The Road That Leads to Water
In the few days ago Ruko and Aqua were about to do a littleside questto earn a penny change, Then Aqua starts hearing rumors. Axis Cult believers recognize her personality, attitude, and obsession with water. They start talking about the Axis Cult headquarters and the holy waterfall city.
"Wait… that's MY church." Aqua realized. "W-wha, what a damn minute. You have a church." Ruko cough when drinking a little mug." "Yeah is in my homeland name 'Arcanretia'." "Oh I thought you some worthless goddess who everyone don't give a damn know about, but its seems I was mistaken!"
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK. But I don't know where it's actually, hehe." Aqua wink. "Augh now I started to doubt you more than wasting pocket change for a broken product. ...So are you gonna ask them for the location or whatnot!"
They tell her the route and location, and she insists on going. Her homeland trip didn't start with excitement. It started with Aqua bragging. "I can't believe it took you all this long to visit my homeland," Aqua said, arms crossed proudly as she walked ahead of the group.
"The Axis City is beautiful, sacred, and full of people who actually appreciate me." Kazuma adjusted the strap of his pack and sighed. "Every time you say that, I feel like we're walking into a scam since i dont care." Megumin nodded. "Statistically speaking, Aqua-related locations tend to result in debt, cults, or public embarrassment."
Aqua whirled around. "That's a slander!" Ruko walked a few steps behind them, making his posture relaxed. His body was mostly recovered now, at least on the surface. The lingering fatigue still hadn't faded completely, but it no longer slowed him down.
Movement helped a little. Distance helped a little. Staying busy kept his thoughts from circling back to things he didn't want to do. The road away from Axel stretched wide and clear, lingered with dangerous road, monsters and also lined with grass and distant hills. The air felt different the farther. They hire a carriage which is faster and the location is in the far westard of axel, so it might take 3-4 days.
Even before Aqua pointed it out, Ruko noticed the change. Water mana grew denser the closer they got to their destination, subtle but unmistakable. Aqua puffed out her chest. "Feel that? That's divine influence." "That's humidity," Kazuma replied. "More like curse divine humidity." Ruko cuts in.
Darkness looked around, eyes shining. "Traveling to a religious center… surrounded by zealous followers… I can already sense the danger or i feel i need danger, hohohoo." Megumin gave her a look. "Please don't encourage them, like nothings going to happen."
As they do things in the carriage, Aqua talked nonstop about her homeland—about the city, the cathedral, the water spirits, and the Axis Cult. Kazuma visibly regretted not pretending to be sick. Ruko listened quietly, picking up on what Aqua didn't say. She spoke proudly, but there was an edge of defensiveness beneath it, like she was bracing herself.
By midday, the road curved toward a wide river that cut through the land like a silver ribbon. The sound of rushing water filled the air, steady and powerful. Beyond it, the silhouette of the Axis City rose into view—white stone buildings, tall spires, and banners marked with Aqua's symbol fluttering in the breeze.
After fighting monsters and have good and non–time for 3 days. Aqua expose her head out the carriage by looking at the edge of the hill, hands on her hips. "Behold! My homeland!" Kazuma look outside and stared. "…Why are there so many people waving?"
Megumin squinted. "Are they… chanting?" The chanting reached them moments later. "AXIS! AXIS! AXIS!"
Ruko felt it then—not hostility, not danger, but something just as uncomfortable. Devotion. Intense, unfiltered belief pressed into the air like weight. It wasn't magic in the usual sense. It was collective conviction.
"This place is certainly loud with all the bag of ants crowd," Ruko said. Aqua beamed. "They're just passionate and their not ants." As they entered the city, the reaction was immediate. People turned. Eyes widened. A few gasped.
Then someone shouted, "LADY AQUA HAS RETURNED!"
Chaos followed. People rushed forward, bowing, crying, praising. Pamphlets were shoved into Kazuma's hands. Darkness was nearly dragged away by cult members praising her "aura of suffering." Megumin was stared at suspiciously until Aqua loudly declared her "an ally of justice."
Ruko stayed near the edge of it all, watching. The crowd parted around Aqua instinctively, as if drawn by gravity. This was her domain. Her influence wasn't subtle here—it was absolute.
Aqua soaked it in, laughing, waving, basking in the attention. But Ruko noticed the moment her smile stiffened, just slightly, when someone knelt a little too fervently, when praise crossed into obsession.
They were escorted to the central cathedral—a massive structure built beside a towering waterfall. Water thundered down behind it, mist filling the air and cooling the stone steps beneath their feet. Inside, the atmosphere shifted again. The noise faded, replaced by echoing silence and the constant low roar of falling water.
Aqua walked ahead, suddenly quieter.
"This is where I used to stay," she said. "When things were… normal." Kazuma glanced at her. "You miss it here?" Aqua hesitated. "Sometimes."
Ruko looked around, eyes catching on the runes carved subtly into the cathedral walls. They weren't defensive. They were stabilizers—channels meant to harmonize water mana, not suppress it. Whoever built this place knew exactly what they were doing.
Something else caught his attention.
Behind the cathedral, partially hidden by mist and stone, the waterfall itself pulsed with layered mana. Not chaotic. Structured. Ancient. Ruko felt it resonate faintly, deep in his chest, the same way certain relics did. He didn't say anything. Not yet.
That night, they were given lodging near the cathedral. The city quieted as the sun set, water reflecting moonlight like fractured glass. Ruko stood near the open window, listening to the distant roar. His thoughts drifted—about strength, about purpose, about the things he kept finding without looking for them.
Aqua sat nearby, unusually silent. "You okay?" Ruko asked. She looked at him, startled, then shrugged. "It's just… different seeing it again." "You don't have to perform here or keep putting on mask y'know," Ruko said. "They already believe in you so don't feeldownsided about this."
She frowned, then laughed softly. "You're weirdly good at saying the right thing." Ruko didn't smile. "I'm just being honest." Outside, the waterfall roared on, ancient and patient. And behind it, something unseen, something waited.