Dream Life

Lesson 26: Discussion on Demons

January 10.

The memorial came true, and we were able to enter the underground temple of the Creator. That was the place to call “sanctuary” or “divine domain”.

Rin atmosphere, but some tranquillity to relax with nature, even the breath of the gods was felt.

I met God again when I was praying with the Cleric Chief, Lair Guinness.

Last time it was all eleven pillars of God, but this time it was only the God of Heaven (Caerm).

Caerm has ordered Luna to avoid any further interference after telling her that she was captured at the hands of the god of nothingness (Vanitas).

And until May, it is forbidden to enter the Caerm Empire.

At that time he was also informed about the means by which Vanitas would crumble this world. It was a way of breaking the balance of power of the gods. I have not heard of any specific method, but it means that preventing it is a mission given to those who are called sons of Luna and the God of Light (Lucidus).

I was still praying after the frog left, but there was no further contact from God.

It had been about thirty minutes since I had made it into physical time, and the clergyman said, "Is it time to get up?"

Professor Kittley Erbain, who was most interested in the underground temple, still seemed to regret it, but reluctantly stood up when the clergyman told him, "I will allow the temple after tomorrow".

After leaving the temple, Mr. Kitley had to talk to the clergyman, which meant we were going back to the house alone.

On the way back, for some reason, no one opened their mouth and walked quietly.

After returning to the house, we gather the Liddies to talk about meeting God.

"I met God in the underground temple. This time it was just a frog."

No one would be surprised if I said so.

"I've met God, too. Maybe it's the God of Man (Wita)," Liddy mutters.

Beatrice also nods, "Me too," as if to respond to it. Furthermore, Mel and Sharon nodded at the same time as "Me too".

I am surprised that God has come to see them too,

"Well... let's talk about what I heard first..."

That's how I'm going to tell you what I heard from the frog.

"... that defending this world does not upset the balance of power of the gods. That means we need to make sure that people don't have faith in God."

Liddy and the others are silent on my words.

And Sharon opened his mouth first.

"I heard the same thing. It's a bad way of putting it, but I felt somewhat selfish. It's like we're just trying to keep our faith in ourselves."

Beatrice rarely opens her mouth before I say anything.

"I couldn't talk because I met with God and I panicked, but as far as Zach's story is concerned, God needs a guy with our faith, and when it's gone, he loses power and the world breaks. Then I think it's natural for you to worship me."

The way you say it is abusive, but what you are saying is not wrong.

"I thought the same thing about Mr. Beatrice. I do think they've told me many times they want us to work together to protect the world."

After Mel says so, Liddy opens her mouth for the first time.

"I'm the one who did the favor, so you didn't really care."

"Please? What did you ask for?" Beatrice asks.

"I asked you to give me a child. But I couldn't get a proper answer."

Answer that with top-down subtraction.

Whether the words were unexpected or not, the three had a surprised look on their faces, "You screwed up," it said Beatrice regretting, and Mel and Sharon both failed in the face.

Wita is a god involved in marriage and childbirth, and you can say the ultimate “divine favor”.

"That story will be fine again. Luna got a new companion. No, he'll still be caught by the Demons, so I guess he can do it in the future. Besides, Caerm forbade me to interfere any further. I mean, there's nothing more we can do."

"Right," Liddy nods.

"Based on that, what will we do in the future? I can't get into the empire until at least May. There is only via Aurelia to return to the village, and if it is too soon, we will get to the village before May. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to get some more information from the gods in the temple, but how about everyone? The village can't make it, but we have to go back to Periclitle, but then we have to cut it up early and go to Jill Sole."

From here to the village of Rasmore, in the fastest case, you can arrive in about two months by sea and about three months by land. We leave now, and if we were lucky enough to have a boat, we could reach the village of Rasmore in mid-April.

"I'd like to be here a little longer," Beatrice said, agreeing with Mel and Sharon, "Me too". Perhaps you'd like to ask Wita about the child.

"Same goes for me. I don't need to rush home, and I feel bad about throwing Kitty out in her current state."

"You're right about Liddy. It might be a good idea to go to the Temple of Claretore while helping Mr. Kitley with his research"

I think it would be a shame to leave this place where we could possibly meet the gods.

There may not be much I can do in the future, but if I gather information, the time may come to help Luna.

"In any case, I will not tell Mr. Kitley a story about meeting God. Unless she heard from God and cut it out this way."

If you talk to Mr. Kitley, you'll have to talk about my relationship with Luna. Then her curiosity will be right for us. There is no guarantee that Mr. Kitley will not see Luna, and if he does, it could be seen as a major interference. I want to eliminate that risk.

I made a note of what God had told me, and I thought about the policy of future investigations.

It was after noon and Mr. Kitley was back.

"Did you hear a good story?" And when I heard, Mr. Kittley laughed nicely,

"Yeah, I know perfectly well that the Temple of Creatore is a shrine. I felt God's breath, but the Chief Cleric told me so much about it."

"Is it the breath of God?

"Yeah, I didn't exchange words, but I was convinced God was here. I was listening to the Chief Cleric..."

After talking excitedly, he said, "Now that I'm going to put it together in a report, you'll excuse me," and went into his room without even having lunch.

"You mean we're the only ones who heard voices? Maybe the Chief Cleric is listening... and Mr. Kitley is very motivated..."

That's what I said, staring at the door where she left in a frightened mood.

January 20th.

I went on to attend the temple for ten days, but never once could I see the gods. I never even felt any signs from where I met him.

The same goes for the Liddies, a situation where only Mr. Kitley is happy to go to the temple.

The interview with the Chief Cleric is also dominated by Mr. Kitley, and I'm just accompanied by it.

There is little new information, but we can only confirm that the priests here are very long lived. However, they have denied that and have not told Mr Kitley because it is circumstantial evidence only.

Of course, she helps with her research, organizing the information she hears and checking consistency with the materials she brings in.

After breakfast, Mr. Kitley asked the Liddies to gather before heading to the temple.

"I think it's time for the tide. There's nothing you can do if you stay here," he suggested going back to the village.

"Right. It's a peaceful place, but it's time to go back to the village."

Liddy agrees, and Beatrice nods, "You agree with me," too. Nor did Mel and Sharon disagree, and they decided to head to Jilsol where they could have made a distinction in helping Ms. Kitley with her research.

That and telling Mr. Kitley,

"It's been a lot of help analyzing the information so far, but I feel like it's time we ran out of information, and I'm tempted to hold you back any longer. I'm going to be here a little bit longer."

Looks like Mr. Kitley is still going to stay here, but then he'll be alone on his way home.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back with me to Jill Saul?

"I think I'll be fine. Because I've camped alone, even in more dangerous places."

There is anxiety, but there are no demons or dangerous beasts on this island, and there are few bandits, so Mr. Kitley, a high-ranking magician, is hardly in danger.

"There are some things I'd like to hear from you, so I was wondering if you could stay for another two days or so, because in the meantime, I'll compile the materials"

"I don't mind. It's not a particularly hurried journey," he admits.

He then heads to the temple and explains it to the priests as well.

"Really... you'll miss me," said the cleric chief, Atro Kayan, who also "enjoyed hearing a lot of stories," looks sincerely sorry.

The village chief and the other villagers will also be greeted, but there were many unfortunate voices.

Then in two days I heard about the results of Mr Kitley's research.

"I've summarized the relationship between the gods and the Temple of Creatore. I'm worried about how to write about ancient civilization..."

Ms. Kitley's thesis was summarized on the relationship between the Temple of Claretore and the eleven pillar gods. Reference was also made to the fact that Lucio Brillare, the founder of Phototheism, tried to visit the temple but could not enter the village and to a unique religious view that denied magic.

"... there is no paper that researches the teachings of the Temple of Claretore, so I think I'll get a big response when I bring this back. Of course, it's only in the Academic City."

It is a subject of interest to researchers, but it is no mistake that it is not something that ordinary people care about. But not only will phototheism overreact when this story is made public, but the Mage Guild is likely to be interested. In that case, there could be an obstacle to Luna's behaviour.

"I think you should be particularly careful about phototheism. Because they don't know what to do. Perhaps you should wait to publish something else that has few grounds (evidence). It's possible that the chief clergymen haven't told us everything."

"Right. I'll think about that. I'm gonna be here for another six months or so, so I'm gonna look at the extra information and make a decision."

Having finished his conversation with Mr. Kitley, he decided to return to the city of Gilsall on the 23rd of January the following day.

The chief cleric did not come to see me off, but Atro came to see me off on behalf of the cleric.

"Thank you for a good time. It would be nice to see you again."

That's how I've offered you my right hand.

As I take that hand, I say, "This way," and bow my head.

"I'll send a letter when I get back to Doctus. I might publish a paper in the form of co-authorship with you, so I'll talk to you then."

That's how Mr. Kitley meditates on one eye mischievously.

"I'm also interested, so I'll be sure to ask you"

After a farewell greeting, he followed the village of Natalis, where he stayed for about a month and a half, as the villagers dropped him off.

■ ■ ■

Zach, after I dropped you off, I went back to my cancerous house.

(And what did he care? I always use cautious rhetoric, but this time I cared more than usual. Lydia and I felt like we were hiding something...)

Zach, I knew you were aware of a fact I hadn't noticed. I've heard that straight before. But I was always teased and didn't get a clear answer.

(When I first entered the underground temple, Zach, I felt your signs disappear. I didn't think deeply then because I was up for letting myself in the temple, but maybe I was seeing God. Because I felt the strongest and most divine at that time...)

Zach, I'm caught up in you, but I have more to worry about than that.

That is a change of attitude on the part of the Chief Cleric.

At first he was wary, even though he said he would welcome it. It's natural to be wary of us coming from the outside, but I found the change a little strange afterwards.

I felt there was more negative emotion than vigilance along the way. I used to turn my gaze to you, Zach, especially when I was talking about God, but there were several times when I saw something dangerous in her expression.

I can't say for sure, but I'm wondering if it's an emotion close to jealousy. I just don't see why she's jealous, being the chief cleric.

I'm also concerned about that, but I have to think about what's going to happen.

Since we were talking about the chief cleric entering meditation today, I can hear from the Kayan cleric, but I can't go into the underground temple.

So, Zach, I could have gone to Jill Saul with you guys. But I haven't been able to sort out the information I've gotten in the last month and a half, so I want to re-compartmentalize it here. Because it's troublesome to come back from Jill Saul when you have something to ask.

Later, Zach, I also need to summarize what you've looked into. He did a lot of research around this village while I was talking to the chief cleric. He seemed particularly concerned about Brillare's failure to enter the village, and is carefully looking into whether there is anything like a junction.

To conclude, there was no such magic formation as had anything to do with the kingdom. But I was grasping some interesting facts.

They don't have a clear boundary, but the vegetation has changed from the village to the border about 2 km (Kimmel) radius. In addition, forests are also rich and free of down-grown grass and shrubs as if they were cared for.

I checked with the villagers, but they didn't do anything more than pick up firewood or take some mountain vegetables, and they said it was strange.

It leaves a reflection on other things and demons.

There are no demons on Gilsall Island. He was also looking into this, listening to clerics and villagers.

I had heard his thoughts when he was drunk.

"Don't you think it's strange? There are many demons on the continent. Sure, there are few demons on the Wale Peninsula, but that's because the empire is regularly intermittent. Because it's an island. It's not a reason. Finis Island and Periplus usually have demons. Besides, if it's a big island with a small population, it's not strange that demons breed."

"That's true. So, did you find out why?" I asked lightly.

Normally, I don't get answers, but today I get answers that I can't even think about if I'm less alert than usual.

"Maybe this island doesn't have what it takes for demons to live"

"What does a demon need to live? I wonder what that is."

"I'm wondering if it's a condition rather than an object. The places where many demons appear are the Aquila and Saeum Mountains. I haven't even reached the hypothetical realm yet, but I was wondering if certain conditions are necessary for demons to live."

"Certain conditions?

"How do demons maintain their bodies? Large demons like dragons and giants in particular weigh more than a hundred times more than humans. How do you keep your body in the mountains with little food and how do you get the energy to move around? If I say that, how is the undead getting energy and moving..."

Gradually, I don't understand what he's saying, but I listen without pinching my mouth.

"... I'm wondering if there's something unknown, like a temper, that's different from the power of the Spirit. If the power of the Spirit is the power of the Eight Classes God, does Vanitas have the same power? If that's the power to make demons exist, that's why there are no demons in Zirsole, where the power of Creators reigns."

"If you do think so, Tsuji will fit. And why demons attack people. But do you have proof?

So you realized you talked too much, "There's no proof. It's just a thought," he smiles bitterly.

I then tried to listen further, but I regained my usual prudence and could barely listen.

This story is not my specialty, but I thought it was a very unique theory. If the power of Vanitas is making demons exist, then maybe the power of Creator is affecting something too.

I asked the clergyman about it, but he didn't get the answer back.

However, I decided to keep this thing in my report and talk to Dr. Raspade when I got back to college.