Chapter 357

On the red-hot, melting ground, only one massive Makrir and our group remained, enduring the silence.

A god, they said?

The Oasis had a size and appearance similar to a human. So it was easy to face him. That smooth and glossy face was hateful, but what was scary was that he didn’t breathe or have a presence; his appearance was perfectly fine.

However, the Makrir right in front of us right now was different.

If you attached legs to the Magic Tower, would it look like this.

Even granted its thick and massive upper part, the roots attached right below it looked like hundreds of vines tangled together. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Watching the massive and dense vines squirming squirm, squirm through the sand like a living forest, I couldn’t step closer, terrified I might be eaten alive just like this.

Ruber hesitantly stepped forward one pace. I reflexively extended my arm in front of the child to stop him, but the child placed his hand on his chest with a polite gesture and offered a greeting in a calm tone.

“It is an honor to meet you like this. I am always receiving great virtue from the Sun’s grace.”

[….]

Looking at the opponent who didn’t answer, this time I asked.

“Are you the God of the Sun?”

[Humans called me so.]

Even with the benevolent and gentle voice, my mind didn’t easily settle. Not only me, but all the other guys didn’t let go of the weapons they held in their hands.

Then, the Makrir slowly lowered its body.

Startled, I looked at the left branch extending this way. As is common with a Makrir’s branches, several thick thorns were embedded with wide spaces between them on the plump green cactus.

[Get on. It would be better to finish our talk at my castle.]

However, no one took a step.

It was because I, standing at the very front, raised my arm and stopped them.

I pulled Ruben back behind me again. To docilely follow those words, there was still something heavily weighing on my mind. Trying not to let out a sigh, I forced my voice out.

“…Is there a reason you specifically shun this child?”

[….]

That’s right.

The God of the Sun didn’t answer Ruben’s polite greeting. The Third God also stopped smiling as soon as he saw Ruben. If there was any matter harmful to Ruben, how could we enter that guy’s den with our minds at ease.

The opponent is a god, and might have a talent for scraping out and looking into my insides.

So I deliberately didn’t hide my wary attitude.

I was worried my appearance, growling like a tiger harboring its cub, might look ridiculous. I was afraid, not knowing if showing a wary appearance outwardly was the right choice. Since I couldn’t see the opponent’s expression, I couldn’t know what kind of inner thoughts he harbored.

Ruben grabbed my wrist and pulled, trying to stop me. But I didn’t budge. Behind my back, I also heard the sound of several guys swallowing boiling groans. I opened my eyes wide and looked up at the Makrir.

The red flower blooming high up there on the top of its head rustled like clouds in the passing wind.

Hah. Was it a sighing sound? Or was it the sound of the wind?

The god, who had been quiet for a moment, returned an answer in a still calm tone.

[…It’s not like that. That child…. because traces of that child remain.]

“That child?”

[The human born the very first. Although most children born in Cieron are like that, this child is exceptionally…. resembles that child. So it’s just that bad memories came to mind.]

“….”

[It’s not that I hate him. If so, I wouldn’t have called you, and I wouldn’t have thought of bringing you into my domain like this. Do not worry about such things.]

…Ruben is?

Ruber is…. the Prince of the most massive Empire on this continent.

I continuously heard the story that he inherited divine blood. I heard and knew that it wasn’t just inherited through flesh and blood, but an operation of some divine power, but I didn’t feel it realistically.

Ruben opened his mouth in a calm tone.

The child was standing half a pace behind my left side. Every time Ruben spoke, my ear kept tickling, but I suppressed it firmly.

“…Am I, the reincarnation of the… first human?”

[Reincarnation? It would have been rather nice if you could maintain such an intact soul. However…. it is true that you are a large fragment of it. Although I wonder what meaning that has now….]

The Makrir, no, the God of the Sun, offered again in a calm voice.

[The path you have to go is far. Let’s go comfortably.]

Only then did I look back. A few of the group were sitting down, and a few more were rubbing their faces with their hands. Right in front of my eyes, the guys put away their weapons one by one.

I held onto a thorn soaring like a spire and helped the other guys comfortably climb onto the Makrir’s massive branch. Even though everyone could easily jump up to this height, they deliberately climbed using both hands and feet.

When climbing onto the god’s body, the only guy committing the disrespect of strongly stomping his feet without caring about etiquette was Elwin alone. The God of the Sun didn’t make an issue of his attitude like that.

He just straightened his body fully after confirming the group members were safely gathered and seated.

The children covered their mouths one by one. Unbearable exclamations leaked out through their fingers.

Right, it was an exceedingly magnificent sight.

In an instant, the earth receded far away down below.

I saw the Jiangshis squirming like sesame seeds on the path we had passed so far. Looking down at such a fist-sized world, I felt I could understand why the gods were so arrogant. Would there be anything that looked big to their eyes.

The God of the Sun didn’t speak further. He just walked at a slow speed in the direction we intended to go. The Jiangshis struck by the massive roots at his feet were hit this way and that and disappeared. Watching the guys collapsing as if they never existed from the beginning, I felt body heat tightly gripping my hand.

Was he perhaps scared. Out of concern, I intertwined my fingers with Ruben’s hand and held it.

Until the deep night passed, and the bright sun rose high.

******

Fatigue accumulated, but no one could fall asleep.

Terrified of falling off each other, everyone was gripping onto one thorn each. Even if they say a Makrir’s movements are like a sliding snake, because the height was what it was, we couldn’t ease our minds. ‘What if the god sneezes and we all fly far away at this rate’, I even had such vain thoughts.

While everyone was sitting, Leon alone was standing. Holding onto a Makrir’s thorn with one hand and his axe with the other, I wondered what he was thinking while staring at a distant place, when the guy suddenly opened his mouth and informed us.

“We are almost there. Over there, I can see the holy site of the Sun.”

“…Mm.”

It looked as if gold had been melted and poured into a castle-shaped mold.

The smooth castle without a single joint shone brilliantly receiving the sunlight. There were three high-soaring horns; the middle one was high and the ones on both sides were low. Whether crystals were embedded or jewels were sprinkled, it reflected tens of thousands of lights and flashed brightly. It was such a splendid appearance that you couldn’t open your eyes and look at it directly.

Of course, the 2nd Prince’s palace where Ruben lived was also decorated with golden reliefs, but it didn’t pour gold completely like this.

I narrowed my brow at the useless luxury, then also had the thought, ‘Did this god directly make that gold too’. I stopped the vain thoughts that kept surging up abruptly.

As the abruptly approaching holy site of the Sun came close right under our noses, only then did the God of the Sun subtly look back this way.

I don’t know if the head of the cactus without eyes, nose, or mouth bending toward this side fits the word ‘looked’, but anyway, the god spoke kindly toward us.

[Prepare to get down now.]

Just as he said, the branch of the Makrir we had climbed on slowly lowered down at a slow speed.

Since he told us to get down, we got down, and it was right in front of the high-soaring main gate.

What should I say at a time like this? The quietness was awkward, so I offered a stiff greeting of gratitude.

“…That, thank you for your hard work.”

I didn’t know why Ruben tightly gripped my hand, nor did I know why Marianne glared at me.

Was it because it wasn’t much different from a greeting of gratitude given to a coachman. However, I didn’t know what else I should say to express gratitude for bringing us this far.

“Tha-at, yes. See you in a moment.”

“Thank you.”

Thanks to the mercenaries seeing that sight and also adding stiff greetings one by one, I eased my mind.

The god, who looked down at us for a long time, acted affectionately in a tone not much different from a moment ago.

[I have left all the doors open. Come slowly.]

Then he moved away about five paces at his pace and planted his roots. A Makrir’s roots coming out and moving, and going in rummaging through the sand again, was not a sight one could commonly see either.

Everyone blankly stared at that side, then looked at the opened main gate again.

One by one, like waking up from sleeping inside a carriage on a long journey, they stretched and loosened their bodies.

Smooth without a single decorating relief, the massive door was dazzlingly golden both inside and out.

Without a sound of ‘Let’s go’, we moved our steps inside.

On both sides of the main road, massive enough that thirty people could enter standing side-by-side, several pillars stood. On both sides of the pillars, gardens molded from sand were loud. The sunlight, the castle walls, and the sand reflecting the golden light of the pillars shone like gold, confusing the eyes.

The red carpet laid out long to the front there informed us of the path to go.

I was curious if there was any meaning to having only a floor and pillars without a ceiling, but every time I opened my mouth to ask, Leon raised his index finger in front of his mouth and made a snake sound, so I gave up.

Come to think of it, I remembered hearing once that they perform silent asceticism at the holy site of the Sun.

…But then, how can we ask the things we are curious about?

Should I use telepathy and ask everything on their behalf? However, among the various questions the children chattered about, I remembered some, but couldn’t remember some at all. Since he is the God of the Sun who gave us a ride this far, I only hoped he would be a bit more generous to our group.

We stood in front of the door placed at the end of the main road.

It was a straight and smooth door not different from the main gate in the slightest. In Cieron and the five kingdoms too, it was common to attach various embossed sculptures to all doors and decorate them splendidly. Was that why. The door here looked more like a wall with a crack rather than a door.

Leon, who abruptly stepped out in front of the quietly standing group, bowed three times in front of it and pushed the door.

Inside the soundlessly opened door, dozens of fist-sized Makrirs stood up all at once.

This seemed to be something that originally didn’t happen. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] As I stood watching Leon’s shoulders flinch and stiffen, one of the Makrirs, which barely reached our knees at best, toddled and stood in front of the group.

And it jumped up and down and spun round and round.

…Is it telling us to follow?

The big one was terrible, but the small one is cute. Do Makrir cubs originally act like young beasts like this? I was curious if these guys also ate snacks separately when they were young, but since I couldn’t open my mouth, I just felt frustrated.

I kept it in my mind, thinking I should subtly ask this too when I see the god again later.