“Do you ever feel lonely, Reginn?”
The Goddess often visited Reginn’s domain at the center of Alsland, bringing his siblings along. As the oldest of the children, he was the closest to the Goddess, and she sometimes shared her innermost thoughts. However, the hero knew that he would never understand her, but it mattered not.
“No. I have you, and I have my brothers and sisters. What more could I ask for, mother?”
Each movement of the Goddess was an artwork of million depths, billion contexts and dimensions — or at least Reginn saw so. The child of blood clung onto her desperately, lest he lost his warmth when he was younger, as all do. As he matured, he knew that he must now earn his place, rather than be babyed. For that, he would need to improve — to reduce his dependencies, and weaknesses and increase his authority like the Goddess. Right now, he felt the distance of stars between him and the Goddess, between a King and their subjects. He could not remember the last time he touched anyone without malice. Sometimes though, the hero glimpses at the Goddess’s melancholy.
“...Reginn. I’ll say the same when the others grow up, but I wish for you to experience love as much as you can. Time is limited… don’t regret.”
“...Yes, mother.”
Sitting on a divine construct, the Goddess looked onto her children with melancholy, as if reminiscing about someone.
Back then, he did not quite understand what she had meant, but only after his death, did he understand. She must’ve been starving for love as well. It is only when you have felt the warmth of people, that you understand the chilling truth.
“I love you, my children. No matter what, forever.”
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“R-Reginn… How did you get your clothes so filthy…?”
Reginn returned to Sivrit’s place, and to her horror, his clothes were even dirtier than before. However, his skin was perfectly clear for some reason. It must’ve been his status as a child of the Goddess or a World Beast… Beforeward, he was just a bit messy, but he must’ve been sleeping in the woods for a few days now.
“That is not the reason I am here. I simply wish to… finish our discussion.”
The hero stood in front of the main entrance, his muddy tracks visible leading to the front. However, Sivrit’s janitors were already at work.
“Well… I’m afraid I can’t let you into the house in your current state,” said Sivrit, “You weren’t here when we went to the mall, right? This should be a good chance to see around the city too!”
“...Fine.”
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Instead of the mall, Sivrit instead headed toward a store specializing in durable clothing for explorers and adventuring products in general. It was a popular spot for guild members to replenish their supplies and equipment, and Sivrit visited the spot fairly often as well. Since she needed to replenish camping supplies after her last trip to the mountains, it was the perfect time.
The sky was blue, and the air hinted at the coming of fall. It seemed that leaves would begin to fall soon, and the Academy entrance exams would begin. Hopefully, they would be able to rescue Attila before then.
“...I’ve always wondered, but what do you do for fun?” asked Sivrit.
“Fun?”
“You know, like games or sports and such.”
“...I do not pursue ‘fun’,” replied Reginn, “Though if I had to choose… I’d say that I enjoy speaking to my siblings.”
“Huh… I never took you as the talkative type.”
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“It’s not like I pursue those moments. They sometimes happen, and they sometimes don’t. It would be an inefficient use of time to prioritze enjoyment over function.”
“Eh…”
Subconsciously, Reginn reached out in his mind.
“...Well, what about you?”
“Hm… I suppose I love watching movies — especially with heroes in them — and camping, and hiking, and reading, and shopping, and…”
The hero listened in silence. It was a strange feeling listening to someone speak so passionately and enthusiastically. As a longevite divine being, he naturally gravitated to a more slow-paced lifestyle and mindset unless the events called for it. Humans, on the other hand, were like fireworks shining brightly before fizzling. Though he had never seen a person be born, grow old and die, he still knew the fragility of men. The hero began to understand Elem’s perspective. Perhaps there was something special about these humans.
“...S-sorry, I kind of went on a tangent there… Anyways, we’re here already!”
‘FARSIDE exploration supplies’ read the sign on the wall. Reginn had never appreciated it, but his information-type spell was perfected in first try. He rarely felt pride in his creations, often understanding them as menial labour, discounting the creative processes involved. However, this was the first time he felt genuinely glad he had created a spell.
It was an expænsive shop but was still crowded with adventurers of all kinds. Many of them held badges to proudly show their affiliation with a guild. Reginn recalled how the Endlegion seemed like a guild of their own, though he knew they enjoyed special treatment from the royals. During his era, the concept of adventurers was foreign, and Reginn actively discouraged such activity. It would be more difficult to prosecute and protect those outside of his greater domain after all.
“We should get a bunch of clothes for you, and probably a bag to store them… and a tent too?”
“I do not require any roof.”
“Well, you need some place to call home for now, right? If someone wants to see you, they should at least be able to wait by your door.”
“...Fine.”
“Also, don’t worry about setting up the tent. It’s super easy, even a toddler could do it!”
“...”
The two browsed the items, though Sivrit did most of the choosing as she was the expert in the field. After today, Reginn would no longer have to sleep on the grass.
One corner of the shop caught Reginn’s eyes.
“...See something you like?” asked Sivrit, seeing Reginn’s intense focus.
“...It’s crude, and appalling to see the Goddess being disgraced by such poor craftmanship,” said Reginn as he held a small, beautiful statue of the Goddess in his hands. “I want this.”
“Hm… Only a thousand Fare, huh? I guess it’s like a protection charm or for a portable shrine or something?”
“...Hm.”
“I’ve always wanted to ask but… Did you know the Goddess personally?”
“Of course. She is my mother.”
“Wow… I’ve had some suspicion on whether she was real or not, but I guess that clears it,” said Sivrit, “So how was she?”
“...She was beautiful. She was the Goddess, but she also felt… a bit human. Maybe that’s what made her perfect.”
“Huh…”
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After checkout, the two passed through an automatic door with massive bags in hand. Reginn was impressed by the convenience of a credit card — much better than slugging around stones of metal emblems — though he did not quite understand currencies in general. Sivrit insisted on holding a bag herself, and Reginn did not wish to waste energy objecting, instead, he simply made the load lighter by lifting the bag together with mana.
“Hey, do you want to head to the arcade next?”
“Arcade?”
“Well, you told me you don’t really do much for fun… So I wanted to show you some modern fun we have. Though I guess it isn’t really modern-modern since everyone plays at home with computers and consoles now… I don’t care much for those though.”
“...Sure.”