Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Festival of Receiving Flesh
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The goddess's gaze was fixed on the sky above, but it was truly a downward look.
A place that felt so close she could grasp it with her hand in perception, yet one she now believed she could never reach for all eternity in her very existence.
Her eternally lost homeland, where thousands of years ago she had walked on two feet alongside her kin.
After that great decision, this realm was divided from the phenomenal world, blocked by an ontological rift that none could easily cross.
Only a select few among her countless kin could even temporarily pass over to that place.
The many kin who once reveled in glory upon that land had faded into oblivion across the span of time,
and she herself, who had once embraced half the world, was simply forgotten and cast down.
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-...
Up there, down here.
This time of year always filled the world with voices brimming with joy.
Her chosen kin were granted the momentary privilege of setting foot in that longed-for homeland, singing praises of their former glory.
Forgetting the forgotten as if nothing had ever happened, they pressed onward toward the future together.
There had been a time when that alone filled her with frustration and resentment.
Back in her final remaining territory there.
When she had waited only for her inevitable end, just like the countless kin buried in sediment.
Yes, there had been such days.
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-Hee hee.
A child of exquisite beauty, acknowledged across all races in the phenomenal world below regardless of kind, yet harboring an inner nature impossible to praise. But to the goddess, she was the single most precious treasure in all existence.
With a benevolent smile, the corners of the goddess's eyes softened as she gazed upon the phenomenal world.
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Festival of Receiving Flesh.
The traditional Korean festival in early winter, where one prepares vast quantities of kimchi for the coming year, prays for it to ferment well, and boils pork to enjoy with it.
Of course, that's not it.
The "suyuk" in Festival of Receiving Flesh refers not to boiled pork in water, but to receiving flesh.
It's also called the Incarnation Festival or Embodiment Festival.
Unlike the gods of myths, legends, or ancient scriptures recorded merely as history from past lives, in this world, gods truly exist.
Long ago, they too walked this land with physical bodies, or so the tales go.
Then, out of nowhere, rifts in dimensions appeared, and monsters corrupted by their energies began tearing the world apart.
Hunter stories and gate tales always start a bit abruptly like that.
There were no status windows, but with gods as their ultimate weapons, this world somehow managed to repel the invasion from other realms.
However, for that touching ending, a dash of melodrama is needed as seasoning.
They didn't win cleanly; instead, the gods sacrificed their bodies and powers to create a massive seal that plugged the dimensional rifts.
Those seals are today's dungeons.
Yet the gods persist as gods, dwelling in mysterious realms called the Heavens or the Pantheon.
Unlike Jesus bearing humanity's original sin, all intelligent beings living on this land revere and love the gods who sacrificed for their sake.
And so, once a year.
They prepare physical bodies for the gods they worship—bodies allowing them to walk this land, their near-homeland. That is the Festival of Receiving Flesh.
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"Well, it's not really anything to do with small-time churches like ours."
The stories above apply to massive corporate churches, not humble operations like the church of the Goddess of Mist and Dew.
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-Mm.
A slightly downcast tone from our goddess.
The Festival of Receiving Flesh calls the gods down to this land for once, but sadly, it has nothing to do with our goddess.
Because...
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'Preparing a body for suyuk costs a fortune.'
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Insanely so.
Dungeons were forged from the gods' flesh and powers.
Thus, stretching it a bit, monster materials from dungeons are like the gods' blood and meat.
So the core of the festival is crafting a body from those dungeon materials and summoning a god into it...
But even a divine soul can't endure a half-baked vessel.
Naturally, the materials for the vessel are all rare and exorbitantly expensive.
Even for a body lasting just one day, you'd need to sink at least 1,000 gold, right?
For a tiny church where even a mere(?) 500-gold debt put me—the pope and champion—at risk of being sold off, it's obviously out of the question.
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'I do have some money set aside after paying off the debt this time.'
I didn't use every last coin from my earnings to settle the debt.
Settlement for dungeon materials goes through the Crawler Guild, so it's taxed at the source, but the 180 gold tip and side income from Lionel weren't officially recorded.
A man's confidence comes from his wallet, and you never know when cash might be needed, so I paid the debt while keeping a healthy reserve.
So I've got a decent sum on hand now, but it's still woefully short for preparing a vessel for our goddess.
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-My faithful one, your goddess harbors not a shred of regret, so think no more deeply on this.
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The goddess spoke as if shaking off any lingering attachment.
Even she, with her somewhat lacking sense of worldly affairs, knew that crafting a body for the festival was impossible with hundreds of gold left in debt.
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-More importantly, it's a festival, is it not?
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The goddess said, trying to brighten the mood.
As she noted, the central streets after the eve festivities were packed with people.
They were always bustling, but on the first day of the Festival of Receiving Flesh, families, lovers, young and old alike flocked in droves.
Street corners everywhere hosted unauthorized stalls hawking food, toys, trinkets nonstop.
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-So many people. Do you know? Perhaps one among them will share a bond with you.
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Hm.
The conversation veered into an unwelcome direction.
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-All things have their proper time. My daughter is no longer young... Do not grow complacent merely because you still are...
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Sensing the goddess's lecture about to stretch on, I invoked the Left-Clear-Right-Cloudy alcohol technique for the first time in ages and wandered the streets.
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I popped the last piece of pork from the skewer into my mouth and licked the sauce from my lips.
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"Mm."
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The cooking was a bit lacking, but not bad overall.
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"What to eat next?"
The true flower of any festival is the food.
Rushed for the crowds, the quality was iffy, but the sheer variety from countless vendors, spiced by the festive buzz, made it hardly grating.
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"Shall I grab a drink?"
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Some spots had makeshift tables selling booze and snacks.
Normally, daytime street drinking would raise eyebrows, but now...
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"Wahahahaha!"
"Drink up! Drink!"
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The festival heat meant no one made a fuss.
One troublemaker would be an issue, but if everyone's causing trouble, it's not.
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"Hm."
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I lifted the ordered glass, sniffed the rim, grimaced, and set it down.
A slight shake showed the contents were thickish.
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"Booze is a no-go."
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At least street vendor liquor was worse than none.
This world's brewing tech hadn't advanced much on average, so low-end stuff often blurred the line between booze, vinegar, or glue.
Some were literally "drinkable bread" from the viscosity.
I munched paper-wrapped honey bread while strolling.
Usually, folks spotting me would start avoiding, but the throng made it so hardly anyone noticed.
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"Anyone confident in their strength? Beat this guy at arm-wrestling, win 5 silver prize!"
"But! No Crawlers!"
"Oh, will the beautiful priestess challenge?"
"..."
"...I said no Crawlers?"
"No, no matter how you deny it, from the whispers over there, you seem pretty famous?"
"Today I'm here as a priest serving the gods, not a Crawler!"
"Why make such a fuss over 5 silver against a regular person?!"
"Keep this up, and I'll report you to the Crawler Guild!"
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Food was just part of the festival.
Ring toss, darts, knocking over bottles with balls, fishing duck dolls from tanks—petty games to street performances galore.
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"Such dishonest folk. I won, yet they make excuses to withhold the prize."
-...Sigh.
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Booted from the arm-wrestling match, I grumbled, and even the goddess empathized, sighing over the world's crumbling morals.
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"Still a long way till the first parade."
The sky hinted at dusk, but it was still midday.
No clocks, but maybe 4 or 5 p.m.?
Plenty of time till the main event parade at night.
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"Mm."
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Something to kill time would be nice.
Vendor games targeted kids and families, so prizes were lame—no thrill.
Munching crunchy fruits from my pouch while ambling, a shout rang from the roadside.
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"They're holding an eating contest in the east district! Prizes too—if you're confident you can devour anything, come challenge!"