By Zephyria 
I stared blankly up at the two moons.
Looking up at that sky, I truly felt that this land was entirely different from the Central Plains where I had lived. Stars naturally moved, so it was natural for them to seem unfamiliar to me, who couldn’t read the celestial currents, but I wasn’t so foolish as to not know there was only one moon.
This land’s moons were two: one white and one red.
The red moon rose first, followed by the white moon. The red moon set, and the white moon followed. Because of this, Sierren’s sunsets were redder than those of the Central Plains, and Sierren’s dawns shone whiter than those of the Central Plains.
From afar, I heard the hoot of an owl. Listening to the ‘woong woong’ sound that seemed to adorn the quiet night, I opened my mouth without realizing it.
“Why are there two moons?”
Why were there two moons?
In the Central Plains, I had never wondered why there was only one moon. It was simply natural for the sun to rise during the day and the moon to rise at night. I knew that clouds gathered and rain fell, and that too much rain caused floods. Anything in nature that swept across the vast mountains was simply natural.
The unfamiliarity sparked questions. Now, I was curious about everything I saw.
Marianne, who had been lying down over there, answered with a laugh that sounded amused.
“Suddenly? There are always two moons.”
“Exactly. Why are there always two?”
Then, Ruben, who had been lying beside me, turned his body towards me. I felt the child’s breath might reach my cheek, so I subtly shifted my body, pulling myself further down. Ruben looked towards my temples and answered in a gentle voice.
“Well… The stories about how this world was formed mostly rely on transmitted myths. There were just too many things that couldn’t be explained by simple Mana.”
“…”
“As most myths are, they differ by region and by sect…”
As the child trailed off, I subtly shifted my gaze to observe Ruben. In the dark night, with the moonlight and starlight resting fully on one side of his cheek, Ruben shone with a smooth radiance, as lovely as a well-polished pebble. When our eyes met, Ruben chuckled bashfully and shrugged his shoulders.
“The most famous one says it’s because the moon was modeled after the sun.”
“The sun?”
“Yes. According to the Nine Gods Creation Myth, the sun and moon were created on the third day. At that time, the gods first sculpted the sun, and it was so beautiful and its light so dazzling that all nine gods were immensely pleased. So, they wanted the day and night to be equally beautiful, and they sculpted the moon, but they argued for a long time whether the sun looked red or white.”
“…”
“Then they decided it wouldn’t do, so they decided to put both up. And they fixed the red moon and the white moon together in the sky.”
I looked at the child for a moment, then lay back down before I became too entranced. I moved my lips slightly and asked again.
“The gods of this land seem very… human.”
“…Well, perhaps it’s because humans were sculpted in the image of the gods?”
“…”
I had heard about the Nine Gods Creation Myth countless times because Michael loved it so much. While I didn’t know some of the finer details, I knew the main outline. Questions that suited the dawn often arose, and I didn’t suppress what I was curious about.
“It said humans were first sculpted on the fifth day, didn’t it?”
“That’s right?”
“Three gods argued over humans, and the first human died. Six gods fell asleep, and two more gods died. The Ninth God sculpted six more humans again, but was disappointed and fell into a deep sleep.”
“Yes.”
“…Then the six kings are not descendants of the six gods, but descendants of the Ninth God, aren’t they?”
Marianne answered that question for me.
“Unlike when the first human was born, the Ninth God fell asleep right after the six humans were born. Humans, unprotected by the gods, were very weak and had a very hard time. Pitying them for resenting their birth into this world, the six sleeping gods awoke and each took one to care for.”
“…”
“Then, as humans formed their own tribes and prospered, they began to fight amongst themselves, so the gods separated them to prevent them from fighting. Thus, one empire and five kingdoms were born… Humans still praise the six gods and hate the Ninth God who abandoned them.”
Weighing the love of the creator against the love of the nurturer, I asked again.
“So, does that mean the six gods are awake now?”
“…Uh, well? There have been a few high priests who claimed to have spoken directly with the gods… But honestly, the Mana reactions were too unclear to be considered Divine Revelations. The Magic Tower defined them as sensory illusions experienced simultaneously by priests with Divine Power, influenced by pure Mana. The theologians might disagree with me.”
“…”
“It’s often because Divine Power comes with theological enlightenment… But then there’s a contradiction: the priests who claim to have heard Divine Revelations often contradict each other. One might say ‘beware the east,’ while another says ‘beware the west.'”
“…”
There was a moment of silence as I mulled over what I had heard.
The relaxed breathing from beside me easily made me feel drowsy. I looked up at the two moons again. I watched the stars, scattered like dazzling fragments, twinkle as if whispering to each other.
Marianne, her voice a little lower than before, teased me.
“Michael, you would have made a good theologian. Or a Paladin.”
“…Do you think so?”
“Yes, perhaps because your internal energy is similar to Divine Power… ‘Michael, the Knight of Light who illuminates the Magic Territory.’ Doesn’t that sound perfect?”
Small laughs escaped from various places. Benjamin, who I thought was asleep, also chuckled softly in agreement.
We didn’t set a watch. Marianne had set up an alert magic beforehand, and I was there, able to snap to attention at any moment if I sensed murderous intent nearby.
After chatting about this and that for a while longer, realizing we might stay up all night, we all promised not to speak and closed our eyes.
❖ ❖ ❖
The second Tuesday of April. We finally arrived at our destination after more than a month.
The walls of Withrow Castle presented a grandeur even more formidable than I had heard. The massive walls, forty-five meters high and over four meters thick, seemed impossibly distant no matter how far back I craned my neck.
I had often heard that Duke Withrow’s castle was exceptionally well-defended against monsters, as monsters could attack from anywhere at any time. Yet, it was truly astonishing that such large and colossal walls had been sculpted by human hands.
Compared to the height and grandeur of the walls, the entrance was remarkably narrow. A wide and deep moat, looking like a river, surrounded the castle. The bridge spanning it was so narrow that two carriages of our size could not pass side-by-side without leaving any room for a person to cross, and it looked precarious with no railings on either side.
As those ahead lined up to wait for their turn to cross the bridge, we dismounted and held our reins. Marianne led the way, followed by Ruben, and then me. Benjamin sat on the driver’s seat, silently following behind our group.
The horses, trained as warhorses, were not easily frightened, but I became nervous, carefully watching the ground, worried the children might stumble. If only the children were ten years younger, I could have carried them in my arms. Shaking my head to dismiss the thought, I asked again.
“If you surround it like this, you can certainly hold off a few Ogres… But won’t it be too dark inside the castle?”
“There will be Magic Lamps… And besides, the Withrow Duchy is bordered by the Yuil Mountains, so the weather is unpredictable and there aren’t many sunny days. It’s better to have peace of mind.”
“The walls of the capital weren’t this high, as far as I know…”
“Near the Eldos Mountains, the Mana Concentration isn’t as high as here, making it difficult for medium to large monsters to even breathe. And the two Magic Towers and the Imperial Knights protect it, so it’s fine.”
The Withrow Duchy had always had few visitors. Soon, it was our turn, and we showed the guards our Academy graduation proof, an artifact bracelet, and our dispatch certificate, and received a few warnings.
Things like not riding faster than a walking pace inside the castle, and not drawing weapons. We nodded obediently and entered.
I found the guards, who wore animal fur around their heads and necks, quite unfamiliar, but it was even more so once we entered. The people coming and going all wore some kind of fur, which was particularly noticeable.
Was it that cold?
Although I found it a bit chilly, my companions, armed with artifacts, didn’t feel the cold. I looked around, clearly showing I was new to the place.
The people of the Withrow Duchy had slightly fairer complexions and darker hair colors than those in the capital. People with deep chestnut hair wore fur hats, their red noses prominent as they walked briskly.
As I began to look around properly, the carriages and horses kept catching my eye. I thought it was the right order to take them somewhere first, so I moved with purpose.
Inside the impossibly high castle walls, there was another set of walls. After passing one wall, another appeared. Unlike the capital, the roads were not straight but curved several times. It was designed so that if one wall fell, the next would be defended, and if that wall fell, the next would be defended.
After walking for some time, the road suddenly opened up into a wide, bustling square filled with people. The voices of vendors shouting their wares were loud everywhere.
“Furs! Furs for sale! Orc furs for sale!”
“Quiet Mandrakes! We have quiet Mandrakes!”
I had dabbled a little in alchemy. Puzzled, I turned to Marianne.
“Are there quiet Mandrakes?”
“They call dying, low-grade Mandrakes that. You can’t sell top-grade Mandrakes in a square like this. There’s a Magic Tower here too, so you might be able to get them there.”
“…”
There were many other strange and interesting things to see. I was told to leave the carriages and come back quickly, so I hurried my steps.
However, the roads were very narrow and complex, and there were many people coming and going. I endured it, understanding it was a necessary measure to gather all the civilians of the Duchy safely within the castle walls.
If only we didn’t have the carriages, it would have been easier, but due to the carriages loaded with a month’s worth of supplies, I had to stop several times.
Because of this, by the time we arrived at the Withrow Duke’s mansion, where we were to stay temporarily, it was already well past evening. I had no energy to go out again, so I ate the meal provided and lay down my weary body.
Still, it was fortunate that the children were each assigned their own room and could rest comfortably.