Chapter 180 – Hedor’s Legacy (2)
Thanks to Crockta, the vegetable seller finished early and invited them inside the store. They were seated to have a meal. The vegetable seller told them to wait and left for a while. Then he soon returned carrying a large pot.
It was vegetable stew. The flavor of the broth was abundant. There was some meat included, but it was mainly made of vegetables. Crockta and Tiyo originally enjoyed meat, but their spoons moved quickly due to the delicious taste of the vegetables.
“…By the way, why is he sitting here?”
“Hum hum, you shouldn’t hold grudges.”
“A man who interferes in business is shameless dot.”
“It is a thing of the past. Kelkelkel!”
The man who promoted the Arnold’s Butchery was also with them.
The vegetable seller just laughed at their argument and replied, “Vegetables are from the ground, from Mother Nature. A mother doesn’t discriminate against her children.”
“……!”
His warm words caused the gaze in Crockta’s and Tiyo’s eyes to grow colder. The muscular man had actually tried to harass such a good person. The macho man scratched his head and avoided their gazes. The vegetable seller didn’t care and gave him plenty of vegetable soup.
“At any rate, I am surprised that Tiyo is Hedor’s son. This is a fated relationship.”
“When did you see my father dot?”
“It was a year ago.”
“It has been a long time dot…”
“Hedor was looking for something.”
“That’s right dot…”
Tiyo nodded. Hedor had an explorer’s temperament and always sought new things. It wasn’t strange that he was pursuing interesting things. However, from Quantes to the north, the north to the south, and then somewhere else, what was keeping him so busy?
“What was it dot?”
“I don’t know the details, but it seemed to be a relic of the gods.”
“The gods.”
When talking about the gods, things like the gray god and the world tree popped into Crockta’s mind. They were powerful existences with divine power. Crockta had first met the gray god in the Temple of the Fallen Gods. It could be inferred that it was possible to meet a god in a place associated with them. Then was Hedor looking for some ruins to meet the gods?
“He came periodically to buy vegetables. He was good at self-management.”
“He came periodically dot? It means he stayed here for a while.”
“That’s right. He stayed for a few months.”
“Where did he go dot?”
“Maybe the temple.”
“Temple? Katalu has a temple dot?”
“Yes. It is more like a memorial than a temple, but…”
The muscular man spoke from the side, “That’s correct. It is a temple but not a temple.”
“A temple but not a temple dot?”
“Yes, it’s a memorial place…”
The muscular man and the vegetable seller were natives of Katalu, so they both knew the place. Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances and nodded.
“Are you leaving straight away?”
“No.”
“No dot.”
Crockta and Tiyo replied at the same time.
“If it is possible, I would like one more bowl.”
“I will eat before going dot. This is delicious.”
***
Crockta and Tiyo arrived at the temple the vegetable seller had described. It was a small building on the outskirts of the city. Although this was their first time seeing it, it felt familiar to Crockta. The building’s appearance was similar to the Temple of the Fallen God. Crockta felt that this was somehow associated with the gray god.
“Why is that guy here dot?” Tiyo said.
Anor was standing there. The tanned skin made it obvious that he was the dark elf, Anor. There was no doubt that he was moving back and forth. He now had the dark energy of a necromancer around his body.
“Hey, Anor! What are you doing dot?”
“Eh?” Anor found them and waved happily. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you go to the market?”
“Something happened dot. What about you?”
Anor had definitely declared that he would rest all day at the inn.
“What, did you make a promise to meet a beautiful woman dot?”
“Hahaha. No. I just felt something from here.” Anor pointed to the temple. The lights were off, and it was completely dark inside. “A familiar aura… I feel something like that.”
“Hoh…” Tiyo touched his chin. “It seems like a very unpleasant place dot.”
They approached the temple and opened the door. It was dark, but as soon as they entered, the lights came on as if it sensed their movements. There was a long corridor.
“Is anyone here?” Crockta called out. His voice echoed down the hallway. He heard there was someone managing this hallway, so where were they? Suddenly, they reached the end of the corridor. There was one more door. Crockta hesitated, but Tiyo opened the door without hesitation.
Kkiiik.
The door opened… And there was a woman sitting down.
“No dot...”
“What a surprise.”
The woman didn’t move from the noise. It was only the rear view, but she showed a holy appearance. The inner murals surrounding her created a strange atmosphere, somewhat like the one in the Temple of the Fallen God. They made a lot of noise on their way in, but the woman was still in her own world, completely motionless.
Crockta’s group stood in the doorway and watched her for a while. After some time, the woman started to slowly rise.
“Ack…”
At that moment, the woman stumbled. It seemed that she had been sitting for a long time. She frowned and twisted on the ground, groaning. Crockta withdrew his previous assessment. She wasn’t a sacred being, just a person.
The woman finally got up. “Phew, I thought I was going to die.”
Then she spoke to Crockta’s party, “Welcome. I’m sorry for the delay. You must’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Crockta greeted her. “No. We didn’t want to interfere in your praying…”
“Huh? Praying?” She asked.
“You weren’t praying?”
“Then you were just sitting there…”
“Oh, I was doing yoga and got a cramp…”
“……”
She clapped and the interior lit up a bit more.
“This…”
“Isn’t it amazing? A friend of mine made it.”
Tiyo was convinced that her friend was Hedor as this was magic engineering.
“Oh, my?” She saw Tiyo and suddenly covered her mouth. It was an expression of enlightenment. “Perhaps…”
“That’s right dot.” Tiyo nodded. “I am Hedor’s son, Tiyo!”
“Unbelievable…” She looked down at Tiyo with admiration. “You look very similar.”
“Do you know my father dot?”
“Of course. You have the same rude way of talking.”
“What dot…?”
“Hahat, I’m just joking.”
Crockta explained on behalf of the shocked Tiyo.
“We are looking for Hedor. Do you know anything about him?”
“He had to leave… Please follow me.”
She guided them somewhere. It was a small sitting room. The woman brought out some tea. She nodded after they explained their purpose for coming here. The woman did indeed know about Hedor.
“He’s a curious person and was investigating a god who is no longer in this world.”
“The fallen god?”
“Gosh, you already know. That’s right. That is what she is called.”
Crockta gulped at the words. Strangely, the gray god was mentioned again here. Since Crockta’s assimilation reached 100, the gray god no longer talked to him, and he didn’t receive any system messages. What did the gray god really want, and what was Hedor looking for?
“Then is this the Temple of the Fallen God?” Crockta asked. She shook her head.
“No. The Temple of the Fallen God no longer exists. They are all in ruins.”
There was a temple in the north, but she didn’t know about it.
“Additionally, this place isn’t strictly a temple.”
“Then?”
“It is a memorial place.”
“For what? And you…?”
“I…” Her answer was unexpected. “I am Eliza, a follower of the goddess of mercy.”
“The goddess of mercy…?”
Eliza smiled. “I came here following the Goddess of Mercy’s will, in order to remember a species that has now disappeared from the continent.”
“A species that has disappeared from the continent dot?” Tiyo was confused. He didn’t seem to know.
“A very long time ago, there was a species that followed the fallen god before she fell. They had a strong and mysterious power that was different from other species.”
“Mysterious power?”
“Yes, I don’t know exactly, but it is said that the other species were afraid because of the unknown power. Then the fallen god suddenly went crazy and was captivated by the strange idea of destroying the world.” Eliza sighed. “The species kept following her, despite her desire to destroy the world, and all the gods and species united to stop the fallen god. The orcs, humans, dwarves, elves, and gnomes confronted them.”
“It is the first time I’ve heard this story dot.”
“It is a story that the records have erased. Anyway, the power of the other gods combined, and she crashed, becoming a ‘fallen god.’”
The gray god was the god who had fallen.
Crockta asked, “That species?”
“Unfortunately, they suffered the same fate as the fallen god. They all died. Some are said to be alive, but I don’t know if this is true or not.”
Suddenly, Crockta’s waist started itching. Crockta lowered his head and saw that the steel belt at his waist seemed to be shaking strangely.
“The goddess of mercy was saddened by the fate of the species that followed the fallen god and made a memorial for them. This is the place.”
“It is a sad but interesting story.”
“But there is a positive aspect in that all the species joined together. The species will work together when there is a crisis.”
Crockta fell into deep thought as he listened to the story. The fallen god was clearly the gray god. That meant the creation of Elder Lord was an extension of that ambition. She still wanted to destroy the world.
Crockta, who had met her in person, had difficulty thinking about her as such a dangerous being. He hadn’t gotten any bad feelings from her. So, what was her reason for wanting such an ending?
Tiyo asked, “So, where did my father go dot?”
“He received information that the trail of the fallen god is in the west…”
Tak tak tak!
Suddenly, the footsteps were heard coming from outside.
“I will leave you with those words… Please excuse me. Come in!”
The door opened, and a man looked at Eliza. He was holding an envelope in his hand.
“Eliza. There is a letter. It seems to be urgent.”
“Thank you.” Eliza accepted it. Then the man bowed and left the temple. He seemed to be the mailman. “This… Please wait a moment.”
She checked the outside of the envelope, immediately tore it open, and then checked the contents. Her eyes gradually widened. She frowned like she couldn’t understand it. Her eyes shook as she read it again a few times.
“This…”
Eliza looked at Crockta with an intense gaze.
“Crockta.”
“What happened?”
“……”
She bit her lips and spoke again,
“Um… and Tiyo.”
“What dot?”
“The dark elf as well…”
“I am Anor.”
“Yes, Anor.” Eliza continued, “Hedor told me he was going to ‘Geherad,’ which is to the north-west of Katalu. You should go quickly.”
“Geherad?”
“Yes. He said he would stay there for a while, so you should rush in order to not miss him.”
“Then it is better to go quickly dot.” Tiyo looked at Crockta and Anor.
“We are accompanying you.”
“There is no need to ask.”
They nodded at each other. As they were companions, it was natural for them to accompany Tiyo.
Tiyo raised a fist. “Good dot. Let’s start straight away!”
“Now?”
“Indeed dot. Katalu is safe, so we don’t have to wait any longer dot.”
“But I wanted to take a break…”
“You can do it tomorrow dot! Live today!”
Tiyo declared. So, Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor headed for Geherad. After thanking Eliza, they hastily escaped the temple—no, the memorial place for the disappeared species.
***
Eliza sighed as they left. Did she do the right thing?
She looked at the letter again. A divine message had come down to the temple. The contents were hostile towards the orcs and Crockta’s party. There were several things which didn’t seem usual for the goddess of mercy.
As a follower of the goddess of mercy, she shouldn’t have let them go. She should’ve tricked them into going to a dangerous place or drug them…
Instead, she sent them to a safe place. Geherad was a harsh place, but it was also isolated from other species and temples. If the contents of the message were true, Geherad was the best place for them.
It was a hard choice for her. However, Crockta was the hero who saved Katalu, and Tiyo… He was Hedor’s son.
Eliza closed her eyes as she thought of Hedor. He was a gnome who always laughed cheerfully and had helped Eliza, a novice who had been sent to the outside world alone. His optimistic attitude had left a big impression on her. The facilities inside the temple had also been provided by Hedor.
“Hah…” Eliza sighed.
Her chest felt heavy at the thought of disobeying the goddess. Hedor’s son, Tiyo, was following him. Tiyo might resent Hedor, but today, Hedor had saved his party. If it wasn’t for Hedor, she might’ve deceived them.
She looked at the letter again. This was written:
[Make the orcs a forgotten species.]
It wasn’t like the goddess of mercy. If a divine message had come down, that meant something was happening. The kingdom had become an empire, and the goddess of mercy passed on a strange message. Everything was becoming strange.
Eliza prayed for the world.