I nearly forgot, but MAJOR spoiler warning for all those that are interested in playing Shrift and have not finished the base game.
A jumpy Kazuya was slowly strolling through the streets of San Ilia, his mind still filled with hints of fear after his last stroll nearly turned into a complete nightmare. There would likely be fewer monsters in the city, and, most of all he hoped that they wouldn't hit on him half as much. As he visited the busy, magnificent town, his emotions gradually calmed down. The city somehow reminded him of idealized medieval settlements he saw in museums, with pure white streets crossed by numerous water channels and solid yet elegant stone buildings on each side. At the center was a small plaza standing in front of an impressively large cathedral that also served as a castle. Since people could come in and out of the place at will, he decided he could as well visit it. When he entered, he was bedazzled by the spectacle of the colored lights passing through the windows made of stained glass. This church had nothing to envy to the ones he saw back in his own world, and was just as grand. He was slowly strolling around when a feminine voice called out to him.
"Excuse me sir, do you have a minute? It doesn't look like you're from the region…"
"Mmh?" Kazuya looked at his interlocutor. She was a cute, blue-eyed nuns wearing a purple outfit that covered every inch of her body save for her face. However, something in her behavior ticked the man off. "I'm just a traveler, passing by."
"In that case, may I interest you into learning more about our lord and savior, the Goddess Ilias?"
"Certainly."
Kazuya soberly smiled. He had only vaguely heard about the existence of a goddess of light who created angels. They had been barely more than a myth in his world -until he learned the truth about his then girlfriend- , and being forced to fight a few of them at the Château des Romances had him want to learn more about them.
He followed the nun, thinking logically that she was bringing him to a fitting place to learn more. As the duo crossed the library, Kazuya was enraptured by its impressively large shelves filled with volumes while priests, scholars and other clergymen and visitors were milling, reading, or discussing while making as little noise as possible to not disturb the sanctity of the place. Eventually, they reached a deeper part of the library, and Kazuya was surprised by the sudden absence of priests or of anyone else for that matter. However, the bristling sound of pages kept him on the edge. Were ghosts reading books? Or was it something else entirely?
As if to answer his question, a large book fell on the floor and opened. The upper part of a horned woman in pajamas emerged, clearly still sleepy. Kazuya steadied himself, even if his gun remained on his hip. When the monster saw the man, she looked more jaded or exhausted than hostile or hungry.
"Again? Can't you keep this place silent, Christie? We appreciate the calm for a reason…"
The nun's face turned red in shame as she dodged the monster's judgmental gaze. "I-it's not for that this time! He only wants to learn more about the Goddess Ilias and the best available books are in the deepest parts of the library!"
"You said that last time too…"
"It was different! He wanted to know about ancient monsters! This one wants to know about angels and the faith in Ilias!"
"Whatever you say…" The monster returned in the book under Kazuya's suspicious gaze. He then looked at the nun who was bowing in front of him, her face still red.
"S-sorry about them… They don't like noise."
"We can just grab the book and move outside if it's really an issue…"
"Oh, no, no! Don't worry! It will be fine! If we do that, we take the risk of being disturbed ourselves…"
This time, Kazuya always kept a hand near his gun even as they progressed deeper in the library. Eventually, they reached a small study room, and he saw the nun briefly grimace when she saw the broken door. Still, she invited Kazuya to sit at a table and pulled out a book before explaining the tenants of the faith in Ilias. The man from another world enjoyed the explanation as much as he enjoyed the opportunity to relax and finally letting his guard down. It looked like the nun didn't actually have any hidden intentions, and there finally wasn't a single monster trying to jump him. However, hearing more details about the commandments of the Goddess brought several questions to his mind.
"I'm surprised that you tell me that there are even monsters following her commandments… I mean if she doesn't want monsters and humans to mingle while monsters feed on intercourses, why would they willingly follow someone who's against their interest?"
The nun blushed heavily as she started shifting uncomfortably. "Because… Humans and monsters having sex is a sin… Don't you agree?"
Kazuya shrugged. "No, I don't understand why they would follow someone like that. It's completely suicidal to follow her in that case."
The nun kept shifting more and more, and Kazuya repositioned himself even as she hid her face. "Because… Her love… Save us… From this temptation!"
The moment she finished her sentence, she jumped across the table in an attempt to grab Kazuya. Already wary, the man jumped on the side and roll before pointing his gun at the nurse whose outfit was falling apart to reveal horns on her head, wings on her back and a spade-tipped tail.
"Aaaah! Sorry! I'm losing myself once again! Please don't look at my naked body!"
Kazuya glared at the succubus, his gun still pointed at his target. "I should have guessed by now! Is this how you tempt men to lure them to their doom?"
"No! I didn't kill anyone! Aaaah, I feel so hot… It's such a shame… I must resist!"
Kazuya raised an eyebrow as the succubus was jiggling her body in a mix of self-humiliation and obvious arousal. He kept an eye on her as he hesitated between running away, incapacitating her, and actually searching for help.
Eventually, the issue was solved by someone else, as a brief flash of light shortly blinded him. As he shook his head to clear the stars dancing in front of his eyes, he heard a shock followed by a gasping noise, and, when he opened his eyes, he could see an armored white-haired angel with a spear looking down on the succubus. The valkyrie sighed, and sheathed her weapon in the back before bowing in front of Kazuya.
"My apologies for this incident. I was supposed to keep an eye on her as her… appetites often get the better of her."
Kazuya nodded. "Thank you… You look familiar. Didn't I see you in that Château des Romances?"
The valkyrie frowned. "That was another valkyrie. My name is Victoria, and I have been accompanying the hero Luka since longer than that."
"Oh! S-sorry!" Kazuya gulped loudly.
"But it is true that we look like each other a lot. Unless you have more work, I shall escort you outside of the library." She looked down at the succubus again, not bothering to hide her contempt for her. "Don't worry. She will be fine in a few minutes. Unfortunately…"
"Actually, I wanted to learn more about your Goddess Ilias and angels in general."
"In that case, I shall answer any question that you have about our Goddess, for we are their loyal servants."
Kazuya considered what he was going to ask her as the duo started leaving the library. While the angel looked cold and distant, she was still apparently willing enough to talk with him about this and had a visible desire to protect him at heart.
"I wanted to hear more about her history and her nature… I mean, I only heard about her commandments from that succubus."
Victoria frowned. "While her desire to follow the Goddess of Light as a monster and atone for her sins can be worthy of praise, her inability to behave herself properly even as she pray the goddess is disrespectful: She simply follows those rules even without understanding their role."
"Soooo… Can you explain me please?"
"The almighty Goddess Ilias created those commandments to warn humans against the creations of the abhorrent Dark Goddess Alipheese and their voracious nature. Copulating with monsters is dangerous, as even if not all of them kill their partners, they enslave them body and soul to do their biddings.
"I guess that makes sense… And she disappeared during the conflict with that Dark Goddess?"
"No. She successfully beat the Dark Goddess, but in her infinite wisdom she decided to let her beloved humans thrive on their own."
This is certainly not what happened.
Kazuya blinked repeatedly as he thought that he heard something.
"Our beloved Goddess only disappeared thirty years ago during that tragic Great Disaster… Since then, we've been doing our best to find a place on our own while keeping the story of Ilias alive even as this world seems determined to forget her."
"I see… It sounds tragic." Kazuya sympathized with the valkyrie as he understood that the latter was doing her best to keep the memories of better times alive.
As they progressed through the library, Kazuya gasped in shock: A large beast that looked like the body of a woman with wings joined at its limbs and with a woman torso at its front was standing in the middle of the way.
"Greetings Victoria… Did Christie try to get someone to sate her obscene appetites under a false pretense again?"
"Yes… And in fact, this one is one of the heroes from the other worlds…"
"Mmh. That would explain why he fell for her trick."
Kazuya reflexively pointed toward the monstrous beast before blurting out.
"You're an angel too?"
"Yes. I am Uranus." She bowed. "I can understand your surprise. I am a holy beast created by the goddess to devour sinners and enemies alike."
"Ok… This is grimmer than I expected… I didn't think the creations of a Goddess of Light would be so… Merciless…"
She has no mercy.
The valkyrie frowned. "Her mercy is only for her creations, not the abominable ones of the Dark Goddess Alipheese."
"But still… Eating them alive?!"
"I am surprised you have an issue with that. You have dealt with monsters in your own world. You have seen how they can be in this world. And yet you're still willing to let them be fine?"
"Yeah… Also, haven't you both been living with Luka and the other girls for some time?!"
While Uranus looked down on him, the valkyrie was unsubtly glancing aside, slightly ashamed.
"We tolerate monsters because we must. But we won't accept humans like you that deliberately break Ilias' commandments on a regular basis."
Kazuya groaned and prepared his weapon as he readied for a fight. While the holy beast was eager to jump at him, the valkyrie seemed more reluctant, only pulling her spear as her partner glared at her. He hesitated to shot at them: Even if he wouldn't kill them, fighting with some of the local hero's allies would only make his standing with the other ones worse, and he definitively couldn't afford to lose some support right now.
His problem was solved when the bookcase collapsed on the duo of angels while making a noise comparable to a landslide. When the dust cleared up, he could see a small, blond kitsune on the other side of where the bookcase was.
"Oooops. Sorry about that."
He couldn't see her face as she was hiding it with a fan, but her tone of voice made it clear that she didn't have a single hint of remorse for what she just did. Kazuya reflexively pointed his gun toward the new monster. As she lowered her fan to reveal green eyes, she didn't look more offended by the death threat.
"Awww… Is it how they say thank you in your world?"
Kazuya frowned. "You just knocked down two angels, even if they attempted to attack me. I also have very bad experiences with foxes and monsters that don't look their age."
"Oh, so you're Kazuya! The partner of…" The kitsune closed her fan and grimaced. "That kitsune who gave me a lot of work… Well I initially came to interview those other heroes when Mephisto told me that were there, but I can as well start with you if you don't mind."
Kazuya slowly lowered this gun. "So you're that monster Mephisto told wanted to meet us…"
"Yup!" She nodded enthusiastically. "But where are my manners! My name is Tamamo, at the service of… only myself currently."
As the kitsune curtsied, Kazuya took notes of the unusual greeting formula. The kitsune's master was definitively a sore point, and the man wisely decided to not push the point further.
"I expected someone…"
"Taller?"
"I would rather have said more formal and more careful with Luka's friends."
"Well…" She pointed at the angels with her fans. "I expected angels to behave more properly after they joined Luka, and some of them are still stubborn monster-hating numbnuts… How about we make ourselves at ease?"
"I choose where we go." Kazuya then muttered for himself. "And I hope I will leave my jinx behind."
As Kazuya started stepping away, Tamamo moved closer to him and sniffed him a few times. A familiar smell reached her nostrils, and she froze on the spot.
"Where?"
"What?"
"Your unfortunate encounter… Let's just say I'm not exactly on good terms with them either…"
Kazuya hesitated for a moment before answering. While she didn't show any hostility or didn't look more interested than that with him, her behavior and her personal questions were making him even more leery of her.
"…Near Happiness Village. They told something about their sister being close by."
Tamamo sighed. "Good… Sorry about that… How about I make it up to you by offering you a drink?"
Kazuya silently nodded, keeping his eyes on the kitsune.
A few minutes later, the kitsune and Kazuya were seated in one of San Ilia's nameless pub. The hero was seating with his arms crossed as his eyes always remained stuck on the strange monster that had helped him a few minues earlier, while the latter was carefully stirring her tea.
"This is probably the only place in this holier-than-thou city where I can get some decent Yamatai tea… You don't drink tea, Kazuya?"
"I do. It even helped me focus to resist the advances of monsters back in my own world."
"Mmmh… Maybe if you gave in, you would be more relaxed today..."
"Giving in was a death sentence. They took your soul on the spot this way."
"Wow, that reminds me of the monsters of old times like… those damn succubi. But at least, they're the exception, and you can enjoy the company of monsters as often as you want here."
Kazuya groaned as he looked sideway in an attempt to avoid the kitsune's inquisitive gaze. Tamamo tilted her head as she examined the man in front of him.
"You know… Even amongst the heroes from different worlds, you're quite the unusual one..."
"I know that. I use guns and I don't come from a medieval world but from a more modern one where magic didn't exist until monsters randomly arrived recently…" Kazuya sighed.
"Mmh… Interesting. I always wondered how a world would evolve without monsters or a pseudo-goddess to guide it."
"You just end up with humans fighting each other. I mean, we had the M.O.W. organization which nearly killed me in an orchestrated accident. I had to be put in a cryogenic coma in a shelter, and when I woke up, there were monsters everywhere. I consider that I was lucky to escape."
"Cryogenic coma… That sounds impressive without magic."
Maybe, but I was hunted by this M.O.W. organization who sent monsters after me like that TV idol that challenged me in a reverse rape show."
"What."
"Then there was that giant snake monster that didn't stop regenerating until Hyakki stepped in and helped me after blowing up herself in another timeline."
"Who's Hyakki? She sounds… Interesting."
Kazuya continued, too engrossed in his tale to care about the kitsune's questions.
"And then my best friend's girlfriend tried to murder me because she was possessed, before I discovered that my best friend had also been devoured by Daji who was using his appearance to deceive me in one of her trap before I managed to convince her to stand down with the help of her familiar. And then I had to save a berserk version of my girlfriend who turned out to be an angel before…"
Kazuya stopped himself when he realized he had basically counted the tale of his recent life. In front of him, Tamamo was completely frozen, wide-eyed.
"This sounds completely insane. And yet I can say that you only told the truth."
"More insane than being teleported in another dimension with other heroes before being interviewed by a parallel version of someone who annihilated an army of monsters in a minute?"
"Good point." Tamamo took a big sip of her cup of tea before serving herself again. "Sorry for dredging up bad memories."
"It's okay… I guess I need a break from what happened more than I thought."
"I already heard a report from my lieutenant. Dealing with that Château des Romances seemed... challenging." She smiled warmly. "But still, thank you for your time! I'll try to see if I can interview your friends as well… I'd really wish to talk with another nine-tailed kitsune than myself. You don't know where she left?"
Kazuya shook his head negatively. "No, sorry… I don't have any idea where you could start looking either. She's quite shrewd, and after her latest game, she'll certainly have hidden well. The best advice I could give you is that if someone you're suspicious of tells you to go check in a dark room, punch her in the face."
Tamamo kept examining Kazuya's face, wondering if he was mocking her or actually speaking from experience.
"Noted. Thoroughly noted. Once again thank you, I will take my leave as I have a lot of work. I can't understand how you befriended someone like her."
"I already heard that one."
Her supernatural senses picked up a certain increase in the body temperature of Kazuya, as well as in the pace of the beating of his heart.
"Okaaay… I'll leave you then. You should be free to relax now… Just think of fluffy tails next time you need to relieve your stress!"
"Hey!"
Kazuya straightened himself as he attempted to glare at the kitsune, but the latter was already scurrying away like a mouse.
And this is one of the supposedly more reliable monsters… I wonder what are the worse ones like. In the end, I still told her everything, so I guess the joke's on me for giving in that easily.
I also wonder what Daji is doing… The human rulers are aware about her, but I didn't tell them everything about her transformation ability. I'll probably start searching for that damn kitsune myself, I don't want this world to suffer even more than it already did.
If I was a nymphomaniac kitsune who could change her appearance, where would I hide… Her slime form completely hides her beastly attributes, and I heard about a village full of noble ladies where this one would fit right in. Maybe I should start by looking there.