Chapter 156 - The First Person
Philia-san is thirteen years older than me, a twenty-eight-year-old priestess.
She is a famous beautiful adventurer around these parts, with an appearance that is an easy-to-understand, beautiful Caucasian woman.
Glossy silver-blonde hair reaching down to her waist, and blue eyes that are infinitely close to light blue. ...Also, it's rude so I try not to look too much, but her breasts are so large they can be seen even through her baggy clerical robes.
With her being an expert in Recovery Magic, it wouldn't be surprising if various parties were calling out to her.
However, for some reason, "Stay away from Philia" had become the common consensus among those around her.
And I was feeling firsthand that this perception was correct.
This person is so beautiful, but her words and actions are strange...
After all, every time she visits a frontier village, she starts screaming, "Your faith is a lie! If you believe in Polytheism, you'll fall into hell! Convert to Monotheism right now!"
Naturally, it is common sense that a suspicious woman who starts such bizarre religious talk is kicked out, and by adventuring with Philia-san, I ended up burdened with the handicap of "not being able to stay at inns at all."
I want to say, what are you doing, a healer, making the Hero lose stamina like that?
Even now, I'm preparing to camp out in the wild precisely because of this person.
After finishing setting up the camping tent with a sigh, I decided to go inside and rest immediately.
I flopped down, and that was that.
Maybe I'm tired from the daytime combat. I'm already getting sleepy.
As I was dozing off comfortably, thinking I might just sleep like this, I saw Philia-san crawling in on all fours.
What is it? Don't tell me she's come to apologize for us having to camp out because of her? I opened my eyes, and—
"I would like you to tell me what kind of believer the Hero-dono is."
...It was an incredibly self-paced question.
It's always like this.
Ignoring the flow of what came before or after, Philia-san's way of speaking is to abruptly bring up topics she likes.
...It's only my first month having this person in my party, but I'm starting to get a faint feeling that she probably doesn't have many friends.
Both mentally and physically, her sense of distance from others is strange.
I don't know what she's thinking, but Philia-san talks to me while bringing her face unnervingly close. Far from our noses touching, her voluptuous breasts are actually pressing against me right now; does she feel nothing at all?
"Even if you suddenly bring up a topic like that, I don't get it."
To hide my embarrassment, I ended up giving a blunt reply.
However, there was no way the subtleties of a puberty-stricken boy's heart would reach Philia-san, and she just wore a beautiful older sister smile.
"Actually, I have never successfully converted a non-believer before."
"...And what about that?"
"I am troubled, very much so. In the world of priestesses, it is not martial arts or Sorcery that are evaluated, but rather the one who has converted a larger number of non-believers."
"So you're saying being good at sales talk is the most important thing. ...Huh? But Philia-san, you're incredibly strong, but you're bad at talking, aren't you?"
"Yes! I was so bad at proselytizing that I fell off the promotion track."
"Is this really a time to be laughing..."
Despite having a glamorous background as a graduate of an elite Convent, I wondered why she had been stagnating in a run-down adventurer's guild, but I finally understood.
To put it in modern Japanese terms, she's the kind of talent who has a high education but, because she's bad at socializing, her sales performance stagnated and she was sent to a regional branch.
...Thinking about it that way, it's a rather pitiful situation.
"So, what does that sad career have to do with my faith?"
"If the Hero-dono is willing, I would like you to become my very first successful conversion case. ...Though, if you already believe in the same God as I do, conversion is impossible."
"It's true that I believe in a different religion than Philia-san."
"I knew it!"
As expected, she doesn't kick down foreign religious statues even when she sees them; that gentleness isn't that of a Monotheism believer, Philia-san said, making naturally radical remarks.
The Monotheism this person believes in is similar to Catholicism during its most violent era.
"In that case, would the Hero-dono's faith be Polytheism?"
"I guess it would be, but I wonder... I've heard Buddhism is atheism. ...Also, I don't really know myself if I'm a Buddhist or a Shinto believer. Am I both? I think I'm as close to being non-religious as possible."
"I don't understand what that means."
"I don't really get it either."
How should I explain to a person raised in a medieval European-style fantasy world the rare phenomenon where a single human is counted as a believer in multiple religions, yet lives feeling non-religious?
"...I understand that the Hero-dono holds a complex and mysterious faith. But don't you think it would be better to believe in only one, absolute, sole God? Right now, a value-pack Witch Hunting Kit even comes with it."
"Has the solicitation already started?"
"Of course."
"Setting aside that dangerous conversion bonus, what other benefits are there to believing in Monotheism?"
"You will be able to go to Heaven."
"I don't care about the afterlife... what else?"
"E-err, um, you will be able to receive support from churches nationwide... You might be able to have status ailments removed for free, or occasionally receive equipment that has undergone a Blessing Ceremony."
"...That sounds good. What else?"
"Other than that, other than that..."
Philia-san's eyes swim from side to side as she clasps her hands as if in prayer. She looks visibly flustered, and I can tell she has finally run out of bait to dangle in front of me.
"...Other than that, um... you could become closer to me... or something?"
"What kind of thing is that?"
I couldn't help but laugh. It felt like, of all things, that was the last thing she came up with.
She's flustered to the point of being pitiable to watch; perhaps it's about time I gave in.
"Okay. Fine. I'll convert to Monotheism."
"I thought so; everyone thinks their own country's faith is most important... After all, with my sales pitch, no one would ever respond... Eh? ...What did you just say?"
"I said I'll convert. If the churches in the whole country are on my side, it'll make adventuring more advantageous, yeah."
To be honest, it doesn't matter to me what religion I become. I'll just align myself with whatever is more convenient.
Come to think of it, I remember a TV commentator once saying, "International marriages often involve disputes over each other's faiths, but Japanese people convert to their spouse's religion without any particular attachment, which is seen as mysterious."
It could be called a behavior unique to people from a country with weak faith. It likely has an influence from values like "when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"...Eh? You're converting? Really?"
"Is that really something to be so surprised about?"
Philia-san's already wide eyes opened even further, and her mouth hung agape.
I thought it was a bit exaggerated.
"...By the way, what was the deciding factor? Was it the support from the Church?"
"That's part of it, but the part about becoming closer to Philia-san is huge."
"..."
"Um. Why is your face red?"
"...Is your relationship with me more important than the God of your own country?"
"Ah, yeah."
For a Japanese person, the idea that interpersonal relationships with colleagues are more important than religion is a relatively normal value.
It didn't feel like she had really opened her heart to me, so my choice came from a rational thought process that I hoped this would lead to better coordination within the party.
I wonder how Philia-san is interpreting this.
"I-I see. Understood. Then, we shall now proceed with the Baptism ceremony."
Philia-san reached into her bag with jerky movements and began taking out things like the Bible and Holy Water. Is she really planning to continue her work while her face remains red like a boiled octopus...?
"...The Hero-dono will become my first person, then."
"Stop using such strange phrasing."
Her slightly moist blue eyes are staring at me.
"I won't forget. Today. Because thanks to the Hero-dono, I have finally become a full-fledged priestess."
"Well, that's good."
Philia-san says.
That we are truly comrades now.
And that no matter what happens, she alone will remain on the Hero-dono's side.
"...I hope so."
"It is impossible for a promise sworn to God to be broken."
"I wonder. I think humans are the type to fall out over trivial things."
"I will continue to be on the Hero-dono's side. No matter what happens."
As she spoke, Philia-san pulled me into an embrace.
A sweet, yet somehow heavy scent hits my nose. A thick, older woman's scent. A completely different fragrance from the girls of my own age in Japan.
"After all, the Hero-dono is my first Party Member, the first person I have converted, and... the first man I have met who is not unpleasant."
"Not unpleasant?"
"I have always been bad with men. I grew up in a Convent filled only with women. ...I thought adult men were hairy, smelly, and large, like bears... But the Hero-dono has thin facial hair and doesn't smell at all. Are all Summoned Heroes like this?"
"...Well, the men in my country do tend to be like that. They're sort of androgynous... Because of that, they aren't very popular with foreigners, though."
"You don't need to be popular. Hero-dono, please remain a Virgin for the rest of your life. A pure body suits you well."
"No thanks..."
By the way, although I appear to be chatting nonchalantly, my entire body is reacting to the situation of suddenly being hugged and whispered to in the ear by a woman in her twenties.
It is a conversation held while praying, Please don't notice. I even try praying to the God of the Monotheism I just joined.
God, I'm sorry my first request is something like this, but please prevent Philia-san from noticing this unruly boy...
"Hero-dono, please always be my comrade, my Junior Brother, and a beautiful boy. As long as you are so, I will continue to be on your side... Forever..."
The kindness to not say "that's impossible" was something I possessed as well.