Ch.412The Federation of Inma. Mount Kabalaia (3)

The meal consisted of ordinary dishes.

Grilled wild boar steak seasoned with just salt and pepper, bibimbap mixed with wild mountain vegetables, clear doenjang soup with soft tofu… that was all.

It was a well-prepared meal, but it seemed quite insufficient for a feast meant to serve a god. Of course, I wasn’t planning to complain about the side dishes, considering that the resources of Mount Cabalaia probably weren’t very abundant.

After finishing the meal, Viktor asked Simon about the decoding time.

“How long do you think it will take? I don’t think it will be done in just a few hours.”

“About 10 hours? Maybe 14 if we’re being conservative… As you said, given the volume, it can’t be done quickly. Besides, this is a law book. It would be troublesome if we rushed and made typos.”

Viktor nodded at Simon’s words.

In a world where wars break out over the interpretation of a single word, this was a record of judgments against criminals. Making a hasty mistake in translation would be even more heartbreaking.

“Well, take your time. We’ll get some sleep in the meantime.”

“Indeed. This old man needs to put in some effort after a long while.”

It might seem cold, but this was actually the most useful help they could offer. Trying to assist without specialized knowledge would be pointless; standing around would be distracting, and drinking would create noise that would make concentration impossible.

By process of elimination, sleeping was the only option. Of course, Simon would have to work hard, but wasn’t that what being a sage was all about? This was his role.

“So don’t sneakily try to bring out alcohol and come here!”

“Argh!!”

After forcibly putting the dwarves to sleep as they tried to sneak out some alcohol, the sun embraced the moon tightly and went to sleep.

And watching the young and short-statured ones fall asleep, the sage exhaled softly and began to open the first page of the book made of human skin.

“Well… shall we begin?”

*

A full day passed like that.

It took longer than expected because the words written were much more difficult to decipher.

There were words that existed only during that period and were forgotten afterward, and many words that were incorrectly written from the beginning. For example, writing “ilburo” instead of “ilbureo” (on purpose).

Still, decoding wasn’t impossible. With Viktor having access to the Imperial Orbit Database, they could somehow cross-reference with historical information to decode the content, albeit with greatly reduced efficiency.

In the end, it took a full 36 hours, but they succeeded in decoding everything.

“Ah… this was really tough. I can’t go on anymore.”

“You worked hard. Rest now. You’ve barely slept for hours.”

Holding the fully decoded law book, Viktor spoke, and Simon nodded before casting his final spell of the day to immediately fall asleep. Just before he collapsed, the honor guards nearby quickly caught him and carried him to bed in pairs.

“Hmm….”

Viktor carefully read the first page. These were certainly not words written by experts. Even from the first line, one could see the messiness of ordinary people trying to sound formal by randomly extending words and sentences.

However, this actually made the interpretation easier. Naturally, a plain text with some awkwardness was easier to interpret than a law book filled with technical terms.

-What is written in this law book are the regulations that must be observed for permanent peace and mutual trust between monsters and humans, and the precedents of punishment according to those regulations. If anyone violates the regulations written below, punishment will be carried out by mutual agreement between the affected monsters and humans, and it will remain permanently in the history of this land.-

“What a fierce preface.”

Viktor said as he continued turning the pages.

What followed was a flood of regulations—too simple to be called laws—and beneath them, numerous precedents of judgments based on those “laws.”

Most were cruel, with the most merciful treatment being the amputation of a limb. Here was evidence that during the 50,000-year Age of Eclipse, people had no choice but to become heartless and cruel to survive.

And even those merciful treatments disappeared by the time he reached halfway through the pages, replaced by increasingly harsh punishments and a growing religious tone that explicitly justified the worship of monsters as legally proper.

“About 7000 years… they endured for quite a while.”

Humans need something to worship. Not necessarily divine beings, but can one imagine a human without dreams, ideals, beliefs, or wishes? At least for Viktor, it was impossible.

Isn’t it devotion to someone or something that makes weak humans stronger than steel, that gives courage and valor to humans who cannot stand alone to charge forward holding a flag before an army of a million?

For the people of this land, that object was simply the monsters on the mountain. The orbital satellite bombardments heard at the beginning of each day, the great rotating sounds from beyond the mountain ridges, and the fear of the outside instilled by the constant influx of refugees—to overcome these, they had no choice but to deify the monsters that protected them.

Thinking about it that way, maintaining sanity for about 7000 years could be considered quite a long time. After all, no one survived the Age of Eclipse with their sanity intact. If we were to condemn them by modern standards, about 90% of modern civilization would have to burn at the stake.

“As I suspected… not exactly pleasant content. But it was helpful nonetheless.”

Viktor closed the book again. The people of this land didn’t need to atone for past sins. They had no freedom, and above all, no power. So they relied on monsters. At least they survived, so their choice was, in retrospect, the right decision.

Those who made wrong decisions and choices have now become geological layers, disappearing into the far side of history.

*

Three days passed.

During these three days, the Iron Walker party led by Viktor examined the problems of Mount Cabalaia point by point.

First, the most serious issue was poverty. Unable to develop the mountaintop, they couldn’t expand properly, and without proper expansion, they couldn’t even develop the available land properly, essentially reaching a population stagnation. Fortunately, this could be resolved if the imperial industrial companies, led by Turianic Industry, stepped in.

Next was the closed nature of the community. Despite being designated as a famous site with many pilgrims coming and going, the locals didn’t welcome adventurers. More than half of the shops had “No Outsiders” signs, creating ill feelings where none existed before, so the Cabalaians were largely at fault for this.

Of course, the Cabalaians living at the foot of the mountain had their grievances too. Adventurers would climb the mountain at will, selling monster remains or fossils at high prices in the market, or causing disturbances while drunk. In short, a structure that could only build mutual animosity had continued for thousands of years.

There was no quick solution for this. The only option was to invite experts to ease the hostility and deploy imperial war machines to forcibly prevent those trying to ascend the mountain. If they knew the Master of Fervor was backing this, even those proud adventurers would think twice.

Of course, using overwhelming “divine power” could instantly transform the mental world of these Cabalaians, but that would be no different from forced conversion. Human development comes only from self-reflection and harsh self-criticism, not from coercion and violence. If there are those who grow stronger through such means, they are not humans but slaves.

“It seems we’ve done everything we can here. Let’s depart now.”

Looking at the plasma trajectories of imperial war machines falling from orbit, Viktor began preparations to leave.

He had seen everything there was to see in this land. In truth, he wanted to blow away all prohibitions and see the remains of the dead monsters with his own eyes, but that was a matter to be left to the people living in this land.