“Woof! Let’s go again!”
“eeeh—! I never want to see you again!”
Lem had run all the way to the top of the monastery and was now wailing her lungs out. Not that Azzy cared—satisfied after playing with a toy for the first ti in ages, she stretched out with a content yawn.
“Farewell!”
“May the blessings of the Celestials be upon you, brothers!”
With the farewell of the Fallen Nun and the cheerful children, we left the Monastery of Blood. Carrying only the Saintess’s and the nun’s blessings with us.
As we walked down the sloped path that led away from the Monastery, I turned to Rash.
“Rash. You could at least try to....”
...give us so guidance, is what I ant to say—but then I fell silent at the sight in front of .
A wind blew from the direction we needed to go. As if it were gently pushing our backs. Soft yet sure, the breeze moved through the wild grass, showing us the way forward.
The rustling leaves seed to form arrows. As if the whole world was speaking with one voice: “Go this way.”
“This way!”
Rash, who had ant to guide us, also felt the wind and muttered in response.
“A tailwind. A good on. I was right to ask you for help, Teacher!”
“Why are you only giving Hughes credit? I’m here too, you know.”
“Ha ha! My apologies, lad. Of course! You’re part of this too!”
No one seed to have any complaints about going with the flow. Honestly, what did it matter if the prophet felt a bit off? He was offering help when we needed it.
We followed where the wind led. Rash, so long as his feet were touching the ground, had seemingly limitless stamina. anwhile, the regressor and I rode the wind like we were surfing clouds, flying forward with even greater speed.
Azzy, of course, ran off far ahead, occasionally circling back at a leisurely pace.
The scenery changed, and the mountain contours shifted. Soon, native villages began to appear in the distance. We had crossed the wilds—now we stood at the edge of the barbarian lands, where beasts and humans coexisted.
When the natives saw us flying through the sky, they either scread and fled or chased after us with the intent to hunt. Most of their attempts didn’t even co close to touching our shadows, but it did add a bit of tension to the journey.
“This is the land of the old All Nations. Teacher, are you familiar with All Nations?”
“I know as much as anyone else.”
All Nations. A barbaric country born in a land teeming with life.
After overthrowing the human king, five warlords seized power and spread across the continent, each establishing their own kingdom.
Among them, Agartha, beloved by all, ca to this far southeastern land and united the many incompatible barbarian tribes to found a nation.
“Mu-hu Agartha. The heir of a sovereign blessed with universal love. She used her beauty and charm to captivate other tribes, forming a federation of many clans and reigning over them. That lasted until the day the World Tree burned and fell.”
“Well-read, as expected of you, Teacher.”
As I recited what was written in the history books, Rash nodded knowingly, as if he’d expected it.
“But there’s sothing slightly different. That’s how it was known in the Military State, but Mu-hu’s true power was sothing else entirely.”
“I know. Language. Or more precisely, communication.”
Every beast has its own traits, and those traits are reflected in their respective beast kings.
Azzy, for example, is friendly and affectionate toward humans. Lem, a sheep, has thick, woolly fur.
The sa applied to the human king... but the five warlords found ways to steal the power he once held.
The one who stole humanity’s strength beca the Conqueror King. He could rip mountains from the ground with his bare hands, wield any weapon effortlessly, and fight for seven nights and days without rest.
The one who stole humanity’s craftsmanship beca Elric, King of the Golden Nation. He could replicate any tool he saw once, master all techniques, and craft masterpieces by fully understanding their principles.
The one who stole humanity’s sociability beca Grandiomor of the Kingdom. No human could be hostile to him. Even the most powerful or cunning people would find themselves drawn to his side, unable to resist.
Sure, those are traits associated with humans—but they’re not unique to us. Pure strength? Bears and tigers have more. Birds and beavers build nests too. And you can find creatures that form packs anywhere you look.
Agartha was the sa. What she took was language—more specifically, expression.
Even before language existed, back when humans only used their tongues for tasting, we still had ways to express ourselves. Gestures, voices, cries, facial expressions, movents—there were endless ways to warn enemies and show goodwill to allies.
And Agartha was perfect in every way.
“A beautiful face. Gestures that reveal emotions. A soft voice that wins the affection of both humans and beasts. Even in this barbaric land, where people speak a different language and believe in over a hundred thousand gods, Agartha was able to subdue everyone with nothing but that power.”
“Hm. You’re much more learned than I expected. Even soone like , born in this land, couldn’t explain it as fluently as you.”
“Being good with words is my strength.”
The country that Agartha united and led was All Nations. Always on the fringes of civilization and rarely well-known, but All Nations had always reigned as a powerful and threatening kingdom.
Especially since, despite being heirs of kings, they had distanced themselves from the Celestials and embraced indigenous beliefs, making All Nations a subtle object of suspicion.
“There aren’t many records, and exchanges have been few, so it’s sowhat underrated, but in the past, All Nations was a mighty and radiant civilization that could almost be compared to an empire. You can see that by looking at the relics, treasures, and elixirs left behind. Even now, adventurers co in search of hidden treasures, hundreds of years after its fall.”
“Now, it’s just the legacy of a fallen nation! If you know it so well, then I don’t need to warn you.”
“Anyway, I understand why you’re cautious.”
You can’t dismiss All Nations as just a barbaric land. In fact, it’s more terrifying because it’s more fundantal and free than civilization.
Misfortune always cos in unexpected ways...
But that wasn’t the case.
Even in a land as barbaric as this, where even top adventurers struggle, the journey was easy.
“It’s getting dark. We should start looking for a place to rest... What’s that?”
“An adventurer camp. Adventurers who co seeking elixirs set up temporary camps in places with favorable weather and terrain. They hide them well to avoid looting from others. Looks like we got lucky.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Whenever sothing seed like it might go wrong, a reasonable solution appeared right next to us. If we needed a place to rest, a camp or shelter showed up. When we were hungry, an animal that could be hunted passed by right in front of us. The path was smooth, the grass grew high, and there were no visible swamps or pits.
I couldn’t tell if I was trudging through the wilds or strolling along the well-maintained highways of the Military State. Inside a camp we stumbled upon, we found so leftover food and heated it with so leftover firewood, as if by coincidence. I tilted my head in confusion.
“I know the journey doesn’t have to be hard, but this is a bit too boring. Was this place always so empty?”
“It wasn’t like that. When I set off toward the monastery, I was ambushed over five tis. Three tis by beasts, two tis by lawless n. Well, from their point of view, I was the one being ambushed!”
At first, Rash had said he was glad there were no incidents, but now he was feeling uneasy about the unusual peace. In contrast, the regressor accepted this peaceful environnt as normal.
“The Celestial Saintess has blessed our entire journey.”
“What’s the principle behind that?”
“Principle? There’s no principle to a blessing. It just happens. From what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to force a future that converges toward our goal, but since we can’t see the future, it’s hard for us to understand.”
“I’m getting a headache just from hearing about it.”
“Well, it just ans good things will happen to us. Unless sothing is supposed to never happen at all.”
Whether it’s deleting alternate futures, subtly adjusting things, or reading our path in advance and preparing for it—I couldn’t guess. It might not even match any of my assumptions.
“If everything goes well, maybe there won’t even be any mosquitoes at night. Maybe we’ll be able to sleep soundly.”
“Huh? I’ve already set up a barrier with Tianying to block them.”
“Oh, really? That’s why I didn’t feel like I was being bitten at night.”
The Saintess’s blessing seed impressive, but if it’s sothing I could do myself, isn’t that kind of unimpressive? Then what’s the actual aning of the blessing?
“Let’s sleep for now. With the blessing, there’s no real threat, but I’ll keep the barrier up.”
“Teacher and the boy should rest. I’ll go on watch.”
“You?”
“Teacher and the boy are the ones who can die. You need sleep at night. But as long as my feet are on the ground, I don’t die, and I don’t need to sleep. Since you’re helping , I should at least offer you this small comfort.”
“Is that so? Fine then.”
‘If I don’t put up a barrier, I can sleep peacefully without distractions either.’
I saw Rash off as he went outside, and then the regressor and I settled in. We set up Azzy’s bed near the entrance, then chose the upper bunk of a hammock-style two-tiered bed.
“I’ll sleep on top. I don’t like being cramped.”
“Perfect. I wanted the bottom anyway. It’s easier to escape from there.”
We silently found our preferred spots. Oddly enough, when people with opposing natures sleep next to each other, there’s rarely any conflict. Neither of us were vying for the sa thing.
“Let’s sleep well and have breakfast before we leave.”
“Haah. Yeah. Once in a while, you need to take a break like this. Sleep well.”
“Shei, I actually have sothing to ask.”
“...”
Only the sound of quiet breathing could be heard. Had he already fallen asleep? Hmm, the way his breathing stopped, it seed like he was really out cold. I’d planned to gather so information before bed through a bit of small talk.
Though he seed to be peacefully asleep, if sothing approached, he would surely react right away. At least now that we’d grown closer, I could rest nearby without worrying.
Looking back, the more I thought about the Saintess’s blessing, the more doubts I had. It seed to exist, but at the sa ti, it didn’t seem like it truly did.
If you believe there’s no obstacle in your path, does that an you can do anything, or that you can’t do anything at all? Does the blessing help those who help themselves, or does it force fate?
Tch. It would be nice to be able to read the Saintess’s thoughts, but that doesn’t seem easy. Maybe, like the regressor, there are so kind of blockages that keep from understanding. Even Peru-El seed to have sothing strange when she tried reading thoughts.
I rolled over and settled deeper into the hammock. After obtaining the vampire, my body didn’t tire easily after days of walking, but ntal and habitual fatigue lingered in my body, calling for rest.
Let’s sleep for now. I just need to maintain a proper relationship with the regressor. Whether it’s the Saintess or the vampire, they’re the closest to , so I might as well stick around like a parasite and pick up any clues.
...Well, it doesn’t matter if the regressor resets everything. Can’t be helped. It’s easier not to worry about things you can’t fight against. Looking at the regressor’s hammock, I finally closed my eyes as sleep overca .
It felt like a weight with substance pressed down on .
I’m not soone who usually dreams, but tonight the sleeping arrangents felt unsettling. It was as though an uninvited guest had grabbed by the collar and was looking down at . As I wondered if it was just so ridiculous nightmare, strangely enough, my mind was clear. It didn’t feel like a dream at all.
It wasn’t an illusion. I realized sothing with substance was pressing down. I quickly activated my telepathy.
A human? No, I couldn’t read any thoughts. A beast? No way. Even Rash would react, and Azzy wouldn’t stay silent. Then what is it? What’s overpowering ? Why isn’t Azzy barking? And why is the regressor still in dreamland?
This wasn’t the ti for questions. Whether it’s a beast, a human, or so strange phenonon, I needed to get away from whatever had silently entered my hammock. Luckily, the pressure wasn’t too intense. I could resist if I tried.
So, I analyzed the situation and planned to escape before whatever this was could react. I pretended to still be asleep, carefully opening my eyes through a tiny crack I created with my chi, then glanced sideways at whatever was lying over ...
“...Cool.”
And then I saw the regressor, peacefully sleeping on top of . I felt even more bewildered and terrified than before.
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