Chapter 173

Mountain God

If someone asked what people thought about a man named Aiden Kellermain committing bizarre acts, those who had watched him for a long time would probably answer almost unanimously that they were used to it because they had seen it far too often.

Whether it was the kind of madness where he risked his life and threw himself into anything anywhere, or the kind where he would charge headfirst if something irritated him, they had already grown sick of seeing him drag incidents and accidents around regardless of time or place.

But what he was showing now was something even those around him, who had seen all sorts of his reckless nonsense, were witnessing for the first time.

“…How many days has he been like that?”

“Who knows.”

Noel and Katya narrowed their eyes as they looked at Aiden, who had shut himself inside a room labeled ‘Archive.’

It had already been several days since he locked himself in there, speaking to no one, doing nothing else, and only researching materials.

The tribal leaders, who had been anxiously wondering what kind of storm he would stir after being handed the authority of the Great Chieftain, were instead puzzled by how quiet he was, to the point that they cautiously tried to probe his intentions from the sidelines.

Yet even as such subtle approaches continued, that man remained completely unmoved.

He wasn’t even meeting with us.

The only person he allowed contact with in that state was one.

The priestess of Urgan.

And not even the older sister, with whom he wasn’t close, but only the younger one who had brought him here.

“….”

Of course, it didn’t feel very good that they seemed to have fallen outside his radar, but it was clear that his intentions were extremely firm.

He was planning to do something here. So no one else should interfere.

And perhaps to prove that point, after making that declaration, he shut himself inside like that and gathered materials as if his life depended on it.

“…Hmm.”

Noel, who had been watching him quietly, let out a breath through her nose and flipped through something.

It was a bundle of documents clipped together.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a list of materials Mr. Aiden has recently borrowed and looked up.”

“…?”

It seemed Katya was interested in that as well, as she took the stack of papers Noel had opened and began flipping through them one by one.

Of course, her expression soon crumpled.

“…Aren’t these all related to mythology?”

“He’s even researching regional indigenous myths.”

It seemed he was investigating everything related to the legends passed down within the Tribal Alliance.

Of course, unlike places like the Empire or the Holy Crown Kingdom, there wasn’t a neatly systematized religion here, but precisely because of that, the mythology of the Tribal Alliance boasted the most extensive volume among the myths of the major nations on the continent.

And what Aiden was researching now did not stray from that scope.

“…What on earth.”

Noel scratched her cheek as she looked toward Aiden, who was still buried in documents inside the archive.

What on earth was that man preparing?

“Hello.”

As she was lost in such thoughts, a voice slipped into her mind.

Noel turned toward the source and soon widened her eyes before bowing her head slightly.

“Priestess. What brings you here…?”

At that question, Rania shrugged her shoulders.

Although she was the only person Aiden had explicitly allowed to meet him, this was also the first time she had personally come here.

Until now, she had only asked around others to learn about Aiden’s situation, so what had brought her all the way here this time?

“It’s nothing much.”

Rania exhaled a long stream of smoke from her pipe and pointed with her finger at Aiden, who was inside the archive struggling with lines of text.

“Can I borrow that man for a bit?”

“…….”

At those words, Noel and Katya flinched at the same time.

However, strangely enough, it wasn’t a wary reaction.

Sensing that, Rania tilted her head, and Noel answered in a somewhat relaxed tone.

“You said borrow?”

“…That’s right?”

“As expected of you, Priestess. That’s the most reasonable and well-mannered thing I’ve heard lately.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Rather than saying they’ll borrow him, there have been quite a few shameless people lately who declare that they’ve already claimed him and tell us to hand him over.”

“…….”

She hadn’t asked, but Rania could easily guess that they were probably all women.

And she wasn’t particularly interested in getting involved in that kind of fight.

“He’s yours. I have no intention of taking him.”

“…….”

Watching Noel and Katya radiate genuine emotion, Rania looked at them with an incredulous gaze before continuing.

“But putting aside the matter of ownership, if I’m going to borrow him, it would be better to do it soon.”

“Pardon?”

“The time has come.”

It meant that incidents worthy of that man stepping forward had begun to occur.

And on quite a large scale.

▣

“…….”

I stretched my body backward while rubbing my stiff neck.

Like most myths, those of the Tribal Alliance were filled with bloody stories and suspense where flesh and blood danced—but more important than that were the tales intertwined with Urgan, the God of Ascension.

I flipped through the pages and fixed my gaze on the section titled ‘Harvest Festival,’ reading one of the lines written there.

‘If a lawful and sacred offering is not presented, the God of Calamity shall grow wrathful.’

And it said that this wrathful god would send his messengers to express his anger.

I ran my eyes down the section written just below that line and brushed my hair back.

“…So it wasn’t said for nothing.”

The disasters listed there, said to occur if the ‘Harvest Festival’ mentioned by the Great Chieftain was not properly carried out, were of a scale that made the warning—that the Tribal Alliance would be finished—feel all too real.

And among them, there was one name that stood out the most.

“Harvester, huh….”

After confirming the figure holding a scythe and wearing a sinister black robe, I let out a breath through my nose.

It was described as the pinnacle of divine punishment, sent as the price for breaking a covenant with the gods, appearing after several forms of calamities expressing the God of Calamity’s wrath.

But I knew a better way to describe something like this.

“…It’s the guy that shows up right before the final boss.”

If the protagonist had progressed the scenario smoothly and reached Chapter 3 without issues, this was something they would never encounter here.

But if, during the progression, too many people had been killed, or someone who absolutely had to be protected wasn’t saved, or if essential conditions for the scenario’s proper progression weren’t met, then it was an existence that would appear even here.

It would tighten its grip around the protagonist’s neck moment by moment, and in the end, it would take their life.

At this stage, it was never something meant to be faced.

Originally.

“…….”

I ran a hand through my dizzy head and let out a deep sigh.

Even I couldn’t properly calculate just how much I had twisted the main scenario to reach this point.

Which meant it was entirely possible I might actually face it.

“If that happens….”

Of course, I had no intention of just dying simply because something like that appeared.

I would fight somehow, struggle, and necessarily win, protecting everything that needed to be protected.

But if I did win like that—

“…What comes after?”

If I considered what this thing’s ‘prototype’ was, it would be practically impossible for this one and the final boss to appear separately.

In other words, if I succeeded in defeating this one, it meant the final boss that came after would follow immediately.

That meant I couldn’t just prepare for this one—I had to prepare for that as well…

“Hey.”

My startled consciousness was abruptly dragged back into reality.

When I raised my head to look at who had called me, it was Rania, looking down at me with a worried expression.

She puffed on her pipe, and even with one eye, that concern was clearly visible.

“…Isn’t smoking indoors prohibited?”

“Who do you think has the guts to say that to a priestess?”

Speaking shamelessly about abusing her authority, Rania pulled out the chair across from me and sat down right in front of me.

“So. Tell me.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t seem like the type to ever share what’s going on in your head, so say it. What’s the first thing you’re going to do?”

“…….”

“I figured you must have at least outlined that much by now.”

At those words, I paused and looked at Rania.

“How do you even—”

“I’m not sitting here for fun, you know?”

…Well, that was true.

She was someone who had often made me think she had an uncanny intuition. Trying to guess the principle behind it would probably be pointless.

“…I’m planning to go back to that mountain I climbed before.”

At those words, Rania tilted her head.

If it was a mountain—

“…Mount Demon Sealing?”

“Yes.”

“Why there?”

“There’s someone I want to meet.”

It was something I had learned while thoroughly researching mythology.

That there was a being there who could definitely help in a situation like this.

“And I’d like you to come with me.”

“…….”

Hearing that, Rania silently nodded.

“Well, going with you isn’t that difficult. But.”

“But?”

“I’m going to talk about my older sister.”

“All of a sudden?”

I tilted my head as I responded.

If she meant her older sister, she must be talking about the person I had met before.

Cretin, the twin priestess.

As far as I knew, she looked exactly like Rania and had a somewhat prickly personality.

“My sister likes me more than you’d think.”

“…….”

“A lot more.”

“…….”

“Just keep that in mind.”

…What was that supposed to mean?

I tilted my head.

▣

“……Since something like that came up, I’ll be going with him for a few days.”

“…….”

While saying that, Rania carefully observed Cretin’s reaction.

On the surface, it looked like she was half-listening, as if she didn’t really care.

Even Rania wasn’t entirely sure whether she was actually behaving that way.

Still, there was at least one thing she felt she needed to make absolutely clear for her own peace of mind.

“…Cretin.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t plan anything weird.”

“I won’t, I won’t.”

“…….”

“Why would I bother planning something like that? If there’s something I don’t like, I’ll just say it outright.”

That was what Cretin said.

But the uneasy gaze Rania had fixed on her didn’t seem like it would leave anytime soon.