Chapter 216

Normalization (1)

Title: Praise Ares

(Photo of the enormous statue of Cain)

(Video of the statue of Cain moving)

(Video of the statue of Cain ascending into the sky)

(Photo of the Hero smiling brightly)

The great Ares has revealed her will, and Cain has arrived in answer to her call!

└ Can’t we praise the Hero instead of Ares?

└ They said the Hero stopped the entire army. Now that’s a real Hero.

└ As expected of the Hero. She shows no mercy before the Demon King.

└ Just think of the Hero as Ares’s sword and the embodiment of her will. Yeah.

└ What’s going to happen to El Dorado now? Everyone at the top has been taken down.

└ Huh? I heard it might become a republic.

└ What happens if it becomes a republic? Will the Papal Palace disappear?

└└└ No. The Hero has already restored the demoted commanders to their original positions. The overall system will probably remain intact.

└ Seems like they’re creating a separate faction to keep the Pope in check. The Pope, the Hero, and one more faction—three in total.

└ Having three factions would certainly let them keep one another in check.

└ Besides, Cain’s appearance could give the Hero even more influence. It means Ares is watching over them.

└ Where the hell did that statue even come from?

Title: Forget All That

(Photo of El Dorado stocks skyrocketing)

(Photo of a stock board filled with red)

Upvote if your stocks skyrocketed, lmaooo.

Don’t tell me there are suckers who sold just because of a little protest, lmaooo.

└ My friend, that isn’t called skyrocketing. It’s called normalization.

└ They were crawling along rock bottom just three hours ago;;

└ Wasn’t the lowest point around when they posted the update about Hans?

└ But what’s so special about El Dorado that so many stocks are tied to it?

└ It’s because it sits between Alvenheim and the Messiah Empire. If El Dorado goes under, trade becomes virtually impossible.

└ Cain really saved all the retail investors, lmao.

└ Great Ares restores not only the Holy Nation, but the stock market as well;;

Title: More Importantly

Where the hell did that statue come from?

Did it really just fall out of the sky?

└ Apparently, that’s what the witnesses are saying.

└ (Video of Cain falling from the sky) Look at this. This is how it fell.

└ Whoa;; It fell insanely fast, but only damaged the ground a little.

└ Can they keep summoning something like that?

└ No idea. Even the Hero looked like she had summoned it by accident.

└ Still, the most important thing is that Ares is watching over them.

.....

Roughly two hours had passed since the statue of Cain fell like a meteor.

I had spent those entire two hours working my ass off to patch the collapsed ceiling.

I had even used up all my spare supplies, forcing me to call Kkobong outside to help.

"I don’t want to work! It’s too cold!"

"I’ll confiscate your sweet potatoes."

"Actually, I’ve gotten fat. I need exercise."

That was more or less how I persuaded him. Every time I talked to him, I seriously wondered whether he was actually human.

Anyway, the protests in El Dorado had ended well, leaving only the Blood Cult to worry about.

According to the Heavenly Demon, they had yet to make any major moves, but she warned me that they probably would soon.

More importantly, this statue really grew that large?

I stared at the statue of Cain, which had apparently saved El Dorado.

In the gallery photos, it had been two or three times larger than an ordinary building. But the one before me now was quite small.

Could something this small really transform into a statue far larger than a building?

The timing was far too perfect to dismiss as coincidence. Even their appearances were identical.

More than anything, the fact that it had squirmed after crashing down made it clear that it possessed a mind of its own.

Even if it is the same statue, why was it here? And why was it inside a mimic?

The more I examined the situation, the less sense it made.

But this was the Forest of Four Seasons. It was easier to toss common sense straight into the fire.

What if...

Couldn’t I escape the forest by riding it?

It sounded so idiotic that it bordered on suicide, but I was being serious.

For that to work, however, certain conditions would have to be met.

First, there was the Hero.

According to Ludwig, it shot into the sky after saying it would answer the call.

In the gallery video, it had also declared that it had answered the call.

That call most likely belonged to the Hero, Asella.

The Holy Sword must have acted as some kind of beacon, guiding Cain to her location.

Otherwise, there was no way it could have arrived directly in front of the Papal Palace in El Dorado.

In other words, I’ll need the Hero’s cooperation if I want to test it...

To be honest, I had a rough idea of who the Hero was.

The gallery manager, Don’t Abandon the Hero.

Despite the somewhat dim-witted way she occasionally behaved, she had an impressively upright character.

There were also the occasional comments about being pursued, not to mention her faith in Ares.

Above all, she had gone out of her way to make all kinds of accommodations for me when she asked me to help Ludwig.

Still, I have to consider the possibility that I’m wrong.

She was probably busy dealing with the aftermath right now, so I would save the direct question for later.

The same went for posting about the statue in the gallery. There was no telling what kind of repercussions that might cause.

If people learned that the statue could move, some might call it a "holy relic" and recklessly venture into the Forest of Four Seasons to find it.

Wouldn’t it be better if more people came to the Forest of Four Seasons?

Again, I said recklessly. If they prepared thoroughly, I wouldn’t try to stop them.

Still, I want to know how it works.

I should ask All-Father. He was the best person to consult about things like this.

Posting it in the gallery could wait. Understanding the situation came first.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, All-Father. Are you there?]

[All-Father: Oh! Hello, Mr. Grylls. It has been quite some time since we last spoke like this.]

Had he heard about what happened in El Dorado too?

He was already logged into the gallery.

I had been worried because I hadn’t heard anything from him since he asked for more ambergris.

[Wild Grylls: Did you manage to resolve your problem?]

[All-Father: Thanks to you, it was resolved perfectly. I have been wondering how I might repay you.]

[Wild Grylls: In that case, could you grant me one request instead?]

[All-Father: Gladly. What is your request?]

[Wild Grylls: (Photo of the statue of Cain) You know what this is, right?]

[All-Father: I have been keeping up with all the posts you’ve made, Mr. Grylls.]

That would make this easier.

I gave All-Father a rough explanation of the situation.

I wasn’t sure whether it was a coincidence, but there was a high probability that the statue that had appeared in El Dorado and the statue here were the same entity.

It had suddenly shot into the sky, then fallen back down like a meteor shortly afterward.

All-Father listened quietly to my explanation before exclaiming in amazement.

[All-Father: Good heavens. So something like that happened as well? I can feel my loins stirring once again...!]

[Wild Grylls: Is this some kind of mythical being too?]

[All-Father: It is a mythical being, but more accurately, this is practically a myth being reenacted before our eyes. A statue with a mind of its own cannot exist in this world. Or rather, I believed it could not. Would you happen to be able to trade the statue?]

One of the gallery’s most fundamental rules was that living creatures could not be traded.

In other words, this statue was considered "alive."

The statue is alive? Are you kidding me?

I had suspected as much, but seeing that suspicion confirmed was still absurd.

The giant statue shown in the gallery had certainly behaved like a living being.

It had even spoken.

The fact that the mithril in the cave—which hadn’t even been able to speak—had also been classified as a living being briefly crossed my mind.

Truthfully, I had also intended to send the statue to All-Father so that he could analyze it more easily.

But the moment I registered it for trade, my unlikely assumption became reality.

[Living creatures cannot be traded.]

[Wild Grylls: It says I can’t trade it because it’s a living creature.]

[All-Father: Then it is indeed certain that a consciousness dwells within it. It may be a superior form of guardian.]

[Wild Grylls: Then why did it grow larger after leaving the Forest of Four Seasons?]

[All-Father: It may have reacted to the Holy Sword, or it may have been because of the immense pressure unique to the Forest of Four Seasons. Perhaps both factors were involved.]

[Wild Grylls: So it’s difficult to determine.]

[All-Father: It is essentially an artifact of the Age of Myth—no, a holy relic. Even I would not dare speculate with any confidence.]

A vacuum tube was a type of communication device.

In steampunk settings, it took the place of a wired telephone.

The Holy Sword and the statue appeared to operate on a similar principle.

The problem was determining exactly how they worked.

In the end, all I could do was continue observing it.

If trouble arose in El Dorado again, Cain would probably respond.

Perhaps I could use that opportunity to investigate whether escape was possible.

It seemed like a fairly decent plan.

[All-Father: However, it is clear that the statue is connected to the Holy Sword. I should warn you in advance—you would be wise to abandon any thoughts of using it to escape.]

[Wild Grylls: Huh? Why?]

[All-Father: It seems you truly were considering it. Do you know the concept of fixed coordinates? It is somewhat similar to a warp.]

[Wild Grylls: Is that something you eat?]

[All-Father: Think of it as being similar to a vacuum tube.]

[All-Father: Do you know what lies beyond the sky?]

[Wild Grylls: Space.]

[All-Father: You are well informed. My theory is that it launches into outer space before traveling to a predetermined set of coordinates.]

[Wild Grylls: ...So it doesn’t teleport?]

[All-Father: Correct. If it teleported, there would be no reason for it to launch upward.]

What the fuck?

Why did a lump of rock have the capabilities of a missile?

It was practically an intercontinental ballistic missile.

What kind of insane technology was this?

It was only a hypothesis, but it was extremely convincing.

Not only had the statue shot into the sky, it had also fallen back down like a meteor.

Its accuracy was incredible. It hadn’t even missed by much.

[Wild Grylls: Then how was it able to return?]

[All-Father: I’m not entirely sure about that. Has Mr. Ludwig ever prayed to the statue?]

[Wild Grylls: A few times. Why?]

[All-Father: There is a high probability that his prayers fixed this location as one of its coordinates. You said he possessed considerable divine power, so it would not be impossible.]

[Wild Grylls: Wouldn’t I be able to withstand the trip?]

[All-Father: The temperature would reach several thousand degrees. Do you believe you would be all right?]

[Wild Grylls: ;;]

The moment I read that, I looked at Ludwig.

Perhaps because I had told him what had happened, he was quietly praying.

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t think of anything to say.

If I had my way, I would throw the damn statue away.

[Wild Grylls: So I should give up on using this thing to escape?]

[All-Father: Unless you wish to become a meteor yourself, yes.]

In the end, I completely abandoned the idea of escaping with the statue.

There was no telling when it might launch again anyway.

All I could do was continue living as usual while looking for other opportunities to escape whenever I had the time.

Let’s not post this in the gallery.

It wouldn’t help even if I did.

I would just keep it as a decoration.

However, since there was no telling when it might launch again, I should probably build a dedicated launch shaft for it.

As for the launch shaft... Should I put it over there?

I looked at the section of ceiling the statue had already destroyed twice.

For now, I had covered it with wooden planks.

Maybe I could build it up like a chimney later.

"Sir, stop praying and come help prepare the meal."

"Hmm."

Besides, I couldn’t afford to obsess over a single statue.

I called Ludwig over and went to prepare our meal.

Tyrano headed outside, and I was just about to follow when—

Clunk—

I heard something rattling behind me.

At the sound, I turned around.

The statue I had casually placed atop a box had fallen to the ground.

Come to think of it, hadn’t it also rattled around furiously after it crashed into the cave?

The thought made me raise my head.

I looked toward the section of ceiling covered with wooden planks.

"...Hey."

"Stop pretending to be a toy and get your ass over here."

Did it think it was some toy from a children’s movie?

I now knew for certain that it possessed a mind, and it had even spoken while in El Dorado.

There was no reason it couldn’t do the same while small.

"I’ll give you three seconds. Get over here before I use you to scrape the calluses off my feet."

"Three... two..."

Just before I reached one—

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!

The statue stiffly marched toward me like a wooden nutcracker.

To anyone else, it would have been a deeply horrifying sight.

Not to me.

As far as I was concerned, it was nothing but a troublesome piece of junk that had destroyed my cave’s ceiling.

At last, the statue of Cain proudly came to a stop before me.

Then—

[$%$#%$... #$%#%]

The statue spoke in the same language as Ludwig.

Naturally, I couldn’t understand a word, but I could tell what it meant from the tone.

It had answered my call.

"Good grief."

First a dragon, and now a talking statue.

This place truly had everything.