Birth of A Hero and Power That Could Reach the Gods – Part 02

Morning was just beginning at the camp. Voices and smells of breakfast drifted through the air, along with frequent shouts of, “You still in bed?” Someone even called out, “The sun and Lord Brigid are watching you!” They didn’t even know that it was Brigid who caused their current predicament. Or maybe if they did, his name was just part of some figures of speech.

Hikaru was worried about the Dwarves’ meeting. They had deep faith in Brigid, and no matter what, they clung to the idea that he was watching over them. Even if he told them the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were caused by the god they worshiped, they wouldn’t believe him.

Either way, it’s still the Dwarves’ decision to make.

Hikaru decided not to press the issue further. Dodorono and Dodonno might want to stay in Ironforge, but at this point, all he could do was respect their choices.

What does Brigid even want? He said something about desiring art. First, it was Talis. Having such long-lived beings around is a problem in itself.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

Wait. Maybe Man Gnomes know something about Brigid and Talis—and what were their names again? Behemoth and Diva. They might know about them too.

In the Kingdom of Ponsonia, a human nation, there was no information about Brigid. The Theocracy of Bios only had records going back to the first Pope. The Confederacy of Einbiest wasn’t even a proper nation, just a collection of various races. In that case, asking Man Gnomes might actually be a good idea. Besides, the pedestal of their Jizo statue had Japanese engraved into it.

Hikaru recalled the inscription.

“In remembrance of the devastation of the War of Absolute Dominion, we leave this statue. We pray that such calamity never befalls the world ever again.”

Renka and her father’s generation didn’t even know what a Sai no Kami was, but perhaps some documents still existed. Hikaru was glad the Man Gnomes hadn’t gone extinct.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t get too involved in this. We’re talking about someone who can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Best to steer clear. I’d be better off collecting rare minerals, gemstones, and gold in this world, then crossing over to Japan to cash them in and live a quiet, carefree life.

He knew that. But still…

“Hikaru. You’ve been lost in thought this whole time.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been talking to you, and you’ve been totally spaced out. We’ve already walked all the way to the edge of the camp, you know?”

“Oh, s-sorry.”

A field stretched out in front of them. There were no tents here. In the distance, he could see the mountain where they had undergone the Trial of Illusions.

“What were you thinking about?”

“Well…”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to say.”

He should pull back from the matter with Brigid and leave the Dwarves to handle things themselves. That would be the rational decision.

But the anger he’d felt when he saw Dank, that young Dwarf, crying… that hadn’t gone away.

“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

Hikaru had decided not to keep secrets from Lavia. So he told her everything that had been on his mind. At first, she listened quietly, nodding here and there. But as he talked about Brigid’s reckless behavior, her expression grew visibly sharper.

“What is wrong with him? That’s inexcusable!”

She was absolutely fuming. That she felt the same way made Hikaru incredibly happy.

“To be honest, I have no idea how to deal with something like him.”

“But it’s better to have some kind of defense.”

“Defense, huh? Yeah, you’re right.”

The first thing that came to Hikaru’s mind was summoning the Fire Drakon. But that creature had made it clear.

“We drakons must not interfere too much with the human world. I’ve come to tell you that this is the last time I will answer your call.”

The drakon had warned him not to summon again.

“We drakons have our limitations.”

If those limitations didn’t apply to beings like Brigid, then maybe things would be different. But there was no way to confirm that.

Lavia chuckled. “You’re making that serious face again.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Being earnest and focused is one of your strengths, but maybe you should take a little break too.”

“A break, huh.”

He glanced over. It was only morning, but the Dwarves had been sitting in a circle on the grass, drinking. They were making a racket about how they were out of alcohol or someone drank too much.

“I’m not talking about drinking,” Lavia said.

“Of course not. I’m just thinking… there doesn’t seem to be anywhere around here to relax.”

“There are books!” Lavia’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve been reading all kinds of things at Gilma’s store. One of them was about Brigid. It was kind of like a fairy tale, though.”

“Huh… could be nice. Might be useful somehow.”

He doubted it would help much against Brigid, but it could be a good change of pace. Above all, he appreciated Lavia’s thoughtfulness.

By the time they returned to Gittan, his full stomach had digested his food. A crowd had gathered in front of the store. He was glad he’d picked up a coat before opening time.

The second floor of the store was quiet. The two of them went to the room where Lavia and Paula were staying. Over ten books were stacked on the table, and apparently, Lavia had already read through them all.

“This one.”

Lavia picked up a book titled The Guidance of Brigid the Divine. It had a leather cover, but it wasn’t too thick. Hikaru sat on the bed and opened the book. Lavia sat beside him.

The contents read like a religious scripture. While the Church recorded the teachings of saints, in Ironforge, it was Brigid’s teachings that were passed down. The book described how Brigid had influenced the Dwarves in positive ways, and how they had honed their blacksmithing skills for him.

“Hmm.”

What caught his eye was the part about a printing press. It said Brigid had taken notice of a machine that could mass-produce text by setting up printed plates. He had appeared before the blacksmith who built it and commended him.

“So a blacksmith invented the printing press here?”

“Brigid would probably be shocked if he saw books from Japan,” Lavia said.

“So even though they have stories like this, the Dwarves kept on making swords and armor? Clearly, Brigid was more impressed by novel creations.”

“Apparently, this book itself was made using that press. So maybe that part was just a bit of sales talk.”

“Sounds likely.”

As Hikaru read on, he came across a story about a drakon. Brigid was quoted as saying, “Strive without end. To the slothful, a drakon shall descend, and punishment shall be wrought. Even with all the might I command, a drakon alone I cannot conquer.”

“So, just like you said, maybe Brigid and drakons are equals, or maybe the dragons are even stronger?”

“He talked very casually when I saw him, but in this book he’s pretty grandiose. So I don’t think it’s all accurate word for word. Still, it sounds like drakon power works against Brigid.”

“But he basically erased your gear, didn’t he? And Stealth doesn’t work either.”

“Yeah.”

“Drakons must have some special kind of power.”

“That’s how it seems. But then again, Man Gnomes didn’t have anything like that. Actually, maybe they did.”

“The Starwhite Wedge.”

“Exactly.”

The Starwhite Wedge, a doomsday weapon found in the Man Gnomes’ village and meant to fight the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, used soul energy. There were many other soul-powered devices, like the Black Wedge Gate.

“But still… when we freed the Fire Drakon from the dungeon in Paula’s village, it was chained up, wasn’t it? We had you break the chains using holy magic.”

“Yup. Oh, right. So evil magic is effective against the Fire Drakon.”

“So we just throw evil magic at Brigid? Not that we have any handy spells like that. And we don’t have any soul weapons either.”

Lavia slammed a fist on her palm. “Didn’t that adventurer Waffa use soul energy?”

“Ah!”

She was right. When Waffa attacked Hikaru during the Trial of Illusions, she’d clearly used a power that wasn’t fueled by mana.

“Maybe we should talk to her.”

Lavia chuckled. “You really don’t want to.”

“Can you blame me? We’ll need Selyse if we want to get a proper conversation out of her.”

Hikaru closed the book and stood up.