Chapter 455 After the Tribute to the Gods, Return to Carelina

Gumihou: The general edit here is mostly smoothing out paragraphs and making the chapter more lively.

My familiars went to rest early.

Tomorrow, we will be on our way back to Carelina.

As for myself, well, I’d like to go to bed early too, but I still have one more job to do. I sat in the living room with boxes of tribute around me and called out, “Thank you for waiting, Everyone~”

“I’ve been waiting and waiting!”

“I’m looking forward to this~”

“Oh, hey! You’re here!”

“… you’re here.”

“Alright! We’ve been waiting!”

“Fuhahaha! You’re here!”

The replies bombarded me from all directions. It certainly felt like they had been sitting by the door, waiting for the delivery man to arrive.

“Speaking of which, thank you for donating to our churches in this town,” said Kishar-sama.

“Ou!”

“Thank you.”

“Well done, you!”

Came the voices of other goddesses.

“From us too,”

“Yeah!”

Since they do not have formal churches or temples, it was rare for Hephaestus-sama or Vahagn-sama to receive monetary support.

For some reason, I suddenly felt a little awkward receiving their gratitude.

“No, no, I mean, money is no objection for me, and well, I ought to give back a little to society.”

“…if you have that much money, you should increase our budget…”

“… …” I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Ninril-sama. [1] In the first place, I already feel bad feeding you 40,000 yen worth of sweets each month. From what I hear, you consume the three boxes of desserts and candy within two weeks. You’re just a black hole for sweets. Consider this my way of taking some responsibility for your health.

“Ah, speaking of which, I found a church (?) of Pharmacology? Is there a God of Pharmacology?”

“Ah~ yes, there is.”

“Hoho, I nearly forgot about him.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.”

“That fellow just shuts himself in his temple and never comes out.”

Okay…?

“It’s been 500 years since I’ve seen him,” said Hephaestus-sama.

“He does nothing but conducts research in his rooms,” said Vahagn-sama.

Okay…?? So, gods could be shut-ins too, huh?

“Um, so, I’d like to know. Is there a god called ‘Rubanov’?”

“Nah,”

“That’s just a human-made thing to cheat money off people.”

“Nope.”

“A cult…”

“Wahahaha! Well said, Rusalka! Indeed, they are a bloody cult! Those damn cultists are always trying to persecute my main followers, the dwarves.”

“As gods and goddesses of this world, we accept the worship of all sentient beings,” said Kishar-sama. “Take the Fenrir for example, he’s a follower of Ninril.”

“I see,” since the religion, no, no, the cult was man-made, they could just say whatever they want about the Rubanov religion. I guess I should keep a wary eye on them for the moment.

“That’s right, one other thing. Is there a church for the God of Creation?” For a god powerful enough to punish this whole pantheon, I was surprised not to find a single church dedicated to him.

“Ahh~ well~~”

“I supposed that’s because Demiurgos-sama seldom meddles with the world below?

“That’s right, very few people were ever blessed.” [1]

“Demiurgos-sama is almost unknown to the humans…”

“…local legends…”

“We did ask the Creation God if it bothered him to only be known in local legends, but well…”

“Demiurgos-sama really did not seem to care about it…” [1]

W-well, since God himself did not care about it, let’s not think about it anymore!

“Ahem, I shall hand over the offerings in the usual order. Ninril-sama?”

“Yes! Here, here, here! I’ve been waiting~! My cakes and dorayaki~!” [2]

“Ninril-sama, I don’t want to say this, but don’t you think you’re overindulging a bit?”

“W-what are you talking about? Don’t you know the luxury of eating one whole cake by yourself?”

“… …”

Haahhh….

Anyway, for anyone interested, Ninril-sama’s offerings included the following:

Whole cakes: Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Cake

Also, since Fujiya was having a Local Fruits Fair:

Limited Edition Pineapple Chiffon Cakes, Sweet Summer Tarts, Japanese Melon Roll Cakes etc

Finally, as many and varied kinds of Dorayaki as possible with whatever remaining budget.

After placing the cardboard boxes of desserts on the living room table, I put my hands together and said, “Please accept this, Ninril-sama.”

“My long-awaited desserts and sweets~~ Kyaa~~” [2]

“Hey, are you seriously going to eat them here?”

“Why not? I can’t wait, ufufu, let’s have one Dorayaki first~~”

Let’s ignore that Deplorable-sama.

“Kishar-sama, here are my offerings to you.”

The much smaller box felt heavy. However, most of the weight came from the glass containers of the special ST-III lotions as well as their sturdy and stylish packaging. This goddess clearly knew what she wanted and ordered large bottles of everything she likes. It’s slightly more economical (?) but still too expensive for my taste. [3] [3]

“Ufufufu, I shall use you well tonight~~”

That was the last I heard from her.

Right, moving on.

“Agni-sama, your beer.”

As usual, in addition to the Goddess of Fire’s usual regular beers, I included a ‘tasting set’ of local and imported beers. Just for a little variety. I also included a case of a special, slightly more expensive premium beer gift set.

Since Agni-sama was clever enough to get her servants to make the beer snacks, she could dedicate her entire budget to just beer.

“Nice!” came Agni-sama’s excited voice. “What a haul! What a haul! I shall drink well tonight~!”

Aaaaand, she was gone.

“I am next. My cakes and ice-creams, please.”

Ah, Ruka-sama is always polite, even though I can hear the undercurrent of excitement in her voice.

“Yes, Ruka-sama. I have included all of Fujiya’s Limited Edition cakes as well as a variety of ice-creams from the standard [Net Super] and Fujiya market. Please enjoy.”

“Thank you, I shall accept it.”

The boxes of desserts disappeared. It was followed by a fading pattering of footsteps. Ah, Ruka-sama must be running off to enjoy her desserts~~

“Now…”

“Us next!!”

“Fuhahaha! Let’s see what you have for us!!”

Well, in addition to their standing order of ‘Best Whiskey in the World’ I have included [4] 6 bottles of high-end, higher-quality whiskeys. The remaining budget was spent on ‘competitively priced’ goods. 

After placing the heavy boxes on the table, I put my hands together and said, “Here are your much-awaited whiskeys. Please accept them.”

“Ou!!”

“Finally! Let’s drink up tonight!”

“Let’s drink till morning!”

“Let’s goo!!”

Phew, these gods certainly were energetic.

Finally, there’s Demiurgos-sama’s share.

Since I have a bit more time and budget thanks to Demiurgos-sama’s tips, I decided to be more generous.

Sake:

5 bottles of Daiginjo

5 bottles of Niigata sake

A tasting sake (dry) set from all over Japan

Plum Wine: 

A long-selling product for over 50 years

A special product with a peach like aroma and strong taste.

Fragrant plum wine made with Koume brandy

Plum wine made with cloudy sake and enriched with sugar and honey

Snacks:

Premium Canned Goods (assorted)

“Right,” after placing the heavy bottles and cans on the table, I put my hands together to pray, “Demiurgos-sama, thank you for waiting. Please accept these gifts.”

“Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh, as always, I’ve troubled you~”

“No, no, I have received many things from you. Rather than that, at the lowest floor, there was a…”

“Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh, indeed, indeed, well, I never thought he would end up as your companion~ Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh.”

“No, no, I mean, he’s an Ancient Dragon, you know? What am I supposed to do with an Ancient Dragon?” [5]

“Well, well, things have become even more interesting, eh?”

“What do you mean by that…”

“Oho, perhaps amusing is a better word? Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh.”

“Wait… for real?! Did you give me that oracle for your entertainment?!”

“Oh my, the connection seemed to be breaking up. Till next time~ Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh~~”

“… …” what the heck?

Whatever, I’m not going to think about it anymore.

Let’s go to sleep.

Finally, it was time to return to Carelina!!

First, I made a stop at the Merchant’s Guild to drop off the keys before heading towards the Adventurer’s Guild as promised. I found Tristan-san and Bartolomeo-san there.

“Thank you both for your assistance during my stay,” I thanked them formally.

“Well, well, enough about that. Thank you for dropping by, but Carelina is a long way away, I expect you’ll want to leave quickly?” said the ever-practical Tristan-san.

“Well, I think it should be fine? Grandpa Gon will be flying us there. I expect to reach Carelina on the same day, if not, by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Hic!”

Both Tristan and Bartolomeo looked very shocked at this.

“Wh-whaaaaatttt??? C-contact! Contact everyone, quickly nowwww!!”

“Eh?” I watched, baffled as Tristan-san ran out the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Hahhh…” Bartolomeo-san sighed.

“Eh?”

“Ahem, you… understand that… Grandpa Gon is an Ancient Dragon, right?”

“Yes…?”

“That he… that if you intend to return to Carelina by flying… wouldn’t he be seen by the masses?” [2]

“Yes… ack!”

“I see you understand.”

“Indeed, indeed I do, ahem, apologies…”

“No, no, no apologies needed, really,” said Bartolomeo with a wry smile. “Only, I ask that Mukouda-san please inform the Adventurer’s Guild in advance whenever you travel via dragon…”

“Yes, yes, I understand…”

Goodness, I never even thought of this. Well, luckily Tristan-san was sharp and caught on to it before I committed a social faux pas and caused everyone to panic unnecessarily.

Anyway, there was nothing I could do to assist Tristan-san, so after a final farewell to Bartolomeo-san, my party headed outside the city walls. We found a nice bit of grassy area with no Adventurers around and stood back, away from Grandpa Gon.

“Right, I shall now return to my original size.”

With that, Grandpa Gon’s entire body was suddenly suffused with light. In a flash, he was suddenly that gigantic pillar from before.

“How…” this is not scientific at all!!??

“Master, do get on my back with everyone.”

[6] “Humph, but before that,” Fer jerked his snout at me. “Get on my back first, I’ll take you up.”

[6] Indeed, even with the Ancient Dragon crouching down, I’d have difficulty climbing up. Not to mention… it would look awfully clumsy…

[6] “I’ll take you up on that offer,” I said and climbed onto Fer’s back with Sui in my leather bag.

Fer leapt nimbly up the dragon and soon, we were sitting at the shoulder blades area. [6] [2]

“Right, hold tight,” said Grandpa Gon as he straightened.

“Wait, no!” I cried.

“What now?” muttered Fer.

“I mean, if we’re going to reach Carelina in a day. Wouldn’t that mean really, really high speed? I could get blown away?!”

“It’s fine, I’ve already put up a barrier,” Fer sighed. “My master is so weak…”

“Hey, I heard that,” I grumbled as I slipped off Fer’s back to sit on the polished, scaled body.

“By the way, this barrier only blocks the wind. You’d do well to avoid falling.”

“FER?!”

[6] ““Look, look, the city looks so small from here~””

“Sui!! Sui get down here! Get down from the dragon’s shoulder- eeekk!!!”

“And off we go,” said Fer with a satisfied smile.

“NOOOOO!!!!”

[Gumihou: Deleted over 150 words from the ending. It’s mostly ‘yay, yay~ we’re so high~’ forced comedic moments]

[1] Reduce the rather pointless talk about Demiurgos-sama’s being worshipped or not by humans.

[2] Random deletes

[3] Deleted 300 words on cosmetics. It was mostly repeats of ‘bought 50ml instead of 30ml~’

[4] Deleted 200 words of xxx whiskey and yyy whiskey

[5] Rather circular conversation around the Ancient Dragon that literally went nowhere.

[6] Adjust climbing onto the Dragon’s back scene to something more dynamic than, wow, yes, great.

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