Ch.53 Apostle of the Goddess of War
They left behind their brief rest in Foils. Sion departed as rchants from Foils ca to see him off, and despite his repeated refusals, he received a generous amount of gold.
The road toward Elim was no longer filled with tension and anxiety.
On the faces of those who had been imprisoned and drained of blood by the Blood Cult, a faint sense of relief now settled.
‘Now they can finally breathe easy.’
Sion smiled, delighted to see people gradually regaining their smiles.
The journey back was exhilarating, and his steps felt light.
The scenery of Elim, seen for the first ti in a month, felt like returning to a hotown long missed.
As they approached the outskirts of Elim, unfamiliar sights began to appear before Sion’s eyes.
The first thing that caught his attention was the sight of people bustling about on the newly rising city walls.
These walls had once been nothing more than dilapidated, crumbling ruins. But not anymore.
As if trying to reclaim the forr glory of a war’s heartland and a sacred battlefield, the entire city wall slowly rose anew.
Sturdy wooden supports were added to collapsed sections, and several parts were actively being reinforced with entirely new stone.
Besides Sion’s returning procession, there were nurous supply caravans arriving from Foils.
Clang! Clang!
The dull sound of hamrs striking echoed rhythmically at the entrance of Elim, brimming with vitality.
“Hoo, is this really Elim?”
Garfenn stroked his chin with interest.
[Amazing. Is this truly my city? Can this really be it!?]
‘Yes, it is Elim, my Goddess.’
[I can’t believe it. Yes, the old image of it appears clearly before my eyes! Ah! The days of old!]
The Goddess Achille wept with emotion. She was the most deeply moved of all, struggling to contain her overwhelming feelings.
‘Please step aside and cry your heart out for a while.’
[May I really do that? Is it truly acceptable to show such an undignified side?]
‘Undignified? No, not at all. These are natural emotions. This grand knight shall close his eyes and ears.’
[My apostle, I feel endlessly apologetic and grateful to you. Sniffle! I’ll be right back. Thank you for your hard work. Garfenn, my child, rest well for now.]
‘Yes, thank you very much.’
Garfenn smiled with closed eyes. The Goddess burst into tears of emotion and vanished.
Passing through the city gate, the changes beca even more apparent.
In one corner of the outer area, land that had once been used as a dumping ground for trash had been neatly cleared and transford into farmland.
A woman, forrly from the Wildflower Cult, humd a tune while planting seeds, and children played nearby, carrying buckets of water.
The air carried a mix of earthy scent and a faint aroma of food, proving this place was no re refuge, but a living village.
“Ah! It’s Sir Sion! Sir Garfenn has returned too!”
A child working in the field spotted Sion and pointed excitedly.
At the sound, every gaze turned toward Sion—the laborers hamring, the woman tilling the soil, even those repairing weapons in the shabby tents.
“Sir Garfenn! Sir Sion! You’ve returned!”
“Looks like you’ve rescued soone again!”
“There are quite a few people here? We’ll need to cook more food.”
“Oh, really? How many are there?”
Sion waved at the Elim believers. Everyone smiled and waved back, welcoming the procession.
In their deanor, there was no longer any vague anxiety or fear. Their eyes sparkled with vitality, the eyes of people building a new ho.
The people following Sion’s procession were stunned.
When they had stayed in Foils, they had been unable to sleep properly due to constant anxiety. The Blood Cult’s hideout had been a living nightmare.
But here, the idyllic scenery stirred deep nostalgic feelings. The scent of ho lingered everywhere.
Seeing the happy Elim believers, a small hope blood in the hearts of those who had recently converted.
Then, a familiar voice ca from the direction of the training ground.
Click!
“I said don’t close your eyes! You greenhorns! Keep your eyes on the wooden sword and either dodge or block it!”
Despite a slightly slurred pronunciation, as if drunk, the voice carried a powerful spirit. It was Bishop Gustein.
Under his loud reprimands, Set and about twenty other young n were sweating profusely while training.
Their stances were clumsy, but clearly, they weren’t just blindly swinging their swords. They were focusing intently on their swords, maintaining their center of gravity as Gustein had taught them.
‘The Order of the War Knight…’
This was the knightly order that Sion and Garfenn had painstakingly conceived. It was still in the planning stages, so it was natural that there wasn’t yet an imdiately deployable fighting force.
But that would change soon.
Their training would soon bear fruit.
Sion had no doubt that these young n would beco blades of pitch-black darkness, shining brightly even in a chaotic world.
Sion asked Garfenn,
“Bishop Gustein used to wield a sword when he was younger, didn’t he?”
“He even applied to beco a knight. But he suffered a serious injury while hunting monsters and had to put down the sword.”
“I see. He’s far more impressive than I imagined…”
“Amazing, isn’t he?”
Garfenn spoke first, voicing what Sion wanted to say.
To serve as a priest in the War Cult, one might think such skill was a necessity.
‘He handles the sword exceptionally well. His movents are clean and efficient.’
In Sion’s eyes, Gustein’s skill was considerable. Ordinary knights would likely be no match for him.
“Every mber of the
Order of the War Knight should at least reach that level.”
“Of course. If you can’t even match a sixty-year-old man, you can’t call yourself a War knight.”
Sion and Garfenn’s standards were strangely warped—extrely high and strict.
Even Bishop Gustein himself didn’t think of himself that way.
Gustein glanced briefly at Sion, then shouted again.
“Enough! That’s all for today. Go and repeat this morning’s training three tis, then finish up. Go!”
“Yes!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Ah, brother! Hey! You’re back!”
Set ran out from behind the training ground, waving his arms at Sion. Sion smiled and waved back at his younger brother.
Everywhere, the scent of human life filled the air. Vital energy surged through the once-dead city. Sion could clearly feel the new life sprouting in Elim.
‘Even during my brief absence, Elim has grown bit by bit.’
The heart of War, once still, was beating again. Hope and possibility had the power to bring life back to people.
‘I must protect Elim at all costs.’
Sion’s determination grew stronger.
***
Reporting duties and situation updates were handled by Garfenn. He and Bishop Gustein entered the office to begin their conversation.
Anna guided the relocated people. Since they were anticipating more new believers and had been expanding housing, there were plenty of vacant hos.
She, who had co from the mine to settle in Elim, had now taken charge of managing the town’s affairs.
Thanks to this, Ruina had more ti at her disposal. She used this ti to learn various things from Bishop Gustein.
War doctrines, history—scholarly knowledge necessary for a priest.
Sion headed to his ho to unpack. It was the house assigned specifically to him and his siblings.
Before leaving, they had temporarily stayed in a shabby building, but during this mission, a neat new house had been built.
It had a red roof, located beneath the church hill.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah. Our ho.”
Ruina gently linked her arm through Sion’s and spoke. Her cheeks were flushed. The words ‘our ho’ felt strangely intimate.
“Wow. It’s well-built. I can’t believe it.”
“Right? Right? The inside is even more amazing! I arranged everything myself. Let’s go in!”
Sion climbed the stairs with anticipation.
“Oh, right. Kaili is sleeping. Let’s be quiet so we don’t wake her.”
“Got it.”
They tiptoed, carefully opened the door, and stepped inside.
A modestly furnished kitchen and living room ca into view. Further inside, four doors led to separate rooms.
A single ray of light from the window illuminated the central table. A vase with wildflowers, a gift from a Wildflower Cult mber, decorated the table.
Ruina gazed at it and smiled contentedly. Her heart fluttered.
“This is the house where you and I will live.”
“Set and Kaili too.”
“They’ll move out when they grow up.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“…What?”
“What is it?”
Ruina stared blankly at Sion. Her sharp eyes and upturned lips slowly drooped.
Had she heard wrong? It felt as though their relationship was inevitably progressing in a certain direction.
“…We’re both still young.”
Sion closed his mouth, then quickly asked,
“My room?”
“I gave you the largest room. No one objected. Good choice, right?”
“I don’t mind.”
Ruina led him to the largest room. Upon opening the door, neatly arranged bedding was the first thing visible.
The room was as simple as Sion’s personality—Ruina had decorated it appropriately, knowing his character well.
In one corner stood a weapon rack, now allowing him to properly store his sword and armor instead of leaving them on the floor.
“This was made by Holin, carving birch wood gifted by Sir Marquisin.”
“Wow… I should go thank him personally.”
“Yeah. Let’s go together later.”
Ruina didn’t leave Sion’s side for a mont. Sion didn’t mind this feeling at all. The joy of having a ho where the family could live together was indescribable.
“You’ve worked hard, Ruina. You handled everything so bravely while I was away.”
“Thank you…”
Sion gently patted Ruina’s back. Her smiling face clearly showed signs of exhaustion.
While Sion was away, she had shouldered many responsibilities alone. She had strived hard, like a mother bird protecting her chick from life’s storms.
Creak.
Sion slightly opened Kaili’s door.
He only ant to check if she was sleeping peacefully, but the girl lying in bed with her eyes closed imdiately opened her mouth.
“Sion, big brother. You ca back?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah. Did you wake up?”
“Yeah. I’ve woken up.”
Kaili pushed off her blanket and sat at the edge of the bed. Her feet didn’t reach the floor. Her long white nightgown reached her ankles, suiting her cat-like appearance perfectly.
“Big brother, I’m hungry.”
“Okay. Let’s go eat sothing.”
“I’ll prepare it.”
Ruina rolled up her sleeves. Sion stopped her.
“I’ll do it. Ruina, you rest.”
“B-But…”
“Sit here. Don’t move.”
Sion firmly sat Ruina down at the table. Kaili imdiately jumped onto Ruina’s lap.
“You… sleeping all this ti, and now that big brother Sion is here, you pop right out?”
“It’s true. I just woke up.”
“Ugh.”
Ruina tugged Kaili’s cheek. Kaili’s soft, squishy cheeks stretched like rubber.
Soft, soft.
Stretchy, stretchy.
Before long, Ruina was enchanted by the sensation, fondling Kaili’s cheeks and ears.
The two sat there, silently watching Sion prepare the food.
‘Good.’
Both Ruina and Kaili shared the sa thought: they wished these days could continue forever.
They had long erased mories of their original lives. Though completely forgetting might be difficult, they could bury those mories beneath this happiness.
“Brother!”
Set burst through the door, flinging it wide open. Dust covered his face and hair.
Ruina and Kaili both frowned.
“Seettt! I told you to wash before coming in!”
“Set, you stink of sweat. Gross.”
“Ugh… b-but Brother Sion is back. Anyway, Kaili, you woke up after two days!?”
“Even sleeping gets boring…”
Sion laughed and said,
“Set. Let’s eat. Wash your hands first.”
“Yup! Got it!”
The four of them gathered together for a al, just like they hadn’t done in a long ti. The rice was warm, the food plentiful. There was no worry at all.
At his siblings’ insistence, Sion recounted his mission. His plain, straightforward storytelling made ti fly. Before they knew it, night had fallen, and it was ti for bed.
“Good night, kids.”
“Yeah. You too, brother.”
“Brother, good night! Tomorrow you’ll teach
swordplay!”
“Got it.”
“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”
“Want to?”
“Kaili. Big brother is tired.”
“I hate you, sister.”
“Look at her.”
“Haha.”
A day overflowing with love had passed. It was a peaceful day, fully spent in their new hotown, Elim.
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