The Five Races (2)
Whoosh—
The wind brushed across Selina's cheek. For a place called the Holy Land, the scenery was almost disappointingly ordinary — a quiet village nestled on an open plain.
Stout little men filed into the mine shafts with tools in hand. From the tavern came the boisterous chatter of more of them. The forge rang with the ceaseless clang of hammers, while from the temple a solemn murmur of prayer drifted low across the air.
Aside from the fact that every last one of them was male — and that they were all remarkably short — it could have been any sleepy country hamlet.
They introduced themselves as the eldest of the dwarf brothers, Opus Fallac; the second, Sedus Fallac; the third, Trivius Palak; and the Frost Dragon, Iver.
"I'm sorry — this adorable little thing is a dragon?"
"Aye. Still a newborn, more or less. But give him enough time and he'll grow into a terror of a dragon."
"I thought dragons only showed up in fairy tales to scare children…"
"Well, that 'enough time' is rather long. A human guest like yourself might not live to see Iver's first molting."
"How long does this molting take, exactly…?"
"How long do humans live? Seventy years or so? Then… it'd be about your grandchild's grandchild's grandchild, give or take."
"…So I won't be seeing it."
"Us, though — by the grace of the Great One, so long as our feet stay planted on this earth, we hold up just fine, solid as that rock over there! Hahahaha!"
The three dwarf brothers stood before Selina, proudly boasting of their longevity. She listened carefully, then voiced a curiosity that had just occurred to her.
"Is the reason dwarves live so long because of that blessing?"
"That's right. The blessing we received is… well, it's a bit hard to put into words. Let's see here."
Opus Fallac glanced around, then dashed off somewhere and came back carrying an enormous boulder — a brutish slab of stone larger than Selina's entire upper body. He set it down with a heavy thud, then grinned at the blank-faced Selina.
"Watch closely, cat-eared miss. This is the blessing we received."
Opus drew a deep breath, arched his back, and drove his head into the rock with everything he had.
Selina let out a sharp scream, fully expecting the dwarf's skull to split open like soft tofu. What she imagined never came to pass.
Crack—!
The massive, solid boulder split cleanly in two. Not so much as a scratch marked Opus Fallac's forehead.
"Haha! See that? That's our blessing! So long as we stand on this land, our bodies grow tougher than stone, and we live longer than the great rocks themselves."
"Wow…"
"Brother, must you always make such a spectacle? You could've just said it."
"Ppi, ppi-ii."
Selina's mouth fell open at the impromptu strongman act. Only then did it truly sink in that these were laborers fashioned by a god.
Tougher than stone, longer-lived than the great rocks, so long as they stood upon the earth. What else could you call that but a divine blessing?
Iver, who had been watching, scurried over to a chunk of the broken boulder on his stubby little legs and, as if to prove he could do it too, slammed his head into it with all his might. Bonk!
"Ppi-ii…"
"Ahaha! You're still too young for that, Iver, you little rascal. Eat well, sleep well, and you'll get as strong as us!"
Of course, that tiny force only managed a faint crack in the stone — but even that was no ordinary sight. Bit by bit, Selina was beginning to grasp just what sort of beings surrounded her.
A dragon, called a sovereign of myth, and laborers shaped by the hand of a god.
Why, then, would the god seek out someone like me…?
With beings this extraordinary already at hand, why — according to the marquis — had He sought out a mere descendant of a forgotten race?
Sedus Fallac took one look at her face and snorted.
"You've got the look of someone thinking far too hard, miss."
"Huh? Oh…"
"I can guess what you're fretting over. 'Why am I here? Someone like me? What could He possibly want from me?' Something like that, no?"
"How did you—"
"Hahaha! It's written all over your face, that's how!"
Sedus Fallac winked mischievously and looked her in the eye.
"Well, I suppose your head's spinning in its own way. Why the Great One called you, whether you can carry out a mission if He gives you one…"
"…"
"But try not to worry yourself sick. The Great One called you because He saw some potential in you that even you don't know about. If you can't believe in yourself, then believe in the Great One who called you."
"Is that… so?"
"Of course! The Great One holds wisdom and power our little heads couldn't begin to imagine. Everything that will come to pass is already arranged within His design, wouldn't you say? Hahahaha!"
Sedus's shoulders rose high with pride as he spoke. Somehow, he looked like a child bragging about how wonderful his parents were.
"Ppi. Ppi— ppi-ii!"
"Hm?"
Iver waddled over and tugged at Selina's pant leg, then pointed at something.
Whoosh—
Where Iver pointed, a vast galaxy unfurled across the sky. Like ink spilled into clear water, it painted the heavens in its own colors as it advanced — flowing across the firmament as though it were alive.
Sedus Fallac brightened at once.
"Ah. He's here! Right then — we'll be off, miss."
"Huh? Weren't you staying with me?"
"We've got work to do. Get caught slacking and we'll catch hell. As it is, we've already been scolded for drinking too much beer lately."
"Ppi-ii—"
The three dwarf brothers and Iver bolted toward the mine shafts, away from the galaxy. Selina watched their retreating backs with a look of pure disbelief.
So the god's own laborers had been sneaking off to loaf around?
Even a place called the Holy Land, it seemed, was much the same. Selina let out a long sigh and lifted her gaze to the galaxy.
"Mmm…"
She could feel it.
A crushing pressure, as though a giant whose head scraped the heavens were drawing near.
It was only a galaxy approaching her — and yet something beyond what the eyes could see was bearing down on her. A weight that seemed to press upon the soul itself.
She stared at the galaxy and let out a small, strained sound. To feel this much pressure from simply watching it at a distance…
Deep in her instincts, something cried out. It rang a frantic alarm and spoke to her without cease.
Kneel. Worship!
The rightful master of all things has come — bow your head and offer praise!
The same instinct — or intuition — that had kept her alive as a back-alley petty thief now commanded her. Obeying it, and the cry of her own soul, she slowly sank to her knees and bowed her head.
She felt the approaching gaze draw still closer.
…Directly above.
Right above her head. He was looking down at her — with a gaze stern and blazing, piercing through her soul and beyond it.
Descendant of the Forgotten, Selina. Raise your head. And fear not.
"Hhk— huuh—"
Her vision trembled. Uncontrollable sounds spilled from her open mouth toward the ground, and drool dripped freely. Veins stood out on the hands that clenched fistfuls of innocent grass.
The voice. The gaze.
Those two things alone told her everything. That being — no, that Lord — was one who could regard a human like her as no more than an ant. An impossibly vast gulf of rank.
Giant and ant. Or the sun and a human being.
All that was permitted to her was to bow her head and beg for mercy.
"Kh— hah. Hhk…! Th-this lowly woman… greets the S-Sixth God."
Do not belittle yourself. All of you are beings who rightfully ought to be fruitful and multiply upon this land. Selina — do you know what you are?
"Pardon…?"
In the distant ages of antiquity — a past so remote that only the sun and moon still remember it. Do you know that your ancestors thrived across the plains?
"My… ancestors?"
You are a being who inherited their blood. Yet time has passed enough to reverse the positions of mountains and seas, enough for the stars themselves to shift their places, and that blood has thinned like water. Only a mere fraction of it flows within your body. This, too, is the way of things.
Selina carefully looked at her own tail. Had her distant ancestors truly been so remarkable that even a god would speak of them this way?
Selina, go forth and convey my will. Seek out and gather your kin. And thus, prosper.
"Prosper…?"
This is my wish, and the duty of one who has inherited the blood.
"How could someone like me possibly—"
For a former back-alley petty thief, the charge was crushing. Gather her kin, lead them, and make them prosper? How could a thief of all people dare gather and lead anyone?
You will not be alone. Join your will with the one who came before you.
"…Ah! Marquis Prius."
At last, Selina's expression eased. If she worked alongside that suspiciously capable marquis, her burden would lighten considerably.
You are the one who heralds the beginning. Selina, remember my words, and deliver them!
"Y-yes!"
Unlike what had come before, the words carried an even greater majesty. Selina bowed her head tightly and focused with everything she had, straining her ears so that not a single syllable would slip past her.
Remember the five races, and seek them out! That is my wish, and you are the trumpeter at the vanguard. Rightfully raise your horn high so that all may know my will!
"The five races… Yes. I will remember."
Then now, you shall return.
"Wh-what?"
Just like that?
Without thinking, Selina lifted her head and saw a cluster of light wrapping around her. Warm radiance enfolded her body, and she began to rise into the air. In the midst of a weightlessness she had never felt in her life, as she stammered "Wha—," the light grew steadily stronger.
Something was about to happen at any moment. Selina cried out in haste.
"My Lord! Must we — must our people marry only among our own kin?"
It was a critical matter.
And the god answered.
Your blood shall be thicker than any other. Live alongside those whose hearts align with yours.
Yes!
Selina clenched a small fist. The god had commanded them to prosper — but He had also said they need not marry only among their own kin.
That meant she no longer had to worry about being forced into a marriage with someone she didn't care for.
Her heart lightened, Selina closed her eyes and savored the free-floating sensation.
The light grew ever stronger, like a sun descended upon the plains, and then, at some point—
"Hey! Look, look — the descendant who went to the Holy Land is back!!"
"It's true! The animal-eared descendant has returned!!"
"Animal ears! Animal ears! Animal ears! Animal ears!"
Selina opened her eyes to find a throng of people packed so densely around the gates of the Holy Land that the crowd stretched beyond them into the distance.
"She's pure nekomimi."
Selina had returned from the Holy Land with a little poof of effect light. No matter how I turned her this way and that for a closer look, those black cat ears and that tail were textbook nekomimi. Calling her over just to inspect the design properly had been entirely worth it.
A pretty woman with cat ears and a tail attached — it was just that pleasant to look at. Pleasant enough that I nearly forgot I was supposed to give Selina a job.
"The five races, huh…"
A quest marker blinked in the upper-right corner. Unlike the old events or missions, a quest window had appeared — one that I myself was supposed to complete.
Find and Prosper the Five Races!
📍 Current Progress:2 / 5
🎁 Reward:■
This quest window had appeared when I found Selina, the "Descendant of the Forgotten." Five races — and so far, two found. The reward displayed as a broken, unreadable block.
"…What on earth is the reward supposed to be?"
It wasn't just broken — it showed as nothing more than a solid black square. What had Kenelm given me this quest for in the first place?
If I ever met her again, I had a long list of questions waiting.
I closed the game and lay down in bed. The pillow, long past its prime with the stuffing completely dead, was uncomfortably lumpy. It was one of those nights where Kenelm kept drifting into my thoughts.
"Wonder if she'll ever give me a lap pillow again…"
Her thighs had been soft and plush, and I'd slept so well on them.