Episode 1255. Man Can’t Live Alone
Hamish and Sishit, the priests of Shastra Parakti, smiled as they gazed out the window.
The faces of the two priestesses were bright.
It is true that the road to Ishika is dangerous, but not now.
This is because the Grand Master, Count Helio Lagoa, is by their side.
The roar of an unknown beast was heard in the distance.
Normally, they would have been busy guessing the truth of the sound, but the two priestesses didn’t care.
Elio, who was flirting with Fabian, suddenly asked the priestesses a question.
“By the way, did you say you received an oracle from the priest? Then have you seen the face of Shastra Parakti?”
Hamish, who briefly recalled the events of the day, asked Sishit.
“The Count asks if he has seen the face of Master Shastra Parakti. did you see it?”
“You were much more beautiful than I saw in your torch. The icon did not represent even one tenth of his beauty and holiness.”
Hamish said, turning slightly behind him.
“It is.”
“Didn’t you see Priest Hamish?”
“It was ten years ago, so I often recall memories while watching the torch.”
“You received an oracle this time, too.”
“Priest Sishit mostly took it, and I only slightly added it. I didn’t have time to look at your face.”
“If we meet again, will we remember?”
“Of course not. Even now, when I look at the torch, I vaguely recall the face of Shastra Parakti. But why do you ask that?”
“I was curious about the face of God.”
Then, Sishit, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two, intervened.
“A lot of people were surprised when priests said they met God. Many people doubt, ‘How do you meet an invisible god?’”
“Ah, it’s not because I doubt it. Actually, I have met God.”
At Count Elio Lagoa’s words, the two priestesses widened their eyes and turned their heads back.
It is not as simple as saying that humans met God.
Of the thousands of temple priests, only one or two receive such a blessing.
Since you are an apostle of Shastra Parakti, have you met Shastra Parakti?
The young Sishit priest took the risk of rudeness and asked.
“May I ask what kind of god the Count has met?”
Elio, who was trying to talk about the Nine Heavenly Maiden, decided to sell the sun god because it was difficult to explain.
“Kama Debias, called the sun god.”
“oh! Did he really look like a torch?”
“Have you ever seen the torch of the sun god Fabian because I haven’t seen it?”
“The northerners don’t know much except Manaptras.”
“I’ve never seen the torch, so I can’t say anything. He was handsome.”
“What conversation did you have with him?”
Like a priest, Sisht showed interest in the sun god’s interior rather than its exterior.
“It’s just a story.”
Elio was vaguely confused.
In fact, I had more conversations with the cheonjama that dwells in it than with the sun god, so I had nothing to say.
Sishit did not ask further when Count Helio Lagoa was reluctant to answer.
The condition of the road got progressively worse.
As if hundreds and thousands of years had passed, the road was covered with grass.
Every time it crossed a pile of grass, the carriage ‘rattled’, and every time a tree branch encroaching on the road hit the carriage, an extended ‘Deuddeuk!’ There was a sound.
However, because the road was so wide, there was no great difficulty in moving the wagon.
After noon, the carriage stopped for a moment where it could see the sky.
for a simple meal.
Two coachmen diligently roamed around and prepared the dishes.
Eventually, eight people, including the paladins and priest Elio, gathered in one place and shared a meal.
The priests were sorry for the poor food, but Elio was satisfied.
This is because the unidentified dish was better than the ‘Energy Ball’ brought from Hirhera.
After the meal, the priests treated Elio and his party to tea—a drink enjoyed by the priests of the Shastra Parakti Temple.
Elio was surprised to find that the tea the priests gave him was similar to the one he drank in Gangho.
Looking at the nobles drinking tea, Hamish said with a proud face.
“I don’t know if the temple tea suits my taste.”
Along with her words, she studied the complexion of the nobles.
The tea in the temple was difficult even for imperial aristocrats to access, so it might not be suitable for nobles in the north.
As expected, Count Omar of Larva and Baron Fabian Cloud asked, ‘What is this?’ It is a face that
At that time, Count Helio Lagoa took a deep breath and said.
“It’s good. I like it because it tastes similar to the tea I used to drink in my hometown.”
“I see. If it suits your taste, I’ll give you a box.”
The temple car was a great gift because it could not be obtained even with money.
“thank you. I will definitely repay this favor anytime.”
“you’re welcome.”
The corner of Hamish’s mouth went up.
It was only natural that he had a relationship with Count Elio Lagoa over a box of tea in the temple.
After drinking tea, the priest and paladin Elio and the others went back to the carriage.
After running for about an hour, an old milestone called ‘Ishika’ appeared on the side of the road.
From then on, the beast began to appear on the road.
To protect the coachmen, the Paladins moved to the side of the coachman’s seat.
Most of the beasts evaded the wagon, but some nasty ones attacked the coachman’s seat.
Every time that happened, the Paladins swung their Longswords with their scabbards to shake off the beasts.
Some beasts rammed the wagon with their trunks or thrust their clawed paws through the windows.
Elio and Fabian, who were sitting by the window, pushed the beast’s paws away with their longswords each time.
Fabian exclaimed as he cut off the beast’s paw with the sheath.
“Hey, is this a field of wild beasts?”
“I know. It seems the beast has taken the place where the man left.”
“It must be difficult for people to go back in and settle down, right? Wouldn’t it be great if you could build a steel wall like Feromuros? Where would you live in fear?”
“Still, people are leaving, so look at the trees and grass.”
“Iknow, right. This is just unexplored territory. He said he came into contact with the Great Forest, and it is terrifying. Wouldn’t the great grove be worse than this?”
Fabian, belatedly reminded of the danger of the Great Forest, shook his head excitedly.
“I think I know why the southern kingdom doesn’t block the empire’s adventurers and mercenaries.”
Elio stuck out his tongue.
Even if it is close to the great forest, it is this much, but the Abyss is terrible!
“It is fortunate that there are still only beasts. If even a demon appears here, it will be a real headache.”
At Fabian’s words, Priest Sisht spoke as if explaining.
“The Witchbeast seldom leaves the Great Forest. If demon beasts invade human territory, human armies may set out to subdue them.”
“Are you that smart?”
“A Witchbeast with excellent intelligence uses its brain just as well as a human.”
“Do it.”
Fabian remembered the magic beasts he had met in Tamion.
Whether it’s a monster or a monster, the higher you go up, the better your brain is.
Some monsters even communicated using language.
“But wouldn’t it be dangerous to go to Ishika’s temple with only three paladins?”
“Ishika is an abandoned city, but it’s okay because it’s far from the Great Forest. The Holy Knights can deal with any number of monsters attacking them.”
“What about monsters?”
“It’s okay since monsters don’t leave the Great Forest. Until now, no one has ever witnessed a monster in Ishika. If so, I would have moved with more paladins.”
“aha.”
Fabian shook his head.
Seeing the flock of beasts, he thought the priests were in danger, but he was foolish.
Even with the same sword expert, the paladin is much stronger.
There were three such paladins, so it was no different from being accompanied by a sword master.
With that much power, he should be able to defeat monsters, not monsters.
The closer I got to Ishika, the worse the road conditions were.
Previously, if the grass that grew in the cracks of flagstones behind the road was a problem, from Ishika there were many places where tree roots swallowed the flagstones.
Because the road was damaged by tree roots, the wagon had to go and stop repeatedly.
The appearance of hungry beasts became more frequent.
It seemed that all the beasts of Ishka had come to the noise of the two quadruped carriages.
Still, the Paladins in the driver’s seat did not ask for help from Elio’s party.
In fact, for sword experts, dealing with beasts is nothing more than lying down and eating rice cakes.
Not to mention, the beast was no threat to the paladins who had been blessed by the gods.
However, as the number of beasts increased by leaps and bounds, the Paladins pulled out their longswords from their scabbards.
It would be nice to avoid killing by swinging the sheath as before, but it was an inevitable choice to protect the four frightened horses and coachman.
an hour later.
Two temple wagons drove into Ishka, which had been occupied by wild beasts long ago.
The condition of the city was better than the roads connecting the cities.
This is because the inside of the city is full of buildings and flagstones, unlike the roads outside surrounded by grass.
Inside the city conditions were good, except for untended gardens and areas occupied by roots and stems from the nearby forest.
apart. apart.
Deed Deed-!
The sound of horses’ hooves and the rolling of wagon wheels echoed through the quiet city.
Elio muttered as he looked out the window at the fallen city.
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. You mean that’s an empty house?”
said Fabian, looking at the scenery outside through the window facing Elio.
“why? Are you sorry?”
“To abandon such a large building and leave… I don’t think I would ever do that.”
“People cannot live alone. If everyone else leaves, I have no choice but to leave. Sir Lagoa only says so, but when he shuts up, he will leave.”
“Even if that building is mine, I will never leave. How do you get rid of that?”
“What are you doing, being alone in a city where no one lives? Without people, no matter how beautiful a building is, it’s just shit.”
“Why did people leave all this behind? I don’t understand.”
“Don’t be stubborn. I would have left because I couldn’t live. Would you like to leave?”
Elio couldn’t refute Fabian’s words, which were somewhat sullen.
right.
I can’t live without leaving all of this, so I must have left.
If not one or two people, but a city disappeared, there must have been an inevitable reason.
The carriage continued on its way to the center of Ishika.
It seems that the temple of Shastra Parakti was located in the center of Ishika.
‘huh?’
Elio’s heart fluttered strangely as he approached the center of Ishika.
Emotions that cannot be expressed in words surged through his body.
My heart was pounding and my heart was beating wildly.
Surprised, Elio secretly repeated the precepts of the Nine Thousand and One True Sutras.
He thought he had been unknowingly exposed to sleeping pills or aphrodisiacs or something like that.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Chun-gi rose from the dantian and turned around his entire body.
Only then did my racing heart calm down.
The wagon, which had been carefully driving down the road, slowed down and stopped.
Elio looked out the window at the forgotten temple before getting off the carriage.
The overall appearance was similar to the temple of Manapthras seen in Crulli.
The difference is the stone slabs with geometric patterns on the floor around the temple and the pond – which must have been beautiful in the past.
The pond with the blue sky was like an oval mirror lying on the floor.
Perhaps because it was a temple, Priest Hamish and Priest Sishit got off the carriage first.
Elio, who was about to follow him, hesitated at the bizarre feeling that came over him again.