Read Novel Full Chapter 138.4
Chapter 138.4
This chapter is chapter 129 in the raw.
Enjoy~
TL: ALT
Chapter 137.4 – Map Making
It was already evening.
After moving to a new room, I walked in the direction I had seen earlier, still in casual clothes, and I could see a church of a similar size to Bezart.
But there were more people coming and going than at Bezart.
Men and women dressed like merchants were coming and going, and for some reason, I couldn’t see anyone dressed like a hunter who seemed to have the most business in the church.
However, despite my doubts when I entered the church, the reason became clear immediately.
“(Wow, as expected from a big city.)”
There are only two statues of the gods in the center.
From this, I could guess that there are probably several churches in Malta dedicated to the goddesses.
At first, I couldn’t tell who was who from the rough-looking statues, but now I can immediately tell that the statues in the center are Riste and Felin.
No wonder there were no hunters here.
And in my heart, I can’t help but think that this is Felin.
Even if you say that it’s agreed that it’s “my share,” that’s it.
Now that my relationship with Riste has progressed so quickly, I can’t help but feel uncomfortable around Felin, even though he’s just a statue.
“Can I help you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry I was in the way at the entrance. I wanted to say a prayer to Riste-sama.”
The one who spoke to me was a young sister.
She’s obviously a cute girl, but my heart is no longer moved.
If I were to put it nicely, I would say she has a lot of composure, but if I were to put it badly, I would say she’s become too extravagant.
“I see. Then please follow me.”
As I walked down the center aisle with the sister, she pointed to the left and told me to wait here for my turn.
There were about four people sitting on the couch.
When I look at the statue on the right, there is only one person there, so I think to myself that it doesn’t matter which way you line up when you go to the divine realm. Since this is a new pattern for me, I obediently line up as I am told.
Then, one by one, people leave after praying for about 20 seconds, but perhaps because of the time of day, people have also started to line up behind me.
“(I can’t stay here for long, can I? Maybe a minute at the most?)”
While I was thinking this, it was finally my turn, and I went into the circle in front of the statue and knelt down.
“(Riste, can you hear me? I’ve come to the church.)”
Then, in a moment that seemed to say, “I have been waiting for you,” my soul left my body.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Hello!”
“I wanted to see you!”
Even with my eyes closed, I can tell who it is just by their voices.
“It hasn’t been that long since I last saw you, Felin and Feeril.”
When I open my eyes, I see three people who are considered to be the “mild-mannered group” in my mind.
I understand that this is the pattern for the rotation of the goddesses.
“Hey, Lok-kuni, you look a little thin. Are you eating properly?”
“Eh?”
Felin-san, you’re too fast…
The sudden sharp retort made me let out a voice from somewhere I didn’t understand.
For some reason, Feeril was grinning next to me.
“Th-That’s strange… I just had yakitori earlier… haha…”
“Loki-kun is busy with many things… many things…”
“I see. You have to eat properly, you know? And your dark circles are terrible; you don’t get enough sleep!”
Ugh~ my heart! My heart hurts!
Still, I can’t tell her the truth.
I can’t even imagine what the atmosphere would be like if I did.
And yet…
I don’t know if she can’t read the situation or if she’s deliberately trying to ruin it, but she makes a comment.
“You can’t blame Loki-kun, can you? He lost sleep because of me.”
“Eh?”
“Mmm?”
“Eh, eh!”
At those words, I felt a chill.
It was as if the whole place froze.
“Ara, ara~? Ara, ara, ara~?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means what I said. I wanted to see Loki-kun’s happy face, so I stayed up all night…”
“Hey, hey, hey, stop it!
I don’t even know what I’m saying.
But I can’t let it go on.
Even if they’re talking about something shared, I’d like them to at least do it when the people involved aren’t around.
If I were present at such a place of naked confession, I’d be so embarrassed that my heart and scalp would die.
“There are people behind me waiting to pray! We don’t have time! We don’t have time!”
“Well, it’s a little crowded this time of day.”
“Well, it’s just a prayer, so it’s okay, right?”
“Hey, you there! Take care of the believers!”
“I wanted to show how cute Loki-kun was, but… oh well. Let’s do it another time.”
She says it… and she says it casually… and…
For some reason, Feeril licks her lips at these words, and Felin tilts her head, her eyes darting between me and Riste.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Riste stepped forward, looking like a noble goddess.
It was a completely different face than the one she had shown a few hours ago, and I couldn’t help but straighten my back.
“Since it’s hard to have a conversation after giving something, I’ll give you a brief explanation first. From now on, I’ll leave you with the blessing of the ‘Guide’ in name, but only the skill of Map Making in reality. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine. It’s the same process as when Alicia-sama gave me the skill, right?”
“That’s right. The skill level I’m giving you is 1. I’d like to increase the skill level after that, but…”
“Hey, Riste! That’s really not a good idea!”
“Yeah, I know. I can’t break the rules of the divine realm, so I’ll leave it up to you, Loki-kun, to decide whether or not you want to develop the Map Making skill in the future.”
“By the way, do you know what will change when the skill level is increased?”
“I don’t know the details. But considering the difference between me and the others…”
When Riste looked away, Feeril and Felin, who were standing nearby, gave me some hints.
“I’m level 5, but I can zoom in and out a bit and add some regional names. The map is almost completely blank, though, so it’s not very useful.”
“It’s the same for me; it’s almost completely blank! After all, I’ve never had to send one of my split bodies down to the lower world!”
I see. So Map Making is exactly what it says, mapping and creating your own map?
“Filling in the map” is one of those obsessive gamer activities that really gets the heart racing.
Personally, I want to fill in all the blanks and make a complete completion.
“I can see more of the world than anyone else. Long ago, I could see the scenery of the leaves rustling in the wind, but when I shared my skills with everyone, I couldn’t see it anymore.”
“Huh? That’s really amazing, right?”
Could it be that what Riste is talking about is a real-time bird’s-eye view?
In a way, it’s even better than satellite images of the Earth…
Or rather, how was Riste, who had never sent down a split body before, able to see the scenery at the time?
It seems like I understand, but there are still parts that don’t quite fit together.
“Riste, like Felin and Feeril, the map only shows the places where you sent down a split body, right?”
“No. I was the only one who had received the special skill of Map Making, so it was complete from the beginning. However, the cities and countries that Loki-kun wants to know about were made later, so I only know about them in general, but I don’t know the detailed names, etc.”
“When we look at the lower world, we use our special abilities, so the goddesses hardly ever use Map Making, so we don’t really understand it!”
“Hmm… so what you’re saying is that once an area is mapped, it will be updated in real-time as the terrain changes or new man-made structures are built, right?”
“(((Hmm?)))”
Gah!
The sight of the three of them in front of me, all tilting their heads at the same time, is extremely cute!
To be honest, there are a lot of things I don’t understand just by listening to the conversation.
If I just swallow what Riste says, then if a city is built or a mountain disappears after a place is mapped, it will be reflected on the map as it is.
And if you increase the scale, does that mean you can even see the movement of people at certain points?
That’s impossible on Earth, but if you think about it, the content we’re talking about now is also a kind of magic called “skill.”
Even if you imagine a map of the Earth, all kinds of unexpected elements will appear.
If Riste already knew the map of the world, it would seem that if I asked her about the layout of the cities in her knowledge and copied it, my journey would go smoothly…
But that would be the wrong way to go, wouldn’t it?
Riste gave me this skill in the hope that I could develop the world.
Even if I could do that, it would probably be a month or two after I got back, and in that case, I think the most important thing is to gather information myself at my destination while I’m planning the next destination.
That’s more like the RPG I like.
“Yes, I think I understand, but there are still some things I don’t understand, so I’ll try it out as I use it. Mapping and filling in the blanks is something I personally like to do, so I think I’ll probably be able to do it!”
“Fufu, as expected of you, Loki-kun. I have high expectations for you.”
After saying that, Riste moved even closer to me and held her hand over my head.
“Then I’ll do it.”
A beat later, the words
‘You have acquired the Map Making Lv. 1.’
As soon as the announcement flashed across my vision, Riste fell on top of me.
Riste! Are you okay?
“Just a little longer… hold me… hold me… please…”
“Of course! Thank you? I’ll do my best to spread it around, okay?”
“Yes…”
As I thought when I was with Alicia-sama, I can really understand how difficult it is to give someone a unique, highest-level blessing.
Riste’s skin, which was already too white, has a slight yellowish tint, and large beads of sweat have appeared on her forehead, making her look extremely distressed.
There is no way that I can ask for more high-level blessings from her.
I can’t help but hug Riste, who has entrusted me with this situation.
However…
There are two people watching this exchange with cold eyes.
“Riste~? I know it’s painful, but you didn’t have to get so close to Loki-kun, did you?”
“I definitely had it in mind that you might hug him. It’s not fair…”
“…Eh?
T-That’s true.
I don’t think it was like that with Alicia-sama.
I think it was something like her groaning while spreading her arms a bit away from me as if something was about to leak out.
But… well.
“I’m happy, so don’t worry about it, okay?”
“After all, you’re… gentle…”
Riste slowly kisses my cheek as she says this.
I hear a scream in the distance, and another person approaches me for some reason, but my consciousness returns to my body before I can get any closer.
“(I think I heard a ‘bang’ at the end, but I wonder if I’m okay?)”
As I thought this, I stood up and looked back to find that I had somehow attracted the attention of about 10 people who were staring at me with murderous intent.
“(How much longer are you going to pray, you idiot!?)”
In an atmosphere where I felt I could hear these voices all at once, I bowed my head and left the church.
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