Kays Translations

Chapter 270: The Household Shrine

I set the household shrine on top of a chest. Now that I had gone this far, I could hardly omit the offering. I took some dried fruit I had hidden in a desk drawer.

“Kyuu!”

“Brother…”

“You are not eating these now. They are an offering for the spirits.”

While I calmed the two covetously staring at the fruit, Mother arrived. Rosalia immediately stiffened.

“Rosalia, I told you that you were not to sleep in Julius's room.”

“T-that is not what I am doing, Mother! Brother is about to make an offering to the spirits, and I only came to watch!”

Rosalia sounded desperate. This was the first I had heard of Mother expressly forbidding her from sleeping beside me, but Rosalia was clearly afraid her excuse would fail. She glanced nervously between us, while Mother sighed as though to say, You truly are a terrible liar.

“Julius, may I observe the offering as well?”

“Of course. It is nothing elaborate.”

I opened the shrine's outer double doors. Mother inhaled sharply. Inside stood a miniature altar with another pair of doors at its centre, which I carefully opened.

Beyond them were intricate reliefs of several spirits and one final door, firmly sealed. To anyone looking at it, the interior must have seemed solemn and sacred.

“Julius, what is behind the innermost door?”

“It contains spirit stones representing the spirits. Their true forms are not meant to be seen casually, so the chamber is permanently sealed.”

Mother made a complicated expression, as though she wanted to ask whether I meant those bipedal turtles. Probably not. Surely the forms shown to me had been specially chosen. If those really were the spirits' true appearances, small children might cry.

Rosalia gazed dreamily at the carved reliefs, looking ready to ask for a shrine of her own. Mira, meanwhile, continued to headbutt me in an enthusiastic display of affection.

Ignoring the interruptions, I placed the dried fruit on the altar.

“Great Spirits, thank you for watching over us and this world. This is only a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it.”

I expected the offering to be no more than a formality. I wished I knew an appropriate prayer, but I had never studied such things. There had not even been shrine maidens in the game.

As I considered that, something unexpected happened before our eyes: the dried fruit vanished instantly.

“Mira?”

“Kyuu, kyuu!”

Mira shook their head vigorously. They were apparently innocent. Could Rosalia have taken it? No, that did not seem possible either. Mother stared at the household shrine with the same round-eyed expression as Rosalia.

“It appears the offering reached the spirits.”

I smiled politely as though nothing unusual had happened. I could not afford to panic. The moment I did, the household would start whispering, Julius has done it again.

“Y-yes, it appears so… Was that enough?”

“I believe so. Probably.”

It was enough, was it not? Surely. Afterwards, Mother—looking somewhat drained—took Rosalia and left the room. Well done, Mother. Her movements were impressively natural.

The incident inevitably became the main topic at breakfast the next morning. Mother had apparently told Father once she recovered from the shock.

“We must decide where in the courtyard to install the household shrine as soon as possible.”

“Yes, and we should prepare regular offerings. Do you think the spirits would also like sweets?”

The household shrine was now unquestionably regarded as a genuine link to the spirits. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen. At the very least, the spirits were clearly benefiting from the opportunity to eat delicious food.

“Julius, I would like to see the household shrine too.”

“Of course. Until its permanent site is ready, why do we not place it in one of the salons? Then everyone can leave offerings.”

That was merely a pretext. Now that the shrine had become a family concern, keeping it in my bedroom would make me stand out even more. I had no desire to be called the Chosen of the Spirits or anything equally troublesome.

“Since they enjoyed the dried fruit, perhaps we should make it a regular offering.”

“Agreed. The head chef is experimenting with several fruits, so we can set aside samples for the spirits.”

Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela happily discussed the dried fruit. They seemed determined to become its ambassadors. Please do not forget about the liquid detergents and magic tools as well.

Immediately after breakfast, we moved the household shrine into a salon. We had intended to use a rarely occupied room so it would not be in anyone's way, but Mother insisted that it be placed in House Heine's most prestigious salon.

We left the first two sets of doors open because the interior looked better that way. When Sister-in-law Daniela saw it, she said, ‘The royal family would like one exactly like this.’ A request from my beloved sister-in-law could not be ignored. I would make a magnificent household shrine worthy of the royal family.

I asked Nero to obtain the finest wood available.

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