Chapter 384

⁠⁠The God of the Sun could specify and examine those who believed in him. In the Indus Canyon, he might not have seen us because the shadow of the ninth god was deep. However, the sun scatters its light in Yulan too. How could he say he didn’t see me?

Is that also because I have a soul that crossed over from another world. But wearing the body of this land, how could that be. I was greatly troubled by this and that thought.

Marianne, even with a half-crying voice, methodically continued speaking.

“Since Prince Ruber was heading towards Yulan, I waited thinking he would at least send some news…. Just hearing the Prince’s voice, I could exactly hear ‘Michael is veeery fine!’. If you’re perfectly alive you should go a bit faster, why did you crawl like that? When you’re good at running. Making people worry.”

“….”

I unintentionally swallowed back the words I was about to say, I’m sorry, I did wrong. A Ranunculus was a magical creature incapable of two-way communication. Marianne, who sniffled for a moment, regained her vigorous voice and bravely continued speaking.

“Benjamin, Leon, John, Giselle, and I are all five safe. There are no hurt places either. The God of the Sun said he felt sorry for us and gave us each an extra fruit, so we got to eat them. You’re jealous, right? Now among the 5th Circle mages of Cieron, there won’t be a single person who can handle a larger amount of Mana than me.”

….

Should we have gone towards the holy site of the Sun even if it was a bit hard?

A very brief feeling of regret arose. Ruben glanced at such a me and overlapped his hand over mine. Right, blindly stuffing in elixirs rather harms the body. Feeling embarrassed for being pointlessly greedy, I coughed dryly once.

“Since we were cohabiting with a god, we asked a bit more of this and that. After almost dying once, I was angry wondering if he pushed us into a place like that without explanation, so I pressed him a bit.”

“…”

“But the God of the Sun said that since Oasis and the first goddess are currently in the Demonic Realm looking for the ninth god, he thought it would be relatively safe. Since gods are holding onto gods, he thought what remained would be a fight between human and human.”

Gods did not necessarily have to be stuck to their sources. The source was an existence, not shackles.

The God of the Sun manifested in the form of a Makrir and carried us around. The God of Records just left the lake and wandered the world in human form. The reason the God of Oasis couldn’t leave the oasis was merely to protect my soul fragment, and as soon as he handed the soul fragment over to me, he promptly left for the Demonic Realm.

Also, our group members were all counted among the strong. If the black mage bastards hadn’t made the bad move of collapsing the cave while escaping using bizarre magic, we wouldn’t have been scattered in all directions like this.

The thought of the God of the Sun, who said he thought it was a fight between human and human, is not wrong either.

“Moreover, it’s said that originally a god’s source is usually planted leaning on nature, so it can’t just move in an instant and things like that. This Indus Canyon was also originally something the God of the Sun had, but the ninth god took it away as he pleased, right. He said that originally shouldn’t happen, and it’s something that cannot happen.”

The holy site of the Sun had never moved even once since this continent was created.

Even the God of Oasis, the most capricious among the gods, took over three hundred years to pull the waterway up, up from the middle of the Saturn Desert and place it in the northern part of the Saturn Desert. The goddess’s head stone statue, the Saras River, and the Lake of Memories have been stuck in their places without moving for well over eight hundred years.

It was an explanation that the power of the source disappearing at once from the ninth god’s source, hastily made in at most five years, was incomprehensible.

Because of this, the God of the Sun was also just exceedingly dumbfounded, and words continued at length that he does not know by what method the ninth god’s source left the Indus Canyon, nor where he set up the next source.

This continent was made by tearing apart the bodies of gods. It was said that because the energy of all the gods spreads throughout the whole world, before a source declaration is made, it is difficult to know where the source has been planted. I remembered hearing a similar sound before as well.

“So when I pressed and asked if a source can be made without a source declaration, he said yes. He says conversation between gods is just no different from issuing an oracle. If one hears it, ignores it, and doesn’t answer, there’s no method to press and ask.”

“….”

“Just telling a nearby god, ‘This is my land so you can’t come in now, nyah nyah’, is the source declaration. Absurd, right? Me too. Because there’s no other god he can contact right now, the God of the Sun looked like he was going to die from frustration. What’s the point of pressing him more, I just figured that’s how it is.”

“….”

“If there’s anything else you’re curious about, he says if you pray very earnestly to the God of the Sun, he might hear it…. He says actually the probability of not hearing it is higher. Because there are too many people praying to the god, the voices overlap a lot, apparently. Well, think about that later….”

Marianne’s voice, which had been chattering talkatively, sank slightly. The Ranunculus fluttered its wings once. Did Marianne change her posture. Or did her expression change greatly. I peered into it quietly with concern.

“Right now, the Indus Canyon is entirely out of balance as corrupted Mana densely filled in and then drained out, so they say they don’t know when or what might collapse again. So I don’t think we can cross straight over to Yulan. As soon as we send this Ranunculus, we are going to go to Felix.”

“….”

“Since the number of Jiangshis has also decreased a bit, I don’t think it will be difficult. First we will go to where Senior Hugh is, so if you’re coming come this way, or else send the next Ranunculus there. But if possible…. I want to talk face to face.”

“….”

“I miss you, Michael. There are so, so, so! terribly many things I want to say, I think I’ll really go crazy. So stay healthy and let’s meet quickly. Prince, please take care of your body too. Then bye!”

The Ranunculus fluttered its wings as if showing off that it finished all the tasks it had to do.

On behalf of me, who stiffened bothered by Marianne’s final greeting, Ruben unraveled his Mana and fed the Ranunculus. While I was blankly watching that sight, the child placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Mika.”

“…Yes.”

“Should we give up the divine relic and go straight to Felix? It’s fine even if we do.”

“….”

Instead of giving an answer immediately, I asked back astounded.

“Then what about the divine relic.”

“We can just tell the other people to look for it.”

“….”

As if.

The divine relic is something that only Ruber, who inherited the divine blood, can completely distinguish. Also, because this Yulan is a place where the hands of the Kiadris Duchy and the Yeldiders Duchy reach a lot, there were few trustworthy Aura or Mana users.

Was my expression so messed up for Ruben to worry this much. I let out a long sigh. Unable to make Ruben worry more, I forced myself to control my heart. I wrapped my hand over the hand placed on my shoulder and shook my head.

Soothing Marianne is something I can do slowly. I wanted to do in advance the things I can do before sending Ruber to the capital.

“It’s fine. Because that guy is brave…. and Benjamin is stuck by her side.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. Because I told her a lot of this and that story since the Academy days, she is just looking for me. It seems she will talk a bit about Glotin Tenor…. It’s fine to listen a little slowly and soothe her. Since she is a clever child, she will be fine as time passes.”

“….”

“Just like Ruben said, I want to meet the royals of Yulan first. If there doesn’t seem to be even a slight possibility of finding the divine relic, it will be fine to head to Felix then.”

“…Right, let’s do that. Waiting for the Ranunculus from the capital and Widro too.”

“Yes.”

The pancakes I received for breakfast were all cold and stiff, so they were tasteless. However, neither Ruben nor I complained and finished the meal. I also unfailingly took the medicine the child packed for me. We met the quack once more. Hearing my schedule, the guy changed it to a slightly lighter splint and attached it.

In the remaining time, sitting side-by-side with Ruben, we gathered and examined various folktale collections about the blue turtle and the golden turtle. Because we spread out a bunch of thick and thin books on the bed, we lacked space, so unavoidably I had to sit closely stuck to Ruben.

While reading the books, Ruben occasionally put the tip of his nose to the side of my face by my ear and smiled *wrinkle*. Every time Ruben swallowed his breath, it tickled making the back of my knees tingle. Wondering if I had acted like this towards Ruben all this time, I felt greatly embarrassed inwardly.

*******

The Ivan couple, who had vacated their seats all day the previous day, returned.

Ivan, who requested time from Ruben, was sitting with his spouse tightly tucked in his side. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Watching that sight, I subtly examined Ruben’s mood. Ruben, who had been looking at the Ivan couple with an unbothered face, puzzledly looked back at me and smiled.

…No matter how I thought about it, I wondered if that Ivan guy misunderstood on his own, but unable to point and ask, I held it in.

After observing simple etiquette, Ivan immediately brought up the reason he vacated his seat for the whole day.

“I made an appointment with Marquis Anton Murray.”

“If it’s Marquis Murray…. Of the second Royal Consort?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…What do you mean second?”

I immediately asked. Even though Ivan’s eyes met mine, he did not open his mouth. While Ivan Bikoff waited quietly with his eyes cast down, Ruben added an explanation in an affectionate voice.

“The King of Yulan let her first husband leave through bereavement in five years.”

“…Was it political strife?”

“For now, no. The first Royal Consort was said to be a beautiful and extravagant person. Even after becoming the Royal Consort, he went hunting five times a year, and apparently suffered a horse-riding accident before five years had passed since the royal wedding.”

“….”

“So among the five children of the Yulan Royal Family, the first and second are children born with the first husband. From the third are children born with the current Royal Consort, the second son of the Marquis Murray family.”

“…Mm.”

He caught a bigshot. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] However, Ivan currently possesses a Baron title, so how did he hook such a big guy right away. It was puzzling and fascinating. Containing a commendable feeling, I stared at Ivan fixedly.

Then the guy gestured with his eyes at my hand.

Hand? What. …Grab it? What? Unwittingly, as the guy commanded, I wrapped and grasped the hand of Ruber sitting next to me.

After confirming Ruben held my hand back, Ivan faced me directly and explained in a calm voice.

“Because the figures of the Intelligence Bureau of the Imperial Nobility Almanac mostly act under disguised identities, it is difficult to receive a noble title of another country. Lower titles can be bought with money, but the unique intuition and solidarity of those who have lived in one area for a long time cannot be ignored.”

“…So?”

“However, I am a noble from the Empire. Even if my title is low, I am the fourth son of a Viscount family, possess a Baron title of the Empire, and even if only in name, I am the owner of a decent merchant guild. There is no Yulanite who can treat a Cieron Academy graduate Imperial noble poorly.”

“…Mm.”

“Since a mere merchant cannot come and go in Yulan’s Royal Castle, wouldn’t we have to lure the young royals outside? So I sought out Marquis Murray first. It just so happens we have a decent bait too.”

“Bait?”

“Isn’t the 2nd Prince here? It just so happens he is still unmarried too.”

What?