And the address of that church was the same church where I had volunteered with my sister.
Of course, I didn’t know the church’s exact address, but at least the name written there was the same. The neighborhood name on the address was also the one we had gone to.
“……”
Didn’t my sister say she had received help from the pastor of that church?
Now that I think about it, the pastor knew we didn’t have a particular religion—though technically, I did have one—but he never tried to preach to us or tell us to believe in Christianity.
He even asked me if I believed in a god, and when I said yes, he was delighted… even though I didn’t specify which god I believed in.
It was certainly a bit strange.
Not that the pastor or the church was strange, of course. It’s just that if there were no religion in this world that worshipped the Goddess, then She wouldn’t have been able to use such powers.
Sending Fia, Dana, Kalia, and Arna to this world might be one thing, but preparing such a reward for me in advance would require an immense amount of divine power.
In modern society, wealth isn’t just about hoarding gold or stacking cash in a room.
Even if we don’t consider stocks or bonds, properties or accounts are practically indispensable.
And even if the property wasn’t mine, I couldn’t exactly live in a rental without regularly paying rent or deposit. It’s also unthinkable to move bundles of cash every time I relocate.
Then there’s the need for identification to prove that all of it is ‘mine.’ And in modern society, the concept of ‘identity’… well, there’s no point in elaborating.
The tedious procedures to prevent forgery are endless. Add modern digital technology on top of that, and it gets even more complex. There’s a reason why the value of stealing Korean passports plummeted after they were digitized.
To solve all that with just the “Goddess’s power” would ironically require such an enormous level of power that it could bend reality itself.
And exercising that level of power in this world is impossible.
In other words, it’s more realistic to think that there are people in this world who believe in the Goddess and are helping to carry out Her will.
It’s not that I hadn’t considered that possibility at all, but I hadn’t seriously dwelled on it either.
“Does it refer to… a specific place?”
Dana asked.
I nodded and replied.
“It seems the Goddess has written down a place where there’s someone who can help us.”
“Didn’t you say the religions in this world are different from those in our world?”
Dana squinted at the note as she asked.
“True. That’s what I thought until just a moment ago.”
I shrugged as I spoke.
“Looks like I might have to change my mind about that.”
*
I never imagined this house could feel so full
It was fortunate that when I ordered food tailored to their tastes—based on what I remembered from the other world—they all enjoyed it.
I still don’t know when they’ll return or why they came here.
During the meal, we simply reminisced, talking about old memories as if we were friends meeting again after a long time.
Even the note wasn’t mentioned much. After I suggested going together tomorrow, they didn’t bring it up again.
Perhaps the reason they came here is something too heavy for them to share with me. Just as the Goddess subtly avoided directly addressing certain topics, there’s likely a reason they can’t be upfront about it.
Unintentionally, I too had refrained from telling Kalia and Arna that I was someone from another world, almost until the very end. So I decided not to pry into their reasons either.
The house I live in is spacious—both objectively and subjectively. Though, compared to the grand mansion Kalia once called home or Dana’s residence in the Mage Tower, it might feel cramped to them.
There was enough space for them to stay comfortably. However…
This house has three rooms that could be called bedrooms, including the one I use. While all three bedrooms had beds, one empty room didn’t have anything.
It looked like it was meant to be a study, with only built-in bookshelves lining the walls and nothing else, making it feel barren. At least the other rooms had beds, making them feel somewhat livable.
Since I wasn’t fully utilizing this large house myself, that room had just been left empty.
“I’m fine with this room,” Dana said, making my concern vanish in an instant.
“With so many shelves, I might need to study this world’s knowledge anyway,” she added, scratching her cheek.
“…Actually, since this world has almost no natural magic, I probably won’t be able to function as a mage. At the very least, I might as well build up some knowledge that could be useful later.”
She seemed a bit uneasy as she said this.
It made sense. Considering the position she held in Errelcia, it was remarkable that she was managing to stay this calm in a world that essentially invalidated everything she had built up until now.
“Are you sure? The room doesn’t even have furniture yet,” I asked.
“It’s fine!” Dana straightened her shoulders confidently.
“To be honest, I’ve spent more nights outdoors than indoors over the last five years. This is actually quite luxurious for me, really.”
There were blankets to lay on the floor, but it still felt wrong to have Dana sleep on the floor while the rest of us used beds.
It didn’t feel right to make her sleep on the living room sofa either.
Although I could order another bed, the earliest it would arrive would be tomorrow, and I had to work then. I wasn’t even sure it could be delivered on the same day.
“Then why don’t you stay with me until the bed arrives?” Fia suggested cheerfully.
“The bed is big enough for two people to sleep on. It wouldn’t be a problem to share it until the preparations are done, right?”
At Fia’s suggestion, Dana glanced at me hesitantly.
“But…”
“Dana.”
As Dana seemed hesitant to respond, Fia grabbed her arm and whispered something into her ear.
“Oh, I see.”
I couldn’t hear what Fia said, but Dana nodded as if she understood.
“Alright, then I’ll do that for now.”
“Huh?”
Dana’s sudden change in attitude left me making a dumb noise in confusion.
“What were you two talking about?”
“Oh, nothing!”
Fia quickly shook her head at my question.
“Just… nothing important,” she added.
“R-right?”
Even though Dana was smart, her lack of skill in lying made her response sound more awkward. Still, I figured they had their reasons and didn’t press further.
There are probably things women just understand between themselves. Even though my body was now female, I was still a man on the inside, so there were likely topics that would be awkward to share with me.
When we were out together, there were issues like restroom breaks and… other things that served as reminders of the differences.
So, I just nodded without pushing further. If that’s what they had decided, I’d respect their choice. In fact, I was grateful for it.
If Dana had to sleep on the floor, it would have bothered me to no end. Sure, I’d spent part of my childhood that way, but knowing that “everyone else here is sleeping on a bed” while Dana wasn’t would have weighed heavily on my mind.
I resolved to get an extra bed as soon as possible. Looking at Dana and Fia, I silently made that promise to myself.
“This is more than sufficient. Honestly, it’s so good I’d say it’s perfect,” Kalia said, pressing her hand into the mattress to test it.
“Are you sure? Isn’t it smaller than the room you had back home?” I asked.
Kalia gave a soft chuckle.
“If it’s too large, it becomes inefficient. A room only needs to be the right size for me to live comfortably. I was already thinking of moving to a more modest room back home anyway.”
“Really…?”
Thinking about it, that sounded just like her. Kalia had always preferred simplicity and avoided extravagance.
“By the way, are all buildings in this world shaped like this? At first, I was shocked, thinking this entire large building belonged to you.”
“Well, in Errelcia, commoners often rent a single room in a building to live in, right? This is more like a home for someone much wealthier than that.”
“Much wealthier?”
“Yeah, way wealthier.”
If I had to compare, it was like the difference between a villa and a luxury high-rise apartment.
“I see… I haven’t fully grasped the idea of a world without nobles yet, but it seems there’s still a gap between the rich and poor.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Well, even within the same class, differences are bound to exist.”
Kalia nodded thoughtfully.