God's Prophecy - Chapter 5 - Goodwill Attracts Good Fortune

“Sorry! I am really sorry!! Even though you found Macheta….”

Before I knew it, I was face to face with the old man again…. However, this time, he wasn’t angry and instead wore an apologetic expression, he was thoroughly devastated and on the verge of tears.

Since I woke up, I had been sitting on the lap of a cleric sister, who had cast a recovery spell on me as the man kept on bowing to me in apology.

“It’s okay, really. I was also in the wrong; I shouldn’t have dragged your acquaintance’s body around like that.”

I had only noticed the absurdity of my actions after the harm had already been done, and so, I couldn’t blame him too much. After all, dragging a body around on the road was very suspicious; I was undoubtedly mistaken for the killer.

“I am sorry. He’s not usually this violent… but when he saw the state of his missing junior, his own younger brother, who had been missing since the other day…well….”

“He’s his younger brother…? Well, then… I can’t blame him.”

The recovery specialist, named Milia, who had cast the spell on me, gave the bowing old man, Dorel, a reproachful look.

“Please, you can stop bowing now. You’ve apologized enough, and you’re making him uncomfortable.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah…I am really sorry….”

“…It’s okay.”

By the time the man apologized for the last time, the pain in my head was already gone, and when Milia said, “All done,” I felt not only the pain in my head but also all the fatigue in my body disappear.

Healing magic sure is amazing….

It was my first time experiencing it since I’d never left the village, and I was slightly surprised by its effectiveness.

I’ve seen and used plenty of magical tools in the Kingdom of the Gods, but this was a different kind of awe.

They were a group of four adventurers, with two fighters, one healer, and one thief. The thief, Slayer, was keeping watch around them, while one of the fighters, Kurt, had been cooking over the campfire since earlier.

Looking up at the sky, it was already past noon… and when I thought about lunchtime, my hunger, which I had almost forgotten about, came back with even more urge and my stomach started growling.

What’s more, not only did the two in front of me hear it, but Kurt, the other person with a spear, who was a little further away, also heard it. Laughing, he came over.

“That’s one big stomach growl, kid. Let’s eat then! The old man over there is treating us to lunch today!”

From their words, they were adventurers based in the capital city, but they had come this far on an expedition at the request of Dorel, who had become worried about his missing protégé a few weeks ago.

They had brought a handcart just in case the worst happened. And indeed, Macheta’s body was now on it, preserved with an anti-decay spell.

Listening to their explanation, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy at Dorel’s helpless sigh.

Talking to someone one day and then finding out they’re dead the next day…. Even though I understood it logically, it wasn’t something I could accept easily…. I knew that all too well.

“By the way, kid. Why were you out here all alone in the middle of the forest? It’s still pretty far from town, and if you run into a monster, you’re done for, you know.”

“That’s true…. Even D-rank monsters are a threat to ordinary adults, let alone a child. It’s not safe for children to wander around here like this.”

“Since you helped us find the body, we can escort you back….”

These adults are probably kind people. They’re saying these things to me out of concern… I understand that. But even still….

I frowned and shook my head.

“That’s impossible… my village is already gone….”

“Gone? That doesn’t sound very pleasant…. What was the name of your village?”

“It was probably southeast from here…. It was a small village called Tonelico, and we made a living through farming, but….”

“Tonelico?”

My words caused three people to express doubt… It was probably because the village was so small and not well known.

I was a little disappointed by that, but then, Slayer clapped his hands and said, “Oh, I remember now! Before coming here, the information broker in the capital city said something about a village called “Tonelico” that was destroyed three years ago somewhere in this forest….”

“…Huh?”

“The name of the village that was sacrificed during the monster stampede three years ago was Toneriko, I think…. Could it be that you are a survivor of that time?”

My head went blank at those words. Three years ago? Stampede? What the hell… is he talking about?!

“That’s… a lie…. My village was recently… attacked by bandits… and everyone was killed.”

“…Huh? Recently?”

“What did you say?”

“They were killed! My family, my friends, everyone! Even when they cried and begged for their lives, those bastards had a smile on their faces as they killed them. They were enjoying every moment of it! They destroyed everything that was important to me!”

This feeling that I had… was so foreign to me. The fact that such a cruel incident had been ignored by the world to the point they believed it had never happened… filled me with unbearable frustration that I couldn’t help but raise my voice.

What was most frustrating was the fact that it was being portrayed as something else to the public. Such a cruel and hateful incident had been spread in that way….

I couldn’t stop the surge of sadness and regret that was now flowing back. And as I cried out in such an embarrassing way, the healer, Milia, gently hugged me.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s alright now. I understand. You’re not lying… It was tough for you. We’re your allies, so it’s okay….”

I had been crying and screaming for a while, but… when I started to calm down, I was embarrassed and clung to Milia, not raising my head.

Feeling awkward, Slayer sat down next to me looking apologetic. “Sorry. I said something insensitive…. I didn’t mean to say that you were lying. It’s just that it’s being spread that way in the capital….”

“…Yeah… I understand. Sorry. It’s just that I….”

“Don’t apologize! From what I’ve heard, you haven’t done anything wrong!”

I felt even worse because of Slayer’s awkward encouragement.

Meanwhile, the old man, Dorel, opened his mouth with a difficult expression, “Kid… what you said wasn’t false, was it? Is it true that the village disappeared recently, and the reason was that it was raided by bandits…?”

“Yeah….”

Groaning, the old man asked me and then began to examine Machete’s body, which was lying on the cargo bed. He rummaged through his pockets and found a bunch of gold and rations. He looked more surprised by the second.
“Kid… even though you were wandering through the forest, you didn’t take anything on his body?”

“Huh? Y-yeah…. I didn’t think it was okay to do so…since he’s dead….” It was something that I would never have thought of before, but for some reason, it came out almost naturally now.

To have enough food and clothing, and to know good manners…. It was a phrase from the prophecy, but I was experiencing it firsthand.

Old man Dorel sighed at my words. “Have you heard, Milia…? Even in this situation where this kid looks like he’s about to starve to death, he’s showing respect to the dead…. I want you to convey this to your former supervisor.”

“Actually… I would prefer to have this child follow the esteemed High Priest instead,” Milia responded with odd agreement.

As we were talking, Dorel pulled out a request form from the body. “He mentioned it briefly when we were in the capital, but this request is from the town of Fargen. It’s a D-rank request for investigating the forest around the town.”

Then, Dorel muttered something under his breath that set off alarm bells in my head. “Wait a minute, old man… what was the name of the town, again? Is it by any chance the closest town to here?”

“Fargen? Yes, if you follow this road, you’ll eventually get there…. That’s where you were originally headed… is there something wrong?” Drel asked, looking puzzled.

I remembered a scene from the prophecy I had seen in the Land of the Gods: The hero would first make a name for himself, , and then the stage would be set for when I would be killed in an embarrassing way at the base of a slave trading organization. I remembered that the name of the town where this would happen was Fargen.

I instinctively touched my head, which was scheduled to be split in two by the hero. I couldn’t stop myself from bursting into cold sweat. If I hadn’t met god, I would have attacked the merchant and his family and looted the body of the adventurer I found in the forest. I wouldn’t have needed any guilt to survive…. I would have thought that way and went on about my life. The thought that I was just one step away from being killed by a hero who existed only to prey on weak people made my spine chill.

As I turned pale thinking about my future, Dorel’s face flickered as he read further into the request form. “This could be bad…. Milia, Kelt, Slayer, let’s get back to the capital as soon as possible once we’re ready.”

“What, why? In the worst-case scenario, we were just supposed to inform the adventurer’s guild in Fargen if we found a body,” Slayer protested.

It seemed that the distance from here to the capital was quite far, and it would be difficult to transport the body on a cart during that time. Although Slayer was dissatisfied, the old man spoke with a solemn expression, “This request from Macheta is for the investigation of the great swell in the number of missing people around Fargen’s forest…. It’s a personal request.”

“A personal request…. This is getting suspicious,” the companions agreed with the old man’s words and started understanding the gravity of the situation.

I had seen the prophecy by god, so I knew what was happening in that town… or rather, what would happen. Several years later, the hero summoned to this world would be the first to visit the town and defeat the slave trading organization’s leader. I don’t know who that leader was, but he knew something, that’s for sure.

“Old man, I want to ask you something…. Who would be in a position to report such an event and twist the narrative, turning it into a case of a monster stampede, when it was clear that villages were attacked recently,” I asked.

They all looked surprised at my sudden question. However, Drel shook his head as he looked over the request form. “Macheta was a thorough man…. It says on the request form that the client is missing…. He might still be alive.”

However, It was likely that the client was no longer alive.

When they asked further, they found out that the clients were the parents of a girl who had gone missing. Even though they couldn’t meet the client, Macheta had searched the forest for her and ended up like this…. According to the old man, he appeared to have lost a lot of blood as a result of multiple blade wounds throughout his body. It was undoubtedly the work of a human.

“Which nobleman is in charge of this area?” I asked again.

Realizing what I was getting at, they all paled.

“The bandits who attacked… proudly claimed that they would make good use of the village as the base of their operations…” I can feel my own lips trembling as I said those words…. It’s terrifying even though I’m the one saying it.

Because the future version of myself who didn’t meet God had become a pawn for those who destroyed my village without realizing it, it was without a doubt that I would follow their ways.

“The series of missing person cases in the town, Machette-san who was killed while investigating the forest, me whose village was destroyed, and the fact that the bandits are occupying such a village but spreading information that it has been happening ‘since three years ago’… What does it all connect to…?

“….The nobles who govern this area are connected to the ‘human trafficking organization’ that is trying to use the boy’s village as their base….”

Gulp….

I don’t know who swallowed… maybe it was everyone… but all in all, no one objected to the conclusion that the old man had come to.

After all, there are two pieces of evidence that connect to that story.

“Well, this is bad. If someone like that enters the town, it will be inconvenient for those noble folks. The person who brought the dead adventurer’s body back, and the survivor of the village that was supposed to have disappeared three years ago…. If you go, It’s akin to charging into an orc’s nest without any gear.”

“You’ve got a sharp mind, boy. Considering you’ve never left the village.” The old man praised me, but I didn’t take it to heart, I didn’t think it was that impressive, after all. In fact, I only knew about it because of what I saw my future self experience.

While I was thinking like that, the old man and the others quickly extinguished the fire and finished packing. They didn’t waste time with any unnecessary actions, quickly getting ready to leave, which was to be expected from a group of seemly experienced adventurers.

Even though I only met them not too long ago, I felt a little sad saying goodbye to these people.

Now that I think about it… how am I going to survive from tomorrow onwards?

When I thought about the prophecy, I just can’t bring myself to go to the town of Fargen.

Honestly, I wanted to get rid of all the factors that would lead to a future where I become a villain of any sortes.

While I was thinking that, the old man suddenly said something unexpected to me.

“Hey, boy, don’t dawdle. We have a long way to go from here to the capital!”

“…Eh?” I couldn’t understand what the old man meant at all.

Although the people around me seemed to “get it” and were all smiling wryly…

The old man turned his face away as if he was annoyed with my confusion and spoke energetically.

“Anyway, you don’t have a place to go, right!? Besides, it would be convenient for us to have the testimony of the village survivor… Even if you don’t like it, we’re taking you with us!!”

“…Eh? Is, is that so?”

When I was bewildered, Milia-san gently placed her hand on my head and smiled. “It’s his way of atoning and showing gratitude.”

“Come with you…? Is that okay?”

To my surprise, all of them nodded in unison when I said that.

I was really fortunate to meet this group of people. Among adventurers, there are all sorts of people, and the bad ones are by no means few in numbers…. And yet, I stumbled upon a really nice group that offered me a helping hand.

I found that I subconsciously broke out in tears, again; however, this time, they were not tears of hatred or frustration…. While it can’t be said that if you do good deeds, good things will follow, after all, if that were the case, then my village wouldn’t have been massacred, but at least this encounter was undoubtedly a stroke of good luck that I attracted because I didn’t commit any evil deeds.

“God… I will definitely follow a future that is different from what the prophecy foretold….”