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"Have a look around and take anything you need. We can discuss the specific arrangements when we get back to your settlement. That will take some time, and I'm sure you're all worried about your families and friends. They'll be anxious if you're late."
Mika clapped Riku on the shoulder with a lighthearted grin.
"Yes, sir. We'll get ready and head back right away—"
Suppressing the excitement in his eyes, Riku quickly stood up and began to thoroughly search the airship for any useful supplies. With Mika standing guard, they no longer had to move with the same painstaking caution.
They could be more relaxed, and far more efficient.
While Riku and the others scavenged, Mika collected data on the airship's technology.
Using his mental probe and analytical abilities, information about the Dwarven vessel was continuously absorbed and processed by his mind.
He was quite satisfied with its design—he had a fondness for such science-fiction-inspired creations. It was a shame they were so rare in other worlds—yet here, in a world consumed by a Divine War where every race was desperately climbing the ladder of military power, such things were plentiful.
How could he not be interested?
————
"Mika, it seems you already have a plan in mind, don't you?" Athena, who had been silent throughout his exchange with Riku's group, asked with curiosity.
She hadn't spoken because she didn't want to interfere, sensing Mika had his own intentions. Her status here was awkward.
It was the Gods who had plunged this world's humanity into such a miserable existence, and she was, for all intents and purposes, one of them.
Until she understood Mika's specific plan, saying nothing was the best form of cooperation—As the Goddess of Wisdom, she knew this well.
Only now, with things seemingly settled, did she venture a question.
"I was wondering when you'd ask. If you had stayed quiet any longer, I might have just blurted it all out," Mika replied, turning to her with a lighthearted laugh.
"Oh, really?" Athena looked at him, her eyes filled with mirth.
Mika felt a little awkward. He had, of course, just been speaking casually. But he wouldn't admit it.
"Of course! I would never forget about you." With that, he quickly changed the subject, laying out the relevant knowledge he had about the Star Grail and the Old Deus, along with his own tentative plan.
After listening to Mika's explanation—Athena's brow furrowed in thought, then slowly relaxed.
"I never imagined such a treasure existed in this world," she murmured, her eyes gradually filling with excitement. She was instantly reminded of Yahweh's own fortuitous encounter.
"Mika, we absolutely cannot let an opportunity like this slip by."
"That goes without saying!" Mika replied, his own excitement matching hers.
————
It took Mika's group two days to return to Riku's settlement.
During the journey, Mika and Athena didn't use their abilities to fly or speed up the trip. Instead, they walked alongside Riku's group, trekking through the wilderness.
They pushed through wastelands where the Black Ash fell like snow, then entered the depths of a forest sealed by ice and snow.
Beneath a jagged, rocky mountain, in a hidden cave, was the location of their settlement.
From the outside, it looked no different from an average beast's den. This was how they had managed to disappear from the sight of the other races, allowing them to survive and multiply here.
As they moved through the cave, they saw several old oil lamps hanging from a half-rotten pillar. Riku took one down, lit it with a flint from his pocket, and by its dim, orange glow, they proceeded into a tunnel carved deep into the cave.
Traps to ward off wild animals lined the passage.
Deeper still, they came upon an outer wall built of sturdy logs.
According to Riku, it was a gate designed to stop wolves or bears that might have bypassed the traps. It was only effective against beasts; if any of the other races came upon it, it would be utterly useless.
The feeling of being so utterly at the mercy of fate made Mika's brow furrow.
————
Approaching the wooden gate, Riku knocked firmly with a specific rhythm and then waited quietly.
After a moment, with a creaking sound, the gate was slowly pulled open from the inside. A young boy wrapped in a fur cloak peeked his head out.
"Welcome back! You must be exhausted."
Riku and Aley simply nodded in response, but Ivan stepped forward and began joking with the boy. As Mika and Athena stepped through the gate, the boy's curiosity was piqued.
"Who are these two?"
"They're our esteemed guests, from another settlement," Ivan said seriously, ruffling the boy's hair.
This was the identity Mika and Athena had decided on for their visit.
While he had told Riku and his companions the truth, that didn't mean everyone needed to know. The kind of fervent reception they would receive was easy to imagine.
To the people of this world, they would be seen as saviors bringing hope.
To avoid such a fuss, they had prepared new identities.
When Mika and Athena followed Riku into the heart of their settlement, the environment was fully revealed to them.
"You've done a pretty good job here," Mika praised.
Despite living in such a desperate environment, Riku had managed to keep the settlement orderly. Though they lived in a cave, they had secured a source of drinking water from a spring deep within.
They also raised livestock in an area that was open to the sky. Through his divine senses, Mika could see that another entrance led to a coastal bay, where they could get salt and fish.
To accomplish this much in such an environment was truly remarkable—
—Mika knew that even the Werebeasts, who ranked above them and had vast territories, still had many of their people suffering from hunger.
Although there were only about two thousand people here, ensuring they were all fed and clothed in this environment was a feat worthy of respect.
On the other side of the settlement, as Riku returned, a figure rushed over from the distance.
It was a young woman, shouting as she ran, "You took too long! You brat, just how much do you want to worry me?!"
"I came back as fast as I could, sis." Riku smiled and set down the pack he was carrying.
Compared to his usual cold expression, his attitude today was a world of difference.
"Riku is actually smiling... and he called me sis... Did you find something truly incredible?" Riku's sister, Couronne, was utterly astonished.
So much so that she instinctively took a few steps back. Knowing her brother's personality and the heavy burden he carried, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen him smile.
Couronne's reaction made Riku's lips twitch. Though he knew he was acting differently today, he didn't think her reaction needed to be quite so dramatic.
'Do you know how much that little step back hurt me?' Silently complaining in his heart, Riku decided to ignore his sister's reaction.
"Couronne, did anything happen while I was gone?"
"Call me 'sis'! You were just calling me that! Since you've started, you better stick with it!" Couronne pouted, correcting him while nodding emphatically.
"Nothing happened. At least, nothing serious enough to report. Anyway, hurry up and take off that filthy cloak and raw leather. I need to wash them!" Couronne said, patting Riku's dust-covered head without ceremony.
"Ivan and Aley, you too. Thank you for your hard work—" she said, taking Riku's cloak and gear before turning to the two men standing behind him.
It was only then that she noticed Mika and Athena.
"Riku, who are these two?"
"They are our honored guests, important figures who can change our current situation. I need you to host them in my place for now," Riku whispered in her ear, giving her instructions.
"Important figures who can change our situation!" Couronne's body trembled. She quickly walked over to Mika and Athena and said respectfully, "Please forgive our humble reception."
"It's nothing. Watching you two interact was quite interesting," Mika said with a grin.
Couronne—after Riku and Schwi ended the Great War, it was she who led the remaining humans to forge their own territory and create their own nation.
In the future, when the siblings from the main story arrived in this world, it would be her nation they inherited.
Without a doubt, she was also a top-tier talent in this world.
"We're glad we weren't a bother." Couronne breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
Preparing to host Mika and Athena as Riku had commanded, she looked at Athena's stunning face and immediately suggested, "You two must have endured a lot crossing the wilderness with Riku and the others. Would you like to take a bath first?"
From Couronne's experience, to travel in the outside world, one had to be completely covered. After several days of travel, one would surely be covered in grime.
For a great beauty like Athena, such a state must be unbearable.
Thus, she made the suggestion.
"That would be lovely. Let's start with a bath, then," Athena replied with a light laugh, feeling Couronne's gaze.
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