Chapter 132

Chapter 132

***

The land where the Salaman people lived was hot and dry. The sunlight was so stinging one wondered if summer had come, but the wind was cold again. This place didn't have any distinct seasons, it was this kind of weather all year round.

The eternal hometown of shepherds and the land where everything began. People called this Lunadan region that.

A barren field overgrown with short grass stretched out wide. It wasn't completely flat, but a terrain where the ground rose and dipped repeatedly as if drawing gentle curves.

Somewhere in that vast open plain, there was an old dead tree left alone that looked to be hundreds of years old, or perhaps much older, and in its shade, some corpses were sprawled out here and there.

In that shade, Rickart was taking off the corpses' shoes and matching them against his own bare feet. When they didn't seem to fit, he tossed them aside.

It looked as though he was committing robbery, but actually, it was the opposite. They tried to rob him so he killed them instead and was looting them.

Rickart tried to take off another corpse's shoes but skipped him because they were sandals.

While looking to see if anyone was wearing somewhat decent boots, Hashim called out. He was wearing sandals.

"Hey there, Ricky. Try putting these on."

He had taken off another corpse's shoes and called Rickart over. Taking the shoes from him and matching them against his feet, they seemed to fit roughly well.

So as he slipped his feet in, the fit was quite decent. The tips of the shoes curled up upwards which was fascinating, and the soles were hard leather, while the part covering the insteps was a cloth material with some degree of ventilation.

"They seem to fit."

"That's a relief. There happened to be new ones here. Come over here and sit down."

"What new ones?"

While asking that, Rickart followed his words and sat on the ground. Outside the shade, the sunlight was scorching but the shade was cool to the point of being chilly.

But as Hashim tried to wrap something like a cloth around Rickart's head, Rickart quickly dodged and looked back.

"What is this?"

"Isn't the journey ahead long. It's better to wear it since you wouldn't want your head peeling from the hot sunlight."

"You should've said so earlier."

As Rickart understood and stayed still, Hashim wrapped a turban around Rickart's head. Tying it tightly to secure it well, he patted his back indicating it was done.

Wearing tattered clothes, exotic shoes, and a turban, his appearance was truly funny. But what did it matter if he looked a bit ridiculous. As long as he fought well and protected his own body well.

Rickart leaned his back against the tree on the side without corpses and looked out of the shade, bathed in bright sunlight. Even though he wore a turban, he didn't really want to go out.

"Now I see. This isn't a place to wander around in broad daylight. We should only travel in the morning or evening. Don't you agree?"

"Once you adapt you can wander around adapting to it. If we had a camel or a packhorse it would be much easier of course."

"By the way, is this the right way?"

"There's nowhere else to go here but the coast and the lake. Wandering around via oases is akin to throwing one's life away unless you're a major merchant or a nomad. If you keep the sea to your left and go straight forward the Arslam Sultanate appears, and if you keep it to your right and go forward there's the Mayub Sultanate. Passing the Mayub Sultanate is the land of Sinatria. There are several Sultans there too. The Flame Knights are beyond that, in the Kereshi Plateau."

Hearing just the words it seemed it wouldn't take long, but getting to Sinatria would take a month.

Rickart felt impatient thinking about Adelibari, but on the other hand, he figured since things turned out this way it couldn't be helped. Neither could he fly in the sky, nor was there any other way.

Fretting over problems that couldn't be helped was entirely unhelpful, that was Rickart's thought. So he had no choice but to simply faithfully live in the present.

He didn't feel inclined to travel by ship. Partly because he had a bad experience, but also because in the coastal areas of the Lunadan region, merchant ships were exactly pirates, and pirates were exactly merchant ships. It had been like that since very ancient times.

It wasn't good land for farming, and since this was a region that lived solely on livestock farming and trade, it seemed such culture and customs naturally settled in.

Anyway, the best method in the current situation was procuring horses or camels......

"By any chance, can't you fly?"

Rickart asked. Hashim was crouched down rustling with something.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a mage."

"I thought you didn't have them, but you too have preconceptions indeed. If a mage could do whatever they wanted, that would be a god or a demon, would it be a human?"

"I was just asking. By the way, where are you headed, Hashim?"

"I merely wander aimlessly in search of my lost memories."

While saying that, Hashim reached out his hand and handed over what he was rustling to Rickart. Looking to see what it was, it was dried dates looted from the enemies and something roundish.

Rickart received it, sniffed it, and tasted a bit. The dates were chewy and eye-openingly sweet. Are there fruits like this in the world?

Then he ate the somewhat roundish thing; it seemed like some chicken meat clumped together, steamed with salt and dried.

"Do people catch chickens to make travel rations here? Better not to catch them if you want eggs. Are there that many chickens?"

"It's not chicken."

"Then what is it?"

"Minced lizard meat."

Instantly, Rickart froze on the spot. He considered spitting out what was currently in his mouth, but decided to just eat it. It'll probably all be the same once it enters the stomach......

Rickart just tossed all the minced lizard meat into his mouth and chewed crunch-crunch. Eating it all at once the salty taste was strong but he just ate it quickly and finished it off.

After drinking water to gargle his mouth and swallowing, he said.

"What are those lost memories?"

"I'm searching because I don't know that. A feeling like I lost something very important always follows me around like a shadow."

"Are all mages like that?"

"I don't know. But I have met a few people of the same kind as me. The magic I learned, I learned from them as well."

"Then if you keep using magic do you keep losing memories?"

"That is correct."

"What happens when you lose all your memories?"

"You either become a madman spouting nonsense, or get absorbed by the abyss. I have seen and heard as much."

Magic indeed seemed like a dangerous set of skills. Being an incomprehensible domain to him, Rickart didn't say anything pros or cons about it.

He merely chewed on dates as a snack and asked.

"By the way, could I also learn something like magic?"

"No. You cannot learn it. Because humans' minds harden as they age. Since the incomprehensible domain must be accepted with feeling rather than understood with the head, if you miss the timing you cannot learn it. Along with that, highly advanced knowledge is also necessary. The combination of knowledge and sensibility accompanies an understanding of the 'World Beyond', and from there one can draw power. The magic I learned is like that."

"So what kind of magic can you perform? Shooting fire from your hands, making it rain, or summoning thunder and lightning."

"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"

When Rickart kept throwing questions based on preconceptions, Hashim narrowed his eyes and spoke. Rickart merely chuckled.

"Accurately speaking I don't know either. I lose memory the moment I use magic. Only a faint, dream-like feeling is left behind. I don't know about other mages, but the kind I learned is like that."

"Truly ironic. The more you use magic the more memory you lose, yet you say you want to regain lost memories."

"Isn't being ironic and contradictory originally an attribute of humanity? This too might be the teaching of God."

"You are being positive. But I agree as well."

Someone wandering the wasteland aimlessly in search of lost memories; to Rickart, that was what the Mage of the Wastelands was.

Rickart and the mage rested in the shade avoiding the hot gaze of the sun, and brushed off their seats to stand up around the time the red sunset burned.

Since they procured food, some money, shoes, and a turban from the robbers, should they be thankful to them. Life was truly ironic.

Because the Lunadan region was so dry and desolate, moving at night relying on moonlight wasn't too difficult. Of course, they'd have to refrain a bit on pitch-black nights without even moonlight.

And the stars in the night sky seemed much more brilliant and beautiful than seeing them in the Empire. Since there were no mountains or forests, only the sky and the earth.

The Milky Way also flowed down to the edge of that horizon as if milk had been poured.

Rickart and Hashim walked facing the starlight pouring down like rain. Although their bodies were a bit tired and exhausted, the twinkling stars seemed to cheer for them so it was okay.

Walking all night as dawn was breaking, the starlight grew faint too. Around that time, the two men arrived at a city.

However, even though morning hadn't dawned yet, the city gates were open. Soldiers guarding the gates couldn't be seen either.

Does the city have no master? There's no way that's the case.

"It is a Holy City. A sacred place to all of us."

"Here is?"

"Indeed. Therefore, there is no law of any kind inside here. Because they fear the judgment of God. Since they don't want to die and go to Hell, everyone refrains themselves here."

Although Rickart believed in God, he wasn't that fervent a believer so he didn't feel much inspiration. No, somehow his heart did beat a little faster.

But shortly after entering the city, people sleeping while locked inside iron cages were seen. All were slaves. Because God did not forbid the slave trade.

Because safety was guaranteed, it was a city where trade was even more overtly active. For whatever it was.

Though trades invariably invite conflicts, even if they fought, they went outside to fight, so the Holy City was an Exceptionally well-policed place.

"Would you like to go up to the Sacred Hill?"

"Since we came all the way here, I suppose we can't not go up."

Rickart followed Hashim's guidance and passed through narrow alleyways. It was a slight uphill road, and looking around while going up, it felt exotic but was just a place where people lived.

He didn't really feel things like sacredness, or the holiness of God.

But from a certain point there were no buildings, and merely a desolate hill appeared. This was exactly the place where God was said to have delivered the revelation.

To be honest, it was so insignificant it felt a bit anti-climactic. There was merely dry dirt and weeds growing here and there.

Around the hill, there were many melted candles whose fire had gone out. A few were still struggling to burn their faint light though.

Traces of offering tributes could also be seen. Whether rich or poor, regardless of where they were from, they offered what they could.

Flowers and money, weapons, shields, meat, and even a corpse newly dead and wrapped tightly in bandages. Each tribute, or funeral, contained the prayers of those people.

Looking back at Hashim, he was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, whether he was praying or meditating.

Rickart raised his head and looked at the sky. In the dim dawn, the dark blue sky felt like looking at the deep sea.

However, on the Sacred Hill there was merely a hollow wind blowing, and things like the voice of God could not be heard. I guess a revelation won't be delivered to me. Understandably so.

"God's language is silence, so tell yourself the words you want to say most. Then it will reach God."

"Were you a monk, not a mage?"

"It's similar."

As Rickart spoke playfully to Hashim, he smiled with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, when did I last pray?

Rickart embraced his sword and squatted on the slope looking down at the city.

People just waking from sleep and coming out to the street could be seen. An ultramarine wind blew over and caressed Rickart's face.

He pondered over the past days deeply. From his previous life to his current one. He couldn't trace back everything one by one, but there were things that flashed in his mind. Were they regrets, or were they wishes.

A swordsman strongest in the world might paradoxically have deeper agony.

In the past, he remembered what happened at the Cult of Condemnation. I wasn't the only one who regained lost memories either. No, did I want to forget? Did I not want to accept it?

The more he looked back at himself, there was nothing he could know. That one thing was clear. That he knew nothing.

Therefore, he merely prayed as if ruminating on the feelings he had when the past and present reached out their hands and met.

Embracing his sword, Rickart also closed his eyes.

Let me be a person who weeps silently. Whether it is out of joy, repentance, or merely because of sadness.

Like the smile of a baby held in a mother's embrace, like the sun rising in the dawn of agony, like fog softly settling on fertile earth, like water dripping from the tip of a tempered sword, like white mourning clothes instead of black.

Please let me be a person who weeps silently like that......

Having dozed off, when he opened his eyes again, the sun had risen and it was morning. Hashim was guarding Rickart's side, and pilgrims were coming up the Sacred Hill in twos and threes.

"Let us go."

Hashim said. Rickart stood up from his seat.

Hashim took Rickart and wandered around the ancient ruins. The Pool of Vedas, the Tomb of the Prophet, the Temple built on the spot where another Prophet ascended, and so on.

Some places had many people, some had few. And some places mostly had Franken people, and some mostly Salaman people.

Rickart wondered if the words of the scripture were real events rather than just old tales or dramatizations, but seeing them with his own eyes they weren't much so honestly he wasn't moved much.

After looking around the sacred ancient ruins entirely, the two people went to the market bustling with people since morning to buy travel goods from merchants. Dried rations, tools to light a fire, and a few pieces of firewood. That was it.

Carrying one sword and a light backpack, they hit the road again.

Was his faith filled up? Well, one sure thing was that a heathen, a mage, and a friend was walking by his side.

"Hashim, what did you wish for?"

"I don't have wishes. I merely pray."

"So what did you pray for?"

"Do Franken people ask about others' prayers?"

"Not really, but I was curious."

"I prayed that you securely arrive at the headquarters of the Flame Knights to meet your brother, and live the rest of your life happily together with your family."

"......Really?"

"Why?"

"And not asking to be able to regain lost memories or things like that?"

"That is a destiny I must bear. And aren't you my first friend."

"......My. I'm embarrassed."

"Why?"

"If so I should've prayed that you definitely regain your memories. I feel indebted."

Then Hashim thought quietly, smiled softly, and said like this.

"Pay it back slowly."

"Hahahaha!"

Rickart threw his head back and laughed heartily.

Different religions, different lands of birth, yet the swordsman and the mage somehow seemed to get along well.

It was unknown what connected the two, but perhaps this itself might be the miracle of God.

With the Lunadan region having a large daily temperature range, the mornings were quite chilly but it would soon get warm, and then sultry again, right? Then they could just find shade to walk, and sit and rest.

With a companion by his side for all those moments, Rickart wasn't lonely in the unfamiliar land.