God's Blessings On This Grade 9 Fixer (KonoSuba x Library of Ruina)

Chapter 5

Part 1

The church's limestone shined a soft blue and stood tall among the buildings in Axel, its sharp arches a declaration of its grandeur. No other approached its size or value, not the Adventurer's Guild, not the mansions, not some popular back alley cafe. Yet for all its beauty, it held nothing but desolation with no more than a handful of souls walking around it. If anything, those souls were avoiding it.

Not part of these souls was Roland. He was standing, watching, eyeing the beautiful roof of the cerulean church.

"Nothing like this in the City..."

After the death of the General and the adventurers' party the day after, Axel regained the peace befitting a beginner's town. It eased him, having such quiet days. Real quiet and not the setup to an ambush. He was free to do nothing without feeling like being nothing. A rarity then, a standard now. He hoped, at least.

He shook his head. "Everything's better here, so," his eyes snapped from the arches to the massive double doors, "maybe churches here aren't full of nut jobs."

His hands held the steel bars and the deep echoes of the opening doors sounded in the hall.

'The City as it is. Humans as they are. Us as we are. That's what you said, right, Binah?'

The church doors closed and Roland walked the center in between rows of dozens of empty pews. In the far corner lay an altar and pulpits beside it. Strangely, there were many goblets of water on them. Above it all was a carefully carved wooden logo in the shape of a diamond.

'Is this their God?'

He approached the altar and stood just as silent and still as he did outside. Staring. Thinking. Contemplating.

'Churches were nothing more than lunatics tricking the underprivileged into becoming more lunatics in the City. That's all they were. But that's not what they are here.'

'They're free here. No Wings to rule. No Head to restrict. No Outskirts to avoid. No senseless violence, just sensible violence. No sorrow. So why start churches?'

'I guess even without the suffering of the City, it's impossible to avoid doing the wrong things. To have a higher being free you from your own wrongdoings, to forgive you. Is that right? Forgiveness.'

'Maybe. Finding resolution for something... We all want that.'

His eyes turned to the side where a woman with flowing blonde hair in a blue garb outlined in gold approached him, her eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer.

In the softest, most soothing voice, she asked Roland: "What brings you to the Axis Church, mister?"

"I don't really have anything to do, so I figured I should," he paused and clicked his tongue, searching for the right word, "think? Something like that."

The nun let out a quiet giggle. "I see. And you sought Lady Aqua's help? You're closer to enlightenment than the other residents of Axel."

'Aqua? The archpriest?'

"No, not really. I was thinking about why..." He realized that an answer was right in front of him. "Why do you follow this faith?"

"That's a sudden question, no?" She tilted her head and opened her eyes, her dark blue irises meeting Roland's. "But I see it, you're a pilgrim searching for a proper church to follow!"

"I don't think that's tru—"

"In that case, I'm happy to share why Lady Aqua is the only proper choice!" Her gentle voice turned far more active, her face wearing an aggressive smile.