After the goddess had departed, no one moved, so I hastily manipulated the earth near the church to enclose it within a wall. This was to prevent people from suddenly gathering and causing chaos, and also to give myself some time to think. I was still completely baffled by what had just happened.
“Ah, Alterra? What’s the matter…? Why are you surrounding the church with a wall all of a sudden…?”
Holding the greatsword that the goddess had inscribed with something, I shuffled back into the church when Yuna tried to gently grab my tail, causing me to panic and pull it away.
I wasn’t sure if a dragon’s tail was like a lizard’s, but if caught in her grip, it might just fall off. Unaware that I had deliberately pulled it away, Yuna asked me why I had suddenly erected the wall. Well…
“Just trying to think for a moment. If those people swarm in here, there’ll be pandemonium, and it’ll cause headaches for us and the priests too… Besides, I really dislike crowds.”
“Hmm, now I see why the powers of Gaia’s followers were blocked. Was that why? It seems even ‘The Sun’ didn’t want to cut off his family’s escape route. No wonder I didn’t see that lightning guy or fire guy around—this must be why.”
Come to think of it, I’d heard there were warriors among the heroes who could unleash lightning and flames, but I hadn’t seen them on the battlefield. It was probably for the same reason as Soleo.
Suddenly feeling drained of strength, the goddess had said that the nature deities were told to sever the wings of crows to stop them from fleeing. Even though they clung to the goddess, perhaps they couldn’t bear to block their own kind from seeking survival. Though whether deities even have such moral qualms is questionable.
“To think the successor of the Earth would resort to having his daughter killed through someone else’s hands. Are they afraid to soil their own hands? Still, she remains as unpleasant as ever. If this succeeds, the influence of the earth will diminish, or maybe it’s just about eliminating one troublesome woman… Hmph. How ruthless.”
Akashi seemed to have realized something and muttered to himself, while Myungho nervously clutched his golden tattoo with his other hand, sweating profusely.
The direct descent of the goddess herself was already shocking, but could he possibly know she suspected collaboration with demons, hence his trembling? That said, he shouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place.
Still, despite saying that, I couldn’t reproach him. Perhaps the goddess retreated because she understood his intentions and chose to overlook it. After all, it wasn’t about killing or destroying anyone—it stemmed from a pure intention to help someone.
That’s what Myungho had said, and I trusted him. More importantly, I glanced at what the goddess had written on the greatsword.
It was incomprehensible, not at all what I expected. Showing it to Myungho, I asked what the inscription meant.
“Hmm? Me? Oh, sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment. Give me a second. This… this… huh…”
Though Myungho stared at the runes engraved on the sword for a long time, he eventually admitted he didn’t understand them. He explained that it wasn’t a language but a power, impossible to interpret. He warned against attempting to read it forcefully, so I decided to leave it at that.
This must be a blade blessed by divinity, capable of cutting through anything sacred, as the goddess had said. Beyond that, it didn’t matter much to me as long as it wasn’t cursed or subtly brainwashing me.
As long as it wasn’t doing anything underhanded, the sword itself was already quite remarkable. Despite the commotion outside the cathedral, I decided to ignore it, along with the sword and the goddess.
I had no clue what was going on and lacked any clues to figure it out. Though it wasn’t something easily overlooked, I was trying hard to let it pass.
“Uh… Alterra? Could you please answer me soon…? What exactly did you discuss with the goddess…? And what about that sword…?”
Oh, right—I hadn’t answered yet. Since I didn’t know much anyway, and I wanted to ask Yuna something as well, I recounted everything the goddess had said, except for sensitive details like Myungho being a dark magician.
“Are you asking me to believe this now…?”
“The goddess herself said it. Honestly, I can hardly believe it either. It feels like I’m laughing uncontrollably. The way she descends without warning and blesses things indiscriminately is one thing, but telling me that blessing me directly would cause problems and instead blessing my weapon… I keep wondering if I’m lying down somewhere, hallucinating.”
Maybe that’s possible. With a small sigh, Yuna sat down on a wooden chair. As an elf, she clearly didn’t feel obligated to show reverence to a human deity.
“After indiscriminately showering blessings everywhere, she just ran off. Otherwise, you’d have been forced to live your life according to the goddess’s commands forever.”
With an attitude that was unclear whether it was mocking or amused, Akashi rambled on about the goddess to me. Since I couldn’t see his face, I couldn’t tell his intent. By the way, is the artist doing well?
“…Hmm. This situation. Yuna, your curiosity seems satisfied, so how about answering my question? What exactly do you have to do to become so strong?”
Even though I hadn’t used magic, I had given it my all, but only managed to draw the bow halfway, which was quite shocking. While I didn’t harbor absolute confidence in my strength, I had assumed I could overpower average opponents.
Yuna… well, purely in terms of physical strength, she might surpass me, considering I enhance my body with magic.
“Ah… well… um… you see? I couldn’t pull such a massive bow from the start either. At first, it was just a cute—no, ordinary bow, but over time, I kept feeling unsatisfied. So, I gradually changed the size and materials of the bow until it became this. Pulling the bow made me stronger—that’s all!”
It reminded me of an old classmate who started with light exercise but eventually developed an interest in working out. By the time I met him again before he passed away, he had become incredibly muscular. His head shape was so distinctive we jokingly called him “Square Head.”
I see. But how much time does it take to reach that level? That’s what I wondered. By the way, how old is Yuna? Did she mention it before?
“…Yuna, how old were you when you first picked up a bow?”
I cautiously asked her how old she was when she first held a bow. Everyone knows the story of how she was found as a one-armed baby and rescued by a forge master.
But when exactly did she pick up a bow? And for how long has she been holding it? It must have been more than several decades, right? Asking a woman’s age is akin to poking a dragon’s reverse scales, especially since Yuna emphasized being a lady. Hmm, I should choose my words carefully.
“…Ten years old. I first picked up a bow on the day a group of kobolds attacked the village.”
“…Then… Yuna, how long… have you been holding a bow?”
It was a forbidden question, but necessary. To reach Yuna’s level, how much time would it take? Based on my observation, she didn’t seem particularly gifted physically.
Instead of getting angry, Yuna silently bowed her head and remained quiet after I asked her age.
“…Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked about your age. I was insensitive…”
Rather than agreeing with me or forgiving my mistake, Yuna chose complete silence, seemingly counting the cracks on the floor.
I thought we were close enough for such a question. We’re the same gender, and we’ve fought side by side before. But maybe that was just my misunderstanding.
“…Six…”
Thinking I had unnecessarily complicated the atmosphere, I was about to leave when Yuna whispered something so softly it was barely audible.
“Huh? What did you say just now?”
“…60… years… ago. I’ve been holding a bow for… over 60 years…”
A shocking confession escaped Yuna’s lips. Seventy years, no, seventy springs of life. Despite living for so long, she maintained an appearance that made it hard to believe she wasn’t in her prime. She seemed mature and wise somehow.
“…Ow! Elves usually stop growing physically at 20 and, without special circumstances, don’t age until around 280, so I’m still in my prime! Don’t look at me like that!!”
Embarrassingly enough… she’s lived over a century. If it were over 100, I could have accepted it and moved on, but seventy? That’s awkward.
It took less than ten seconds for both Akashi and Myungho to gawk at Yuna with wide eyes after her unexpected revelation. Realizing what she had just done, despair and sadness clouded her expression.
“…70… Awkward.”
“You shut up!!!”
Yuna yelled at Akashi, who absentmindedly stroked his chin and commented indifferently. Myungho, meanwhile, seemed more shocked by Yuna’s age than meeting the goddess moments ago, unable to continue speaking.
There was sympathy in Myungho’s gaze as he looked at her, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
While listening to Yuna’s agonized cries for a while, I suddenly sensed someone breaking through the barrier I had erected. Who could it be? I made sure it wouldn’t be easily breached.
“Sister Saint!!!”
It didn’t take long to see who it was. An elderly man who had shown particular favoritism toward Myungho when we last met—the Pope—entered the cathedral with several guards, shouting my title as soon as he saw me.
