Chapter 11 — The Captain of the Royal Knights is supposed to have a fiancée…4
Ruth headed straight towards the church and after he arrived, he immediately knocked on Father’s door. He should be available at this time since prayers and class had already ended. True to his thoughts, the priest stepped out a second later.
“Father, here is the meat from today’s hunt.”
“Thank you, Ruth. I’m truly grateful for the Brau family’s kindness.”
“Not at all. Besides, I also promised Alec.”
The church is sustained by donations, but because the institution also doubles up as an orphanage, the maintenance fees take up a lot of that money. And so, they also accept donations that aren’t money.
After Alec left, the church should’ve had problems with their food supply, but Ruth planned on continuing to donate the same amount of his hunts as before.
(It’s the place where Alec was raised, and since he sees Father like an actual father figure, I have to protect it in his place.)
Because Ruth doesn’t want Alec to come back and find out that it was gone, he planned on doing his best to support it from here on.
Ruth stepped inside after Father beckoned him to come in and have some tea. While waiting in the reception room, Ruth happened to see a drawing hung up at the front. In the drawing were four divine beings, the woman in the middle was especially beautiful.
“Are you able to name all of the gods drawn there, Ruth?”
While coming in with the tea, Father, just like a teacher, asked Ruth that question.
“Of course. There’s the god of mercy: Fance, the goddess of life: Zenovia, the god of discipline: Sittiadias, and the goddess of love that the royal capital and this continent naturally worship: Aristotlesia, right?”
“Indeed. They are the gods we, the Sethtias church, worship.”
The Sethtias church follows this world’s most widespread religion. However, because there are 4 gods, each continent worships a different god. The area that Ruth lives in mainly worships the goddess of love, Aristotlesia. And to easily remember the god’s names, the seasons were named after them.
It’s just that Ruth wasn’t a zealous believer because he wasn’t religious in his previous life, or rather he was just someone who could be considered multi-religious.
(But, Maxim frequently mentioned the goddess Zenovia…)
The goddess of life, Zenovia, was the woman holding a sword on the left-hand side of the drawing. It has been said that, among the 4 gods, she is the goddess that excels in battles and is both overwhelmingly powerful and virtuous. She’s a beauty with short hair and in battle-worn clothes, but she is drawn with a big chest and a slim feminine figure. Ruth had absolutely no idea why Maxim would call him by that name.
During their conversation, Father drank a sip out of his tea and sighed.
“...Ruth, do you know the reason why Alec left for the Royal Capital?”
“...He told me it’s because he’s considered a hero…”
Of course, Father being second to the village chief in power knew about Alec’s situation. Ruth quietly answered while slowly nodding his head.
“As I thought... Alec left after telling you. It seems like the priest in the Royal Capital had received an oracle from The Divine Aristotlesia. The goddess sent down her decree, ordering that the hero in the mountains of Hashi Village is to be sent to go on a journey.”
“An oracle...there really is one.”
Ruth couldn’t believe that an oracle was sent down, but seeing Father, it looks like it’s supposed to be common knowledge. If that’s the case, he kinda understands why the village chief and the others were so insistent on making Alec head to the Royal Capital. They had no choice but to carry out what the goddess ordered.
However, for some strange reason, Father seemed conflicted.
“...Um, is a god’s decree something that isn’t common?”
“Indeed it isn’t… because a god’s decree in itself has an irrefutable power, as the goddess of love, she shouldn’t have used it. That’s why it is truly too strange…”
“...Strange, huh...”
Along with Father, Ruth also frowned. As someone who wasn’t that devoted, Ruth didn’t understand what was so strange, but he did feel slightly uneasy about what Father was in a slump over.
(Well, either way, Father sure is knowledgeable about the gods. Not only that, but he referred to Aristotlesia as ‘she’, as if they know each other.)
Ruth didn’t know about the priest in the Royal Capital receiving the oracle or how the goddess sent down her decree. From the start, he never left the village and because all of his commonplace knowledge was from his parents and Father, he is quite ignorant of the world outside. Even with that in mind, Father is very well versed about being a hero and many other things. He’s a kind and gentle man who’s welcomed by the village, but if anything, why would this sort of person come to a village in the middle of nowhere, working as a priest in a small church?
(Come to think of it, before I was born, someone else was working as the priest…)
As Ruth was about to remember the conversation he had with Rossa about that, Father lifted his head.
“More importantly, Ruth, it seems like you helped Bard out this afternoon.”
“Eh...ah.”
Like Alec, Bard is under the care of the orphanage in the church. And he’s deeply attached to Father. Thinking that Father would be angry with him, Bard didn’t plan on telling him about what happened with Ruth in the afternoon. However, Father being as sharp as he is, couldn’t help but ask what happened after seeing Bard’s dirtied appearance. It didn’t take long before he spilled the beans.
“In place of Bard, please accept my thanks. Thank you for saving his life.”
“F-Father, please lift your head. More importantly, is Bard okay?”
“Yes, he was in low spirits after being scolded. But, he’s happily helping out with making dinner right now.”
“I see, that’s good to hear.”
Ruth was relieved hearing that Bard didn’t have any injuries or delayed pain afterward, but Father looked a bit sad.
“He most likely won’t climb the mountain by himself again, but if you ever happen to see him, could you please give him a scolding and bring him back?”
“I don’t mind that, but… why was Bard trying to climb the mountain? He hasn’t been taught how to hunt yet, right?”
Children who have learned how to hunt would want to climb the mountain to test out their skills. Generally, they would either encounter a beast and run back home or a large search party would be dispatched in search of them. But, Bard is only 8 years old, he shouldn’t have learned anything yet.
“...To see Alec. It seems like he planned on going to the Royal Capital.”
“Alec?”
“Because Bard couldn’t say goodbye to Alec before he left… he always saw Alec as his older brother, so he surely just wanted to see him again.”
“I see…”
Ruth’s heart was at ease since he managed to say farewell to Alec, but for Bard, he woke up one day to suddenly realize Alec disappeared and was told that he wouldn’t be coming back for a while.
“Big brother Alec went to the royal capital all because you didn’t stop him! Stupid weakling Ruth!”
Even the insults directed at Ruth were the manifestation of Bard’s sadness from Alec’s disappearance. Considering all that, Bard just seems pitiful.
Ruth went quiet for a bit thinking about Bard and the deep chime from the church bell rang out.
“Father, it’s about time I excuse myself. Thank you for the tea.”
“Not at all, please be careful going home now.”
After declining Father’s request to see him off, Ruth headed to the village square to return home.
The houses in the village were tinted red with the evening glow of the sunset peeping in between the mountains. The words of farewell could be heard all around as everyone returned home. The same old scenery, the same old daily life--
(--But, it’s just not the same without Alec.)
Ruth truly felt that the hole that Alec left behind had a bigger impact on the village than what he expected. Because it’s a small village, each and every person’s existence matters from the start. But, as expected, Alec was someone special.
“You sure are something...Alec.”
Even though Ruth told himself to leave Alec and make more friends just a few hours ago, he laughed at how his determination instantly wavered when he thought about it.
(I wonder how long the hero’s journey going to take…)
Extending his hands towards the sky that has already grown dark, he saw a planet shining in the distance. A planet, more yellow in color, but looked similar to the moon from his previous life. Somehow, it reminded him of Alec’s golden hair.
Without knowing why Ruth felt a deep pain in his chest thinking about Alec.
MARY: In the previous chapters and future chapters, I've decided to change baru -> baal. Thanks for waiting and please support the author here! Let me know if y'all see any mistakes.
Honestly this chapter made me heart hurt a bit ;_; but **shakes Ruth** why are you so dense. See you guys in the next update ^_^)/