Chapter 339

I learned about divine relics during an academy class a very long time ago.

They said Felix’s divine relic could distinguish between those who are the king’s blood relatives and those who are not. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] However, its appearance or form was not passed down to outsiders.

Whether the six divine relics truly existed was a problem that troubled many theologians until recently. Even though we heard a definite answer from the mouth of a god that such things exist, we were only at a loss.

Marianne, whose hair was sticking up like a five-year-old child because she had gripped it tightly with both hands, grumbled.

“Divine relics… Divine relics are that, right? The national treasure of each kingdom, the secret treasure placed in the deepest part, something whose appearance or abilities haven’t been passed down at all… How do we find something like that? Do we go on a kingdom tour in the name of the Cieron Empire?”

“Would the 1st Prince just watch that happen…? To step forward as a representative of the Empire, we have to bypass him first. We can’t just wait until they make you the Crown Prince…”

Steam rose from Hugh Benson’s thoroughly wet head. It was heat unfitting for this cold weather. Benjamin handed the blanket he was holding to cover Marianne to Hugh, but was rejected.

This time, I asked toward Ruben.

“Can we not ask His Majesty the Emperor to collect the divine relics?”

“That… Imperial Father borrowed Felix’s divine relic once before. Because of that, he has been giving Felix a trade tax reduction for over twenty years. To give a price to five kingdoms and bring back the divine relics, the support of the Dukes, Marquises, and Counts is absolutely necessary, but the Duchies adjacent to the five kingdoms are the Widro, Kiadris, and Yeldiders Duchies…”

“…Ah.”

“…It would have been nice if we at least had a token.”

If only we could have dragged the god along, it would have been nice.

The Cieron Empire believed in gods roughly. There were many who believed in gods, but there were even more who didn’t. Even those who believed in gods only stopped at being grateful that the gods created the world; they didn’t say the gods would save them. This was because many humans were already living helping other humans.

So, the people of the Cieron Empire rarely prayed to gods. I grew up like that too. In the time it takes to pray once, we drank tea with relatives and played with friends. I did that, Marianne did that, and most of the numerous professors at the Cieron Academy did that too.

Because they didn’t believe in gods, the number of people who heard oracles was small. Because the number was small, they distrusted the words of those who spoke oracles. The temple was merely a volunteer organization where those based on self-sacrifice helped people, and revering gods was just one of the traditional rituals passed down for a long time.

Even if the 2nd Prince, who unexpectedly visited the desert once, said he saw a god directly, who would believe those words?

The probability of being criticized and asked if his mind had gone strange is significantly high.

Our group was eleven people.

It wasn’t a bad number of people for crossing the desert and training, but it was a small enough number that we could align our stories at any time. Furthermore, five of them are mercenaries known to accept any request for money, two of them possess merely a Baron title, and the rest are just young kids who haven’t graduated from the academy long ago.

To receive the Emperor’s help, circumstantial evidence commensurate with that was needed.

However, we have nothing.

That many martial artists were dragged to the mountains, but the remaining traces were all trivial things.

The disappearance of the Cieron Imperial Knights was a very huge incident, but if they trusted their own skills, divided their numbers, climbed the Unique Mountain Range, and were attacked by a large-scale swarm of monsters, their deaths could be discussed regardless of their high or low skills.

Owen’s mercenaries being kidnapped was Owen’s problem, and Cieron couldn’t meddle as it pleased. It was a matter involving Owen’s high nobles. Unless the Owen Royal Family reached out their hands first, we couldn’t act as we pleased.

Secretly infiltrating mansions tightly wrapped in various magics was something we had struggled with. We can’t confidently demand the divine relics, nor can we secretly rob the royal castles. No solution could be seen at all.

While we were doing that for a long time, the mercenary captain Leon, who subtly approached this side, started a conversation.

“It would be better to eat first and ponder more.”

“…Right. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

When did they finish setting up all the tents?

Under the thick star clusters, we sat around holding a piping hot bowl each. From nearby, the sound of camels drinking water was heard continuously. The sound of spirits laughing resembled the sound of valley water flowing.

Finely crushed jerky added seasoning, and the black bread dissolved well in the hot broth, making it soft and pleasant in texture. Hot and fluffy potatoes mashed in the mouth. I silently moved my spoon.

One of the mercenaries sharing the table with us subtly opened her mouth.

“I’ve been on the pilgrimage route twenty times alone, but this is my first time seeing a real god. Is it because I came with the Prince after all…?”

It was Anne.

I thought she was saying something carefree, but I didn’t want to reply abrasively to a joke she made with effort to lighten the mood. I just smiled bitterly and let it pass. John, who had scooped a large ladle of stew from the pot to refill his bowl, took those words.

“Right, it really was exactly… as soon as I saw him, I thought, ‘Ah, this is a god’.”

“I rather thought, ‘Ah, this is a noble’.”

“…Mm?”

“Well… honestly, it’s someone else’s business.”

“What?”

Everyone was surprised by Giselle’s words.

I stopped eating and lifted my head to look. All the other children were the same. Giselle seemed flustered to have gathered everyone’s gaze, but she docilely set her eating bowl down on her lap and continued speaking softly.

“Everyone, without hesitating even once, said we have to save the captured people… I’m just amazed you are doing that right now. Well, those high above saving and killing and leading people, well… things like that. Honestly, I… didn’t quite believe it.”

“…That is.”

“Actually, I thought a god, whatever it is, wouldn’t help.”

Giselle was lankily tall.

She said she had been tall and had a good build since she was young, and thanks to mercenaries praising her bone structure and helping her, she came to hold a sword. Her life was filled with swords and monsters, mercenary work and gold coins, and beer.

It was unfamiliar for her to say words that weren’t trivial jokes or casually tossed laughs. Perhaps because of that, uncharacteristically for her, the ends of her words were trembling a lot.

“Since I’ve lived without ever hearing an oracle, and never believed in gods… Besides, that god… he only looked at you guys and didn’t look at us at all, you know. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] That was a bit… Did I dislike it? I felt a bit… like that.”

“…”

“Ah, what am I saying. The god didn’t answer because I didn’t speak up first. I was just scared… Anyway, that’s how it is. It’s nice that you are all great people. I hope you resolve everything well and become even higher and greater people.”

That was right.

Right after finding out the breath of the captured people was still attached, we naturally engrossed ourselves in finding a way to save them. We didn’t think it was time to distinguish whether the opponent was a god or a magical creature. We pondered this and that, thinking we must dig up a way to save even a part of them somehow.

We considered it our, my, duty to do. Because that was how we learned at the Cieron Academy.

…It is a major mistake that I didn’t even think to listen to the opinions of the mercenaries who experienced the event together.

Ruben, who was thinking quietly, spoke in a highly sweet voice. Even I hadn’t heard a voice this sweet more than a few times. Its exceedingly docile and whispering tone somehow made both my ears and chest feel ticklish.

“I was so distracted I forgot to ask for your understanding. I made a mistake.”

“Pardon? No, no, it’s not like you did anything wrong. I was just a bit surprised, thinking, ‘Ah, there are people who think this way’. Just being able to think so naturally… ‘I will save the world’, things like that, it’s just amazing…”

“No, it’s true that our strength alone is lacking. We need your help just to cross the desert right now. So, I have something I want to ask.”

Ruben’s slender eyes curved warmly.

Giselle, facing that face, made a clack sound of her spoon hitting the wooden bowl.

However, I am the only one paying mind to her cheeks becoming a bit red. Everyone quietly waited for what Ruben was going to say. Ruben asked in a still exceedingly sweet voice.

“Between continuing the pilgrimage to find a god we might not know, and returning to the Owen land to look for traces of the divine relic, which do you want to do more?”

“…Yes?”

“As said, because I am a Prince of the Cieron Empire, I cannot stand still when Imperial citizens are threatened with their lives. So, I think my temper will only be satisfied if I try my best as much as I can.”

Anne grabbed Giselle’s hand, which she was flailing without realizing it.

The two mercenary women tightly held hands and looked this way. Seeing the lanky child and the skinny child leaning against each other with sparkling eyes made me feel heart-warming. Ruben continued his words in a calm tone.

“However, you too are Cieron Imperial citizens whom I must protect and cherish. So, I intend to follow your will. If there truly is such a thing as destiny, and that destiny helps me… you guys could become the key to saving the world.”

“…Surely not.”

“I say this sincerely.”

Giselle pondered for a long time.

She fiddled with every joint of Anne’s right hand tightly grasped in both her hands, pressed down hard on the back of that hand and unable to do that, she grabbed the ends of her own hair and chewed on them.

Then she sharply turned her head and looked at Leon.

“Originally, the Captain decides things like this. The White Lion Mercenary Corps will follow the Captain’s words.”

“Huh?”

“You said so before. That if there’s anything we don’t know, ask the Captain everything!”

“No, that’s what you…!”

It was my first time seeing Leon open his eyes this wide.

The eyes that were opened wide soon narrowed like usual. The guy scratched his hair roughly with one hand and looked around here and there. And he let out deep sighs. He tapped the floor with his heels and swallowed a groaning sound deep in his throat.

“…The pilgrimage route is, actually, a place we used to frequent anyway… So, it’s a path we know well. That what is it, if the Sandworm suddenly appearing and things like that was that god’s prank, it seems it will be fine from now on.”

“Right.”

“But also, since people are being kidnapped blindly right now in Owen, and most of them are said to be mercenaries… I am concerned about it. Well, it’s not my business what happens to other mercenary corps guys, and there are more guys I don’t know the faces of, but…. still, we’re in the same industry.”

“Mm.”

“Uh, also… Right now, um… From this Oasis here to the stone statue of the First Goddess’s head isn’t very far.”

The guy deeply covered his face with his large hand. His shoulders heaved high and then slumped down with a Phew. Even though he rubbed it roughly with his coarse hands, his skin was so thick it didn’t even turn red.

“Can we just go up to there, and then give you our answer?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

It was an astoundingly refreshing answer.