Chapter 363 – G.o.d of the Sky (7)
[Let’s go to my temple.]
Said the G.o.d of Hope.
Out of the blue.
“Why your temple?”
[Don’t you need time anyways?]
“What time.”
The G.o.d of Hope made a giggling sound.
I had heard it many times already, but each time I heard it it was a fresh, irritable laugh.
[If you are crushed because you need time to clear up your confused mind, is there a need to shiver on a cold roof like this? If you need guidance and rest, let’s go to my temple.]
Even the roof is not bad because I can think quietly by myself.
And I haven’t even caught the lower G.o.d who has fled here yet.
I have no intention of leaving this planet before then.
[It’s not far from here.]
“Huh? Here?”
[If you turn to the left in the direction you are looking at, it will be quick.]
Looking at the direction the G.o.d of Hope said, I saw the roof of a temple building.
The temple was easy to recognize.
Because there needs to be symbolism.
Temples are always designed with the feeling of ‘oh, this building is a temple”.
“That’s your temple?”
[Yes.]
It was surprising.
Truly.
I couldn’t easily accept the fact that there was a temple of the G.o.d of Hope in the middle of the city.
No, its existence on the planet itself was strange.
The reason was obvious.
It was because of the grotesque ideals of the G.o.d of Hope.
The G.o.d of Hope believes that the most desperate moment is the moment when hope shines the most.
And there was no urgency on this planet.
They couldn’t get desperate.
It is a planet where many G.o.ds are competing for benefits.
In the midst of this, if a person’s life is to become desperate, they would need a very elaborate and complex story.
Even if the G.o.d of Hope encouraged such a situation to his believers, it would not be easy to maintain it.
It was only if the believers abandoned the G.o.d of Hope and returned to other G.o.ds.
So I did not expect that there would be a temple of the G.o.d of Hope on this planet.
However, the G.o.d of Hope introduced the temple in the middle of the city as his own temple.
Oh, that’s it.
Something like the hidden dark forces of the continent.
A social group that is intriguingly conspiring to destroy the peace in the world.
As I recalled, it was plausible.
[That is a false preconceived notion.]
What false preconceived notion.
I think it fits within the probability of his behaviors.
[If you go, you will know.]
“If I go, I feel like I’m going to feel uncomfortable.”
He must have hidden something like a torture chamber in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the temple.
It was clear.
First, I headed to the temple as the G.o.d of Hope said.
In fact, the G.o.d of Hope was right.
I needed time to organize my thoughts.
There was also a need for planning to catch the lower G.o.d.
Most of all, I wanted to see the temple of the G.o.d of Hope, which stimulated my curiosity.
*
“What, this is…….”
The temple of the G.o.d of Hope was unexpectedly bright and lively.
The believers wandering around looked relaxed and clear, as if they came out of a neighborhood drinking party rather than a temple.
Priestesses were serving people with smiles like salespeople.
People looked peaceful.
I got little gooseb.u.mps.
[What was that you were saying earlier?]
The G.o.d of Hope said in an elated voice as if he had won.
“What…….”
Is it such a level of mental pollution that I can’t even notice?
Otherwise, it couldn’t be explained.
[Don’t keep saying nonsense.]
As I was blankly looking at the people around me, a priestess came to me.
The priestess was wearing a robe uniform with a sprout drawn on it.
Is that sprout a symbol of the Church of Hope?
It’s ridiculous.
[That is the case here.]
Oh my gosh.
It’s the end, it’s the end.
That kind of society is using a hopeful symbol like a sprout.
It was a Church of Hope without even a minimum of conscience.
[Would you stop being so sarcastic?]
“Brother, is this your first time here?”
The G.o.d of Hope and the priestess asked at the same time.
I nodded.
*
The priestess guided me to a private parlor.
As soon as I entered the parlor where I was guided, I patted various places on the wall.
There seems to be no hidden room.
“Why are you knocking on the wall?”
“I was wondering if there was a trap installed.”
Like sleeping gas.
Like paralyzing poison.
Or just poisons.
Like curse magic.
Or just an arrow.
“No such thing, brother.”
The priestess said with a smile.
As she said, there was no such thing as a trap.
That’s why.
I wonder if there is a trap that even tricks my senses.
That was more rational.
Rather than accepting the fact that the temple of the G.o.d of Hope is really a normal temple, it’s better to think that there’s some terrible trap hiding.
“You can write simple personal information here.”
The priestess handed out a piece of paper.
Oh, is this a trap too?
Are you trying to take advantage of other people’s personal information?
[This is a guestbook. Just roughly write something down.]
It wasn’t.
As I drew graffiti in the guestbook, the priestess asked me about my visit.
[You can say you need guidance.]
As he said, I stated I needed guidance.
Then the priestess was greatly pleased.
“If you have any thoughts of returning-”
“Nope.”
I said in a nutsh.e.l.l.
“Yes?”
“No.”
“Ah… Yes.”
The priestess was visibly disappointed.
But she didn’t do missionary work any more than that.
Instead, she asked again about the business.
“Then what kind of guidance would you like?”
I said that I would like to ask the priestess to guide me to the temple of the lower G.o.d I saw earlier.
“Ah, it was a guide! Please wait here for a moment. I’ll be ready soon.”
The priestess said so and left her parlor.
I don’t know what she’s going to prepare.
[Simple. She’s just changing into outdoor clothes and coming.]
Is that so?
Well.
[What, if there is anything you want to ask, ask.]
Said the G.o.d of Hope.
As he said, there was something I wanted to ask.
“Why is that priestess trying to guide my way? We are not from the same church.”
[That is the role of my priests. To guide.]
It doesn’t suit you.
[Hope is a vague expectation.]
The G.o.d of Hope explained.
[The role of my priests is to be a light that illuminates when people are lost and wandering, or when they are unable to go on their own. As a result, people give hope to me, and in addition, even if there is a problem in the future, they can ask for help from the nearby Temple of Hope.]
It was a very different story from the view of hope of the G.o.d of Hope that I had known before.
The G.o.d of Hope is not satisfied with the meaning of a light that marks milestones on the road or a degree of prevention that can overcome anxiety about the future.
[So my priests show people the way. They guide you through the streets and provide directions to people who are mentally wandering. The answer is not always correct, but it is my priests who will walk together.]
I couldn’t take it anymore and asked.
That isn’t like his ideal.
Does he not believe that hope in despair is the brightest hope?
[Of course it is.]
The G.o.d of Hope replied.
[But is there any reason to ask for only the strongest hope? Weak hope is also hope. Of course, from my point of view, it would be nice to receive strong hope with faith, but if the situation doesn’t work, I have to pursue other methods.
Is it different depending on the situation?
When I think about it, it was.
If you think of the sanctuaries of the G.o.d of Hope who were in an extreme situation like h.e.l.l.
They were all sacred sites of the G.o.d of Hope or areas exclusively owned by the G.o.d of Hope.
It was the same on the 49th floor of the Tutorial when I first encountered the G.o.d of Hope.
It was a world of mixed religions.
All denominations fell and only the sanctuary of the G.o.d of Hope remained.
The reason the G.o.d of Hope established a truly hopeful denomination on this planet was not for good or evil and not for morality.
It was just a management strategy according to the conditions.
When I thought so, I finally understood.
*
Following the priestess, I went back to the streets.
There was one obvious advantage.
Since there was a priestess attached to me as a guide, there were no people who bothered me for missionary work.
There was also one drawback.
Seregia was eating too much from the priestess.
It’s a bit embarra.s.sing as a party.
“He said that if we believed in the G.o.d of the Earth, he would give grilled skewers for free.”
“I’ll buy it instead!”
Like an idiot, the priestess kept buying food for Seregia.
It was already the fourth time I saw it.
Perhaps the priestess seemed to be still open to the possibility of us returning to the Temple of Hope.
Unfortunately, she was unable to give up her vain hope.
[All my priestesses are underpaid. Stop.]
The G.o.d of Hope said this.
After taking Seregia who was trying to eat all the street foods, I headed to a place where I felt the energy of the lower G.o.d.
A long, long staircase stretched from the street to the building on the hillside.
It wasn’t a very high mountain by my standards, but it seemed too difficult for an average person to walk up.
The stairs were steep and too high.
No matter how much I looked at it, it wasn’t a stairway to be climbed.
“Let’s go.”
The priestess spoke briskly and began to climb the stairs in the lead.
As she climbed the stairs she asked me.
“Seeing you go to the sage, do you have any concerns?”
“Sage?”
“Yes, the sage over there.”
The priestess said, pointing to the shrine on the hillside.
Sage.
Was the lower G.o.d serving as a sage here?
It was surprising.
I asked about the sage.
As the priestess headed to the sage, I questioned her about the sage, but she answered me sincerely.
“He is a wise person. If there is a major disaster or crisis on the continent, he’ll tell us. He thinks deeply about even the smallest issues between people and makes wise judgments.”
Listening to the priestess’ words, the sage did not seem to be regarded as a G.o.d.
Could he maintain faith through mere respect?
It seemed to be possible if he was not a definite G.o.d but a lower G.o.d of an ambiguous level.
Pretending to be a sage may be his strategy in order to receive faith on this planet where several G.o.ds coexist.
“Then there must be many people visiting.”
“Well, as you can see.”
The priestess said.
There were not a few people climbing the stairs.
“But there aren’t many people who meet the sage.”
“Why?”
“If you walk this staircase while thinking about your worries, your worries are solved.”
*
It was literally like so.
People who have started climbing the stairs with their own problems stopped step by step.
Then they turned around and started going down the stairs.
There was no magic staircase that solved people’s concerns.
“Heuk, heuk…. keuhk.”
The priestess was breathing heavily.
It was a natural reaction.
As such, this staircase was a structure that was difficult for ordinary people to climb.
It was so steep that you can’t stop to rest.
The slope gets worse, and it becomes almost the level of rock climbing.
If you miss your step, you would fall right away.
It was a staircase that instilled not only physical suffering but also mental horror.
As you climb stairs like this, minor worries will naturally disappear from your mind.
It was natural.
Even the worries that were not there will disappear.