by Fujino Omori
Making brief eye contact with Bell, the goddess plunged straight into the gorge overlooking the rough river rapids below.
“!!”
Bell kicked off the ground.
Hestia in his sights, he cut through the rain and flew off the edge of the cliff in pursuit.
As the stone face of the mountain whizzed by, her hand reached out. Hestia’s eyes trembled as she saw Bell hurtling like an arrow toward her and reached up for him.
The moment Bell felt her hand in his, he pulled her against his body and embraced the goddess.
From there, the boy held her tiny body against his chest and plunged straight into the river.
“!!”
Aiz was taking down one soldier after another, but she could still hear the faint sound of a splash from far below.
She broke away from the battle without a moment’s hesitation and dove over the cliff in pursuit of the boy and his goddess.
It was a deep gorge, and the mountainside was steep. However, Aiz was close enough to the side to kick off the rock, and she practically ran down the mountain at breakneck speed.
“Bell Cranell, Aiz Wallenstein…!”
Asfi watched it all unfold from her vantage point in the sky.
She couldn’t hide her surprise at this unforeseen turn of events in their mission to rescue the goddess. She’d been sent here to mark the location of Rakia’s army using Talaria. She had to go after them but hesitated for a moment.
Unfortunately, that moment cost her.
“!”
“Forget that goddess! Shoot down the spy in the sky!”
Asfi had drifted close enough to the ledge that she was in range of the chain Marius swiftly threw into the air. It wrapped around her arm and locked in place.
Hot pain tore through her muscles. Taking her eyes off the gorge and looking at the ledge, she saw Marius clutching the other end of the chain.
“A mythril chain…!”
“Without her, Orario’s forces have no chance of finding us! We can’t let her escape!”
Marius urgently called out to the few soldiers still able to move after their encounter with Aiz. Wrapping the immensely sturdy chain around his own arm, Marius was determined not to let Asfi get away.
“What is the meaning of this?!” roared Ares as several soldiers held him back. However, the second-in-command had adjusted to the changing circumstances and ordered the rest to eliminate Asfi.
“Marius Victrix Rakia—I had heard you were the son of the Moronic King, but you seem to have a decent head on your shoulders…!”
“I’ve heard interesting things, too, Perseus! Like how a god stole you, a beautiful young princess, from an island nation, and how you fell through the ranks of society to become an adventurer! Not as if that nation would ever admit it!”
The two sides of the tug-of-war antagonized each other.
It was a test of strength between him and an upper-class adventurer. Asfi, on the other hand, gently smiled at the prince of Rakia, who had displayed superior decision-making ability in battle, and complimented him. Marius shouted back at the top of his lungs, his expression far less relaxed as he glared at his airborne opponent. He channeled every ounce of strength into his arms and grip.
“It appears we have much in common—I sense that you have the same rotten luck that I do.”
“—Those eyes! Enough with the sympathy! Don’t look at me as if you know my pain!”
They were both at the mercy of their gods’ whim, often pulled along for a ride they couldn’t control. Asfi looked down at the man with an empathizing look on her face. It made Marius writhe in agony.
“My prince!” “My prince!” Exhausted soldiers wailed as they surrounded their vice commander, desperately calling out to him as they moved into position.
Her movement restrained by the rigid chain, Asfi came under fire of countless arrows and magic spells. Her white scarf torn to shreds and skin covered in burns, Perseus grimaced in pain.
She could feel her hair plastered to her cheeks by the pouring rain. Bell and Aiz were already out of sight, so she prioritized her own escape from this battle. Dodging another wave of arrows, she withdrew a vial of blast oil from her holster.
An explosion echoed through the mountain range and drowned out the sounds of battle, until it faded into the pounding of rain and the river rapids from far below.
The rain’s not letting up.
Waves of water come rushing down the side of the mountain faster and faster, and the storm shows no signs of lifting whatsoever.
Trapped in a deafening tunnel of sound, swept up by a raging river through the gorge between mountains, I make my way to the riverbank and manage to lift the goddess up and out of the water. I climb out next to her in time to see that Aiz has followed us.
I get to my feet, swing the goddess over my back, and we race off along the riverbank.
“How is she?”
“Her body is getting colder and colder! She’s not answering me, either…!”
Even I can hear how close I am to tears, yelling like this.
“Haah…haah…” Her chin is resting on my shoulder, so I can hear the weak breaths coming in and out of her mouth.
We’re losing body heat. The same is true for Aiz, her soaking-wet armor slick and shiny. But the goddess and I are much worse off, having actually fallen into the river.
For Aiz and me, this amount of rain is no big deal. Our leveled-up Statuses make our bodies hardy enough to withstand it. Unfortunately, that’s not true for the goddess. While she survived the plunge into the river, I can’t feel any heat on my back, and her limbs are limp.
The gods and goddesses came to this world to enjoy a “game,” and therefore they had to follow a set of rules.
The most important one is that no one can use their divine power, Arcanum. Without those all-powerful abilities, the deities are physically the same as people without a Blessing, or perhaps even weaker. Sure, they never age and never die, staying more or less the same for all eternity, but they’re not immune to the common cold or getting really sick.
I hear it’s all an “adjustment” to enjoy everything that Earth has to offer, or perhaps they’re being flexible.
“If we don’t find shelter soon…!”
The goddess won’t last long like this. I’ve never heard of Arcanum being activated and the deity abruptly being sent back to Tenkai because of an illness, but that does nothing to ease her pain.
The current took us pretty far downriver, so I have no idea where we are right now. Aiz being here isn’t much help as long as we’re stuck out in the rain.
“I could break open the cliff face and make a cave…”
Heat is what I want, not shelter. Every minute the goddess stays this cold puts her in even more danger.
Making fire isn’t the issue; Firebolt can take care of that instantly. The problem is keeping the fire going. We have to find dry kindling and a protected spot away from the river and out of the rain where we can rest and recover. There has to be a place like that farther along, I’m sure of it…!
Muscles in my face tense as I listen to Aiz speak and look up at the top of the unbelievably deep gorge. There’s nothing to obstruct my view of the dark-gray sky as it continues to mercilessly drop an endless stream of rain on top of us.
“KIYAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!”
“!”
A high-pitched squawk reaches my ears as we continue to race through the gorge.
Countless shadows descend on us from above and into the path ahead, the sound of flapping feathered wings accompanying them.
“Harpies!”
The descendants of the original monsters that emerged from the Dungeon millennia ago and settled here in the Beor Mountain Range are swarming in to attack us!
Harpies: half-human/half-bird, bizarrely female-looking monsters.
They look like women from the waist up, even have breasts. But both forearms are much larger than a human’s, forming win
gs the size of shields. Everything from the waist down is covered in dirty feathers. Just like a hawk or eagle, both legs end with sharp sets of talons.
As for their faces—it would be easy to say they look like a woman’s, but they’re actually quite different from humanity as a whole.
First off, their mouths are full of sharp fangs, and their skin is riddled with wrinkles. To be blunt, they’re horrifying. If I have to describe it, I’d say they look like overly obsessed old women. But no, a wizened old lady is much more beautiful than these things.
Their bodies may be close to what we’re familiar with, but they’re far more revolting than the normal monsters in the Dungeon. That’s probably because of the putrid smell emanating from their bodies. It makes me want to rip my nose off my face.
Why now…?
They’re swarming in like birds of prey, stark golden eyes flashing menacingly. I glare back at them and thrust my right hand forward, taking aim at the middle of the flock of harpies. I’m one breath away from unleashing my magic when I hear:
“Keep running.”
Wind whistles by my ears.
I hear the unmistakable sound of a sword being removed from its sheath, and my eyes catch a flash of blond hair. The next thing I know, every harpy in our path falls to the ground in pieces.
Shrill squawks and fountains of blood fill the air. Aiz has sparked confusion among the harpies, and her eyes sharpen into a glare just as acute as her blade.
“KAAWWW!”
The air is suddenly flooded with countless black feathers falling to the ground like the rain.
The blond-haired, golden-eyed knight is running up the side of the gorge, dashing through the air, and slicing her way to the other side so fast I can’t keep up with her. The birds of prey surrounding us on all sides let out high-pitched squawks as her blade carves them into cold cuts. I do exactly as she tells me and keep running with the goddess on my back. Meanwhile, there are constant streaks of gold and silver light going up, down, and all around us like a dome that shreds any monster that gets too close.
It’s like her saber is creating a barrier of protection around us.
I know I’m being protected and all, but seeing her pull this off so easily, it’s impressive and awe-inspiring at the same time. I’m running as fast as I can, but I can’t help straining my eyes trying to watch her in action.
—She’s very, very strong. Too strong.
Pa-loosh! Pa-loosh! While I was busy gawking, several de-winged monsters fall into the raging river and get swallowed up by the waves. I’m dodging carcasses one after another, and there’s no telling how many hundreds of them are behind me along the riverbank.
The rain washes away the blood splattered against the mountain face.
“…What’s that?”
Then, when the last squawk of the final harpy rings out…
Aiz lands on a boulder not too far in front of me and turns forward, as though she’s noticed something out of place.
I look in that direction—there’s a light wavering in the distance, a magic-stone lamp. What’s more, it’s coming this way.
“Hello out there! Anybody here?”
A human voice rises over the crashing waves of the rapids.
Aiz and I exchange glances and nods before rushing off in that direction.
Crackle, crackle. Sounds from the fireplace fill the room.
Everything here is cast in an orange light and flooded with warmth. The heat washes over me, embracing my cold body in a warm hug. My eyelids get heavy, but I shake my head every time sleep threatens to overtake me.
The goddess is lying in the bed in front of me, sleeping peacefully. I sit quietly, holding her right hand with both of mine.
“How is the goddess doing?”
“Ah, Mr. Kam…She’s all right. Fell asleep a little while ago.”
I hear a knock at the door, look up to see an elderly gentleman named Kam, and stand to greet him. A human girl a little older than me is at his side. “I’m glad,” he says with a smile of relief.
—We came to this place, Edas Village, after we were fortunate enough to run into someone in the gorge.
Edas Village is located deep in the Beor Mountain Range. Surrounded by steep cliffs, it’s a well-hidden small town in one of the valleys. Aiz and I were extremely surprised that a place like this existed when we came to it. Who would’ve thought people lived way out here?
After we explained the situation to the young men who came to check on the river, they brought us here, and the villagers immediately offered to help. The village elder, Kam, opened his home to us. Not only is the goddess resting in one of his guest rooms, but he gave me a change of clothes as well.
Words can’t express how grateful I am for his help. I bow to the elder once again.
“I can’t thank you enough. You saved my goddess…”
“Raise your head, young Bell. This is the least I cancough, cough!” He couldn’t finish a sentence before breaking into a coughing fit.
The girl at his side supports him with both hands as the old man bends over, trying to catch his breath between coughs. The girl, maybe his daughter, urges him to go back to his room, with a concerned look on her face.
Kam slowly raises his hand, telling her he’s all right, and gradually stands up straight.
“Um, please don’t push yourself…!”
“No, it’s all right…Bell, please make yourself at home. If you need anything at all, my daughter will be happy to help. I pray for your goddess’s recovery.”
I take a step toward him, unsure what to do. Even though he’s not healthy, Kam says he’s fine, but he keeps his eyes on the goddess, still lying in bed.
He has a thin beard and wrinkled face, but there’s something about his eyes. I can tell they’ve seen a lot, and there’s a mix of complicated emotions running through him right now. He then makes a small bow to her and says, “May the both of you stay in good health…” before exiting our room with the help of his daughter.
“I wonder if he’s sick…”
We only just met, but he immediately pulled out all the stops to help us the moment he saw me carrying the goddess. It’s almost overkill, but I’m extremely grateful for everything he’s done. He’s been so good to us throughout our time here that the lack of color in his face worries me.
I make my way back to the goddess’s side and catch a glimpse of someone outside the window.
I watch the hooded figure approach for a few moments, trying to make them out in the rain. Once I realize who it is, I leave the goddess in Kam’s daughter’s care and rush out of the room and to the entrance of the house.
“Welcome back, Miss Aiz. And, um, thanks for going back out.”
“It’s no problem, and thanks…How is she?”
Aiz takes off the soaking-wet hooded robe in the front hallway, revealing her battle cloth and armor beneath. I hand her a towel as she asks about the goddess and tell her that she’s in stable condition.
“So, what did you find?”
“Asfi wasn’t there and neither were Rakia’s soldiers…Just the broken weapons and charred aftermath of battle.”
Aiz went back out to check on what was happening with Rakia’s soldiers as soon as the goddess was safely inside Edas Village.
She says that she followed the overflowing river upstream to the point where we fell in. The storm had gotten worse, so she reasoned that Rakia’s soldiers and Asfi had taken shelter somewhere. Whether the enemy soldiers were biding time to come after the goddess again or had completely given up and gone home, she didn’t know.
Not only had she been pulled into this mess, but she also protected me the entire time. I apologize for causing her so much trouble, but she kindly shakes her head and tells me it’s okay.
“We have no way to contact Orario…I don’t think we should hope for rescue.”
Going back to the city would require at least the rest of the night, and to make matters worse, the weather isn’t cooperating
. Getting lost in rugged mountainous terrain is a very real danger, separating her from us—and Lord Ares’s troops are still out there. They’re strong and numerous enough that she didn’t want to engage them in battle under these conditions. So Aiz decided to come back to the village for the time being.
Asfi is an upper-class adventurer, so I’m sure she’s returned to the city and explained what happened by now…but I highly doubt she knows about a village this far into the mountains, and that we safely arrived here.
“So then we stay here until the goddess recovers…?”
“Yes, I think that’s best.”
Aiz wipes down her wet hair and neck with the towel as she nods. Her soaked clothing is plastered to her skin, making it very difficult for me to figure out where to look as I agree with her plan.
The three of us will stay together and move as one. We’ll have to impose on the people of the village until the goddess is healthy enough to make the journey back to Orario.
I feel bad for making Lilly and the others worry…but it can’t be helped.
Feeling a little guilty about it, I make a plan with Aiz for the next few days.
The goddess opened her eyes the day after we arrived. I was so happy I could cry, but I knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet. She stayed in bed the rest of that day, as well as all of the next.
Then, on our third morning in Edas Village…
“Sorry…Bell.”
“You’ve already apologized many times, Goddess. I told you, it’s all right.”
I’ve lost count of how many times she’s said sorry while she lies in bed. I’m in my usual spot next to her, tension leaving my face as I smile. Her color is better this morning. She looks up at me but avoids making eye contact, as though she’s ashamed of something.
“This is…a nice village, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Everyone is so warm and friendly.”
Edas Village was originally an elf settlement, if you went back far enough in time. Back to the Ancient Times, from what I’ve heard.
Elves generally don’t like to mingle with other races, so a place like this was perfect for their isolationist views. But apparently, the way they saw the world began to change about 1,000 years ago. The arrival of the gods and goddesses on Earth spurred the elvish youth to leave their homeland and explore the world, while the older elves began to accept people of other races into their village.
