第６５０堀：お花摘み＞＞絶対越えられない壁＞＞＞宝玉 (Part2)
"Even so, the only thing left is what to do with the captured jewel. Notifications to the various nations and churches are matters for the head temple—that is, the Archbishop—to handle, and the future steering of the country should be left to the representatives of the nations."
"You're right, Yuki. But the handling of that jewel is the biggest problem. Aside from Hairen, the Mad King is in there too. It’s a blessing in disguise that you and your people managed to secure it without touching it directly."
As Souta-san said, the jewel, still attached to the severed arm of RS, had been isolated with the same extreme caution one would use for a bomb, with no one daring to touch it. I had heard from RS himself that he had gained revelations by touching the jewel. Who would want to touch that?
And so, the question of what to do with it arose. Personally, I thought it would be best to just toss it into a blast furnace and incinerate it, but I couldn't say that in front of Souta-san and the others, who insisted their comrade was trapped inside. They might agree that such a disposal was a necessary evil in the worst-case scenario, but they wouldn't accept giving up from the start.
*“You talk about ‘what to do,’ but honestly, I think the only way is to either crush it or hold a memorial service. It’s best to dispose of something that causes mental corruption just by touching it, isn't it?”*
Before I could say it, Sui bluntly stated the difficult truth. Perhaps Souta-san understood this as well, as he opened his mouth with a troubled expression.
"I know that. But Hairen, who awakened our ego and freed us from the Mad King’s brainwashing, is also inside that jewel. You understand that, don't you, Sui?"
*“I suppose. I can feel the presence of that Goddess’s offspring. But the Mad King’s presence is far stronger.”*
"What do you mean, Sui?"
"Can you even tell the power balance?"
Sui’s unexpected words piqued the interest of both Souta-san and myself. It was impressive that she could discern the power balance between the Mad King Aquenoque and the Goddess Hairen, who were apparently trapped inside this dungeon core, just by looking at it.
*“If it were an average person, maybe not, but surely Souta and Yuki can tell? You should look closely.”*
Prompted by this, we had Steve bring over the jewel—still attached to the severed arm—which we had been keeping under strict guard, and we stared at it. The relaxed atmosphere from our meal vanished, and everyone else began to watch with serious, guarded expressions.
"I can't see anything. How about you, Ria?"
"Not at all. Amanda, what about you?"
"No. Nothing..."
Deryu, Ria, and Amanda just tilted their heads.
"It’s broken, and touching it is forbidden. But even just looking at it, I feel nothing. Vilia, can you see anything?"
"Unfortunately, I don't think I can be of any help to you, Brother."
"...I don't understand it either."
Agil, Vilia, and Dressa seemed to be in the same boat.
"I also do not see any difference in the jewel."
"Same here. Hiiro, what do you think?"
"Just a broken core. So, what do you and Grandpa Souta see?"
Princess Carrie and Her Highness Stasia couldn't see anything either, and when I finally asked Hiiro, the turn came back to us.
"No, honestly, I don't know."
"Same as Yuki, I don't know either. Sui, how are we supposed to see it?"
*“...How should I put it? It’s less like magic power and more like feeling a divine realm. I thought that since Yuki serves Lady Luna and Souta used to worship me, you might be able to...”*
Ah, hearing that, we both shook our heads. There was no way we could see it. I don't exactly "serve" that useless goddess Luna; it’s more like a business contract, so there’s no sense of reverence or anything like that. And from what I heard from the younger Souta-san about his meeting with Sui, she was more like a comrade-in-arms he finally met in another world rather than a deity to be worshipped.
While we were occupied with this, Kagura and Mikos, who had finished transporting Enora, returned.
"Yuki. I'm sorry. About Enora being like that."
"Don't worry about it. She ate something delicious, so that’s bound to happen. You two have experience with that, right?"
"...Well, yeah."
"Ah, ahaha..."
Kagura looked away, and Mikos let out a dry laugh. In Weed, Kagura had become a drunkard, and when Mikos visited Weed, she had eaten until she collapsed. Neither of them was in a position to judge. Let’s just be happy that Japanese food is the best in the other world!
"M-more importantly, what are you all doing?"
"Y-yeah. Oh, is that the jewel?"
They looked at the jewel with the arm on the table as if to distract us. Since I had no intention of pressing them, I explained why we were looking at the jewel, and then...
"I see~! Oh, Mikos-chan has an idea. Kagura, you were a shrine maiden for Sui-sama, right?"
"Eh? I was, but I don't see anything either?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kagura, you’re a bit dense about these things. Don't you need to perform a proper ritual? You know, like changing your clothes?"
"When you say clothes, it's just a shrine maiden outfit, right?"
Kagura claimed Mikos’s guess was off the mark, but Souta-san and I didn't think so.
"“No, please, give it a try.”"
Prompted by us, Kagura hurriedly changed into her shrine maiden outfit and began preparing to observe the jewel. While she did that, we called for Steve and the others to set up a defensive perimeter in case something happened...
"Come to think of it, my wife, Arge-dono, and the Archbishop haven't returned."
"Ah, they've been groaning about something for a while, so I left them alone. Oh, of course, the guards are nearby, so don't worry."
"My apologies."
For that reason, the leaders of the Hairen Church remained unaware of the jewel as the situation progressed. Is that really okay, Hairen Church? Well, it might look like a strange story, but it’s just a matter of preparing before doing something important. Most people would rather use the bathroom before handling an important task than hold it in while doing so, right?