The Shrines inside the capital were always extremely busy, many of them even during the night. Daily prayers and offerings of the pious, and those that wished for blessings and good fortune. It didn’t really matter which saint you prayed to all the shrines would be crowded to some extent.
Plutia’s though was… Especially full… There were many reasons for this. She was the patron saint of healing, kindness, and purity. She was joyfully, childlike, and usually pleasant to be around. Practically speaking, she was the only saint who allowed for healing miracles as a tier 1 divine spell. And of course, aside from practicality… She was a girl… And tended to be one people liked to look at… Of course, lust lowered one’s divinity, but that didn’t stop everyone. Oddly as it may sound I also learned that apparently there are people who simply “appreciated beauty” without lust, which… Ok, I guess… I honestly didn’t really care, I just hated crowds… And lines… People… Pretty much everything about it honestly. The moment we arrived I was already feeling claustrophobic.
By the time we made it near the shrine, I was so stiff and tired from waiting in line that any emotions I had were pretty much gone… ‘What am I supposed to give… Like 10% of my earnings?’ I sighed pulling out 2 gold coins. And finding my hand holding on tight to them. ‘This is more money than I’ve donated up till now in my entire life…’ Letting out a soft groan I looked back towards Mochi. ‘Right, she doesn’t have anything. Actually, I should split the money I got from the bounties and the gear I sold. And the compensation too because why not. Together that was about 4 gold or something, so I’ll just give her 1 gold and 10 silvers, and she can throw in two silvers. I mean, I’m probably butchering the math with rounding but who cares really.’ I sighed, handing her the money. “This is the money they gave us from collecting the bounties on the bandits and selling off their gear, take half.”
A part of me thought she’d refuse or insist she didn’t deserve it… But just like everything else I told her to do, she followed without hesitation. ‘I’m going to have to be extra careful with what I say to her…’
She hurriedly pocketed the money.
“Being careful with money is good… But don’t worry too much alright.”
“Hm… What is too much… I don’t get it…”
‘Good point…’ “Just… Forget it…” I sighed. “Still, you shouldn’t have to worry about thieves, remember that needle spell you used to keep track of me? Just use that on the coin purse. Still, pickpockets aren’t really a thing anymore since everyone just uses storage magic. I’ll enchant a ring or something for you later.”
“If they won’t steal… Then why are they all staring…”
‘Why are they…’ As I looked around I suddenly became aware of their eyes. They weren’t staring exactly, but we were definitely pulling attention. We were hard to ignore. ‘No one would be able to recognize me… And they shouldn’t know Mochi either.’ “Maybe they just think you're cute,” I said half-jokingly, pulling her closer as I continued to track their eyes. ‘It’s not like I showed up to the temple in my underwear… And there are other people dressed worse than me… My arms are the only thing not covered… So it’s not my clothes… Sure I gave Mochi some money, but it’s hardly anything compared to the higher-ranking adventurers that come here. Besides, there is no way THAT many people are marking me.’
I turned back to Mochi who looked like she had partially died again. ‘Shouldn’t she like being called cute? Why does she look so dead inside when I try to compliment her…’
Finally, it was our turn. At the end of the line was a large stone altar, I threw the coins in through slits on the top and folded my hands, lowering my head. ‘I fully expect you to do something good with this money… You hear me Plutia… Don’t let me down ok… And thanks.’
When I opened my eyes I noticed that Mochi had caught on and copied me, when she was done praying as well the coins turned to glistening light and ascended into the sky… Also known as Plutias storage, more or less.
After we stepped to the side I began to focus on the people's stares again. ‘What’s with them… Seriously…’ Someone grabbed my shirt from behind and in the same breath I spun around and flipped them onto the hard stone floor. ‘Who would try to pull something here?’
Mochi poked me in the arm and pointed. At the person, who was clearly disy, and waiting to stand back up, wearing the robes of priestess.
“Oh my goodness… I just took out a hollywoman…”
“Does this mean you're a fallen angel now?”
“Are my eyes turning red…” ‘I didn’t throw her that hard though…’ I groaned, looking back at her. ‘I’m not an angel, to begin with… I’m human…’
She looked at my eyes intently for a moment before glancing away again. “I-I’m sorry… I can’t tell…”
‘Is she color blind? I should worry about that later…’ “What should we do?” I asked, thinking out loud as I slowly stepped closer to the girl on the ground and checked to make sure she wasn’t injured. ‘I would have thought she would have gotten up by now. She didn’t hit her head, she’s just exhausted.’
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“We should probably visit the shrine again and repent.”
‘That doesn’t sound right…’ I glanced back at the long line. ‘Let’s not…’ “No, we need to make sure she’s alright first… And we should probably figure out what she needed.” I lightly tapped her cheek a few times. “Hey, are you alright? I’m really sorry about that.” ‘Why is she so cold?
“I think I’m fine… I’m just a little dizzy…”
‘Her hands are cold… too… They aren’t black though. She must have just used divine magic.’ I helped her stand back up and steadied her. “You will be fine… But you need some rest first, and with these symptoms, you shouldn’t use any more miracles today.” ‘People wouldn’t come here for healing though… So who was she even using them on? No… Actually, I bet people would come here for healing. Especially if they were too poor. Since this is a shrine they feel obligated to help the needy, and all the more so because of whose shrine this is…’
She blinked so slowly that I almost thought she would fall asleep. “Margret!” A girl yelled jogging over rather athletically. “Oh no, did she collapse?”
‘Did no one see what happened? Well… It was a pretty smooth takedown after all.’ “Oh, uh… Yeah, something like that…”
She filled her hands and I felt divine light start to form around her before I suddenly grabbed her hands and flicked her forehead. “I already sent mana into her body and warmed her up, she’s just tired. There’s no point in trying to use divine magic to fix a problem caused by using divine magic…”
‘In the end, it will just end up with another person in this condition. Miracles aren’t something easy on the body. They are more taxing than mana in some ways…’
The girl slowly rubbed her forehead, still completely uncertain as to what exactly she was supposed to do. I just sighed. ‘Right… No need for any higher leveled priests to be here, the shrine maidens here would most likely only be here because they aren’t strong enough yet to handle more difficult tasks than healing the flu or watching over offerings.’ “Just take her somewhere to lay down and cover her with a few blankets… Oh, and, she reached out to me before this, do you know what that was about?”
She picked the unconscious girl up like it was nothing and thought for a moment before her eyes widened. “Oh, Plutia told her to go find a couple of girls that look like you two, so she was probably going to convey that. She is disguised as a shrine maiden right now, so she’s over there, see the big sign that says free candy for children.”
‘Of course she is…’ I sighed again. “I’ll do that then… You should get going.” She took a step away before I quickly grabbed her arm holding her back. ‘Hold on, she’s strong… Her arms are huge.’
“U-uhm…” Her face turned slightly red as I stared at her in silence. ‘Oh… Right… I should tell her why I did that all of a sudden…’ “You…” I grabbed her hand, still holding onto her arm. ‘It’s not bad yet, but I’m glad I stopped her earlier…’ “Make sure you get some rest too…” ‘Really… The clergy here really are just too selfless…’
She nervously nodded and as I sent them away I patted Mochi on the shoulder and pointed to the candy stand. “What do you think, I bet if we pretend to be children they’ll buy it and give us free candy.”
“Miss Chika… That sounds like lying…”
‘Raised by bandits and flogged for being a criminal huh…’ I let out an annoyed groan. “You’re right… Let’s just go…”
Of course, there was another line… This time though Mochi seemed fidgety, instead of standing still like a doll. ‘Is she excited to get candy? It’s good to see her like that.’
“You said I can ask you things right?”
“Yeah…”
“Why did that girl fall asleep like that?”
‘Oh… She wasn’t excited just nervous about asking a question…’ I shifted my weight, placing a hand on my hip and leaning away from her, holding her hand out of habit. ‘Really it would be better if we just waited and let Plutia explain this… But I think it’s going to be a while… And I don’t want her to be any more shy because I didn’t answer…’ “So… It’s like… Remember when you prayed, and then that big flash of light happened and you got really cold?”
She stared at me blankly. “Flash of light?”
‘She doesn’t? I felt like that was kind of a big event…’ “Uhm… Ok, have you ever used up all your mana and felt really tired all of a sudden?”
“Uhm… I’m usually really tired before I use my mana too though…”
‘This shouldn’t be that hard to explain…’ “You know how like, when you wake up in the morning and you’re still kind of tired?”
“Why would I be tired when I wake up? The whole point of sleeping is to stop being tired isn’t it?”
‘This kid… I’m not even annoyed… I just… Feel bad…’ I took a deep breath as the line inched ever closer. ‘Ahh… I bet she’ll get this one.’ “You know how after you fall down, like if you trip and fall down the stairs, you hit the ground and sometimes you kind of want to lay there for a while instead of getting up?”
She shook her head. “But what if someone else falls down the stairs too? Then they would land right on top of you and it would hurt even more.”
“When you use divine powers a lot it makes your body get cold and you get really sleepy…”
“Ohhh…” She raised a finger under her chin and slightly tilted her head. “I still don’t get it…”
‘Well… I guess it’s a good thing I never tried to become a teacher…’
From out of nowhere someone suddenly plopped a hard candy into her mouth making her freez, her eyes going wide as her ears started to flutter and twitch. It only took me a few seconds to realize it was Plutia, wearing modest shrine maidens clothes, but still mimicking my black and grey hair, only with a much taller and more… Robust figure. “Mortal bodies consist of the mind, the body, and the soul. Physical arts are applied through the body, while magic is applied through the mind. Curses are manifestations of a soul. Miracles though, are a combination of a good soul, combined with a mind that allows the soul's intention to take shape, and lastly, the body, which becomes a temple to channel those intentions. As a result. Since the power is divine. It causes the impurities in the soul to burn, however, a soul burning feels cold and empty.”
“Plutia… If she didn’t even understand my explanation, there’s no way she’ll get–”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
‘Now I’m annoyed…’ Plutia chuckled, sticking candy in my mouth as well. As silly as it was… It was sweet… And it did make me less annoyed. ‘Did she bless the candy? I wouldn’t put it past her…’
As if reading my thoughts through my eyes she chuckled again, covering her mouth. “It’s perfectly normal candy,” she said softly, grabbing our hands and bouncing a few steps away, dragging us along behind her. “This way this way! I have something to show you girls!”
‘One girl that’s older than me but looks like a kid… And another that’s hundreds of years old… And acts like a kid… How did I end up stuck between these two…’