Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Hospitalized - 1
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Unable to hide my disappointment, the Fourth Knight continued her explanation to me.
"Try not to look at me like that. Even if I wanted to give it to you, I'm not in a position to."
"Why not?"
"Because you gave the First Knight such a glare."
"..."
The First Knight of the Black Heaven Knight Order.
From what I'd heard through Helen, that knight was Astiren, the founding emperor.
'I've felt it for a while now, but that lady really hates my guts.'
She was wary of me just because I'm a Titan. For the founding emperor to act like that... Stop with the racial discrimination!
In any case, it seemed even her subordinate, the Fourth Knight, couldn't easily offer me help.
"So, everything I'm about to say is just me talking to myself."
"Huh?"
"It's said that in the Storm Plains, a divine relic of Taranis, the God of Lightning and Punishment, who was defeated in the final war of old, remains. For a Titan like you, it would be an unparalleled elixir. The First Knight is worried it might fall into Titan hands."
With that, she began drawing on the ground with her sword.
"But it's nothing for me to worry about. After all, even after over a thousand years, no one's found it. The only thing discovered is that one sketch theologians rave about."
It was colorless and hard to make out, but it seemed to be a hint about the relic the Fourth Knight mentioned.
'A hill, a flower, and lightning, huh.'
By the time I'd fully memorized the drawing, the Fourth Knight started erasing it with her foot. Then she looked at me and said,
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Thank you."
"I haven't done anything to deserve your thanks."
With a straightforward reply, she left as swiftly as she'd arrived.
'She's got a bit of a tsundere streak, that one.'
Regardless, the information she'd shared was top-tier.
It felt a tad underwhelming for the reward after all my hard work, but if I could really find it, I'd gain control over a new divinity.
With that in mind, I went to Helen to seek the Holy Kingdom's assistance.
When I explained the details, she immediately shared everything she knew.
"You're talking about Taranis, the God of Lightning and Punishment."
"You know of him too, Helen?"
"Yes. One of the Holy Kingdom's major duties is recovering the hidden legacies of the gods scattered across the continent."
That said, Helen seemed slightly perplexed by the info from the Fourth Knight—it was clearly new to her.
"But I never dreamed the divinity left in the Storm Plains was Taranis's relic."
"Even the Second Apostle of the Holy Kingdom hasn't accessed this info?"
"It's not that. This seems like classified intelligence shared secretly within the Black Heaven Knight Order."
"Why?"
"The potential of a relic far surpasses that of a mere legacy. If someone unauthorized wielded that power, the entire west could vanish."
"And they just leave something that dangerous alone?"
"The Black Heaven Knights probably couldn't find it either. They haven't in a thousand years, after all."
"I see."
No, wait a second.
They gave me something no one can find as a reward?
"That's way too stingy."
"Hehe, if you're dissatisfied with the reward, don't worry. The Holy Kingdom will provide Sian with proper compensation for this aid. And personally, I-I'll reward you too."
Helen stuttered, her face flushing red.
Was she planning to give me something special?
Just as I was about to ask out of curiosity, Camilla rushed over.
"Hero, there you are."
"Camilla, what's up?"
"I heard from your adjutant. Your injuries are severe. With your body in such a state, let me carry you instead."
"Let go..."
Camilla hoisted me up effortlessly.
I was a full head taller than her, but her knight-trained body handled it without strain.
Helen, looking delighted, smiled brightly and asked Camilla,
"Hehe, Camilla, Sian says there's something to find in the Storm Plains. Will you help me with it?"
"If it's an order from the Apostle, of course."
"I'm asking as your queen."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
And so, I secured personal help from both Helen and Camilla.
Having the entire Second Holy Knight Order would make it easier, but the other knights were busy with postwar cleanup for now.
"No need to overthink it. You're a Titan, Hero. Use your Titan traits at a time like this."
"How?"
"Try sniffing around, for starters."
"Camilla? You trying to get punched?"
Of course, Camilla was just joking, not serious.
I wanted to smack her every time she pulled that, but my condition wouldn't allow it.
"Let's organize the info first. Helen, anything else on Taranis?"
"There aren't many surviving myths about Taranis in the records. All I know is he was a god who loved women... and that there are no followers left for a dead god."
"But if a relic remains, doesn't that mean believers still exist?"
"It could be as you say, Sian, but then there should be Taranis worshippers near the relic, like with Oranac."
"True."
Helen's explanation gave me a headache.
This is harder to find than I imagined.
"With the info shortage, we'll have to leg it out there ourselves."
As I rubbed my temples, Camilla finally offered a solid suggestion.
"It's not underground, for starters. Hadron would've found it ages ago if it were."
"Probably."
The underground city beneath the Storm Plains was vast enough to inspire awe.
If Taranis's relic were down there, Hadron would've put it to good use.
No signs of that, though, so he must not have found it either.
"Not underground, not visible on the surface, so sky's the only option left. But weirdly, it doesn't feel like it's up there either."
"Why do you say that?"
"When I jumped here, I didn't sense any divine energy from the sky."
Nothing registered on my senses, so I'd leaped casually. But out of nowhere, lightning struck, nearly killing me.
"That's when the bolt hit suddenly. Felt like it was attacking an intruder in its territory."
"Sian, could you draw that picture you mentioned earlier?"
"This one?"
I sketched the drawing the Fourth Knight had shown me, and Helen shared her serious thoughts.
"Hmm... Ignoring the meaningless parts, the key elements seem to be the hill, the flower, and the lightning."
"That's what I think too."
"But the only flowers here are plain dandelions."
Camilla plucked a nearby dandelion and added,
"They have brighter yellow petals than others, but nothing else special stands out."
"Just in case, should we search the Storm Plains for unusual flowers?"
"Hero... Do you have any idea how vast this place is?"
"Yeah, fair point."
I'm doing this to heal up, but I might work myself to death first.
"I think I have an idea."
"Really?"
Having caught on to the hint's secret, Helen explained slowly.
"Just a guess, but the lightning probably symbolizes Taranis himself."
I'd figured as much.
His epithet was literally God of Lightning and Punishment.
Lightning in a related drawing? Case closed.
"And this hill looks like an altar."
"An altar?"
"Yes. Excluding the twelve gods our Holy Kingdom serves, most other gods demanded human sacrifices."
"Human sacrifice, huh..."
It was repulsive, but offering people to gods was a common custom.
Even in my past life, without direct gods, human sacrifice traces existed worldwide.
Humans were beings who couldn't live without something spiritual to cling to.
"Then what about the flower?"
"Probably... a woman offered to Taranis as sacrifice."
"Why a woman specifically?"
"The records say Taranis lusted after women. Maybe that's why it's depicted this way? Flowers often symbolize women in myths too."
What... like Zeus?
"What a filthy bastard."
"Hating your own kind?"
"Why the sudden beef?"
"Well, don't you chase women just as much as Taranis?"
"Huh? When you put it like that... I got nothing."
Following Camilla's jab, thinking about the women I'd been with, I wasn't in a position to talk.
"But I'll make all my women happy, guaranteed."
"Hmm? You'd better mean that."
"Naturally."
Camilla seemed irked by my confident declaration and started to retort but stopped abruptly.
Camilla, why can't you just speak your mind straight?
As the mood grew awkward from her sudden silence, Helen continued.
"Maybe Taranis sustains himself by kidnapping women. Lately, women have been vanishing frequently from nearby villages."
"If that's true, shouldn't we investigate on a large scale? People are going missing."
Killing human women to survive.
What an utterly vile god.