Chapter 376 Absolute power (11)
"My guess is that the enemy won't attack for the next few days, so maybe we should use that chance to learn a few things," Icarus said.
"Such as?" Billy asked.
"Such as learning why he wants to attack the temple city," Icarus replied. "The answer lies in Galatea's temple. Maybe you could use the connection you obtained to investigate that local."
"Or maybe you should invade the place with your speed," Billy said. "Don't try to put me into trouble..."
"That would be quite disrespectful, don't you think?" Icarus asked. "If some god or goddess gave us power, I don't want to disrespect them. Although I don't want to get involved with beings that put us here and make so many adjustments to make us think that we should kill each other."
"I don't want that either, I want even less to get involved with this goddess's worshipers," Billy said. "While I gained some things by befriending influential people, they also caused me a lot of headaches. I am done in making myself known to more of those."
"Really? You could learnt their skills, though," Icarus said.
"Hah, I already did that, I don't need to ask others to teach me that kind of thing," Billy said while showing a confident smile.
"You sure work fast…" Icarus frowned. "Well, I suppose we will stay in the dark until the end of this battle then. Anyway, I am going to return to my job. I will come again if something happens."
Billy sighed. Once again, Icarus left him with a headache. Despite his words, he was starting to think that he truly needed to pay a visit to the temple of the goddess Galatea. If the summoner really wanted something from there, it would be foolish not to investigate it. The merits far outweighed the demerits in that situation.
Billy went to sleep, considering his options. Meeting with Beatrice's father will give him, his friends, and the alliance a connection that they might need in the future. Considering their skills, they would be very helpful in any war. While they were already helping them out of goodwill, they needed something more to firm a good relationship with them.
The next day, after they confirmed that the monsters wouldn't come at the usual time, Billy had breakfast, and he told his friends about his intentions. The enemy was definitely plotting something big, so the idea of laying low wouldn't be so good if an all-out attack happened. He wanted to talk with the leader of the Galatea followers.
"I think that is for the best," Kate said after a long nod. "While we are helping on behalf of some members of the alliance, it would be rude not to introduce ourselves despite the fact that we have come to help."
"I am not so sure about that, their customs are way too different than ours and we are pretty flexible," Natalie said. "They might not want to get along with us more than necessary."
"Even if that is the case, we should at least try, if things doesn't work out, it won't be because of us," Lily said.
"I am fine either way," Alexander said.
"Me too," Sarah added.
The group wasn't opposed to the idea, but they weren't in favor either. Still, that doesn't change things. Billy decided to pay a visit to Beatrice while the others would stay nearby. After all, he was the least likely to cause problems due to their differences in the way of thinking and acting, after all. Even though he had been plenty rude before… He didn't even know what to say when he found her.
"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" Beatrice asked.
"I wanted to ask you and your father a few things," Billy said. "I have been doing some research on the enemy and considering his recent actions and the places he has been targeting. I think he might be targeting something on your temple."
"... We have considered that possibility, but the temple is open to anyone who wants to visit, everything there only has sentimental value to the people of our faith," Beatrice said.
That seemed all right, but Billy noticed the slight pause before her words. It was hard to say if it was due to others being around and she couldn't mention something that was supposed to be a secret, or if it was due to another reason.
"Come with me, you can talk with our leader about other things," Beatrice said.
Billy nodded, even though he would rather not talk with him about anything else that isn't related to his current work. Regardless, Billy followed Beatrice toward the temple. Although he had seen the structure from far away, the more he approached, the more he felt a certain aura in the place. It wasn't a holy or divine presence. It was like a high concentration of mana. Billy thought that it might be a barrier, but something was off… He didn't feel that coming from it either.
Billy found many Galatea soldiers still guarding the place, even though Beatrice said that they didn't have anything or material value inside. In the end, he hesitated taking a step inside the temple, but when Beatrice looked at him, he moved forward. There was no reason to look even more suspicious… In any case, the interior was pretty similar to the temples that Billy had seen on Earth. There are many chairs and people inside praying for the goddess. The interior was so big that it could probably fit dozens of thousands of people. In the center of the building, there was a massive statue that the people were praying to. It was the goddess Galatea wearing a long cloak that covered most of her body except her hands. The statue didn't have a face, though. Despite that, Billy could feel a presence coming from it… It was a magic presence, a very powerful one, and came from right below the statue.
