civilization, that I saw at an inn.

The strange dining scene where plates and forks are made of wood, but glasses are made of glass.

If I think that this is the result of partial improvements based on the knowledge of people from Earth who happened to come to this world, it makes sense.

I see, I see. That's how it is.

—But if that's the case, why was I called here?

I don't have any technical knowledge.

I don't know how to make glass, and I don't have any knowledge that could cause a revolution in this world.

(Hmm... What is expected of me... and why through a goddess rather than a higher deity?)

Since it's the same managed world, it's probably because Felza is the one in charge, but I have no idea why I was brought to this world directly.

"Loki-kun, you don't need to worry. The people we've brought to this world are contributing with the knowledge they already have, and we're not forcing them to do anything."

"Right, right! We just want you to enjoy your new life and leave something for this world while you're at it... That's all we want!"

"We understand that there are things races can and cannot do~ So, just do what you can~"

"Doing what I can, huh..."

"So, even though it's a bit presumptuous to ask someone who was forcibly brought here, if you have any knowledge that could help raise the level of civilization in this world... we would appreciate your advice."

Seeing the three of them bow, I felt a bit ashamed of my lack of knowledge.

"O-Of course! To be honest, I don't have much knowledge. I don't know what I can do, but if there's something I can contribute or notice, I'll help."

"Thank you. As the goddess of commerce, I mainly handle the knowledge of people from other worlds, so please consult me if you have anything."

"Hey, Riste? Are you trying to monopolize Loki-kun?"

"Even if you consult Riste, she can't directly interfere with the lower world, so it doesn't make much sense~ Do you have another purpose~?"

"N-No way! To spread useful knowledge, the power of commerce is necessary! Who else will help if not me!?"

In front of me, the three goddesses were arguing loudly.

While finding their behavior amusing, I thought about what I could do in this world—

Why did they specifically call me, a mere salesman with no knowledge of manufacturing, to this world?

Thank you very much for reporting the typos!

Although my stock has decreased, I still think I can post daily for about six months, so please enjoy the role-playing at a steady pace.