Not knowing when undead might appear again, we took turns keeping watch in pairs, and left again early the next morning. For breakfast, we simply ate the boxed lunches I had bought.
After traveling for about four hours, we finally arrived at Arcanletia. Arcanletia was a basin-shaped city surrounded by large rocky mountains.
Hot spring water flowed continuously from the rocky mountains, and the entire city was built with medieval-style buildings. Fitting for a city of water and hot springs, the blue roofs were uniform, making it an incredibly beautiful city.
"Wow~ What a beautiful city."
Kazuma also looked around the town in admiration. I was similarly amazed by the city's beauty. I would travel to many cities in the future, but I wondered if I would ever see one as beautiful as this.
If it weren't for the headquarters of the Axis Church, I would almost want to buy a mansion here, make it my home base, and continue my activities.
And because it was a hot spring town, it was a bit humid and warm, so people were all wearing revealing clothes. Occasionally we saw elves and dwarves, which made Kazuma very excited, saying it felt like a real fantasy world.
"Manju, how about a manju~?"
Hearing a merchant's voice outside the moving carriage selling manju, Megumin explained.
"Those are the famous Arcan manju. I've heard they're quite delicious."
"You know about them? Megumin."
"When it comes to Arcanletia, it's a famous hot spring treatment destination for adventurers. The effects of the hot springs here are amazing."
Simply put, it meant healing the body with the hot springs. Then Darkness continued.
"I've visited several villages with my father in the past, but this village is more beautiful than any of them. Thanks for recommending such a nice honeymoon destination, Tae-jin."
We took the carriage and got off at the carriage stop inside the town. The merchants thanked us again, said 'have a nice trip,' and said goodbye.
"Thank you~ Mister!"
We also waved, said goodbye to the merchants and coachmen, and then headed out to look around the town. Just then, Aqua said to us in an excited voice,
"Now, kids, where do you want to go? Ask me anything about this town! Because this is the headquarters of the Axis Church, blessed by my divine protection!"
Megumin and Yunyun had already been to this city before, and I knew about it and had mentally prepared, so it didn't bother me, but Kazuma was quite flustered to hear that the Axis Church headquarters was here.
"So the Axis Church headquarters really is here?"
"Yeah, but it's also true that it's famous for its hot springs."
"I hope nothing happens..."
Kazuma looked very worried. He had heard stories from various places that the Axis Church was full of weirdos.
Sure enough, the townspeople began to swarm us.
"Welcome to Arcanletia!"
"Are you here for sightseeing? To join the church? For adventure? For baptism?"
"If you're looking for work, please consider the Axis Church!"
"Right now, there's a job where you can earn money just by spreading the greatness of the Axis Church to other villages!"
"Accepting that job comes with the privilege of being able to call yourself a follower of the Axis Church!"
"How about it?" "What do you say?"
Just as expected of the fanatical followers of the Axis Church, they immediately swarmed us, first-time travelers, and started urging us to join. I brought Aqua over and told them,
"We already have a priest of the Axis Church with us. And we have business at the headquarters."
"Is that so! A comrade! May you have a wonderful day!"
We managed to get past them by saying that, and they saw us off. Kazuma already looked tired of it all.
"Ugh... Tae-jin, is this place okay?"
"Well... if you know how to handle them, it's probably fine. First, let's go to our lodgings."
"Okay. If we stay here, they'll just swarm us again."
We got a large inn with an open-air bath and unloaded our luggage. Even coming here, we were proselytized several times by various Axis Church followers, but we managed to get past them by talking to them like before.
As soon as we had unpacked, Aqua said with a bright face,
"I'm going to go visit the Axis Church headquarters!"
"I'll go too! I've been indebted to the Axis Church before. I'll go and pay my respects."
Megumin and Yunyun decided to go with Aqua to the headquarters. Seeing that, Darkness said,
"Let's go out and look around the town too."
"Yeah, let's do that. Since we came all this way, we should look around."
And so, we went out in simple clothes to look around the town. We first moved to the town center. There, a large fountain stood, with a beautifully sculpted goddess statue. Darkness admired it.
"Wow~ What a beautiful goddess statue?"
Kazuma glanced at the goddess statue and commented,
"It's a lie."
"Yeah, it's a lie."
I agreed with Kazuma's assessment. Because, at a glance, it was a statue of the goddess Aqua made to look beautiful.
Just then, a cute-looking woman carrying a basket of apples tripped near us, spilling the apples on the ground.
"Ah! My apples!"
"Are you alright?"
We picked up the fallen apples and gave them back to the woman.
"Thank you. I'm saved."
The woman expressed her gratitude, then, looking embarrassed, said to me,
"Um... I'd like to thank you... There's a café run by the Axis Church up ahead. Would you like to talk with me there?"
Kazuma, realizing this was another proselytizing attempt, frowned, but I spoke well.
"Hahaha, thank you for the offer, but perhaps later. We have to go to the Axis Church headquarters. Because a priest of the Axis Church is our companion..."
"Oh~ Is that so? So you're comrades."
"You seem to be out proselytizing."
"Yes. Unfortunately, our congregation isn't growing."
"That's too bad. I hope it grows quickly."
"Thank you. May you have a wonderful day~"
With those words, the woman went off to where other travelers were. Kazuma watched her and admired,
"Wow, amazing! As expected of Tae-jin. To get past that like that!"
"Hahaha, well, there's also another way. The Axis Church and the Eris Church don't get along, so if you wear an Eris Church necklace or symbol, they probably won't proselytize to you. Though you might be hated for it."
"Oh~ So there's a way like that!"
Hearing that, Darkness suddenly blushed and immediately put an Eris Church necklace around her neck.
"So if I put this around my neck, I'll be hated? Drool~!"
"Y-yeah."
We enjoyed shopping while looking around the town. We bought and ate manju as we walked. But every time we bought something, we were proselytized by Axis Church members, so it was a bit annoying to have to talk our way out of it.
"Oh~ This is delicious! I'll have to buy some to take home."
"I agree, it lives up to its reputation. But I'm tired. They should proselytize in moderation..."
Kazuma also managed to brush off the proselytizing, but he was exhausted by the constant attempts. So we deliberately started moving to a less crowded area.
"Kyaa~! Someone over there, please help me~!"
Just then, a beautiful woman came running toward us from ahead, and a burly man was chasing her, laughing. Then, stopping right in front of us, she pointed at the man chasing her and said,
"That brutal-looking man who looks like an Eris follower is trying to force me into a dark alley~!"
"Hey! You guys there! You're not Axis Church followers, are you? If you were strong and wonderful Axis Church followers, you would have run away, but if not, don't hold back!"
Realizing this was also a proselytizing attempt, we were dumbfounded. The burly man and the beautiful woman continued,
"I will not forgive anyone who interferes with this body blessed by the dark god Eris!"
"Ah~ What a predicament! What I have in my hand right now is an Axis Church application form! If someone were to sign their name here, this evil Eris follower would run away~!"
"Plus, upon joining, you get all sorts of mysterious benefits, like becoming a master of talents or being loved by undead monsters!"
What kind of benefits were 'becoming a master of talents' or 'being loved by undead monsters'? I was flabbergasted. At any rate, Darkness, unable to bear listening any longer, got angry, showed her Eris Church necklace, and said,
"To call Lady Eris a dark god in front of me..."
"Ptooey!"
Realizing Darkness was an Eris follower, the woman and man made a disgusted face, spat on the ground, and immediately left. Kazuma was dumbfounded.
"... Are all Axis Church followers like this?"
"Ugh!"
Darkness, who had been treated this way, wriggled her body and blushed, as if excited. Kazuma looked at Darkness and asked me,
"Not all Eris followers are like this one, are they?"
"No, Darkness is just special."
"Sigh... I suppose so."
Seeing Darkness so excited, I wondered if her underwear was safe.
We now started moving again, heading for the Axis Church headquarters. But as we got closer to the headquarters, the proselytizing became even more intense.
"Congratulations! You are the 1,000,000th person to pass through this street. I'd like to give you a commemorative gift, but actually the Axis Church is the sponsor, so it's just a formality. Could you just sign your name here to receive the commemorative gift?"
This time, a merchant blocking our way held out an application form and spoke.
"Huh? Hey, isn't it you? Long time no see! It's me, remember? We were in the same class in school. You might not recognize me because I've changed a lot since joining the Axis Church!"
A young woman came over, held out an application form, and continued to urge us to join like that.
"Oh~ You're here on a trip? Here, kids, take this detergent. No need for money! It's a gift from Auntie. This detergent is amazing~! Blessed by Lady Aqua, it removes any stain instantly and is completely harmless to the body. It's true! You can drink this detergent!"
Similarly, an older woman gave us bottles of detergent, urging us to join. Kazuma and the others looked like their souls had left their bodies.
But I was interested in the detergent. I analyzed one with [Eyes] and, sure enough, I could sense a faint trace of power besides the physical components. It seemed it was because it was made in a city blessed by Aqua.
"Where can I buy this detergent?"
"Oh~ You want to buy some? Then this way."
Hearing that, Kazuma was flustered.
"Huh?? You want to buy it??"
"Yeah, it seems really effective."
We followed the woman to her shop and looked at her goods. She was selling a large amount of soap, detergent, and other items.
"I'll take everything here. I'll buy it all."
The woman seemed surprised.
"What? Really??"
"Yes, ring it up."
I wasn't buying these for myself to use; I planned to use them when running a city like in One Piece, so I decided to buy in bulk. The woman was overjoyed and sold the items to me cheaply. After paying, I pretended to put the items in a bag and stored them all in my inventory.
"Thank you~ May Lady Aqua's blessing be upon you~"
"Thank you. I'll come again."
We left the shop and moved to a nearby café to rest for a while. As soon as he sat down, Kazuma lay his head on the table.
"Ah... I'm tired... What is wrong with this town... Tae-jin, you have strong mental fortitude."
"Isn't it interesting? There are a lot of useful items too."
Then Darkness, excited, said,
"Haah~ This too is a trial in a foreign land! Very satisfying~"
"You're always so consistent, Darkness."
Just then, a café waiter came over and handed us water.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, customers."
The waiter handed Kazuma and me water in cups, and gave Darkness a bone in a dog bowl placed under the table.
"To our Eris follower customer, this is a service from our shop~ Now, please take your time."
Darkness, watching this, got excited again and said to us,
"Hey, Kazuma, Tae-jin, wouldn't you like to live in this town with me?"
"Absolutely not!"
We drank our beverages at the café, rested a bit, and then moved on. Seeing Kazuma struggling, we moved into an alley again this time. Then, suddenly, a cute little girl ran out in front of us, fell to the ground, and started crying. We quickly approached the girl to check on her.
"Are you okay?"
The girl had scraped her knee from the fall. I immediately used Heal on her knee, and Kazuma comforted her.
"It's just a scrape. I used Heal, so it'll be fine now."
"Thank you, big brothers, big sister!"
The girl, happy that her injury was treated, smiled brightly and thanked us. Seeing her smile, Kazuma looked like the stress he had received in this town had been washed away. He helped her to her feet.
"How is it? Does it still hurt?"
"I'm fine now. Thank you. Hey, kind big brother, tell me your name."
"It's Kazuma. Satou Kazuma. The scary sister here is Darkness, and the one beside her is Tae-jin."
Darkness was flustered by the introduction.
"Don't introduce me like that! Do I really look that scary?"
Everyone laughed at Kazuma's joke. Then the girl asked Kazuma,
"How do you write Satou Kazuma? Try writing it, big brother."
The girl held out a piece of paper and a pencil, asking him to write it. Kazuma naturally took the paper and pencil and tried to write it.
"Okay, my name is... Huh!!!"
Kazuma, looking at the paper, was extremely shocked and began to tremble. We looked at the paper in his hand to see what was wrong.
It was none other than an Axis Church application form. Kazuma quickly came to his senses and immediately tore the application form to shreds.
Riiip~!!!
"Goddammit~!!!!"
"Big brother~~!!!!"