Xessian Synod.
The subsidiary body that supported this organization was known as the Church of Xess. The origin of this organization which emerged from Xessianism was said to have existed more than one thousand years ago. They were once the most influential organization in the Elluo Continent, and as the ones who governed faith, they controlled countries from behind the scenes. The aphorism on earth that 'nothing is absolute' seemed to apply in this world too, and the Synod was not an exception to it. The organization decayed thoroughly over many years and eventually collapsed.
Around two hundred years ago, the organization's power fell to the ground after going through an eighty-year-long religious war, which was followed by the dark ages, and finally, the period of the nobles' rise to prominence.
The Dark Ages.
The Levios family, a prominent noble in the eastern part of the continent, gathered the nobles in the surrounding area and opposed the Synod. Their slogan at that time was "Destroy the church, kill the priests, correct the believers." That was like the commission issued by the nobles to destroy the Synod.
Over the decades, the alliance's size grew larger and larger. Afterward, the alliance leader—the Levios family—represented the nobles and declared the establishment of a state. That event eighty years before the present time had marked the birth of the Levios Kingdom.
On the west side of the continent, the third son of a puny noble rose up and took action. He united the people by opposing the Synod using a different style and later established the Jinkaen Empire.
The present Elluo Continent had three major powers: Levios Kingdom, Jinkaen Empire, and Mamshred Federation. Two of the three were similar in that both opposed the Synod.
In future textbooks, Levios Kingdom would probably end up being written as the beginning of the separation of church and state.
I looked up at the church before my eyes and sighed.
「It's run-down.」
I'd heard that the Church of Xess in Nyuneri City was built slightly before the religious war, which later became known as the Navenpos' High Priesthood Disturbance, two hundred years ago. Considering the timeline, it would be more than two hundred years since this church had been built.
Also due to historical circumstances, there were no old churches in the Levios Kingdom. They were destroyed upon sight. In that regard, Quordentz's territory was quite special. Nobles from other territories apparently found it surprising that churches here had remained standing to this day.
Before we entered the church, I activated detection magic and counted the magic users just in case. When I scanned around the area, there was a single response from an establishment next to the church. As for my guards who were hiding nearby, I just ignored them.
「That over there is a convent.」
While I was looking at that establishment, Minith explained it for me. The size of that magic user's magic power didn't seem to be much, so there probably wouldn't be any problem.
「Will, what's the matter? Don't you want to come inside?」
「My bad, I was just thinking a bit. Let's go inside.」
I grabbed Minith's hand and passed through the widely left opened entrance of the church. This church always had its doors opened so that it's easy for first-time visitors to enter. I had never entered inside the church until now since I was scared of entering alone because I felt like I'd get brainwashed.
According to Minith, there was apparently a priest here who was excellent at speaking. I was hoping to hear some interesting episode or behind-the-scenes stories of the Synod.
「Hello.」
Passing through the entrance, an elderly woman standing nearby greeted us. She seemed to have discerned that we were newcomers, and she asked why we came here in a nice tone.
「My friend took me here few days ago.」
The elderly woman made an expression of understanding when Minith mentioned the name of her friend. It seemed that her friend was a devout believer.
「The great spirit of the sun, Whatenthsāma, anwered my prayers. I came here to offer my gratitude.」
Her response was clear and concise.
「Oh my, that's wonderful. Please wear a habit and proceed inside.」[1]
The elderly woman gave a sincere smile and beckoned us to proceed first. I was curious about her clothes. Perhaps she was a nun in the convent.
Churches under the Synod had a distinctive attire for its members, including the priests and the believers. Female members wore a completely black dress with wide sleeves along with a black veil. Male members dressed the same as the female members, but a shorter veil. It was possible to find yourself in a despairing situation where you'd feel aroused seeing someone's back figure, and then you'd realize that it was actually a man. What a dangerous thing.
「Do we change here?」
「Yup.」
There were religious habits provided for the guests, and they were separated based on their approximate size. Taking one that seemed to match my size, I hid in a nearby dressing partition and changed clothes. I stored my clothes inside a basket. My clothes weren't worth much, so I didn't care even if they were stolen.
The habit was slightly large, but since it was only borrowed, I could only put up with it. Lastly, I placed the black veil on my head and properly put away my hair. Just as I thought, this clothing really looked like a nun's clothing, so I felt like I was cross-dressing.
「It looks good on you, Will.」
「It looks good on you, too… Yup, cute.」
In Minith's case, the size was slightly small, so her curves were on display. Since her hair was also covered by veil, only her face was visible. Without the hair added in, a beautiful person would still be beautiful, while an ugly person would stand out all the more. Minith was beautiful, so I felt lucky.
I sensed that the other people were occationally looking in our direction. My gaze also unintentionally went to Minith's curvy ass.
Minith and I were beside one another as we went inside the church. We moved straight forward through the corridor which had a number of rooms without doors. Apparently, the altar area was located ahead.
Sculptures of different spirits were displayed in the corridor, and paintings that depicted nature's magnificence was hanged on the wall. Even though I wanted to stop and observe them, I still continued moving.
「I see that it's been properly maintained.」
The cleaning appeared to be thorough, and the corridor gave an impression of being clean without a speck of dust. When I looked at the laid out carpet, it was slightly old but well maintained. Its original material seemed to be high-quality.
The church gave an impression of experiencing honest poverty rather than simply poverty despite the fact that Holy Navenphos, the Synod's main headquarters, was in trouble due to economic collapse.
We proceeded through the corridor and entered the altar area. There was an altar for prayers at the very back, and it looked like the stage of a grade school's gymnasium. Candles and artwork objects were placed there.
The Synod's followers, also called Xessians, were required to worship once a day. They weren't required to come to church to pray, but it was apparently easier to pray when there's an object of worship rather praying while facing empty space, so that was why they gathered at the church.
Perhaps it was the time to offer prayers, there were many devotees waiting for their turn in front of the altar. I wasn't a believer, so there was no need to offer a prayer. I only came here to observe. Besides, even though I'd read about their doctrines and holy scripture, I didn't know their prayer etiquette.
「Hey, can I offer my prayers?」
「Mm?」
「My wish has been granted, so I think I should express my gratitude.」
Minith had prayed for my safety in my first campaign, so she apparently thought of expressing her thanks here in the church. She prayed towards the sun the other day, but she apparently wanted to pray here in the church just to be sure.
I momentarily considered lining up with her, but I saw that the devotees were silent as the dead while they waited for their turn. It would be impossible for me to join in that kind of atmosphere.
「Sure, go ahead… I'll go and explore the corridor and other rooms.」
After sending Minith in the waiting line in front of the altar, I'd decided to wander inside the church. I felt nervous before entering a room, but it was all good once I entered inside. After going inside a room facing the corridor, I looked around at the sculptures and paintings that were different from the ones displayed in the corridor.
「Oh?」
When I entered the next room, someone at the corner caught my attention. I didn't know whether the person was a man or a woman since I could only see the person's back figure. However, that person's religious habit didn't seem to match the person's size. A devout believer definitely would wear a habit that matched their size. I had a feeling that this person was like me, a first-time visitor. I felt a slight sense of fellow feeling, so I took a slightly long detour and moved in front of that person.
「Sir…?」
「Lupetta?」
Both our hairs were concealed by the veil, so the only way to identity the other person was through their face. However, there was no way I'd mistake Lupetta's beautiful looks and her silver colored eyes. I never imagined running into her in this kind of place.
「You're a Xessian?」
「I'm not. Sir is a follower despite being in the army? Is that okay?」
「It's not okay, and I'm not. I'm only here to observe. Are you also here to observe?」
「… Not really.」
Before I could ask what in the world did she come here for, Minith entered inside the room. She seemed to have been searching for me here and there, and she was short of breath.
「Will, sorry for making you wait.」
「It's alright.」
Upon slowly entering the room, Minith looked at us alternately. Then, her gaze shifted and remained on me. Her eyes weren't the eyes of a lover blaming her man for talking with another woman, but the eyes of a maid inquiring whether to step back.
While I was thinking on what to say, Lupetta's small lips moved first.
「Since Mergin's here, I'll be going… taking my leave now.」
With Minth inside the room, Lupetta probably thought of changing her tone to a polite one since we were no longer alone.
Without waiting for my reply, Lupetta left the room in a hurry. Outside the room, there was a tall man and two women wearing a religious habit. Assuming the man was Mergin, then one of the two women might be 'that woman' who caused Lupetta's stress. Assuming that my guess was right, then there might be something wrong in the heads of these adventurers, for the three of them to walk together so early after being released not too long ago.
Between the two women, the one in front, the woman who was suspected to be 'that woman', had her hair out in the open without covering it by veil. She made the right choice since her looks were average.
She had quite a nice body, but I didn't feel anything at all since she wasn't a beauty. Even with her hair out in the open, I felt like I wouldn't be able to sleep with her unless I restrained myself from sex for two days.
Which reminded me, there should've been only one magic user in the area. When I activated detection magic here to test it, no response came back from Mergin, Lupetta, and the woman in front. Perhaps their magic seals hadn't been released yet.
「Ah, Will. That woman over there is the priest who talked to me the other day.」
「Which one?」
「The one with her hair covered.」
Indeed, since the woman at the back had her hair covered by veil, it was correct to describe her as 'the one with her hair covered.' However, that wasn't the most appropriate way to describe her. If it was me, I'd describe her as 'the one with enormous breasts.'
There was a response from her when I activated a detection magic, and it was the same one that I sensed from the convent before I entered the church. She was a nun with magic power, so perhaps she also served as a priest.
The size of the busty woman's religious habit was probably the right one for her, but it was protruding due to her breasts, concealing her body lines. She probably had a slender figure based on her looks, but she appeared plump.
「Are you perhaps here to observe?」
The busty woman approached us. There was no telling the color of her hair since it was completely hidden by the veil, but her eyes were golden. I'd always been poor at guessing a woman's age, but she was probably around Minith's age if not slightly younger. She was a gentle beauty with a calm and kind looks.
Minith and I responded 'yes' to her question. Then, Minith told her that their conversation last time was interesting and implicitly indicated that this was her second time visiting.
「I feel very happy that there's a person who wants to learn the teachings of the spirits.」
She gave a gentle smile. It was a smile that was brimming with kindness, and it made my heart warm. I'd decided to add this busty woman in the target list in my head.
「If you could wait for a moment, I'd be able to tell you stories again. What do you think? 」
From her perspective, she'd be more than willing to talk if it meant more followers. Minith and I nodded and waited for the busty woman's storytelling.
When we left the church, it had already gotten quite dark outside.
The busty woman might be experienced in telling stories since she was good at speaking. The content was mainly about the stories of the spirits, but she also let us hears stories that were only handed down to the Synod, and they were very interesting. The busty woman put more effort into telling stories when she saw me enthusiastically taking notes on a wooden board. Her stories were worthwhile, so much that I considered giving a reward even if the other party belonged to the Synod.
「It's already dark.」
「Oh, you're right.」
Church facilities were lined up in a narrow area around this part. Moreover, there were also many churches other than the Church of Xess, so many areas were shadowed by these establishments. The sun hadn't completely disappeared yet, but the area had a gloomy impression when compared to the main street.
The crimson evening sky and the deep black shadow casted by the establishments made a peculiar contrast, and it made me feel anxious.
「Will.」
Minith grabbed my hand.
「I'll never forget this day…」
Minith smiled as the evening sky shined on the tears in her eyes.
I grabbed back Minith's hand and gently embraced her. Although it wasn't proper to flirt in front of a church, it couldn't be helped since I really wanted to hold her.
I see, so this was the mentality of those guys who flirted in public.
「I had fun today. I'm glad that I invited you, Minith.」
I pulled Minith inside the shadow of a building. The silence inside seemed as though it stopped even sound itself, and the sound of our kiss resounded especially loud.
「I also had fun.」
Minith gave a slightly shy smile.
Well, the fun was just about to begin.