Chapter 40
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Estacia (1)
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In a certain mountain range in the southwestern part of the Empire.
There, an angel descended with a holy light.
Curly silver hair.
And blue, expressionless eyes.
The name of the girl who had descended to the surface with her small frame was Estacia.
Having landed with her large wings spread wide amidst a brilliant radiance, Estacia looked around with bored eyes.
"Yawn"
Estacias gaze fell upon the quiet mountain landscape, empty of any soul.
The surface world where she had descended was a place unfamiliar even to angels.
Had Estacia not been summoned by a god from another world, it was a place she likely would never have visited in her entire life.
It was because breaking through the barrier of the celestial realm required an immense amount of magical power.
Flutter.
As Estacia folded her large wings, the brilliant radiance that had enveloped her vanished.
With the light retracted, Estacia sat on a rock and offered her assessment of the surrounding scenery.
"So this is the surface."
Only a very select few angels ever visited the human realm.
Moreover, because of the scales that had recently tilted so drastically, it had become rare for the goddesses to send angels down to the surface.
For Estacia, an Archangel, to descend to the surface was truly an exceptional event.
After all, the one who had summoned her to this world was a god from the outside.
The reason the outer god had summoned her was also simple.
To gather the wayward souls and to spread his will upon the surface.
Only a few angels, including Estacia, were capable of answering such a call.
"But its such a bother"
Due to her unique personality, Estacia was already teetering on the edge of corruption.
In the celestial realm, Estacias disposition was infamous.
They said she would become a fallen angel any day now.
That a creature meant to be born in the Abyss had been mistakenly born in the heavens.
Of course, Estacia never offered any rebuttal to the angels who criticized her.
It was because even arguing was too much of a hassle.
"Maybe I'll just take a nap first and think about it."
And the result of that was the person she was now.
A fallen angel who, in the end, had been summoned by an outer god and cast down to the surface.
Even so, Estacia did not resent the god who had called her.
In fact, she was even grateful to the god for getting her out of the celestial realm.
By her very nature, Estacia was a hopeless angel steeped in sloth.
No amount of gratitude was enough for the outer god who had liberated her from the forced labor of the heavens.
So much so that she was contemplating whether to offer a prayer of thanks after taking a nap.
"I need to find a place to sleep."
Having decided to sleep first, Estacia began to search the vicinity for a suitable place.
As luck would have it, there was a large cave near where she had landed.
It was a cozy and pleasant-looking cave.
Furthermore, in front of the cave Estacia had found, there was a flat rock.
Judging by its height, it seemed suitable for use as a dining table.
A dining table right in front of her living space.
It was a space that was perfectly to Estacias liking.
"Estacia doesnt do things like work"
Having found the cave, Estacia hummed a tune as she entered her newfound home.
A few minutes after Estacia went into the cave, the roar of a beast echoed from within.
It was the cry of a bear that had been residing in the cave.
Thump!
After letting out a few screams, the bear was soon flung out of the cave by Estacia.
The bear, thrown out with a heavy thud, began to limp away to another location.
As the bear, now evicted from the cave, moved to escape Estacia, it never once looked back in the direction of the cave.
It was because of the terror she had instilled in it inside.
Day two on the surface.
Estacia stared at the dense forest with a bored gaze.
Though the forest was thick with trees, there were no edible fruits to be seen in her immediate vicinity.
But moving to find food was also a bother.
After a long moment of contemplation, Estacia decided to offer a prayer to the heavens.
"I should pray."
When in doubt, praying was the best option.
The goddess who used to ignore ninety percent of her prayers was gone, and now a new god was connected to her, wasn't he?
Estacia figured the chances of him answering her prayer were higher than the goddess's.
She knelt on the rock and folded her hands, preparing for prayer.
Simultaneously with her hands clasping, Estacias wings spread wide.
A bright light spread around Estacia, and a glowing halo appeared above her head.
"O, Great Master."
The halo, a symbol of an angel, emitted a brilliant radiance.
An angel's halo was the only means of communicating with their master.
As Estacias halo filled with light, tiny specks of stardust scattered in a radius around her.
It was a sight that would inspire reverence in anyone who saw it.
Amidst this sacred and solemn scenery, Estacia offered a heartfelt prayer to her master.
"Just one piece of bread, please."
And with that, the prayer was over.
The light of the halo died down, and as she folded her wings, the radiance enveloping Estacia also vanished.
Having finished her prayer in an instant, Estacia looked up at the sky with sparkling eyes.
She thought that now that the prayer was done, there might be some response from the heavens.
And as if in answer to her expectations, a single piece of bread fell from the sky.
What fell from the sky was a baguette, about the length of a person's forearm.
"It's a baguette."
"Whaaa!"
As Estacia snatched the baguette that had fallen for her, a scream echoed from nearby.
At that, Estacia turned her head to look in the direction of the sound.
Standing near the table Estacia had been sitting at was a man, screaming.
It seemed he had approached after spotting the praying Estacia.
He appeared to have injured his leg while hiking in the mountains, as he was limping.
"A human?"
The human man was looking at Estacia, flustered.
Seeing a human brought to mind the command she had received from the god who had brought her here.
Harvest the souls.
That was the command of the great being who had sent Estacia down.
Estacia looked at the man before her and briefly considered whether she should kill him.
""
But she quickly erased the command from her mind.
It was because she possessed no attack magic whatsoever.
And moving herself to attack an opponent was also a bother.
Giving up on the attack, Estacia took a bite of the baguette in her hand.
As Estacia ate her baguette, the man before her posed a question.
"C-could it be an angel?"
Nod. Nod.
Estacia affirmed the mans words.
She even spread the wings on her back wide to show him her large wings.
As Estacia spread her wings, a radiance burst forth from around her.
At the sight of the halo of light enveloping Estacia, the man instinctively dropped to his knees and offered a prayer.
"O, holy Goddess in heaven"
"Praying to her won't get you a baguette."
"Thank you for sending an angel for our sake."
The man continued to pray with Estacia eating bread right in front of him.
The sight of the man praying was a decent spectacle for Estacia as well.
Though, of course, even if the man prayed, he wouldn't receive a baguette like she had.
She watched the man pray until she had finished eating the entire baguette.
The man's prayer came to an end only after Estacia had finished her meal.
Having completed his prayer, the man rose to his feet with a reverent expression.
Then, looking down at his leg, he exclaimed in a loud voice of admiration.
"What! My leg is all healed after I finished praying?"
"Oh, I did that."
Estacia was an angel specialized in healing and defense.
It was only natural for the man's natural healing ability to increase while he was within her domain.
It seemed the man's leg had mostly recovered while he was praying.
The man, healed by Estacias power, bowed his head to her repeatedly, offering his thanks.
Traveling through the mountains with an injured leg was no easy task.
"Thank you, Angel. Thank you."
"Mm."
"Thank you. I will come again next time."
"Don't come next time."
Estacia saw off the man who was leaving while offering his thanks.
She figured that since she had given him a stern warning, he wouldn't come back again.
After sending the man away, Estacia yawned and stood up.
Having finished her meal, drowsiness was slowly creeping up on her.
"Yawn. Guess it's about time for a nap."
It was usually time for her afternoon nap.
Her stomach was full, too.
It was the perfect situation to go into the cave and sleep.
Standing up, Estacia slowly walked toward the cave.
And then, she began to take a nap inside.
Estacia's nap in the cave continued until the next morning.
Day three on the surface.
When Estacia opened her eyes in the morning, the area in front of her cave was more crowded than yesterday.
On the table that Estacia used, all sorts of fruits were piled up, and in front of the table, numerous people were kneeling with their heads bowed to the ground.
As Estacia tilted her head at the incomprehensible scene, an old man at the head of the crowd rose.
He introduced himself as the village chief and spoke to Estacia.
"All that is here are offerings dedicated to you, Angel."
"Offerings?"
"That is correct. Please, I pray you will mediate well between the surface and the heavens, and bring peace to the world."
Offerings.
Those words meant that all the fruits before Estacias eyes were hers.
Estacias eyes swept over the fruits on the table.
Grapes. Strawberries. Apples. Oranges.
Every single one was a fruit Estacia liked.
She was the type to prefer fruits over bread.
If her favorite fruits were gathered before her, there was no reason not to partake.
"Is everything here mine?"
"Yes. It is a token of our sincerity to you, Angel."
"Alright."
Sitting down, Estacia reached for the fruit.
The first fruit she touched was a grape.
As she plucked a grape and put it in her mouth, a sweetness filled her senses.
It was the taste of fruit she hadn't had in a long time.
As Estacia, her mood lifted by the sweet taste, spread her wings wide, the people before her all began to pray in unison.
"O, great Goddess"
"That this year's harvest may be bountiful"
"That our youngest may not fall ill"
Watching them pray before her, Estacia thought to herself as she ate her fruit.
She had thought having humans around would be a bother, but here they were, offering her fruit of their own accord.
Having humans nearby wasn't such a bad thing after all.
If that was the case, then if the number of humans who followed her increased, wouldn't it be possible to do nothing but eat fruit all day?
Such a thought flashed through Estacias mind.
"O, Goddess"
Taking a bite of an apple, Estacia stood up, apple in hand.
Then, she manifested her halo, letting it shine with a brilliant radiance.
At the sight of the brightly shining Estacia, the praying people focused their gazes on her.
It was a moment when the angel they adored was emitting a holy light with all her might.
There was no one here who would not look at her.
Estacia, who was radiating a brilliant light, gave a light cough and looked around.
"Ahem."
"The Angel is about to speak!"
"Everyone, listen attentively!"
After clearing her throat once, Estacia looked over the people watching her.
People of all ages, from children to the elderly, were lined up before her.
Separate from Estacia's own presence here, it seemed they all possessed a diligent faith.
Now, Estacia could also do something helpful for the god who had sent her.
Having prepared, Estacia delivered a simple speech to the villagers.
"No matter how much you pray to the goddess, she will not answer you."
"No, that can't be!"
"But the great one who sent me can bestow grace upon you."
"A great one? Do you mean a god different from the six goddesses?"
"Of course. And he is the one who has watched over the surface longer than all other gods combined."
Hadn't he bestowed upon her the grace of a meal, something the goddess would not have sent?
At least to Estacia, he was undoubtedly a very benevolent god.
At Estacia's persuasive words, delivered while she radiated light, the people nodded their heads in agreement.
They were people with a shallow theological understanding to begin with.
They accepted Estacia and the being behind her without any doubt.
"Oh, Angel"
"So let us all pray together to the great one."
At the voice of Estacia, who was displaying a reverent posture, the people bowed their heads once more.
And then, they began to offer prayers to the god in the heavens again.
However, the object of their prayers was now greatly changed from before.
At the sight of the humans praying to the god from another world, Estacia ate her apple and marveled at her own competence.