Chapter 124 - <13>
A little over a week had passed since the heavy rains and the landslide.
The ceaseless rain stopped, and on the day the rainy season took a brief respite, Lef’s appointment ceremony as the next chieftain was held.
From this day forward, Lef would officially begin his training to become chieftain.
For the ceremony, the chieftains’ families from the other five villages had gathered, and the Red Village was bustling with activity from morning on. They all brought various celebratory gifts, and the village square overflowed with an assortment of fabrics, tree nuts, large-bladed knives, and beautifully polished tableware.
Lef’s siblings, who had moved to other villages through marriage, had also arrived several days in advance for the occasion. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, they came to greet Franz and the others in their hut first. Lef had five older brothers and sisters, and interestingly, they all bore a striking resemblance to one another, each with a calm and gentle disposition.
Franz also had older sisters and a younger one, but compared to Lef’s, they seemed so much more virtuous that he felt a pang of envy. With siblings like these, he could understand wanting to return home.
Afterward, as if remembering, Lef introduced his fiancée. Anna and Edward seemed to already be acquainted with her, but this woman was also quite large. She was smaller than Lef, but from Franz’s perspective, he had to look up at her.
After Lef assumed his role as chieftain, she was to take on the special duty of observing the weather and the rainy season for the village. Apparently, the wives of the chieftains had carried this responsibility for generations.
It was surprising that Lef, who was younger than Franz, had a fiancée, but hearing about their lifespans made him nod in understanding. The difference between their races, which he had keenly felt on the way back from the cave, came rushing back to him.
The village was in a festive mood, but on the day the ceremony was to begin, the man of the hour, Lef, and the chieftain, Adlif, were nowhere to be seen all morning.
A secret ritual, known only to the chieftain and his successor, had begun quietly, at a time and place unknown to anyone else.
Around noon, Lef and Adlif appeared from out of nowhere, and the ceremony began. What was supposed to have been a ceremony to recognize the next chieftain turned into a lively dance with all the villagers. It felt just like some sort of festival, Franz thought.
Everyone stepped cheerfully, dancing in a large circle under the sunlight.
He was forcibly pulled into the circle by the large villagers and made to dance as if it were a matter of course. In the end, it only served to remind him that he apparently lacked the sense to enjoy dancing in such situations, and he couldn't bring himself to find it particularly fun.
Anna and Edward seemed to be enjoying themselves well enough, but as for Ritz, he was playing the part of a spirit user, so no one approached him. He spent the afternoon sitting with a smile, not even standing up.
For Ritz, who seemed to prefer these kinds of festivals far more than royal balls and parties, sitting still must have been agonizing. He was surely itching to move.
If only we could switch places, I’d gladly do it, Franz thought for a moment. It seemed better than clumsily hopping around and tripping over his own feet. But there was no way they could switch at this point.
And now, it was already evening. The ceremony was finally approaching its climax.
As guests, they sat on a new rug in the center of the square. It was nearly the same spot as during their initial welcome party, but today, Lef was not beside Franz. In his place was Edward. Lef sat between Adlif and Ritz, in the very center of the proceedings.
Next to Franz and Anna were the chieftains from the other villages. As spirit users, Franz and Anna were being treated as guests on the same level as the chieftains, alongside Edward.
The village singers and villagers holding traditional instruments were solemnly chanting the history of the Beastman race from beginning to end. Anna, sitting beside him with sparkling eyes, listened intently to the chant. The unique melodies were filled with the sentiments of the beastmen.
It was a ceremony dozens of times more magnificent and powerful than the welcome party.
As the sky began to darken, fires were lit throughout the square. In the encroaching twilight, the square was brilliantly illuminated by the flames. Franz, unconsciously watching the crimson flames, felt the vitality of life. As he suspected, fire grew stronger under clear skies.
"This is kind of exciting, isn't it?"
Even though it had nothing to do with her, Anna whispered this as she looked at Franz.
"You think so?"
"Yeah!"
When Ritz had carried her out to rescue her, she had been a deathly pale, wounded mess who looked half-dead, but there was no trace of that now. Anna was as energetic as ever.
Perhaps Ritz was the one who wasn't doing so well, given the mental torture of having to constantly pretend to be a spirit user. He glanced over at Ritz with his smooth black hair. Ritz’s head didn't move a muscle.
Maybe he has a talent for dozing off with his eyes open and a smile on his face, Franz suspected.
Come to think of it, what was that whole frenzy with Ritz about, anyway? Franz suddenly recalled.
When he and the others sensed from Anna’s Water Dragon that something was amiss in the village and rushed back, they found the villagers searching for their children.
Just as they were calling for everyone to evacuate due to the risk of a landslide, Edward returned to the village holding a lamp, his expression frighteningly serious. Anna, who was said to have gone with him, was nowhere in sight.
Ritz noticed Edward and left the evacuation to Adlif and the others, running over to him. The sound of the rain mixed with the shouts of the chieftains, creating chaos, so it was impossible to know what they said to each other.
But what Franz saw was Edward turning away from Ritz with a bitter expression, and Ritz emotionally grabbing Edward by the collar.
The next moment, he heard Ritz’s completely unhinged words.
"Why did you leave Anna behind?! I trusted you to make sure this wouldn't happen!"
That one line told him everything. Anna was in a critical situation.
"If anything happens to her, I'll…!"
Before he could finish, Edward punched Ritz, who was still gripping his collar, to the ground. Lef could only watch their fight in a fluster. But after Edward seemed to say something to him, Ritz stood up, rubbing his bruised cheek, and turned to face them. A bit of composure had returned to his eyes.
"Chieftain, they've found the children. Please send any men you can spare."
Even as he spoke, Ritz had already taken the lamp from Edward and was about to head to the location he was told about.
"What! Lef, take the young men and go!"
"Yes, sir!"
As if begrudging the time it took for Lef to gather people, Ritz looked at Franz.
"Franz, let's go."
He didn't explain anything else, but his telling him to come along meant that Franz was needed. He understood that much. So he nodded and hurried after Ritz.
And that was when they found Anna and the children.
For the next two days, Anna was bedridden, and Ritz just sat by her side, listlessly passing the time. He was so quiet that it felt intrusive to even speak to him.
Edward, seemingly used to Ritz like this, killed time by exploring the forest with Lef. Franz had simply watched the two of them while silently reading a book on the history of the Luciana Kingdom Federation.
In the end, Ritz only returned to his usual self once Anna regained consciousness and it was clear that she was physically fine and her behavior was back to normal.
Ritz must feel a heavy sense of responsibility as Anna's guardian. After all, her adoptive father had apparently asked him directly, "Please take care of my daughter."
Now, that same Ritz was watching Lef with a tranquil expression. His act as a spirit user of the elven race had become more perfect with each passing day. It was so convincing that it made one wonder if Ritz truly had such a side to him, his serene eyes fixed on a distant point.
Eventually, the chanting voices of the beastmen fell silent, and a frightening quiet descended. Not knowing what would happen next, Franz slowly looked around. It was immediately clear who the villagers were watching, so Franz turned his gaze in that direction as well.
Amidst the focused attention of the people, Adlif stood up. His dignified posture was truly befitting of a Beastman chieftain. It was a completely different kind of authority and majesty from what Edward possessed.
If Edward’s strictness and fairness could be compared to a spirit of light, Adlif’s presence was the very embodiment of the earth spirit their people worshipped.
Before long, Adlif began to eloquently recite something like a poem, his low voice possessing a depth that seemed to seep into the red earth.
Hearing the content of the poem, Franz was astonished.
It was the Poem of Creation, beginning with the Goddess Eneonea. But it was completely different from the poem passed down among humans. What was told was a myth of creation centered around the beastmen and various other races. As expected, or perhaps surprisingly, humans were not included in it.
Franz listened intently, careful not to miss a single word. If his master was somehow connected to the world of myth, knowing this could be the most important clue.
Long ago, the world was void.
Pitying the void, a pair of gods descended from the Blue Star.
The Goddess Eneonea birthed light from the void, and the world was filled with light.
The goddess, in her own image, created the first race to protect the light, the beginning of all.
Those who followed the Light Spirit King were called the Clan of Light.
The light gained heat, and the world was enveloped in flame. To control the flame, the goddess created the second race.
Those who followed the Fire Spirit King were called the Flame Clan.
The flame summoned the wind, and violent storms raged. As servants of the wind, the goddess created the third race.
Those who followed the Wind Spirit King were called the Wind Clan.
The wind called the rain, and the world was blessed with bounty. To command the water, the goddess created the fourth race.
Those who followed the Water Spirit King were called the Water Clan.
The water eventually filled the earth, and green trees grew on the land that was once void.
To protect the newly born green earth, the goddess created us, the Beastman race, the fifth race, to follow the Earth Spirit King.
Soon the world was filled with life, and the goddess deeply loved this land.
But the male god, her counterpart, grew jealous of the land beloved by the goddess. He made himself the Darkness Spirit King and created the sixth race, the Clan of Darkness, to protect the night and sleep.
Thus, the six guardian races of humanity were born into the world.
We are the fifth-born, guardians of the earth.
A race of strength, to protect the goddess, her first guardians, and this land she created.
When the poem was finished, Adlif glanced at his son sitting beside him. Lef, who had a similar air to Adlif, offered a gentle smile.
"Everyone, from this day, from this moment, I ask you to recognize my son, Lef, as the next chieftain. Are there any objections?"
His deep, resonant voice questioned all the villagers, but not a single person spoke up. Instead, their faces were filled with joy. Even Franz could tell that everyone was blessing him.
"In the name of the earth spirit, I name my son the next chieftain."
"I gladly accept," Lef replied solemnly, kneeling on the ground.
The villagers, who had been silent, erupted in a torrent of joyous cheers.
"Now, let the festival begin! Until the sun rises, let us drink, eat, and sing to our hearts' content!"
The ceremony was moving, but… we’re still drinking?
Franz hung his head in despair.