Chapter 3: Three Gods

A one year old looking baby was trying its best to walk. The baby, Mirage could already walk without holding onto something, but doing this tired him faster.

'I can already walk on my own, I just need to get someone to help me open the doors. Being this short is something nobody should suffer...'

"Ah, Mira, don't just go on your own. What will I do if something happens to you? Come here, Lain and Petra will be coming back soon."

A black haired women reached to Mirage, and pulled him to her arms. As Mirage had started to walk, she had put him under strict supervision, fearing that something could happen to him.

"Ak-Aklis I know haw two work on mawown now. Jowst llewt me down."

While he could now talk, Mirage's word still sounded unnatural due to his yet to develop voice chords, perhaps it would take him a year or two to finally be able start talking normally.

"Haha, how cute. You really are just like your mom when it comes to your naughtiness. Or, is it the will to be an individual? Come now, I will read you the book about Albert the Mercenary King again."

"Hmm... owkay..."

Achlys then put Mirage on her lap after grabbing a worn leather covered book from on top of the table. The leather of the book was pitch black, but the image of a sword was embroiled on it with some yellow strings.

"Long, long time ago, before gods descended to this realm..."

While Achlys started reading the book, Mirage started to think about something on his mind, while following the book at the same time. Multi-tasking was something he frequently did in his past life, and he could still do it now as well, at the cost of exhaustion.

'Mercenary King Albert, is it? And gods being descended to this realm.'

This reminded him of one of his missions during his past life.

'There was this one child of a vip from Japan whom I was tasked to protect for six months... that was also the third longest mission of my life, but at least it was a success which helped build alliances the two countries. I remember learning about his favorite series in order to get along with naturally without being seen suspicious to the outsiders...'

'Danmachi, was that the short name for it? It's been a very long time, like fifteen years before my death, but I still remember spending hours upon hours learning about this story I order complete my mission... even waiting in front of a bookstore just to get some cheap collectibles. Looking back now, it was one of the only times I acted my age back then.'

'But the question is... why did I reincarnate here? Is it due to the last wish that I made? That's shouldn't be the case... while I wasn't able to finish my thoughts back then, I was clearly going to ask to be reborn in a place with a nice view of the sea.. Yet, I was born here? In a small village inside of the elven woods? This place isn't even close to the sea! Why was I born here?!'

'Well... that's no matter for now. Lately, I feel that I am acting more and more childish... is this due to my underdeveloped brain? Man... why can't I have at least been born in a rich family, though it's not like I hate my situation now... could have been worse like my last life.'

'Thinking of my current situation, let me once again review the information I was able to obtain about my surroundings.'

'Our orphanage isn't technically inside the village, but it is forty five minutes away by feet. Thinking of Lain spending ninety minutes everyday just to go to the village and return, it makes sense for him to start living there after receiving becoming a full time guard.'

'It is lucky that we have two goats, a few chickens and a well by our orphanage, so Lain or Petra don't have to bring food from outside. They sometimes pick up wild vegetables and fruits which are safe to eat, and purchase bread from traders once in a while.'

'Since this village is mostly comprised of elven people, a lot of people here don't eat meat. In fact, out of one hundred and fifty people who live here, only twelve are pure humans, including me. Seems like it is pretty hard for humans to obtain the trust of elves and state living among them. There are also some half elves that I've seen, like that elderly lady, but I am not sure about how many of them live in the village.'

'Our village also seems to be a very small one, used by elven travelers to as a rest spot between points of travel, so people; traders, travellers, and sometimes gods come and visit this place every once in a while.'

'What's most surprising is that this small village actually houses three gods. It is not a huge number when I think about how many gods are in Orario, but I didn't think there would be a god in a place like this.'

'The three gods who live here have taken the roles of villagers too. One of the gods, Dagda teaches people here how to farm efficiently without causing harm to the nature. Elves seem to really appreciate their closeness to the nature, and they are idolize him. Dagda apparently teaches people how to craft items and equipment without using fire, since elves hate fire and blacksmithing. I heard from Petra that he even gives sewing lessons as well.'

'I have heard of the second god from Lain. He is named Vosegus, and seemed to be responsible for training the guards and teaching them how to fight. He isn't particularly popular in the village, but everyone respects him as the teacher of guards. Though... there are only around fifteen guards since this is a small city.'

'Lastly, there is the god that looks after the orphanage not far from the village. Goddess Achlys, who is currently reading me a book. She also isn't a very popular figure in the village, but people seem to be thankful to her for willing to take care of the abandoned children or children who lost their families.'