Ch.369The Road to Ainsess Plains (1)

“I can no longer stay here. Farewell, people in white coats. If you fulfill your duty until death, you shall be crowned with honor and glory. Persevere. The sun is always watching over you.”

“Ah…!”

The words begging him not to leave couldn’t escape their lips. They knew it was an unreasonable request, and they recognized that he couldn’t remain at this Precursor forever.

Despite being humans who made various mistakes, they were ultimately among the most intelligent people in the 13 Continents, second to none.

“My lord. All honor guards have returned. We must depart now.”

“Yes. Let us go then.”

“As you command. Let us proceed.”

Soon the honor guard began to escort the Sun with their white uniforms fluttering, and as the Sun’s radiance gradually faded into the distance, patients and doctors let out sighs of regret.

God is the one who is worshipped. Humans are the ones who worship.

For them, watching their object of worship depart must feel like sending off a parent. Just as a child instinctively seeks their parents, humans are instinctively driven to yearn for a deity.

The remaining honor guard and the Sun boarded the shuttle, and after confirming everyone was aboard, the pilot began to reinflate the gas cells.

“My heart is uneasy. I never realized how difficult it would be to leave behind those who are suffering.”

Watching the hospital grounds and the long line of patients grow distant, the Sun murmured with apparent regret.

“You did not leave Isabella easily either.”

“True. But you didn’t see it. The cold logic of machines that block the only escape of death with the plank of ‘survival,’ clinging to hopeless treatments. They are as good as dead already, but they are still dying.”

“…I apologize, my lord. With my limited insight, it’s difficult to understand.”

Inside the shuttle, the honor guard and the Sun exchanged brief words. Though the conclusion of their conversation wasn’t particularly positive, dialogue between god and humans always held significance.

“I wasn’t really expecting you to understand. I’m just disappointed that there’s so little I can do for them. If I become Emperor of the Empire, perhaps I can increase those ‘things I can do,’ if only by a little.”

“Your words are wise. We will follow you.”

“Indeed. You are my army, after all.”

As the Sun said this while patting the commander’s shoulder, smiles spread across the faces of the honor guard members huddled together.

Having one’s value acknowledged is a fundamental human desire. Especially when that acknowledgment comes from one’s lord and the ruler of humanity—the Master of Fervor—it would literally be the glory of a lifetime.

“By the way… where are we headed next? I remember it was some plains…”

“The Ainsess Plains, my lord.”

“Ah, right. The Ainsess Plains.”

Viktor said this while gazing at the approaching lower flight deck of the Sky Warden.

Soon the docking clamps attached to the shuttle, and as the hydraulic doors opened, the honor guard and Viktor stepped onto the flight deck.

*

“It’s changed so much. The Sky Warden too.”

In the workshop of the Sky Warden

Viktor murmured quietly as he observed the 1,000 shuttles docked on the lower flight deck and the gun batteries attached like petals all over the lower hull.

There was a time when this vessel was just a small supply ship capable of carrying only 1,000 soldiers.

“Well, I can’t even remember how many times it’s been modified. I’d wager there are only a handful of ships in the 13 Continents that could defeat the Sky Warden in a one-on-one battle.”

“Hmm… is that so…”

To be honest, even Viktor wasn’t sure how many upgrades the Sky Warden had undergone. What mattered was that it had “become stronger,” not how many improvements and modifications it had received.

“Something just occurred to me—if an unmodified, original Sky Warden were to pass by right now, do you think you’d recognize it?”

“Hmm?”

As Viktor suddenly posed this interesting thought, Berkman and Hawkman, who had been examining the rifling of a water cannon, looked up with raised eyebrows and groaned.

In truth, Viktor himself wasn’t confident he could tell the difference, but his reasonable suspicion was that the dwarves might have a better chance of recognizing it since they had experience repairing the Sky Warden directly.

“Ugh… to be honest, I’m not confident. I have experience with repairs, but that was internal work. As for the exterior, I barely remember it now. Besides, my brother and I didn’t do 100% of the work ourselves.”

“I see… Honestly, I’m not confident either. Not to state the obvious, but we spend more time inside the Sky Warden than outside it, don’t we?”

“Hah! Can’t deny that. Still, without this ship, our journey would have taken over ten years, wouldn’t it?”

“True enough.”

A pilgrimage is a long march. No one would find it strange if you started as a child and finished as an elderly person while making a pilgrimage through the 52 scenic wonders of the 13 Continents. In fact, ten years was a generous estimate, and when Viktor and Raisha were making the pilgrimage alone, they had planned to have and raise children along the way.

Many pilgrims choose such a path, and some wealthy men or nobles with many illegitimate children would recognize as legitimate heirs those who completed the pilgrimage.

“Now we’re halfway through the ninth continent… time really flies.”

Viktor said this as he began heading back to the captain’s quarters.

Whenever his mind was troubled like this, tugging on his wife’s cheeks usually solved the problem.

*

The Ainsess Plains, symbol of religion.

Whether a miracle truly occurred there would be impossible to determine, even with his power as the Sun.

This was because discovering a miracle that happened in the distant past, when the world was shrouded in darkness before the Sun was even born, was impossible despite his grand title as the Master of Fervor.

The ruins of the plains, weathered, damaged, and crumbling over the unfathomable span of one million years, were still disintegrating even under the radiance of the Sun.

Things that existed in complete darkness, not even shadows, are bound to crumble even when they rest in mere shade.

“Hmm… I wonder if it really happened… Is there no way to find out? Maybe if I touch it once, memories might resurface.”

“Well, that could be possible, couldn’t it? There’s a saying that seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.”

“That’s true. But this would be the first time I’ve interfered with something unrelated to the Empire.”

“Congratulations on your first experience.”

“Did you really have to use those particular words?”

While lightly shaking the head of Hawkman, who had made a comment lacking gender sensitivity, Viktor sat down and gazed at the drifting clouds.

“…Damn. I miss the elves. They would always bring alcohol and throw tantrums at times like this.”

“Ah…”

Lucia and Cassia. While it might have seemed inappropriate to see High Elf teenagers (by elven standards) rolling around drunk, there was truly no one in the Iron Walker party who disliked them.

Whenever they crossed the line and lost control, party leader Viktor would physically correct them, so there was nothing to frown upon. Besides, there was no one with a younger mental age than them.

Simon was an old sage, the dwarves were middle-aged craftsmen, so the elf sisters couldn’t compete in terms of age. Viktor had seen countless maniacs swinging swords or firing guns while heavily intoxicated in Parsifal, and Raisha had seen and heard much during her years as an adventurer, including all sorts of experiences from menial jobs when her family fortunes declined.

It was like watching a child throw a tantrum in front of adults. Similar to how grandparents coo over their grandchildren’s whining, finding it cute unless it becomes excessive.

“What do you think they’re doing now?”

“Who knows. If they’re still adventurers, they’re probably continuing to gain experience. If they’ve retired, they might have returned to their homeland. Or they might have settled somewhere. I hate to say this in front of a woman, but there are many men who desire young elves. If they wanted to get married, they probably already have.”

It’s nothing new for wealthy older men to take young, beautiful women as concubines. Since elves are immortal, they could endure a brief moment with eyes tightly shut in exchange for a substantial inheritance.

But for some reason, Viktor believed they wouldn’t resort to such “shortcuts.”