By Zephyria 
Meeting a god was an extremely tiring affair.
The entire party took turns sleeping, one at a time.
Having naturally become somewhat arrogant while hunting and dissecting house-sized monsters, the party was awestruck upon facing a being far larger than themselves right before their eyes. We felt fear before wonder. It was because everyone instinctively thought of drawing their swords against the god first.
Still, they are all amazing fellows. I inwardly clicked my tongue in admiration.
Still, now we won’t freeze in fear upon seeing a being lesser than a god. Fear is the greatest enemy that paralyzes the hands and feet of martial artists. It was an excellent start, beginning the journey after having eliminated one enemy early on.
The oasis the god left behind was a remarkably peaceful and beautiful place.
To the northeast of the vast lake, tall and short trees were sparsely scattered. Several Sylphs played, darting through the leaves, then suddenly fell and rolled on the ground, laughing heartily.
Within the continuously rippling water, several Spirits were playing while riding fish. The name of the Water Spirit was Undine. Just as Sylphs are not entirely identical to each other, Undines also varied slightly in appearance, making them fun to observe.
Many of the Spirits here could speak.
[How to speak? Sith taught us. Because the wind sees and hears many things, it’s good if it’s easy to remember.]
[Sith?]
[Oasis! Sith has many names. The blue scales of the hermit crab, the third piece of sweet cloud, the master of the widest oasis…]
[But these days, they call him Sith. Sith misses his older sister.]
Most of them spoke using Sound Transmission, or rather, Divine Speech.
When they spoke clearly so everyone could hear, they used more power. Therefore, they often sat by one person’s ear and spoke softly. It didn’t matter, as even speaking very quietly, the god could understand.
When asked if it was difficult to converse with humans, they replied that while it required their whole body to speak with humans, it was enjoyable in its own way. That was a relief, at least.
The Spirits enjoyed conversing with humans after a long time. We had many questions, so each of us was accompanied by five or six Spirits, asking various things and receiving answers.
For the Spirits who found hearing Sound Transmission more comfortable than spoken words, I used Sound Transmission… but it didn’t seem like I was strictly necessary. Everyone else was conversing with gestures, hand movements, and various sounds.
Hugh Benson asked the Spirits about safe zones, and the Mercenaries were curious about the method of making contracts with Spirits. Ruben asked various things about other gods, but mostly did not receive proper answers.
The one with the most questions was, naturally, Marianne.
“Spirits can’t pass through Barriers? Honestly, the Barriers at Owen’s mansion were just a bit tricky and delicate, they didn’t have much Mana infused into them.”
[It requires permission from the domain.]
“Permission from the domain? But the Spirits I knew…”
While watching Marianne speak, I channeled energy from my fingertips and gave it to the Spirits one by one.
Like newly hatched fish carrying their yolk sacs, the Sylphs, cradling Mana rolled into balls, waddled around joyfully. For one who was comparing whose was bigger or smaller, I released more Mana.
As I did so, many proper answers came back.
[The wind is one, it goes everywhere. But if the wall is high, it cannot go.]
[If you want to hide it completely, build a wall. Humans do it, and gods do too. Then we don’t know.]
[There are walls that can be passed!]
[Right. But Sylphs don’t just enter domains.]
[It’s rude to just enter someone else’s domain.]
Then, they revealed that they knew a rude Sylph who did just that.
Listening carefully, it seemed that Sylphs belonging to owners frequently spied on other people’s domains according to their owner’s will. Therefore, the Spirit who helped me explained that because their owner, the third god, did not strongly desire it, they couldn’t even enter the inner parts of Ruben’s mansion and couldn’t enter the mansion where I was.
But that god seemed to cherish Nadish greatly.
…In any case, it’s a mystery.
Splash!
A loud sound was heard. From a distance, Elvin, who had been tricked by a Spirit’s prank, struggled a bit before skillfully diving. Soon, a hand holding a large fish shot up above the water.
Watching the scene, Ruben asked hesitantly.
“…Isn’t this… a holy place? Can we catch and eat fish?”
[Huh? Humans die if they don’t eat?]
[It’s fine to catch as much as you need to eat. You’ll be reborn soon!]
…We had just received a lengthy lecture on souls not long ago. Fishing in a space where a god had resided felt extremely sacrilegious.
However… on the other hand, since the Spirits residing there didn’t seem to mind, I felt at ease, as if I had gotten permission from the owner of the field before stealing.
Everyone’s desire for fresh ingredients ignited.
Fortunately, I also have a knack for fishing. Even without a proper fishing rod, I caught many fish by tying a string to a branch. Each one I reeled in was as thick as my forearm and plump, providing plenty of food.
Elvin was better at cleaning fish than the Mercenaries. The Mercenaries followed along with great interest, learning how to scale and clean the fish. I also learned how to prepare the fish in various ways.
Holding the fish skewered on sticks, we all tore into them, our cheeks smudged with soot.
❖ ❖ ❖
The Statue of the First Goddess’s Head was two days’ travel northwest of the oasis.
I knew about this well because Bill Brown kept harping on about it.
He explained that originally, a complete statue of the goddess stood upright in that location. However, unable to bear watching monsters from the Magic territory harm people, the goddess stretched out her arms and legs wide, carving out Dunmel Canyon, and fell sideways, leaving only her head.
I scoffed, thinking, “How could stretching her limbs make her fall sideways?” and had to listen to the grown man whine for half an incense stick’s time. His whining face kept reminding me of the Peng family. Perhaps they were truly the same kind of people.
Now, I understood how I came to this world. I was no longer afraid. Instead, I felt a sense of joy, thinking that perhaps some of my comrades could live a new life in this wonderful world.
So, I let out a small, involuntary laugh, and Ruben immediately showed interest.
“What are you thinking about?”
“No, well… about that guy who whined so much about coming here together.”
“Young Master Brown?”
“Yes. It’s funny, and I feel a bit sorry, that we ended up leaving him behind.”
“…Mmm.”
Ruben closed his lips tightly for a moment. I now knew that Ruben had been jealous of the people around me for a long time. The only girls around me were Marianne and Jenny. Even if he was jealous of boys, I would have understood. Bill Brown was such an affectionate fellow, so perhaps he disliked him.
I smiled again, finding it cute, and Ruben, with a determined look, suddenly spoke.
“Young Master Brown… does he know that you… reincarnated?”
“What? That’s impossible. Not at all.”
“Then why does he call Mika ‘hyung’?”
“I heard it was because he admired me and started learning the sword.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“Yes?”
What else did he know?
However, I was also curious about what Ruben and Bill Brown had discussed. Seeing the child’s determined face, I nodded, urging him to speak. Then, Ruben, with a look of deep disappointment, gripped the camel’s reins tightly and murmured.
“…Because you like younger people.”
“What?”
“Young Master Brown told me that. He said Mika likes young and cute people… so he and I are in the same situation…”
“…What? No, when did I say that? No, what am I… when?”
“You don’t?”
“I do not!”
It was an absurd notion that didn’t require much thought. I was utterly shocked and disgusted. I was dumbfounded, wondering what he thought he knew to have told my child such nonsense. I even felt dizzy. Ruben blinked a couple of times, his gaze lowered, then looked at me again with a discerning eye.
I couldn’t fathom the meaning behind that gaze. In my shock, anything I said came out haphazardly as I tried to defend myself.
“Younger people, well, I don’t really see very young children as potential partners.”
“What about me?”
“Yes?”
“…How was I?”
…
I didn’t know what to answer, and heat rose all over my body. My face was burning, and I couldn’t lift my head. I couldn’t even look towards Ruben and stared into the distance.
The Sylphs, escorting us like guards, had caused the rest of the party to stop insisting on walking in a single file at some point. I clearly saw the camels, walking spaced apart, moving further away from the two of us.
Ruben’s sweet voice spoke again.
“Hmm? Mikaa…”
“Well, of course.”
“Of course?”
I felt like I couldn’t possibly answer, yet I couldn’t not answer.
With one hand, I pressed hard against my eyes. The camel continued on its path, its hooves clattering. Listening to Ruben’s tense breaths, I managed to force out a voice.
“…You were cute.”
“…”
The sun was still far from setting, but Ruben’s face was flushed with a deep red, whether from the sunset or autumn leaves. Seeing his white cheeks turn rosy, my insides churned, and my heart pounded, making it difficult to take a single proper breath.
For a long time, I just stared straight ahead in silence. The child’s gaze reached my ears, then my cheeks, then my neck. When I asked what he was looking at, he smiled faintly and just shook his head.
I resolved that the next time I met that Bill Brown, I would definitely have a word with him, whether by flipping him over or throwing him. I made that firm decision.