Chapter 284 - 284. The Secret of the Dog-Eared People's Village and the Night of the Feast
The noisy clamor startled me awake. I was lying on a soft mat. My head throbbed as if from a hangover—probably still suffering from magic depletion.
The room was dim, the log-frame roof flickering red and yellow from the light streaming in through the window. The commotion outside—people shouting, something being struck, distant howling—all blended together. Then I noticed a small, quiet breathing sound mixed in. I glanced to the side—Fam was turned toward me, her shoulders rising and falling gently.
I stroked her dog ears. Soft fur. She twitched slightly but didn’t wake. Nudging her cheek was my next move—if that didn’t work, a little chest poke would be next.
Before I could act, a clearing throat jolted me back to reality. The skinhead guard I’d seen earlier stood there, Fam and a young man about her age standing next to him.
"W-What’s going on?"
The slender young man with white dog ears frowned. "Lily and Sister are talking, so we came to check it out. I’m Lily’s husband, Shun. And you are...?"
After his question, he stared at me, his expression growing increasingly ominous. His tail also stood straight up. It was clear he’d seen everything.
"No, hold on! Misunderstanding! Fam woke up with me, led me here, Elrne stopped us, then Lily appeared... wait, I didn’t even know she was Lily! Not to sound awful, but even if there was a chance... no, that’s not it! How should I put it... it was just like this when I realized what was happening! That’s not the point!"
I couldn’t even explain it properly. I just wanted to calm her down, but her eyebrows kept arching higher.
"So, what about the giant?"
Fam looked at me for an answer.
"It vanished like a mirage," I said. "You saw it yourself."
Erne rubbed his chin. "Since then, no sign of it. No earthquakes or foreshocks as a warning. It took a blow that should have left a gaping hole in it. Wonder if it’s lurking somewhere."
I nodded, thinking how it hadn’t attacked the village again.
"Fam told me something related to the God of the End is enshrined here. Did the giant target this place for that reason? Or did it come to get us...?"
"Get us?"
Mizuki pulled her wooden cup closer and took a sip—probably more alcohol.
"Whatever the reason, Okita Souji’s fate in Fam’s village is undeniable. The shrine enshrining our guardian deity is said to be where Okita Souji became a sacrifice to seal the God of the End. Perhaps we, like Okita Souji, have the power to seal the God of the End, and it sees that as a threat."
The dog-eared people here had guarded that shrine, binding themselves to this land with a curse that would kill them if they left.
"I see. But was that giant really the God of the End?"
Maira’s voice tightened.
"It is the God of the End. Lady Racshell called your name toward that giant, Mash."
Maira had said my name was the same as the God of the End’s. Fam had also heard that name in the curse placed upon her, which was why she never called me by it.
"What exactly is sealed in this village’s shrine?"
Maira turned to Erne.
"Besides our village, there are two other locations with those stone tablets."
"Three in total?"
If the God of the End attacked this village to destroy those tablets, other villages were also at risk. It’d be impossible to protect them all.
"Those settlements have vanished, but the slabs were found near the shrines."
"Slabs near shrines..."
Maira’s sigh was laced with frustration. I silently agreed—if they were going to seal the slabs in shrines, couldn’t they have just written the slabs’ contents inside?
"Those slabs are normally stored in Migul’s city hall."
Erne’s statement caught me off guard.
"This slab?!"
I pulled out the copper mirror I’d obtained from the city hall, wondering if it was related to the slab. The polished surface shimmered like firelight in the flickering torchlight as I turned it toward Mizuki.
"Mizuki, hold Racshell’s sword near it."
Mizuki hesitated slightly but nodded.
"Got it."
She immediately unsheathed her sword and stabbed it toward the mirror. Just before the blade struck, I shouted.
"W-Wait! After I move...!"
No time to explain. The moment the blade made contact, a blinding light filled my vision, rapidly solidifying into a massive stone slab. Something heavy thudded onto my thigh. I tried to scramble away, but my legs were deadened. Stone weighing.
Maira grabbed my back to drag me away, but the slab remained stuck to my thigh, dragged along with me.
"Whoa! This is heavy! Help!"
"What are you doing?! Drop the slab!"
I barely avoided having my foot crushed. Fam glared at me, no longer in a kneeling position.
"Is this the time for that?! It’s not the time!"
Maira argued with Fam, while the three skinheads stared at the slab in shock. It was a circle about twice the size of a man, carved with a furious old man glaring at us.
"No mistake... It’s the slab from our ‘Pau Ritual.’ A symbol of protection."
Erne’s words reminded me of Irisalie’s explanation that it was a sacred artifact used in the dog-eared race’s secret rituals. Maira and Fam soon stopped arguing, staring intently at the slab as well.
"The stone pillar in Fam’s village became a dungeon entrance. Might these other stone pillars be the same?"
Mizuki gripped her sword, her expression fierce and ready for anything.
"We don’t know what’ll happen. Yeah, that giant hasn’t shown up, but we did fight it during the day and dealt some damage. Let’s wait until tomorrow."
Neify’s words made Erne nod.
"We’re holding this feast for you. Enjoy tonight."
I nodded at his words.
Thank you for reading. Your likes, bookmarks, and ratings are a great encouragement. Thank you for pointing out typos—helpful as always.