Once again we headed toward the church’s headquarters.
It was located at the center of the Chiyodaku Kingdom, within the moat that surrounded the royal palace.
“I never expected to see the Nippon Budokan looking like this.”
I mumbled this to myself without thinking.
The Nippon Budokan was a famous facility in Tokyo’s Chiyoda-ku. It was about twenty or thirty minutes away from the Supreme Court on foot and faced the northern side of the Imperial Palace. It hosted concerts of famous artists and major sporting events, so I bet the number of people who had been there was overwhelmingly higher than those who had ever been to the Supreme Court.
But the Nippon Budokan that I knew had been drastically changed.
“Around the time of the reign of the king two generations prior, the king succeeded in a large-scale copy-paste of the Nippon Budokan and its surroundings,” Shiro explained. “At the time, the royal family and the church were still intimately involved, so rather than repair the existing church complex that was falling into disrepair, the king assigned the entire Nippon Budokan area as property of the church. Since then, the church has remained there while extending and renovating the buildings.”
I looked at it as we approached. The distinctive octagonal shape of the Budokan’s roof was still intact. But the windows around the outside had changed into medieval European–style stained glass, and the roof had been covered in an old-fashioned-looking stone. At the peak of the roof, where there had been a decoration that looked like a golden onion on the original Budokan, in this world there was a unique-looking decoration sparkling atop the roof—it was a kind of golden cross symbol like an X, and it almost looked like the kanji for father.
This majestic building, located at the Chiyodaku church headquarters, was called the cathedral.
Here we go. If they’re trying to increase their numbers, then they shouldn’t be too strict about letting me join…
The asphalt underfoot ended and turned into cobblestone. There were plants that looked like olive trees planted all around. Paired with the royal palace towering in the background, the scene around me looked like something out of medieval Europe.
“Prospective members, please proceed to the congregational hall.”
A congregation member wearing a white robe called out to the crowd. There were some members stationed as guides here and there, with the men wearing monk-like robes and white hats on their heads, and the women dressed in white hoods like nuns.
“Yes,” I replied, and headed in the direction I was told.
The congregational hall was to the southeast of the cathedral. Its architecture had no Japanese influence, and from the outside looked like a brick monastery. While it was smaller than the cathedral, it was still about the size of a gymnasium.
There was a line of about a hundred or two hundred people in front. There were some different races mixed in with the crowd, but the majority were humans. An examiner wearing robes asked me for my citizen identification cards, and I went along with the document review. Even outside, there was a quiet, religious atmosphere about the place.
“We ask that you undertake one week of monastic life at the headquarters. Do you agree to this?”
“I do,” I answered.
I told Tsukasa over telepathy that I was working with Shiro to infiltrate the headquarters. Apparently, she had been staying somewhere away from our home at the courthouse, focusing on investigating the cause of the building collapse. <<I trust your judgment,>> she said, leaving it to me. I would focus on things on my end.
“Mr. Akuto Satou. Please sign here.”
I signed my name on something that looked like a contract. When I saw that none of the congregation reacted to seeing my face or hearing my name, I thought they either must be living totally cut off from information from the outside world, or they just didn’t care…or maybe I just blended in to the crowd that well.
There was a level of risk in making my real name known, but I also had reason to want to see how others reacted to it. If I was rejected from joining, I would just have to think of another way to approach the investigation.
“Preparations for the first induction ceremony of the afternoon are underway. Please wait in this room.”
After being let through, I entered the congregational hall. On the first floor, there was a multi-purpose hall, a restroom, a waiting room, and so on.
There were about a hundred wooden chairs lined up in the waiting room. I sat down in a seat in the corner.
There was a screen hanging at the front of the room, and an introductory video was playing through a projector.
“The God of Creation created the heavens and the earth, and next created Man in their own image. Then God granted upon Man the sacred artifacts which would drive away evil…”
It seemed to be a video about this world’s creation myth.
It sounded an awful lot like the creation myth of another religion I had heard before. Everything else I had heard from Shiro. The high priest had inherited the oldest sacred artifact, which had existed for around three thousand years. The high priest was a proxy of God. The high priest could use the art of miracles. The high priest had supported the kingdom as a representative of the church…
I don’t think I’m going to learn anything new from this high priest PR. I guess I’ll look around.
The other people in the waiting room looked normal. All European-looking types. It seemed that most of the beast-hybrid types had been stopped at the entrance by the examiner.
Though my Japanese face might have stood out, I didn’t seem to draw much attention thanks to my completely average aura. It made me a little sad, but I decided to take it as a good thing for now.
I overheard a couple having a conversation and listened in via the All Ears skill.
“Hey, do you really think we’ll be safe after becoming members of the congregation?”
“If we don’t end up liking it, we can leave. If I can just get my back pain cured, I’m out of this gloomy place.”
“Right, that curative magic everyone is talking about… Then, if it doesn’t live up to the hype, let’s go home…”
So they came here for such a simple reason and aren’t interested in the religion’s doctrine…
But I understood the demand. The high priest’s argument had shaken the citizens’ sense of safety. There must also be an increase in people who got interested in receiving God’s divine protection through word of mouth. And it seemed like this curative magic was another incentive. This must have been what Shiro had called the “art of manipulating the mana inside the body to heal others.”
“It is time. Please follow me to the sermon hall in the basement.”
A church member in a white robe spoke robotically to the room.
Some hundred people got up and left the waiting room. All were silent as we were led down the stone stairs.
You can’t tell from the outside, but this place goes pretty deep…
The structure, carved out by the technology of generations past, was damp and smelled of mold. The scent of the dirt floor made me feel like I was in an underground dungeon.
Basement level three…basement level four… Down we went, until we stood in front of a carpeted space. It was about the size of a school gymnasium but was only dimly lit with candles situated on the walls and floor. The basement’s cold air had a pungent smell like someone had been burning resin or herbs.
“Please sit in a numbered seat. And may God protect you.”
Saying this, the guide made a small gesture to the left and right in front of his chest using two fingers. Similar to the Christian sign of the cross, it seemed the worshippers of the sacred artifacts made a sign of an X.
We sat down in the designated seats. At each of our feet, there was a small container and one candle, and numbers were displayed at our seats. My number was 786.
Does this mean that this many people have come through here just today?
If so, that meant the number of followers was rising at a pretty good pace.
What’s this container?
There was a ceramic container placed next to the candle. It was hard to see in the dark, but it looked like there was some kind of liquid in it. Though I was curious to check it out, I heard one of the guides warn us not to touch it until the high priest said so.
I just need to try not to stand out. Just blend in.
I waited, doing my best to keep a straight face.
It looked like all the numbered seats had been filled in. Then after some time…
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.