Volume 2 Chapter 8 part2
It was the next morning .
The airship would depart at noon, but I had some free time until then, so I went sightseeing .
At any rate, it was easy for a distinct culture to thrive on a floating island .
The reason being that we had to use airships to go back and forth to other islands . At times, there were floating islands that didn’t have airships, so the people there built their own society by themselves .
There were also adventures set to discover such floating islands .
Though sometimes people with ill-intent would raid them .
No matter how much people tended to gloss over it, there were many adventurers who were wild .
Actually, I suppose I also destroyed some historical ruins in order to obtain Luxon back then .
I climbed up a stairway made of stone .
The gate and shrine I then saw were indeed reminiscent of Japan .
Since the floating island itself was styled after Japan, it made me feel as if I had stepped into a completely different world .
I spotted a shrine maiden cleaning the grounds .
She was an adorable shrine maiden who looked around ten years old .
“Hello . Is this the shrine for marriage?”
Once I asked that, the cute shrine maiden smiled and nodded her head .
“Yes . There’s a god of marriage . There’s also blessings for war and magic . ”
The god seemed appreciative of military personnel and magicians .
As I was heading towards the shrine to give my thanks, some people came by while I was talking with the shrine maiden .
“──Ah . ”
“So you’re here as well?”
“U, um . ”
While I could only let out a few syllables, Anjie looked at our faces while seeming troubled . It seemed she met Olivia below the stairway and then came up here .
The small shrine maiden greeted us with a smile .
“Ah, you’re the nobles from the academy . Um, do you know what to do?”
The cute shrine maiden politely proceeded to tell us what to do .
Ah~, this was soothing .
It was like it washed away all the outrageous things in this otome game world .
I came here to visit for that reason, but now the three of us were standing in front of an offertory box .
──This was awkward .
“W, we’re supposed to make an offering, right? How much?”
An embarrassed Anjie took out a gold coin from her purse .
Olivia looked at her .
“T, that much?”
“Is this not right? This much is normal in temples . ”
It was nice that temples were monotheistic, but didn’t reject other religions . I really did not want a religious war . This was the first time I thanked the lackluster setting for the world of that otome game .
While standing beside the two, I put in a roll of banknotes and some gold coins to repay for yesterday . Was I insane? I think not . In the game, paying a certain amount of money led to the protagonist’s likability with the capture target to drastically increase . Placing trust in such a blessing, I put in a great deal of money .
I only remembered it last night, and regretted that I hadn’t brought more money with me .
While the two were dumbfounded, I politely made my prayers .
“God, I won’t ask for anything luxurious . So please, please, let me have a wife! Please let me get married to a kind woman with good sense! I don’t want a woman who looks down on their husband and raises their child as if they’re a stranger . Please give me a suitable partner!”
My strong wish escaped from my mouth .
The two were shocked, but this was a very important matter for me .
Despite having done all I could, the results had gone awry and I had to suffer hardships, so please grant this wish to my pitiful self, god!
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While I frantically prayed, Anjie and Olivia also began praying next to me .
As expected, they didn’t voice out their wishes .
I wondered what the two would wish for .
I had no clue about Anjie’s prayer, but it probably had to do with marriage since that was what the shrine was for . As for Olivia──I wondered if she would get closer with anyone other than the worthless Greg and Brad .
No wait, there was little hope . Since Julian and Jilk were useless as well, that left only Chris as a candidate .
──Whatever, as long as Olivia is happy, then anyone is fine .
I just wanted the country to be saved .
I returned to thinking about my wish .
“If possible, make her chest big, and a narrow waist would be nice as well . It would be even better if she was slightly frisky! Honestly, I want an amorous adult who can pamper me and──”
Listening to my prayer of unstoppable desire, Anjie and Olivia pulled me by the ears and dragged me out in embarrassment .
“Wait! I didn’t say everything yet! There’s still more I want to say!”
Anjie’s face was bright red .
“W, what are you saying in front of a child, you idiot?!”
The young shrine maiden’s face was red as well .
That was pretty cute though, wasn’t it? No, I didn’t mean that in a twisted sense . I just found it precious that a girl was so pure .
Pure enough that it made me embarrassed of my own desires .
Olivia apologized to the shrine maiden .
“I’m sorry . Please forget what you just heard . ”
“U, umm, it, it’s okay . I was a surprised at a lot of it, but do your best!”
Right! I would do my best . I would do my best at seeking marriage .
I waved my hand at the smiling shrine maiden, and we descended the stairway
Returning to the luxury liner, I watched us leave the floating island from the deck .
I took out my charm and examined it .
Luxon, perhaps having interest in it, voiced out to me .
[It seems like it goes around your neck . ]
“Say, do you think this thing is blessed?”
[It’s not a bad thing to rely on something for spiritual reassurance . You shouldn’t rely too much on it, though . ]
It didn’t deny the existence of gods, but it seemed that it didn’t believe that the charm would result in good luck either .
I put it around my neck and looked up at the summer-like sun, squinting my eyes .
“It’s hot . ”
[It seems so . Anyways, I’m a bit curious . ]
“About what?”
[Could it be that you didn’t actively tackle the dungeon because you didn’t have that charm yet? Are you expecting some game-like effect?]
“I, idiot, that’s not it . ”
[Is that so? I’ve had my suspicions since you were constantly pushing back the retrieval of that ‘Holy Bracelet’ . ]
“Y, you really are a distrustful thing . ”
To be honest, I hadn’t challenged the dungeon any more than I needed to, hoping for an effect from the charm . I was expecting a game-like effect, but I didn’t really know if it would become a reality .
This was a little embarrassing .
“It’s hard to get to where the bracelet is . It’s a tough place for even the upperclassmen . I need to make preparations for safely retrieving it . ”
[Is that so? I’m worried since you’re not doing it in a hurry . I’m curious about how you’re not rushing it despite the threat of Marie . ]
If Marie played the game, she wouldn’t do anything stupid .
Originally, conquering the dungeon was something that would happen during the third school term .
At that point, I would earn money through the dungeon until the middle of my second school year .
[All things considered, I thought I would be able to unveil ”Schwert”, which I had taken great pains to make . ]
“Did you just arbitrarily give a name to that air bike? You know, the owner of that thing is me . Actually, you called it Schwert, right? I suppose it’s fine since I like the name, but what meaning does it have?”
[Master, do you know about how air bikes are compared to a fish? They’re likened to them because they’re small compared to an airship . ]
“I’ve heard about that . What about it?”
[No, it’s nothing . Schwert means sword . ]
“Ain’t that nice! I like it even more . That air bike has a pointed tip, so I feel like it matches well . ”
[Erm, I was actually going for a swordfish analogy──never mind . ]
I admired the naming sense of this thing .
“At any rate, you must have done quite a bit of remodeling . Maybe you can make it a metallic color . ”
[Sounds good . Would you like there to be some blue mixed in? Even better, I can take the rudder and──never mind . ]
“I’ll entrust the coloring to you . ”
[Leave it to me . Also, Schwert is a like a restless, moody horse, making it hard to regulate . Master, handle it with care . ]
What?
Did this thing cherish the air bike after having named and modified it?
Come to think of it, it also cherished Partner quite a bit as well .
I better not say anything bad about Partner or Schwert .