"Welcome to the Church of Gracia! I’m so glad you were finally able to make it, Hero Kai." Celeste greeted them outside the church with a warm welcome.
"Come, come, we have been preparing for the celebration and are nearly done. Please, take a look around the church in the meantime. You have access to every area in this place."
Celeste showed everyone around the church while they waited for the celebration to start. They went from door to door, greeting people, learning about history, and looking at relics of the past.
In one part of the church, there was a room dedicated to every hero in Sarkylla’s history, dating from the first hero to Kai. The older heroes had paint canvases for them, while the newer ones had an image of them projected from a magical device.
Beneath their image, there was writing that gave a summary of their life story from beginning to end. The only person there who’s information wasn’t updated was Kai’s own, since his story was still ongoing. However, the information there already mentioned his success in defeating the demon king.
"Ever since we learned who you were, we’ve been tracking you and looking into your past, getting your life story. I hope you don’t mind." Celeste already knew that Kai had no interest in being the hero, so she hoped that he wouldn’t be bothered by the background checks they ran on him.
"It’s fine. I don’t see the problem, especially since it’s for history." Kai shrugged.
Her face beamed. She was glad that Kai understood the reasoning behind this room. "T-Thank you!"
Sasha couldn’t help but laugh at the image of Kai in this room of heroes. "Heh, look at him, how did they manage to capture that image of Kai?"
He was smiling like a madman, his mana visible around his body. His chained blades were in his hand, and it appeared as if he was leaping upward toward something.
"We captured that image during the battle with the necromancer." Celeste placed a hand on her heart as if the memory was something she was extremely fond of. She couldn’t stop staring at it, and her flushed expression intensified into heavy breathing.
It looked as if she wanted to start fingering herself, but stopped because she wasn’t alone.
Celeste calmed down and cleared her throat. "Now, let’s move on to another room."
’That woman is actually insane!’ Kai thought to himself as he followed her.
The next place she took them to was the main hall, where worship took place. The chapel was massive, able to hold over ten thousand people at once. The windows were stained glass with images of Gracia on them.
In the center of the grand stage, a large statue of Gracia was crafted to near perfection. It captured her curves, her bust size, her ass size, her curvy hips, and even her beautiful face. The only thing it lacked was color since the statue was made of marble.
"Wow, you all really did a good job creating this statue. It’s a near-perfect replica." Kai was truly impressed by the skills of whoever sculpted this statue.
"Isn’t it! This is our pride and joy! Everyone comes and says their prayers in here. In this room, we can feel the presence of this goddess most, and our prayers are heard better in here." Celeste got on her knees and said a prayer in front of the statue. When she was done, she looked up at it and basked in Gracia’s presence, or ’statuence’ because Gracia wasn’t actually there.
"Okay, that’s enough for the tour. All the preparations for the celebration should be finished by now. Come, please follow me."
This time, they were led to the back of the church where the celebration would be held. It was a combination of the backyard and an auditorium that the church had decorated for the occasion. Food, drink, and activities took place outside, while everything else, such as speeches, mingling, and worship, took place on the inside.
When the smell of the amazing food hit Amaya’s nose, she instantly gasped and started salivating. "M-MEAT! It smells so goooood! C-Can I eat some?! Please?!"
"Wow, that does smell amazing." Gwen’s stomach started growling upon smelling the great food that was being prepared for the celebration. It reminded her of Kai’s cooking, and she was eager to try it.
"Of course, it’s for everyone. But only after the opening ceremony. Once that’s over, you can eat as much as you like." Celeste smiled.
"Opening ceremony?" Kai asked
"Yes. You’ll be giving a speech and revealing to everyone that you’re the hero."
"But everyone in this city knows who I am."
"Yes, that’s correct, but this celebration isn’t just for our people. Nobles all over the land are coming here for it as well. It’s a tradition."
’Ugh, great. Now I have to give a speech to everyone. I failed public speaking, you know. Whatever. When in doubt, hypnosis it out.’ Kai put on his big boy pants and prepared himself for his eventual speech.
After all the preparations were fully complete and everyone who planned on attending the celebration arrived, the event began. Celeste, accompanied by Kai, took the stage.
"Welcome, my brothers and sisters, to the Hero Celebration!"
Everyone cheered and roared, whistling as their excitement took over.
Celeste put out a hand to signal the crowd to quiet down.
"Today, we have with us a special guest, Kai LuForia, the hero who defeated the Demon King!"
Kai smiled and waved, like a wise person once said, and even winked at the girls.
Celeste nudged his arm, and catching on to what she wanted him to do, Kai pulled out the hero sword and raised it over his head.
"YEAHHHHHHH!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"WE LOVE YOU, KAI!"
"I WANNA HAVE YOUR BABIES!"
"Now, before the celebration begins, here are a few words from your beloved hero!" Celeste took a few steps backward and gave the stage to Kai.
’Hehe! Let’s get this party started.’
People thought the grin on Kai’s face was because of his excitement. They weren’t wrong; he was excited, but for a completely different reason.