Chapter 48: Argument
On the evening of the second day of October, a young man was walking on vast grasslands. But there should be no barriers along the way. What if there was a bandit? Well, the sword was in the sheath hanging on his waist.
It had been more than two days since Abium left the Bare Keep Town but hadn't reached his destination yet.
'If not for the coincidental encounter with Kuran in a village, my journey wouldn't have been delayed. Well, there is nothing to change.' Unfortunately, he couldn't leave his dwarf friend alone after meeting him.
He got closer to him using his past knowledge and even guided him to move to Dust Gate Town.
Abium knew that Helena and Kuran would meet and become drinking buddies as long as he reached there.
Shaking his head, Abium walked with the idea of reaching Bare Keep town before dusk and finally reached the Church of Judgment.
It was located a few kilometers away from that Bare Keep town and a junction to Summer Fell city.
It was a city ruled by Margrave Eliot.
One road would lead him to the Bare Keep Town, while the other would lead him to the Summer Fell.
But if he continued to walk ahead on the Bare Keep Road, it would split into two after three kilometers and continue until the Royal Capital.
Since the Harvest festival was held on the same day, a large crowd gathered near the Judgement Church's wooden groves. There were shopkeepers selling jackets, flowers, and various snacks.
Funny jokes were going on, along with songs and dances. There was no shortage of prophets, tricksters, markers, and dancers.
Abium watched this amusingly as he walked closer to the Church Building and suddenly frowned as he noticed a crowd was standing in the middle of the road.
He also heard loud arguments from that crowd and became curious.
Slowly, he walked towards there as he split the crowd and went in.
Soon, Abium reached the front and was surprised to see that only three of the people were involved in the debate. Many people occasionally shouted slogans in favor of their advocate's party.
'Why is so much noise over here? What are they arguing about?' He thought to himself in puzzlement.
But as he started observing three of their attires, Abium realized what was going on and felt a headache.
Mother goddess's devotee, who was wearing a headband in front of his head, stood there and made his argument.
He had blonde hair, fair skin, and amber eyes. Abium also recognized his identity and furrowed.
He had seen this guy many times, but he knew nothing about him.
He was a mysterious Mother Nature goddess's follower, Hemarc. He even had the power to talk to the King or other Royal Family members!
Another person was a man wearing a striped belt. He also had a small wooden staff in his hand with a symbol of Light Church on this cloth.
The third man wore a traditional dress with a hammer symbol on his chest area. It revealed that he was a Judgment goddess follower.
At that moment, Light God's devotee said with a hint of mockery.
"Oh! Believe it or not! Say the answer! Did the Judgment Goddess try to see the full strength of Light God? Or did your Mother Nature Goddess withstand a blow from our mighty Light God? During the Ancient War, the two disappeared and surrendered at the feet of Light God, didn't they? How great is your Mother Nature Goddess than our Light God? Answer me, Hemarc."
Upon hearing this, Mother Nature Goddess's devotee named Hemarc raised his staff and said,
"Knight of the Holy Light! Stop your nonsense! Didn't your Lord Light grant his blessings to the Emperor of the Light Empire during the War of Mages? But how did all those gifts go unnoticed in front of the Mother's incarnation? Could it be your Lord Light's blessing is weak as healing spells? If so, how great is your Lord Light than our Mother Nature?"
At this time, the Judgment's devotee, wearing a traditional dress, intervened,
"Why are you both arguing in vain? No matter how often you say that Lord Light is the Greater God, Mother is a Greater Goddess. The judgment book answers this question. Until you are in the bottom line of devotion, you will fight for Light God or Mother Nature Goddess. But above loyalty is the 'Wisdom Mark.' There is something called 'Wisdom above Wisdom.' There is no Lord Light or Mother god who attains that position. That's called the 'True Sovereignty Domain.' What Goddess of Judgment has said in the True Sovereignty Domain is..."
This time, Hemarc interrupted profoundly and said,
"All right, stop it! Do you know what your Goddess finally said after writing that True Sovereignty Domain book?" He paused for a moment and continued with a snort.
"Devotion to Judgment is the only way to seek help in this world, afflicted with the disease, pain, and death. What kind of bullsh*t is that?"
In the crowd, mockery and laughter raged.
At that moment, Abium even thought of grabbing that stick on Light God devotee's right hand and beating the crap out of three of them.
But all of a sudden, he couldn't find that Goddess of judgment follower!
He disappeared into the crowd.
The Light God's follower also turned his face solemn upon seeing it.
Meanwhile, Hemarc turned his head to the follower of Light and said,
"What do you say? Do you want to argue, or do you run like him?"
"Me? I will never run like that mouthpiece." The Light God follower suddenly got some spirit and protested further.
Those who encouraged the two men in the debate cheered from all directions.
'This is getting out of hand. If this argument continues, these three religious morons might start a religious riot here.'
Abium thought of stopping that argument from going further.
Moreover, he thought of getting close to Hemarc and finding some clue about his original identity.
Shaking his head, he moved closer to them and spoke,
"Why are you fighting? Don't you have any other work to do? If you want to fight, why don't you guys go to the Keris kingdom? There is a great civil war going on right now."
Upon hearing a newcomer's voice, Hemarc stared back at him and exclaimed,
"There is somebody who came to judge!"
Some of those in the crowd liked Abium's half-elf image and his beautiful figure and began to encourage him from behind.
"Brother! Tell them! Take justice to these fighters! We have your back!" One of the guys within that crowd shouted.
The crowd also agreed with a nod and shifted their gazes towards Abium.