Translator Note: Hey guys, sorry for the delay.
Phew, the end of the month was a very busy period. I had a lot of things to take care of. But well, the biggest reason of the delay was because…I began playing the Danganronpa Series.
I plan on finishing them all, so this will affect my releases.
Yeah, I really like it so I will be playing it like hell! Btw, Ibuki is frickin’ awesome.
Oh, and it will be returning to Haine’s POV now.
Enjoy the chapters :D!
Why did things turn out this way?
To explain that, I would have to first go back a bit in time.
The next day after I -Kuromiya Haine- arrived at the Earth capital, Ishtar Blaze, and had finished my talk with Mantle’s ‘Fairy’.
* * *
It had been a while since I have used a bow.
In the time when I was helping father in my homeland, this was something I had in my hands almost everyday though. It is a weapon and I thought that maybe I would be using one when fighting monsters, but unexpectedly, it didn’t turn out that way.
And so, I pulled the bow I haven’t used in a while…and shoot it.
A nice sound of cutting through the air could be heard, and it hit right onto the boar that was laying waste to the tuber field.
They really are everywhere, those guys.
“Ooh, ya did it. Ya hit it-sa ne.”
The obaa-san that was at my side clapped her hands.
“That damn hateful boar ya know, was damaging the fields everyday and was troubling me. With the slow legs of the Golem, the most it could do was scare it away after all. Ya helped me out.”
“No no, I am happy that I can help out.” (Haine)
The Mother Monster, Grandma Wood, that is called Great Pillar-sama by the people…I decided not to destroy it.
With this, I wouldn’t have any business with Ishtar Blaze, but I didn’t leave immediately and continue staying here.
Today, I once again met with the Obaa-san that had guided me in my time here, and after hearing the talk about ‘a boar is damaging my fields and it is troubling me’, my hunter blood grew restless.
Just by not touching a bow for one day, my skills degrade quite a lot, so I was uneasy in whether I could actually hit it though. I am glad that the other party this time had its guard down. It looks like it didn’t expect an arrow to be shot.
“But this is unexpected. If you have a farm as big as this, it shouldn’t be strange to have a hunting organization of sorts.” (Haine)
“Something like that had died out around a decade ago, ya know. Thanks to the Golems appearing, everything became convenient, ya see. Many things became ‘something that people shouldn’t put so much effort in’.”
While we were talking, the Golem headed to where the boar is to retrieve it. It is because it received that order.
We just have to wait for it to return.
“Building a house, plowing the field, defeating enemies; it has now all become asking the Golems. Without those kids, our livelihood wouldn’t even be able to stand on its own for a single day. This may sound weird coming from someone that has been taken care of by them a lot but, at times, it makes me scared.”
The Obaa-san says this as she lets her weight rest onto her cane.
“Visitor-san, did ya know? The fighting organization that the Earth Church uses in conflicts is called a scary name like Scorched Earth Annihilation corps. Several centuries ago, they be just as the name states. They be as tough and strong as a rock, and at the places they pass through, not a single blade of grass is left. They were feared by the other Churches. But now, they be good young lads that use their work time to harvest Blocks from Great Pillar-sama.”
“Isn’t that nice? Rather than scary, it is a lot better to have them being kind.” (Haine)
“You thinking that way makes ya kind in itself.”
Saying this, the Obaa-san giggles.
“…But well, yeah. I been saved by those kids quite a lot too, and that has allowed me to live ‘till I be this old. Complaining would be uncouth. Seriously, as age piles up, mah mouth gets looser.”
This land was good for my skin.
In the first place, I, as the human Kuromiya Haine, grew up at a village in the deep mountains. This Ishtar Blaze that has Golems as their foundation of living and the Ethereal culture has not developed much has a close atmosphere to that of my homeland, that’s why, even when I understood that I have no business here anymore, I just can’t make my legs move.
As I stay here, it makes me wonder, what’s truly good for humans?
The humans were imprisoned in the ruling of the Gods for several centuries, and the trigger that made them break out of that yoke was a new material called Ethereal that brought upon the machine culture. The convenience the machines provided dimmed the need for Gods and the people became free.
I also moved from my land of birth to Apollon City, and have been bathed by the ethereal culture plenty. However, now when I return to a life without machines, I felt like I was remembering something I had forgotten.
Could it be that this peace of mind I am feeling now is because I am a country bumpkin at core?
At any rate, the more I thought about these thoughts that I wouldn’t normally think, the more I felt as if the Mother Earth God had gotten me good.
* * *
At evening, I returned to the Grand Crimson Palace of the Earth country.
It is the headquarters of the Earth Church, and a nice place that provides lodging for the travellers that arrive here every now and then.
“Hey there, Haine-san. How was the hunt?”
Just like yesterday, the Earth Founder himself received me.
However, his behaviour felt somewhat distant.
“It is only evening, and I was already able to bring down 4. The beast management is pretty negligent around here.” (Haine)
“That’s just how troubled we were about it. It is embarrassing. But thanks to you, I feel like this season we will have an increase in harvest.”
Please don’t praise me that much.
“But it would be bad to stay for too long, so I was thinking about leaving by tomorrow. I have truly been under the care of the people of the Earth Church.” (Haine)
“No no no no!”
The Earth Founder suddenly got agitated. He even bended back. Just what was so shocking about that?
“Well, no need to say that. How about staying here for a while more? Haine-san’s hunting skills are important for Ishtar Blaze after all!”
“No but…I would feel bad if I were to monopolize the guest room for too long.” (Haine)
“In that case, how about we do this? How about we build a house for you in this land?”
Eh?
No way. Building a house for a mere traveller, isn’t that way too much no matter the case?
“No need to worry. Building a house in Ishtar Blaze is an incredibly easy task.”
“You are going to have the Golems build it?” (Haine)
“No, the Golems will become your house.”
“?”
“Golems not only work hard, they also possess a special characteristic. By pouring Earth divine power, we can freely change their composition and form. If we write an order like ‘become a house’ and have it absorb plenty enough divine power, the house-shaped Golem will be made in no time.”
Are Golems really that convenient?!
“This Grand Crimson Palace itself is made out of several Golems. It could even be called a Golem Palace. It is normally just a normal building though. But once I -as the user- were to give an order…I can change its form freely to a certain degree. Just like this!”
The Earth Founder snaps his fingers.
And then, the walls in both sides swelled up, that swelled up part took human form, and then separated from the wall.
Golems.
They are small Golems that can fit the inside of the room, but there were several of them.
They were coming out from the walls in the literal sense of the word.
I see. This certainly is something incredible, but why is the Earth Founder going through the trouble of putting up such a show?