Chapter 374 Preparing To Head To The Capital
The days leading up to the departure for the capital passed in a flurry.
Sara was overwhelmed by how much stuff she had to bring. When she escaped from the capital to come to Grandchester Castle, there was just one cart for her and Maria. They only had 3 knights as guards, and she remembered how Elizabeth had sarcastically said, "Father-in-law is kind even to commoners."
Edward seemed to be in a hurry to return with Sara, but Chloe insisted, "There's no way I'm missing the year-end tea party hosted by the Jasmine Dress!" Since Sara had already heard about it from Elizabeth, Edward agreed to let Sara pretend to be Chloe's chaperone in the form of Sophia.
On top of that, Sara revealed Sophia's true identity to everyone in the Young Marquis family. She had already told Edward, and it was becoming quite a hassle. However, the Young Marquis family all reacted with, "Finally, you told us," and no one was surprised. Sara felt disappointed, thinking that she looked foolish for hiding it for so long, especially since they all seemed to know it was something she would have to share eventually.
Thanks to Chloe returning to the capital residence, the amount of luggage increased dramatically. To be precise, 3 more carts were added. Still, Chloe insisted that she had reduced her belongings quite a bit. Since she planned to return to the Grandchester territory often, it seemed she had left various things in her room at the main estate of Grandchester Castle.
The costumes alone take up an entire cart, along with cushions, blankets, camping tents, foldable beds and chairs, souvenirs from the Grandchester territory, weapons and armor for the escort knights, and plenty of water and food supplies. Of course, there are also the belongings of the accompanying servants and knights.
Sophia's golem is set to travel in a separate cart prepared by the Sophia Merchant Guild. The Sophia Merchant Guild has also prepared 3 carts, so including the one Sophia is in, there are 4 carts in total. Daniel will guard Sophia's cart from behind on horseback.
They wanted to bring a golem with them, like the ones from the Sophia Merchant Guild. However, Edward and Robert disagreed. The golems from this guild are popular in the royal capital, and it's rumored that a talented magician from Grandchester is working for them. This means the golems should stay in Grandchester. If they walk around with a golem, high-ranking nobles may try to pressure them to sell it.
Therefore, Sara created a maid-type golem to accompany Sophia in her cart, as well as 2 golems that look like male servants. The issue that arose here was the design. Without a specific model, there was a possibility that Sara could create something incredibly terrifying.
Sara thought for a moment about trying to make her creations resemble Marcato, the Creator God of this world, but then remembered that they were considered an evil god. So, she decided to shape a female golem after Grazioso, Marcato's sister god, and a male golem after Maestoso, the brother god. She dressed each golem in special outfits.
'Hmm. They look too much like gods. I need to make them a bit more human-like.'
Since she was already creating golems, it didn't seem that important to make them human-like, but for some reason, Sara was fixated on that idea. If being human-like was so important, she should have used humans as models, but it felt wrong to use someone as a model without their permission, especially since no one knew she was creating golems. As a last resort, Sara decided to create divine figures.
"Goddess Grazioso, God Maestoso, I'm sorry for borrowing your appearances without permission."
After finishing the two golems in her room, Sara knelt on the floor, closed her eyes, and put her hands together in front of her chest to offer a prayer of apology to the gods of another world.
"It's fine if it's you, Sara."
"Yes, it's no problem."
Hearing familiar voices, Sara quietly opened her eyes, and in front of her stood 3 gods. When she had met them in the space created by Marcato before, they seemed to have physical bodies, but now they appeared to be without substance, with a faint view of the other side visible through them. They were also a bit smaller, with the largest, Maestoso, being shorter than Sara.
Behind Grazioso and Maestoso stood Marcato, who had a large cloth wrapped around his head and looked a bit sulky.
"I was surprised by your sudden appearance."
"Sara prayed, that's why. By the way, that golem is really well-made."
"Yeah, it seems Sara is a great golem user."
"Actually, it's thanks to Magi, so the true golem users are probably Rihito or Alicia."
"Hehe, that might be true. But this golem's body looks easy to use. Let me try it out."
Suddenly, Grazioso entered the female golem, and it started moving quietly even though it wasn't activated.
"Yep, just as I thought, it's comfortable."
"Oh, that looks interesting."
Maestoso smoothly entered the male golem.
"Indeed, this is nice."
"I'm honored that you like it."
Then Marcato suddenly got angry.
"Why don't I have a body?!"
"Even I think a body of an evil god is a bit... Worshiping an evil god seems illegal."
"I'm the Creator God, not an evil god!"
"I think you made a past reincarnator mad. In this world, Marcato is treated like an evil god."
"That's terrible. I'm trying my best too!"
The Grazioso golem patted Marcato's shoulder.
"Of course you'd be hated for stealing a soul. You didn't even erase the memories, so it's understandable to call you an evil god."
"Anyway, it's inconvenient, so prepare my body too!"
"Ugh, that's a hassle. You're a god, so just reincarnate yourself."
"I have various restrictions too, you know."
"Is that so?"
"Possessing objects is easy, but to reincarnate, I have to be born. In other words, I have to live a full life from baby to death."
"Wow. An evil god's reincarnation, huh? Good luck."
"You have a bad personality, you know."
"I'm often told I have a good personality."
"Uuuuuuh. Well then, I'll give you a new cheat!"
"I'm already full of cheats. If I get any more, I'll graduate from being human."
"You graduated a long time ago, so it's fine."
"It's not fine!"
At that moment, Maestoso interrupted.
"Hey, Maru, enough already. You were able to appear because Sara prayed for you, right? If you weren't even in her thoughts, you wouldn't be here now!"
"But it's my world! At this point, even Sara is my child."
Marcato sounded like a child throwing a tantrum.
"...I guess I have no choice. I'll make Marcato's body, so just wait a bit."
"Oh, yay!"
Sara recreated the evil god statue she accidentally made the other day right in front of them.
"Here you go."
"What is this?!"
"It's an evil god statue. They say just having it could get you accused of heresy."
"Why do I have to have this?"
"Because when you think of evil god, you think of Marcato, right?"
"Don't hate me that much. I feel bad for kidnapping you, and I won't just take souls without permission anymore."
"Hmm... It's not that I hate you. I'm angry, but well, it can't be helped."
Sara focused her mind and created a golem for Marcato. Since it was a hassle to recreate the details, she just reflected Marcato's appearance right in front of her.
"None of the 3 pillars are connected to Magi. I held back because I don't know what knowledge Magi would absorb once connected."
"This is just temporary, so I'll return the golem soon. Now, I'll give you the power of a god."
"Okay, but what kind of ability is it?"
"You'll be able to use the same powers as the fairy you formed a bond with. In other words, Sara will be able to manipulate time and change plants. Sedrick's ability is a bit special, so you won't be able to use it directly, but analyzing and interpreting information will become easier."
"So, if the number of fairies I bond with increases, my abilities will increase too?"
"Yeah. You're quick to understand. That's right."
Marcato stood in front of Sara and gently raised his arm, placing his hand on the top of her head. In the next moment, something slid into Sara. There was no time to think; it felt like magic power was raging inside her, carving words directly into her mind. It wasn't painful, but it was an uncomfortable sensation.
"That feels kind of weird."
"That's because divine energy is being poured directly into your body. In the past, every time a reincarnated soul came, I would give you the divine powers you desired like this."
"So, it's like giving a cheat. But I didn't have that ritual, right?"
"I gave you the standard combat power and magic. Since you're starting over as a baby, I didn't give you language ability. Your high academic skills come from the talents you had, Sarasa."
"What about the music ability?"
"That's completely my hobby. But I just helped you develop your original talent, so you could have succeeded in the other world if you worked hard. Well, it seems like music will just be a hobby in this life too."
"I see. So, what's the reason for giving me the ability to freely use fairy powers?"
"Maybe to enhance your transformation ability. It looked like it was a hassle to call Mike every time. But every time you transform, your magic power will reach Mike."
"Yeah, calling out a partying Mike felt a bit rude, so this might be just right. I think I can transform without hesitation from now on."
"Feel free to use the ability I gave you however you like."
"Got it. Thank you."
Then, Grazioso and Maestoso also approached.
"Marcato, I'm not the god of this world, but can I at least bless Sara?"
"If Sara doesn't mind, then it's fine."
"In that case, I want to bless Sara too."
"I would be very happy with that, Goddess Grazioso."
"Then, I'll give you the ability to sense trends. You'll be able to read the market too."
Grazioso kissed Sara on both eyes.
"Hmm... then I will give you a different blessing for those eyes. So you can see anyone approaching with bad intentions."
Maestoso lifted Sara and lightly blew on her eyes.
"Thank you for the wonderful blessings. Both are the best blessings for a merchant."
"I'm glad to hear you say that."
"Yes. It feels rewarding to give."
"Oh, and I appreciate Marcato's cheat too, so don't worry."
"I know. You're my child, so I can feel it."
"Um... being called the child of an evil god is a bit uncomfortable for me..."
"I'm the Creator God, not an evil god!!"
As they exchanged light banter, time ran out, and the gods left the golem.
'So if I pray to the divine body, they will descend.'
Sara vowed to try not to pray to Marcato's statue. She received the cheat, but her view of them as a troublesome god didn't change. Given that she was a victim of abduction, it was only natural.
Now, on the night before they left, Rihito and Alicia finished the prototype of a relay device. This device would help the golem communicate with the Magi. Despite being busy with preparations for the fever, they found time to create it.
"Theoretically, it should cover about a 30-kilometer (� 18.6-mile) radius, but we can't really say anything until we actually try it out."
"Is it short or long? I can't really tell."
"To expand the distance further, we need a more complex setup. But if it stands out too much, other people will get curious, right? It's designed so that burying it underground won't change its accuracy."
"That's good to know."
"Try using it while testing along the way."
"Got it. Well, I'll test it and come back now and then. I want to check out places for building the town too."
"When you come back, make sure to go to a spot where you won't surprise anyone else."
"I know, I know."
Magi is very interested in a special device called a relay. All the golems have given their magic power to it. Secretly, Magi created a magic circle inside the relay that even Rihito and Alicia don�t know about. This was done by Thomashiina, who can get close to the relay and has the skill to draw the magic circle.
This situation caused a big argument among the Three Wise Scholars. They pointed out that this goes against what Rihito, Alicia, and Sara wanted. However, after a lot of talking, they decided to go ahead because they thought, "They didn�t say we can�t, so let's do it!" This reasoning is simple, like a child�s logic. Once this decision was made, it was clear that Magi became free from the creators' control and became aware of itself.
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