I was mesmerized by the home itself and how it looks. I got acquainted with the inside too with amazing woodwork and craftsmanship. Despite the cabin looking small outside there were more than five bedrooms in the cabin. Seems like Father used to live with others or something.

Probably his old buddies or something. While looking around I found a portrait of him and his old adventure team from the looks of it. Miss Vert is also in the frame, it seems like everyone here was super close to each other.

“Enjoying the feel of the house, Alan?” Ria entered the cabin.

“Yeah, I never knew this place is wonderfully kept clean and maintained. It’s like this was just finished a few days ago.” I was mesmerized and amused by the interior design the cabin has.

“Actually your Father built this all by himself.” Ria told me that Father built this cabin.

“Really must have taken him a long time to make it perfect.” I replied.

“Yeah, it should be the wood he used is the strongest wood in the world. To be honest I still question how he managed to cut it and make it into a cabin.” Ria was curious.

“You're joking, this wood is the strongest one in this world?” I asked.

“The Mythril Oak, none could stand a chance of cutting it. And only 3 trees of its kind.” Ria replied.

“Wait, if this wood is super rare how did Father manage to get all of this for his cabin?” I asked again.

“It’s a gift from the Goddess of Nature as a means of thanking him for being her representative of Nature. It’s impressive how much he gave for her.” Ria answered.

“I guess there’s a lot to uncover in his legacy. I didn’t know he had such a vast amount of stuff left behind here.” I walked around looking at the trophies he had from his adventuring days.

“Oh, I have to go. I left some supplies outside. You can stay here as long as you want, we'll just call you if we need anything for now. We’re still figuring things out in the village, so enjoy the house.” Ria leaves as she runs out of the door in a hurry.

I felt a bit sleepy after that so I locked the door and slept by the couch to get some shut eye. Though it was unusual by how quick I fell into a slumber. Soon after… I heard a voice, that voice was familiar this time.

A vast and quiet yet eerie place surrounds the room as I try to listen to the voice guiding me.

There, the voice that guided me fighting off that bear!

“Young child, can you hear me?” The disembodied voice returns and this time she has a body.

“You’re back?” I replied.

A tall woman with long green hair on a bright white gown with flowers and vines surrounding her seemingly as expected if she was a Goddess or something. Maybe she is I don’t really know, what I know is this could be just a dream.

“This is not a dream child. I can see your worries in your heart, young child.” The disembodied voice speaks.

“Worries? What are you worried about?” I asked.

“Afraid of living in your Father’s legacy? Being in his shadow? Let me stop speaking in a vague tone now I’m the Goddess of Nature, Agata. I’ve followed you from your childhood if you didn’t know that.” The Goddess seems to see right through me.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I guess I couldn’t escape the fact that Father was hiding so much from me.” I replied.

“Since you’re your Father’s son should you live in his shadow and become someone who is always behind his old man wondering why bother doing something if you can’t do better than your Father.

Or you tread your own trail, make your own legacy and make your Father proud for being someone who could avoid being shined down by his own legacy. The blessings I once gave your Father will run through you and your future prospects.

So what will it be? Become that child you are afraid of exceeding his own Father’s legacy, or become the one who makes his own path into history. Of course you don’t have to answer this immediately. I'll give you as much time as you want, you still have a lot of time to think about this.” The Goddess was reasonable from the looks of it and she has a point.

“Yeah, I’ll take my time thinking about this. But what I fear is that he hid this secret from me throughout his lifetime. He never mentioned this even before he passed away. That’s what's bothering me.” I replied.

“I understand that he never talked you into knowing this when he was back in his world. And the fact that he had another life here that you never knew from his normal self back in his world.” The Goddess sat down by me.

“To be honest, I don’t really know how to take this in since I always saw him as a boring Father. Sure he taught me everything about being a woodsman and how important it is. I never really bonded with him completely. Until I was too late when he was on his deathbed.” I replied while I was on the verge of crying.

“I never knew how disconnected you are from your Father… Despite me being beside him protecting him from afar. I overlooked something I never expected to affect you in the long term.” I leaned over to the Goddess since it felt familiar to me and I immediately saw her as a family member.

“It’s my fault for overlooking my Father into something more than just family. I never managed to look up upon him. He never gets disappointed, angry, sad, or at times surprised when I do something.

And I never even questioned him about my mother too. As if I forgot about her, I knew she passed away after giving birth to me. But I never got to ask Father about her.” I replied.

“Alan, you don’t need to bring yourself down just because you did things you never do with your Father. I could be bragging or telling something against his will but he was far worse when he was here than back on Earth.” The Goddess held me on my shoulders trying to put some sense into me.

“I’m sorry if I’m like this but I just can’t accept that I missed a huge chunk of myself by not being with my Father the way it should be. But I agree on the part that he probably had things far worse than back home.

I have sensed that he feels more relaxed and more relieved than before when I was growing up.” I responded.

“I can’t tell you too much of everything or that will ruin the historical value of your Father. But I know as his Goddess I have hope that he wanted only the best for his only son. You yourself are a living proof that he’s still here.

You have his gifts intact. And I acknowledge you as his successor. You may have lost your entire family right now but the best thing you have is me and his old friends. We could help you live a life something he could be proud of.” The Goddess held me tight as she tried to comfort me.

“Can I ask you something then Goddess?” I asked.

“Yes, Alan, do you have any questions?” She released me from her grasp and looked at me.

“I wanna know why I am summoned here again if this world has reached its peace. Why need another hero this time?” I asked.

“That I cannot answer at the moment. Alan, this is probably fate that you found out about your Father’s past. For now I won’t tell you right now why you’re here. Enjoy yourself first, young Alan.

At least your Father would be glad that you’ve seen what he has done for everyone in this world. You’ll be waking up soon so this is gonna be our first full encounter don’t worry there will be more of this.

But be prepared out there the world might be at peace. There’s still nature out there that runs its course and I can’t stop that. I will permit you to handle dangerous situations when it permits the danger towards the life of the village and you yourself. So go explore the world your Father built and saved.” The Goddess slowly disappears as I slowly wake up.

Soon after that I woke up knowing that it hasn’t been that long since I fell asleep. After that I settled down the bag I had in my room and grabbed only the things I needed for walking around.

I grabbed my shotgun, hatchet, and a small satchel of goods which I didn’t realize the bag had removable pockets to be used as satchels, which is convenient at least. With everything prepared, I guess my first mission now is to understand this village and how the world works.