Chapter 88

"Hmm..."

After taking a moment, I closed the book on Altamia. I understood about 90% of the content. Even though I grasped the procedures, there were parts where the principles were completely unclear, and some parts where I couldn't understand what they were indicating. But for now, this will do.

Next time I come, I'll check if there are any books left by people related to Altamia. I copied some of it, but it's really frustrating that I can't take them out. Apparently, if you're a high-level adventurer, the restrictions on your actions within the facility might be relaxed. So, when Gaston reaches A or B rank, I might have him borrow them for me.

Even if there are no books left, there might be people of long-lived races who have met Altamia. I've become a bit interested in this old lady, so I'd like to meet someone close to her if possible. However, if someone is still around after eighty years, they're probably either heavily doped with magic or an elf who has come down from the mountains. Or maybe a smart dragon or a high-level demon...

I stood up from my seat and stretched.

"Well, I'll have Mea clean up..."

I wiped away the tears that had leaked from my yawn and turned towards the bookshelf. Mea had gone to look for a book on archery and hadn't come back. I wondered if she was reading it somewhere, when suddenly Mea came flying out from behind the bookshelf.

"A, Abel! Abel! Look at this, look at this!"

Mea ran straight over and slammed a book on the table. It looked new.

In this world, there is preservation magic, and books written by mages or those with high historical value are often preserved to slow down the deterioration of the paper. However, this book doesn't seem to have that. It's probably a mass-produced book for the general public. Despite that, the paper is completely white, and there are no marks on the back cover.

"What's the matter, why are you in such a hurry?"

"B, but look at this! Look at this!"

"Calmdown. What's in this book..."

I flipped the book over and saw a familiar name.

'Wegener's Exploration Records -- The Dance of the Yalba People and the Dragon -- / Wegener Ulcock'

...

The bald scholar from the lord's investigation team. I didn't know he had published a book.

"That guy, apparently, fought with a dragon for three days and three nights and finally drove it away! Isn't that amazing! Honestly, Mea, I had been looking down on him, thinking he was just a big shot!"

"R, really..."

I feel like that's about 500% exaggerated... I'm worried Mea might fall for a scam someday. She might join a weird religion and buy pots or something. Or get scammed into marriage.

"I was looking at it because I recognized the name, and a woman nearby recommended it to me. Abel, you should definitely read it too!"

It's that popular.

Even though it's Wegener. Even though he's bald.

"Apparently, he's going to release a new work soon! He said he wants to write about the records of a recently explored ruin!"

I hope it's not the Zesum ruin. If he exaggerates it, Eberheid will go crazy.

"R, right. I'll read the new one when it comes out. I'll bring it to Eberheid too."

After Mea cleaned up all the books, we left the church library and moved to the main building connected by a corridor. You can't enter or exit without going through here. I guess they want the general public, including those of other religions, to have some interest. Many people leave quickly, looking embarrassed.

"... What's with that tasteless painting?"

As we entered the main building, Mea squinted her big eyes and pointed at a large painting on the wall.

A pale, warty lump of flesh with countless tentacles. Irregular wings and arms extend from it. The eyes buried in the flesh seem about to start rolling. At the top, a hunched human upper body appears to be integrated with the lump. A single eye, visible through the gaps in the hair-like tentacles, emits a creepy gaze.

It's placed in a position that catches your eye as you come from the library side of the corridor. To put it bluntly, it's a monster, but pointing that out here would be problematic.

"Hey, put your arm down. That's the god of the Kudur religion, Kudur-sama."

"Th, that's it!? I didn't know it looked like that! I know the name, but I've never heard that it had something attached to the bottom!"

"Keep your voice down, people are watching!"

The earth god Galuja, who created the land and gave shape to the world,

The water god Levi, who created the sea and gave life to the world,

The fire god Mahalbo, who created fire and gave civilization to the world,

The air god Silfaim, who created the moon and gave magic to the world,

-- And according to the Kudur religion, Kudur swallowed all of them and created humans.

You must never call Kudur a demon. According to Kudur mythology, without Kudur-sama, humans would not have been born.

... By the way, in the myths of other religions, Levi and Galuja do appear, but they are not treated so harshly. It seems that in ancient times, the extremely extreme myths led to religious wars, and there are records that the Maren clan was also involved. The Kudur religion is the most widespread on this continent. However, it's best not to mention it in other continents.

As I tried to pull Mea, who was staring in shock, out, a man blocked our way. He was a young man in a monk's robe, with neatly styled hair and a smile that seemed frozen in place. A necklace with tentacles extending from a circular shape hung from his chest, the symbol of the Kudur religion.

"Are you two from another religion, returning from the library? Actually, there's a worship service tomorrow, and we often have external participants. However, it's limited to those we invite. After the service, we provide a simple meal and drinks, and set up a gathering, so please..."

"Sorry, we have plans tomorrow!"

"Then..."

"We have a meeting today! Sorry, maybe next time!"

Because the timing was a bit awkward, I declined with all my might. I gave a forced smile to the monk, who looked disappointed but didn't lose his smile, and dragged Mea away from the scene.

After that, we headed straight to the inn. The sun was already setting, and it was getting dark. The moon was rising in the sky.

In front of the inn, there were two men who looked suspicious. One was leaning against the wall, and the other was sitting in a delinquent style. Their faces were not very visible in the darkness.

I quickened my pace to avoid getting involved. The man who was sitting stood up, raised his arm, and ran over. I instinctively raised my staff, and the man fell over. It was Gordon.

"Brother Abel, please, don't do that! Really, I beg you!"

Gordon crouched on the ground, waving his hand towards me. It seemed he had developed a trauma.

"A, ah, sorry. I reacted instinctively..."

I put away my staff. Gordon slowly stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. It seemed the Gordon brothers were waiting for my return.

"So, how did it go with... Gaston?"

"A, ah, sorry... I thought stopping him would just make things worse, so I was waiting for the right moment, but the situation progressed too quickly and I couldn't intervene in time."

"Figures..."

It can't be helped.

Using Gaston was probably a mistake. I thought he might go for the rank, but it was a bit hasty.

"Then the reward money..."

"Ah, don't worry about that. I managed to collect it. I even got a bit extra for the trouble."

"Eh?"

Gordon said proudly and turned to Mordon.

"Hey, Mordon! Bring out that bag!"

Mordon, at Gordon's command, brought out a bag. It was clear from the outside that it was full of coins.

"... Wasn't it used up? How did you get it back?"

"No, no, that was a problem for me too. Mordon and I beat him up, but he wasn't the type to keep money on him."

"You beat him up?"

Sure enough, they acted quickly.

Well, that's probably the only way to control Gaston. The Gordon brothers seem well-suited to the task of keeping an eye on Gaston.

"I thought he was pretty tough, but we managed to handle him."

Gordon and Mordon didn't seem to have any visible injuries. Mordon doesn't have a bow, so it must have been a close-range fight, but it didn't look like they had been in a fight at all.

"Yeah, Gaston was swinging a huge sword one-handed. We just kept feinting and backing off, and he got tired on his own. Then Mordon jumped on his legs and brought him down. After that, it was just a matter of..."

"S, so that's how it went..."

He must not have been very smart. I could imagine the Gordon brothers beating up the cowering Gaston.

"Then, when he said he had no money, we confiscated his sword and sold it. We used the money to cover the expenses and the trouble, and returned the rest."

He said it so casually.

"E... You sold his sword?"

Gaston always carried a huge sword, showing it off. Was that the one you sold?

"Yeah. I thought it would be bad if it became public, so I sold it through a back channel. I think I got a bit less than the actual value, but it was still a good price."

And they sold it at a discount.

These guys are monsters.

"Isn't selling his sword a bit much? He might have had some attachment to it... and now he won't be able to earn money with his own strength."

"It's fine. He should be able to buy a basic weapon with the remaining money, probably. He can probably come up with a good excuse for replacing his weapon. He's not a doll, after all. If he had any attachment, it's his own fault for using it up."

"Y, yeah. Yeah, I guess so... A, wait a minute."

I took the bag from Mordon and returned the 'extra' coins. I felt like they were filled with Gaston's resentment and didn't want to use them.

Also, I want the Gordon brothers to keep an eye on Gaston in the future. It's better to leave them some as a reward.