Chapter 41: Eyes for beauty

Peril Harbor - House on 22nd Street"Haaa... haaa..." Caila stopped and leaned on her knees as she tried to calm her breathing. She had run for as long as this little body would allow."Hahaha..." She laughed as she wiped away the sweat that had appeared on her forehead and under her nose. It tasted salty.Her pleasure at the freedom of movement had waned a bit, but she still felt great. In fact, this run was about as good as it got for her because the boy's body still didn't quite fit her. The height was confusing her. Even sitting on her throne, she was still taller than this boy, and it didn't feel right for her limbs.She thought about it for a moment because she didn't really know what the right feeling should be, but she could still tell that things didn't fit. She tried to jump over the puddle of water, ended up crashing to the ground, but it didn't stop her from trying again. Jumping was a must too! She liked the feeling in her knees and joints.When Caila had calmed down, she turned and started back the way she had come, looking down at the small hands of the boy whose body she inhabited. Slowly she flexed her fingers, watching the knuckle bones accentuate and the tendons in her wrists tighten as she did so.It was a good body. Controlling the body was relatively easy, as Hellcage had refined it for this purpose. There were some vague memories that she could get past, but all indications were that the boy had a bad temper. He wasn't evil, but all indications were that he'd reached that point.Some might think that Ludwig was still young and things might have changed. Caila would agree with that, but she understood that the boy did not have the strength to go in a different direction. Someone would have to help him, but he had no one. Just a bunch of nasty adults who weren't good role models.So Caila didn't feel bad about accepting Hellcage's gift. How could she possibly reject his hard work and efforts to please her?When Hellcage had shown her the avatar he had created for her, he had even explained their principle. The gods may have had their avatars created by their own power, but they were not creatures of flesh and blood. It was easy to tell that they were divine creatures remotely controlled by a god.And then there were avatars like Ludwig. Normally, gods needed to have an agreement with another being or be a believer of it and be willing to lend their body to a god. The mind of a mortal was fragile, and if a god possessed a living creature with its own will by force, it would destroy the mortal's mind or cause death from shock.Fortunately, only utterly ruthless and twisted gods would do this, as the death of the host also had consequences for them. The gods were creatures that lived off of Prana, which represented life. Along with the soul and life of the avatar, a piece of their own soul could pass away.Ludwig, however, had been modified by Hellcage to serve only as a pure vessel that could hide her supernatural origins. She could thus escape even the more complicated investigations, for that matter. But even when Ludwig was modified, the power she could use was limited to keep the new body from melting.Caila welcomed the limitations. She saw it as a good opportunity to learn how to better control and manage her power or even learn some new things. The all-consuming flame was the ultimate weapon and tool, but it didn't always have to be used to solve everything.Caila pondered as she walked back to the house she had entered. Glancing around, she didn't notice that when the door closed, Hellcage was standing behind it, having only moments before been glued to the window, where he had been watching for her return through the heavy curtain."Liege," Hellcage said, pretending he hadn't been waiting for her.Caila flinched in fright and swallowed the squeak that clawed at her throat. She turned to him and looked up at his face on her torso. His original head still looked like a shapeless blob of something, but it was still more than she had seen yesterday."I'm back," Caila announced simply."Yes. Did you enjoy your walk?" he asked, leading her back to the room with the altar, where Marik was still, but Ellar was already gone, having returned to the artist's studio."Hmm. Yes. The city looks quite interesting," Caila replied vaguely, as she wasn't really looking around much and was just enjoying the feeling of freedom of movement."Yes. Humans have advanced quite far in technology. They've almost caught up with the End of the World. If we go to a higher city where the rich live, the technological advancements are much more visible there," Hellcage explained enthusiastically, and it almost seemed like he was already planning the places he wanted to show Caila in his head. After all, he knew the city better than anyone else here, as he walked it almost every night and monitored many places of interest.Caila blinked and forced herself to focus. It sounded nice to take a trip, but she hadn't come here just to have fun. She still had her duties in the End of the World, to her worshippers, so she had to manage her activities well. She also suspected that things would get more complicated in the future, so she mustn't fall into chaos right from the start."I want to go to the God of Harvest and Plants Temple," she decided, determined to take action right away. She wanted to see the place first.Hellcage feigned shock. "Of course. I should be sufficiently recovered by tomorrow..."Caila shook her head. "No. We'll go now. Marik will accompany me.""Yes?" Marik spoke dumbly, bulging his eyes before looking at the frozen Hellcage.Hellcage froze in mid-motion, then lifted a hand and smoothed the fabric on his shoulder, beginning to fiddle with the cuff of his sleeve. "Are you sure, Liege? I'll be perfectly capable of accompanying you tomorrow. There's no reason to be in such a hurry now," Hellcage spoke calmly, but Marik could tell that Hellcage wanted very much to accompany Liege.Caila folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. It looked a little strange on the boy's face, but also cute, like a child trying to act like an adult. "Even if your appearance recovers, how much longer will it take to regain the strength you spent on handling Baa?"Hellcage took a moment to answer. "Unfortunately, it will take rather more time," he admitted.Caila nodded. She suspected it would be something like that. She didn't want Hellcage to overdo things. He should recover properly first and not fly all over the place just because he wanted to follow her."Then recover first. And properly. Until then, I'll be accompanied by either Marik, Ellar, or the siblings," Caila mused, adding something to motivate him."And when you've recovered properly, I'll spend one whole day with just you and we'll go wherever you want to show me," she promised.Marik looked from one to the other, wondering what the bizarre sight was. While he knew their goddess was in the boy's body, it looked like the boy was promising a reward to a grown man if he behaved well and swallowed his bitter medicine.Hellcage seemed to perhaps realize this and lowered his body a little. "Liege, there's no need to act like this," he said slowly.Caila smiled inwardly. "Oh? Alright, so you don't want to? So...""I didn't say that!" Hellcage quickly responded because he was still a firm believer, and who wouldn't want to spend time with the source of their worship? "Ahem," Hellcage coughed and straightened up. "Of course, it would be an honor and a privilege to spend even a second with you."A little later, Marik and Caila, in the body of Ludwig, a boy of twelve or thirteen, found themselves outside the house. Marik looked back, a little dazed, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he saw a red eye peering at them through the gap between the curtains.But it was only Hellcage who was struggling with a rare feeling of jealousy because he could not accompany Liege. Marik knew this; after all, he had listened to a lecture on how to treat Liege, what to do or not to do, before he left.Marik looked a little blankly at the boy beside him and rubbed his forehead with a sigh. He didn't really long to be in this situation. Even if he wasn't scared of this strange entity anymore, he still didn't feel completely at ease in her presence. He felt like he'd rather have an argument with Hellcage."Lead the way," Liege looked at Marik with those unnaturally blue eyes.He turned away. He understood the necessity, though. Liege was in the body of a boy who, despite struggling with acne, didn't look bad, and those now unusually blue eyes of his might attract unwelcome attention.He didn't know what Liege herself would do, but he was sure Hellcage would be very upset if anyone tried to lay a hand on her. So Marik just stepped silently, and they made their way towards the temple of the god Arzen.Caila didn't need to speak; she felt comfortable in the silence and instead finally looked around the place called Peril Harbor. Some of the houses looked quite ordinary, but others were obviously constructed from parts of ships, just as Hellcage had described. Some were neat and clean; others looked more like a mixed and matched puzzle of two or three different types.It had the chaotic feel of something built by a mad architect: neat houses when his mind was clear, and then patchwork houses when he was having crazy seizures. But honestly, Caila rather liked it. It had its own distinctive style.When she got tired of looking at the architecture, she observed the people around her. The people on the main street seemed okay, more minding their own business. Their clothes were worn and patched, mostly clean; some were a little dirtier, but it wasn't too bad. But they all had one thing in common. She didn't see anyone fat. In fact, unless someone was naturally heavily built, most people were rather thin to skinny.She asked Marik about it, who explained that it was mostly lower-class people here. Not many people had enough Sliks to eat enough to become fat.Caila understood, and so she didn't ask further. Occasionally, she caught evil glances from the side streets, where criminals looking for a victim or homeless people were probably roaming.That made Caila think she had to find out how they were doing in the End of the World. Even though she knew something like poverty was hard to eradicate, she would at least like to be sure there were no homeless people there.Soon, they were both sitting in the transport fish, and Marik had a blank look on his face as he watched Liege's face glued to the glass, looking out."Interesting!" she uttered as she saw the transport fish for the first time, which they had to use because the temple of the God of Harvest and Plants was in the central eastern part of the city.He couldn't help but remember Hellcage's first reaction. Their reactions were almost identical. So naturally, he had to start thinking about what Liege and Hellcage's relationship was actually like. It was becoming more and more like a father and daughter relationship.But that couldn't be right, could it?The journey took fifteen minutes before they got off, and they walked the rest of the way. Caila finally turned to Marik. "How are you doing?" she asked suddenly.Marik blinked and looked at her briefly. "It's fine. Hellcage is taking good care of us."Caila nodded. "That's good."They walked in silence again for a while, and Marik felt uncomfortable because he really had no idea what he could talk to Liege about. But he also quickly realized that he had a similar problem with Hellcage originally. It wasn't until he got over his fear and began to see that the two were similar in some ways, maybe he would gradually relax naturally."Is everything okay in the End of the World?" So he tried to start a conversation on his own accord."Yes. Unfortunately, we've had a few losses. But the attack was repelled," Caila replied, and her young face frowned a little."Ah. I'm sorry," Marik said automatically out of politeness."Next time, it won't happen again," Caila spoke firmly, and Marik looked at her doubtfully and was about to say something but stopped himself."You can talk," Caila noticed and wanted him to say what was on his mind.Marik hesitated but finally said what he wanted. "No offense, Liege, but... no one... not even a god can prevent death. Especially when it comes to fighting. I don't think there's such a thing as 'I won't let anyone die'."Caila knew he was right, but she didn't think it was wrong to try to keep her believers safe and alive. Naturally, she regarded the events at the End of the World as her failure. She had a tendency to make excuses, but she knew where she had made mistakes.She had acted too chaotically, and her reactions had been too slow. She couldn't predict what would happen, so she had mostly been an idle observer. She had been sloppy. Caila knew she couldn't prevent everything, but she could at least try, right?"Do you doubt me?" she asked calmly. She understood that Marik meant well, but she didn't feel that as a goddess she should be lectured."No, of course not," Marik said quickly, his heart beating a little faster. "But I can't even question the laws of the world," he finished what he was going to say and quickly dropped the subject, feeling that he was on very thin ice now, after all.Caila looked at him and said, "The statues of your crew are fine. We moved them to a safer place," saying something else entirely instead.Marik immediately became alert, and even though it meant that none of his crew was still awake, knowing that the statues were okay made him feel better. "Thank you. Do you think any of them will wake up soon?" he asked hopefully.That was something Caila had no idea about. She hadn't figured out the system of who would wake up next. At first, she thought it was in the order of who was petrified first, but then people were waking up at different times around the city while there were still statues in the throne room.So it wasn't like that. Her other theory was that it depended on how strong someone was or their resistance to the curse. However, she had no way to verify that.On the other hand, she also had no way to verify it with Marik or anyone else. "It depends on their strength of curse resistance. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll wake up soon," she replied vaguely.Marik nodded and smiled. If that was the case, the order in which they petrified also played a role. The most resistant to the curse, then, was Marik himself. And then naturally his daughter, who turned to stone last. So she should be the first to awaken.Once that happened, Marik must return immediately.After another ten minutes, they arrived at the temple of the god of Harvest and Plants. Caila raised her eyebrows in crisis because this didn't quite qualify as a temple but rather a church. It wasn't even the tallest building in the area. The church was squeezed in between two much taller buildings and was more like a tower.There was a wide staircase leading up to the building, and the church itself was four stories high, topped with a pointed roof like a tower. The roofing was painted a faded green, and while it was understandable that the church was covered in greenery, as it symbolized their god, it looked rather messy and shabby."Huh," Caila couldn't help making a rather disdainful sound. Maybe she expected a little too much from a place like Peril Harbor. Arzen probably had nicer churches and temples in other places.Caila was suddenly quite eager to go to the temple of the Goddess of Sea and Storm, who was the most powerful here and had the most worshippers. She was sure her temples were worth a visit."It doesn't look like much," Marik, who was also here and seeing the church for the first time, agreed."I guess we should have expected it. Arzen is a falling god, after all. I suppose the islands that are used purely for crops and farming are his loyal worshippers, since their livelihoods depend on it, but he doesn't have many worshippers elsewhere," Caila commented, putting her hands on her hips.Marik nodded. "And people outside the farm islands won't worship a god of plants just because he grows a few potatoes and tomatoes in his backyard," he agreed.Caila watched for a moment, but few people came into the temple and just as few left. It only proved what she had said, and she could see now why Arzen had been so aggressive and violently harvesting Prana here. Why would he spare a place where he was already gaining so little? He was just taking it by force, that little punk."Let's go inside," she said and walked forward.*****Temple of the God of Harvest and PlantsWhen Caila and Marik walked in, it was like walking into a greenhouse. The air was a little heavy and smelled of moss, damp dirt, and decayed wood. Caila sniffed a little harder and could have sworn she could smell mushrooms too.But it wasn't such a surprise considering what the place looked like. Like any church, there were pews of rough wood in the main nave and a pulpit at the very front with no altar, but a massive organ right against the wall.And it was all covered with plants. Mostly climbing plants, but there were even young trees and grass with wildflowers growing in the crevices.So Caila understood why she could smell so many scents. Wood, moisture, and plants were not a good combination.There weren't many visitors here, probably only five, two of which were novices in green and white priestly groves. One was praying in an alcove while the other was sweeping the floor.If this wasn't the temple of Arzena, Caila would probably regret how pathetic it looked."Damn," Marik said in surprise, and Caila became alert as something strange came in through the side entrance.It was a giant bird. A humanoid bird. It was about a hundred and ninety centimeters tall, and it had elegant white feathers with a high tuft on its head. Yellow eyes that matched its short but sharp yellow beak and large green and yellow wings behind its back made it look twice as massive and dignified. Its hands resembled bird claws with four thick fingers.It wore a loose green robe with a cape decorated with gold on its shoulders and torso, with a large green gemstone in place of its stomach. It wore short, white, loose pants that ended at its knees, and its shins were hidden up to its feet under golden protectors that revealed its clawed feet.Caila, who was already used to the strange looks from the End of the World, wasn't that surprised, but she wondered what it was. Her first thought was Harpy, but something told her that wasn't it."I wouldn't expect to see Peagon here," Marik said softly.Caila remained calm but burned with curiosity to know more. "Why not?" she asked nonchalantly."Peagon worships mostly Galett, the God of Wind and Freedom. And they don't do much dwelling in places like this, where there's not much wind. They prefer islands where there are hills and mountains where there are lots of air currents," Marik explained helpfully, looking at Peagon, who walked over to the sweeping novice and discussed something with him.Caila watched the bird man, or at least he looked like a man to her, and she had to admire how elegant he looked."That doesn't mean they can't worship someone else," she remarked.Marik rubbed the back of his neck. "That's true. But it's not exactly common either. Especially, why would someone like that be in such a rundown place?""Let's ask. He's already noticed us anyway," Caila said, watching as Peagon turned his head towards them. It couldn't be helped because they were both still standing at the door, making them stick out like a sore thumb.And it was only natural that he would start to take an interest since there were so few visitors. The giant bird turned and took a graceful step in their direction. Marik and Caila both fell silent, waiting for him to reach them."Welcome to the temple of the God of Harvest and Plants. My name is Vestern. Given your hesitant attitude, I assume this is your first time here?" Vestern gave them a friendly look. He first looked at Marik, whose eyes showed disinterest and a hint of disappointment, then at Caila, whom he also examined, but his gaze lingered on her eyes. Then he smiled in pleasure. Yes, the corners of his beak curled up, so he was smiling.It looked a little strange and creepy. Birds aren't supposed to smile. At least that was Caila's impression of it; she didn't like that the bird was smiling at her as if he had found some gold trinket."Yes," Caila replied, staring at him and blinking."Haha. Looks like you're seeing a Peagon for the first time, boy, right?" Vestern focused completely on Caila and Marik as if they were air."Yes," Caila answered simply again."No wonder. There are only about five Peagons in total living in Peril Harbor. You'll find a few more Harpies here, but not many. I'm one of five Peagons living here, and my daughter, Astme, is one of the few Harpies. So it's perfectly understandable that you're surprised," Vestern explained why they were such a rare sight in Peril Harbor."Harpy?" Caila's eyes shone with interest. Because that was the first word that came to her mind when she looked at Vestern earlier."Harpy is a subspecies of Peagon. They are the name given to all who are born without a beak. Even if everything else on their body looked exactly the same as a Peagon, but they still didn't have a beak, so they're Harpies. Harpies also wear fake bird beaks; it's a tradition," Marik explained."Hmm. Quite well informed. You're not a local, are you?" Vestern turned his gaze to him but didn't seem pleased that Marik was so well informed. Maybe he wanted to explain himself."As you say. I've only recently moved here. I was an adventurer before, so I have basic information on a lot of things," Marik nodded.He looked at Liege, who appeared as a boy, his eyes shining with curiosity. He shuddered a little, for if he hadn't known the truth, he would never have guessed that there was an ancient god inside the child. Liege was a really good actress.The irony was that Caila didn't feign her interest because she knew nothing about the Peagon race, and "Harpy" was just a word that came to her mind.Caila was eagerly gathering more information about this world. "You say subspecies. So you're not mean to them?" She tried to be careful how she spoke in front of strangers. She was still in the body of a little boy, after all."Oh, my tail feathers, of course not," Vestern laughed briefly, denying that they treated their relatives badly."Harpies are full members of our race. They were just... unlucky in the way they were born, and their appearance suffers for it," Vestern explained, carefully choosing his words."Appearance?" Caila was a little confused."Ah. Perhaps it would be better if I showed you," Vestern suggested, probably wanting to introduce them to his daughter, Astme, whom he mentioned earlier."That's not necessary, really," Marik spoke quickly to decline the offer.Vestern didn't even look at Marik again. "Nonsense. It's not a problem. I even think it's necessary for the boy's beautiful eyes to see why the Harpies are unlucky," he said, waving his hand for them to follow him. Marik turned sour when he heard that.Caila had no problem with that. She was curious and followed him, Marik sighed and followed her."I had a hunch. The attitude was different right from the start. Vestern likes your eyes, Liege. Peagon are known for their aesthetic sensibilities and admire anything they find beautiful. On the other hand, they give the cold shoulder to things and those that are not beautiful in their eyes," Marik explained.Caila's face contorted a little when she heard that. So Peagon were something like narcissists? Only they weren't just focused on themselves but on the beauty of everything around them?Vestern took them through a side door into another room, which turned out to be an inner garden. There were many plants, flowers, grass, bushes, and even fruit trees growing everywhere.Here, there were more novices tending and hoeing the flower beds or caring for the plants. But among them, there was one person who stood out very much.Caila could tell right away that the person was related to Vestern because of the wild white hair resembling feathers that stuck up in the air, the pointed feathered ears, and the human face, though it was mostly hidden behind a yellow false beak that covered the nose, mouth, and even the chin. Its eyes were a deep orange, not yellow like Vestern's.It wore green robes, but not as gaudily decorated as Vestern's, and brown flowing trousers on its legs, which also revealed clawed feet. Interestingly, one of the person's arms was human while the other looked more like a bird's claw."That's Astme. My daughter," Vestern introduced, and Astme turned to them."Hello?" the woman greeted, looking confused.Caila looked Astme over and saw nothing wrong. Perhaps it was considered a flaw that she had one human arm and a claw with the other? She looked questioningly at Vestern, who stroked his feathers and sighed."You can see the problem here, boy. Compared to a Peagon's beautiful and graceful insight, a Harpy's really lacking," Vestern commented.Caila blinked and then closed her eyes for a moment, thinking to herself, 'Wow. What a bastard!' In front of his daughter, he was actually telling strangers how he himself was much more beautiful than his daughter and that she was ugly?"Dad!" Astme was definitely not happy about that."Sorry, daughter. I was just trying to explain to the boy the difference in appearance between Peagon and Harpy," Vestern said, reaching out to pat his daughter's hand, but she flinched away from his touch and snorted."So you explained. Now go, you're keeping me from my work," she said, turning away and walking away from them.Caila looked at Vestern critically. That's what you get for being a bad father.Marik, who was a father himself and also had a daughter, looked at Vestern critically. But he couldn't say anything; this was again a matter of a completely different culture.Vestern took them back and turned to them. "Well. Now that you understand the difference..." He started to speak, and Caila made a mental note that she still didn't understand because she didn't see anything wrong with the girl."Did you come to pray or for some other reason?" Vestern asked, remembering his duties as a priest.Marik opened his mouth to say that they just wanted to pay attention or something along those lines, but Liege spoke first."What do I have to do to join the church?" a boy's voice spoke, and Marik bugged his eyes out at Liege.What?!