"I can't take it anymore!! I'm going to go and argue!!"
Kazuma stomped off quickly towards the Axis Cult headquarters. We hurriedly followed. The headquarters building was the largest and most beautiful in the town, so it was easy to find.
As soon as Kazuma entered the headquarters building, he shouted.
"Someone in charge, come out!! I'll give you a piece of my mind!!!"
Then, a woman who appeared to be a priestess of the Axis Cult, hearing the noise, approached Kazuma with a smile and spoke.
"Oh my, what brings you here? Are you here to join? Or for a baptism?"
Then, she leaned in close to Kazuma and said,
"Or is it for me? Hee hee~"
At that, Kazuma's face turned red as if he had forgotten his anger and replied.
"For you... sort of."
Hearing this, the priestess laughed and said.
"Fufufu~ Just kidding~ Why so serious? Are you okay in the head? If it's that handsome man over there, it's fine. Feel free to talk to me anytime~"
The priestess teased Kazuma, then looked at me and said that, so I responded.
"I'm already married. Sorry."
"Oh my~! That's a shame. But it doesn't matter. The Axis Cult accepts all forms of love."
Kazuma, hearing the priestess and me talk, changed back to an extremely irritated expression. It seemed like there were no normal people in the Axis Cult.
"Anyway, the high priest Jester is away for missionary activities... I mean, to spread Aqua-sama's name. Sorry, but please come back another time~"
By this point, Kazuma seemed to realize that there were no normal people in the Axis Cult and tried to quickly leave to find them.
"Did a mage and an archpriest come here?"
"Ah~ those two..."
The priestess pointed to the far end of the chapel. There, Megumin was sitting in a corner, trembling, with numerous Axis Cult membership forms stuck all over her clothes, and Yunyun was comforting her. Unlike the original, Yunyun also had a few membership forms stuck on her clothes, so it seemed her personality had improved a bit from traveling with me. Enough to receive invitations from the Axis Cult.
We approached Megumin and Yunyun and asked where Aqua was.
"Where's Aqua?"
Then Yunyun answered.
"Aqua is over there in the confession booth, counseling devotees."
The confession booth consisted of two small rooms: one where devotees confessed their sins or sought advice, and the other where priests listened and counseled them. Aqua seemed to be in the counseling room, so Kazuma knocked and called for her.
Knock knock!
"Aqua! Hey, Aqua!"
When Aqua didn't respond, they entered the room where devotees confessed. Probably to bring Aqua out.
Meanwhile, I asked the priestess.
"Excuse me, is there a priestess named Cecily here now?"
"Ah~ Priestess Cecily is enjoying a bath with strange liquids like slimes, so she'll be out soon. Should I let you know when she comes?"
"Yes, please."
Cecily was a blonde, blue-eyed archpriest and quite a beauty, but the problem was that she was a severe lolicon and shotacon, though not limited to that; she would also pounce on handsome men. However, perhaps due to deep faith, she exhibited top-tier abilities as an archpriest, so she was someone I had always considered for my party since coming to this world.
Frankly, since normal people were rare here, I thought if we were going to have quirks, we might as well pick someone with good skills, so while at the headquarters, I planned to take Cecily as a party member.
Megumin, Yunyun, Darkness, and I waited for Aqua and Kazuma, but they didn't come out, so this time I entered the devotee's room. Then, Aqua's voice came from the front room.
"Welcome, lost lamb~ Now, confess your sins. God will listen and forgive."
Aqua seemed to be seriously engaged in listening to her devotees' worries as a goddess. So, I decided to play along.
"Actually, there's a female priest named Aqua in Kazuma's party, and she likes alcohol so much that I've had to help her back to the lodging several times. Then one morning, I woke up to find her skirt flipped up, and when I looked, it seemed she always went without panties, so her skirt was flipped up, and that area was exposed."
When I told a story from before, Aqua and Kazuma in the front room seemed extremely shocked.
"What! You saw that??"
"Gasp!! I've always been curious too, Aqua!! So, you've been going without panties all this time???"
I continued the story.
"Anyway, seeing that, I was more worried than turned on. Why she wore such short skirts without realizing, and because that area smelled so bad she might not wear panties for ventilation..."
"Waaaah!! Stop!!! Stop talking!!!"
Aqua hurriedly cut me off and rushed out of the confession booth, grabbing me and pulling me outside. Then Aqua pleaded.
"It's a secret from others."
"Got it, but tell me. How do you wear such short skirts without anyone noticing you're not wearing panties? And why do you go without panties in the first place?"
Kazuma was also curious about my question and listened alongside.
"That's... it feels liberating, I guess. Like I'm free..."
"Huh? So you go without panties because of that? You're a slut!"
Kazuma found that story ridiculous.
"Then, how have you avoided detection until now?"
"There's a perception-hindering magic that only women know. Using that, no one notices I'm not wearing panties. I use it every morning, but that day, I slept in after drinking, so the magic probably wore off."
Kazuma finally understood why certain magic had different effects on Aqua.
"So that's why when I use Steal on you, I only get staffs or wing clothes, not panties!"
"Anyway, keep it a secret. I've become a body that can't wear panties anymore."
"What are you talking about, you slut! Sigh... fine. I'll keep it a secret."
I also agreed to keep it a secret and learned the perception-hindering magic from Aqua. Thus, another mystery in this world was solved.
[(D) Oblivian]
Hinders people's perception.
Since we were whispering for a long time in front of the confession booth, Megumin and Yunyun approached and asked.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Kazuma scratched his head and answered.
"Nothing, let's just go back and enjoy the hot spring."
"Right. I don't want to stay here any longer."
I had to wait to meet Cecily, so I told them.
"You guys go back to the inn first. I'll talk to a new party candidate and then come."
"What? A party candidate?"
"Yeah, a priestess named Cecily from the Axis Cult."
Hearing that, Megumin was greatly surprised and asked again.
"What???? Did you just say Cecily???"
"Yeah."
"Cassian, you should reconsider Cecily..."
Kazuma, seeing Megumin trembling as she spoke, asked curiously.
"Why? Do you know her?"
"That person is a severe lolicon and shotacon!!!"
"Huh?? Isn't that a crime?"
"The Axis Cult accepts all forms of love, they say."
At that moment, a beautiful woman's voice was heard beside us.
"What are you saying about me, Miss Megumin?"
"Eek~!"
Megumin seemed extremely startled. The woman who spoke was Cecily herself, and as in the original, she was a stunning blonde beauty.
"Long time no see, Megumin, Yunyun. I missed you since you don't visit often."
"Ahaha~ Well, our party came to Arcanretia for sightseeing. So while we're here, we thought we'd say hello..."
"Oh~ Then let's bathe and sleep together like last time."
"We already have a room booked!"
"Really? Tsk! That's a shame..."
Cecily was very disappointed. With such beauty, even Kazuma might have been excited, but from the conversation, he seemed to have figured out what kind of person Cecily was and looked disappointed.
"But who is this super handsome man next to you?"
"I'm Cassian, known as the Silver Flash as an adventurer. I'm looking for a priestess."
"Oh~ So that's why you sought me out!"
"Yeah."
Cecily smiled and suddenly grabbed my hand.
"Cassian, let's go! Our love starts now~ Aqua-sama! You heard my prayers~ Thank you!"
"Hahaha, you're lively, that's good. But sadly, I'm married. To two people, in fact."
"That's no problem. The Axis Cult accepts any form of love. Married or not, it doesn't matter!"
As expected, Cecily wasn't sane. But on the bright side, recruiting her was easy.
"Then wait a moment. I'll pack my things and be right back."
Yunyun had a very flustered expression at the sudden rival. I had told Yunyun earlier that I was looking for a priestess, so she didn't say much, but she seemed very taken aback that it was Cecily.
"Um, Cassian, there are other priestesses, why specifically Cecily, the high priestess managing this place... Let's take time to find a normal Eris Cult priestess instead."
"Axis Cult priestesses are eccentric but famous for their skills, and Cecily has the best among them. That's why I chose her. Since most Axis Cult members are weirdos, I thought we might as well pick based on skill. And from what I heard, she already knows Megumin and Yunyun."
"Well, that's true."
I managed to persuade her. Yunyun didn't say more but was very worried, thinking about the troublesome future.
After waiting a bit in the chapel, Cecily came out with her luggage packed.
"I'm all ready now. Let's go."
"Sure, let's head to the inn. I'll carry your luggage."
"Oh my, how kind."
We were about to move back to the inn. But outside, Darkness was being hit by stones from neighborhood kids. So I quickly stopped the kids.
"Hey kids! Can't you stop that!"
Then the kids scattered and ran away. I helped Darkness up and brushed off her clothes.
"Cassian, even the women and children in this town are high-level! I really want to live here?"
Seeing Darkness's flushed face, she seemed to have enjoyed being hit by the stones.
"You seem to have enjoyed it quite a bit, but we need to go back to the inn now."
"Right, let's go."
Then Cecily, looking at Darkness's necklace, asked me.
"Who is this Eris Cult follower here?"
"She's one of my wives I mentioned earlier."
"Huh??? Don't tell me you're also an Eris Cult follower, Cassian?"
Cecily was worried that I might be an Eris Cult follower.
"No. I have no religion."
"Phew... that's a relief."
"And let me clarify in advance: Darkness here, my wife, is not in our party. Our party is just Yunyun and me... So I've been recruiting, and we travel with Kazuma's party because we're friends."
"Ah! I see. Got it."
We returned to the inn and got a room for Cecily. Then Cecily said.
"You didn't have to do that; I could share a room with Megumin and Yunyun."
"Refused!" "Refused!"
Megumin and Yunyun shouted simultaneously. Then Cecily, blushing, said to me.
"Then, I have no choice but to share with Cassian..."
"Sorry, but I'm newlywed with Darkness, so... The main purpose of coming here was for our honeymoon, though I also came to look for a priestess."
"Tsk! I see. But if you think of me, feel free to come to my room anytime~"
Cecily was very disappointed again. I had somewhat prepared for Cecily's crazy talk, but experiencing it firsthand made me a bit worried about the future.
"Now let's enjoy the hot spring and relax."
"Right, let's do that. I saw there's a mixed-gender bath earlier?"
Kazuma seemed very excited about the mixed-gender bath.
"I'll go soak now..."
Kazuma said loudly, as if wanting the girls to hear, and tried to go to the hot spring. What was he expecting... Anyway, after saying that, Kazuma waited for a while without going to the hot spring, and the girls said.
"Have a good time~"
"I...!!!"
"Go already!" "Yeah, go already!" "What are you doing, haven't you gone yet?"
Kazuma headed to the hot spring dejectedly. I went with him. Of course, following Kazuma, I entered the mixed-gender bath, not the men's bath.
"Cassian, do you think there might be women?"
Kazuma was still hopeful.
"Maybe, but they could be grandmothers."
"Sigh... probably..."
I had a reason for coming to the mixed-gender bath. It was to meet important people here, but since I caused many changes from the original, it was uncertain if I could meet them.
We took off our clothes and entered the mixed-gender bath. Since it was mixed-gender, we weren't completely naked; out of courtesy, we covered our important parts with towels. Entering, the entire hot spring was an open-air bath, allowing us to enjoy the surrounding scenery while soaking.
"Wow~ an open-air bath, nice."
"Yeah."
We showered briefly and went towards the bath, where we saw three people sitting at the far end, talking. One of them was a stunning red-haired beauty with a great figure, and seeing her, Kazuma got excited and whispered to me.
"Cassian, look over there! There's an incredible beauty in the bath!"
"Yeah, there is a beauty."
We also entered the bath and started enjoying the hot spring. Kazuma couldn't take his eyes off the woman. I looked at the three people: one man was Hans, the woman was Wolbach, and the last man was Vanir.
'Huh? Why is he here...'
It was good to meet important people, but I was a bit flustered to see Vanir here.