/
Well then. It’s been a while since we had a meal together… Let’s see, I’ll make some deep-fried chicken. I don’t know why, but it’s a favorite among everyone, so deep-fried chicken it is.
Also, I don’t feel motivated to make deep-fried dishes for just a few people, so that’s another reason.
We should also include some vegetables for a balanced meal. What should I make? Maybe I’ll make steamed vegetables. Let’s make the soup full of vegetables too. Yes, that’s a good idea. Leafy greens it is.
“We’re back!”
While humming a tune, everyone returned as I was preparing the meal!
“Welcome home, my master and subordinates!”
“Oh, right, we’re under the command of the Demon King, aren’t we?”
It’s been a while since the laboratory was bustling with noise, and it makes me happy. The sense of security that comes from having everyone gathered! It’s really nice.
After enjoying a lively meal and settling down, it’s time to begin the fun interrogation.
“For starters, what’s scary is being attacked the moment we release the [Sleep Cocoon]. So, what should we do?”
“Should I freeze it as soon as it’s released?”
Ah, that might work too. As long as the part for [Share] is exposed, we can at least do that.
“…But before we do [Shared], shouldn’t we remove the amulet?”
…Ah.
In that case, for starters… it’s for disarming, but this old man is all tied up…
“If we just hold a sword in front of him, we should be fine.”
Suzumoto suggested that, but isn’t it a bit unsettling? What if he accidentally unleashes some unknown skill that blows up our laboratory?
“To ensure safety, let’s change the location. How about the floating island above the temple?”
Yes, that sounds good. It’s moderately narrow with just enough space and nowhere to escape.
Very well, if that’s decided, let’s use [Transfer].
We teleported, but it didn’t have the same solemn and eerie feeling as the first time we came here. Well, that’s because the ‘cause’ of it is gone.
We placed the Great Priest in the center of the room, surrounded by Suzumoto, Kadomi-kun, and Toriumi as the vanguard.
Hariu will immediately knock out the Great Priest if something happens… or, worst-case scenario, be ready to kill him while hiding in his shadow.
Hagasaki-kun and the President should also be prepared to move quickly in case something happens.
Kariya will be in charge of the lighting in the dark room, and Katori… is blocking the exit while riding on that humanoid optical weapon we know. It’s quite oppressive.
“…Well then, shall we begin? Are you ready?”
“Anytime.”
“…[Clean].”
I dissolve the membrane around the Great Priest using the familiar staff with tassels.
…Hmm, it’s just like when we dealt with the people in the study room. The Great Priest is fast asleep.
Being careful not to wake him up, I searched inside his collar and felt a thin chain with my fingertips, so I pulled it out.
…I see, there are several amulets.
I showed them to Suzumoto, and he nodded, pointing at one of them. It seems that the familiar amulet is among these.
It seemed difficult to remove it from around his neck without waking him up, so I safely and discreetly [Clean] one of the loops of the chain to take it off.
Then, while everyone securely plugged their ears, I started removing anything that seems to have some kind of ring or ornament attached, all while singing a lullaby.
Once I finished removing most of the accessories, I used [Appraisal]. And just to be safe, I used [Sleep Cocoon] once again.
…Alright, it’s a success.
“Now, I’d like to consult with everyone here.”
As I packed the removed accessories into a bag, I gestured to the others who had their ears plugged, and they released their hands from their ears.
“The clothing of this Great Priest has [Magic Resistance (Great)], [Defense Increase (Moderate)], [Cradle of Light], and [Majesty]. Should we erase them or temporarily release the bindings first?”
While the first two can be disregarded, I feel a bit reluctant about the latter two.
“By the way, Kariya had the Rosary of [Cradle of Light]. What effect did it have?”
“Well, I think it enhances the effects of light magic. It’s particularly effective for [Ark], for example.”
I see. Well then, they’re probably unnecessary. Among us, only Kariya can use light magic, and Kariya already has the [Cradle of Light] amulet.
“Although I’m curious about [Majesty]… just to be sure, let me ask. Which garment does the effect of [Majesty] apply to?”
“Underwear.”
An indescribable silence.
“…Just to be sure, let me ask. What were you planning to do with the underwear that had the effect of [Majesty]?”
…Come to think of it, yeah. I mean, regardless of how great the effect might be, I wouldn’t want to wear someone else’s underwear, especially an old man’s.
“Secondly, do you know what will… no, what will happen after you remove the Great Priest’s underwear?”
…Hmm. Yeah, um, maybe my imagination was lacking.
Oh, wait. While I haven’t removed living beings before, I feel like if I try a bit harder, I could manage it.
“If I immediately continue and remove the one beneath it…”
“Stop.”
“Please stop!”
“Please, stop!”
…It seems the male members have some thoughts about it. They strongly and seriously opposed the idea.
Hmm, well, I don’t have that perspective, so I don’t really understand… Hmm… But honestly, even if I don’t understand, it’s not that frustrating. It’s strange.
Alright, with that said, I removed the membrane, ropes, robes, and even the clothes beneath through [Clean] and temporarily retreated.
It seems everyone gathered together, helped undress him, and disposed of the garments. Well, I appreciate their assistance.
“Maito-san, it’s all taken care of now.”
When I was called back by the President, I saw a block of soil with the upper part of the Great Priest’s body sticking out. Even after all that, the Great Priest is still sleeping. In a way, he’s quite a remarkable individual.
“We didn’t have any clothes to dress him in, so we buried him.”
As I remained speechless, the President proudly declared. …Well…
Cheers to your sense of aesthetics.
Now, let’s immediately initiate [Share] and extract information.
As a precaution, everyone formed a defensive perimeter. The presence of the mobile suit behind me is still quite oppressive.
“Alright, here I go. I’ll research methods to revive people, manipulation of life, and also look into the return ritual.”
“Hmm, I’d also like to know about the Demon Lord and the temple.”
“Oh, if possible, I’d appreciate any information on light magic.”
“We should probably confirm the number of heroes as well, just to be safe.”
…Wow, quite a lot of information came up.
Well, let’s tackle them one by one.
So, let’s proceed with the [Share] process.
…Oh no, wait a moment. This old man isn’t a clergyman, is he? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have these memories!
Ah, no, no, no… No matter how much I search, these vivid adventures with the attractive ladies in the foreground are getting in the way, and I can’t find the crucial information hidden deeper inside. I have to be careful not to lose myself in the process.
…Damn it, it can’t be helped. I’ll retreat for now. My MP is running low as well.
“Maito-san, are you okay?”
After retreating, the president handed me a small vial of mint extract, which I used to restore my MP.
“Did you find something?”
“…I found plenty of mental distractions.”
But there’s no point in complaining here. Let’s try the [Share] again.
This time, I won’t hesitate to trample over the information. I don’t care anymore! Who cares about a passionate night with those lovely ladies! Whatever happens, happens! You rotten cleric!
Amidst the jumble of information, I found something with a coherent structure and pulled it up. Bingo.
Hmm, this is probably the recipe for the [Spirit Elixir]. It seems to have been taught by the previous Great Priest.
Well, it seems like it… but I don’t understand. I can read it, and I can obtain the information from it… but it’s like the feeling of “Even if you specialize in English, it doesn’t mean you can understand every chemistry paper written in English.”
Well, I suppose I can share it with the President or someone else after retreating.
Alright, let’s move on.
Next… Ah, here’s something interesting.
The Great Priest’s [Concept of Life], in other words, the principles of life in this world.
…To summarize, it goes something like this.
[The essence of life resides within a vessel, and the vessel resides within a physical body. To restore the physical body, one must use the ‘Spirit Elixir.’ If the vessel is broken, it cannot be restored, even if the essence is replenished from others.]
That’s what it says.
The “vessel” probably refers to that glass, and the essence represents the liquid that fills the glass. As for the physical body, I think it refers to the place where the glass was located.
When the physical body is injured, a liquid similar to mercury drips from it, depleting the essence. Once the wounds are healed with the [Spirit Elixir], the liquid similar to mercury no longer drips.
Yes, it aligns with the mysterious scene I witnessed.
…Perhaps, if I can create the [Spirit Elixir], I might be able to bring back the members of the choir club.
Now, I’ll retreat momentarily and restore my MP, then I’ll return immediately.
…Ariane-san was something, but this Great Priest’s indulgences deserve a round of applause too.
It’s quite remarkable to be immersed in indulgences to this extent. It’s not a bad thing to be true to oneself, within the limits of public welfare, of course.
While my mental strength is being chipped away by these indulgences, I managed to find some information that seems somewhat useful.
…Hmm. One of the Great Priest’s rings passed down through generations, seems to be a key. It is said that there are several doors within the temple that can be opened with it. However, this Great Priest doesn’t seem to be interested in such matters and hasn’t explored much, so he doesn’t know what lies beyond those doors. But, at the very least, I’m curious about the door at the back of the waterfall in the courtyard. It seems that having a cave behind a waterfall is a common theme in this world too.
Upon further searching, I found the doctrine or mythology of the temple. President might have already obtained this information, but I’ll take a look just in case.
[The Goddess created the world. The world consists of the sky, sea, earth, reason, and life. The world was created and is perpetually sustained by the Goddess. The Goddess is the creator and bearer. We, the temple, praise the Goddess and bear the responsibility as the caretakers of the world.]
…Hmm, there’s no mention of the Demon King. Let’s dig a little deeper.
[The eternal world was threatened by the self-proclaimed Demon King, who spawned darkness. The Goddess destroyed the Demon King and restored peace to the world.]
Oh, according to Ketorami-san and the others, the Goddess and the Demon King “disappeared,” but here it clearly states that the Goddess emerged victorious… Oh, it’s not written. It says the Goddess destroyed the Demon King, but it doesn’t mention that the Goddess perished.
…Well, according to the Great Priest’s memories, it has become common knowledge throughout this world, not just the temple, that the Goddess continues to sustain the world.
Now, let’s see. I’ve gathered some useful information, such as rare light magic known to the Great Priest and information about important individuals in the capital.
I’ll pass on the former to Kariya and hope I never have the opportunity to make use of the latter.
Now, finally, I’ve obtained the information I’ve been seeking—the method to escape this world.
Currently, we know of two ways: “Gathering all the fragments of the world” and “performing the Return Ritual at the temple.” We’ve been busy collecting the fragments for the former.
As for the latter method, I now know how it works… though, similar to the [Spirit Elixir], I don’t quite understand it.
…But what is certain is that at least one “sender” is required for this. Even if we gather all the students, there must be at least one person remaining in this world. It could be the Great Priest or anyone else from this world without any issues. However, the ritual consumes an enormous amount of MP or magical power.
So, the Great Priest intended to perform the Return Ritual on a smaller scale, involving only a few people, and with the cooperation of the priests. Essentially, it would be quite impossible to send back all the students from our school through the Return Ritual alone. I’m glad I understand that now.
Additionally, the Great Priest feared that the visitors from another world would find alternative ways to return besides the ritual.
Well, yes, without the temple holding the key to their return, all the heroes would run away. That would be troublesome.
So, the Great Priest conducted various investigations and apparently knew about the method of “gathering all the fragments of the world.”
…However, from the past records, it seems there is no account of everyone being able to return once they started summoning additional visitors from other worlds.
That’s to be expected. The temple was working hard to prevent such a situation.
…We will become the first exception to that record. Absolutely. Without fail. No matter what.