Uwaa.

Just how hated is that guy?

“More importantly, this is the most happiest day since reincarnating in this body as Yorishiro. Just forget about an underhanded guy like him and let’s have fun…… And so, Haine-san, the next request.” (Yorishiro)

“Yes yes, a request that can be done today, right?” (Haine)

‘Of course’, is what Yorishiro said filled with confidence.

“Let’s have a date.” (Yorishiro)

• 63: Holiday in Apollon City

And so, we are outside.

Apollon City is one of the cities that has one of the five Churches’ headquarters.

Of course, it has a fitting population, size, and defenses; a large metropolis that is prominent in all areas.

Because of the ethereal energy revolution that occurred, the living standard increased, and there are even cars that run around the city on their own energy.

The buildings have also become bigger and multistoried ones are lined up more frequently.

“I have really gotten used to this sight.” (Haine)

The first time I came to this city after leaving my village, everything I saw was novel, and I was moving my head like a chicken.

So I am a city person already huh.

“Haine-san, the streets in the city are congested, so in order to not bump into other people, it is best to hold hands when walking-desu wa.” (Yorishiro)

“What?! But the other people are not doing that!” (Haine)

“That’s because they are pros at living in the city. For a beginner that has just been introduced to the city, your evasion technique is still crude, so please give me your hand.” (Yorishiro)

“I see, so that’s how it is!” (Haine)

I lift my hand.

“It is a lie. Ufufufu.” (Yorishiro)

“Damn it!” (Haine)

The light founder-sama is a person that likes joking.

And that Yorishiro is currently in pretty normal clothing. Wearing a well-tailored one piece, even when looking at her from afar, one can tell that she is from a good upbringing.

No one would be able to tell the founder of the Light Church, who is basically the ruler of this city, is in the middle of an incognito date.

“You are normally wearing a veil in public to hide your face. No surprise that regular citizens can’t see through your identity.” (Haine)

Even if I say identity, it is not the one about being a God, but the one about being the light founder, Yorishiro-sama.

“Yeah, I have been hiding my face because I knew a day like this would come. This time we are spending with just the two of us, if we were surrounded by bodyguards and onlookers, it would be annoying.” (Yorishiro)

Just how much has she been looking forward to this date with me?

By the way, even with that, when we passed by with our linked arms, there were a lot of pedestrians that glanced at us.

Yorishiro is just naturally cute after all.

Karen-san, Mirack, and Celestis; the girls that I have met until now have their own taste and were beautiful, but as expected, Yorishiro is on another level of beauty.

It is truly a beauty molded by the Gods, or more like, that’s exactly the case though.

“And so, princess, is there anywhere you want to go?” (Haine)

Since I said I will be listening to anything today, it can’t be helped.

I will satisfy this lady to a degree that doesn’t hurt me in the future.

“I will be leaving that to Haine-san -desu wa.” (Yorishiro)

“Oi.” (Haine)

You were the one who brought me out, so don’t you have a plan?

“Ara, in these moments, isn’t the man supposed to be the one doing the escorting?” (Yorishiro)

The eyes of Yorishiro, who said this, had the light of a bully in them.

So she intends to enjoy the flustered state of this country bumpkin huh.

But too naive. Learn that this Kuromiya Haine has no blind spots!

“Understood! Well then, I will escort you to my recommended date spots!” (Haine)

“Eh?!” (Yorishiro)

Having her linked arm pulled by me, Yorishiro was filled with surprise and confusion.

“Too naive, Goddess-sama. The things you would say, I have already predicted them beforehand. I already knew you would be bringing me out on a date with that one day privilege you got, so yesterday, I already researched on those kind of stores!” (Haine)

Got ya there.

Seeing this date plan that has no blind spot and unable to say a single complain, I will watch and laugh at Yorishiro’s mortified figure.

When I turn to the side to look at the crushed expression of hers…eh?

What I saw was an expression that was contrary to what I was expecting. Her eyes were moist and glittering, and her face was filled with joy.

“Does that mean…for my sake?” (Yorishiro)

I don’t know if she is asking me or talking to herself; after making such a hard to distinct mutter…

“Haine-san, I love you!!!” (Yorishiro)

“Ooou?!” (Haine)

The arm that was wrapped around hers in the first place was being held with extreme force now!

“As I thought, let’s marry! I will decide the destination of our date! The church! After making our pledge, I will thoroughly enjoy the date plan that Haine-san made, and then…!” (Yorishiro)

“Eh?! It had the opposite effect?!” (Haine)

What I thought would make her mortified actually pleased her instead.

Or more like, isn’t the church the place where you are living in?!

Since we both received answers we didn’t expect, should this be considered a draw?

The first match was muddy, and our date had only just started.

• 64: Date a Live <Reference to anime of the same name (literally)>

And so, I escorted Yorishiro to the many recommended spots.

Cafe, confectionery, an okonomiyaki store, a pasta-specialized store, seafood store, a pizza store…

“………All of them were food stores-desu wa ne.” (Yorishiro)

“Yeah.” (Haine)

The one who recommended me these date spots was my friend in the kitchen days, Frost.

Since the time I graduated from the kitchen and became a hero assistant, he has still been doing his best in the kitchen.

And all the stores that he recommended to me were eateries. Isn’t he getting dyed by the cook soul at a fundamental level?

Seeing these many varieties of eateries at the streets does make me understand how much the ethereal development has affected many sides of society, but after going around so many of them, as expected, my stomach is already completely full.

Leaving me aside, girls have a smaller stomach, and Yorishiro doesn’t look like she can eat that much, and yet, she said: ‘there’s no way I would leave food in the stores that Haine-san has brought me to’, and ate everything without leaving anything behind. Even when I tried to stop her in the middle of it, she said: ‘this is the date plan that Haine-san made, I will go through all of them’, and in the end, we ended up conquering all the stores.

“Are you okay?! Sorry! You didn’t have to force yourself to eat everything!” (Haine)

“No…! Uppu… there’s no problem-desu wa. This is my first date with Haine-san. Guuh… I am currently in perfect form… ppu…” (Yorishiro)

Don’t lie. You are already on the verge of breaking down!

At any rate, we have to find a place to rest! I can’t bring the Founder-sama to a dirty water fountain!

Even so, we can’t go to an eatery or a popular resting spot. Right now, Yorishiro is completely filled, and one push would make her release everything!

Isn’t there a place that doesn’t smell of food at all and we can rest?

“…Ah, right!” (Haine)

That place.

***

“…I see, the library huh.”

Yorishiro, who regained her composure, muttered this.

That’s right. This is the grand library located at the central section of Apollon City. Since it is a place for reading, there’s a lot of places here where you can sit and relax.

From the information that I got of Frost, this is the only place that wasn’t an eatery. ‘It is great that you can sit for free’, is the random reason he gave me for this recommendation, but anyways, it saved me at this moment.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to rub your back more?” (Haine)

“No, it is plenty already. As I thought, Haine-san is kind.” (Yorishiro)

I feel like my points with her have increased pointlessly.

“But it has been a while since I have come here. I have been busy lately after all.” (Yorishiro)

“Hm? You like books?” (Haine)

“It isn’t that. I am the Founder of the Light Church, so there are plenty of times when I come here for public facility inspections.” (Yorishiro)

Ah, so that’s what it was.

“The diplomatic side has been restless lately, so the times I have gone for inspections and visits has decreased though…… Did you know, Haine-san? This grand library of Apollon City has the biggest scale and has the most amount of books in the world. It is the pride of the people living in Apollon City, you know.” (Yorishiro)

“Hoh, so it is such a big deal.” (Haine)

Treasure knowledge; that can be considered one of the primary factors that make a human.

That feeling was passed on properly even in these modern times.

“But there was a plan of reducing the scale of this library.” (Yorishiro)

“Oi.” (Haine)

“The creed of the Light Church and its history, they said that all publications that have no relation to those kind of things have no worth. There’s also books about ethereal techniques, and they said: ‘that’s the very definition of harmful books’.” (Yorishiro)

“What’s with that? Does that mean everything that’s not convenient for them is evil?” (Haine)

“I did stop them and avoided the massive book burning that might have occurred, but…the current Light Church is mostly like this. Only they are correct, everyone that’s not the same as them is inferior or evil.” (Yorishiro)

She is literally the most important person of the Light Church in two meanings. She is their founder and also the Light Goddess Inflation that the Church worships.

And she is saying this while sighing.

“Did you know, Haine-san? Right now, the upper echelon seats of the Light Church are mostly hereditary.” (Yorishiro)

“Eh? Really?” (Haine)

“I myself am the daughter of the previous founder. That’s why, as long as I thought on where to reincarnate, I could have easily become the founder. Aside from that, there’s the Cardinal, Great Priest, and the Knight Commander; all of them are jobs that have a set household. Haine-san, did you know this as well? When entering the knight corps, you had to get your element identified in advance on the pretence of an exam, didn’t you?” (Yorishiro)

“Yeah, there was that.” (Haine)

“The current Knight Commander, Dobbe-san, do you know the light element number he has?” (Yorishiro)

“Eh, could it be?!” (Haine)

“His household, the Severphon household, is a household that has been turning in great numbers of Light Church upper echelon members for around 20 generations. The higher-ups of the Light Church are filled with those kind of people. People that have been sitting at the top for so long, drinking the sweet nectar, and were unable to live without it…..just like ‘those’ ones.” (Yorishiro)

?

“That’s why, they are most scared of falling from the top. Because they can’t live anywhere aside from that place after all. They hardened that position with their blood relatives, and they refuse it the most when someone new enters. If someone were to get close to them, they would do their utmost to eliminate that person.” (Yorishiro)

“Like that time with me?” (Haine)

“Yeah, and also Karen-san as well. Only the post of the hero that has no impurity in it and is chosen purely by ability can’t be passed on hereditarily.” (Yorishiro)

So this is the so called depravity of an organization huh.

It is true that groups do rot the longer they persist. No matter what it is, once the flow is lost, it will stagnate, become impure, and deteriorate.

That’s why, there will be times when a revolutionary will appear and create a windhole, and then change the inside with new things, but…

“Are you not going to do it?” (Haine)

“What exactly?” (Yorishiro)

“A reformation. You are in the position of a Founder, and coupled with your wisdom as the Light Goddess, wouldn’t it be easy to wipe out the old influential powers?” (Haine)

From what I see, she doesn’t look like she agrees with the decay of the Light Church after all.

When I said this, Yorishiro smiled sadly.

“Haine-san, there are times when a way too excelling leader will instead become harmful for the group, you know?” (Yorishiro)

The side view of Yorishiro was beautiful as always, but it somehow looked like an old woman who has lived several centuries.

“Excuse me, the two over there.”

I was about to continue the conversation, but we were called out by someone.

“Can you please keep it down in the library? It will trouble the other people.”

“Ah, sorry—-?!” (Haine)

It is true that a library is not a place to talk.

When I was in the middle of apologizing, my whole body froze.

Because the person that cautioned us from behind was…

“Hi there, Haine-san. What a coincidence meeting in a place like this, right?”

The light hero, Karen-san.