Late Afternoon - Late Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

*fwip-fwip-fwip* It had already been several minutes since I knocked out the Grandmaster, and I had been flipping through books the entire time, but I was still left empty-handed. -How is this even possible?-

Because I came from Earth, a world where religion was everywhere, not being able to even catch a glimpse of anything about it here was a bit agitating. -I only have one bookshelf left…- "Haah…"

But just when I started losing sight of my ever-thinning ray of hope, I walked around to the back of the shelf I was on and saw something. -Hm?-

In the corner of the very bottom shelf, there was a book titled ‘The Goddess of Harvest.’

The title made my eyes light up, but the condition it was in made me worried. -Good lord.. how old is this thing?- It was practically half decomposed, to the point that I was too nervous to touch it with my bare hands. -Will this even be readable?-

I quickly surrounded it in a thick vacuum to not give anything foreign a chance to damage it as I carefully pulled it off the shelf with my aura. *vwoom* -Well, time for the moment of truth…-

Gently opening the front cover with my aura, I looked inside to see a slightly damaged strengthening rune engraved into the back of it.

I could only guess that the rune was there to help prevent decomposition, but even the rune itself had become too aged and damaged to sustain itself. -I guess being stored in a place that isn't climate-controlled really did a number on it…-

Proceeding as carefully as possible, I turned through the next few decomposed pages with unreadable text until I found something I could read. -Please have what I'm looking for...-

The book started like a novel, like a fictional story, but the more I read, the darker and more real things became.

At the beginning of the book, the author detailed extremely ancient history and how it revolved around a being known as the Goddess of Harvest.

Simply put, she was praised and worshiped all throughout the continent because she was a Goddess that would actively bless the land of those who prayed to her.

I found it a bit of an odd blessing at first since I thought it could easily be a coincidence, but shortly after thinking that, the author went on to explain that even if two crops were right next to each other, the one planted by the man who worshiped her would grow strong, while the one planted by the man who didn’t, wouldn’t even sprout. That was something that supposedly happened without exception as well.

-I guess she didn't want her existence to be questioned like the gods on Earth…-

The author then continued shouting praise for her and even went as far as to say that her making food more readily available was what let the scattered humanoid population on the main continent actually develop.

The previously barbaric tribes that struggled for survival started to come together and develop into larger communities which eventually formed towns and inevitably nations that hailed the Goddess as their savior.

But then, even after tens of thousands of years of immense and almost endless development and prosperity, the Goddess of Harvest disappeared, and everything fell apart.

Almost overnight, the blessings ceased reaching people, crops started wilting, and not a single prophecy was given to the countless priests across the continent.

But the sudden wave of famine and chaos wasn't the worst part of it. Following her disappearance, a wave of incurable plague and illness created by those who resorted to eating monster meat in hopes of avoiding starvation washed over the continent.

But their lingering hope was all a facade.

People of all races were indiscriminately culled and the continent fell into the ‘Dark Age’ without warning.

At first, people prayed to not only the Goddess of Harvest but also the various other gods that people prayed to over the years, but there was never a response from any of them.

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As time continued to pass, the situation only worsened, and people's anger finally turned into hatred toward the gods for abandoning them.

But throwing hatred at something people weren't sure still existed didn't work for long.

During the wars that arose between nations in the desperate fight for edible food and agricultural technology, the countless intermingled races within the nations began blaming each other for everything that was happening.

The massive empires built and strengthened over thousands of years crumbled like crackers in the face of the civil wars that erupted within their borders.

And following the collapse of the governments, people began splitting up again, once again forming towns just big enough to be sustained by the scarce supply of edible food.

Before long, without the poorly managed cities to run through, the sicknesses and plagues that ran rampant through the land sizzled out and let people finally return to normal ways of life.

After enough time passed, some towns eventually started to figure out what was necessary to grow healthier crops on their own without the need for blessings and started to grow, but others still endlessly prayed to the absent gods until their lives were inevitably claimed by the passage of time.

The overall population continued to thin out as years passed, but eventually, only the prosperous communities remained, and conditions began improving once again.

But the resentment and hatred between races still lingered in many of these new towns, with only a few of them becoming known as Race Havens, where anyone was welcome as long as they pulled their own weight and didn't fight with the others. -It sounds a lot like early Kaelallan...-

These race havens were spoken of quite fondly by the author, as he was personally a part of one.

But that was when I flipped to the next page and saw it was only partially full. -Is this the last page?-

The text read:

[They have been working well together so far. The population of Kurush is only around 1000, but the town has been growing quickly. The civilians have managed to mostly put aside their differences and are working well together so far.

If all goes well, Kurush will grow large enough to re-occupy the Lost City of The Bay, allowing for better defense from the monsters and letting us catch fish for food and fertilizer.

Things are looking good for us.]

The text ended abruptly, but there was still something written at the very bottom of the page in sloppy handwriting.

It read:

[I am nearing 66 years old now. As a human in this era, I am fairly long-lived, but I, just like many, am nearing the end of my time in this life, so I will leave my one final wish here.

At some point in the future, I hope this account of history can reach someone it can inform. I wish for what I have written to serve as a warning to the people.

Becoming too dependent on the strong will only lead to disaster. We must strive to survive and grow on our own, or else we will collapse the instant we are abandoned...

*illegible scribbles*

If I do not continue after this page, it means I have passed on to the other side, but before that, I wish to engrave a name into history.

Grace Kurush. Long Live The Queen.]

I slowly flipped through the remaining blank pages with thoughts racing through my mind. -So that's the end, huh...-

I gently turned over the book and examined the back cover in an attempt to find the author's name, but couldn't find anything.

-Well...- I closed my eyes and lowered my head for a moment. -Whoever you were, I hope you were blessed with many good reincarnations...-

Although my little prayer was a few thousand years late, it was genuine. -I hope your soul has found peace...-

After finally opening my eyes again, I stood there and contemplated whether to refurbish the text or not.

Although I would personally never need to reread it since I had already memorized it completely, I was tempted to make a copy with better runes to once again preserve the detailed history inside of it.

-I guess it couldn't hurt...- With a shrug of my shoulders, I casually created a new book made of thin titanium alloy with the text engraved into the metal.

The sheets were still flexible and, although it looked odd, with a simple strengthening rune, it would far outlast even the most resistant of materials.

"Hooh..." I let out a deep breath as I carefully moved the rotting book back onto the shelf where I found it and backed away. -Thank goodness I finally found something...-

It was truly frustrating to not find any information on religion up until now, but that book was packed full of so many juicy details that I couldn't be mad. -This might be a decent gift to give the royal family, and honestly.. with Oliver's recent reliance on Father and I, it could also serve as a warning.-

Once I finished making it, I slowly stood up and woke Ilios up from his nap. "It's getting a little late, buddy. You ready to go?"

"Huff!" He hopped up with a determined huff immediately.

-Hehe.. he's so cute...- Seeing his happy trot quickly strengthened my already improved mood, at least until I walked past the still-unconscious elf.

-Still asleep, huh... She must like my blanket...- As I turned onto the stairs, I quickly ignored her and started thinking about other things. *tap-tap-tap* -I wonder how Father is doing... I hope his meeting is going well...-