Keiichi and Belldandy find refuge from the elements at the Buddhist Temple Tarikihongan, whose monk Koshian becomes interested in Belldandy's abilities.
Summary[]
Having failed to find a place for them to stay, Keiichi tries pitching a tent. Belldandy offers to help him, but he turns her down, having easily assembled the structure many times in the past. As he continue to work on their shelter, she senses a change in the air and realizes that it is about to rain. Meanwhile Keiichi remembers that he only ha one sleeping bag and wonders how it will work out, getting embarrassed as he imagines them both squeezing to fit inside. His thoughts are interrupted by a sudden downpour, but this turns out to be the least of their worries as he finds Belldandy passed out beside him. Growing worried for her health, and unaware that her earlier use of magic drained her powers, Keiichi pulls Belldandy onto his back and places her in the sidecar, driving around desperately in an attempt to find help. The couple arrives at the gates of the Tarikihongan Temple, but due to the exhausting events of the night, Keiichi also passes out.
Belldandy wakes up hours later in an empty room, lying in a cot alongside her companion. She wakes him up to inquire where they are, but Keiichi jumps up in surprise, wondering how exactly they ended up in the same bed. Their worries are soon put to rest by the local priest, Koshian, who apologizes for the inconvenience on the grounds that he assumed they were lovers when he found them unconscious outside his temple. He tries to remedy the situation by throwing Keiichi over his shoulder and carrying him from the room, although he apologizes for jumping to conclusions when Belldandy clears up the situation. The monk openly admits that he has a tendency to act without fully surveying the situation, something which bothers Keiichi. As the trio sit down for breakfast, Koshian makes note of Belldandy's foreign appearance and asks her what she is doing in Japan. Although she tries to tell the truth about granting a wish, Keiichi cups a hand over her mouth and tells the priest that she had come as a tourist.
Later that day, Koshian puts his guests to work around the temple, tasking Belldandy with the sweeping while Keiichi fixes the roof. While working together to complete their chores, Keiichi warns Belldandy that telling the truth about her paranormal existence might not be the wisest thing to do, although she laments the fact that doing otherwise would be a lie, something that First Class Goddess is forbidden from doing. She then comments on the peace and serenity of the temple grounds, quietly guessing that destiny is what guided them there, although her companion remains unconvinced, instead complaining internally about the chores. As these thoughts come to mind, Keiichi falls from the roof, only to be stopped by one of her spells. After repairing the broken tiles, she jumps onto the rooftop and licks his wounded elbow, inadvertently casting a spell to accelerate his metabolism and speed up his body's healing process. During the ordeal, Koshian sees her somehow ascend the rooftop without a latter and becomes suspicious of her true nature.
As night falls and the couple goes to bed, the monk notes his suspicion that Belldandy could be a demon in female form, and expects that if so, she will reveal her true nature at night. When he sees nothing more, he dismisses what he saw as a trick and falls asleep on the porch outside of their room. The next morning, Koshian is surprised to find the Goddess surrounded by wild animals, making him wonder if she is some type of sorceress. Upon walking into the kitchen he finds that she had somehow already prepared breakfast, next asking himself if she could be a chef. He then enters the main hall of the temple to find the Buddha Statue and alter glimmering with brilliance. He ponders Belldandy's true nature again, noting that while she is no demon, she is clearly no ordinary mortal.
Upon noticing the mark on her forehead as well as her meditation practices, Koshian leaves the temple behind to go on a pilgrimage and find true enlightenment. The monk seeks to study the true Buddhism by visiting its roots in India, believing that Belldandy has done so in the past. He leaves the temple and his home in the care of Keiichi and Belldandy, telling them to use it as they please until he returns.
Quick Reference[]
Chapter Notes[]
- Keiichi and Belldandy arrive at their home for the remainder of the series: the Tariki Hongan Temple.
- Koshian departs the temple, leaving it in there care until his unspecified time of return.