285. Engagement Ep – Banun Rauno

The temple was wide open. Ray and Lera gulped, glancing around the temple.

Each side of the square temple had six columns standing tall. The walls were not completely sealed, allowing a glimpse of the interior under the ceiling. It was clear that this was not intended for habitation.

However, it felt as if someone was watching us.

It wasn’t a hostile gaze that would send shivers down my spine, but rather the kind of one-sided trust one might feel from a father standing behind a child learning to walk.

It was a bit contradictory.

If a father worries about a child left by the waterside, would he truly trust?

But Ray felt that way. Something enormous that cared for me was beckoning me with reverence.

As if recalling a similar sensation from long ago, Ray soon traced back the source of that feeling. It seemed we had received this gaze from Sir Bart when we were Lean de Yeriel.

“Dad?”

Lera wore a strange expression, perhaps feeling something similar. But Dad? One-sided trust is usually something felt from a father, but Ray concluded it was ‘loyalty’. It didn’t remind me of Noel or Dehorman, yet Lera rushed out.

“Dad!!”

– Dad – Dad – Dad – Pa – Pa Pa.

Lera’s voice echoed in the empty temple. Futilely. Dehorman couldn’t possibly be here.

What were we enchanted by? After stepping on three stairs, Ray followed and looked around the temple interior.

The interior of the temple was a single cella, where the columns seen from outside remained visible. The only difference between inside and outside was the reliefs carved into what resembled a wall rather than a barrier.

The stories of humans.

The barriers were engraved with the stories of certain figures. With considerable height, Lera, looking up along the wall, realized why the temple walls didn’t seem to be actual walls but were separated from the ceiling.

Leaping upward from the uncolored carvings to gaze toward the ceiling, her eyes spun from the densely etched geometric patterns.

A being of a different caliber than humans.

The form of the One God.

God can only be understood through concept, and thus, the visage of God is expressed through dots like stars and lines like constellations.

Looking up to the limits of human thought in reverence, the moon appeared. The azure moon hung in the square hole of the temple ceiling.

And on the floor, where the moonlight shone blue, a sword stood proudly embedded…

Ray discovered a small inscription etched there and felt lost. That inscription was none other than

– Boris Ainar was here!

A mark that looked like it had been drawn with charcoal.

…I’m sorry, as a fellow human.

Feeling my face heat up, I kicked the charcoal mark away. At that moment, Ray noticed that the sword embedded in the ground vibrated, just like his own sword.

This was what led us here. Ray carefully grasped the sword. Then, a message silently arose.

[ It does not belong to you. ]

“……Lera. Come here.”

“What is that?”

Lera still wore a confused expression. The serene yet tangible atmosphere of the temple made her restless.

“Try holding this. It won’t come out.”

“Why would I pull it out for you if you can’t? Ugh! It’s shaking too.”

Lera grasped the vibrating handle with both hands. She put strength into her legs to pull it out, but it came along without any resistance, causing her to fall on her backside.

“Ow. What the! It just comes out!”

Lera grumbled as she hugged the sword. However, both Lera and Ray didn’t notice that the azure moon hung above spun around the moment the sword was pulled from its place.

As she sat down, the sword, much larger than her, rested on her shoulder.

Though she was tricked into falling, Lera, filled with curiosity, began to turn the sword around. Meanwhile, Ray was preoccupied with the message that had arisen.

[ Congratulations. The item has been assigned to ‘Lera’. ]

The sword had half of its blade white. Like a manubrium, it seemed as if it had been stained with the blood of a god. The sword was named

A’bota.

The blade given to Ray’s younger sister, Leisia, by Toddler Akiunen, who had relied on others for almost everything except martial prowess.

*

“Wow, this looks really nice. Can I keep it?”

Ray nodded slightly. That was undoubtedly her possession, recognized by the message window. Since Noel had taken the sword, Lera, who was just picking up random things, happily exclaimed.

“More importantly, what is this place? I feel weird. It’s like someone is watching us. It’s not a bad feeling, but…”

Ray shrugged.

If only I had paid more attention to Grandpa Boris’s words. Regretting it now wouldn’t change anything, so Ray looked back at the quiet temple.

The carvings on the wall might give a hint. Just as he was about to approach, he noticed a peculiar stone slab in the corner of the temple.

Everything else shone, but that one did not. As he approached to examine it, the slab embedded in the ground read,

“It’s a tomb.”

It was the lid covering someone’s grave.

The slab had ancient characters inscribed on it that were regarded as a dead language even during the Acaian Empire era. However, it was still the original form of Acaian, so Ray managed to read a few words.

“Foolish… affection. Loyal vassal, sleeping here. Oh? Banun Rauno?”

Ray’s eyes widened.

“Do you know them?”

“Wait a moment. I’m not even sure if I’m reading this correctly. As far as I know, it should be Laono, but why is it written Launo here?”

If this person is indeed the Banun I know, it should normally be pronounced Banun ‘Laono’.

Banun Laono was the first noble of humanity and the first deity that Toddler succeeded. He was so renowned that the heir ceremony for nobles was called ‘Banun’ after his name, so it would be hard to confuse.

But that was written incorrectly here.

Yet, despite the misspelling, Ray’s confusion arose from the fact that the slab seemed well-preserved, and the pronunciation of the name Banun beside it matched the current pronunciation.

What is this? The surname Laono shouldn’t be wrong?

As the first noble, Laono was a famous family. Although the family could not withstand the ravages of time and eventually disappeared, it produced many outstanding figures, from great generals to artists, and among them, Constino Laono, the second saint worshipped by the Cross Church, and Lazar Laono, the third saint, are still widely recognized.

Nevertheless, it’s also hard to think that the records on this slab are incorrect.

A mysterious temple. There could not be a false name inscribed in a place where God looks down. Even if there are humans who scribble, they cannot falsely claim their own names. As I thought while pondering, something suddenly came to mind.

Oberg’s Rauno Family. And,

+ …One day while teaching Katrina swordsmanship, Ray went to meet Kasia and encountered a beggar with a broken arm. Intrigued by his use of court etiquette, Ray followed him after accepting the beggar’s request to investigate the ‘Rauno Family’, which was once the chamberlain of the House of Tatalia… +

This was information that appeared at the end of the last chapter.

Putting aside how someone once serving a royal chamberlain ended up in such a sorry state, why did that beggar want me to investigate the Rauno Family?

No matter how highly you praise it, it’s just a gang of thugs.

Ray began to think that the true surname of Banun was not Laono, which was known to the world, but Rauno. It seems it was misrepresented, or… perhaps there was something I didn’t know.

‘Why do I keep being linked with that Rauno family?’

It was a place learned during the tough living of the beggar siblings’ scenario at the beginning, and in the ninth round, I formally joined through Kasia.

After Kasia was freed from her shackles, I thought I wouldn’t have any more ties with the Rauno Family since Ray had met Ksenia, yet it turned out the Rauno Family managed the theater where Ksenia worked, and Reriana showed significant affection toward the boy Santian Rauno, keeping the ties alive.

Now it’s something we must ‘investigate’.

I can’t make heads or tails of it, so Ray stored Banun Rauno in his mind. This was an issue to be dealt with by Lean de Yeriel in the beggar siblings’ scenario.

Ray pulled his gaze away from the slab and took a stroll around the temple’s cella with Lera. It was a rare date, even if just to admire the reliefs depicted on the wall.

But the sculptures were not easy to comprehend.

They were stories of humans, and there were few figures depicted as protagonists, making it simple to look at, but there were no inscriptions explaining whose scene it was or what situation occurred. Moreover, whether it was metaphorical expression or not, the appearance of some figures varied from scene to scene.

A boy leaping off a cliff. His head sprouted horns, making him look like a monster, yet in the very next scene, he appeared normal.

I don’t even know how someone jumping off a cliff could survive, but periodically, he was drawn as a monster.

Also, some figures were entirely replaced by others.

There was a woman handing a ‘potion’ to a tormented man, but after a few scenes, she was wearing the man’s clothes, sitting in his place.

Honestly, the stone-carved sculptures might have been too rough to cause such confusion.

The only way to distinguish people from the carvings was through the clothing consistently placed on the figures and the main features of their faces, so events like aging or changes in rank would break the flow.

Ray and Lera only admired the sculptures as being pretty, thinking perhaps there might be something hidden, and after searching, they finally left that mysterious temple. Aside from the tomb of Banun Rauno, there was nothing noteworthy to see.

However, after Ray and Lera departed, a pale figure appeared in the now quiet temple.

Described with a curly head and a round nose, it was the tormented man. He watched the two figures disappearing into the ravine for a long time. At that moment, a powerful voice turned him around.

= Banun Rauno. How do you feel about reuniting with your foolish former lord and Leisia? Is it overwhelming?

– …Not at all, Lord Lachar.

The embodiment of battle and honor asked once more.

= So, are you disappointed with the lost glory of the past and saddened? Or are you angry for being forgotten by those you sacrificed for?

– Neither, Lord Lachar.

= Then what do you feel?

Having waited for ten thousand years, Banun calmly asked again.

– Why do you ask me such things, Lord Lachar? Those are neither Lord Leonel nor Lady Leisia. Just as I am not Banun Rauno. How mischievous of you.

The laughter of Lachar shook the temple. He laughed thunderously, while Banun cautiously inquired.

– Until when must those offerings be presented? Do you still hold a grudge?

Lachar smiled softly. As the azure moon was covered by clouds, and the temple began to faintly fade away, he answered.

= Not long now. The next will be the last, so your waiting will soon come to an end.

Eventually, only an open space remained in the ravine where the azure moon had disappeared.