“This is the church.”
Although it had a simple appearance, it might have been designed as an emergency evacuation site or a temporary medical facility, since it had thick walls and a garden.
When I entered the open church, there was an image resembling the goddess Liliel who reincarnated me.
The goddess Liliel seemed to be one of the five great goddesses, seeming to have the nature of an earth goddess as well as a goddess of fertility.
She has the same name and personality as the goddess who reincarnated me, and there are stories of her coming to earth in the past through human avatars.
When I looked up at the idol, an elderly priest greeted me from the back. (T/N: since it’s 5 goddesses specifically, I’m not sure if it’s earth goddess here as one of the 5 elements or just mother goddess. Though mother goddess still refers to Mother Earth…might change in future chapters if we learn that the other goddesses don’t have elements)
He had a gentler expression on his face; similar to that of a church father than the priest-like adventurer in Arsus-san’s party.
“Oya, are you a customer? Welcome, welcome.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Chise, an adventurer. This is Teto, who’s also a member of my party.”
“Please take care of me nanodesu!”
Teto's bright voice rang through the quiet church, and the priest narrowed his eyes and looked at her with a warm smile.
“Chise-san and Teto-san, was it? What kind of business do you have today?”
“To be honest, when we were exploring the dungeon, we unexpectedly found a cursed item. We would like to consult you regarding it.”
“I see. Let's have a conversation in this room over here."
I told the priest who led us to a guest room the same story I told in the guild and took the cursed equipment sealed in the stone box out of the magic bag.
“It’s in here”
“I see… for a cursed equipment, this is a relatively common item. What would you like to do with it? If you carry such a cursed item, it might invite disasters upon you.”
“If possible, I was hoping you would be able to purify it with the church’s power.”
I took out 3 small gold coins and put them on the table as payment for the purification, and the priest nodded.
“Alright, let’s do it”
He immediately opened up the lid of the stone box and lined up the ritual implements on the table.
“——[Lord, with my mana, purge the corruption of this world. Purification]”
I don’t have much respect for God, but I could somehow understand the magical principles behind the purification in front of me by passing mana through my eyes. Cursed equipment emitted black mana. Supposing this was bad mana that interfered with the equipment’s own mana, then by disentangling it, it would become harmless. Every time the black mana was undone, various colored mana would melt into the air and disappear.
(I caught the image. In addition to [Clean] which disassembles dirt, the magic of purification disassembles the mana of the target.)
As I thought about it, the priest slowly nodded to confirm that the accessories had been cleaned.
“I was able to purify it properly. I’ll return it to you now.”
“Thank you again. Can I check it here?”
“Yes, of course. Go ahead.”
I took out the appraisal monocle and checked it.
[Crisis Detection Necklace] - This magic tool informs its owner that danger is approaching when the gem of the necklace glows red.
“Thank you very much. The curse has been properly resolved.”
“I see. For future reference, what sort of magic tool did it become?”
“It’s called a [Crisis Detection Necklace]. It seems that the gemstone glows red when danger approaches” Nonetheless, I feel the design is a little too flashy.
I finished my work, carefully wrapped the item in a cloth, put it in a magic bag, and the priest led me to the church's front door. On our way back, a boy was standing at the church's door.
“Father, is it true that an adventurer is coming!”
“Ah, Dan. What are you doing?”
The priest gently told him to stop, and the boy raised his face to clearly stare at the priest.
“Father, are the adventurers here?”
“Yes, that’s right. I was just here for a little bit, but I’m going home now.”
"Then Nee-chan, if that's the case! I also want to go to the dungeon with you. The same as that little girl!"
Teto looks like an older sister, which is why it looked like Teto was bringing me along. Certainly, in terms of height, I’m smaller than Teto and because of Teto’s build and size, she looks like a leader, so right now it just looks like I’m constantly leeching off of her.
I’m still a C-rank adventurer. The priest stopped the boy while I swore to myself that I would learn an illusion spell that would make me look the same age as Teto.
“Don’t bother the adventurers. Becoming an adventurer is a dangerous matter. Let alone to go to a dungeon, children aren’t allowed”
“What! If you don’t go to the dungeon you can’t earn money!”
“Still, as your father, I cannot allow you to put yourself in danger.”
The boy went to the back of the church with a sad face as he ran away from the priest's firm words and tone.
“Apologies. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
“No, it’s fine. What about that child?”
The priest called himself the boy's father, but he and the boy were very different in age. Also, the priest and the boy didn't look much alike.
Well, maybe it’s the case where he looks similar to his mom or will look more similar when he grows up……
“They are children of the orphanage behind the church”
“I see. The child was concerned about money, but is it tough after all?”
"It comes from subsidies from the Lord and donations from believers, but I'm ashamed to say that I'm still worried about the future of the children...."
“Is that so…”
You can see how the priest is fighting hard. Managing the orphanage might be difficult since the child had said he would make money himself.
“Teto, better to do hypocrisy than to not do good.” (T/N: やらない善よりやる偽善だよね Literally “do hypocrisy rather than not do good” meaning that even if your good deeds are seen as hypocrisy, it is better than not doing them at all)
“Let’s do what Majo-sama wants to do nodesu. Majo-sama isn’t wrong.”
“Thank you Teto……Father”
When I called out, the priest, who had started to look a little worried about the orphanage, raised his face and went back to how he looked before.
"I don't have much money or food right now, but please use this for the orphanage."
“I-Is this alright?”
I gave away the food I had been saving in the magic bag and the last small gold coin I had earned today. I don't know how many orphans there are or if they are getting enough help. Still, I wanted to believe in my feelings.
“Thank you very much. May the goddess Liliel bless the two of you.”
“Then, please excuse us.”
“If anything happens again I’ll come nodesu!”
Sent off by the priest, we left the church and returned to our apartment.
Most of what I've earned in the last few days has gone to the church, so should I work again? With that thought, I ate dinner in the familiar dining room and went to sleep in the same bed as Teto.
