(MC POV)
I was fully expecting to meet the next pair of girls after satisfying the five girls from before, but it seemed like Diao Chan and Lilith had wanted to join me back in the baths again so I was suddenly left to my own devices right now.
Moving back to the beach, I did a quick check on what the rest of my disciples were doing and I found them engaged in another volleyball match, the game being equally as ludicrous as the first one they played.
I watched as Lian Li struck the ball with a fist infused with lightning, sending the ball moving at near supersonic speed over the net.
Manami blocked the ball with a shield of fire clad over her arm, deflecting it and lowering its momentum so that Kiyomi could receive it from below.
Diao Chan had then blasted the ball back with a punch infused with a Spell of her own, sending the ball back at almost the same speed as Lian Li's.
Figuring that it would be a good idea not to get involved in that, I went off on my own to find something else to occupy the time.
Without much of a plan, I just strolled along the beach, simply enjoying the cool breeze from the sea.
Halfway through, Shiori and Akari also appeared to join me on my walk, most likely having realised that I was going to be away from my disciples for a while.
"Did something happen, Divine One?" Shiori asked, keeping pace beside me in her larger fox form that reached my waist. "It's unusual for you to voluntarily stay away from your disciples."
"Oh, they're having fun just fine aren't they? I just thought it might be nice to just go on a walk alone for a bit before going back."
"Ehhh~ And I even thought they did something to annoy you Master. I was getting ready to go give them a piece of my mind!" Akari exclaimed.
I chuckled and patted them on the head, "I doubt there would ever be a day that would happen. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask about how things are in the Sanctuary?"
Shiori enjoyed the head pat for a moment before answering, "Mmm… We've pretty much already established ourselves as the reigning entity for the Monsters within the old territory of Beiyang. Now we're working towards integrating the monsters within the old territory of Dong."
I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her, "Sorry… What? Did you… Establish a kingdom of monsters?"
"I would not call it a kingdom since we're not really a government. I suppose you can liken us to The Church your disciples have made in your name."
"The what now?"
"The Church, Divine One," Shiori repeated as a matter of factly.
Ah… You mean the fanclub… I'll just forget what she said about it being some kind of church or whatever. It's a fanclub, ok?
"Ok… Umm… Right, so I guess having the monsters working together in some capacity is better than having everyone scattered about and disrupting things? Does Guiying even know about this?" I asked, a little unsure of how to take this.
"Of course, Master! It's a mutually beneficial relationship!" Akari giggled while rubbing her snout against my side.
"Err… Explain please."
"We help out in construction, security and various other labour that are too dangerous, inefficient or just less suitable for humans to do. In return, we are paid and the animosity between monsters and humans is resolved," Shiori explained.
"Oh? I'm surprised that you managed to convince the humans to accept monsters so easily," Xun Guan commented, her voice coming from my swim trunks.
The white fox snorted, "It's easier to find common ground when everyone worships the same Divine. Anyone who doesn't agree to that would have been purged."
Right… She did say that there were some monsters that they needed to get rid of because they were being uncooperative. I guess this is better in the long run since we don't need to worry about renegade monsters?
So I guess the purging was referring to the culling of those dangerous monsters.
As an aside… Monsters and humans have been fighting each other since the beginning, you know? We even have that Adventurer's Guild that gives out requests to hunt monsters, wouldn't they be out of job now?
As if reading my thoughts Akari added in, "Oh, we also integrated that Adventurer's Guild to our fold too! So they help us find and subdue those stupid monsters who refuse to accept the conversion!"
Ok… At least no one needs to worry about their livelihood disappearing suddenly… Looks like I was indeed correct about the monster purging then.
I didn't really want to know but I still felt that I should ask this, "And how is the expansion into the old Dong territory going?"
Shiori and Akari hesitated, which was already a clear indication that things were not going so well.
"We had… Unexpected resistance I suppose… Does Divine One remember the time you were supposedly captured by the Dongs?" Shiori asked.
I nodded to show that I did. It was really just a short vacation where I went around chilling with Xun Guan.
"We rampaged around a little to help free you and… The native monsters there didn't like it. They formed their own group and were completely adamant about rejecting our offers. We're still trying the diplomatic approach but if they're still stubborn by the end of the year, we'll be moving to the more aggressive approach."
I was once again made aware that there's so many things happening behind my back that I don't even know where I should start finding out what led to all this happening.
I sighed, resigning myself to just roll with it, "So… Do you need any help? Though I'd like to insist on no reality warping or something similar."
"Oh! We thought you'd never ask, Master! If you'd just allow us to-- Ouch!!"
Akari's words were cut short by Shiori smacking her on her head with her tail, the white fox looking at me apologetically.
"Forgive us, Divine One, but I think we can handle it just fine. There's no need for you to involve yourself in such mundane matters.
That… Actually gave me a very bad feeling… What's going to happen if I don't interfere, omniscience?
…
I see… An entire portion of the lands will be set ablaze and a year long war between the monsters will take place with casualties in the hundred thousands…
That is most definitely not fine!!
I cleared my throat, "It's alright, I insist. I do want to see what everyone is doing after all and it's not like it's difficult for me to help anyway."
Shiori thought about it for a while, using her tail to smack Akari silent before she could say something again.
"In that case, could Divine One come to the Sanctuary when you are free? We could first have a meeting with everyone before deciding on what to do."
I nodded, "Alright, I'll make time for it."
"Thank you again, Divine One."
With that said, I continued on my walk, trying not to think about what else might be going on behind my back.
Ignorance is truly bliss.
