CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 232 - THE DEITIES MEET

"Ahhhh, it’s so good to be back home!"

The sofa of my home is the most delicious of all, no matter what sofa it is or what house I’m living in. It’s simply because it’s home.

"I agree. Nothing beats having a home to come back to."

"Isn’t it, Lovelace?"

She plops on the sofa as well, right at my side, and puts her legs on my thighs. We just arrived from that tiresome trip.

Shalia and Yawarete went to their respective homes to rest as well. We’ll have a report to present to the king, my grandfather, but it can wait a few hours.

Yaci and Ingela are both out on their jobs. Yaci is leading the city guards, probably on patrol duty at this moment. Meanwhile, Ingela is in the Arena leading the research on the barriers that are on those bricks.

Which means that we’ll be able to take some time to breathe before getting busy again.

The return trip wasn’t tiresome per se, as it was just a portal. It was more the trip to reach that place and the subsequent negotiations for trade and research cooperation.

Negotiations are always draining.

They will send a delegation next week, so I have to inform my grandpa so the palace can prepare everything. Then we’ll probably have the first permanent portal connecting to a foreign nation.

Also, the elves were very interested in the whole Research Institute thing. Some of them even volunteered to help with the construction of the place.

It seems that, although they hold several grudges against the humans who hunt and enslave them, they don’t hold it up against humans in general.

Each one of them has seen several generations of humans, after all. Even before the goddess. They know how things evolve over time and have a broader mindset about societal change.

Tarindor herself is fifteen hundred years old. If we were to think in Earth terms, she would have been born around the time of the fall of the Roman Empire.

That means that she would have witnessed the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Discoveries, the Industrial Revolution, the Socialist Revolution, the two World Wars, the Atomic Age, and the Internet Age.

A person with that life experience would hold an unmatched understanding of human nature.

Even though the same time period under the rule of the goddess was comparatively very eventless, and she was away most of the time, it’s still a lot.

She knew humans after the goddess, and she was well aware of the effects of Juno’s rule over the people. So, if some humans broke off against that rule and started a more egalitarian society, she had no reason to turn us away.

And that point of view was shared by most elves. Even the youngest ones, who - despite Elven society not being hierarchical - more often than not heed the advice of the elders.

After all, elves regard experience and skill very highly. Almost as highly as dragons regard social status and orcs regard power. A skillful, old elf with several centuries of experience will always have their voice heard.

And, of course, I managed to get my hands on coffee! I even brought some with me already, a parting gift from Tarindor.

It’s a big win overall. It’s not a formal alliance, of course, but it’s the first foreign power with which Wesgoth managed to build a friendly relationship after the war.

They were adamant in not helping us solve the dragonkin issue. But being friendly and having foreign trade is already good. And they aren’t opposed to helping us against the nations of the goddess in the future.

My role right now is done. We still have the System and the dragonkin to deal with, though.

And that angry dragon bursting through space.

"Your Highness?"

"Yes?"

Maria, the head maid of the manor, enters the room.

"There’s a messenger from the palace."

"Let him in."

What is it right now? I barely had time to rest a little bit.

:::

PoV: Urraca

The messenger was exceptionally tired, drinking water that a maid had brought to him. He had just come all the way from Histria, riding the fastest horses and stopping only to switch a tired horse for a new one.

Urraca was pacing the room back and forth, with a piece of paper in her hands. It had the intel she had just received.

"What do you mean the hero disappeared? How can a hero disappear? Didn’t the heroes just became Champions?"

Of course those questions weren’t directed at the messenger. She was well aware that he was just the bearer and not the person who sent the message.

Those mutterings were to herself, as she grappled with the shock of the news. The hero of Histria disappeared, leaving no traces.

"Was that the reason the Church over there was reluctant to send the hero to the front lines? No, it can’t be. The disappearance seems to have happened in the last few days. What the hell is happening?"

Nakata and Jonas are away, fighting. She wouldn’t take them out of where they are most needed just to check their thoughts about it.

No, she has to solve it by herself. That is, if that situation has a solution at all.

And she feels that it hasn’t.

She has been with the other heroes long enough to understand that even they receive no contact from the goddess. They were just put in this world and then abandoned.

Abandoned to fight a hopeless war. A war without end.

It feels like the goddess herself doesn’t want this war to end. That is the thought that comes often, but she never has the courage to say it out loud.

"If at least I had that portal magic... Fuck. I need to go there and see it for myself. But if I go using the traditional means of transportation, it will be too late to find anything."

She knows that that’s just wishful thinking.

The intelligence network has provided zero results in bringing a copy of the aria. The Wesgothian spatial mages don’t chant the aria when casting, which makes it impossible to recreate the spell just by hearing it.

And the mages are even more shorthanded in reproducing the spell. Even the concept itself of manipulating space directly is too foreign, too alien, for them to comprehend.

’Out of nothing, nothing can be developed.’ That was the explanation the leader of the research team gave for his failures. Pitiful.

Urraca punched the table, trying to release her tension and frustration. Then she finally sat down.

This feeling is like being an animal in a cage...

:::

PoV: Lillian

"What do you mean you are not coming? Can’t you see the power of that thing up there? Do you think that it will spare you? I’m telling you, you have to come with me to fight it!"

The angry goddess was in the Saint’s audience room, calling for help.

"I am not adept at fighting, Juno. You know that. It’s the only reason my help during that battle was limited to healing. I can’t help you."

"You..."

It was just an excuse, obviously. Though it was true that she couldn’t fight to kill or harm someone, she could help by providing support. And Juno knew that.

"Listen. You don’t need to enter the fight directly. Just help me, ok? Heal me and my subordinates, give us some buffs. Things like that."

Juno’s voice got more controlled and less demanding. She was really making an effort to calm herself and try to win the other over.

But it was futile. Lillian shook her head and retorted.

"That fight is not mine. You are the one who challenged him and then fled. Also, you are the one who brought the planet to the brink of collapse. But I’m not one to leave people to suffer alone."

Juno was boiling by the middle of the phrase, but then she dared to hope at the end.

"So you’ll help?"

"If you help me... cease the mana draining immediately. That is my price."

"WHAT? Are you crazy? That’s the only thing that allows us humans to keep existing in this world."

"That is quite a misleading statement. Neither the humans nor the planet need the Adventuring System. That only exists to keep your domination over the population. It’s a war that you could have ended a long time ago if you wanted to."

Juno was baffled by the declaration. It wasn’t false, but she didn’t expect anyone to point it all to her like that.

"So that’s how you play... Very well, I give up on trying to convince you. Just don’t come crying later when the whole planet is destroyed."

"Juno. If this planet is destroyed during this confrontation, the only one to blame will be yourself. If you hadn’t challenged that dragon, he would have never come to this place."

Juno didn’t answer. She simply turned on her heels and left the place, stomping all the way.

Only when the goddess had left the divine temple did Lillian allow herself to sigh and relax.