Blue Lord of the Salacia Sea

Shwaaah─ On a night with the moon risen high, the sound of waves lapping at my ears as I lay in bed. The ship pressed busily onward toward the island even in the darkness, with sailors dashing across the deck this way and that. They took shifts through the night. I tossed and turned in bed, holding Kirke—who slept clutching me like a pillow embracing its owner.

Riko spent the night awake, quietly brewing potions and munching on fruit. Maybe because my physical abilities had improved, every little noise reached my ears. Come to think of it, why hadn't the Mantra of True Words activated...? Now that I'd started handling mana, could I control it myself? I should learn how to use it properly when I have time, I thought, closing my eyes.

......The Maou had fallen—a triumph won through Hero Daegomgei's relentless struggle. At the same time, Trust, locked in battle with the elves, drove them back into the Great Forest. The titans surging from the sea, the calamities rampaging across the land, and the endless descent of evil gods were repelled and sealed away by Hero Park Chun-sik─while Captain Eagle smashed head-on every blade of malice aimed at the Trust Union, staking his life to defend their home until the heroes could return.

A grueling victory that none could have achieved without every single one of them. In the immediate aftermath of the final battles, the heroes paid a heavy price, sacrificing their lifespans and much more. Daegomgei ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vanished after driving out the Maou, never returning to his fellow heroes. Park Chun-sik closed his eyes just a few years into the era of peace that followed. Captain Eagle and Trust joined forces with the four great kings to maintain the Union's balance, fighting ceaselessly against the lingering remnants without rest.

But now, those two were gone. Of all people, the two heroes who clashed most bitterly were the only ones left. Racial discrimination, hatred toward the elves. The fury of countless races toward the elves who had betrayed and turned coat could not be quelled even by the heroes. The great kings insisted they hadn't accepted them either. But─when the other three heroes opposed it, only one—Captain Eagle—declared, "The later generations of elves who know nothing are blameless." The elven prince who had turned away said the same until his dying breath, fearing the elves would face persecution even in an age of peace. And Trust as well.

Though opposed by only one, the hero was human after all—imperfect. "You said it, so take responsibility," they told him. He accepted that since he'd permitted it, the blame fell on him too, and he cried out to the Union that he would bear all the resentment and rage himself. Before the gods—who promised to grant any wish now that all was ended—and with the great kings and people watching, he shouted:

Hero Trust staked his life on that wish to the gods. He desired nothing for himself. He prayed only that none suffer discrimination for their unwanted birth or pain for uncommitted sins. And no heavenly punishment fell upon the hero. For among the elves, none shared the guilt of those in the Great Forest. Those who did had already paid at Captain Eagle's hands. Even to those who feigned betrayal to infiltrate, he granted trust—but to those who trampled it, he dealt deaths more wretched and brutal than any other. No heavenly punishment came, and the hero cried out to the masses and great kings:

Do not discriminate simply for being elf, werebeast, or even orc. He had beseeched the gods, so birth as such a race was no sin—and those who scorned by race would face divine retribution.

──Of course, the great kings didn't believe it would last a lifetime. They spoke of how, over long ages, power and the long-lived races' inevitable disparities would seep in like poison after the heroes vanished, corrupting the Union. Even if those present refrained, hatred for elves alone would surely emerge in later generations. Envy, greed, and malice embedded in human hearts don't fade easily; they feared the Union the heroes built would crumble.

Trust, who wished for the races Captain Eagle sought to unite. Then, asked Captain Eagle, wouldn't the bare minimum of goodness suffice? "Fears, distrust, and faith alone cannot achieve every ideal." Thus, before praying his own wish to the gods, Captain Eagle declared: Pass down through generations what the heroes fought for. They rose to protect life's precious beauty and for many things more—that made them heroes─and with that speech, he made his wish.

──And Captain Eagle wished for Trust's Union to endure. The gods granted the heroes' wishes. In that place, countless blessings and skills rained down. They proved those people had lived righteously and striven. The gods withheld blessings from the elves─ countless deities who witnessed the journey with the heroes pledged an unchanging covenant while Trust Union and they existed: The righteous shall be rewarded. The gods shall always love you upon the earth, they said, with warnings against corruption, greed, and envy—then vanished to the All Gods Temple.

Hero Park Chun-sik's wish—for blessings and life upon Trust Union's lands—restored balance to the war-torn Chronicle Continent, where the World Tree's loss had shattered equilibrium, through divine compulsion. The cosmos acknowledged it as due recompense for the heroes' trials......The Goddess of Fate smiled, pleased by that balance.

At first, anxious and fearful of divine eyes, those who had seen the heroes revered them─bestowing kindness upon one another. Children grew watching it, and it continued generation after generation. The heroes, to the last, bore the scales of sacrifice for them. Though Daegomgei wished to return home─that's just how he is, the remaining three laughed it off.

One hero closed his eyes; the other two fought and died due to their promise─misunderstanding birthing a vast empire's schism.

"Trust's daughter feared. Afraid her father, hating elves, wouldn't accept her child. To the end, he refused to embrace them. He'd seen too much of their cruel atrocities to trust their nature. And Captain Eagle, at her plea and for his promise to Trust, lied and fought."

"......Couldn't words resolve the misunderstanding?"

"......They were on such bad terms, they fought even with other heroes present. Even learning the truth after death, he raged at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his daughter that elves were untrustworthy. But after centuries watching Trust Union's elves live ordinarily and righteously among them, he finally broke his stubbornness."

The most stubbornly pigheaded of the heroes, the Goddess of Fate said. Captain Eagle shrugged that if he'd died first, he'd surely have killed his daughter in rage upon her birthing an elf─just venting built-up fury. A joke, perhaps, but what he thought fighting to the end only he knew. He'd taken responsibility for embracing the elves, fulfilling his duty. But the result birthed an empire.

"......The gods promised: [Skills] and [Blessings] to the righteous. Thus, Trust Union receives many. Of course, skills exist beyond it too—for balance. But that near-forced wish passed goodness down generations, forging an ideal world in Trust Union. Whether eternal, we'll see."

If guild masters or great kings change─it'll slowly skew, and gods will one day withdraw, merely watching. The Goddess of Fate hoped then they'd stand self-reliant without divine appearances.

"Hm, perhaps gods will split it. Seducing children with greed to birth a worship-worship kingdom? [Maou Candidates] emerging, [Evil Gods] reviving, [Calamities] descending, peace crumbling—people losing goodness?"

The goddess said people's current goodness could shatter anytime, and once begun, irreparably. "......Couldn't Trust and Captain Eagle have talked it out? ......Captain Eagle fought certain Trust would kill his daughter, fearing heroes' fall and Union's imbalance?"

"──Perhaps. Their story alone."

The goddess said the five comrades who leaned on each other understood, knew, and trusted one another most─then, time to wake. She placed three Constellation Tickets in my hand. Curious, she'd invited me after ages, noting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my efforts built karma—cheering me on─

──and warned to beware human malice.

"......"

My body felt heavy rising from bed. Riko had slipped in, hugging me asleep. I passed Kirke in my arms to her and staggered up.

The righteous acts begun under divine watch had, over ages, solidified as natural. The rotten, corrupt empire had no such blessings.

It seemed to draw lines—empire evil, Union good.... ──The gods would merely watch if the empire toppled the Union, granting only courage and faith to overcome. And knowing that, they naturally upheld goodness now. Good and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠evil differ by stance and view alone. The empire likely kept the hero's final words one generation, crumbling from the second into rapid decay.

──All the more baffling. Why was I summoned here? Was the constellations granting [Forest] inevitable? I rubbed the Constellation Ticket in my hand.

What skill it'd give varied each time.... No matter how I thought, [Forest] was coincidence. Some constellations wanted me dead. Deep pondering led to endless riddles. I tore the ticket in my hand.

'......'

Well... it's good, I guess... I stared awkwardly at the status window. The constellation tried hard; having two made sense.

I tore the next ticket right away.

"......"

Energy? What's that. Trying to use the skill changed nothing. I was the skill, and it was me. Like officially recognizing me as a hero. Never thought of such a skill—only status windows. So what is energy.... If named properly, maybe it'd be clearer? Sneaky threat: reroll sends you to Fate Goddess. Fitting, since it's hers—reclaiming it.

"No, but seriously, what's energy?" Physics work? Super strength? But lifting the bunk bed was still hard—nope. Somewhere to use it eventually, I thought, tearing the next ticket.

I've seen something like this before... Another dud ticket. Still, hero mysteries cleared somewhat—long doubts resolved. Enough to call even.

Trust Union, bound by heroes' pact with gods loving "human goodness"; the empire, split by misunderstanding but decayed by greed; elves as root of all evil. And....

"Heroes are human too..."

Nothing goes perfectly. Me neither. Feeling the breeze, just navigate the now, prepare for tomorrow. So resolving, I closed my eyes on deck to nap in the sun.