I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was how stiff and in pain my body was from sleeping on the floor. I turned my body and my body let out a loud crack. It was satisfying. I looked around and saw that Lily was missing. That bastard. He normally sleeps until noon unless I drag him off his bed but now he woke up earlier than me?

Whatever. At least he would gather information. Nocturna was still sleeping with Gökbörü in her embrace. That fleabag. He did the same thing with Blanche. He gets close to ladies rather quickly. I stopped myself from poking him since it could also wake up Nocturna. Speaking of her, she looked cute while sleeping. She was probably affected more by the nerf compared to us.

Nearly all beastkin I met had physical capabilities above average human. They were also slightly taller and larger. That’s why they were used in manual labor by the humans. However, Nocturna seemed to be an exception.

I stretched. What I should do now? I wasn’t really hungry or thirsty. I could try to find Bolverk or learn more about draugrs. I was sure our trial here was related to them. But….

I looked at Nocturna. If I leave her would she be fine? She is in a human town. She looked nervous even around other beastkin. Can I leave her by herself? I touched my forehead. Was I being overprotective? I mean she was an adult… She was an adult, right? It was hard to tell her age since she had a petite body and face.

“Rise and shine!”

While I was thinking what I should do, Lily kicked the door open. He was holding what seemed to be several loaves of bread wrapped in cloth and a water bottle. His loud entry caused Nocturna to wake up. She seemed confused for a second before collecting herself. Gökbörü despite falling off the bed with Nocturna’s awakening was still sleeping with his tongue out.

“Next time I wake you up, I will suplex you. Learn to be quiet.”

“Oh, she was still sleeping. Sorry sleeping beauty! I got food to apologize! It is warm and fresh!”

Lily spread the cloth across the ground and put them. Considering the vapor coming out of them they were really warm and fresh.

“How did you get them? Did you meet with Bolverk?”

“Nope! I complimented a lady. The poor woman must never received a single compliment in her life! She gifted me these.”

I covered my face with my hand and let out a loud sigh. I could guess what happened.

“You seduced her, didn’t you?”

Lily lifted his pointer finger.

“I may or may not implied her to meet with me at midnight on a barn.”

“For fuck’s sake, not again.”

I sounded defeated.

“Come on! I am not a homewrecker! I didn’t know that woman was married back then! And I was just pretending for this! You believe me, don’t you Nocturna?”

Even Nocturna looked disgusted despite not knowing half of the context. I put my hand on my face and sighed until I heard a loud sniffing. I lowered my hand and saw Gökbörü sniffing the air with his eyes closed. He suddenly opened his eyes and started to run towards the food. I sighed.

“What happened, happened. Let’s eat and we think how to deal with stuff with a full stomach.”

I relented. We gathered around the spread of warm bread and the water bottle, tearing off chunks of bread and savoring the simple sustenance. The bread was softer than the one we ate yesterday. I appreciated it. I disliked eating hard stuff. I really wished we had some butter and salt or even simpler, an onion to go with the bread but guess beggars can’t be choosers.

“You still angry?”

Lily poked me with his elbow. To answer his question, I poked him in the ribs with my elbow.

“She told me she was single! She wasn’t wearing a ring either! How could I have known?”

“Your lust caused us a lawsuit and me to overwork for a month! Not only you slept with a married woman, but the guy had a connection to the government! You should have kept it in your pants in the first place! Do you know how long it took me to convince upper ups to not dishonorably discharge you?”

Just remembering it sent me into a rage. What a shit show it was… I preferred being on the battlefield to it. Just as I was about to calm down Lily opened his mouth again:

“They spent more than a million dollars on our surgeries. They couldn’t have just discharged us.”

I slowly turned my head to Lily with anger in my eyes.

“They could easily sent you to a wasteland for the rest of your life. You would wish being dishonorably discharged if that happened.”

“Technically it happened when we dropped the nukes.”

“I am going to smack you.”

Nocturna listened with great interest. Guess her curiosity for knowledge was greater than her disgust for homewreckers. I wondered how some things we said were translated to her. Things like lawsuits or nukes didn’t exist in this world, at least I hope so.

“Nocturna, do you know what lawsuit or nukes mean?”

I wondered how the translation worked. I could read, listen, and speak the language of this world, at least the one spoken in here. However, I had no clue how it worked. Nocturna blinked, looking a bit puzzled by my question. She tilted her head and hesitated before speaking:

“Isn’t a lawsuit when you had to take things to the king because the case is too big to be solved? And nuke just means explosions?”

Hmm. Guess the words were replaced by the closest thing that exists in this language.

“What is the language we are speaking called?”

I asked.

“Primordiala?”

She answered.

“That sounds like the most made-up name ever.”

Lily commented.

“Is something wrong?”

Nocturna tilted her head to the side. Gökbörü mimicked her.

“No. It is just that we can speak your language but we never “learned” it. Even now I am just speaking my native language but you hear Primordiala. It is weird. But it makes sense. It would be a pain in the ass if the guy you sent doesn’t understand the native language.”

“Nice. We have an auto-translate function.”

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I tapped on my head.

“Goddamn it, just like that? I learned two languages by studying my ass off and these guys can just install it to our heads?”

Nocturna looked fascinated by what we were talking about.

“You knew 2 languages?”

“3 with my mother language. This guy knows 5.”

I pointed my finger at Lily causally. He waved his hand. Nocturna’s mouth was agape.

“I… I knew you guys were smart but never expected…”

“Guess learning languages here is harder. We had easier access to learning resources in our world. So you don’t have to be that surprised.”

Finishing up our bread and water, I wiped my hands on the cloth and leaned back, stretching my arms above my head.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

Lily asked, breaking the brief silence that had settled over us. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and thinking for a moment.

“The temple is a good place to start. I don’t know what exactly is in there but if it really brings Aliera’s favor here, there must be some kind of hint we could find there.”

As we stepped outside, the sun was already high in the sky, casting a warm glow over the village. Most of the villagers were returning back from their work. They had to start early and work until noon when it was the hottest. They probably rested until it wasn’t as hot as the noon and then they worked until the sun went down. We made our way towards the center of the village, where the temple stood.

Its design was simple but it was sturdy looking just like the houses all around us. The temple's walls were made of solid wood, and its roof was thatched, just like the other buildings. Yet, there was an air of reverence and solemnity that set it apart from the rest of the village. As we approached, I noticed a few villagers walking up to the temple, carrying small offerings of food and flowers. They nodded to us politely as we passed by, making me feel bad about my behavior last night.

Unlike the other wooden doors we saw until now, the temple’s door was carved intricately with symbols and patterns that I didn't recognize. The moment I entered the temple, I felt a static. It was a feeling similar to the one I felt when we entered close proximity to Rodrick. It was much, much weaker but it was still here, proving Aliera’s presence here.

The interior was dimly lit, with the soft light filtering through small windows and openings. The space was dominated by a large stone altar at the center. A closer look made me realize the crude statue in the middle of it.

“Hah, she doesn’t look like that at all.”

I let out a small chuckle.

The statue was surrounded by flowers, fruits, berries, wheat, and similar things. I could even see a mud doll that was probably made by a child.

“I thought this place would be filled with weapons and armor.”

Lily whispered to me. It was normal. Aliera was a Goddess of War. This looked like a temple dedicated to a Goddes of Nature.

“It is not the offerings themselves but the feelings they carry.”

A gentle voice echoed through the temple, and we turned to see an older woman standing there, her hands clasped in prayer. She reminded me of old grandmas we would come across when visiting the older and more rural places.

"Welcome, travelers. It is rare to see newcomers in our humble village. May Aliera's blessings be upon you."

I exchanged a glance with Lily before offering a respectful bow.

"Thank you for your kind words. We are grateful for the warm welcome. Can you explain what you meant?"

The old woman slowly picked up the withered flowers around the statue. She let out a soft chuckle.

“None of the things here will reach to Aliera. Not the best-smelling flowers, not the juiciest berries, not the softest loaves of bread.”

She picked a single flower from the ground and showed us. It was a rose.

“Joseline offered this flower for her sick child to heal. She only had one set of clothes but they were torn while searching for the nicest looking one.”

She let the rose on the ground, kindly and picked up a bread. Even in dim light, I could tell it was burnt.

“Poor Josepth had a horrible harvest this year. Most of his crop was burnt by the harsh sun. That’s why he brings things he can’t use or eat.”

She let that too on the ground and picked up the mud doll I saw before. She smiled.

“Little Alfond is learning pottery. This is the first thing he made. It must been hard for him to part ways with his first creation.”

She let it on the ground.

“Different sacrifices made with different feelings and intentions. Young man, you said you thought this place was filled with weapons and armor. Do you think Aliera needs weapons and armor? Especially the ones crafted by us?”

She asked Lily. He looked at me and I nodded.

“Nope. She can probably just create weapons and armor.”

The old woman nodded.

“You are right. So what’s the difference in offerings? It is either berries or weapons. She doesn’t need both.”

“Why does she need offerings then? She can just offer her protection over you.”

Lily argued in a playful tone.

“Oh, she needs offerings. Just not the physical ones. Perhaps once they didn’t need it but they do now. How will they gain power to protect us if not with our belief and prayers?”

…

Wasn’t this how demons were born?

…

“Are you saying we created the Gods?”

Lily asked. Nocturna looked shocked. I guess this kind of concept was taboo and new in this world. Back on Earth, it was a common question: Did God create us or did we create God? The chicken or the egg?

Lily’s question made me a little nervous. We were in Aliera’s temple and I could feel her presence. What if she decided to smite Lily? Even if he was chosen of another God, the danger still existed. Even if Aliera didn’t do anything, the old woman could take offense and turn the village on us. Despite my fears, she let out another chuckle.

“I wasn’t there when they were born so I can’t say for sure.”