Chapter 2

Story 2. Ara’s Acropolis (2)

Chapter 2.

They called it an act of procreation, but for me, I never thought of doing this with anyone. We were the pure ones. We existed only for the Goddess and, therefore, never took a woman. We left our families, and we were to be alone and remain pure until our death.

Dying during a battle was considered the best death for us. If we came to a point where we could not control our lust, then suicide was deemed appropriate and strongly recommended. However, killing oneself was not an easy decision, and therefore, it was not uncommon to give up this duty and return to the life of an average person.

I couldn’t think clearly; it was as if my mind was outside of my body. All I could do was touch myself instinctively.

So hard and so hot… It felt so raw that I had to believe this meant something. My body burned, and I began to pant and moan.

“Ahh… Haaaa… Aaaa…”

I was the only one who was off work at this hour, so it was unlikely anyone would interrupt me in the bathroom. Still feeling uncertain, I began to rush, rubbing myself faster and faster. I knew everybody did it, but it didn’t mean I wanted to be caught by my brothers in this position.

We were supposed to be the innocent and pure men, but in truth, we could not free ourselves of our human emotions. Many of us had families or special someone left on the mainland. Missing them or pining after them was considered a weakness, and thankfully, I didn’t have this problem. I prided myself on being one of the most emotionless, so if someone found me like this, what would everyone say?

My brothers would tell me that I was no better than them. I, who acted high and mighty, was a slave of my own uncontrolled lust. I was weak.

Weak Iztal Juya.

“Ahh…. AAAHHH!”

White stickiness spurted out, and before I collapsed, I closed the glass jar quickly. I then covered my mouth so I would not scream. Panting breathlessly, I continued to hate myself even as my body spasmed in ecstasy.

The noise that came out of my lips was not my own. It couldn’t be. I tried to deny it as I moaned through my hand. When I finally could think, I quickly grabbed a bucketful of water to wash myself and the floor to rid it of the unpleasant stickiness. When I still couldn’t remove the fogginess from my mind, I looked down and saw my reflection on the floor.

My face was red like I had a fever.

“Dammit…”

I still felt unsatisfied, so without thinking, my hand reached down again. However, quickly, I flinched because it felt too sensitive. I couldn’t face myself in the mirror, so with one hand, I covered my eyes while the other hand reached down gently.

Eventually, my body cooled down and with a clearer mind, and a cleaner body, I left the washroom.

I didn’t feel desperate yet. I didn’t believe that Alincha abandoned us, making us leave this paradise. As I said before, most of the continent was made up of deserts. Briefly in history, conqueror Erudim united most of the kingdoms, but currently, there were five separate nations with separate beliefs. The domains hated each other and wanted each other to go. This was expected since the Goddess has died. A world without the Goddess was bound to be filled with chaos.

Until the new Goddess was born anyway.

This was why we, “The Innocent Ones,” came here to Minurd seven years ago led by the Goddess’ warrior. We were here to accomplish our duty—to make the Goddess reborn here on this land.

Seven years have passed, and although we were all still young, our Goddess Ara hasn’t answered our prayers yet.

“Juya.”

I was in the selamlik, which was a portion of the house that was reserved for men. I was getting dressed slowly when a sharp voice called out my name.

“I see that being a teacher to Prince Camille has treated you well, Juya. Such lazy days you get to enjoy nowadays.”

“…”

I tried to ignore him, but one of the brothers who were walking into the room slapped me with his wet sleeve. The unpleasant smell of grass wafted towards me.

When I remained quiet, he continued, “No answer? Come on, I’m sure having such a comfortable position is a nice way to escape reality, but you can’t ignore the truth forever.”

“What are you talking about? What am I ignoring?”

“Juya, we heard the news that the Goddess’ warriors who were supposed to protect the capital in our homeland died.”

The one who answered in a husky voice came into the room. He was the oldest, but also at least a few inches shorter than the rest of the brothers.

Iztal Manar.

He seemed cold because he was wearing a thick scarf that covered his neck and his lips. He was also wearing a white hood over his head, hiding his face and making it impossible for anyone to read his expression.

Iztal Manar continued, “This means that there obviously was a big battle. We still don’t know what happened to the royal members they served and other people in the castle. No one knows.”

I have heard this, but what was I supposed to say? I wasn’t ignoring the reality; I just didn’t think it necessary to comment on the situation.

I tried to explain myself, “I realize that it also means the capital won’t be able to send us additional soldiers for help. I just don’t understand what the point of sending this message to us was. Even if the fastest messenger takes at least two months to get here from the capital, which means that by now, things must have resolved, why make us worry when there is no point or need for us to be concerned… Argh!”

Another brother of mine pushed me as he entered the washroom, making me fall. Manar didn’t reply to me but said to another guy sarcastically, “Whatever. Juya talks like he isn’t even from Alincha… He obviously doesn’t care.”

“Manar!”

I yelled at him and tried to stand up, but to them, I must have looked like I was about to attack Manar. The guys nearest me grabbed my collars and pulled me up roughly.

“If you are planning to preach, just shut your mouth, Iztal Juya. You think that since we were led here by one of the Goddess’ warriors, all we must do is follow his orders, right? What if he is making a mistake? Even then, should we continue to follow him?”

I tried to fight back.

“How dare you talk about our Goddess’ warrior that way…! Argh! Let me go!”

“It doesn’t matter what you say. You are only a useless orphan, and without our Goddess’ warrior rescuing you, you would have been dead by now on the street. It makes sense that you consider Minurd as your home, but this isn’t the case for the rest of us. Stop talking about the situation in Alincha like it doesn’t matter. If you continue to do so, we will make sure you never walk again.”

“…!”

Just then, the door to the room burst open, and a pleasant voice yelled, “You bastards! Are you idiots bullying Juya again? You know we all need to get along with each other.”

Thankfully, it was my friend who came to my rescue from this unpleasant situation. I gasped his name, “Eriez…!”