This really is a whole other world.
At first glance, the log fence around the village looked the same as it did before it collapsed on the last Day of Corruption, but up close I could see the differences. The logs were newer, and the fence enclosed a larger space. It was incomplete for now, with one section cordoned off with rope instead. A wooden gate was built at the fence’s center. It had only been a week, and yet my villagers had already gotten this much done. Even if they’d gone without proper rest, they really shouldn’t be this far along.
Maybe I was remembering wrong. That day had been a life-or-death situation, after all. Perhaps the damage to the fence hadn’t been that bad.
“Welcome to our village. It’s not much, but…” Gams pushed open the gate, and Chem beckoned me inside.
The area beyond the fence was unrecognizable. The space was several times larger than before, scattered with hut-like structures. They weren’t made of wood, closer to tents made of slightly grimy cloth. They had pencil-shaped peaks, and they looked just like yurts—Mongolian portable homes.
“What are these tents?”
“We received these from a merchant. They are dwellings made from cloth and easy to set up. All you need to do is drape some canvas over a post.”
A merchant? Must be Dordold. He does most of his trading after the Day of Corruption.
The tents were large enough to house a family each, and there were maybe ten or so.
“You have many more than you need, don’t you?”
“Yes, well… Come out, everyone! It’s safe!” Chem called, and several faces I didn’t recognize peered out of the tents.
Who are these guys? No, really! Who are they?!
There were ten or so humans and five beautiful, long-eared elves, both male and female. And there might be more people inside the tents. On the other side of the fenced-in area were the remnants of a landslide. That was where the cave used to be.
How did all this happen?
The enclosure contained a well and some farming plots. Up by the rocky walls stood a wooden fence and some log huts. This was completely different from what I’d seen through my PC screen.
“Please, come this way.” Chem held open the entrance to the one tent that was dyed in bright colors—the rest were in hues of brown and gray—and stepped aside for me.
They were treating me like a guest of honor, even though I was just a normal human like them. It made me feel a little guilty. I stepped inside the tent, noting the thick wooden post at its center that reached all the way up to the ceiling. Beside it was a sunken hearth and a wooden God of Fate statue beside an altar.
I wonder if this is their church.
The floor was covered by a rug, so I automatically went to take my shoes off. There wasn’t anywhere to put them, though, and up close I could see shoe prints on the rug itself. It must have been okay to wear shoes indoors here, just like it was abroad.
This tent was way bigger on the inside than it looked. A whole family could live in here quite comfortably. Gams, Chem, Rodice, Lyra, Carol, and Destiny all followed me inside. Murus, Lan, and Kan stayed by the entrance to keep watch.
I sat down on a thick cushion, and immediately all of them (except Murus) fell to one knee and bowed their heads low. I only now realized that Murus hadn’t said a word since I got here. She simply kept her distance and observed me. Suspicion crowded her gaze, and maybe a touch of loneliness.
I recalled that Murus’s village had also been assigned a god—another player like me. Her home had been destroyed when that god abandoned it, but this village was still graced with its god’s protection. Faced with a token of this god’s love (me), this couldn’t be easy for her.
Everyone stared at me silently, like they were expecting a speech.
“There is no need to be so formal. Right, Carol?”
“Yeah!”
Having Carol on my side would definitely make things less awkward. She scampered up to me the moment I caught her eye, hopping into my lap.
“C-Carol! What are you doing?! Get up at once!” Rodice cried.
“We’re so sorry! We promise we’ll scold her later!” Lyra joined in with her panicking husband. She beckoned to Carol desperately, but Carol just looked up at me without moving.
“It’s all right. We spent a lot of time together in the World of Gods, didn’t we, Carol?” I said.
“Yeah, we did, Yoshio!” We smiled at each other.
The other villagers looked at us doubtfully, but at least they relaxed a bit.
“Please sit comfortably. I may be a disciple of the Lord, but underneath I am still as human as you are. We are all equals here.”
Really, I was as human as they were both underneath and on the surface.
“Please, could you tell me what happened after you sent Carol to the World of Gods? The Lord relies on the holy book to see into this world, but He lost that power when the book was sent to Him.”
“I see. Please forgive us for doing something so—”
“There is nothing to apologize for.” I stopped Chem before she could lower her head again. I was used to apologizing myself, not the other way around. I couldn’t handle much more of this.
“A-anyway, I’ll explain what happened.” Chem was stiff with nerves. I wanted to tell her to relax again, but I was afraid that would just stress her out more. “We were ready to lose our lives after sending Carol away, and so we were about to leave the room we were sheltering in, before Kan and Lan stopped us.” She glanced over at the pandas by the entrance, who nodded.
“The room where we were hiding had boarded up walls. The two of them told us about an escape route hidden back there.”
I thought back to that day, remembering Kan and Lan huddled at the back of the cave. I’d assumed they’d given into despair. Thinking about it now, it made sense. They’d lived in that cave before the villagers arrived and knew its secrets. The hidden storerooms, and now an escape path. I was a little annoyed they hadn’t mentioned it sooner.
“We removed the boards and found that hidden passageway. We lit up the explosives left in the cave and escaped before they went off. The monsters were all killed in the resulting landslide, as far as we can tell.”
The villagers escaped while the monsters died. That was good. Still…
I know this is petty of me, but I really wish I’d gotten to see the explosion!
I couldn’t believe I missed the cave blowing up and taking all the monsters along with it. I bet it was spectacular. Of course, it was more important that my villagers survived. They’d done great.
“Our entire village was destroyed. We were at a complete loss, but then Dordold arrived. He loaned us the materials we needed to restore our home, as well as food to tide us over. These tents used to belong to nomads, so he let us have them for a very good price.”
Nomads? That explains why they remind me of Mongolian yurts.
“He also brought some migrants with him, as we requested previously.”
That explained the new faces.
“Some of them lived with us in our old village, and some are survivors from Murus’s town. We have all been working hard to restore things here, and the results so far are what you see now.”
The people Dordold brought with him already knew my villagers, then. That was perfect; the merchant did a great job. And he showed up at exactly the right time. I hoped I’d get the chance to thank him personally.
“I get it—I mean, I understand what happened. You’ve clearly all been working tirelessly. I am sure the Lord is most pleased with your efforts.”
I almost slipped back into casual speech there.
Get it together! Remember you’re supposed to be a disciple of the God of Fate!
Chem raised a timid hand, gaze still on the floor. “Might I ask you a question, Yoshio?”
“Anything.”
I wished she would stop being so formal, but of everyone here, she was the most devoted to the God of Fate. I doubted I could get her to chill out.
“Why did you come to this village with Carol, sir? Did the Lord give you some sort of mission to fulfill?”
Ah! I was so happy to see my villagers safe and Carol reunited with her family that I totally forgot!
I jumped through the portal without a second thought and without even asking the gods for their permission. They were probably pissed. I only did it to make sure Carol would be safe, but it would still count as an act of defiance, right? If I really did provoke the wrath of the gods, I’d probably be punished. Guilt prickled in my chest. What had I done?
“O-oh, please forgive me. Perhaps that was rude to ask,” Chem said, noticing I was staring at the floor in silence.
“No, not at all.” I tried to keep my expression calm, even as a panicked storm raged through me. “The Lord asked me to check on the condition of the villages and to aid in your repairs.” That was the first excuse that came to mind, so I said it without thinking.
“Oh, I see! That means you shall be staying with us for a while, rather than returning to the World of Gods?”
“Y-yes, as long as it’s not an inconvenience…”
Oh, yeah. That was a question.
How was I supposed to get back to Japan?