“I’ve always wanted to see what it was like there,” Rouge said, holding my hand as we walked towards the Reese Cathedral, one of the Royal Capital’s tourist attractions. People we passed kept staring at us, but I’m starting to get used to it.
“Rouge, are you a follower of the Divine Blessing Church?”
“Huh? I think it’s more unusual not to be a follower… Hugh, you received your Skill at a church too, right?”
“Ah, right. I guess it’s like a baptism…”
“Besides that, there’s the greeting before meals, the year count, holidays, and so on. I think the teachings of the Divine Blessing Church are everywhere, even if Hugh doesn’t realize it.”
“I see.”
So the Divine Blessing Church is rooted in every aspect of daily life, and everyone who unconsciously practices it is a follower of the Divine Blessing Church.
Come to think of it, the greeting before meals that I’ve been doing since I was a child is a prayer to the gods, and the death anniversary of a saint appointed by the Divine Blessing Church is a holiday. It’s something you don’t realize unless you’re conscious of it.
“Of course, I don’t go to church often to pray. I think most people are like me and Hugh, right?”
“Then why did you want to go to the cathedral?”
“When I was a child, I used to look down at that spire from my room window. I’ve always been curious about what kind of place it was.”
“I see.”
Looking down at the spire of that Grand Cathedral, she must have lived in a very high place. And the only building taller than that spire is the Royal Castle. It’s pointless to nitpick, yeah.
After walking for a while, the entire view finally came into sight. It was still large compared to the surrounding buildings. The area was landscaped with parks, and the white Grand Cathedral stood tall amidst the lush greenery.
“Wow! It’s huge, Hugh!”
“It’s truly magnificent when you get up close…!”
We both stared up at the spire, our mouths agape.
It was smaller than the hundreds of meters tall towers and skyscrapers I saw in my previous life, but it was still probably about 80 meters tall. It was a magnificent building, on par with the Royal Castle and the Royal Academy.
If this were my previous life, I’d want to take a commemorative photo here, but unfortunately, photos don’t exist in this world yet…
If I switched my Skill to «Photographer», would I be able to create a photo…?
Since I was able to switch to the «Ninja» Skill, it seems like I could switch Skills even if the concept of photography doesn’t exist in this world, but… no, it would be the worst if I did something reckless and got another headache. I should avoid unnecessary adventures.
“Hugh, what are you doing? I’m going ahead?”
While I was thinking, Rouge had gone ahead and was waving her hand while hopping around, looking back at me. Cute.
Damn, I wish I could at least capture it in a drawing, but I can’t go to an art supply store now, and more importantly, I don’t have the money. I wanted to leave a record of my memories with Rouge…
I gave up and followed Rouge. The Grand Cathedral was bustling with people in travel attire, as it was a tourist attraction.
We paid the entrance fee, which was a donation, and entered the Grand Cathedral. It was quite expensive, but we couldn’t come all this way and not see the inside. …The money my father gave me is about to run out, what should I do…?
“Whoa, it’s beautiful!”
As soon as we entered the Grand Cathedral, what caught our eyes was a huge, colorful stained glass window. The intricately patterned designs, illuminated by the sunlight, sparkled so fantastically that I couldn’t help but stop and stare.
This was the most beautiful stained glass I’ve ever seen, including my previous life. There were stained glass windows in the churches in the Pnosis Territory, but they were small window-sized, nothing like this.
Not only the stained glass, but also the altar and every single intricately designed pillar were incomparably more magnificent than the churches in the Pnosis Territory. The sculptures of gods were palm-sized in my hometown, but here they were huge Goddess Statues about 3 meters tall…
“…Huh? A Goddess Statue?”
A question mark appeared, and I looked at the huge statue again.
Yeah, it’s definitely a Goddess Statue. The face is feminine, and there’s a modest bulge in the chest. She’s wearing a seductive and mysterious outfit that looks like just a cloth wrapped around her body.
“What’s wrong, Hugh?”
“That statue is a god, right?”
“Yes, it is. I think they’re in every church, but didn’t your local church have one, Hugh?”
“Well, there was a palm-sized one, but not like this…”
The church in the Pnosis Territory. Was the statue placed on the altar in the chapel a goddess? …No, I don’t have such a memory. Or rather, the voice I heard when I received my Skill sounded like a man’s voice.
When I explained that, Rouge raised her index finger with a knowing look,
“Ah, that’s because—”
“That’s because the gods are male and female, boys and girls, old fathers and old mothers!”
“My explanation was taken!?”
Rouge was shocked as we turned around.
There stood a girl with an impressive cherry-blossom-colored drill-like twin tail, dressed in a pure white nun’s habit.