We took turns keeping watch in pairs because we didn't know when undead might come again, and set off early the next morning. We had a simple breakfast with bento boxes I bought.
After traveling for about 4 hours, we finally arrived at Arcanretia. Arcanretia was a basin-shaped city surrounded by large stone mountains, with hot spring water continuously flowing from the mountains. The entire village was built with medieval-style buildings, and as befitting a city of water and hot springs, it had unified blue roofs and was an incredibly beautiful city.
"Wow~ It's a really beautiful city."
Kazuma also admired and looked around the village. I was equally impressed by the city's beauty. Even though I would travel to many cities in the future, I wondered if there would be another city as beautiful as this. If it weren't for the Axis Cult headquarters, I'd want to buy a mansion here and make it my base for continued activities.
And since it was a hot spring village, it was somewhat humid and the temperature was high, so people were all wearing clothes with high exposure. Moreover, occasional elves and dwarfs could be seen, making Kazuma very excited, saying it really felt like a fantasy world.
"Manju, how about a manju~?"
When we heard the voice of a merchant selling manju outside the moving carriage, Megumin explained.
"That's the famous Arcan manju. It's quite renowned for being tasty."
"You know a lot, Megumin."
"Arcanretia is famous among adventurers as a hot spring treatment site. The efficacy of the hot springs here is amazing."
In short, it meant healing the body with hot springs. Then Darkness continued.
"I've been to many villages with my father before, but this village is more beautiful than any other. Thanks for recommending a good honeymoon trip, Cassian."
We got off the carriage at the carriage waiting area inside the village. The merchants thanked us again, said goodbye, and wished us a pleasant journey.
"Thank you~ sir!"
We also waved and said goodbye to the merchants and coachmen, then moved out to sightsee the village. At that moment, Aqua said to us in an excited voice.
"Now, guys, where do you want to go? Ask me anything about this village! Because this is the headquarters of the Axis Cult, which receives my blessing!"
Megumin and Yunyun had already been to this city before, and I had prepared myself knowing in advance, so it didn't matter, but Kazuma was quite taken aback to hear that the Axis Cult headquarters was here.
"Is it true that the Axis Cult headquarters is here?"
"Yes, but it's also famous for hot springs."
"I hope nothing happens..."
Kazuma had a very worried face. That was because he had heard from various places that the Axis Cult had a lot of weirdos.
As expected, the villagers who saw us began to swarm towards us.
"Welcome to Arcanretia!"
"Are you here for tourism? Conversion? Adventure? Baptism?"
"If you're looking for a job, please join the Axis Cult!"
"Right now, there's work where you can earn money just by spreading the excellence of the Axis Cult to other villages!"
"If you take this job, anyone can claim to be an Axis Cult follower as a special privilege!"
"How about it?" "What do you think?"
True to the fanatics of the Axis Cult, they swarmed towards first-time tourists and immediately began soliciting membership. I brought Aqua and told them.
"We already have a priestess of the Axis Cult. And we have business at the headquarters."
"I see! You're comrades! Please have a good day!"
We talked like that and were able to move on after receiving their greetings. Kazuma already had a fed-up expression.
"Ugh... Cassian, is this place okay?"
"Well... if we handle it well, it should be fine, right? Let's go to the inn first."
"Got it. If we stay here any longer, they might swarm again."
We booked a large inn with an open-air bath and unpacked. Even coming here, we were solicited many times by Axis Cult followers, but we talked our way out of it as before.
As soon as we unpacked, Aqua said with a bright face.
"I'm going to visit the Axis Cult headquarters!"
"I'll go too! I owe the Axis Cult a favor from before. I'll go say hello."
Megumin and Yunyun also decided to go to the headquarters with Aqua. Seeing that, Darkness said.
"Let's go out and sightsee the village."
"Yeah, let's do that. Since we're on a trip, we should look around."
So we went sightseeing the village in casual attire. We first moved to the center of the village, where there was a large fountain with a beautifully carved goddess statue. Darkness admired it.
"Wow~ It's a beautiful goddess statue, isn't it?"
Kazuma looked at the goddess statue and commented in one word.
"It's a scam."
"Yeah, it's a scam."
I agreed with Kazuma's assessment. Because it was clearly a goddess statue beautifully depicting the goddess Aqua.
At that moment, a cute-looking woman carrying a basket of apples tripped near us and spilled the apples on the ground.
"Ah! The apples!"
"Are you okay?"
We picked up the fallen apples and gave them to the woman.
"Thank you. You saved me."
The woman expressed her gratitude to us and shyly said to me.
"Um... I'd like to repay you... There's a cafe run by the Axis Cult ahead. Would you like to chat with me there?"
Hearing that, Kazuma frowned, realizing it was another proselytizing activity, but I handled it well.
"Hahaha, thank you for the offer, but maybe later. We have to go to the Axis Cult headquarters. Because our comrade is an Axis Cult priestess..."
"Oh~ Is that so? You're comrades."
"You must be proselytizing, I see."
"Yes. Unfortunately, the number of believers isn't increasing."
"That's a big problem. I hope you gain more believers soon."
"Thank you. Please have a good day~"
With those words, the woman went to where other tourists were. Kazuma watched that and was impressed.
"Wow, amazing! As expected of Cassian. To handle it like that!"
"Hahaha, it's nothing, there are other methods. Since the Axis Cult and Eris Cult don't get along, if you wear an Eris Cult necklace or symbol, they won't proselytize. But you might be disliked a bit."
"Oh~ That's a method!"
Hearing that, Darkness suddenly blushed and immediately put an Eris Cult necklace around her neck.
"So if I wear this around my neck, I'll be disliked, right? Churup~!"
"That... that's right."
We enjoyed shopping while sightseeing the village. We were also moving while eating manju we bought one each. But every time we bought something, we were solicited by the Axis Cult, so it was a bit bothersome to talk our way out of it.
"Oh~ This is delicious! I should buy some when we leave."
"Yeah, it's worthy of being a specialty. But I'm tired. They should solicit moderately..."
Kazuma also talked well to fend off the solicitations, but he was tired from the continuous offers. So we intentionally moved to less crowded places.
"Squawk~ You people over there, save me~!"
At that moment, suddenly, a beautiful woman came running towards us from ahead, and behind her, a sturdy man was following with a laugh. She stopped suddenly in front of us and pointed at the following man, saying.
"That vicious Eris Cultist-like man is trying to forcibly drag me to a dark place~!"
"Hey! You guys over there! You're not Axis Cultists, are you? If you were strong and cool Axis Cultists, I would have run away, but since you're not, I don't need to hold back!"
We listened and realized this was another membership solicitation and were dumbfounded. The sturdy man and beautiful woman continued.
"If you interfere with this body blessed by the dark god Eris, I won't forgive you!"
"Ah~ What should I do! What I have in my hand now is an Axis Cult membership application! If someone writes their name here, this evil Eris Cultist will run away~!"
"Moreover, if you join, you get all sorts of mysterious privileges like becoming a master of talent shows or being loved by undead monsters!"
We were bewildered, wondering what kind of privilege it is to become a master of talent shows or be loved by undead monsters. Anyway, hearing this, Darkness couldn't hold back and got angry, showing her Eris Cult necklace and saying.
"If you call Lady Eris a dark god in front of me..."
"Ptui!"
The woman and man, realizing Darkness was an Eris Cultist, frowned as if they had seen something they shouldn't have, spat on the ground, and immediately left. Seeing that, Kazuma was dumbfounded.
"... Are all Axis Cultists like these people..."
"Ugh!"
Darkness, having received such treatment, twisted her body—perhaps excited—and her face turned red. Kazuma saw that and asked me.
"Eris Cultists aren't all like this one, right?"
"No, Darkness is a bit special."
"Sigh... That seems to be the case."
Seeing Darkness so excited, I'm not sure if her panties are safe.
We moved again to go to the Axis Cult headquarters. But the closer we got to the headquarters, the more intense the membership solicitations became.
"Congratulations! You are the 1 millionth customer passing through this street. I'd like to give you a commemorative gift, but actually, the Axis Cult is the sponsor, so it's just a formality. Could you please just write your name for the gift presentation?"
This time, a merchant selling goods blocked our way and held out a membership application, saying this, or,
"Huh? Oh my! Long time no see! It's me, me, how have you been? You know, we were in the same grade and class in school, remember? I've changed a lot after joining the Axis Cult, so you might not recognize me!"
Some young woman came and held out a membership application, continuously soliciting membership in this way.
"Ara~ Are you here for a trip? Kids, take this detergent, okay, no money! It's a gift from auntie. This detergent is amazing~! It receives Lady Aqua's blessing, so any stain disappears quickly and it's completely harmless to the body. Really! You can even drink this detergent!"
Similarly, some old lady gave us a bunch of bottles and solicited membership. Kazuma and the others already looked like their souls had left their bodies. But I was interested in that detergent. So I analyzed one with [Naked Eye], and indeed, I felt a faint presence of other power besides the substance. Probably because it was made in this city where Aqua grants her blessing.
"Where can I buy this detergent?"
"Oh~ You want to buy? Then this way."
Hearing that, Kazuma was taken aback.
"Huh?? You want to buy??"
"Yeah, it seems really effective."
We followed the old lady to the shop she operated and looked at the goods. There, a large quantity of soap and detergent, etc., were sold.
"I'll take all the items here. I'll buy everything."
Then the old lady also seemed surprised.
"What?? Really???"
"Yes, please calculate."
This wasn't for me to use, but for when I operate a city or something like in One Piece, so I decided to buy in bulk. The old lady happily sold the items cheaply. I finished the calculation and pretended to put the items in my bag while storing them all in my inventory.
"Thank you~ May Lady Aqua's blessing be with you~"
"Thank you. I'll visit again next time."
We left the shop and moved to a nearby cafe to rest for a while. As soon as Kazuma sat down, he collapsed onto the table to rest.
"Ah... I'm tired... What kind of place is this village... Cassian, your mental is good too."
"Isn't it fun? There are many useful items."
Then Darkness said excitedly.
"Haa~ This is also a trial in a foreign land! Satisfying~"
"You're really the same as ever."
At that moment, the cafe employee came and handed us water.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, customers."
The employee handed Kazuma and me water in cups, and to Darkness, he gave a dog bowl with bones placed under the table.
"Eris Cultist customer, this is our shop's service~ Then, please take it easy."
Watching that, Darkness got excited again and said to us.
"Hey Kazuma, Cassian, why don't we all live in this village?"
"Absolutely not!"
We rested at the cafe, drinking beverages, and then moved again. Since Kazuma was struggling, we moved to alleyways again. At that moment, suddenly, a cute little girl ran towards us, fell on the ground, and started crying. We hurriedly approached the girl to check her condition.
"Are you okay?"
The girl had scraped her knee slightly from the fall. I immediately used Heal on the girl's knee, and Kazuma comforted her.
"It's a slight scrape. I used Heal, so it should be fine now."
"Thank you, brothers, sister!"
The girl, after having her injury healed, showed us a bright smile and thanked us. Kazuma, seeing that smile, made an expression as if the stress he had received in this village was healed, and helped the girl up.
"How is it, does it still hurt?"
"It's fine now, thank you. Um, tell me your name, kind brother."
"I'm Kazuma, Sato Kazuma. This scary sister here is Darkness, and next to her is Cassian."
Darkness was taken aback upon hearing her introduction.
"Don't give strange introductions! Do I look that scary?"
Everyone laughed at Kazuma's joke. Then the girl asked Kazuma.
"How do you write Sato Kazuma? Write it for me, brother."
The girl held out paper and a pencil and asked him to write it. Kazuma naturally took the paper and pencil and was about to write it for her.
"Sure, my name is... Gasp!!!"
Kazuma looked at the paper and was greatly shocked, starting to tremble. We looked to see what was wrong, and the paper Kazuma was holding was none other than an Axis Cult membership application. Kazuma soon came to his senses and immediately tore up the application.
Rip~!!!
"Damn it~!!!!"
"Oni-chan~~!!!!"