Chapter: 165
The dwarves’ convenient tool. Using the information processing board to trace the King of the Gods, Baal, was… not exactly a walk in the park.
While I was digging through some mythology, I was suddenly distracted by all these related documents popping up beside me, spiraling into a cascade of “related documents of related documents.” It was like a never-ending rabbit hole!
Honestly, I’d say half the time I spent in the dwarven archives was wasted on these side quests instead of the documents I originally came for.
And what’s with the broad range of “related” info? Like, why in the world is there a paper discussing the breeds of Sirius, the guardian god of the pantheon? What’s that doing here?
Well, whatever. Given my past studies in theology, I’m painfully aware of the value of all the countless books in the dwarven archives… I couldn’t afford to miss a single nugget of information.
I mean, the info was just too precious to let slip through my fingers.
So, after wasting a day or two like this…
“Ugh… There’s absolutely nothing.”
I discovered that even the dwarves had zero information about the King of the Gods or the name Baal.
Was this too much even for their vast knowledge? But then, where could I possibly find related info…
The elves? But those guys are way more closed off than dwarves! Even if I somehow got permission to step foot in Alfheim as a human with zero connections, it would take months.
Sadly, I don’t have any ties with those elves at all. So, it’s a complete dead end.
If the dwarves are out, and the elves are a no-go… then who would have a clue about the King of the Gods, Baal?
The God of Wisdom? Nah, that’s not gonna work. If they found out I’m looking for a god buried in history…
I wouldn’t just be dead; I’d be toast!
There’s definitely a reason this stuff is buried in history.
I sighed softly. What should I do? How?
It felt like standing at a dead end where the path behind me twisted into a complete maze, leaving me clueless about which way to go.
What can I even do? Is this seriously the limit of a mere human like me?
As I wallowed in despair, Hwangdonggyeong popped up, clicking his tongue.
“What’s this? Have you already thrown in the towel?”
“Hey, Hwangdonggyeong.”
“The archaeologist I know wouldn’t just give up at a dead end. Where did that boar-headed guy go who charged straight toward his goals without caring about anything?”
“Back then, I at least had some leads. This situation isn’t close to that.”
Hwangdonggyeong shook his head and replied, “But don’t you have a clue? What about that fragment with the writing?”
“But how can this tiny stone fragment be any more of a clue? Unless it suddenly grows a mouth and starts talking!”
“It might not have a mouth, but it can share all sorts of information.”
Various information?
“I’ve already done the dating from the tablet—felt like a waste of time.”
“Pfft, you call that trying? Tsk tsk.”
Hwangdonggyeong gave me a pitying look and then extended his hand.
“Hand the fragment over to me. With dwarven technology, we can find out when it was made, where it was forged, and even the quarry it came from!”
His hands were surprisingly soft, not callused like a typical dwarf. You’d think dwarves would be all about loyalty, but…
Should I really trust Hwangdonggyeong, the one who’s already betrayed me once, with my only lead—the stone fragment?
But honestly, I’m running out of options here.
I sighed again, reluctantly pulled the wrapped piece out of my pocket, and placed it in Hwangdonggyeong’s palm.
“Hmm. Good thinking. Once I’m done, I’ll return it. Oh, is it okay if I snip a little piece from the edge?”
“Sure, as long as it’s not the part with the writing!”
He nodded and stuffed the wrapped fragment into his pocket.
“But for you to be this desperate for a clue… were you really that stuck?”
“I didn’t expect it to get this bad. It felt like all clues about the King of the Gods had been wiped clean!”
“Hmmm… Wiped, you say.”
Hwangdonggyeong pondered, “Why not look somewhere other than mythology?”
“Somewhere else?”
“If it’s not even in the Great Book listing all gods, then it’s been erased completely. So if we can’t trace anything in mythology, it might still exist in something else. Like… fairy tales that little kids listen to.”
Fairy tales?
“Well, sure, many fairy tales may have roots in mythology…”
But at least in the fairy tales I know, there’s no mention of the sky or anything resembling it…
There could definitely be a chance they kept its identity hidden, but in the ones I’m familiar with, the sky never came up directly.
“At least in the fairy tales I know, they don’t exist. Unless they’re some ancient folktale from far away…”
“If we’re talking about human folktales, then yeah, that makes sense.”
Hwangdonggyeong seized the information processing board from my grip, scanned through it, and then returned it to me.
“The tales passed down among the dwarves are a bit different from humans. There was one I liked when I was a kid.”
The screen lit up with a fairy tale that seemed tailor-made for children.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Once upon a time, in a very distant past, during an era when dragons were enjoying their smoke, there stood a small mountain.
This tiny mountain emerged from Mother Earth with a gentle rise. Sometimes strict, sometimes tender, it loved Mother Earth, who cherished it selflessly.
Learning the vastness of the world from Mother Earth’s teachings, this tiny mountain lived happily alongside Mother Earth.
Then one day, the lofty sky laid eyes on the vast Mother Earth and fell head over heels.
Infatuated with the most beautiful and charming Mother Earth, the sky thought she was its perfect match.
So, without knowing its own place, the sky tried all kinds of tricks to win over Mother Earth.
……
But thanks to the efforts of the little mountain, all the sky’s schemes came to nothing.
Mother Earth admired the little mountain’s determination and raised it to become the highest among all mountains.
Now revered as the sacred mountain, it was tasked with watching over the sky, preventing it from trying anything sneaky again.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Gaia! There are just too many orphaned children!”
“Why on earth are you suddenly spouting that nonsense?”
In the midst of enjoying tea and bread with Sagarmatha, Baal barged in out of nowhere.
How many times has that been now? Does this fool not understand how to give a head’s up before showing up?
I mean, Sagarmatha has been hissing every time she sees Baal, and that’s a bit concerning. Yet he keeps popping up out of the blue. Does he have zero learning ability?
At least this time, Sagarmatha is fast asleep, clinging to me, so we won’t be fighting.
“And why are you suddenly bringing up orphaned children?”
“Aren’t they just pitiful? Kids collapsing from hunger, without parents to protect them!”
The gods’ messes may have lessened, but their consequences linger on.
Many innocent lives were lost in the chaos of the gods’ disputes.
And among those, many left behind children.
“Let me make it clear: the Temple of Life has already taken in enough children.”
While the numbers and scale of the Temple of Life had been decreasing slowly, caring for these kids caused a big rise in its size and capacity, surpassing its limits.
Still, the temple had accumulated enough wealth and staff over time, so it wasn’t a huge burden. If needed, they could always pull resources from elsewhere.
“But… kids growing without parents are still so unfortunate.”
“So what are you trying to do about it?”
Baal said confidently.
“Lend me your wisdom! How can I raise those children well?”
“Raise them well? At this stage, they’ve lost their parents, and the difficulty level of their lives has skyrocketed!”
“But… Gaia, surely you must have some way? It’s so sad that these kids are looked down upon by others just because they lack parents!”
Hmm. A way… a way, you say?
Ah, I think I’ve got it now.
“Why not become the father of those kids without parents?”
“Father? Me?”
“Exactly! If you, the King of the Gods, become their father, then no one would dare look down on them.”
There’s no way anyone would have the guts to despise the children of the King of the Gods!
“Wow… truly… that makes sense! You’re saying I can lend my name for that?”
“Right! Exactly.”
“Then… let me borrow the name Gaia too! If there’s a father, there should definitely be a mother!”
My name? Hmm…
Gazing down at Sagarmatha, still clinging to me, I sighed softly and responded.
“If they’re children without a mother, you can use the name Gaia. Just don’t mention the Goddess of Life.”
“Okay! Thank you!!”
Well, for the sake of these poor kids, I guess I can share the name Gaia.
As I thought this, I gently patted Sagarmatha’s head, who’d somehow managed to awaken.
“For the sake of these poor kids, don’t dislike Baal.”
“Okay… I don’t dislike him anymore.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s just that he’s a clueless fool wanting what he can’t have, and that’s kind of sad.”
“Something he can’t have?”
“Yeah, kind of. It’s fine if Mom doesn’t know!”
Not sure what she means, but if Sagarmatha says so, who am I to argue?
As long as she doesn’t hate him, that’s a relief. It’s tough for me to take sides here.
And so, I continued to stroke Sagarmatha’s head.
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