There were still a few more days until the debut party, so Cain decided to stroll around the capital. Naturally, he wasn’t allowed to go alone. Sarah and Reine were together in the carriage with him, and their butler Sebas was driving the carriage.
“Reine, Cain, is there anywhere you would like to go?” Sarah asked.
Cain wanted to visit the church. He had met with the gods when he was baptized, but there was still much he wanted to ask them about, especially in regard to the ridiculous numbers on his Status.
“I’d like to visit the church. We safely reached the capital, and I haven’t been to one since I was baptized.”
“That’s a good idea. You received a lot of blessings from them; it would be good to show your gratitude,” Reine said.
“Let’s do that, then. Sebas, bring us to the church first,” Sarah requested.
“Very well, Madam.”
The carriage made its way through the streets of the capital. The buildings visible from the window were well maintained and neatly divided into sections.
About three hundred thousand people lived here and the total population of the Esfort Kingdom was roughly one million. The idea of a census didn’t exist in this world, so there weren’t any exact figures for this.
The carriage continued through the city, and after about twenty minutes, it arrived in front of the church. As one would expect, the church in the capital was larger than the one in Gracia. The bishop was stationed here, and the Holy Kingdom of Marineford only assigned a single bishop to each country.
They got out of the carriage and entered the church. They offered some alms to the nun at the entrance, then headed to the prayer room. At the center of the chapel were the shintai2 of the seven pillar gods. These shintai were much more grand than the statues in Gracia.
A statue of the God of Creation Zenom was in the center of the seven pillars. Cain compared the statue to the god in his memories and couldn’t help but smile wryly; they didn’t look similar at all.
He kneeled down and began to pray. His vision was covered in whiteness. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he found himself back in the same world of pure white he had gone to during his baptism. There was a table in front of him. Like last time, the seven pillars were seated there.
Cain bowed his head and greeted the gods. “Long time no see. I’ve safely arrived at the capital, so I’ve come to pay my respects at the church here. I wasn’t sure whether or not I would wind up back here, but I’m glad I did.”
“Hoh, hoh, hoh. At last, thou hast come, Cain. Long have we awaited thee, although our gaze hath ever been upon thee.”
“You were watching me?” Cain asked.
“Verily, in this manner.”
Zenom raised his hand, and several screens appeared on the table, projecting various scenes. Scenes of Cain hunched over on the floor after seeing his Status, scenes of Cain’s fight at the adventurer’s guild, scenes of Cain fighting the orcs on the way to the capital. To top it all off, there was also a scene of Cain riding in the carriage with the two beautiful girls.
“No way! Don’t watch me like that!”
Cain blushed in embarrassment once he saw what he was doing on the screens.
“Verily, we are but able to watch over thee from afar. Yet thy deeds bring us great mirth, and so it is that we all find ourselves ever observing thee.”
“At least allow me some privacy…”
“Come now, long have we awaited thy return hither. On this day, Grimm and Panam have matters to speak of with thee.”
As if waiting for this moment, God of Technology Grimm began to speak. “That’s right! Cain. This world lacks leisure. Can you recreate one of the pastimes of your previous world, here?” Grimm asked.
It was true that there wasn’t much to do for leisure in this world. People slept early, and even the concept of playing games for fun didn’t exist. The closest thing to leisure was drinking and horsing around.
“Well, I guess I can provide ideas, but I’ve never made things like that myself before.”
“Of that we are well aware. You can partner up with a company and have them make it for you. Whenever you make something, if you offer it up to Panam, it will be registered under your name. You won’t have to worry about copycats,” Grimm assured him.
This world had something similar to patents. By offering up your inventions to the God of Commerce Panam, the invention would be registered under your name. If anyone were to try to create a copycat, divine punishment would befall them.
Cain was curious as to the nature of that “divine punishment,” but after seeing Panam’s creepy smile he decided he was better off not knowing.
“Okay then. I think it’ll be possible to make a simple game, like Othello. I’ll consult with a merchant about it.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”
Grimm and Panam nodded with a smile.
“By the way, there was something I wanted to ask. How would you evaluate my Status, from a general perspective?”
“Hmm… In numbers alone, thou art no longer of mortal kind. Thy experience yet falleth short, but even now, thou standest as the mightiest among men. Shouldst thou continue upon this path, mayhap thou shalt ascend to a Demigod?”
“Demigod…?”
“A being on the same plane as a divine beast or a divine dragon—thou art already nigh upon it. Yet far dost thou remain from attaining our exalted stature.”
Zenom laughed as he looked at Cain. Cain couldn’t hide his surprise at learning that he had somehow grown to become the strongest amongst all humans.
“It would be wise to learn that there are bounds to what thou canst achieve alone. Do not strive for the impossible. Our time is waning—do come again.”
After Zenom’s final words, Cain’s vision was once more enveloped in light. When he came to, he was back in the chapel. He bowed his head to the shintai of the seven pillars, exited the chapel, thanked the nun, and left the church.
“Cain, have you finished praying?”
“Yeah. I told the gods, ‘Thank you for all the blessings you have given me.’”
“Let’s go shopping for clothes next!” Reine said excitedly, pulling Cain back to the carriage, “I can’t wait to see what the capital has to offer.”
They returned to the carriage and continued down the street. They entered the commercial district and stopped in front of a shop.
“We’ve arrived,” Sebas announced.
Sarah, Reine, and Cain got out of the carriage and entered the store. It primarily sold high-end garments for commoners. It wasn’t the type of lavish establishment aristocrats preferred, which gave it a certain appeal. Cain followed Sarah and Reine to the upper floor, which specialized in selling goods for women.
“Um… This is the women’s section.”
Cain was the only male on the entire floor. Waiting for them to finish picking out clothes was a special form of agony. The two girls paid Cain no heed as they continued to take outfits to the dressing room. Cain was extremely uncomfortable, so he snuck away.