Chapter 71 – Arrangements Toward the Sun
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The journey walking upon the sea had more inconveniences than expected.
The biggest problems were the sea breeze and drinking water.
Even if I could control the currents to my will and increase our speed, it wasn’t like we could just drink the seawater directly.
The Ever-Weeping Constellation played a huge role in overcoming this.
If I hadn’t asked the Ever-Weeping Constellation to let rain fall separately for us, many people would have complained of thirst.
However, I couldn’t stop the sea breeze from ruining clothes and fabrics.
Still, the tremendous movement speed more than made up for the drawbacks.
It was about the time two candles had melted when Anniel, who had been looking around, shouted out.
“I see a city. Bakumsia!”
As soon as Anniel finished speaking, cheers erupted from all sides.
“Land, you say?”
“It’s land! It’s a city!”
“I’m sick and tired of the sea now.”
It was natural for them to welcome it with open arms.
Marveling at the sea for the first time only lasted an hour or two.
The children who had been running around noisily had long since fallen fast asleep, exhausted by the open ocean.
The salty wind was sharp, and occasionally looking down at our feet would send shivers down our entire bodies.
People’s eyes sparkled with the expectation of stepping on solid ground again.
However, the angels and I, who could see far away, couldn’t help but be cautious.
Anniel readjusted her grip on her spear, lowered her altitude, and approached me.
“Godfather of Stars, something is strange. From what I know, Bakumsia was a port city with a significant flow of goods, so there should have been a lot of people.”
“It’s preserved almost in its original state.”
“Indeed. No matter how successful a raid is, it always leaves a trace, but there’s nothing like that to be seen at all.”
It was exactly as Anniel said.
The sight of the city from a distance was too heterogeneous.
Two intact ships were safely anchored. Furthermore, there were no signs of fighting anywhere in the streets.
There were no bloodstains, pieces of flesh, or broken arrows whatsoever.
Even though it was a city reasonably close to the capital and should have had a considerable population living there.
But Bakumsia remained exactly as it was before the sun was dyed black.
Considering that the Black Sun destroyed crowded places first, it was enough to be called a miracle.
Just as I was about to ask if they had any guesses…
Ceciel, who had been momentarily marginalized, flew over in a flash and pulled on Anniel’s earlobe.
“Anniel, don’t you know the hierarchy? You should report to me first, to me!”
“Gah!”
“Are you, who became an angel two centuries later than me, just ignoring the chain of command?!”
“I-I’ll be careful!”
It seemed the hierarchy and class consciousness among angels were quite strict.
Anniel was helpless against Ceciel, who was angrily tugging at her earlobe.
I waited for a moment, thinking that intervening unnecessarily would only increase the chances for discord.
Only after begging profusely was Anniel barely released, looking tearful as she rubbed her stinging, red earlobe.
“If it’s urgent business, you can report it…”
“That’s only when we’re in the middle of a battle! Do you want me to pull the other side too? Hmm?”
“A-No. Everything Ceciel-nim says is right.”
Is that what Ceciel is usually like…
Anniel drooped her shoulders, feeling despondent in the face of the fierce momentum.
Then, suddenly, I became curious about something.
Of course, it was trivial compared to matters related to the Black Sun, but it was the kind of issue that immensely stimulated my curiosity.
I sneakily approached Anniel, pretending to comfort her, and whispered.
“Anniel, you’re about two centuries apart from Ceciel?”
“…? Yes, that’s right.”
“Then, including your lifetime, how old are you now…?”
“Well, that’s…”
At that moment, Anniel’s face, which had been about to answer without thinking, hardened in an instant.
Shortly after, a streak of flash violently separated Anniel and me.
Smack, pow, thwack…
For a while, the sound of flesh being crushed by fists lingered around me.
All the way until the flash that snatched Anniel returned.
A moment later, Anniel, who returned practically being carried on Ceciel’s back, was tattered like a piece of rag.
I breathed out a sigh containing stardust and spoke.
“I asked out of minor curiosity. Don’t go this far next time.”
Only then did Ceciel seem to realize she had done something shameful, and her face flushed red.
“A-Angels don’t age. And it-it’s not age, it’s years of continuous service.”
“Ce… Ceciel-nim. 584 years of continuous service is proof of a splendid angel who has accumulated numerous experiences.”
“Seriously, die!”
***
After going through this and that commotion and arriving at the shores of Bakumsia, everything became clear.
Everything in the city was maintained in its original state.
Although some parts were weathered by the passage of time, there was absolutely no evidence that a battle had taken place.
It was clear that they either evacuated before the raid happened or were subdued in a single stroke by some unknown means.
In guessing those unknown means, my abundant game knowledge and the active participation of a living witness who had built up 584 years of experience played a huge role.
“Star Creation-niiiiiiiim!”
“Please calm down, Ceciel-nim. I was just hoping that the Godfather of Stars would also equip himself with the maturity befitting your years of service.”
“I said die, seriously!”
“Ack, wait. Ceciel-nim, I-I haven’t even descended that long ago!”
Age… no, years of continuous service seemed to be Ceciel’s reverse scale.
Contrary to my first impression, Anniel was an angel who was surprisingly adept at scratching people’s nerves. It meant she earned her own beatings.
Anyway, this was what I had intended.
Before long, people had gathered around and were watching the grand sparring of the two angels.
“Are the angels training like us?”
“Well, it did seem like only Star Creation-nim kept fighting.”
While Ceciel and Anniel physically resolved their long-awaited reunion, I became free from the surrounding gazes.
Hiding my presence, I left the aftermath to Bartol and Ryugen, who had noticed the commotion late and came running in a huff.
Knowing that telling them the fight started over ‘years of service’ would shatter their reverence for angels, Bartol hesitated.
“A-Angels! F-First, wouldn’t it be better to secure the safety of the surroundings before mediating your dispute…”
“Priest, why are they fighting? To calm the situation down, we need to know the reason why the angels are fighting!”
“T-That is. S-Star Creation. Why have you given me such a trial!”
Of course, I didn’t cause this just for fun.
I just needed an incident to draw the attention of the surroundings.
I flew around the alleys in a flash, looking around every corner of Bakumsia.
If a city was preserved in this state, the temple would likely be safe from looting as well.
There was a high chance of encountering the lingering thoughts of dead gods, an Elysium, or at least a single clue.
Above all, this area was the domain of the Great Demon ‘Dream-Shedding Eye’ who ruled over succubi.
If it became even a little quiet, we would be hit by the overwhelming drowsiness right away.
It was much better for such a commotion to happen, even if it was childish.
It was also easier to overcome alone when preparing for a possible trap.
It was right at this moment that I found the place I was looking for.
“Happy Fortune. It spawned here.”
A fully intact temple, and a temple of a playable Divine Name at that.
‘Happy Fortune’ was a snowballing-specialized Divine Name that, just like its name, increased the probability of obtaining positive events and traits.
It didn’t have outstanding advantages in combat or taking care of survivors, but as long as its fundamentals were solid, it was a Divine Name that could grow endlessly.
Moreover, Happy Fortune was a Divine Name with which I had a deep connection even among the playables.
Because I had seen my first ‘All Slayer’ ending with Happy Fortune.
Perhaps there might be an unexpected encounter.
I landed on the ground and headed inside the temple, stepping on the stone stairs with my two feet.
***
The Temple of Happy Fortune felt cozy and comfortable in many ways.
Except for the fact that there was no sign of people, it was like a cabin with a fire lit in the fireplace.
The wood grain remained intact on the walls filled with planks over the stone framework.
Because it hadn’t been repaired for a long time, the wooden floor was rotted in places.
Yet, no gloomy aura lingered.
Even the creaking sounds reminded me of mischievous kids hiding and giggling somewhere, rather than the dreariness of an abandoned house.
Maybe it was because of the warm-feeling fireflies fluttering their wings in place of extinguished candles.
After walking alone for a long while, a small chapel appeared.
My impression could be summed up in exactly one phrase.
“It’s plain.”
When you think of fortune, you would usually expect it to be plastered with gold, but it looked like a temple in a quiet, rural village.
If it weren’t for the wooden floor peeling in places, I would have thought it was a wooden temple.
Vines that had withered while climbing the walls, scattered books and chairs, and finally, an altar consisting of a humble nightstand.
It was the universal thought of gods to consider the faith of believers as a splendid temple.
Perhaps Happy Fortune was quite an eccentric god.
I brushed off the dust that had settled softly on the nightstand and gave up my expectations.
To think the reason it was safe from looting was because it was penniless.
Just as I turned around, thinking I had guessed wrong.
[I guess I wasn’t a complete has-been.]
An unfamiliar but non-hostile voice was heard.
As soon as I turned my head, a silhouette that hadn’t been visible until just now was sitting on the edge of the altar.
A traveler with a feather-plumed hat pressed down deeply and wearing a long scarf.
The traveler raised his left hand wearing a leather glove and began to raise his voice.
[Wow, I wasn’t sure, but this is no joke. Chewing Wisdom and Exchanging Knowledge were right! Do you know who I am?]
“Happy Fortune, are you alive?”
[Right! Uh, no. Technically, you have to consider me dead. I’m nothing more than a lingering thought.]
“Then how is it that I can see your main body…?”
[Because you originated from me. The fragments of me that make up part of you responded to the temple… You can think of it that way.]
With those words, Happy Fortune let out an ‘Heave-ho’ and came down from the altar.
But to do that, I had already encountered an exception just before.
According to Happy Fortune’s words, I should have met the Bent Harpoon as well.
“What happened to the Bent Harpoon?”
[He had bad luck. The temples of the gods belonging to the Armed Church were relentlessly attacked. I think they might have feared a possible resurrection upon seeing him resist until the end…]
Happy Fortune was an optimistic being in many ways.
He stopped talking and burst into laughter, pointing alternately at me and himself.
[Thanks to that, the temples of other gods who belonged to the Church of the Cycle like me were able to remain safe.]
“If it were as originally intended, you all would have guided me.”
[Right! In the first place, there was a separate god who was supposed to be alive and guide you!]
Alive and guide me?
The only god I had encountered alive was Bearing Responsibility.
When I brought up that name, Happy Fortune flicked his index finger and shook his head back and forth.
[Not him. That friend volunteered to buy time.]
“Then who on earth?”
[Observing Insight. You know who that is, right? Originally, that friend was planning to help you with various things and guide you through various arrangements so you could adapt right away. Like, what was it, a game? A status window? Something like that. This was our plan.]
“It went awry.”
[Yeah.]
Happy Fortune’s voice sank for the first time.
[Plans were always bound to go awry. Especially if the opponent was the Sun God. Still, it seemed they somehow managed to help you up to your awakening.]