Chapter 29
Editor: ArymTheThird Proofread: Nano
(TLNote: Any inconsistency names or places, please let us know . I’ll do my best to re-read this again . Thank you for understanding . )
That day, a small harvest festival was being held in the village of Kuko .
In the village square, the delicious smell of a whole roasted Big Bear permeated the air .
There were several stalls, all serving food and drinks to the villagers for free .
A troupe of traveling entertainers wandered by and cheerfully strummed their lutes and puffed their bagpipes .
A clown dancing to the music excited the children by somersaulting while throwing and catching a ball .
Then, Kein arrived in the Village of Kuko from the city of Hern .
“Oh, the Guest of honor is here . Kein, have a drink . ”
And as soon as he came, The master of ‘Bacchus’, an open-bar beer stall, handed over a drink to Kein .
“Guest of honor? I heard it’s a village festival?”
“The village chief was happy that the support money Kein gave us would allow us to have another festival this year . This drink came from Kein’s money, too, so don’t hold back . ”
“Yeah . ”
His support was supposed to go anonymously through the Adventurers Guild, but somehow, Kein’s help had been discovered .
“Well, whatever, let’s have a drink . ”
“Then, I’ll have it . ”
Although Kein didn’t really like alcohol, though he still took a quick gulp of Bacchus bar’s prided chilled beer .
Meanwhile, the master was roasting chickpeas on the charcoal stove, until they were crispy .
“Here, take a snack . ”
“Thank you . These beans are crispy and delicious . ”
“Haha, Kein says everything is good, so it’s worth feeding you . ”
Sitting down at the stall, Kein was watching the clown showing off his juggling skills while gulping down beer and eating savory chickpeas .
Then Yoruk’s granddaughter, Katia, came up to him and pulled his sleeves .
“Uncle Kein . ”
“Don’t you want to watch the clown’s juggling anymore?”
“I’m tired”
“Haha, I guess it can’t be helped . ”
Kein chuckled .
The festival is a time for street performers to make money, and he was sticking up for them so they could show their juggling skills, but kids are pretty tough to beat .
“I want candy!”
“Okay . ”
Kein took a piece of dried fruit out of its wrapper .
“Wow! Oi-chan, you gave me candy!”
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Katia made so much noise that the other children took notice and gathered around him .
The clown must have been disappointed; all the hard work he put into his juggling act was for naught .
“What is this? What is this? Is it sweet?”
“Yum!”
The children of the village came to Kein to beg for sweets .
“I’m glad that I brought more candy . ”
Since it was the village’s festival today, Kein thought that he might want to bring something to share, so he bought with him some rustic baked goods from his tow .
These days, the rewards for picking medicinal herbs had gone up, so he could afford somewhat afford this luxury .
“If he had money, why not stay at a more decent inn,” you might think, but it’s also typical of Kein to spend it on snacks for the kids to eat .
Having had the experience of begging an adult for candy as an orphaned child, Kein empathized with their feelings .
Therefore, Kein knows just how much a little bit of candy or baked goods can warm a child’s heart .
For Kein, the best reward was the smiles on the children’s faces .
“Kein . I’m indebted to you for my grandchildren . ”
Yoruk, the woodcutter came to Kein, accompanied by the village elder, Chief Holt .
“No, no, no, no . I should be the one saying that . You built the Mountain God’s shrine, after all . ”
“That’s just courtesy . There’s no way we could ever repay you for all your hard work in chopping wood . ”
Then Yoruk laughed .
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“We hope that the Mountain God becomes the Guardian Deity of Kuko Village, so we’ve made the shrine even more magnificent for today’s festival . Kein-san, come on over . ”
The white-bearded Chief Holt took Kein up to the Mountain God’s shrine where he was amazed at its new size .
“This is stunning! The Mountain God will be delighted!”
The black stone pine shrine was even more amazing than the last time Kein saw it .
The foundation was firmly reassembled with flat stones, and two large pillars had been erected in the front room to form an arched gate .
Of course, it wasn’t as magnificent as the churches in the city, however, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it became more of a small temple than a shrine .
A small spring was situated nearby to cleanse one’s hands, beautiful lilies were planted in the flower bed, and even a small resting area was installed .
“This year the number of monsters in the mountains increased so much that the village had a hard time, but we were able to hold the village festival without a hitch . When I think about it, we live on the bounty of the mountains, but we have never been able to thank the Mountain God, only neglecting it…”
“From now on, I’m going to follow Kein’s example and take good care of the Mountain God . ”
Kein was touched by Chief Holt’s words .
“I think it’s a good thing . ”
“Now, if only we knew the name of the Mountain God, but it wasn’t written on the statue . ”
Yoruk said to Chief Holt .
“The villagers call it the God of Kein . ”
“Maybe I’ll just go with “Kein’s God” . ”
Kein awkwardly laughed .
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“In that case, may I pay my respects to the Mountain God?”
“Yes, of course . It’s Kein-san’s god . ”
Saying so, Chief Holt boisterously laughed .
The insides of the temple looked great .
An altar of gleaming black stone pines was set up, and in the middle of it, a statue of the god was enshrined, shining white .
The statue of the mountain god was all cleaned up and much more impressive than when Kein picked it up and enshrined it, and below it, one could faintly make out the beautiful face of a goddess .
“A Saint?”
Perhaps she was invited to the inauguration of the temple?
The Saint Sephiria was chanting something, mumbling with her hands clasped together at the altar .
“I knew it, right? Yes, Kein-sama, I see . ”
Kein freaked out when his name was called .
But she didn’t seem to have spoken to him .
Trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not disturb, Kein began to pray at the back .
Then, Sephiria turned to Kein with a twirl and grabbed his arm .
“Kein-sama . Now is your destiny!”
“Yes?”
A riddle was whispered to him, and Kein went straight to the city with Sephiria pulling on his sleeve .