Chapter 95
There was no way a hunter who had spent his entire life in the northern forests would repeatedly lose his way, nor could such a massive cliff have changed overnight. They waited for the yeti for quite some time, but after hours passed with no sign of it, they turned their attention to searching for the missing crevice in the cliff. They meticulously combed every inch of the area, but as expected, found nothing.
Just in case there were any traces of magic, Roina searched alongside Lutan, but the result was the same. The investigation had hit a dead end.
“Haah, I thought we’d be able to catch it right away.”
“It’s only the first attempt. It’ll be fine.”
At her words, Maili broke into a bright smile. Then, without warning, she flung her arms around Roina and rubbed her cheek against hers.
“Uwaaah!”
“Mm~ I’m recharging.”
“…Roina looks uncomfortable.”
“No, she’s not! Roina likes it too, right?”
A strange sound slipped out of Roina’s mouth as her squished cheek distorted under Maili’s enthusiasm, but she still gave a slight nod of agreement. Lutan, who looked as though he dearly wished to pry Maili away that very moment, remained silent when he saw Roina had no objections.
Before long, they separated. The moon had shifted slightly—it was already the deep of night.
“Come to think of it, why is this place called the Goddess’s Cliff?”
“Ah, that’s because—”
Maili picked up on her question. Normally, it was Josef who enjoyed explaining such common knowledge, but he had excused himself from the search party, saying that he was of no use in physical combat. Though he could wield a few spells, he was far more inclined toward academic pursuits than actual battle, so it had been a reasonable decision.
“There used to be a temple here.”
“A temple? To which god?”
“The goddess of winter and the moon.”
Maili’s expression grew somewhat wistful.
“A forgotten god.”
Religion in this world did not hold as much power as one might think. No, it would be more accurate to say that this society was, in essence, a theocratic monarchy. The imperial family, which had contracted with the gods to bestow magic upon humankind and stood as a symbol of peace and prosperity, was the entity that the people placed their faith in. In practice, it was the Emperor himself who officiated the sacrifices to the chief deity during the empire’s major ceremonies. In a way, the Emperor also served as the high priest.
Thus, rather than worshiping the gods directly, the people revered the imperial family, who were their symbols.
And so, the chief deity and creator of all things, Kail, lent his name to the imperial family, and the empire blessed under his rule came to be known as the Kailum Empire.
There had once been other gods overseeing various domains, but because their worship had been scattered among small, isolated temples, those deities who lacked a widespread following eventually faded into obscurity, vanishing from memory altogether.
“A long time ago, it flourished quite a bit. But when people turned away and the priests who worshipped the god all perished, it was completely forgotten. No one has visited this place in ages, but the land itself suddenly twisted and changed not too long ago. They say it happened around the time I was born, so about twenty years ago, I suppose. Anyway, it appeared overnight without warning. The temple vanished, and in its place, new terrain emerged. That’s why people call it the Goddess’s Tomb or the Goddess’s Cliff.”
“What was the goddess’s name?”
“That, I don’t know either. Maybe my father would.”
Maili shrugged. A nameless god that no one remembered—it was indeed a somewhat melancholic tale.
“In any case, we’ve been here long enough without any results. We should withdraw for today.”
Saying that, Maili gestured to the knights, signaling for them to return. The knights moved in perfect coordination.
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