“Hmm? What’s this?”
Yukinari felt a strange sense of discomfort. All around, the townspeople were shooting looks at them. No—they were not directed at Yukinari and Dasa, but at Berta, who was leading them.
These were absolutely not the warm gazes of people welcoming back a survivor, but they weren’t particularly cold, either. To pin these looks down to a single emotion was difficult, but the one that seemed to be coming through the strongest was “confusion.” People were looking at Berta in bewilderment, as if they had seen something that had no business being there.
“I murdered a monster and saved a girl who was about to be sacrificed. Look at her. She’s come home safe and sound. Shouldn’t they be pleased?”
“Yuki... that’s not it. I think this... is...”
As if Dasa’s words had set them off—although it was surely coincidence—the townspeople began to gather. They seemed to have made up their collective mind. They stood surrounding Yukinari and the others, blocking their way both forward and back.
“What? Outsiders aren’t welcome here, is that it?”
“Hey! Berta!” said one of the residents in an accusatory tone. “What are you doing here?”
“...I...” Berta looked at the ground, at a loss for words. In truth, he probably was accusing her.
“Why have you come back alive? You’re a shrine maiden! You were supposed to be an offering to the erdgod!”
Once one started disparaging Berta, the rest followed in a chain reaction.
“What happened with the erdgod? Surely you didn’t... mess something up?”
“You better not have run back here instead of carrying out your role!”
“Why do you think we’re paying our taxes to raise you orphans—”
“If you incite the erdgod’s wrath, this town is finished...”
The townspeople pelted Berta with harsh words, one after another. There was not a single voice rejoicing that she had come back alive.
“...Yuki.” Dasa called his name in a quiet voice and touched his right hand.
Yukinari had been on the verge of yelling at them. Breathing out slowly, he released the pressure that had been building up inside him.
Just then—
“What are you doing?!” A voice coming from the end of the street silenced the townspeople and their harsh criticisms. Wondering what was going on, they looked over and saw a few men wearing what appeared to be priests’ robes standing on the other side of the human fence of town residents. They made a beeline for the group and, after pushing the residents of the town aside, they stopped in front of Yukinari and the others—no, in front of Berta.
This town’s priests, I guess. Well, I’m glad they shut these guys up... but...
The fact that they were priests of course meant that they worshipped the erdgod. Which meant—
“Berta...” One of the priests called out to her in a gentle tone. “Raise your head, please.”
Berta kept her head lowered in silence. She looked like a criminal about to receive her sentence.
“Raise your head, I told you,” the man said, his tone dangerously sharp.
“Yes, Father.” Quivering, Berta raised her head.
With a gentle smile, the priest looked at the girl’s face. “Why is a shrine maiden who went to the sanctuary to do her job here, in this town?”
Berta said nothing.
“I do not believe for a moment that the erdgod was not there.”
“Father, I—”
“Do not talk back!” Out of nowhere, the priest raised his voice and yelled at her. Berta shrunk back as though she had been struck by lightning. The priest, however, quickly returned to his original, calm tone and continued. “You should know better than anyone what your role is. Why did you come back?”
The priest was ultimately no different from the other townspeople in what he was saying. No, in fact, his interrogation felt like the harshest of them all.
“Yuki—”
“Hey! Pal!” Yukinari stuck himself between Berta and the priest. This time, Dasa didn’t have time to stop him. “A girl from your own town’s come home safe. I don’t think she deserves to be treated like that.”
“And who are you?”
“Are you a traveler...? What are you talking about?”
“If you’re an outsider, we’d appreciate you staying out of this.”
“It’s understandable that a vagabond like you would not know how things work around here, but even so—”
Their words themselves were polite, but their voices were tinged with a clearly insulting tone. Yukinari scowled, and he stepped forward. He considered whether he ought to give every person here one big punch to the head each, but just then—
“Stop! Stay right there, all of you!”
A new voice made Yukinari stop in his tracks. He looked back towards where it had come from, and found a young woman standing there, short of breath. She must have come here in a rush. There was a little sweat on her forehead, and her long, blonde hair was in total disarray. The elegant, tailored one-piece dress she was wearing made her flustered appearance stand out all the more.
“Due to circumstances, the ritual’s being postponed for the time being!” The young woman cut through the crowd in the same way the priests had as she spoke. “Just get back to work, all of you!”
The townspeople looked at each other and reluctantly dispersed. There were some who glared nastily at Yukinari’s group—or rather Berta— as they left, but none of them decided to continue the verbal harassment—for the time being, at least. After they were gone, the only ones left were Yukinari, Dasa, Berta, the young woman, and the priests. No—there was one other.
“Deputy Mayor...!” A somewhat elderly man in robes arrived. This man, too, seemed to be a priest, but his clothing was slightly different from the others. His position—or rank—was probably different. He seemed to have followed the girl here. But unlike her, he stopped in the middle of the street and made no attempt to approach Yukinari’s group.
“I chased them off for the time being,” the girl who had been called Deputy Mayor said, looking at Yukinari. Yes—the girl’s first words were addressed not to Berta, but to him. “Would you three mind terribly if I asked you to come to my mansion?”
“Deputy Mayor—Milady, you mustn’t,” the elderly priest said reproachfully. “That man is the sinner who interfered with the ritual—”
“Interfered with the ritual?” The three priests who had arrived first looked at Yukinari in surprise.
“Then this man must have taken the shrine maiden—”
“Sinful...!”
The priests denounced Yukinari one after another, then moved forward to grab him; maybe they intended to take him into custody. Yukinari moved back defensively. But the priests weren’t finished.
“I think we should capture him, cut off his head, and offer the shrine maiden up again along with him. We should beg for the erdgod’s forgiveness.”
Hearing that, Yukinari placed his hand on Durandall, which was slung across his back. However—
“Are you all in your right minds?! You intend to fight this thing?!” the deputy mayor yelled, pointing at Yukinari. “If the reports of the ritual witnesses are accurate, this being felled the erdgod! On his own!”
“Being? Thing? Sorry?” Yukinari frowned at the deputy mayor’s total lack of reservation. However, her outburst had a far greater effect on the priests than anything else.
“He did that to the erdgod...?”
“Felled? You mean he killed it?”
“Yes!” the girl practically shrieked at them.
The priests exchanged looks of disbelief, then returned their gazes to Yukinari. Then, as if they had suddenly realized that they were actually face-to-face with a terrible monster, they all fell a step back.
“What’s your name, sir?” the young woman asked.
“Yukinari,” he replied, feeling some relief that here, finally, was someone who looked capabl
e of holding a reasonable conversation. Of course, it could be that this girl was simply being cautious because she knew that Yukinari had killed the erdgod. She might feel just as disgusted at Berta as the others. “If it’s hard to say, I’m fine with Yuki. This is Dasa.”
“Yukinari, Dasa. My name is Fiona Schillings. And you were... Berta, I believe. I’m inviting the three of you to my mansion. Follow me, please.”
The young woman spoke sternly, almost as if she were ordering them. Turning on her heel, she walked back the way she came. The elderly priest, and the other priests too, rushed to follow after her.
“What is the deputy mayor thinking?”
“That man murdered our erdgod... Surely she isn’t going to—”
The priests whispered to each other.
There was no sign that Yukinari’s group was going to be welcomed, but even if they did reach the market, judging by how the townspeople just now had acted, it was hard to imagine that their shopping trip would go smoothly. Doing as she said was probably the safest move for now.
Yukinari and Dasa looked at each other. They did what they could to encourage Berta, and the three of them followed the girl.
●
As she invited the three of them into the mansion—the young man who called himself Yukinari, his partner, and the shrine maiden girl—Fiona’s mind raced. What in the world was Yukinari? It seemed beyond doubt that he had defeated the erdgod... but just as the high priest had said, it was inconceivable that an ordinary human could defeat one.
Erdgods and demigods originated from animals, but by living so long and being provided with intelligence, they broke out of that zoological category. In terms of their powers, they surpassed even humans, and it was for that reason that they were called gods. An erdgod was simply a demigod that had put down roots in a particular area, but once it absorbed the land’s energy, it became much tougher than it had even been as a demigod. It would no longer die of old age, and whether cut by a sword or stabbed by a spear, it could scarcely be injured at all, let alone dealt a fatal wound.
If anything could defeat an erdgod in a one-on-one battle, it would have to be another demigod. And in fact, although it was a rare occurrence, such a “changing of the erdgod” was known to be possible. The Schillings family records showed that in the past three hundred and some years, there had been two—just two—recorded instances in which a demigod had attacked an erdgod, killed it, and become an erdgod itself. Which meant only one thing—
That Yukinari boy must be either a demigod or something of equal measure...
Not even Fiona, who had enriched her knowledge in the capital, had ever heard of a demigod taking the form of a person. However, humans and animals were both living creatures. Considering this, the idea that a human being could also, for some reason, live a very long time, and so become a demigod, was impossible to rule out entirely.
In any event, Yukinari was something equal to a god. Not only could he evidently speak human language, but his morals were close to a human’s and he could talk rationally, unlike other demigods. At the very least, he didn’t seem to have laid a single hand on Berta, who had been offered as a sacrifice. Did this mean that it would be possible to negotiate with Yukinari in a way other than by offering sacrifices?
After walking down the corridor for a while, Fiona opened the door to the drawing room. “Please, go on in. Sorry about the mess.”
“Thank you.”
“Like...wise.”
Yukinari and Dasa went in first, then Berta, then the high priest and the other priests. Once everyone had entered, Fiona closed the door and offered chairs to Yukinari and his two companions.
The reason that she offered chairs to them first, rather than the priests or the high priest, was because her highest priority for the time being was to not upset Yukinari. Yukinari likely had power comparable to an erdgod, and if so, it would be no trouble at all for him to kill every one of the people in this place if he felt like it. It was not without reason that the priests had been opposed to inviting them to the Schillings residence.
However, if she had left Yukinari’s group there, it would most definitely have developed into some kind of trouble. And the likely result would be citizens dying. As the deputy mayor, she could not allow that to happen, even if it meant inviting a monster into her very own house.
“First things first,” Fiona said, as she seated herself opposite Yukinari and the others. “I want to hear it from you directly. Yukinari, you killed the erdgod, correct?”
“Sure did,” he said, nodding honestly. Some of the priests who hadn’t been informed of the situation gave short groans, but now wasn’t the time to be paying attention to them.
“I see. Honestly speaking, I am quite relieved that the one who killed the previous erdgod is someone like you, who I can reason with. Because if an unpleasant successor were to come, it really would threaten the town’s survival.”
“It sounds like you’re another one who thinks of me as some erdgod or demigod or something.” Yukinari briefly sighed again. “I’m nothing like that. I’m human.”
“But you killed an erdgod,” Fiona said, looking directly into Yukinari’s eyes. “Killing an erdgod is beyond the ability of one person. It would be impossible for even the most skilled soldier to kill one of those things one-on-one. How did you do it?”
“This.”
Yukinari removed the piece of equipment—most likely a weapon—he’d been carrying on his back and showed it to Fiona. It had a bulky mounting, but otherwise, it looked like nothing other than an ordinary sword. Or maybe that mounting had something to it? It did sort of look like it had a complicated structure.
“This weapon’s a little bit special. You can think of it as a kind of magic, if that helps.”
“Magic, you say...”
Fiona had heard stories about people who had unraveled the knowledge hidden in all things, and used it to make inexplicable things happen. In the capital, the True Church of Harris conducted regular inquisitions; it seemed people were being burned at the stake as a result. But most of those who claimed to be able to use magic were just frauds. Even if a real magic-user did exist, it would probably be difficult to distinguish them from the fakes.
“It’s not like that thing was an indestructible monster or anything, right?”
“No, not theoretically,” Fiona answered.
“Theory or not, you guys know they can be killed, right? Why do you put out sacrifices?”
In a sense, this was an extremely legitimate question. However, it was also the kind of question asked by someone who had lived in a blessed land. This boy was unaware that there were people who wanted the protection of an erdgod even if it meant offering sacrifices—people who lived in a land where, without that protection, they were in constant danger of starving to death.
Sighing, Fiona explained. “There are all kinds of erdgods. Some are even mild-mannered, although that’s extremely rare. Conversely, some are desperately cruel. You’re right that they’re not immortal, but virtually no ordinary human being can defeat one. It’s impossible with any normal weapon. The only thing that just barely works is a fully armed group of warriors, or otherwise, the Missionary Order of the True Church of Harris.” And neither of those were here in Friedland.
Fiona didn’t miss the subtle twitch in Yukinari and Dasa’s expressions. They had probably reacted to “True Church of Harris.” Maybe they had some connection to it? It was said that there were many clever people—so-called wise men—in the Church. Perhaps Yukinari’s weapon had been made by the Church. That would at least make some sense...
Yukinari scratched his cheek. “Well... Look,” he said cheerfully, as if to dodge some kind of question that hadn’t been asked. “The point is, the erdgod’s dead. There’s no need to offer up any more sacrifices. That’s a great thing, right?”
The priests, who were standing against the wall, stirred. Fiona and the high priest glanced their way and sent them looks that held them in
check.
“We’ve been sleeping rough for a while now,” Yukinari said, glancing at Dasa. “We were just hoping we could find somewhere around here to stay, but... yeah, some people are pretty mad with us. I get that. We’ll leave town right away.”
In contrast to Yukinari, his silver-haired partner did not look very tough. A journey like that, which forced her to sleep outside for nights on end, would be extremely exhausting.
“That won’t do,” Fiona said to Yukinari as he started to get up. “We need you to stay in this land for the foreseeable future.”
“What? Why—”
“We were receiving the erdgod’s guardianship in exchange for offering it sacrifices. But now that that arrangement has collapsed, other demigods will gather, vying for the position of erdgod.”
It was like an animal’s territory. If there was an erdgod here, other demigods would not dare to approach unless they were significantly stronger. The fact that erdgods warded off other demigods was another reason they were deified by humans.
“So... your town’s in danger and you want us to protect you or something?”
“No,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “You’re the one they’ll be after.”
“What? Why—”
“Nature dictates that the one who has the right to become the next erdgod is the demigod that killed the previous erdgod. But you haven’t settled in this land. You have left a ‘vacancy,’ and demigods will gather in the hope of claiming it. However, if they find the one who killed the predecessor there... I imagine they will try to kill you first.”
Yukinari frowned and fell silent. Of course, if he decided to take the coward’s way out and flee the area, the demigods would probably start fighting over the ‘vacancy’ among themselves and not pursue him. But...
“And of course, as I said earlier, if an unpleasant demigod becomes an erdgod, it will be a matter of life or death for us. The fate of our town hangs in the balance.”
It was usual for an erdgod to ask for a sacrifice once every two or three years, but if it was an unusually “gluttonous” one, it might request a yearly sacrifice. Some erdgods were said to request two, three, or even far more people at once.
Bluesteel Blasphemer Volume 1 Page 5