Chapter 81
“You don’t even know that? Water falls from the sky. Water you can drink.”
“Wow… That would be amazing. It’s a miracle.”
The children, covered in soot and dirt, murmured in awe.
Life had improved somewhat since Yasamin took power, but there were still many children wandering the streets, gaunt with hunger.
To save them all, an immense amount of support was absolutely necessary.
Food could be brought from Wilkeron, but water… It would be best if it simply fell from the sky.
It was free, and there would be no shortage.
“Please, let Aquafuran return.”
“Please, let Aquafuran make it rain for us….”
Weak voices carried their wishes. In lives that had known nothing but darkness and despair, a faint will began to sprout.
Just the mere existence of someone called a Siren in the South.
The fact that the king cherished and protected her became the foundation of their belief.
Today, the day of the Diet Ritual.
As the sun set, people who had collapsed from the heat began gathering around the royal castle, one by one.
They bowed low, pressing their foreheads to the ground, and soon, they all began to sing.
A song for Aquafuran, a song pleading for rain.
“What is that sound?”
The Siren’s steps halted in an open corridor on her way to the ritual site.
Carried by the air, a mournful wailing reached her ears.
At first, she shivered, thinking it might be a ghost, but when she listened more closely, she realized that wasn’t the case.
“It’s probably the people of the South.”
The one who answered her was Jin.
The old man, who had been gazing into the empty air with profound eyes, soon smiled.
“My lady, they are singing, hoping that you are Aquafuran.”
“Ah….”
“They believe that once you complete the Diet Ritual and are acknowledged as one of the South, it will be as if Aquafuran has returned, and rain will fall.”
Though his words were calm, Siren felt a slight weight settle in her chest.
“I need to master Raksha as soon as possible.”
Lately, Siren had been thinking deeply about Aquafuran.
She had asked both Jin and Chris about it and had come to her own conclusion—
Aquafuran wasn’t a goddess who brought rain on her own.
In the end, everything came down to Raksha.
A god was simply a being who could manipulate the Raksha dissolved in the air with nothing but will or gaze, bringing about changes in the world.
If she mastered high-level sorcery, she might truly be able to make it rain as much as she wanted.
Regardless of whether or not she was Aquafuran.
“As I said, you’re already enough, Nuna. Raksha loves you. All you have to do is open your heart and accept it. If you can just let go of your fear, the door to the next step will open.”
As Siren worried, Chris spoke up, offering a few words.
“Aquafuran, in particular, was deeply loved by the Raksha associated with water. That’s why she could control water just by wishing for it.”
“Mm.”
“Nuna, you just need to realize it. Then it’ll be the same for you.”
Chris seemed to fully believe that she was Aquafuran.
Right now, when she herself lacked certainty, that kind of unwavering faith from someone else was helpful.
Especially at a moment like this, when she couldn’t help but feel tense.
“We’ve arrived. From here on, you must enter alone. Only the ruling class and their Diets are permitted inside.”
In front of a massive door.
The most grandiose chamber within the royal castle, or so they said.
Siren glanced at Jin, conveying her gratitude with her eyes. She also briefly took Chris’s hand before letting go.
Yasamin had gone ahead to prepare for the ritual, so she would have had to come all this way alone. But with the two of them walking by her side, she hadn’t felt lonely. Her anxiety had lessened as well.
“In the center of the space surrounded by candles, you’ll see sacred white sand. Kneel there, placing your knees on the ground. Then, by kissing your master’s feet three times, the vow of submission will be complete.”
Before she stepped inside, Jin went over the ritual procedure one last time.
She had heard it countless times before and already knew it well, but she didn’t want to risk making a mistake, so Siren listened carefully.
“If the candles don’t go out at all, it means the relationship between the two will be smooth. But if they do, the likelihood of the Diet breaking apart is high. That’s how the superstition goes.”
“That’s correct.”
In truth, it probably just depended on how gently the one being sworn in moved.
‘I don’t know how it will turn out, but I hope the candles don’t go out. I want to survive in this land for a long time.’
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