Chapter 90

Prologue, The God of Bountiful Harvest

They used to say that either a god or a demon lived on that mountain. I guess that means something terrifying and unknowable must have been there.

It's an old story.

Back then, everyone was so afraid that they didn't even build a village at the foot of the mountain. Even though there was wide, sunlit land, they avoided the mountain entirely.

But one day, people driven out of their original village by a flood gathered and ended up at the mountain's base. They had nowhere else to go. It was frightening, but they decided to build a village there.

Once that was decided, they had to greet the god. Despite others trying to stop them, the elder of the original village and his family climbed the mountain.

On the way, the elder's family reportedly met a mountain priest. He sternly warned them not to enter the mountain, but once he heard their circumstances, he agreed to accompany them.

They climbed the mountain overnight and arrived at a cave said to be home to either a god or a monster. Even at dawn, it was as dark as night, and the twisted cave looked like a mouth with layers of jagged teeth.

The elder and his family bowed their heads to the ground and pleaded to be allowed to build a village at the foot of the mountain. Then, a sinister voice echoed from deep within the cave, asking, "How many are there?" The elder, trembling with fear, answered honestly.

After a brief silence, a completely different, calm and cheerful voice echoed out. It said they were allowed to build the village.

It told them to build close to the mountain and even offered to show them where to find water and medicinal herbs. The elder and his family were overjoyed, thanked it repeatedly, and left.

The mountain priest waiting outside the cave insisted that such a being was no god and told them to leave immediately, but no one listened.

As soon as the elder returned, the people opened the village.

Whenever there was trouble, they would go to the mountain, and that voice would tell them everything.

It taught them which crops suited the soil, which herbs cured epidemics, and where to find hunting spots for animals. The village quickly prospered.

The mountain priest stayed in the village for a while, but eventually left, as if giving up.

Seven years after the village was founded, the elder passed away, and his son and daughter-in-law succeeded him. The couple visited the cave to thank the mountain god.

They told it that the village flourished thanks to the god and that they would live in peace forever. The voice laughed happily.

The son's wife asked why it was so kind to humans. The voice laughed and replied,

For the same reason you till the fields and raise animals.

The village chief's couple believed the god must love people as it loves nature, and they returned home joyfully. That night, they held a feast.

The next morning, despite no rain, a landslide occurred. Homes and fields were destroyed, and many villagers died.

The new village chief and his wife went to the mountain cave, crying and asking what had happened.

The mountain god replied in a sorrowful voice that something evil had entered the village, and it tried to drive it out. It apologized for causing them harm.

Deep within the cave, in the jagged-toothed stalactites, the mountain priest's robe was impaled.

They realized the mountain god had fought him because he envied the prosperous village and tried to harm the people.

It was neither god nor demon, but something closer to humans—clumsy with its power, but kind.

The God of Bountiful Harvest. That's what it's called now.