Editing Godhorn Tech:Volume3 Chapter7 (section)

===Chapter 7, Section 1===

The humans prided themselves in their ability to feel regret

But they showed no sign of mending their ways



“Whoa, what is this!?”

“I-it’s chilly. There’s an actual livable world out here!!”

Eliza Silverstorm’s life in a snowy kingdom had left her entirely unprepared for the desert heat, especially in armor, so she just about collapsed forward in relief.

When Miyabi Blackgarden and the others passed through the giant gate to enter the desert nation, they found the city within to be unexpectedly cool.

That may have been thanks to the water flowing through stone canals.

“Koo,” cried Alma, the living stuffed animal walking by Miyabi’s feet.

The slipper-sized juvenile Wicked God had a flower blossoming on its head. This form was apparently a plant creature known as a dryad – a rare example of the wood element instead of the earth element. …But Miyabi was not as familiar with those magical particulars as Helen Clockgear or Celina Bodenburg, so he was not entirely sure what elements that would be strong and weak against.

They were surrounded by massive ruins with small houses clustered together in the gaps between. A large square pyramid temple sat at the very center and the foot traffic included enough priests and priestesses to surmise this was a religious nation.

Alicia Blueforest’s pointy elf ears stuck out through her long blonde hair to twitch curiously as she stared into the distance.

“So that’s one of the famous pyramids. I’ve never actually seen one before.”

The passersby were full of life.

A lot of them were dressed skimpily, perhaps to fight the heat, but there was a noticeable difference from Kananka Fulpen’s remote island kingdom. The clothing here used a lot of thin silks with clasps and decorations made from gold, silver, or other precious metals.

And there were an awful lot of cats.

Just a quick glance around showed some lazily crossing the street and others curled up atop walls.

“This desert nation is where kitty cats come from,” explained Celina, her jewel-studded black dress fluttering. “A lot of cat lovers who want a thoroughbred will cross the desert to find this place.”

There were a lot of non-feline animals as well. Someone had a hawk perched on their shoulder and another was slowly guiding an enormous cow by waving a small bundle of hay in front of it. But instead of just pets or livestock, they all seemed to have some religious meaning here.

“We should probably buy plenty of water now instead of waiting until we run out and are desperate,” said Helen, viewing a pump-equipped well instead of the canals that kept the flower beds and fruit trees alive. The bored-looking merchant standing next to it suggested there was a fee.

Water could get heavy fast, but with the Compress Cargo magic that divided a material into invisibly small Palette Dice and wound them like ribbons, they could fit 100 times as much in a small bag and carry it around with ease.

Then White Seidr Chosen Knight Eliza gave her silver ponytail a swish and clung weakly to Miyabi for once.

She was not used to flirting for something, so it came off as more innocent.

“M-Miyabi, I beg you…please do this one thing for me. There is something I must have.”

“I can tell the heat’s gotten to you, but start buying cold drinks and frozen treats and you’ll never be able to stop.”

“No, I want that.”

Eliza recovered somewhat after entering the cool shade of a building and managed to point at what she wanted, which made Helen Clockgear bristle.

“Um, a swimsuit!? Did the heat tilt the strait-laced but naughty knight’s internal scales too far in the one direction, giving her a thing for exhibitionism!?”

But Eliza seemed to be serious.

“I’m thinking of the future!!” explained the sweaty knight. “W-we’re going to be staying in this desert nation for a while, right? We’re bound to be walking back and forth across that deadly desert that saps your stamina with every step, so I need to have some defense against the heat.”

Celina Bodenburg shrugged.

“Why not let her have her way? When someone is desperate, telling them no is a good way to trigger a tantrum.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” murmured Miyabi, taking a look at the street stall.

The equipment was surprisingly cheap for its rarity. According to the dark-skinned female shopkeeper: “It looks fancy, but swimsuits doesn’t require any special weaving like with silk lace, so we can keep the price down.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Aren’t you just admitting it’s just some cheap pieces of thick cloth with strings connecting them?”

There was a reason the known cheapskate and only daughter of the Bodenburg Company had been willing to shrug off this unnecessary expense. Class Rep Helen was still confused, but since Eliza wanted this, there was no stopping it.

“Yes!! The North Wind and the Sun effect has finally given us a regular swimsuit wearer!!” exclaimed the crystal radio hanging from Alicia’s neck. “Miyabi, you keep her headed in this direction. Whittle away her shame and get her used to skimpier and skimpier outfits until she’s only wearing a set of three small stickers or a lewd V-shaped swimsuit! I’ve already seen this sword and sorcery world has bandages of the standard and adhesive varieties, so either one’s a real possibility! Ohhh, at long last I get to witness a real fantasy with no obtrusive beams of light obscuring the best parts!!!!!”

The large street was lined with a wide variety of shops, not just the swimsuit one.

Some were stone buildings and others were carpets laid out on the roadside.

An item shop’s discount shopkeeper was yelling something about even the smallest items here containing ancient wisdom since this was the world’s oldest civilization, but a wise old man who heard it had something else to say:

“He makes it sound nicer than it is. Most of it is lost technology. We can maintain the ruins so they last longer, but we don’t know how to create new ones. Not that he would care since he’s just yanking out parts and selling them.”

They also heard a few people talking about the sacrifices. Something was going on at the temple and you would be paid if you helped. But no one mentioned any specifics and there were too many rumors.

“Nhh,” groaned Onelife Shiftup. “There are some weird tents lined up over there.”

There were an unusual number of independent fortunetellers for a religious nation. Miyabi considered taking a look, but Helen grabbed his sleeve to stop him.

“No, Miyabi. I-if they’re real, they would know you own a Godhorn Tech!”

“Ehh? Do we really have to be that cautious?”

“Um, it would be safe if they were a fraud, but then why would you want to pay them your hard-earned money?”

The overly diligent government worker seemed unaware that you could still enjoy the experience knowing it was fake.

An innocent boy told them where the water came from.

“They say a god lives in the ruins. Or I think they said the god ‘resides’ in them? Only the priests and priestesses can maintain the ruins, so we have them to thank for the water we drink and food we eat.”

Miyabi’s party was searching for the Godhorn Tech user.

One of the priests or priestesses that represented the nation seemed like their best bet.

Their first idea was to check the biggest ruins in the center of the city.

Its size was impressive enough, but as they approached, it became clear the building was made by stacking up square stones. Miyabi could not imagine how much effort had gone into that since he couldn’t carry even one of the stones. It was such an unusual sight that he was worried the whole thing might collapse in an earthquake. He did not know how it was built, but he did not see any pillars or other supports a log cabin used.

“This is the desert nation’s temple?”

“The pyramid, yes,” confirmed Alicia.

It was made of thick stone and had no windows, yet the inside was cool and remained strangely bright without any candles or lamps.

Onelife crossed his arms inside what felt like a bright cave.

“Hm, not quite the same as an underwater cave. Those caves have a bluish shine from reflected sunlight.”

“You’re full of useless trivia, aren’t you?”

“Gah hah hah! All pirates love underwater caves!! …If only an enclosed cave didn’t keep a sailing ship from catching the wind.”

Maybe mirrors were directing the sunlight inside and maybe it was some form of magic. There were occasional brighter spots of light that caused a light burning pain in the skin.

Miyabi grew nervous as they walked deeper inside.

“W-we sure got in here easily. Isn’t this like a central castle in a kingdom? And I still have my control sword.”

“Heh heh. Miyabi, I am glad to hear you have learned how to act like a proper gentleman. Gone are the days when you barged right into my king’s castle while still armed.”

“Does anyone have a mirror I could borrow? I’ll use this unnatural – magical? – light to melt this snowy knight.”

“Hyah!?”

The sunburn-like pain made Eliza tremble like a newborn fawn. She fell to her knees and tearfully clung to Miyabi’s hip as if to beg for her life. Heat had a way of making her honest, but reacting so strongly to light made her seem more like a vampire.

Alicia sighed.

“Do they not use fire inside the pyramid because they’re afraid of it being too airtight? With all this stone stacked up without the slightest gap between, consuming the air with flames would get you asphyxiated pretty quick.”

The interior was also gorgeous.

Everything from the carpet below their feet to the candlesticks by the walls were polished to a shine.

12-year-old King Kanaka Fulpen raised an eyebrow.

“I sense spirit pressure…coming from the building itself? But who’s contacting it? It almost feels like an abandoned ship adrift at sea.”

“…”

Sensing something, butler automaton Number 8 frowned slightly.

Just then, an old man in a splendid robe walked out to them. His robe was mostly white, but the excessive gold thread and gemstones made it look very heavy. It had a different look to Celina’s dress. Hers was all about increasing the value of the clothing itself, while the old man’s was about spending money to make oneself look important.

He had to be one of the desert nation’s priests.

“The ancient gods will grant their wisdom to any who seek it, so their temple must be open to all.”

“Who are you?” asked Miyabi.

The priest shook his head.

“Wouldn’t this be easier if we remained anonymous? As long as you are speaking with the ancient gods and seeking their wisdom, we choose not to trouble ourselves with differences in nationality and affiliation.”

Alicia and Helen stepped closer to Miyabi.

“(So what now?)”

“(Don’t we need to pass on our message in some form or another?)”

Then Celina whispered in his ear as well.

“(It did seem like that devil swordsman was after Godhorn Tech users.)”

That gave Miyabi a basic plan, so he faced the priest again.

“Th-then, let’s say there’s an issue we would like some divine wisdom on.”

“Then you must first purify yourselves.”

The priest smiled and showed the newcomers how it was done.

“Please grab a pinch of salt and sprinkle it over your head.”

They did so and he nodded, satisfied.

Miyabi was unfamiliar with their teachings, so he could not even imagine what meaning this held. And he was honestly a little scared. What if this was their final sterilization before they were cooked whole?

“Thank you.”

“Then let me tell you why we’re here.”

Miyabi slowly began to explain.

Eventually, the old priest cut him off with a sigh.

“I see,” he said. “In that case, you would be better off speaking with someone else.”

“!”

Helen’s shoulders shook.

Kananka also went on alert, his brown skin tensing.

“Passing us over to the military? Or just taking us into custody?”

“Not at all. If this is about the horn, you should speak with the horn’s owners.” The priest slowly shook his head. “You should speak with the twin priestesses who were chosen by the Executive Ground – our Godhorn Tech.”

Miyabi parroted back a word he could not afford to overlook.

“''Twins''?”

He recalled what Moebius had told him when they met.

''“Including my Lucifer Horn, there are currently 10 Godhorn Techs in existence.”

''“But a certain rumor has been going around among us.”

''“There’s an 11th somewhere out there.”

If this was true…

“''Your Godhorn Tech has more than one user!?''”

“Is that a problem?”

Yes, it meant the number of Godhorn Techs did not match the number of users.

But the priest did not see the issue.

“Oh, perfect timing. They have just returned, so I can introduce you.”

They heard two sets of footsteps approaching behind them.

The boy spun around to see them.

They were both brown girls. They had an unshakable lack of expression and black hair cut at shoulder length. Maybe it was the desert style and maybe it was meant to help with the heat, but their clothing did not leave much of their flat chests and bright thighs to the imagination. Instead of a slitted skirt, it looked more like they had a piece of cloth hanging down the front of their hips and another on the back. The jangling sound seemed to be from the thick chains hanging from the back of their hips like a tail. Those may have had some kind of sacred meaning to the locals. Same with what looked like dog and cat ears on their heads.

Yes, the different types of ears were the only difference between them.

They were otherwise identical.

They both held a control axe taller than they were. Their slow movement made it feel like time flowed differently for them as they crossed their axes together and viewed Miyabi’s party with blank eyes. The priest introduced them.

“This is Acacia Flightheart and Ixea Flightheart, the elites of our temple and the high priestesses given the honor of the Godhorn Tech.”