Inside of a carriage traveling through the crowded streets of a city, Vex and Aisha are conducting a meaningful discussion. The third member, who is Lily, is mesmerized by the outdoor scenery. She stares out the window without a care in the world.
"Oh, so that's why you are looking for these crystals. You want to use them to summon the goddess and get her to fulfill your request, is that right?"
"That's the gist of it."
"I knew that you would have a special motivation. After all, no one hunts for treasure without one. Though I'm curious, what kind of request do you have? I'm dying to know!"
"Tell your family to prepare your funeral then."
As if I'd tell her!
"Ha, that was a good one, Vex. I like your attitude; it's refreshing to meet guys like you."
It's bizarre how Aisha and I view each other in the exact opposite way. I mean, I don't hate her, but I wouldn't willingly spend time around her. Eh, what am I thinking, none of this matters anyway.
"I completed my end of the deal, now it's your turn. You said that you knew someone who has information on the crystals. Explain."
"Ah yes, I did say that didn't I? First let me ask you, are you familiar with the goddess' religion?"
I stopped caring about deities until recently. I'd wager that you are more likely to win the lottery than to find someone that doesn't believe in the existence of gods at all. My impression of the religious is that they are a bunch of fanatics for a particular deity, but I have a feeling that Aisha is one of them, so I won't say that out loud.
"Not particularly."
"Is that so? Well, we believe that although there are many gods and goddesses, only one made this world and has dominion over it. We choose to devote our lives to her, though I admit, I haven't been very faithful lately. Let's keep that between us, okay?"
"A goddess made this world solely on her own? What's her name?"
I assume that this goddess is the same one that's speaking to Lily.
"No, not a goddess–the goddess. That distinction is important because…we don't actually know her name. At least, most of us don't. Apostle Nazz taught us that the goddess will reveal herself to her most devout followers…I think you can see why I wouldn't know."
I guess Lily is my only hope when it comes to that then. Lily can try pleasing the goddess more and gaining her favor, while I will just physically summon her and skip all of the tiresome relationship building.
"Apostle Nazz, you say. Who is that?"
"She is the apostle of Gannet's temple and is the person who is likely to know about the crystals you are looking for since they pertain to the goddess. As for the apostle title, it's for those whom the goddess appoints for being the most devoted among her most devout followers. Most people want to achieve this status, but I gave up before I even graduated from the middle grades. It's so lame, you know?"
"I see…"
So it appears that the best strategy is to ask these apostles for information about the crystals local to their country. Assuming that they provide helpful information, this can prevent us from aimlessly wandering when the goddess doesn't speak to Lily.
"Where can we find her?"
"At the temple, of course. It's not only the largest temple in the country, it is the only one. Trust me, you can't miss it!"
Feeling us gradually slowing down, I took a moment to look outside the window of the stagecoach. The voice of the woman driving us exits a speaker.
"Attention passengers, we have arrived at Gannet's capital. We hope you enjoy your visit! Please don't forget your belongings as you exit the vehicle."
"We've finally stopped…yep, this is our destination all right. I suppose this is where we part ways. It was fun hanging out with you, Vex. Oh, and the little girl too."
Aisha gets up from her seat.
"Wait, the capital here looks even bigger than Avarice's capital. It'd take hours for us to find the temple!"
"Hmm, if only there was a cute girl who could escort you to the temple. Such a shame…"
Aisha shakes her head and winks.
"Sigh, Aisha, would you please show us the way to the temple?"
"Gasp, you are asking me out on a date? How could I say no to that? Let's go, but no romance, okay? It's still too early for that!"
"That's neither what I asked nor what I insinuated–?!"
Aisha grabs me by the hand before I could blink, catching me completely off guard. She then takes me out of the carriage, with Lily closely following behind. Her actions drew the attention of several pedestrians.
I want to die.
___________________________________________________________________________
While being dragged along by Aisha against my will, I take notice of Gannet's capital city. For starters, it seems to be more efficiently run than Avarice by a considerable margin. There's hardly any trash in the streets, and no avenues of idiot hobos. I wouldn't exactly call this city high-class, but it's leagues better than Avarice.
Though that says nothing about the quality of the citizens here.
"Vex, can we stop for a snack at that shop over there? All of this walking is making me hungry."
"Sorry Lily, but we are on a tight schedule right now. You'll have to wait until later."
"Aw, don't have such a long face, Lily. Here, reach into my pouch; I have a snack in there."
"Oh really? Thanks!"
Lily reaches in the pouch and pulls out a white object.
"Um, what's this?"
"Foam pellets, of course! Think of them as cotton candy, but even more sweet."
"Lily's stomach can wait…"
"Oh? How about you, Ve–"
"Don't bother asking."
"If you insist… Chew chew, gulp. Mmm, delicious! Slurp!"
Seeing Aisha casually eat something that's unappetizing not only grossed me out but she even made Lily stare blankly, unable to fully process what she just saw. As Aisha swallows the last one, she looks at me with a devious smirk.
"For the last time, stop licking your lips when you look at me! It's creepy and you know it."
"Tehe, sorry–it's a bad habit. Hey look at that, we're finally here!"
Aisha gestures towards the temple in a manner not too different from a real estate agent giving a tour. The temple is made of white stone and decorated with colorful stained-glass windows. To say that this is massive would be an understatement; I'm looking all the way up and I still can't see the top of the building. If I weren't told otherwise, I would have assumed this place to be a castle of sorts.
"Hmm? How peculiar."
Aisha twirls her hair with a finger, looking at the entrance as if it's unfamiliar to her.
"What's the matter?"
"Usually, the temple would be closed around this time, but the lights are still on…"
"Wait, you brought us here knowing that the temple was likely to be closed?"
"Well, you asked me to take you here so nicely that I had to oblige. I did grab your hand and run with you, but you did not seem to enjoy that."
"Maybe if you'd clearly communicate your intentions beforehand, then there would be no issues."
"Eh, no matter. Look, the door is still unlocked, so I'm sure Apostle Nazz is still in there. Go ahead, step in."
Aisha opens the door for me and Lily, waving at us to go before her. We step inside the temple to be immediately greeted by a large sanctuary. The sanctuary is so empty that I wouldn't be surprised if our voices echoed. Standing in front of the sanctuary, a young-looking woman is pacing around, with her attention focused elsewhere.
"Hello? Apostle Nazz? Are you here?"
Aisha's voice snapped the woman out of her trance, causing her to now acknowledge our presence.
"Is that who I think it is?"
Nazz has long and wavy blonde hair, with simple head jewelry that nests between her bangs on her forehead. She's wearing a clergy robe that's white with golden accents; it extends so far down her legs that her open-toe shoes are hardly visible. For a supposed adult, she is rather…on the shorter side. How could someone so young even get to such a high position–!
Suddenly, a chill resonated through my body. Even though she is not looking directly at me, I can feel Nazz's glare. Is my profiling of her that noticeable?
"Yep it's the one and only Aisha! Did you miss me?"
"Of course we missed you, sister Aisha. You have been away for over 3 months, and you haven't checked in with us. You've been avoiding us, haven't you?"
"Whaaat? I've just been…busy. That's just the treasure hunter lifestyle for ya."
"Right…"
"Anyway, we can save our reunion for later. I have some friends who desperately wanted to meet you."
"Is that so?"
Nazz looks over at us, the supposed "friends" Aisha is referring to. Though I no longer feel any intensity behind her glare.
"Who are these people? Are they believers from another temple?"
"Nah, they are mostly regular folks. The demi-human girl is Lily and the man is Vex. Vex, this is Nazz. Great, now that you two are familiar with each other, I can leave!"
"Wait sister Aisha, where are you going?! You just came back!"
Aisha scurries out of the sanctuary towards the exit, speaking in a rushed tone.
"I'm running late and I need to call my sister. I promise to have our girl talk over some drinks after I help my sister. Take care, my lovelies!"
Slam
"..."
We spend a moment in awkward silence, trying to process what just happened. It's just the two of us now, barring Lily.
"Sigh, she's such a character, isn't she, Vex?"
"That's a creative way of describing her."
I have a description that's more simple and direct.
"Anyway, what brings you here? I need to leave very soon, so if it's a time-consuming request, then I can schedule you within the next four days."
"No, this won't take long at all. To keep it short, this girl and I are searching for special crystals that can apparently summon the goddess. Lily, would you show her?"
"Yes sir! Here it is."
Lily proudly shows the crystal to Nazz. She looks at it with curiosity and ponders with her hand on her chin.
"How do you know that these crystals are anything special? Let alone capable of summoning our goddess."
"It's because–"
"The goddess lady spoke to Lily in a dream! She helped me find this crystal."
"Could it truly be…no, there's no way."
"?"
Nazz mumbles under her breath, in deep thought about something.
"So, I presume that you want me to tell you what I know about these crystals?"
"Exactly. More specifically, Gannet's crystal. Each country has unique crystal orbs, so it would be sufficient to tell us about the one in your jurisdiction."
"Sorry."
"...huh? What do you mean 'sorry'?"
"I haven't the slightest clue where to find such things. In fact, I never knew about their existence until now."
"Aren't you an apostle?"
"Yes, I am. That's precisely the reason why pursuing these gems is foolish. If I, an apostle of the goddess, am unaware of such a thing, then surely the very idea that the goddess spoke to a little girl about it in a dream is absurd."
"But…but it is true. The goddess lady spoke to Lily, I am sure of it!"
"Sorry, but I have nothing else to say about the matter."
Nazz dismisses Lily's plea for her to believe her. Lily's ears drooped as she looked towards the floor, rejected. Great, now she probably made Lily doubt herself, which is going to cause more issues for our journey. I know I've had my doubts about Lily hearing from a goddess in the past, but how could a devout follower–no, a supposed leader of a goddess religion, casually dismiss Lily's claims? She even has evidence and me as a witness!
I am not putting up with this.
"What gives you the right to be so full of yourself? Aren't you supposed to be a know-it-all when it comes to the goddess? How can you call yourself an apostle, someone who is among the most devoted to the goddess, and yet you don't know jack! I guess they just hand out that title to any teen, huh?"
"I'm almost 22…"
"Heck, this seven-year-old girl might as well be given the title of apostle. Apparently, the goddess is talking to her more than to you."
Nazz's face darkens, she is looking towards the floor. Crap, I might have been a little too direct with my feelings. It's just hard not to feel irritated after all the crap I had to deal with just to get here, just for more dead ends!
"Well, if that's how you feel…"
"??"
Nazz starts to speak in a low voice. Suddenly, she opens her eyes, her irises radiating a crimson red. Her line of sight feels like a laser is being shot right through me…but I don't feel any pain.
"Leave my presence at once!"