Festival Revival Movement: Laying the Groundwork
"The village chief, I swear. Why he had to get so hung up on something so strange and kick up this whole fuss..."
For the past several days, the village chief had been making a racket about how they needed to revive the village's forgotten traditional festival. As the village's only priest, I had tried to phrase it as delicately as I could — that now did not seem the time — but he was utterly intractable. What on earth was he thinking, at a time when those lewd rabble were stirring up trouble, trying to corrupt the village's virtue?
I was far from pleased, but the chief had made up his mind and was pushing it through. Even though I had lived in this village for nearly twenty years, I was still fundamentally an outsider, which made it difficult to interfere. And besides, I could not strongly oppose it when some kind of catalyst was needed to mend the rift that had opened among the villagers.
"What a mess. Is it truly this difficult to enlighten the foolish?"
But it was precisely trials like these that would serve as kindling to stoke my zeal as a priest. And besides, there was no law that said only bad things would keep happening.
"Priestess, are you all right? You don't look well."
"No, it's nothing, Yujin. This isn't something you need to worry about. Don't concern yourself."
"But I am concerned. I want to be. Though I suppose it's also true that there's almost nothing I can actually do for you. So at the very least..."
Yujin smiled as he held out a cup of warm tea.
"This, at least..."
"Yes, thank you. Yujin, you really are a good boy."
This child was Yujin. A boy who had recently, through certain circumstances, found his way into the orphanage I ran. He was not originally from this village, but after villains murdered his parents and left him utterly alone in the world, I had taken him in. I had thought taking on another child on top of everything else I already had to do would be something of a burden, but as a servant of the God of Light, I could not simply abandon him.
And it had been an excellent choice. Unlike most children who had lost their parents, he did not grow gloomy, or twisted, or show any violent tendencies. On the contrary, even though the hardships of life already showed on his face, Yujin maintained a positive attitude and a bright smile, and followed me devotedly.
Perhaps a deep wound hidden inside him was festering even now. Discovering it and healing it was my role. But at least in this moment, it was also true that I found a great deal of comfort just looking at him.
"I hope you will hold on to that purity going forward. Work diligently and contribute to the community, build a solid household and love only one woman, and raise your successors through wholesome education. Understood?"
It was perhaps a bit much to talk about something so far in the future, but Yujin answered without a shred of doubt, smiling brightly.
"Yes, Priestess. I'll do just as you say."
He probably was not thinking deeply about it — just agreeing with whatever I said. But I was satisfied that he would at least say the words.
"Mm, I always think this, but the tea you brew is truly delicious. Is there some secret to it?"
"Who knows? Maybe I just put a lot of love into it?"
Yujin made that joke with an innocent, smiling face. A shame. If his features had been just a little more ordinary, he might have been popular.
Just when I thought I had cleansed my mood by spending some time with Yujin, a thorn in my side jammed itself straight into my eye, right on cue. I had spotted one of those guild people — the ones who had barely shown their faces in the village lately. Just when I had started thinking things had quieted down enough that I might reduce my patrols — there they were!
"You there! You're that guild person I met last time! This village does not tolerate your disgraceful conduct. If you have come here for that sort of business, leave at once."
At my rebuke, the pink-haired woman turned to look at me with a sullen expression, then gave a halfhearted nod.
"Oh my, well if it isn't... Priestess Veronica? Sister? Something like that, wasn't it? Hello~"
"I am a priestess, yes. It seems you did not hear me, so I will say it once more. If you have come to this village on some lewd errand, leave immediately. There is no place here for filthy lust."
"Hmm, is that so? Well then, good luck with that."
The pink-haired woman let my words go in one ear and out the other, and made to stroll right on through the village.
"Did you not understand? I told you to leave this village."
"You're the one who tacked on the condition 'on some lewd errand,' aren't you? Today I don't particularly have that kind of purpose, so it's fine, isn't it? Here!"
The pink-haired woman swept her cloak aside to show what was underneath. The outfit could hardly be called wholesome — her thighs and navel were on full display — but it was at least a step up from the naked cloaks the guild's lackeys typically wore.
"You know, not every request we take is dirty, okay? We also function as an all-purpose errand service, basically. Treating people with prejudice like that — is that how a priestess is supposed to act? Hmm?"
The pink-haired woman sneered at me with the same slouching, insolent posture as the delinquents from my hometown. It was a little disconcerting, but not enough to make me back down.
"After everything you people have done, how can you tell me not to be suspicious? This is not prejudice — it is reasonable doubt. Just what kind of request have you taken this time? If you do not give me a proper answer right here, I will drive you out."
"Haaah. Your god must have taught you to suspect people for no reason, huh?"
"Give me a proper answer!"
The woman clicked her tongue, then pulled from her bag such an abundance of herbs that she looked ready to set up as an apothecary.
"I hear this village is planning to hold a festival? Naturally the villagers are dividing up the preparations among themselves, right? I'm just lending a bit of a hand with that division of labor."
After packing her bag back up, the woman smirked and made a suggestion.
"If you don't believe me, want to come see? It's a request from someone you probably know, actually."
I readily agreed. Following behind her, it soon became clear where she was headed. It was the house of Hans — a boy I had once raised at the orphanage.
Hans had once been an extremely passive young man with no particular talents and a thoroughly ordinary face — someone no one paid any attention to. But recently, something had changed in him. He had stolen the heart of none other than Mina and married her. Whether that fact had been some kind of stimulus, his voice in the village community had grown stronger, and his entire demeanor had become so robust it was hard to believe he was the same person. I had been privately proud of him.
So the fact that this same Hans was associating with someone from the guild — even if it was a business relationship — did not sit well with me, honestly.
"Hans~♥ Astera's here~ Please open the door~♥"
A nasal, coquettish tone far too excessive for a mere client. Presently the door opened, and Hans appeared wearing a brighter, fresher smile than I had ever seen on him.
"Ohhh, welcome, Astera! I've been waiti— wait! Priestess Veronica? What brings you here?"
"I came to confirm something, Hans. I hear you asked this woman to help with the village festival preparations. Is that true?"
I cut straight to the point. Hans seemed flustered for a moment, then nodded.
"Ah, yes. That's right. I'm not very good at that sort of thing, you see. I figured it might be easier to outsource it to someone who knows what they're doing. Ahahaha."
"That is not very good. Since it is the village festival, would it not have been more sincere to handle it yourselves, even if it was a bit of a hassle?"
I had said it just to pick a fight, but Hans answered in a clear, firm voice.
"Well of course sincerity is what matters most in a festival that brings the village together. But I don't think a little less hardship means the sincerity disappears. If anything, by easing the burden and gaining more time to reflect on the festival's meaning, doesn't the depth of our feeling for the village only grow? That's what sincerity really is!"
...I was honestly a little surprised. Had Hans always been a man who could speak like this? I had always thought of him as someone far removed from asserting himself. I had known he had changed, but still.
"Yes, yes, that's a very fine point. If anything, that whole 'you have to suffer for it to count as sincerity' mindset is pretty pretentious, wouldn't you say? Pfft!"
"...Was there any need for you to add that? If your business here is finished, why don't you leave?"
"Ahh, well, you see? The work isn't actually finished here. I still have to process the herbs before my job is done. I ought to deliver the value of what I was paid, don't you think?"
"What? If you are using that as an excuse to slip out of my sight..."
A woman's voice cut into our argument.
"It's all right, Priestess. I'll be here."
"Mina! ...That's right. Hans is a married man now."
I still was not used to Mina being in Hans's house, but she was his wife now. Even if my eyes could not reach this place, if Mina was watching over the household, she would be far more trustworthy than I.
Surely he would not bring a whore into a household that already has a wife. I can rest easy and head back from here.
In truth, I did worry that this might be creating a convenient pretext for whores to come and go from the village — but blocking every such possibility was impossible anyway.
"Then I will be heading back. You, from the guild — once your task is finished, do not wander off anywhere else. Go straight back. Understood?"
"Yeees, yeees~"
"Haaah. I've thought this for a while, but Priestess Veronica's pressure is no joke. I can barely breathe."
"She's just a cunt who doesn't know her place. Just wait a little. She'll be punished for daring to take that stiff attitude in front of a man!"
"Mm... it's complicated. Either way, she's like a mother to me."
"Even so, there shouldn't be exceptions. There's a Rule in this world that cannot be defied, isn't there?"
"Is that so?"
Through the process of training Mina, Hans had learned the fundamentals of male supremacy — but even he was still bound by remnants of his old way of thinking. This was a problem that would resolve itself once the village was normalized — someday, and not too far off. No need to go looking for things to worry about.
"...Well, anyway. Heheh. Whatever else, it looks like you're managing the bitch you keep at home just fine?"
"Well of course! She's the one I keep at home! I've got to take extra special care of her."
"Kiiing♥ Nngh♥ Kiiing♥"
Almost the instant Veronica turned her back on the house, Mina dropped to the floor at Hans's feet and began lapping at his toes. This was it! This was how men and women were supposed to be!
"Hahaha! She's working even harder than usual. Is it because Astera's watching?"
"How calculating~ Service to a man should be given with the same devotion no matter when or where."
Well, I could say that, but I had to admit that as long as you're human, there are times when you put in more effort than usual.
"How about you, Astera? I've still got one more load left."
"Mm... I'm sorry. I have work to do. I don't have the luxury right now. Could you put in a formal request later?"
"Really? Astera turning me down — must be pretty urgent business. I'll just make do with Mina, then."
It really was a shame, but the words I had said to Veronica a moment ago had not been a lie. The herbs here were meant to go into the special liquor and tea used at the festival. They had a mild hallucinogenic effect and a resonance effect that linked the emotions and hearts of those nearby.
But that alone was not enough to achieve our goal. The village needed to become one. But the result of that unity had to be the hearts of men already enlightened by our guild — men like the village chief and Hans. To that end, the drinks that people like the chief and Hans would consume needed additional special processing — so that they could transmit their thoughts and hearts.
...And of course, if there were transmitters, there would be receivers as well.
"I wonder if Yujin is doing well?"