"What do we do? Shichen, I think we're surrounded!" Megumin hid behind him, nervously peeking out.
Everyone here—except Frieren—knew how terrifying the Axis Church could be.
Well, Aqua probably just thought they were "cute."
"S-so many Axis followers…" Even Darkness looked uneasy, glancing around.
"Shichen, what should we do?" Yunyun asked, tense.
"Why are you all so scared of these people?" Frieren asked, curious.
"You don't get it, Frieren. They're not… normal," Yunyun whispered back.
"They look a little off, sure, but it doesn't seem that bad."
"It's hard to explain. But this is the Axis Church's home base—you'll see soon enough why they're scary."
"Really?"
"Heh, leave this to me." Aqua stepped proudly in front of the group.
The Axis Church worships the Water Goddess Aqua—her. Of course she was smug.
"Idiot. What are you trying to do, announce who you are?" Shichen flicked her on the head, then pulled her back by the hand.
"No I'm not!" Aqua clutched her head, grumbling.
"Then what were you going to do?"
"I was just—"
"Oh! What beautiful, shining, water-blue hair! Is it natural? I'm so jealous! And that feathered robe—so very Aqua Goddess style! It looks perfect on you!" Suddenly, a female believer gushed over Aqua.
"Huh? Really? Hahaha, you've got good taste," Aqua replied, preening.
"Are you a follower of the Axis Church too?"
"Uh… you could say that."
"I knew it! What about the people with you—are they Axis believers as well?"
"They—"
"Pardon us. We're one party, and she's an Axis priestess. We're just sightseeing today, so we'll be going now."
With that, Shichen tugged Aqua along and led everyone away.
Hearing that Aqua was an Axis priestess, the believers actually just smiled and waved.
"Farewell, comrades! Have a wonderful day!"
After they'd put some distance between them and no one had followed, Megumin and the others finally let out a breath.
"Thank goodness—they didn't chase us."
"I thought we were done for…"
"Same."
"Are they really that scary?"
"Exactly! Why didn't we stay longer? I wanted to hear more compliments," Aqua complained.
"Then go back and keep listening. We'll meet at the inn tonight," Shichen said.
He hadn't personally experienced just how bad Axis proselytizing could get, but he knew enough—not worth lingering.
"W-well, it's not like I need to hear it. I'll just stick with you," Aqua said, instantly changing tone and clinging to him.
"What are you afraid of? It's not like we'd lose you."
"Hey! We're a party—we should stay together!"
"Heh, sweet talk won't earn you any booze," Shichen chuckled.
"What are you implying? I'm not doing this for alcohol! I simply want to be with you. That's all," Aqua retorted righteously.
"Mm-hmm…" Shichen almost believed her.
"It's still hard to believe Aqua's a goddess…"
"If she hadn't resurrected Satou-san that day…"
Megumin and Yunyun couldn't resist snarking.
"What? I am a bona fide goddess, okay? What woman in the mortal realm is this gorgeous?"
"Aqua, looks are also about presence," Darkness said.
"Presence? Are you saying I don't have it? I have a goddess's presence!"
At that, Megumin and Yunyun fell silent.
"What? Speechless because I'm right? Hmph~" Aqua said, beaming.
"Alright, alright—you're the prettiest. Let's grab some things and head back to the inn for a soak—"
"Welcome to Arcanletia! Axis believers can share firsthand testimonies of recovering from illness, winning the lottery, and improved talents! How about it—care to join the faith?"
Someone cut Shichen off mid-sentence. He turned toward the voice and—yep—another Axis believer was trying to recruit them.
"I see," Frieren murmured, as if she finally understood why everyone was scared—and why the Axis Church was despised.
Anyone would snap if hounded like this.
"Anyway, let's shop first. Once we're back at the inn, we'll be fine." Shichen grabbed the group and walked off, completely ignoring the proselytizer.
"Wait, please!"
"Run!"
Shichen led the dash, and they quickly lost the believer and reached the town center.
This area didn't seem to have obvious Axis followers—just lots of merchants.
It is a major tourist spot, after all. Most people here are traders.
"Shichen, I see apples! They're so red."
"And oranges! They're huge!"
"If you want some, buy them. Go pick what you like."
"Yay!"
Megumin and Aqua spearheaded the charge toward the fruit stalls.
"Yunyun, don't be shy. Get whatever you want," Shichen told the ever-polite Yunyun.
"O-okay." She shuffled off toward a watermelon stand.
"Those bananas look good—big, too. That size seems… familiar," Darkness said, glancing at Shichen.
"?" Shichen blinked—then realized what she meant.
"Your skin itching for a beating?"
"Mhm! Are you going to hit me?" Darkness perked up, hopeful.
Shichen ignored her and turned to Frieren. "Nothing you want to eat?"
"I just want to lie down at the inn," Frieren said flatly.
"Don't you want to eat fruit while reading manga?"
"…That makes sense. I'll get some grapes—ah!"
Frieren turned and bumped into a little girl. The girl staggered and fell, and all the apples in her shopping bag rolled everywhere.
"Sorry," Frieren quickly crouched to help pick them up.
"It's fine, it's fine," the girl said breezily while gathering apples.
"I'll help too," Shichen said, crouching beside them.
They finished in no time.
"Thank you—really, thank you! You two saved me! Please let me repay you properly!"
"No need. I'm the one who bumped into you. You don't have to thank us," Frieren said.
"No, I insist—"
The girl set her shopping bag by the roadside, grabbed Frieren's hand—
Shichen frowned, a bad feeling prickling his mind.
Sure enough, the girl chirped, "There's an Axis Church café just up ahead. As thanks, let me treat you to coffee!"
Frieren blinked, stunned. In that moment, her understanding of the Axis Church's horror deepened yet again.
"Sorry, we don't like coffee. You should head home," Shichen said crisply, knocking the girl's hand away. He scooped Frieren up and turned to leave.
"Please wait! Don't be like that—fate brought us together! I'm great at fortune-telling, you know. Let me read your fortunes as a thank-you, how about it?" The girl suddenly hugged Shichen from behind.
"No thanks. I don't believe in that stuff… Kid, could you let go?" Shichen stopped, helpless.
That's when he noticed the girl's eyes were tinged red.
Clinging to his waist, she declared, half-crazed, "I've got the result! If this continues, you'll meet misfortune! But there's a way to avoid it—just join the Axis Church! Convert, and you'll escape that misfortune! Join us! This is absolutely the time to join!"
Mouth hanging open, Shichen stared at the now-unhinged child. He finally felt how scary the Axis Church could be.
This was absurd.
She was just a little girl!
To be fair, that priestess Cecily seemed normal at first… No, she wasn't—she's a lolicon creep.
And with cults that operate like a pyramid scheme, it's normal for the higher-ups to seem more "composed" while the common are the ones fully brainwashed.
At this point, there was only one person who could handle it directly.
"Darkness!"