Leaving the Academy went smoothly without any issues.
Thanks to the promise from Rebecca that as long as I passed my exams, I could skip classes, there was no need to write an absence note.
Since we were going to Alfheim, I decided to take Pala’s family along this ti. And it was only natural to look after Faye, who would surely be targeted if left alone.
Well, she grumbled about not being able to focus on her new research, but once I offered her the chance to study in my dragon form, she imdiately nodded.
She had always been easy to understand, back then and now.
After sohow finishing our preparations and getting ready to leave, Helena, who had been admiring her well-maintained mace in the sunlight, grabbed my sleeve, smiling contentedly.
“Brother. Could you spare so ti to talk with ?”
“…That sounds kind of ominous. What’s up?”
“Think about it. Don’t you owe sothing?”
“What really is it?!”
Worried that I might have done sothing wrong, I hastily reviewed my actions from the morning.
First, I woke up, greeted everyone, had breakfast together, which Pala’s family prepared, and teased Iris about how many months along she was as her belly looked bloated after eating…
“Ah.”
Could it be that?
I cautiously reached out while reading Helena’s narrowed golden eyes.
Soft.
The feel of a soft, flab-less abdon. But perhaps because she fights using her body even with divine power, there was a strangely firm muscle beneath the softness. It was quite addictive.
Gently.
“……”
“……”
Caress, caress.
“……”
“……”
But the lack of any reaction, even after all that caressing, was a bit scary.
Not this…?
Feeling cold sweat trickle down my neck, I swallowed hard. Seeing this, Helena chuckled, hanging her mace on her belt.
Then, she proudly puffed out her chest.
“Didn’t we agree to travel in my carriage? If it weren’t for , the Saintess, this many people would have suffered, cramped in a common carriage.”
“Oh.”
Was it about that?
We did decide to use the papal carriage from Solaris, now the Saintess’s carriage, that we used last ti since we could get back quickly with teleportation. Ꞧ₳Ɲộ฿Ɛ𝓢
But why boast about it now…?
Blinking in confusion, Helena stepped closer, eting my gaze from below.
Press.
Close enough for her chest to press against my upper body. With a slightly more mischievous smile than usual, Helena continued.
“You should thank a bit more, Brother.”
“Uh, um… I’m always thankful, Helena.”
“Not just in words; show it in action.”
Then, Helena blatantly pouted her lips.
Ah? So that’s what this is about?
With a smirk, I let my hand, which had been caressing her stomach, slide down and firmly grabbed her butt.
Grip.
“Hic?!”
“You tease first and then show such a cute reaction.”
“I-I was just surprised.”
Helena turned her head away. Following her, I leaned in this ti.
Though Helena tried to avert her gaze to the other side, I followed and kissed her.
Peck.
“Hah…”
“Why? Are you running away again?”
We continued this playful chase of kisses for a while until Helena, unable to bear the embarrassnt, switched with Solari who had been eager to take over.
“Alright, alright! Enough flirting, gather over here!”
Iona’s teleportation was ready.
The journey was smooth.
Upon arriving in Solaris, we discussed the current situation with the cultists, then teleported as far towards Alfheim as possible with the carriage. After that, I shared so of my blood with the exhausted Iona from the repeated teleportations, and we rested comfortably inside the carriage.
By the way, Pala’s family took turns driving the carriage.
Using an interdiate mage as a re coachman, what a luxurious trip.
With such thoughts in mind, I spent several days alternating between training and lounging. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the entrance of a vast forest.
“Is this the Great Southern Forest?”
In the southern and northern parts of the Eurelia Continent, there were unique regions.
The Black Mountain Range in the north, said to hold every kind of mineral known, a treasure trove of resources.
And the Great Southern Forest, which occupied nearly half of the southern region with its vast expanse.
Needless to say, these landscapes didn’t form naturally. They were miracles created by divine intervention.
The Righteous Radiance, the Sprouting Bud, and the Free Breath.
These three accepted followers regardless of race, and their doctrines were not bound by racial considerations.
For example, the Righteous Radiance urged to live justly by hating evil within one’s capacity.
The Sprouting Bud taught to devote oneself to agriculture to ensure no one would go hungry, sharing the harvest.
The Free Breath was quite sothing; their doctrine was simply to enjoy life without harming others.
That was really all there was to it. Hence, among the followers of the Free Breath, there were many well-aning eccentrics.
But this was only possible because their identities as Gods were not tied to racial characteristics.
However, the other Gods were different.
The Clashing Steel, born from fire and aiming to forge civilization through technology, demanded high levels of skill from their followers, making it difficult for races other than dwarves to even be baptized.
The Clashing Steel particularly cherished dwarves with exceptional craftsmanship, so now, over 90% of their followers were dwarves.
The Circulating Life had an elf as their companion before becoming a God. Just as Solari was influenced by her first priest, the Circulating Life was deeply imrsed in the values of their companion.
Naturally, the doctrines of the Circulating Life included elven thought, and the God themself favored elves.
Although not as extre as with the dwarves, it was why over half of the Circulating Life’s followers were elves.
Lastly, though now fallen as the Serpentine Leisure, the Surging Waves was similar in that regard.
Since only rmaids and fishern could live in water, choosing the gentle rmaids was only natural.
The Surging Waves was practically the patron God of rmaids.
…Thus, when Atlantis fell and rmaids were being hunted in droves, they went mad and fell.
But anyway, so Gods openly favored certain races and perford miracles for them.
Like the vast mine expanded over thousands of years, the Black Mountain Range.
Or the impossibly large forest that flourished around the World Tree as a control tower, the Great Southern Forest.
I poked Helena in the ribs as she was also admiring the view and asked.
“Doesn’t the Righteous Radiance have sothing like this?”
“The Righteous Radiance did not create a better living environnt separately. Instead, she pulled out her own teeth for weapons and cut her mane for cloaks.”
“Oh…”
Co to think of it, many Gods made divine artifacts imbued with their power, but only the Righteous Radiance used parts of her own body for such.
“Can you tell why?”
“Of course, but please wait a mont. Wouldn’t it be better to hear it from the God herself?”
With that, Helena switched consciousness with the Righteous Radiance. Even though it was not the first ti, the speed of possession was remarkably faster than before.
If she used the full divine descent, even that short delay would vanish.
While I was admiring this, Solari appeared, her lion ears and tail made of light swaying playfully. She spoke with a bright smile.
“The reason I made powerful artifacts? If my companion wants to know, I should tell! It’s not like it’s a secret!”
“Oh… So there’s a reason, huh?”
“Yep. I gave them to fight better.”
“…?”
Well, giving weapons and armor ant to fight better, sure. But really, that was it?
Such a warrior-like reason… Ah, um… it made sense for the Church of Righteous Radiance…
As I nodded, Solari continued with a serious voice.
“Paradise isn’t sothing you beg for from a God. It’s sothing you build with your own hands. I wanted my children not to dream of an ideal world that doesn’t exist but to make this world into that ideal.”
“Ah.”
“Even if evil rises again, they should be able to quell the chaos by shouting for justice. Creating a world that can run well even without the God of Justice. That’s what I hoped for my children. That’s the greatest miracle I could perform.”
After saying this, Solari looked towards the sky with a benevolent smile, as if gazing at sothing far away.
Humans were weak and imperfect, so while so Gods protected by confining them in their embrace…
Others, like Solari, wished for them to grow strong and independent.
I nodded in admiration, but the smile on Solari’s lips turned bitter.
“…The problem was, things in the world are never that simple. I never imagined Evil Gods would invade.”
“Hm.”
With an unexpected self-deprecating response, I shrugged and smiled.
“Well, it’s fine. I’ll beco Solari’s greatest miracle and defeat the Evil Gods.”
“…Kyaa?! Th-That was divinely romantic!”
“I know.”
I did it on purpose, after all.
How long did we continue through the forest, chatting like this?
At one point, the view opened up from behind the trees, revealing a small village.
Houses made from living trees, bent to grow into living structures.
Beautiful elves, barefoot, running around in light, leaf-adorned clothing.
Carla, Faye, and Helena gaped at the scene like a painting.
“Look at that, Master! The trees are growing in the shape of stairs!”
“I’ve never been to Alfheim, but it’s like this. Glad we ca, Junior!”
“This is… beautiful.”
While the rest of us remained unimpressed, Faye, who first checked my reaction, glanced at several tis before hesitantly approaching.
“Junior…? Is sothing wrong? Are you upset because I was all over the place, happy one mont, and complaining about leaving before?”
“You’re being too hard on yourself today, Faye. That’s not it. I just didn’t want you to expect too much.”
“Eh?”
“It’s all fake. Kind of like a the park? It’s a tourist spot made for people like you, who are visiting Alfheim for the first ti and have fantasies about elves.”
“…Really?”
Faye’s voice sounded shocked, and Elisha answered for .
“It’s true. See that girl in the white dress playing over there?”
“Yeah. You an that cute kid?”
“Yes. She’s one of the elders who ca to congratulate at a party I hosted before entering the Academy.”
“……”
“I later heard that she has been working here for almost 120 years and is quite a veteran.”
“……”
The light in Faye’s eyes seed to vanish as she realized the truth.
Wow! Dead eyes!
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