Aster's entire body was tense, prepared to act if the other party decided to "take care of him" for asking that question. However, Kurenai's response was way different than he expected.
"Oh? Did Master not tell you?" She asked back, tilting her head—before showing a shy smile, scratching her head of white hair. "He's as shy as ever... Then, Aster-sama, let's get back to your room first. I'll explain everything back there."
"A-Alright..."
Even after Aster sharpened his senses to detect even the slightest change, he couldn't find even the faintest hint of evil intentions in her words or actions. The tension in the air faded instantly, making him feel like an idiot for being wary of her.
Silence persisted between them as they made their way back to the small bamboo hut.
Upon arrival, Aster sat down on the bedding he was using before, cross-legged. And without a hint of hesitation, Kurenai did another seiza before him, back straight and hands resting on her thighs. With how close they were sitting, Aster was having trouble about where to look—and decided to simply stare at her face.
Her golden eyes were staring right into him, not flinching at all.
"Before we begin explaining why we saved you," she started. "Let talk about our clan first."
"... Alright." Aster nodded, giving her the go signal.
"Thank you for your understanding, Aster-sama." She bowed lightly once more before taking a deep breath and explaining. "Then, first, I'll explain about the Eastern Alliance..."
The Eastern Alliance is a congregation of various countries from the East—consisting mostly of forr Asian countries. Peace was maintained by having multiple representatives acting as a council of elders to run the place. That was how it was run for over a thousand years—until a few centuries ago.
Due to greed, so of the elders decided to take all the power to themselves. A bloody fight ensued, dragging the entire Eastern Alliance down—until only one power remained in control. Due to the chaos, a lot of people had lost their hos and beca wanderers, unable to even ensure food for their next als.
This village, the Hidden Sunset Gorge, was made from a collection of random races from back then, gathered under a single banner for survival. At first, they were just outcasts, trying to survive in the changed world, outside of others' influence. Their numbers increased rapidly and soon enough beca a power that can't be ignored.
Despite that, peace was maintained for a few centuries. However, the situation changed rapidly over the last few years—especially after the new "Emperor" took the throne.
"Wang Xu Chen... He's the mastermind behind Aster-sama's kidnapping—and also the enemy of our Hidden Sunset Gorge Village!" She exclaid, her words filled with seething rage. "That bastard is hunting our village, capturing our mbers, and using them as experintal subjects...!"
Aster frowned, recalling the painful life he spent while kept in the facility. He couldn't imagine anyone faring well after suffering in the sa way as he did.
"I see..." Aster sighed, figuring things out. "So, you saved just to ss up this Wang Xu Chen's plans?"
To his words, Kurenai showed a wry smile. "There's that too... but the real reason why I was sent to pick you up... was an oracle from God."
"God?"
Aster frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy. However, it's not like he didn't have an "idea" about it. He recalled the ti he spent training under a dragonkin—or more like a Dragon God—Ardra.
'Is it one of those two who gave an Oracle...?' He wondered. "Can I hear the na of the God who gave the oracle?" Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire
"I don't know if you know her, but..." Kurenai muttered, scratching her cheeks. "She's one of the Fourteen Gods that our village worships—Goddess Althea."
"..."
It was a na Aster had heard of before—but not from Ardra. Rather, it was familiar because... "One of the God's Thirteen Dungeons' Goddesses? So your village worships all of them?"
But the number she ntioned didn't match up. There were supposedly only 13 Goddesses in the God's Thirteen Dungeons—the village worships one more than that.
"Yes, Aster-sama. We pay respects to the Goddesses of the Thirteen Dungeons, but other than them, there's also one more God."
"His na is...?"
"... Sorry, but we aren't aware of it either." But Kurenai shook her head. "All we know is that he's the partner of all the Thirteen Goddesses—the Naless, Supre God."
"I see... Partner of a Goddess..." Aster muttered, deep in thought.
"No," but Kurenai quickly denied his words. "It's not a [partner of a goddess], but rather, [of all the thirteen goddesses]."
"..."
Aster paused, his mind unable to process the information instantly.
"It's not that rare for powerful gods in myths to have multiple wives, right?" Kurenai, as if finding his confusion funny, added further.
"Yeah, no... I understand." Aster nodded, heaving a deep sigh—while paying respect to the god who was manly enough to take over a dozen wives.
Kurenai nodded with satisfaction before opening her mouth once again. "Then, let continue. The oracle we received contained two tasks. One is to rescue you, and another... is to help you get stronger."
Hearing this, Aster couldn't help but realize sothing. This flow of conversation was extrely similar to the ti he trained with Ardra—making it hard not to make a connection.
'As expected, is that gold-haired Angel Goddess from back then—Goddess Michelle—also one of the Thirteen Goddesses?' Aster pondered seriously.
He had suspicions from long ago but hasn't turned it into conviction just yet. However, if she was truly a part of the "real" Thirteen Goddesses...
'Then why isn't her na included in that docunt?'
The na of the Thirteen Goddesses was already disclosed to the world—though not many were privy to it. And among those nas, the na of Goddess Michelle wasn't included.
"... Aster-sama? Are you alright?"
Seeing him get silent all of a sudden, Kurenai leaned forward and placed a hand over his forehead—a worried expression spread on her face. But as she leaned closer, two large jugs dangled just before Aster's eyes, making him blush from the sudden eye candy.
"...Looks like you do have a slight fever," she comnted, before pulling away. "I guess we should stop the story here for today."
She slowly stood up, excusing herself toward the door without waiting for a reply. But just before she left, she turned around and announced. "Once you're back to full health, we will then begin the actual training as per the Village's Training Manual!"
Right then, Aster felt a premonition... This "training" or whatever wouldn't end well for him.
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