Chapter 122: Sacrifice, Bread

Chapter 122: Sacrifice, Bread Sacrifice, Bread

* * *

Ko, ko, ko, ko......

I am currently descending the staircase leading underground that was inside the shrine.

A long, long staircase.

The air feels heavy, damp, and chillingly cold despite the summer season.

No light from the outside reaches here, only deep darkness surrounding me.

Yet I can advance without issue thanks to my 【Mana Sensing Threads】.

By spreading the threads several meters ahead, I can sense the terrain despite being unable to see.

The white-robed man who suddenly appeared.

An extremely suspicious existence.

With a high possibility of being dangerous.

And yet, the reason I chase after that man......

............

What is that reason, I wonder?

Truthfully, venturing into this incomprehensible space to pursue an enigmatic being fills me with dread.

I have confidence in my abilities to overcome most adversities.

But fear is fear.

I want to immediately climb back up those stairs and return to the bright wheat fields.

I’m scared, finding myself contemplating retreat so readily.

And yet.

Something within me screams.

Keep pursuing. Don’t avert your gaze.

That’s how it feels, like a voice desperately urging me onward.

Compelled by that voice, I continue advancing for several minutes.

My surroundings gradually changed.

A faint light became visible ahead.

Those are......magic lamps.

The staircase is illuminated by magic lamps.

But the changes aren’t limited to that.

A scent lingers.

Previously only a damp, earthy smell, but now an unmistakable odor has joined the mix.

A scent I’m all too familiar with.

......The scent of blood.

Dismissing my 【Mana Sensing Threads】, I activate 【Presence Concealment】.

Carefully, ever so carefully, without a sound, I descend further down the stairs.

After walking for maybe one or two minutes.

The staircase finally ended, leading to a short hallway and a door at its end.

The door seemed improperly installed, not fully closed, with light leaking through the gap.

I quietly opened it a bit and peered inside.

* * *

It was a fairly spacious, brightly lit white room illuminated by magic lamps.

However, it could hardly be called clean.

The stench of blood was overwhelming.

The source of that odor was a mound of monster carcasses piled in one corner.

......Those were the large rabbits I had hunted yesterday.

The large rabbits, each the size of a large dog.

Classified as monsters due to their crop devastation, the villagers had requested I hunt down and exterminate any encountered without exception.

Yesterday, I had discovered a massive herd and, following those instructions, hunted them all down.

Of those hunted large rabbits, I consumed half on the spot while the other half was offered before the god’s statue in the plaza with the villagers’ assistance......

Ah, right.

The next time I passed by the plaza, all those rabbit carcasses had vanished without a trace.

I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I see, so they were brought here!

Eh?

Wait a minute?

In any case, they chanted in harmony.

“””`......O harvest god Muwidgi who reigns in the heavens, golden deity. Bestow your blessings upon your devout followers. Grant us your blessings......'””‘

The very instant they chanted those words, the entire room was suddenly enveloped in a blinding golden light!

“............!?”

Startled, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, but the surprises weren’t over yet.

Reopening my eyes, the sight that greeted my vision left me utterly dumbfounded.

The mound of large rabbit carcasses, along with Granny’s remains, had vanished entirely from the room.

Even the putrid stench of death had been completely erased.

Instead, within the room......atop the magic circle lay......

Bread.

The very “blessed bread” we always ate.

Bathed in the magic lamp’s illumination......no, the bread itself radiated a golden glow from within as it lay piled atop the magic circle in great quantities.

Its aroma was so incredible that merely the scent wafting through the door made my mouth water uncontrollably.

“We give our thanks.”

“Our thanks to the harvest god.”

“Thank you very much!”

After conveying their gratitude to their deity, the robed figures began collecting the bread scattered around the room into baskets.

However, their work was soon interrupted.

Because.

Gugyuururururururu......

That rumbling sound came from outside the door.

......Yes.

My stomach had inadvertently growled loudly.

“Who’s there?!”

The robed man shouted as he rushed toward the door.

“!!”

Immediately realizing my blunder, I began retreating.

Using the 【Grasshopper】 stride technique, I swiftly fled the area.

Somehow managing to sprint up the dark, difficult staircase, I reached the shrine.

Flinging the doors wide open, I tumbled outside.

The hot summer sunlight instantly enveloped me.

Raising my face, wheat fields of green stretched before my eyes.

The boundless azure sky.

Drifting white clouds.

“Myogon, Myogoshugomyonshugoh! Myogon, Myogoshugomyonshugoh!”

The Myogomyogoshugo cries sounded nearby, yet somehow felt distant.

“Hah......hah......”

Wiping the cold sweat, I tried to catch my ragged breath.

Turning back toward the shrine.

There was only a deep, dark staircase.

The robed figures hadn’t given chase yet.

They didn’t seem as mobile as me.

“............”

My heart still pounded violently.

Unable to process the events I had just witnessed, confusion overwhelmed me.

<......Zzzzzz............>

“!?”

Then, I suddenly heard a noise-like sound.

Frantically scanning my surroundings revealed only the wheat fields.

Nothing that could be the source of that noise.

......I don’t understand.

In any case.

I should leave this shrine.

I began running.