I am back – Chapter 52

The address of that church was the one where I had done volunteer activity with my older sister.

Of course, I didn’t know the exact address of the church, but at least the name written on it was that name. And the neighborhood name on the address was the one we had visited.

“……”

Did my older sister get help from the church’s pastor?

Thinking about it, the pastor didn’t preach to us or urge us to believe in Christianity, even though he knew we didn’t have a specific religion—though if you want to get technical, I did have a religion.

He even asked me if I believed in a god, and when I said yes, he seemed pleased… even though I didn’t specify which god I believed in.

It certainly felt a bit strange.

Not that I was saying the pastor or that church was odd. It was just that if there were no religion believing in the goddess in this world, then she wouldn’t have been able to wield such powers. Even if sending Pia, Dana, Kalia, and Arna to this world was one thing, preparing such a reward for me beforehand would require tremendous power.

In modern society, wealth isn’t just about having a lot of gold or stacks of cash piled up in a room. Even if you don’t own stocks or bonds, real estate or bank accounts are almost essential. After all, you can’t just keep delivering cash to a landlord every time you rent a place. It doesn’t make sense to move large amounts of cash every time you change houses.

Plus, you need an identity to prove that everything is “yours.” In modern society, that “identity” is… what’s the point of explaining it? There are countless complicated procedures to prevent forgery. When combined with modern IT technology, it becomes even more intricate. There’s a reason the value of stealing a Korean passport has plummeted since it became digital.

To solve all that with just the “goddess’s power,” ironically, one would have to possess an immense amount of power capable of twisting reality itself.

And exercising such power in this world is impossible.

In other words, it makes much more sense to assume that there are believers of the goddess in this world, and there are people who help facilitate her will.

While I didn’t completely dismiss that possibility, I also didn’t think too seriously about it.

“What… does it mean?”

Dana asked.

I nodded and answered.

“It seems that the goddess is indicating a place where someone will help us.”

“Aren’t the religions in this world different from the religions in our world?”

Dana squinted her eyes as she looked at the note and asked.

“Yeah, I thought so until a little while ago.”

I shrugged my shoulders as I spoke.

“It looks like I might have to change that thought.”

*

I never thought this house could be so cramped.

When I ordered food based on the tastes of the girls I knew from the other world, fortunately, they all enjoyed it.

I had no idea when they would return. I still hadn’t heard anything about why they came here. Throughout the meal, we simply reminisced like old friends, sharing stories from the past. Even regarding the note, no significant conversation came up. After I suggested we go check it out together tomorrow, the girls didn’t mention it again.

Perhaps the reason they came here was a story too heavy for them to share with me. Like the goddess had hints, there might be reasons they couldn’t say out loud.

Unintentionally, I also hadn’t told Kalia and Arna that I was someone from another world until nearly the end. So, I decided to respect their wishes and not pry.

My house is spacious. Objectively speaking and subjectively speaking. Of course, it might seem small to Kalia, who lived in a massive mansion, or Dana, who lived in a magic tower.

So there was enough space for them. However…

There were only three rooms in this house that could be called bedrooms, including the one I stayed in. While all three rooms had beds, one empty room had nothing at all. It seemed to be a study, but with only a wall-mounted bookshelf and no bed, it appeared very empty. At least the other rooms had beds, making them feel somewhat lived in.

I wasn’t making full use of this spacious house, so one room remained just empty.

“I’m fine with this.”

However, my dilemma was quickly alleviated thanks to Dana’s words.

“Since there’s so much room for the bookshelves. There might be times when we’ll need to study knowledge from this world.”

Once I said that, I scratched my cheek.

“…Actually, there’s almost no natural magic in this world, so… I probably won’t be able to work as a mage. So at least storing knowledge will be useful.”

She seemed a bit anxious saying that.

And that was understandable. Considering her position in Irrelaysia, being calm in this world, which seems to negate everything she built up until now, was quite commendable.

“Are you sure? Isn’t it smaller than the room back home?”

When I asked that, Kalia chuckled.

“Actually, if it’s too large, efficiency goes down. A room that’s just the right size for my lifestyle is enough. I was even thinking about moving to a more suitable room back home.”

“Is that so…?”

Thinking about it, it made sense for Kalia’s personality. She’s always valued simplicity.

“By the way, are the buildings in this world generally like this? At first, I thought all these huge buildings were yours, and I was a bit surprised.”

“Well, in Irrelaysia, commoners often rent just one room in a building. Just think of this as a house where people with significantly more money live.”

“Significantly?”

“Yeah, significantly.”

In terms of scale comparison, it would be something like comparing a villa and an apartment, and even that between a high-end apartment.

“Is that so… I haven’t fully understood a world without nobles yet, but it seems wealth gaps still exist.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well, even within the same class, there are bound to be disparities.”

Kalia nodded.