CH 3.1

CHAPTER 3 – PRAYER AND BETRAYAL

PART 01

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“So, shall we hurry to exterminate the ‘monster’?” Baa-kun asked brightly the moment we reached Ziz village.

“Can’t…” I replied.

“My calves are stinging…” Satsuki added.

“I don’t think I can stand without my staff…” Harissa complained.

“*pant…pant…*,” Tetra panted.

And thus, though we had reached the underground village, none of us were in the right condition to exterminate the “monster”.

“Hmm~. The seal may be weak, but I think it’ll be able to hold out for another day. Shall we rest for tonight and head out tomorrow?”

“How can you be sure of that, Baa-kun? We’ve barely even stepped foot into the village.”

Tetra had said that the “sealed space” was located at the back of the temple.

“It’s just a guess,” Baa-kun waved off my concern easily.

Well, it was true that I wished to rest as well, so I was grateful for this decision.

With lightened steps, we finally entered Ziz village.

~~~~~

Ziz village was a tiny community located in an empty cavern underground. Since it was basically located inside a cave, I had the impression that the entire village would fit snugly inside a large stadium.

Most of the buildings were constructed out of stone and mud, topped with round roofs, and were all short in stature.

“There doesn’t seem to be many people around,” I muttered as we walked through the village.

“Yes. Since the village is built inside a cave, we aren’t able to expand, so the population has remained small,” Tetra replied, her expression slightly glum.

“By the way, what is this light that’s shining throughout the village? It’s not fire, nor is it electrical in origin…?” Satsuki asked.

“There’s no real source of light. It’s one thing left to us by the gods, that the entire village will always be bathed in light.”

“Even when you go to bed?”

“…? Then we just need to close our eyes,” Tetra replied.

I guess you just had to get used to it.

Just then, a man, probably one of the villagers, headed towards us from the opposite direction.

As he passed us, we gave each other a customary nod before moving off.

But I noticed how the man spared us no more than a simple glance before hurrying away.

“…This feels different from that time when I went to Harissa’s world.”

Back then, everyone had stared at me unabashedly.

Due to the fact that we lived under the sun, our skin color was definitely different from the pasty tone of Tetra’s people, so it must be obvious that we were outsiders. Didn’t they feel the least bit of curiosity with regards to our presence in their village?

While I was pondering this, Tetra, who had been walking ahead of us, suddenly came to a stop.

“This is Ziz village’s temple.”

“Wow.”

I looked up at the large building, standing tall amidst the short structures we’d passed so far.

It slightly resembled a Grecian temple that I’d seen before in my history and art textbooks, an enormous construction dwarfing the surrounding homes. Its roof and pillars were decorated with carvings, and the material used to build it didn’t seem like something which could be found underground.

“This looks like it had been moved in from somewhere else.”

“Tetra thinks so too, but couldn’t find any information when she was doing research on this place. She thinks it’s probably because the temple houses one of the works of the Gods.”

“I see.”

It did sound interesting…but at this moment, I just wanted to rest.

Since Ziz village didn’t have any sort of inn, we had to spend the night in an empty room within the temple. As per Tetra’s directions, some villagers moved in some furniture before we were led inside, but…

“Erm, Tetra… Is there only one empty room?”

“Yes.”

“And there are only two beds inside?”

“Tetra apologizes. These are the only spare beds in the entire village.”

Well, since it was a tiny village, I guess it couldn’t be helped.

Of course, I didn’t wish to impose anymore on Tetra’s hospitality, but,

“……”

“Whoa.”

The way Satsuki and Harissa were staring at those beds was just too scary.

“Alright, good night, everyone.”

With a bow, Tetra quietly left the room. Until the moment she shut the door, nobody in the room spoke a word.

But the silence didn’t last long. Satsuki’s expression turned serious as she turned towards Harissa.

“Harissa-chan dislikes tight spaces, right? Why don’t I share with Rekka…”

“No! If we are going to split 2-to-1, then I’ll be with Rekka-sama…”

“It’s alright. Rekka and I have been sleeping together since we were children…”

“My family was poor too, so I’m used to sleeping in the same bed as my siblings…”

“No no no.”

“No no no.”

Their compromise dragged on, with both running down parallel lines.

I tried to intervene,

“Why don’t I sleep on the floor, and you two can each take a bed…”

“You need to exterminate the ‘monster’ tomorrow, right? How can you rest well if you sleep on a stone floor?”

“That’s right. Rekka-sama is just too nice… In fact, if you don’t mind, I’d like to share a bed with you when we go…”

Harissa’s voice trailed off into an unintelligible mumble.

And my suggestion was thus dismissed. Harissa’s face had turned a bright red, and I wondered what it was she wished to say.

“Erm… Why don’t I go take a walk while you two come to a decision?”

With that, I hurriedly left the room.