episode_0153

I was taken aback by the words of the landowner from the South.

30 years is a time when rivers and mountains change.

I’ve been waiting for such a long time to repay the favor I received from my father.

And that’s even if it means giving up land in the south where land prices are skyrocketing.

‘I never thought there would be such a righteous man in this world.’

I was surprised by my father’s popularity and couldn’t help but be amazed by the man’s character before my eyes.

“My story ends here.”

My father’s close friend, Dennis, looked me in the eye.

“Are you the adopted son of Ian de Saiger, the warrior of light?”

“Yes. My name is Si-an. I was adopted, so I didn’t inherit my father’s surname, but I inherited my father’s name and will.”

Dennis trembled at my answer and asked softly.

“If you don’t mind, what did the Warrior of Light say at the end?”

“He asked me to create a family different from myself.”

“I see, so you were regretting that.”

When the old man suddenly started to cry, I waited in silence for him to collect his emotions.

“…Was the warrior happy in the end? Or was he saddened by his fate?”

“I don’t know whether he was happy or sad. The father I know was someone who looked up at the night sky. However, I can say one thing for sure.”

I recalled the story my father had told me from the village chief and told it to my father’s close friend.

“This is the answer to the life my father walked.”

“I see… Thank you for granting the old man’s wish.”

“No. I just did what I had to do as my father’s son. But, can I ask you one thing?”

“Ask me anything. You deserve it.”

“Why did Father commit blasphemy? Even giving up his position as a warrior of light.”

I asked my father’s close friend about something I had always wondered about.

Warrior of light.

Just as I was chosen by Hestia, the goddess of home and love, my father was chosen by Sunna, the goddess of the sun and justice.

Unlike Hestia, whose conditions are unknown, I heard that Sunna’s conditions are strict, and the Saizer family is said to spare no effort in providing enormous support in order to produce warriors of light for generations.

What was my father trying to do by giving up his position as the Hero of Light?

“Haven’t you heard from the warrior?”

“Yes, he didn’t tell me, his son, about his past.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s probably a shameful thing that even my son can’t easily tell the warrior.”

Dennis sent his hired servants off somewhere and looked around.

What kind of secret is it that makes you do this?

Dennis took a moment to catch his breath, perhaps judging that there was no one around, and put on a determined expression.

“The warrior tried to expose the truth about God.”

“When you say the reality of God, are you referring to the twelve gods who look after humans?”

“Yes, I found something strange while cross-checking the Bible with the Church of Light and the Holy Kingdom.”

“What is the fact?”

“…Unfortunately, the warrior didn’t tell me the details. Thinking about it now, I wonder if he kept quiet because he was afraid that I would be harmed too.”

Unfortunately, as a foreigner, I don’t seem to know the details.

I’ll have to look into it sometime if I get the chance.

“But I guess there is a truth about God that he cannot tell humans. Otherwise, the righteous warrior and the faithful saint who are closer to the goddess than anyone else would not have been judged as heretics.”

“Saint? Who is she?”

“A woman who was born in the dirtiest place and became the most noble being, and she was the warrior’s fiancée. Even the mischievous warrior was like a boy falling in love for the first time in front of her.”

“I can’t imagine how confused your father must be, but has the saint become that much more beautiful?”

“In my eyes, she looked pure rather than beautiful. When I smiled innocently in front of the warrior, the warrior didn’t know what to do, and I still remember that look.”

Dennis, drenched in perfume, soon became filled with anger.

“The gods trampled those two people mercilessly. It was because they trampled on the reality of the gods.”

“How are you two?”

“As you know, the warrior was branded a criminal and became a fugitive, and the saintess…was burned at the stake. Even though the saintess was pregnant with the warrior’s child at the time.”

I was speechless at the terrible past.

How could my father, despite having such a past, smile so brightly at me without ever showing it to me?

“Since then, I have not believed in God. If there is a God, such a thing would not happen to the two of you who are the best of all people.”

I cautiously asked Dennis about his denial of God in front of the warrior.

“Is that why you came to me? To uncover the secrets of God.”

“I did not come here with that intention. How could a human challenge the authority of a god? I hope that the divine punishment that fell on the warrior will not fall on you, my adopted son. I am sure the warrior would not wish it to happen. And I simply wish to repay the favor I received from the warrior.”

“Thank you. But I will only accept your heart. I am sure your father would also not want you to dwell on the past.”

“If you are a warrior, you would be able to say that. However, the reason my family and I are still alive is because of you, warrior. If I cannot repay that favor, my family and I cannot be called human.”

Dennis, who insisted on his father’s grace, showed me the carriage he had brought.

“Please accept all of this. I will repay with interest everything I have received for 30 years.”

“Is it okay to give this much? The shipping cost alone must be quite high just to bring it here.”

“It’s not much. It’s half of the crops harvested this year.”

“Is this it?”

I was dumbfounded by the absurd amount of crops.

This amount would be enough to sustain the villagers of Lugeron for several years.

“The land in the south flows with honey and milk. And the land that the warrior entrusted to me is the highest grade in the south.”

“I would like to receive it, but is that okay? Your father must have a family, too. Shouldn’t he have some property to leave to his children?”

When I tried to refuse his continued kindness, Dennis stubbornly held my hand.

“My children are all married and have families, and now I have children of my own. Thanks to the grace of the warrior, I was able to live in a better environment and eat better food than others, but if I don’t try to repay that grace now, then I can’t call that son my child.”

“If you say it like that, it wouldn’t be polite to refuse any longer.”

Since I couldn’t break Dennis’ stubbornness, I had to take the things he offered.

‘Even after he died, my father still helps me.’

And then I showed Dennis the cabin where I had stayed with my father, his little mementos, and his grave.

Seeing him sobbing in front of his father’s grave made me feel a little sad.

And before leaving town, Dennis made a pact with me.

“I will come every year when the harvest time comes.”

“You’re old, so wouldn’t it be better not to overdo it?”

“I’m already waiting for the day to die. Now I’ll live the rest of my life for you.”

“Then, as a way of repaying my gratitude, I will develop the village that my father protected with his last sacrifice more beautifully than anyone else.”

Dennis left with a bright smile, perhaps pleased with my answer.

“Gregor, escort him to safety.”

“Okay, Your Majesty.”

Unlike Dennis, who left with a light step, the villagers began to gossip as they looked at the crops he left behind.

‘What should we do with these?’

“Is this a southern crop?”

“It seems three or four times bigger than ours.”

“How delicious would it be if I made bread with this?”

“Mom, I want to eat rye bread.”

“Just wait a moment.”

The townspeople were waiting for my instructions like meerkats.

‘Let’s share it all first.’

In any case, it would be difficult to manage this large amount of grain, and since we had already received a promise to receive this much grain every year, there was no need to be greedy.

“Take this, everyone. This is a gift from my father, Ian!”

This was all I could do for my deceased father.

All I want to do is to honor my father’s name and make sure that his sacrifice is not forgotten by anyone.

That was the most filial piety I could do at the moment.

‘No, there’s one more.’

I am once again digging into the truth about God that my father tried to dig into.

‘Even if my father doesn’t want it, I can’t just leave the being that rules the world as he pleases.’

Dennis chose the word authority for God.

Maybe his words were somewhat true.

An external spirit that moves instinctively like an animal.

The gods of this world were those who sacrificed countless people to obtain the power of such external gods and ascended to the throne of God.

Except for cases like Hestia who became a god through her own power, most gods were not gods but merely humans who were lucky enough to be able to control divinity.

Such people call themselves gods and are, and may continue to be, worshipped by fellow humans.

‘If what my father saw was the ugly side of God…’

Titans are beasts that can hunt such gods.

And I am a titan.

The only being in this world who can judge God.

‘Let’s eat it. That’s the only way to protect my family.’