The next day, there was a literal sea of rmaids outside of the shrine. According to the elders, there was only a small capacity who could be inside, and the rest would have to celebrate from outside the shrine area.
Hikari was glad she didn't make food for all of these people. She felt like it wasn't even possible, unless she cheated by using magic sohow.
An elder greeted the elf at the shrine's open door. "Lady Hikari, you may co inside. We've reserved the last spots for your group."
"Thank you. By the way, how are all of these people going to get notified about everything?"
"On top of the shrine, there's a device that allows us to communicate loud over long distances. Elder Daryu is already up there. Please, allow to escort you inside."
Hikari nodded towards the elder and followed him into the shrine. On the inside, there were new decorations placed. Banners hung from the walls, stretching from one side to another. The elastic ribbons had clam shells hanging from them. Along with that, the princess was at the helm of this entire thing.
She wore her tiara, and along her neck, there was a small necklace comprised of fish bones and shells. At the center of it was a dazzling white pearl. Each wrist had a bracelet, and the girl's tail was decorated with its own pieces of jewelry. She looked like she was being offered to a future husband, yet it was the exact opposite.
The thousands of rmaids waited for the elders to give their signal. They waited to see if their false lord would rear his head. After several minutes, the sound of a gong from above quieted their murmurs. All of those outside focused their eyes to the top of the temple, and all of those inside, listened closely.
Another sound of the gong, and a voice began broadcasting over the crowd soon after.
"Good day to you, my brothers and sisters. Today's ceremony will be different than all of the ones before it. I co bearing new news. I will deliver the truth that has been held from everyone for so long."
Several rmaids looked at each other in confusion. They whispered to each other, wondering what this so called 'truth' was. Many of them looked at the princess, but the girl simply looked at Hikari with a knowing smile.
The elf realized she'd rescued yet another damsel in distress. How many princess rescues did that make? Was it three? Certainly, three is too many for a normal person. How many normal people even et a princess, let alone the princess of the rmaid tribe?
Her thoughts were cut off by the continued speech of Elder Daryu. "It's my duty to correct a lie that has been passed down from generation to generation. The elders of old had unwittingly thrust this upon all of us. By our goddess's will, I will correct the wrongs of history and deliver unto everyone the reality of Lord Mosa."
The speculative ears of the rmaids listened even more closely as their false god was ntioned.
"Lord Mosa was never our god," the elder said, pointing his trident at the statue atop the temple. A rush of mana flowed into its tip, and a small underwater shock wave burst out. The statue began crumbling from the base to the shock of the many onlookers. "The days of sending our princesses to feed the beast are over. Lord Mosa has perished!"
Confusion spread through the crowd. A woman yelled in disbelief. "Lord Mosa is dead!? Impossible! He's our god!"
Elder Daryu shook his head at the woman. "Lord Mosa was nothing but a fraud. The truth is all written in this tablet, held from the public eyes for centuries. He was nothing but a savage who feasted on our flesh. Please, observe these ancient writings. Detailed in the text is the truth!"
Yet another rmaid yelled at the elder. "Even if that were true, who among us could have slain Lord Mosa!? Even if we put all our might together, we'd not even scratch him!"
The elder smiled at the query. "For that answer, you need only look at the true goddess. Goddess Hikari! She's the light who banishes all evil! She destroyed Lord Mosa with a single spell! Under her guidance, we're sure to reach a bright future!"
Hikari felt many eyes focusing on her. Even if they weren't given the description, they instinctively looked in her direction. The elf held her head in sha. The elder had introduced her like so magical girl heroine. As if the light of her transformation would banish all evil. She could already picture the way Ayase would make fun of her for this. She looked towards the witch and saw that the girl was trying to avoid laughing.
The elf who was definitely not a goddess flapped her wings and made haste to the top of the shrine. The one thing Hikari never questioned was how easily her wings worked under water. It defied all principles of reason, yet she simply shrugged it off.
She landed next to the elder, finally taking notice of the device he was using to communicate. It was a large, curled white shell, and it reminded Hikari of this docuntary she'd seen of Ammonites. The strange creatures were often used for dating other rocks and fossils on Earth because of how plentiful they were.
This one seed to be enchanted with magic glyphs. If one spoke into the open end, their voice would spread even further. The principle was similar to echolocation, but this one spread out the sound waves to travel even further.
"Speaking of the goddess," Elder Daryu said, "she's blessed us with her presence right now! Behold the goddess who killed Lord Mosa!"
The crowd stared in awe at Hikari. anwhile, the goddess glared at the elder.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"What do you an, My Lady? Have I done sothing to upset you? I thought you said we were allowed to worship you?"
"There's a difference between simple worship and introducing like so hero of light and justice. Do you not understand tact? Do you know the level of embarrassnt I will be subjected to later?"
"Forgive , My Lady, but there is nothing to be embarrassed about. It's only natural that us lowly creatures would spread your glory. However, I may be convinced not to continue doing so at this mont for the promise of another apple."
Hikari stared at the rmaid in disbelief. The sheer audacity of this rmaid made her want to grit her teeth. However, a larger part of her didn't dislike this type. At least he would openly share his ulterior motives and desires, even if his words grated on her.
The elf chuckled. "In that case, I have an idea for this ceremony. It's already been proven that all of you are very fond of these apples. In that case, I will simply plant a tree, so that you may grow them on your own."
"You will plant a tree? How will it even grow down here, My Lady?"
"You already said I'm so divine champion of light. Growing a tree down here will be a simple matter. No less hard than killing Lord Mosa."
The crowd listened in awe of her frank words. The great thing about rmaids was they'd hold no grievances for her killing Lord Mosa. They were a tribe that put the strong above themselves. Even if so other monster had co to kill him, they'd probably start worshiping that one as well.
Hikari could only sigh and hold her head from the awe stricken gazes of the tribesn. She grabbed the ammonite gaphone from the elder and flapped her wings once more, until she was above the crowd.
"What your elder said is true. I did kill your Lord Mosa. Yes, I am a goddess in a sense. However, you don't need to do things like worshiping or ceremonies. Also, I will not be responsible should you run into so unforeseen disaster. Rember that your lives are your own, and they should be cherished."
Her words seed to have the opposite effect on the crowd than she intended, and more murmurs began spreading. They started saying things like, "our new goddess cherishes us," and, "our new goddess lets us be free. Freedom at last!"
She decided to ignore the chants, hailing her as so goddess. Hikari waved her arms before pointing at the square outside the temple. "Everyone in that zone should get far away as soon as possible. I'm going to erect a barrier, so that I can share with you the fruits of my labor."
The crowd looked at her confused, but they made way nonetheless. Hikari sighed at the fact that none of them appreciated her pun. What can I expect from an unread bunch of rmaids?
With a snap of her fingers, a golden barrier shone, lighting up the area, and making a waterless patch of land. She nodded and planted the seed inside the barrier.
This should be the apple seed right? I rember these trees had apples and that strange dryad gave this seed.
She nodded in satisfaction and crossed her arms. "Either way, it's not my problem."
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