Chapter 68: Chapter 53 – Priestly Woes

"Smoked yams! Get 'em while they're hot!"

"Watch where you're going, idiot! I'm walking here!"

Kanae awakened with a fright to an unfamiliar room. His panic quickly passed, realizing that he was in Lograin now and not in Orturic. The city's energy so early in the morning was proof of that. He climbed out of bed and walked over to the windows, pulling the maroon drapes that reached from ceiling to floor aside.

The forked street that the adventurer's hall occupied, which was practically empty last night, filled with the hubbub of wheels from carriages and wagons grinding against the road, merchants hollering from stalls or carpets displaying their goods on the sidewalk, and citizens of all races passing by.

At a glance, there were possibly more people in just this block and building than all of Orturic combined.

Kanae stretched his arms in front of the window, basking in the sun's warmth. He let out a blissful sigh.

"Hm?"

A crowd had gathered outside the window in the streets at the foot of the building, taking in the sights of him. Kanae snapped shut the curtains and turned red in the face.

Great, he thought. First thing in the morning living in a new city, and he just gave people something to remember him by already.

Kanae went to get dressed and ran into trouble pulling the suit up past his waist. In fact, it was as though the clothing got caught on something. When he looked down, a modest-in-size and girth, throbbing penis greeted him.

The feeling was just like he remembered, an extension of himself with sensation and all. Just gripping the erect base brought him pleasure and made his knees weak. He would finally be able to have sex like a guy again.

Without thinking, Kanae raced out into the living room where Arenade and Edina were already awake, warming themselves up by the fire.

"Guys, look! I have a penis now!" Kanae exclaimed.

Arenade, who was in the middle of drinking tea, spat out her beverage and drenched Edina wet.

"Ahaha! Is that really a dick? You didn't eat something weird did you?" Edina asked, a lot more amused than Arenade by Kanae's new addition to his body.

Kanae shook his head. "I scored a few levels from going to a brothel last night and got this skill after hitting 50."

"Oh, so that's where you went, huh? Getting a good taste of the city before the end of the first day. I expected nothing less of the party's succubus." The necromancer grinned.

"For the love of— Put that thing away already!" Arenade cried, one hand to her chest as she coughed up her lungs and the other covering her eyes. "How indecent… s-showing me something like that…"

The elven priest blushed up to her pointed ears, but couldn't stop stealing glances at it. Kanae couldn't remember the last time he saw Arenade so flustered. Recent events left a strain in their relationship. So seeing her like this made him want to tease her more.

"You know…" Kanae coyly approached Arenade, backing her into the couch until she fell onto it. "When was the last time we were together? Do you want to go back to my room and try this out?"

"W-Wait… I'm still… angry at you…" Arenade stammered, the reflection in her eyes filled with only the sight of his pulsating dick.

Afraid of pushing the issue further and ruining their friendship, Kanae toggled off [Futanari], which vanished his penis like magic. Even the sensation of the erection was gone. Although Arenade breathed a sigh of relief, her troubled and somewhat disappointed look got him wondering if she actually wanted it.

"If you two are done flirting, we're headed to church to unlock Kanae's flight, right?" Edina asked from the foyer.

Kanae and Arenade regained their composure and headed downstairs with Edina. They fetched an ogre-slaying quest first, eager to test the waters of their new skills and how difficult Lograin was going to be. After getting approval Sellica, the party departed into the city to find a church.

"If it's a church we're looking for, we should probably choose the Cathedral of the Church of Many instead of the One which worships the Supreme One," Arenade suggested.

"Is there a difference? Would the Supreme One not want me there being a… you know what?" Kanae lowered his voice.

"I doubt the Supreme One cares." She shrugged. "It's the people who run the churches who think they know the will of the gods that make it unbearable. For some reason, those that belong to the One are soooo vain."

"Oh, I know about that. Clergy from The Church of Many might be a little looney, but at least they're more welcoming. Like I won't get kicked out just for being a necromancer," Edina added.

On their way to the cathedral of the Church of Many, a loud bell chimed through the city. Kanae couldn't help but marvel at the many snow-dusted steeples and stained glass windows depicting gods. The religious folk here were possibly more vain than the other side, dressed in gold trinkets and embroidery to flaunt their wealth 'in the name of the gods'.

Priests and clergy from the Church of One, who worshiped the Supreme One, were distinguishable by the motif of a singular eye in front of a burning sun on their robes. The Church of Many, however, depicted three pairs of hands pressed together in prayer. 

Kanae clutched himself to stop the shivers, feeling as though he was under the gaze of many divine beings.

They reached the Cathedral of The Many and entered into a massive octogonal worship hall which seemingly hummed with a low, peaceful note. The pews were arranged facing each seven sides that beheld the statue of a god, the eighth of which served as the entrance into the chamber.

Parishioners were scattered about, head bowed in prayer or speaking with clerics. Right through the entrance, a group of priests were working over a cauldron and passing out food out to the less fortunate. At the center, there was a blue-scaled drakeling man kneeling down in prayer, surrounded by four priests at his side.

"Ah! Sister Arenade, welcome back. I see you have brought friends. Have you come seeking the guidance of The Many?" the priestly man asked. An older human man in gold and white robes, with a miter hat on his red hair, turned to them with open arms.

"I might take you up on that later," Arenade said, then gestured to the priest. "Everyone, this is Pontiff Rudolff, the chief priest of the churches that profess worship to The Many within Lograin."

"With no relation to Bishop Rudo, mind you. It is only by coincidence we share such similar names. His faith is professed to the Supreme One. Here, The Many welcomes all." Pontiff Rudolff beamed.

Bright. The man was so bright and holy for Kanae that his skin was tingling from divine energies.

"What's happening in the center?" Kanae asked, pointing to the drakeling and priests.

"They are in the process of crowning," the priest answered. "In other words, receiving the blessing of a god to become stronger. Not everyone is worthy of being crowned, and not everyone is crowned at birth. So some will come to beseech the gods in later stages of life"

A beam of light suddenly flooded the cathedral from an opening in the rooftop. The light enveloped the drakeling whole, and when it dissipated, he took one look at his wrist and jumped with joy. He hugged each of the priests, thanking them and the gods.

"And it seems another was successfully crowned today, thank The Many." Rudolff nodded his head in prayer.

"I-I actually have a skill that requires me to come to a church to unlock. I don't know what that means, but Arenade was the one who suggested coming here," Kanae hesitantly explained.

"The gods are fickle that way," he said, casting his gaze to the seven statues. "They play with us like decks of cards, swapping and discarding amongst themselves as they please. One among The Many may be withholding a skill from you until they see how far you have come. Come, it is a simple process."

Pontiff Rudolff extended a hand forward, and they followed him up to the center as the celebrating drakeling and priests were leaving. He asked Kanae to take a seat on the worn oak pew and pray.

Having never really been religious at all, Kanae followed the pontiff's instruction with a hint of skepticism. At least in this world, the gods seemed to be more real and active. After all, there was a fallen one in his party.

As Kanae pressed his hands together and shut his eyes, the world suddenly went quiet. No more hum of music or quiet chatter from the parishioners.

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"Let's see…" the professional work voice of a businesswoman echoed from all around him. "Trying to unlock the Flight skill, are we? Level 50… race… succubus? Class, seductress? What?"

With the snap of a finger, Kanae found himself sitting across the desk from a horned and bespectacled woman, in a brightly lit room much like when he first met Arenade. She wore a black worksuit over crimson red skin, with the top three buttons of her shirt unbuttoned. Behind the glasses lay two amber eyes with sharp, horizontal pupils that looked Kanae up and down.

"Uh… Hello," Kanae greeted.

"Oh, it's you! The human boy-turned female succubus!" Her eyes widened with recognition and smirking. "How's that cunt Arenade? I hear she's your lackey now. Says here you recently got yourself the Futanari skill. Guess it's only a matter of time before you two do the dirty if you haven't already, huh? Ahahaha!"

"Y-You're another demigoddess, right? And, hey! I don't appreciate you calling Arenade a cunt. She might be tough to deal with sometimes, but her heart is in the right place trying to help people," he argued back, surprising the divine being.

The demigoddess leaned back in her seat with both hands clasped together. "Boy, do I know it. Well, I've been worried about her since she went missing."

"You… have?"

"After meeting you, I feel like she's in good hands. Take care of her, okay? That Arenade's the youngest demi among us and had quite the troubled past. I'll approve your new skill and grant you knowledge on how to use it— Wait, where's my stamp? Oh, here it is!" She smashed an ink stamp onto a piece of paper

Kanae fell backwards and panicked, then his eyes snapped open to Arenade and Pontiff Rudolff looking at him with worry.

"How did it go? You got your skill?" Arenade asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Kanae turned his gaze to one of the statues that looked exactly like the one he saw, dressed in flowing robes instead of a business suit, but with horns and reptilian eyes that he remembered. "Say, what's that demigoddess' name?"

Both of them followed his eyes to the statue.

"Goddess Threcia, a salamander warrior, was sanctified nearly ten thousand years ago for her heroic deeds in fighting the first demons. Is that who you saw?" Pontiff Rudolff asked.

"Threcia, pfft. I bet that hag is still misplacing her stamps without me there to help find it," Arenade mumbled off to the side.

Kanae chuckled to himself. It sounded like Arenade and Threcia had quite the work relationship. 

As they were leaving, Kanae and Arenade noticed one member of their party was missing.

"Now where in three hells did that damn squirrely squirreling go?" Arenade wondered aloud, scratching her head.

"Squirrely squirreling? Really? I bet you've been waiting to use that for ages," Kanae teased.

The priest turned the other cheek. Just then, the sound of smacking lips and crunching reached their ears. They followed the noise to a nook behind a large pillar, where Edina was snacking on a whole pot of food taken from the church.

"Oh, uh… Heya, guys. Just eating some breakfast. You… want some?" Edina laughed awkwardly.

"You little kleptomaniac!" Arenade pounced on Edina, tugging on her cheeks until she looked like a hamster. "That food belongs to the poor and downtrodden!"

"I used to be poor and downtrodden! Let go— I'm gonna barf if you keep it up!" she cried.

The party departed from the city to tackle the quest where the ogres were located. As soon as they were no longer within sight of anyone or the city, Kanae leapt into the air with joy. He flew over expansive green pastures, around trees, and even alongside flocks of birds that scattered when he got near.

"Look, look! I really can fly! This is so cool!" Kanae flew circles around Edina and Arenade just above their heads.

Demigoddess Threcia didn't just unlock his flying, but also made it so that he already knew how to. His wings were small in appearance, and he thought there was no way flying would be possible. However, with magic on his side, Kanae soared with the experience of a grown harpy, savoring the cool winds caressing his skin and hair.

"How strong are you, Kanae? Can you carry me, too?" Edina asked, extending her arms to him.

Kanae grabbed Edina's hands and easily lifted the pint-sized squirreling into the air. They flew together, smiling from ear to ear.

"Arenade, you want to come up, too? I might be able to carry you both!" Kanae said.

"I-I'd like to stay grounded where I belong, thank you very much." Arenade folded her arms as she continued walking.

Kanae and Edina traded glances, then hatched an idea. With the squirreling clinging to his back, Kanae reached down to try and pick Arenade up, but she started struggling.

"Hey, stop! Seriously, I'm going to get angry at you both!" Arenade exclaimed, causing them both to stop and land.

"Sorry…" Kanae quietly apologized. "I just wanted to fly with you—"

A loud thud startled them all. Two large ogres several times their size pushed aside the trees as they emerged from the forest to the left, wielding wooden clubs propped on meaty shoulders. 

"Oh, shit. Looks like they found us instead," Edina said, summoning an army of undeads and her bone brute.

"Wait, I wonder if I can have sex with them." Kanae took an excited step forward, but a large club slammed down in front of him, inches away from crushing his feet.

"I don't think they're interested in sex!" Arenade warned.

The party of three ran back to put some space between them and the ogre pair. Edina sent her minions on the ogres. The skeletal warriors leapt onto the ogres' backs and hacked away, but their weapons couldn't penetrate the thick muscles. One ogre swung its club, clearing a swathe of undead and destroying the bone brute in a single hit.

Edina's jaw dropped, including the rest of the surviving undeads.

"This might be a little out of our level range…" she muttered through chattering teeth.

"Not if I have a say about it— Be bathed in my Empowered Divine Strike!" Arenade raised her staff, conjuring volleys of golden swords that crashed down on the ogres.

They brushed it off like nothing.

"Arenade, we have to use Bond! It'll make you stronger!" Kanae suggested, preparing to make a connection to her.

"What? No, don't use that filthy spell on me again." Arenade backed away, clutching herself out of more fear of him than the ogres.

Kanae drew a blank, and his heart ached from hearing Arenade reject him that way. Was it something he said? At what point did he go wrong? Before another thought crossed his mind, the shadow of an ogre pulled over their group. Kanae saw the club crashing down on him too late.

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