Chapter 324: The Invitation (2)
Chapter 324: The Invitation (2)
Leaving the Academy proceeded without any major issues.
Thanks to the promise I’d already received from Rebecca—that I could skip classes as long as I performed well on my exams—I didn't even need to fill out a formal leave of absence.
Since I was heading to Alfheim anyway, I decided to bring Famila’s family along this time. And of course, I had to look after Fay, who would undoubtedly become a target again if left alone.
Well, Fay herself grumbled about not being able to focus on her new research… but she nodded immediately once I offered to let her study me in my Dragonization state.
She’s always been such an easy person to read, both then and now.
Just as we were finishing our preparations to head out, Helena, who had been smiling contentedly while checking her reflection in her well-polished mace, came up to me and tugged on my sleeve.
“Brother. May I have a word with you for a moment?”
“…That sounds somewhat ominous. What is it?”
“Think carefully. Isn't there something you ought to do for me, Brother?”
“Seriously, what is it?!”
Panicking, I quickly retraced my steps to see if I had done something wrong today.
First, I woke up and greeted everyone, then we all had breakfast prepared by Famila’s family. I even teased Iris by stroking her belly, which was bulging from the meal, asking her how many months along she was…
“Ah.”
Could it be that?
Watching Helena, who was narrowing her golden eyes at me, I cautiously reached out my hand.
Squish.
The sensation of her soft, lean midriff met my palm. Perhaps it was because of her fighting style—which involved moving her body constantly, even if she used Holy Power—but Helena’s stomach felt both soft and strangely firm with muscle at the same time. It was oddly addictive.
Rub, rub.
“…….”
“…….”
Stroke, stroke.
“…….”
“…….”
However, the fact that there was absolutely no reaction no matter how much I rubbed her belly was a bit terrifying.
Was this not it…?
I swallowed hard, feeling a bead of cold sweat trickle down my neck. Seeing my reaction, Helena let out a small chuckle and hung her mace back on her waist.
Then, she puffed out her chest proudly and began to boast.
“Did we not agree to travel in my carriage? If it weren't for me, the Saintess, this many people would have been cramped in a narrow commercial carriage and suffered greatly.”
“Oh.”
So that was it?
It was true that we had decided to stop by Solaris to pick up the carriage formerly reserved for the Pope… which was now the Saintess’s private carriage.
Besides, we could get there quickly using teleportation anyway.
But why was she acting so smug about it now…?
As I blinked, unable to grasp her intention, Helena took a large stride toward me and thrust her face up toward mine.
Press.
She leaned in so close that her chest was pressed against my torso. With a slightly more mischievous smile than usual playing on her lips, Helena continued.
“Brother, you should be a little more grateful to me.”
“Uh, well… I’m always grateful, Helena.”
“Don't just say it with words; show me with your actions.”
Helena then pouted her lips toward me in a blatant demand.
Aha. So that’s how it is?
My lips curled into a smirk. I slid the hand that had been fiddling with Helena’s belly down and gave her backside a firm squeeze.
Grip.
“Hic?!”
“What’s with that cute reaction after you were the one who seduced me first?”
“…I-I was just startled.”
Helena averted her gaze. Following her lead, I leaned my head in this time.
Of course, Helena turned her head the other way to avoid me… but I followed her immediately and pressed my lips against hers.
Mwah.
“Haa….”
“What? Are you going to run away again?”
How long did we repeat this game of cat and mouse, exchanging kisses?
Eventually, just as Helena, unable to overcome her embarrassment, was about to tag out with Solari—who had been waiting for her turn—the moment arrived.
“It’s ready, it’s ready! Stop flirting and gather around!”
Iona’s teleportation circle was complete.
*
The journey was smooth.
After arriving at Solaris and sharing some news about the recent movements of the cultists, we used teleportation to fly as far as possible toward Alfheim with the carriage.
After that, well, I spent my time relaxing inside the carriage, sharing my blood with Iona, who was exhausted from the consecutive teleports.
By the way, Famila’s family took turns acting as the coachmen.
Using Intermediate Magicians as mere coachmen. This was quite a luxurious trip.
After a few days of alternating between training and lounging around with those thoughts in mind, we eventually arrived at the entrance of a massive forest.
“So this is the Southern Great Forest.”
There are unique regions in both the southern and northern parts of the Eurelia Continent.
In the north, there are the Black Mountains, which are said to contain every type of mineral in the world, boasting diverse resources.
And in the south, there is the Great Forest, which is so vast it occupies nearly half of the southern region.
Naturally, these terrains didn't form naturally. Both were the products of miracles created by the intervention of divine power.
Righteous Light, Rising Sprout, and Free Breath.
These three accept believers regardless of race, and their doctrines are not bound by racial characteristics.
For example, Righteous Light commands one to hate evil and live justly to the best of one's ability.
Rising Sprout teaches one to devote themselves to farming and share the harvest so that no one goes hungry.
As for Free Breath, it’s quite a spectacle; the doctrine is just a single line: enjoy life as long as you don't harm others.
That’s literally it. That’s why there are many "kind-hearted lunatics" among the followers of Free Breath.
However, this is only possible because their identities as gods are independent of racial traits.
But the other three gods were different.
Clashing Steel is a god born from flame who considers it a primary mission to forge civilization through technology.
Therefore, he required his followers to be high-level technicians, and naturally, races other than dwarves found it difficult to even receive a baptism.
Since Clashing Steel also particularly cherished the dexterous dwarves, it is said that over 90% of his current followers are dwarves.
Cyclic Life had an elf as a partner before becoming a god. Just as Solari was greatly influenced by the First Priestess, Cyclic Life was deeply enamored with his partner’s values.
Naturally, the elven way of thinking was melted into the doctrines of Cyclic Life, and he himself favored the elven race.
While not as extreme as the dwarves, this is why the majority of Cyclic Life’s followers are elves.
Finally, although she has now fallen and become Meandering Leisure, Soaring Blue was a similar case.
Since mermaids and fishermen were the only intelligent species capable of living underwater, it was a natural progression to choose the gentle mermaids.
Soaring Blue was essentially the racial god of the mermaids.
…Which is why she went mad and fell from grace after seeing Atlantis collapse and the mermaids being devoured en masse before her eyes.
The story drifted a bit, but anyway, some gods openly favored specific races and performed miracles for them.
The massive mines expanded over thousands of years… like the Black Mountains.
Or an impossibly large forest flourishing around a control tower called the World Tree. The Great Forest was exactly such a place.
I poked the side of Helena, who was marveling at the sight beside me, and asked.
“Doesn't Righteous Light have anything like this?”
“Righteous Light did not create a separate environment that is easy to live in. Instead, she pulled out her own teeth to grant us weapons and cut her mane to grant us cloaks.”
“Huh….”
Come to think of it, while many gods created divine objects imbued with their power, Righteous Light was the only one who created divine objects using parts of her own body as materials.
“May I ask why?”
“Of course. But please wait a moment. Wouldn't it be better to hear it from the person herself rather than from me?”
Saying so, Helena swapped consciousness with Righteous Light. It was a new realization, but the speed of that transition had become incomparably faster than before.
If she used Spirit Mediumship, even that short delay would disappear.
While I was marveling internally, Solari appeared, wagging her lion ears and tail made of light. She smiled brightly and said.
“The reason I made powerful divine objects? If my partner wants to know, I have to tell him! It’s not like I’m keeping it a secret anyway!”
“Oh… so there really is a reason?”
“Yeah. I gave them to them so they could fight better.”
“……?”
Well, I mean. Since she gave them weapons and armor, she obviously gave them so they could fight better. But was that really it?
Because of such a battle-maniac reason… uh, well… if it’s the Church of Righteous Light, I guess that’s possible….
As I nodded, Solari continued in a serious voice.
“Paradise isn't something you pray to a god to receive. It’s something you build with your own hands. I didn't want my children to wish for a utopia that doesn't exist in this world; I wanted them to make this world into a utopia.”
“Ah.”
“To become people who can cry out for justice and quell chaos even if evil seethes once again. To create a world that functions well even without me, the God of Justice. That is what I wished for my children. That is the greatest miracle I can perform.”
Having said that much, Solari wore a benevolent smile toward the air, as if looking at somewhere other than here.
Humans are weak and imperfect. That’s why while some gods try to protect them by keeping them in their embrace…
There are also gods like Solari who wish for them to become strong and independent on their own.
I nodded in admiration, but the smile on Solari’s lips only grew bitter.
“…The problem is that things in the world weren't that simple. I really never imagined the Evil God would invade.”
“Hmm.”
I chuckled at the unexpected self-deprecating reaction and shrugged my shoulders.
“Well, it’s fine. Because I will become Solari’s most powerful miracle and strike down the Evil God.”
“…Purr?! That just now. That was incredibly romantic on a divine level!”
“I know.”
I did it on purpose, after all.
How long did we continue to make our way through the forest paths, chatting idly like that?
At some point, the view that had been narrowed by the trees suddenly opened up, and a small village revealed itself.
Living houses made by guiding trees to grow in curves without cutting them down.
Beautiful elves running around barefoot, wearing fluttering clothes and leaf decorations.
Carla, Fay, and Helena’s jaws dropped at the picturesque scenery.
“Look at that, Master! The trees are growing in the shape of stairs!”
“It’s my first time in Alfheim, and it’s such a place. I’m glad I came, Junior!”
“This is… beautiful.”
While the others, including myself, had indifferent expressions.
Fay, who was the first to check my reaction, glanced at me a few times before hesitatingly approaching and asking.
“Junior…? Is there some kind of problem? Are you angry because she’s a woman whose mind goes back and forth, hating it so much before we left but now acting all happy?”
“You’re being quite self-deprecating today, Senior Fay. It’s not that. …I just didn't want you to get your hopes up too much.”
“Huh?”
“That’s all a total sham. Should I call it a kind of theme park? It’s a tourist attraction made for people like you, Senior Fay, who are visiting Alfheim for the first time and have fantasies about elves.”
“……Really?”
Elisha answered in my stead to Fay’s shocked voice.
“It’s true. Over there, do you see that girl in the white dress running around?”
“Yeah. You mean that cute kid?”
“Yes. That person is an elder who once came to congratulate me at a party I held before entering the Academy.”
“…….”
“I heard later that she’s a veteran who has been working here for nearly 120 years.”
“…….”
The light faded from Fay’s eyes as she realized the truth.
Wow! Dead eyes!