The next day, the woman came.

She kept her promise.

It might have been thanks to the Silver Coin the Protagonist gave her.

Unlike yesterday, she was properly dressed.

She wouldn’t have to worry about starving for a while. Perhaps that’s why she kept thanking him the whole way.

Ten Silver Coins were a lot for her. Not for the Protagonist.

Still, seeing the woman’s face made him feel good.

It seemed that a small favor that was nothing to him meant a lot to her.

“This is the Place.”

She pointed her hand at the Building in front of them.

The Church was too old.

It was almost a ruin. It was in a corner, so people didn’t even bother to look at it. He didn’t feel good that a divine image was enshrined in such a place.

It seemed that the god who helped the Protagonist was not treated well.

Skadi was a great god.

She allowed the Protagonist to use immense Magic.

At least she should have had as much Castle influence as the Sun God Angelica believed in.

But to be enshrined alone in such a shabby Church, he felt a surge of anger, as if it were something that had happened to the Protagonist.

But he held it in.

There seemed to be some unknown circumstances.

The woman entered the Church first. She told him to wait outside for a moment while she spoke to the Priest. But even after waiting patiently, there was no sign of the woman coming out.

He stepped inside.

Inside the shabby Building, an Old Man and the woman were arguing.

“Master Mage!”

The woman shouted.

The Old Man frowned.

“This boy dares to meet a god?”

The woman frowned.

She shouted to be careful with her words because he was a great person.

But the Old Man only scoffed.

The Old Man told him to go back.

He also said that if he wanted to meet a god, he had to show that he was an excellent Mage. He also said that he wouldn’t show him the Goddess statue unless he was at least better than the Old Man Protagonist.

Hearing that made me curious. It was a little scary too. I thought that if the Old Man could speak so confidently, he might be a great Mage.

But when I saw the Old Man hold out his palm and create water, I was greatly disappointed.

He was a Mage.

His skill was so terrible that it was embarrassing to even call him a Mage.

At best, he could only create a fist-sized amount of water.

It was worthless.

I looked at the Old Man’s face.

He had a proud expression, as if he thought even that was amazing. Seeing that face, Rael understood why Mercenaries ignored Mages.

I cast a spell. Three Ice Arrows appeared in the air.

I shot them at the Old Man’s feet. As the ground instantly froze, the Old Man looked up in surprise, like a Gnoll. His eyebrows trembled.

“Where is the Goddess statue?”

The Old Man closed his mouth.

He couldn’t even get angry.

Even after being threatened, he remained silent.

His body was weak, and the only Magic he could boast about was creating water. He couldn’t even use attack Magic, so he couldn’t fight back.

“Come this way.”

The Old Man went through the door at the back.

I followed him. On the way, the Old Man asked various things. Things like where I learned Magic.

His attitude had become docile.

But beyond that, his incessant questioning was annoying.

I wondered if such a change in attitude was acceptable.

The Old Man also asked why I was looking for the Goddess statue.

When I told him it was to speak with a god, he scoffed.

He said that only the chosen ones could communicate with gods.

The Old Man didn’t deny that I was a skilled Mage, but he didn’t think the Goddess would speak to me. That would be an extraordinary event.

Considering his magic skills, his words weren’t very reassuring. However, as the Old Man kept saying it wouldn’t work, I started to worry.

I was confident that the Goddess of Ice had bestowed a Blessing upon the Protagonist. But it was only a guess. Perhaps the Goddess hadn’t given it.

The Protagonist had never heard the voice of a god. The thought that all of this might be a misunderstanding made me afraid. I felt unnecessarily annoyed.

“Do you want to be hit by an Ice Arrow? Be quiet.”

“S-sorry.”

The Old Man bowed his head deeply.

He seemed to recall the Ice Arrow he had seen earlier.

He didn’t even breathe after I said a word. I thought I should have done this sooner. I felt relieved.

The place he led me to was a large room inside. A few chairs were scattered in the room, and a Statue stood in front.

I looked at the Statue. It was small enough to carry in my hand. But it was so exquisitely carved that I gasped in admiration.

If this was its true form, it would be even more beautiful than Charlotte. It didn’t look like human beauty. I thought there must be some exaggeration.

“Tsk. It won’t be heard anyway.”

Beside me, the Old Man was grumbling.

Ignoring him, I thought. Now that I had come through such hardship to find it, I couldn’t think of what to say.

Even when I prayed, there was no answer.

The thought that it might be the Protagonist’s imagination slowly crept up. In my fear, I even touched the Statue. Then, a voice was heard.

“My worshipper… my beloved worshipper…”

“Goddess?”

“Finally… you have finally come… I have been waiting for this moment.”

“Is it true that you, the Goddess, bestowed a Blessing upon me?”

“I have watched over you all this time. It is fortunate that you remember the helping hand I extended to you.”

The Goddess’s voice was somehow strange.

Her manner of speaking sounded elderly, but her voice was that of a young girl. It was as if a girl was deliberately trying to speak like an adult.

It was an impious thought.

The other party was a deity. He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

He felt a sense of anticipation. It was true that the Goddess the Protagonist had been searching for had bestowed a Blessing upon him. He wondered why she had helped the Protagonist.

“Why did you help me?”

“For hundreds of years, I have searched for someone to save me. A child like you, with an aptitude for Magic, who can care for others, and who can live righteously even in this dirty world.”

“Save?”

“I am slowly being forgotten. The number of people who believe in me has steadily decreased. At this rate, I am in danger of vanishing. I hope you will help me.”

The Goddess was clinging to the Protagonist.

From her words, it seemed her situation was beyond regrettable and verging on dangerous.

“What’s the price?”

“Price? Haven’t I already done things for you!”

The Goddess’s tone became slightly odd.

From her words, it seemed she had nothing to offer. He had come with high expectations, but it was a disappointment. He couldn’t help but frown.

“I’m disappointed.”

“What? You, you can’t do this to me.”

The Goddess’s speech became childlike.

Her goddess-like demeanor disappeared, replaced by the speech of a girl seen in the Village. It seemed this was the Goddess’s true form.

“I, I saved you. You have to save me too. Don’t abandon me. I, I gave you everything! I was only looking at you. If you abandon me… *sniffle*… I… I’ll be sad… I’ll just die like this…”

Her flustered voice had somehow turned into a whimper. A deity was crying like a little girl. It was absurd.

“Calm down.”

“If I calm down, will you help me? Huh? You shouldn’t live like that. How much power did I use…”

“Great power?”

“I gave it all to you… ugh… so mean…”

The Goddess even threatened to cry if she wouldn’t help.

It was a threat that wouldn’t work at all.

But it worked on the Protagonist.

If it hadn’t been for the Goddess, he would have died long ago.

She had helped him overcome the crisis.

And not just once, but twice.

It wasn’t wrong to say that he owed her his life. Perhaps that’s why he felt he should help the Goddess.

He also had the ulterior motive that if he helped her, he might receive her teachings.

“I’ll help you.”

“Really? Truly? Oh, as expected, my lovely follower. I actually believed it. That you wouldn’t abandon me!”

The Goddess exclaimed in a re-energized voice. It seemed like her earlier whimpering was a lie.

“How can I help you?”

“You have to retrieve my Statue and go far away.”

“Far away?”

“There are many Mages far from here. It’s where that big-breasted woman who was with you was.”

She seemed to be referring to Amelin. If it was where she was, it was far. It might take a year just to get there.

“Why do I have to go there?”

“Many believe in me. But there was a war a long time ago. At that time, everything that could be called my Statue was destroyed. Since then, even if they pray, power doesn’t come to me.”

“Didn’t they make a new Statue?”

“They did make one. But as the original ones were all destroyed, they must have forgotten my appearance, because they made it completely differently.”

The Statue had to be made to look exactly like the deity.

She added that it wouldn’t do otherwise. The conditions were very strict.

The Goddess said that there was a proper Statue remaining in This Place.

The story was that if he took it and placed it in the distant Kingdom of Mages, he could gather faith and regain his power.

It was more troublesome than he thought. It was something he couldn’t do right away from the Capital City. Going to such a distant place required immense preparation.

He asked if she couldn’t give him teachings immediately.

The Goddess said that even conversing like this was difficult, implying that she could only give teachings after regaining her power.

Even before that, finding the statue was a task.

There was more than just what was in This Place.

He had a headache trying to figure out how to find it, as some Orcs were said to be carrying it.

Seeing that it was nearby, it seemed he might find it among the Orcs fighting the Lizardmen.

He decided he had to go find the Orcs.

He was silent, lost in thought.

She seemed to have misunderstood his silence.

“You won’t abandon me, will you, Beggar?”

The Goddess, thinking he was refusing, clung to him.

The Protagonist felt like he had become a bad guy.

The Goddess whimpered as if grabbing a man trying to run away after impregnating her.

“I, I’ve spent all my Divine Power on you. If you… if you abandon me, I’m ruined… I’m penniless… The Divine Power I gathered for hundreds of years is gone now…”

“You have nothing left?”

“Nothing! I don’t want to die… Ugh… You have to do it!”

“Your tone is a bit much.”

The Goddess’s tone became irritable.

Her emotional changes were immense.

First, she was whimpering, and now she was angry. She seemed like an Old Man who had lived alone for a long time.

The Goddess flinched when he casually said something. Then she prostrated herself even lower than the Old Man next to her.

“I, I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit sensitive. I, I can’t do without you. Okay? It’ll be good for you if you help me. If I just regain my power, you’ll become a Great Mage. Do you think just anyone can receive my teachings? I, I’ll only look to you… P-please… Ugh…”

Even as Skadi spoke, she burst into tears, seemingly sad.

It seemed like it was because of her bad situation. It made sense for a great Goddess to cling to a Human Mage.

“Ugh… I, I don’t want to die… I don’t want to be forgotten by people… That’s too sad… You shouldn’t abandon a cute Goddess like me… You’ll be punished… Ugh…”

He had completely poisoned the Goddess.

She choked back tears for a long time until her voice disappeared.

Even conversing reduced her Divine Power.

She insisted that he must do it.

She also said that if he didn’t do it within a hundred years, she would disappear as she was. It was much more lenient than he expected.

It seemed like he just needed to do it before the Protagonist died of old age.

According to Skadi, he had to retrieve the Statues first. He put the Statue in front of him into his arms. Thankfully, it was only the size of a small doll.

Besides that, he had to get them from the Orcs.

Since they were said to be nearby, he figured he should go find them.

Come to think of it, he didn’t even know who had them.

He called the Goddess again.

Her voice wasn’t heard like before. It was the same even after he moused the Statue. It seemed the Protagonist would have to find them.

Even if he knew who it was, it would be awkward. It would be troublesome if the Orcs didn’t want to give up the Statue. He turned his head.

On one side, an Old Man was staring with his mouth agape.

He had forgotten the Old Man was there. He kept asking if he had really heard the Goddess’s voice. He seemed a little crazy.

He brushed him off and left the Church. His task was set.

When he returned to the inn, the surroundings were bustling.

Angelica was packing her belongings.

Her objective had already been achieved. So, she had to take new action. From what he heard, she was planning to join the Extermination Squad.

Lizardmen were swarming Near the Castle and fighting.

The Extermination Squad would leave the Castle and return every few days, engaging in battles.

They also paid money for cutting off Lizardmen tails. Mercenaries were also forming parties and getting excited.

He asked her where the Orcs were.

Angelica said the Orcs were Near the Castle.

She said they were originally going to be brought inside the Castle, but people objected, so they had to stay outside the Castle. It seemed to be because they were the ones who had been fighting a war until recently.

Even the Protagonist wouldn’t have let the Orcs in. Even though they knew the Orcs didn’t do cowardly things.

“Oh, by the way, someone came looking for you.”

“Who?”

“It was a beautiful woman from the Castle. She was looking for you. Her name was Millia.”

Angelica looked at him with a disapproving gaze.

She also said he was popular with the women of the Castle.

It was a ridiculous misunderstanding.

Millia only came because she wanted something from him.

She wanted to learn Golem Magic.

In contrast, Angelica was treating him kindly.

Although the words the Protagonist had given her were significant, it was different from Millia.

It was irrelevant.

He packed his bags as well. Since it was outside the Castle, it wasn’t too far. It seemed like he could just ride on the Golem’s palm.

As he was about to leave the inn, Millia appeared.

“What’s with the bag on your waist?”

“My business is finished.”

He was able to meet the Goddess of Ice.

All the questions he had wondered about were finally answered. It was good, except that a god seemed like a childish girl.

“So? Are you leaving now?”

“I’m going to the Orcs.”

“The Orcs?”

Millia was flustered.

It was understandable, given that he was suddenly going to the Orcs.

“Are you going to fight those guys?”

“Not really.”

“Don’t go to the Orcs, come with me!”

Millia subtly tugged at his sleeve.

Normally, she would ask him to teach her Golem Magic.

It was a habit now.

But today was a little different.

“Things aren’t going well, are they?”

Millia flinched.

“The Lizardmen fight well… and the Soldiers don’t want to fight properly. The Knights are just annoyed.”

“What about the Orcs?”

“Those guys don’t care about us.”

Millia also added that to prove military achievements, one had to bring a Lizardman’s spear.

Lizardmen carried spears made of rarer metals depending on their skill. One had to bring a Red Spear to be recognized.

However, skilled warriors like that were attacked by Orcs, who also took their spoils of war.

It seemed that her plan to fight alongside the Orcs, just to get a share of the glory and claim military achievements through poisoning, wasn’t working out.

Fighting separately would result in too many casualties. But with a Golem, it was different.

The burden of the charge would be reduced.

Standing in the front line in battle was dangerous.

They had to be the first to clash swords and fight for a long time. The probability of death was high. That’s why those who stood on the front line received immense treatment.

They were given rations of soup with meat chunks and double daily wages. If they still wouldn’t fight properly even with such treatment, the battle became very difficult.

The momentum of the battle itself changed depending on how valiantly the front line fought.

However, with a Golem, it didn’t matter if the front line didn’t receive such treatment. An Ice Golem charging was better than an entire infantry unit charging at once.

If the Golem stirred things up first, the remaining forces only had to fight easily.

Naturally, the momentum would follow.

Even if a Golem is hit by a spear-knife, it usually doesn’t break.

It meant there was nothing to stop it.

What a human would have to risk their life to do, the Golem did as easily as breathing.

It wasn’t just disrupting the formation.

The Golem played an enormous role.

It was able to bring about the most crucial momentum in battle. Millia seemed certain that with the Golem, she could gather the Lizardmen’s spears without taking any damage.

He shook his head.

The Protagonist had to go to the Orcs.

He didn’t have the luxury to help her.

Millia returned dejectedly. She asked him to tell her if he changed his mind. She looked powerless.

He felt sorry for her. She had constantly clung to the Protagonist on the way here. He imagined it would hurt terribly to be rejected after clinging to someone like that.

He steeled himself.

Perhaps she was deliberately clinging to him with that in mind.

If she clung to him that much, he might even feel sorry enough to give her something. The Golem was worth that much. It would be a gain if he obtained it by abandoning all his pride.

Thinking that, Millia seemed frightening.

She was a venomous woman.

It was evident that she was living with gritted teeth to exact revenge.

After watching her disappear, he started to move.

It was in the direction of the City Gate.

Near there, the Golem he had left was standing. It had no significant damage. Upon closer inspection, there were some knife marks, but they were just scratches.

It looked like someone had tried to scratch it.

He felt a little annoyed. Still, it was untouched, perhaps because no one could steal it. Given its size, it would be strange if someone could take it.

When he gave the command, the Golem extended its palm.

He climbed onto it.

The Golem then stood up.

The people around me looked small from above.

My gaze was high.

As I walked in that state, the crowd parted, screaming.

Guard Soldiers appeared and shouted too.

The movement of the Golem alone caused a huge commotion.

I asked them where the Orcs were. The Guard Soldiers hesitated and then revealed what they knew. It was just a rough direction.

They weren’t far anyway. I left the City Gate while riding the Golem.

I walked in the direction the Guard Soldier told me.

It was more comfortable than I thought to be on the Golem. Perhaps because my line of sight was higher, I could see further around me.

The view was good.

I remembered living in the Village a long time ago. Even then, every time I climbed a mountain, I would graze on grass and look at the scenery of the Village below.

It was a difficult time, but now it felt like a faint memory.

I wondered if Dorian was doing well. At the time, I thought I would be beaten to death, but now I missed even those rough hands.

The Golem took huge steps as it walked. It was quite fast. It was fast enough to keep up with a Carriage. If it ran, most Carriages would be envious.

Cold Energy flowed from the Golem’s hand. Strangely, it wasn’t very cold. It seemed to be related to the Protagonist’s magic training.

There were traces along the way.

There were Orcs’ footprints. I followed them. After half a day, I saw an Encampment in the distance.

That seemed to be where the Orcs stayed. As I approached the entrance, the Orcs standing guard raised their axes and shouted for me to stop.

Orcs rushed out of the huts behind them. Some Orcs even mistook the ground shaking as an enemy invasion.

“Humans! If you have no business, go back! Humans cannot enter here!”

“I do have business.”

“… Even if you have business, you cannot! Only Orcs or friends can enter.”

The Orc guarding the entrance just told me to go back.

The gathering Orcs just stared, wondering what was happening.

Their gaze was different from the fear people showed towards the Golem. They seemed full of curiosity. Some Orcs also showed fear, saying, “That Golem!”

He frowned.

He didn’t expect the Orcs to react that way. He thought it would be fine since he had met Orcs before. But it wasn’t. This was problematic.

At that moment, something came to mind.

In the large village, Grak had given him a knife scar on his arm as a reward for saving him.

He said that if he showed that mark, the Orcs would overlook it once. Perhaps it might be helpful now.

The Golem bent down and held out its palm.

He stepped down from it. He approached the Orcs, rolled up his sleeve, and showed them the knife scar. The Orcs’ eyes widened.

“That’s!”

“…”

“Who carved that?”

“Do you know what this is?”

“That’s a friend’s mark! A mark given only to those who save the lives of our kin!”

The Orcs shouted. The surrounding Orcs also seemed surprised, muttering, “Friend, friend.”

“A friend!”

Among them, there was an Orc frowning. It was a considerably large Orc. That Orc stepped forward and shouted,

“This weak-looking fellow is no friend! He’s a human kid who would cry at just one punch from me!”

“That’s right. Human men are weak! A kid is out of the question.”

Several Orcs nodded in agreement.

From their perspective, the Protagonist seemed unimpressive. Compared to their size, he was even less than a woman. Not to mention his height.

Conversely, there were also voices defending him. It sounded like the voices of Orcs who had seen the Protagonist in the Count’s Territory.

“But there’s the mark, isn’t there! The mark doesn’t lie.”

“That kid is a great Mage. I even saw him fight and defeat Garkus!”

“Black Axe, Garkus?”

The Orcs stirred.

He was an ordinary Chieftain.

He was among the strongest Orcs, second only to the powerful Chieftains. Most reactions were disbelief that a human child had defeated such a Warrior.

“Bring the Chieftains who fought then!”

“Right! The Chieftains will know!”

The smallest Orc ran off to deliver the message. The other Orcs stirred, watching.

It seemed they would have to wait a little longer.