Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Makoto Takatsuki Speaks with the Priestess of the Moon

I followed her through the noisy plaza in front of the guild. We ended up in the cemetery.

She really likes graveyards, huh... I was getting déjà vu from when we’d first met. Her black dress and hair shone in the moonlight, looking almost ethereal.

I couldn’t think of how to start a conversation, so I stayed in the shadow of a tree and watched.

“Twiiii,” she called out.

“Nrow, nrow.”

Furiae scratched at the cat’s chin, making it purr.

Guess that name is set in stone...

She hadn’t seemed happy at the party, but now she was just playing with the cat...? Had I imagined her dejected mood?

I watched for a while and then Furiae suddenly looked my way.

“Do you need something, my knight?”

Ah, busted. Then again, I hadn’t been using Stealth, so it was no surprise.

“You snuck away,” I admitted, scratching the back of my head and stepping out from behind the tree. “I was wondering what was up...”

She paused for a moment. “You’ve had a difficult day,” she murmured eventually. “And...you used your life force to defeat the ancient dragon, correct?”

“I didn’t have any other option.”

Twi made its way over to me and rubbed its face on my pant leg.

Cute.

“That beast seems fond of you.”

“Yeah, it’s a friendly ca—wait, beast?!” I looked down at the cat in shock. It just cocked its head back at me.

Cute. This is a beast? Nah, that’s got to be a joke.

“You didn’t realize?” Furiae asked. “Since you can Charm it, the creature probably has water-aligned mana. I suppose you did it unintentionally...?”

“Seriously...you’re a magic cat?” I rubbed its head. The soft fur felt nice against my hand. It rubbed its head affectionately back into me.

Would it be able to use Water Magic (Mid Rank) in the future? If so, I think I’d probably cry...

“It’s not dangerous, right?” I asked Furiae.

“Young monsters are weak, and your Charm makes it safe.”

Well, that’s all good then. But enough small talk—time to see what’s up.

“You seem down,” I commented.

“Not really...” she replied, though her expression clouded.

So she didn’t want to talk about it? I didn’t want to force her...

“My knight,” she continued, looking seriously at me. “I heard that the Snake Sect was behind the stampede.”

“Yeah. I think the guild said something about that.” I guess the cambion Nina caught did have something to do with them. However, it was still just a rumor at this point. I figured that the truth would come out during the investigation.

“Did you know that members of the Snake Sect are all cambions?” she asked darkly.

“More or less, yeah.” What’s this about?

“I...also have demon blood...” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. She averted her eyes. “I’m a cambion as well.”

“Huh.” I’d heard that Laphroaig was home to a lot of cambions. Since Furiae came from there, it wasn’t that much of a surprise.

“Are you shocked? That the Priestess of the Moon is actually a cambion...?”

“Eh, not reall—”

“Liar!” she spat.

Why didn’t she believe me?

“The Snake Sect wanted me in their upper echelons,” she explained. “Of course, I turned them down...but this attack might have been targeting me...” Her voice just grew sadder and sadder.

So...that was her impression.

The stampede hadn’t really been linked to her, though. If I had to venture a guess about the ancient dragon’s goal...it was to destroy Roses.

“Nothing good comes of associating with a cursed demon-blooded priestess. My knight, it hasn’t been long, but it was fun. I’m sure you only continued the contract because Ryousuke asked you, but your duties are a guardian are now—”

“Wait, Fuuri!” came a yell from across the quiet graveyard. I turned around to see Lucy and Sasa bounding up to us. When’d those two show up?

“Lu was worried that Takatsuki was going for a rendezvous with Fuu, so we followed you both,” Sasa explained with a rueful grin.

“Aya! You didn’t need to say that!”

So that was what they’d been worried about... This ain’t a rendezvous!

“Besides, Takatsuki wouldn’t do that... He already has three partners...”

The last half of that sentence sounded kinda terrifying. U-Uh, Sasa? I think you might have Menace active. Sense Danger was even blaring in my head. Plus, the dark look in her eyes didn’t inspire confidence.

My hackles were raised by her tone, but Twi was just grooming itself. Seriously, did it have no sense of danger? Sasa’s Menace skill could send dragons fleeing... Maybe Twi was pretty impressive...

“What are you here for, mage?” Furiae asked, her tone hard.

“Are you going to leave our party?” Lucy asked bluntly, as ever.

“I am. A nuisance like myself will do you no good.”

“That’s...not true! Right, Takatsuki?” Sasa looked to me for help.

“We don’t think you’re a nuisance. Besides, traveling alone is dangerous for a girl.”

“I will be fine,” stated Furiae. “I can resurrect several undead knights from this graveyard to protect me.”

So she was thinking it through... But I could hardly just tell her to go for it.

Just then, I recalled a conversation I’d had with Sakurai.

Yeah...it’s about that, isn’t it?

◇

We hadn’t left Highland yet.

“Furiae doesn’t call any of you by your names, does she?” Sakurai asked me.

“Now that you mention it, she doesn’t. I wonder why.” She always called me “my knight.” Lucy was “mage” and Sasa was “warrior.” That was how she usually addressed us, and Sakurai was the only one she’d call by name.

Honestly, it’d never really bothered me.

“Everyone that she ever grew close to...died.”

“I...I see.”

“Her parents, friends, followers of the moon goddess, and so on. They’re all dead,” said Sakurai. “That’s why she doesn’t call people she meets now by their names. It’s because, if she gets attached, she’ll be heartbroken when they die...”

So that’s the reason.

“That’s...pretty heavy.”

“She said she calls me by name because I’m the Hero of Light and probably won’t die.”

“O-Oh...” I’d been sure that she was the kind of girl that only called the guy she liked by name. Turned out, her reasoning was way more serious than that.

“Why’d you bring it up?” I asked.

“I...thought you might manage to open her heart.”

“Huh? Really?” I wasn’t as good with girls as Sakurai though.

“People who are a little weird...have always been fond of you,” he reasoned.

“I don’t really think so...”

“Our English teacher during junior high liked you a lot. She was a demon to the rest of us, but she treated you nicely,” he said with a teasing grin.

“Forget about that already...” I wanted to pretend like that’d never happened.

One time, I’d bumped into our English teacher in the arcade—she’d been there to relieve some stress. Her surname was Takahashi; she was twenty-nine years old and single. I’d ended up challenging her to a versus match, and after that, she’d developed a fondness for me. We’d exchanged contact details and she’d started sending me long messages and calling every night...

It’d been terrifying.

She’d managed to snag a fiancé around the time I’d graduated. And...she’d apologized for not being able to wait until I turned twenty.

Seriously?! She felt the need to dump me?!

“Well, regardless of my past, I’ll do my best,” I told Sakurai.

“I’m sure you’ll manage it,” he replied.

◇

Looks like I didn’t manage it, Sakurai, I thought.

She wanted to leave all alone. I thought we should try a bit of a candid discussion first.

“You’re worried about your demon blood?” Lucy asked her. Her sharp elf ears must’ve caught the conversation we’d been having.

“I am,” said Furiae. “No one would want to associate with a cambion...”

“Just so you know, my dad’s a demon!” exclaimed Lucy. “So, I’m a half demon! What about you?!”

“Wha?”

Well, that was a rare sight. The moon priestess was usually a cool beauty, but now, her mouth hung agape.

That did remind me—none of us had discussed our pasts with Furiae.

“Aren’t you an elf though—oh! You’ve got red hair. But...a half demon?”

“Yup! But Makoto doesn’t care! You look like a pure human, so you must have much less demon blood than me, right?” Lucy asked this with a smug look.

Furiae stared at me, looking lost. “U-Um! You and the warrior...really don’t care?”

Sasa and I exchanged glances.

“Uh...well, actually...” Suddenly, Sasa dropped her disguise magic. Before us, she now appeared in her true form. It’d been a while since I’d seen the lamia version of her.

“Ah!” Furiae yelped. “A-A monster?!”

“Screaming like that’s a bit hurtful,” Sasa replied.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Eh, I don’t mind.” She laughed before turning back into a human.

“Are you not an otherworlder...?”

“Yup, I’m from the same world as Takatsuki! I, uh, reincarnated...? I think that’s the word. I woke up as a lamia in Labyrinthos.”

“Th-That can happen?”

Furiae’s eyes whipped back and forth between the two girls, then she looked at me.

“So, my knight. What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you actually reincarnate into a demon or monster?”

“Nope. Just your garden-variety otherworlder.”

“I-I see,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Though...I am the sole acolyte of a wicked deity.”

“What?!” That was the loudest yell I’d heard from her yet. “B-But...you’re the Hero of Roses! Don’t mock me! I won’t fall for it!”

Fall for it or not, it’s the truth.

Suddenly, a cool voice spoke up. “It’s true. Worryingly enough, our Hero Makoto is the disciple of an old god.”

“Sophia?”

It was indeed her, and she was wearing a priest’s robe. What’s the princess doing here?

“Princess Sophia! You are the Priestess of Water! Surely Eir would not permit a wicked deity’s follower to become a hero!”

“Well, she gave explicit permission, in fact,” said Sophia with a slight sense of resignation.

“Impossible...how in the world...?”

I chose to ignore Furiae’s disbelief for the moment.

“What’re you doing here, Sophia?” I asked. I mean, this was a cemetery.

“Eir told me that you were here.”

That Eir...was pretty free with information.

“R-Regardless! I am said to be the reincarnation of the Witch of Calamity from a thousand years ago!” sputtered Furiae. “People shun me wherever I go! If you’re with me, they’ll do the same to you! And it’s not like I can become part of another country!”

She was just putting herself down more and more.

“Hey, Princess.” I grabbed her hand, taking a step forward. Lucy, Sasa, and Princess Sophia went silent, but their looks grew severe.

Why? It’s not like I’m doing anything I shouldn’t.

“I’ll tell you my goal as a wicked goddess’s disciple.”

“Where’d this come from?” murmured Furiae.

“I’ll save Noah from the Seafloor Temple...and take heaven back from the Sacred Deities,” I stated.

“Hero Makoto?!” exclaimed Sophia.

“What? Your goal isn’t to defeat the demon lord?”

“Oh, I’ll do that too while I’m at it.” However, my main goal was saving Noah and reviving the Titanea.

Furiae wasn’t the only one shocked by my answer—Princess Sophia was aghast as well. I suppose I hadn’t mentioned it before.

Lucy and Sasa were also hearing it for the first time, but neither of them seemed particularly bothered.

“E-Eir! Did you know Hero Makoto’s goal?” Sophia stammered, consulting with her goddess. “What...you did? I-I see... ‘It’s not a problem...’ A-Are you sure?”

Phew, at least Eir was helping out with the princess. I’d need to explain properly afterward.

Furiae had frozen again.

“Hey, Princess?”

She turned a disbelieving look at me. “My knight is a fool of the highest order.”

Yeah, I guess my goal is a bit much. There was only one thing I could say to her. “Whether you’re here or not, I’m an enemy of the world because I follow a wicked deity.” I grinned at her. “So...overturn the world with me!”

I got it!

Perfect communication.

I thought it was a nice line, but Lucy, Sasa, and Princess Sophia all had slightly doubtful looks.

Uh...this ain’t the best reaction...?

I thought it was cool, Makoto.

Same, Noah.

Furiae’s expression—the focus of my declaration—was indescribable. I had no idea what she was thinking...but then she said one thing.

“I’ll postpone annulling the contract,” she murmured.

I stopped her! Whoo! I did it, Sakurai!

Though, the other three wore sour looks...

We came back to the guild hall in short order. Princess Sophia was with her guards, so there were a lot of people there now. The interior was—as ever—full of drunkards.

I was looking around for a place to sit when someone came up to me.

“Hey, Makoooo, I wanna talk.”

“Emily? What’s up?”

“You’re pretty drunk,” Lucy commented as she pulled us over to her group.

I couldn’t find Jean at first, but then I spied him on the floor. Apparently, Emily’d drunk him under the table.

“You kissed Lucy while we were battling the monsters,” Emily said. “Everyone was fighting for their lives, so what were you two playing at?!”

“Y-You saw?!” Lucy yelped.

“Well...that was so I could use elemental magic...”

The two of us made our excuses.

“I heard about that, Makoto!” Mary said, joining in. “Hero or not, you shouldn’t be playing with girls in the middle of a battle!” She leaned in close. “But anyway, me tooo!”

Hey, don’t just kiss me out of nowhere! Don’t push me down either! I’m still dizzy from the lifespan loss.

Around me, I could hear all the adventurers catcalling and hooting.

Yup, this was Macallan’s guild, all right.

“You appear to have my fiancé pinned down there,” Princess Sophia stated in an arctic voice. Her eyes matched her tone.

Yup...she was here with us...

I looked up at her from underneath Mary. “Prin...cess...So...phi...a...?”

Mary’s face paled instantly.

“Did you hear that?!” someone yelled.

“Fiancé?!”

“What?!”

“No way!”

“Impossible!”

The princess sure was popular.

“Hero Makoto. I can understand a hero’s wants, but please keep it in moderation.” Sophia looked at me like one might peer at a pig. Then, she walked away. The geezer guardian knight—and her other guards—followed.

The princess whispered something into the oldtimer’s ear, and then he turned to face the guild hall. “Tonight’s feast will celebrate the town’s salvation!” he proclaimed. “Party to your heart’s content! The bill will be settled by the Roses royal family!”

All adventurers answered with a resounding cheer.

Then, Princess Sophia spoke curtly. “However, Hero Makoto is my fiancé. If you wish to approach him in the future, you will do so through me.”

In...the...future?

“Makotoooo! I’m gonna get fired!” whined Mary.

“Princess Sophia won’t do that.”

“Wh-What? She won’t?”

“Probably not.”

“The ‘probably’ is the issue! I’m having another drink.”

“That’s the same as usual, isn’t it?”

Of course, Mary wasn’t fired. The princess and her knights had special seating prepared within the guild and I spent some time speaking with her and the geezer.

Afterward, I ended up getting dragged around all the other groups.

Damn, it’s been a while since I drank this much... I swayed and then sat on the floor, holding some water. Jean was passed out next to me.

Lucy, Sasa, Furiae, Emily, and Mary were all having a girls’ night. The noise in the guild wasn’t quieting down at all. I was sure they were going to party well into the morning. Everyone was discussing the monsters and the excitement of the day.

I got curious about exactly what they were talking about and used my Listen skill. The conversation I heard was...slightly odd.

“Man, Macallan’s hero sure is something.”

“For sure. When I saw him wipe out those monsters, I wanted him to hold me!”

“Man, I wish I’d partied with Lucy back when she was a bronze rank.”

“Knock it off! Princess Sophia’ll be glaring at you.”

“Right...he’s going to be the brother-in-law of the next king.”

“Plus, he’s got Lucy and Aya as well!”

“Tch! That harem bastard.”

I was overhearing the men that’d screeched at the announcement of Sophia’s betrothal earlier. The princess sure was popular... She had a lot of fans.

“Right! Let’s give Makoto an alias! What about...the Triple-Timing Hero?”

“Ah, I think Mary and Fuuri are going to get taken in too.”

“Seriously...he’s got his pick of five beauties?”

“Manwhore.”

“The Manwhore Hero! Here comes Makoto the Manwhore Hero!”

“Great! Let’s make sure everyone knows the name!”

“Yeah!” the rest chorused.

Hey, it’s not like that! For crying out loud, I’m still a virgin!

I couldn’t overlook this, so I got up and started over to them. “You lot! Knock it off!”

“H-Hold on, Makoto!”

“Takatsuki, calm down!”

Sasa and Lucy immediately grabbed hold of me.

L-Lemme go! I’m gonna go blast them with waterballs, even if it won’t do any damage!

I did my best to proceed, but Sasa had my arms pinned and I couldn’t move.

“I think this is the first time I have seen my knight lose his cool like this.”

“Yeah, he’s drunk. Makoto’s a lightweight,” Lucy explained.

I thought I heard a comment along the lines of, “So...I won’t be able to spend time alone with Hero Makoto tonight...?”

And so, the party continued well into the morning...apparently. I passed out long before then.