By Zephyria The Oasis, which had been noisy in my head all day, was quiet at night.
It had already been several years since I began wandering, searching for the Blue Star born in the East. That star, said to have been born in human form, showed no signs of moving from its spot, as if it didn’t miss its missing pieces.
It must be somewhere around here, right about here.
Believing the words of the dazed Oasis, I spent years circling the vicinity of Sierren Capital, only to be led by the hands of the Igshars who protected this land and confined within a strange building one spring.
Confined? Perhaps not.
They, clad in excellent clothes of the same material, placed me in this den full of offspring humans and disappeared. Inside this unfamiliar foreign building, I ate the food they gave me, wielded the swords they gave me, and slept in the rooms they provided. And every day, I wondered. What on earth do they trust me with?
In the desert, there were no insane beings who would place a stranger Igshar among their offspring. I still couldn’t fully understand why that Igshar had brought me here.
Standing in a small clearing, I looked up at the sky. The newly born Blue Star remained unmoving in its place.
Was this also the Oasis’s arrangement?
Unable to cut cacti myself to chew the pulp, or hunt ownerless beasts, I often starved in this Sierren. Perhaps they felt pity for my state. The insane god had only a few times in my short life considered my sustenance, and it was truly strange.
As I gazed up at the sky, counting the time, a scrawny offspring human walked towards me and bumped into my arm with a thud.
Wouldn’t that just hurt them? I looked back at him, puzzled. His lips were contorted, his cheeks puffed out, and his single visible grass-colored eye was full of displeasure. Yet, there was no trace of fear.
Even without me being particularly threatening, the Empire’s offspring humans were wary of me. Not wanting to be kicked out of this comfortable nest before I could even find the Blue Star through some foolish act, I kept my distance, being as considerate as possible.
There was only one offspring human who kept chirping beside me.
“Shu.”
“Hugh, little one. Hugh.”
“Hugh.”
“Hugh Benson.”
“Shu Banson.”
“…Fine, call me whatever you want, call me whatever.”
Hugh Benson.
Ruberian Calendar Year 2, November.
The sweltering summer and the mild autumn had passed. The cool, cold air stung my nose. The reconstruction project of the Ernhardt Duchy began with laying the foundation of the land before building high walls.
There were no visible changes in what was happening beneath the surface. Every day was dull. My current task was to watch the sweating Spirit Masters and Wizards from afar and stand quietly so as not to disturb them.
The wind tasted of water. It would snow soon.
I had often seen snow even in the desert. In my childhood, shivering under a tent laid flat on the ground, waiting for tomorrow, I would wake up in the morning after surviving the day to find everything shining white. That sight remained vivid for years. So much so that I thought of it every time the cold wind entered my nose.
In contrast, the snow in this Sierren fell more gently and softly. Instead of fierce ice shards swirling, the fluttering snowflakes seemed warm like cotton.
No, that’s not right. This warmth seemed to be proof that I was currently in a very comfortable state. Proof that I was in a place where I could live with someone I liked.
Hugh, who had just received a Ranunculus and entered today’s report, ambled over to me with a chuckle. A round bird sat on his shoulder and didn’t leave. The magic bird, which had remembered all the messages to be delivered to Rubel, also knew that there were still items left for Michael.
I, sitting on a flat rock, shifted over by about two hand spans to my right.
Hugh Benson, being so skinny, felt the cold intensely. So, when he sat on a rock, he only sat on the spot I had warmed first. Wherever I found a suitable place to sit, I would sit first like a brooding bird and wait for him to come.
Hugh, who plopped down on the spot I had vacated as if it were natural, leaned his head on my shoulder. The familiar warmth that spread through me made my chest tingle as if sprouts were growing.
“Why are you spacing out like that? What do you even think about?”
“Nothing.”
“Right, what would you think about… It’s only me who’s frustrated, only me.”
“Haha.”
“Oh, you’re laughing?”
After the familiar bickering, my gaze fell upon a letter envelope suddenly produced. The letter envelope tied to the Ranunculus’s leg still bore the marks of being neatly folded, making it stick out like a horned lizard’s shell.
Hugh, who thrust the letter, addressed to me and Hugh, and sealed with thick wax, right in front of my nose, looked very excited.
“Hey, look at this. Michael wrote another letter.”
“Again?”
“How many times is this? Marianne even went on her honeymoon, and he’s still whining to me, the brat. He should send this kind of thing to his friends.”
“Read it.”
“Shall I? Let’s see…”
The Blue Star, Michael Ernhardt.
He recently succeeded in marrying the lover he had dreamed of.
The day that soul, who crossed into this world to become a god, was born, a large blue star appeared in the sky. Oasis and I sometimes called him Jeongyeon, after his previous life’s name, or the Blue Star. The star, raised among humans, completed his destined task and became a god.
And Oasis also found his happiness.
Born in the desert, I grew up in Oasis’s embrace. My feelings for Oasis are not singular. He was my parent, my friend, my child, yet he was mischievous, fickle, and not delicate. Because he didn’t cherish me, I didn’t cherish him either.
Conversations with Oasis were always one-sided. He wasn’t curious about my thoughts, and I didn’t know how to think. I simply lived and existed, and Oasis was satisfied with the fact that my life, which had been on the verge of death, was sustained by my own power.
When he sent me to this Sierren, telling me to find the star because something big had suddenly happened, I was an immature boy in my early teens. I walked and walked to arrive here, and at that time, I couldn’t even speak properly. Oasis and I used the language of the Barshal Tribe of the desert, and most humans used the common continental language.
Back then, I was not human but a beast raised in the desert.
In this land, Igshars were called Sword Masters. I was a docile, hungry young Sword Master.
Thanks to a noble who recognized my talent and reported me to the Imperial Guard, I didn’t starve to death and was admitted to Shierun Academy. And that’s where I met Hugh.
Hugh Benson came from Owen.
Owen’s auction house was a place where merchants from all over the continent gathered, and naturally, some of those merchants had traded with desert tribes who came to Felix. Because of that, Hugh Benson had also heard snippets of the desert language, albeit clumsily. Of course, the desert language he spoke was not the Bagshal Tribe’s language that Oasis primarily used, but since it came from the same branch, it was easier to understand than the common continental language.
He didn’t leave me alone. Even though he could understand me, there was no obligation for him to associate with me.
It was Hugh Benson who gave me a surname in the Sierren style.
My original name was ‘The Fifth Seed of the Steadfast Water Flower.’ However, because I was tall and slow-witted since childhood, I was often called ‘Tall Guy’ or ‘Dazed Guy’ rather than by my name.
Hugh Benson called me ‘Elvin Brooks.’ By writing, speaking, and becoming familiar with the spelling of that name, I learned many things. The structure of the continent, the languages humans used, and everything about their social culture, including clothing.
And after graduating from Shierun Academy, I became capable of doing much more.
I declared that I would no longer listen to Oasis’s words and followed Hugh Benson to the Widdrow Duchy, living as a knight of Sierren. And I killed monsters and lived on my salary. Killing monsters and exchanging their byproducts for food was something I had often done even before entering the academy. It was not difficult at all.
Then, when I coincidentally encountered the Blue Star, I was truly surprised. They say the more you chase, the faster they run, but could this be? I thought that if I could just deliver that star into Oasis’s embrace, my mission in this life would be complete.
And now, after the long journey following the star’s trajectory has ended.
I was still by Hugh Benson’s side.
Hugh Benson’s temple rested slightly below my shoulder. Leaning like that, Hugh Benson stretched out his legs and began to read the letter he had taken out.
“To my dear Hyoo Senior and Elwin Senior.”
The Ernhardt Duchy was still a territory whose foundation had not even been laid. The land was vast, all the buildings had collapsed, and there were no people. To develop this vast land into a planned city, countless skilled professionals were needed.
In gratitude for Hugh Benson taking on the task of managing so many personnel, Michael often attached his letters to the legs of Ranunculuses sent by Rubel.
I was still more comfortable writing than speaking, reading than writing, and listening than reading. Therefore, letters addressed to both of us always reached me through Hugh’s voice.
“We are currently leaving the Duchy of Valentia and heading towards Yeldidus. Our schedule is delayed more than expected, but we have heard that you are managing the territory well, so we have no worries.”
“…”
“The reason I am writing this letter today is none other than… none other than, none other… This damn guy.”
“Why?”
Hugh had always furrowed his brow easily. But now, it was subtly different. His brow was furrowed, his eyebrows drooped, but his mouth was contorted, trying to suppress a laugh. After Hugh’s eyes quickly scanned the letter up and down twice, he explained what he had read.
“He says that thanks to his constant coaxing, feeding, and appeasing, Ruben has gained some weight, and he’s worried because Rubel seems to dislike it so much. He says that in his opinion, damn it, he thinks it looks better, so next time he meets Rubel, he wants him to not tease him and tell him he’s gotten handsome.”
“…”
“Star… I knew it would be like this. After boasting about his wife, it’s straight to boasting about his child. In the last letter, we mentioned that we were blessed with an heir with the help of god. Now that egg has grown to the size of a chicken egg, and the shell is emitting an auspicious light, making it quite pretty. I’m sure it will have a beauty that will make the world weep, so as a father, I am already filled with anxiety and worry.”
“It hasn’t been born yet.”
“My point exactly. That brat, who never even looked in the mirror, is now talking such nonsense.”
Michael was always a bit of a fool. The sight of the Blue Star carrying his wife around, like an armadillo carrying its young on its back. When they first met, they were similar in height, making the sight even more comical.
Hugh, chuckling, read the next paragraph.
“And this… Huh?”
“Why? What does it say?”
“He says he has a bad feeling. He wants you and me to be careful, and to let him know if anything strange happens at the mana concentration site in the Ernhardt Duchy.”
“Like a Sacred Tree?”
“Yeah, that.”
“…Why?”
“He had a strange… dream.”
Do gods dream? Oasis didn’t even sleep. Of course, the God of Sleep and Dreams, Spiritus, might be different, but it was certainly strange. There was a period of confusion after losing the Blue Star, but now everything had worked out.
“What dream?”
“You… dreaming of seeing some bullshit.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You.”
Me?