Chapter 342

Marianne squeezed out tears and laughed for a long time. Laughing heartily, she didn’t give the answer I asked for, making me burn with anxiety. It was only after I urged her several more times that she finally opened her mouth. How much she had laughed, her face was red and tears were welling up in her eyes; the sight was truly astonishing.

Marianne, still smiling radiantly, repeatedly pressed and wiped the corners of her eyes with her left hand.

“That’s, ah. The one who provoked him first was the Prince.”

“…Provoked him?”

She just smiled slyly and wouldn’t answer again. Feeling so astounded I was urging her, I felt a gaze and immediately lifted my head, it was Ruben. The guy, smiling with his eyes narrowed as always, nodded his head. I also subtly raised one hand to shoulder height and waved it gently a couple of times.

As soon as Ruben’s gaze dropped, I immediately asked again.

“What do you mean by that, Ruben did what to Bill?”

“Ah… I feel like I’ll get scolded by the Prince if I say this.”

“Haven’t you practically said it all already?”

“Still, Senior Ruber is scarier than Mika.”

Is it because my past life, where the young ones always found me difficult and feared me, vividly came to mind? Marianne teasing me coyly even felt unfair. I let out a deep sigh once, feigned dignity, and pressed her for an answer again.

“Am I not scary?”

“Honestly?”

“…”

The answer I hoped for came from beside her.

“…He told him to back off and not waste his energy on useless things, apparently.”

Benjamin, who had been watching what I was doing, wiped his mouth wet from coughing with the back of his hand and spat out a word. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] However, even after hearing it, I was only puzzled and just blinked my eyes without understanding it immediately. It was because I thought neither Ruben nor Bill were guys who would use such rough language.

“…Who did?”

“Ah, who do you think? They say the Prince called Young Master Brown over and said that.”

“…Ruben did? To that guy? …Why?”

“Why do you think?”

…Why? No, you’re saying it’s because of me?

I felt like I knew but didn’t, and felt like I didn’t know but could guess something. However, unable to be certain, I stared intently at Benjamin. Benjamin explained in a tone heavily steeped with a sigh.

“Since Michael doesn’t like loud and violent people like Bill Brown, it probably meant he should exercise self-restraint. That it’s uncomfortable to watch from the side.”

“That is… a true statement, isn’t it?”

“Uung, but to that, Young Master Brown.”

What did that guy do?

Marianne smiled radiantly and continued speaking.

“Apparently he asked back if the Prince had the right to say such a thing. Saying he would take care of his own matters well himself.”

…A day I had long forgotten came to mind.

After a certain intermediate swordsmanship class ended, there was a time I had a conversation with Ruben about Bill Brown suddenly becoming quiet. I remembered praising Ruben and stroking his head because it was so cute how he acted coy, saying he had reasoned with Bill well.

I thought he had just reasoned with him quietly, but had they actually fought and come back.

“Perhaps he just informed him as a senior…”

“Weeell.”

Marianne showed a comical expression like someone dying to tease me.

“Anyway, that day Bill went to Benjamin here and tattled, and the Prince came to me and told me. And then Benjamin came to me with that… It was an absolute mess!”

“…No, why would those guys amongst themselves…”

“It’s because Michael is too popular, that’s why.”

But Bill Brown is…

…As the Pang family guy’s broadly smiling face came to mind, my insides felt completely uncomfortable for some reason.

Before knowing Ruben, I had never once thought that I would come to like a man. To think that fully grown guys looked at me with that meaning, and even growled at each other over me, made me feel incredibly distressed.

That wasn’t the only thing making my heart uncomfortable.

I placed my gaze on Ruben’s straight back far away.

It would have been better if I had come to like Ruben first. Thinking about the child suffering heartache alone, engrossed in this and that thought, and feeling upset getting bumped by a useless guy, made me feel so sorry I didn’t know what to do with myself. If I had known in advance that I would come to cherish Ruben like this, I would have been a little more…

…Although I wonder what I could have done anyway, still, wouldn’t I have conducted myself even more properly so he wouldn’t suffer needlessly.

I just let out deep sighs. Marianne subtly poked her head out towards me and whispered.

“Besides Young Master Bill Brown, aren’t you curious?”

“Were there other incidents like that?”

“A lot.”

“…That is enough.”

Even if I hear this, it would be right to hear it from Ruben. Seeing him bring up the story of Bill this time, it seems he intends to unravel the things he was disappointed about one by one. I should soothe him well each time.

Since I was late to realize, I must treat him well; I firmly made up my mind like that.

The white, fine sand scattered crisply. At the edge of the Unique Mountain Range visible far away, something indistinguishable whether it was Mana or fog was thickly gathered, making it difficult to discern with the naked eye.

Excluding that single gigantic mountain, all directions were entirely filled with sand so bright it made the eyes ache.

At first, I was someone who thought my insides felt refreshed looking at the wide-open scenery. However, now I somehow feel at a loss, making it difficult to even open my mouth. Under the cloudless blue sky, half of everything was entirely white and shining, but no matter how much I walked and walked, the end couldn’t be seen. It was to the point of being amazed how the guys stepping up as guides found the path.

Then Elwin, who was going at the very front, stopped abruptly. The rest also stuck close one by one.

“We have arrived.”

“Here? But there’s nothing.”

Come to think of it, the Sylphs hadn’t been seen since a certain moment. Wondering where they went after buzzing around and bothering people like that, I enhanced my eyesight and observed. Those sparrow-like guys were floating in mid-air in that distant place, joyfully waving their hands as if telling us to come here.

I wasn’t the only one who saw that sight. Everyone stepped down from their camels in turn, the feeling of stepping down was strange.

The one who slid down smoothly first was Elwin. After him, Marianne sat on her shawl using it as a sled and went down. The rest of the group also grabbed their camel reins tightly and chased after the children.

As soon as we stepped down from the round, high hill, we were overwhelmed.

A very large eye was seen first. A moist aura was lingering as if it were alive. No, it wasn’t. A bizarre Mana… It was a very gigantic sculpture with divine power swirling whitely around it.

It was so intricate that every single eyelash could be counted.

Stepping back a couple of paces, it could be seen a bit more clearly. Only at this point did I realize that what we had climbed up on was the right earlobe and the edge of the Goddess statue’s hair.

The face, buried diagonally in the sandbank by half centering on the bridge of the nose, was cut off right below the shoulders, and the head, neck, and the cut area below the shoulders were covered with voluminous-looking hair, making the sculpture look like a hill.

The grains of sand resting on it flowed down softly like a waterfall.

Every single strand of that hair had a rough texture. It looked as if the sand of this wide desert was pressed down firmly, hardened, and made into one lump. The harmonious sculpture made of sand of exactly the same color as the surrounding sand looked incredible enough to evoke everyone’s awe.

They said the First Goddess is currently north of the Unique Mountain Range, right.

I was incredibly curious whether a god directly created and erected this shape, or if a person who revered the god kneaded it. If it was the former, it would be somewhat understandable, but if it was the latter, I thought that human too deserved to be called a god.

After quietly letting a few more breaths flow like that, I regained my senses.

The mercenaries, who must have already seen the Goddess statue several times even if they were seeing it now, stood aside in a corner with faint smiles on their faces. On the other hand, the children who came with me, Ruben, Marianne, and Benjamin, those three couldn’t take their eyes off the Goddess stone statue. Their sparkling eyes were so cute I also smiled like the mercenaries.

Unexpectedly, Elwin immediately brought his hands together in front of it and murmured a short prayer. It was still a language resembling the sound of the wind. Having never seen his devout appearance even once, I wondered what on earth he was saying and looked at Hugh Benson first.

Clicking his tongue, the guy murmured for us while keeping his gaze on the Goddess statue.

“Just, asking to keep us safe in the future. It’s similar to what you do when you eat.”

“…Aah.”

“Anyway, it really is crazily huge… I feel like it would have been more amazing if we came without knowing some things.”

“Without knowing what?”

Hugh Benson replied with a casual face as always. However, seeing him unable to take his eyes off the stone statue while doing so, I figured this sight must look quite incredible to him too.

“They say this Goddess statue is originally what the god used as a body and left behind, right. Many people used to say that’s nonsense, asking if a god is an insect to molt or something, and that someone from ancient times must have just made it. But since we saw that guy called Oasis or whatever.”

“…Ah.”

“Did a real god use it as a body, I just think that if something this big roamed around, it would have been impossible not to believe in gods.”

Then Leon, who was standing over there, subtly offered advice.

“Yes. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] So… Originally, when people come here on a pilgrimage, everyone prays first. Like a fountain where you make wishes, wanting and hoping for this and that, and offering words of gratitude…”

“Mm.”

“Then shall we do it too? Make a wish.”

As soon as Marianne finished speaking, she quickly clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

The guy who chattered that everything called a god is all the laws of physics throughout our academy days was now gone. Seeing Marianne mumbling seriously with an exceedingly devout attitude, Benjamin also joined his hands next to her and started praying together.

Ruben also gazed at the Goddess statue with a somewhat overwhelmed face for a moment, then closed his eyes and brought his hands together. The mercenaries also started praying one by one with smiling faces. I too clasped my hands and closed my eyes.

There is only one thing I earnestly hope for right now.

If a god truly can hear this prayer right now, I hoped they would grant every single thing Ruben wants. Saving all the captured people, becoming the Emperor of the new land, and whatever it may be, fixing the world correctly…

…I hoped the feelings he harbored for me would not change.