Volume 1 - CH 11

“Hey, did you hear?! Apparently, Lord Gishzida almost had a showdown with the Lord Galtir a few days ago.”

“What? Why?”

The room suddenly became noisy. Renier’s ears perked up as she sat in a corner of the room and eavesdropped on the other slave girls chattering.

“Who knows?! But I heard that the ngak they manifested went boom when they clashed —they were evenly matched the first time, but Lord Gishzida got pushed back a little the second time. I heard that he was still amazing, though.”

“Wow, really? Does that mean that Lord Gishzida is almost as strong as the Lord Galtir himself?”

“But I wonder what happened?”

Renier couldn’t get a word in even though she had witnessed the entire incident in person. After all, it wasn’t as if she could simply tell them, ‘It all happened because of me!’ She had her hands over her ears because listening to the other girls’ gossiping embarrassed her, and she wanted to die because the only damn topic that reached her ears whenever she put her hands down had to do with ‘Lord Gishzida.’

Renier wasn’t the only girl who had a crush on Lord Gishzida. The other nine girls who had come here with her had fallen completely head over heels for him too.

Gishzida was a Celestial, which made him far nobler than even the kings inside their castles, and he was by far the most beautiful and kind man the girls had ever met. He never whipped them, and he provided them a platter overflowing with fruit, rye bread, nuts, honey crackers, warm goat milk, and the like every day. The slave girls ate and drank until they thought their stomachs were so full they felt like they might burst open for the first time in their lives as they chatted about Lord Gishzida all day long.

“Lord Gishzida’s probably married, right? I wonder who his wife is?”

“Who knows? He’s a Celestial, so he’s probably married a lady nugig, right?”

“How many children do you think he has?”

“Is he even married in the first place?”

Everyone suddenly became tongue-tied. Even Renier could help but get nervous. She remembered seeing Lord Gishzida’s disciples when she visited his home, but she was certain she hadn’t seen his wife or children. Somewhat feebly, Eunikè finally broke the ice and said,

“No, priests don’t get married. That’s what my old master told me.”

“Then how do they have kids? Lady Minnè and Lady Jada sometimes talk about their children when they visit us.”

“But they never say anything about their en-ishib husband.”

The chatter stopped abruptly as if everyone’s mouths had suddenly been glued shut. They all knew that it was possible to have children outside of marriage, but they could not speak out about it because of the disrespectful discussion that would inevitably follow.

Renier, who had been listening in on the conversation, tilted her head to the side in confusion. What did it mean for them to have children outside of marriage? Everyone found it too awkward to continue, so Eunikè evasively changed the topic.

“Oh, there are a bunch of young Celestials who haven’t become priests yet studying in the basement of the temple. I saw them when I went there on an errand yesterday —did you know that they aren’t blonde? Some of them had black hair, and others had brown hair.”

“Huh? Aren’t Celestials supposed to be blonde?”

Nope! Their hair only turns gold after they take their rite of passage and manifest ngak for the first time.

But Renier didn’t respond, so her peers were left to turn their heads this way and that as they ventured into the lands of speculation. Their imaginations eventually led them down roads that were either disrespectful, bizarre, or sugary-sweet, and a languid silence eventually settled down upon the room like a gentle sigh.

Then, they suddenly heard Lady Jada’s sharp voice.

“Renier! Renier! Wear something pretty, put on a headdress, and come out at once. Lord Gishzida summons you.”

The girls sitting behind Renier opened their eyes wide.

***

“Are you always home, Lord Gishzida?”

“Almost. The galtir has ordered every priest to make ngak tablets, but he’s given me an especially large quota.”

“I’m sure it’s because you’re so incredibly skilled, Lord Gishzida!”

“Oh, I’m certainly not unskilled. But the problem is that a certain someone wants nothing more than for me to expend all my energy holed up in my house making ngak tablets and eventually die of old age.”

Renier immediately understood that the ‘certain someone’ was none other than the lord galtir. It was obvious to her that the priests of the Realist faction were doing their best to trample over the leader of the Fundamentalist faction. Renier sipped on the honeyed goat milk that Lord Gishzida had personally warmed up for her as she tactfully changed the topic.

“Are there a lot of different types of ngak?”

“Yes. And that number will only keep growing bigger as us priests continue developing more.”

“Developing……more? Wow, you don’t just learn and use the incantations that are already there —you develop more of them too?”

“Of course. I happen to be a bit skilled in that area.”

Renier giggled, delighted by Gishzida’s verbal tics.

“How do you go about developing more ngak, Lord Gishzida?”

“Let’s see… I was actually just about to teach you more about ngak today. The galtir will be furious if a slave of the temple was to know so little about ngak.”

Gishzida leaned comfortably back against his lounge chair. Then, he continued,

“I told you before that divine stones are the beautiful rocks that Kittu of Six Wings and his offshoots, the Celestial warriors, turn into, right?”

“Yes.”

“Rocks are created my applying immense pressure over a long stretch of time. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Kittu’s blinding beauty is still imbued inside the divine stones’ beautiful colors. And, though this may come as a surprise, while these divine stones may feel cold to the touch, they actually hide a heat that’s as hot as lava inside them.”

This made Renier go quiet. It almost only felt obvious that the divine stones were hiding incredible heat inside them, considering how Kittu’s love had also been hot enough to melt both his body and soul. Gishzida continued,

“There are four types of forces that we priests have discovered imbued inside the divine stones: overwhelming pressure, scorching heat, extensive time, and beautiful colors. We aren’t able to manipulate time. So we draw out the remaining three forces to apply and develop ngak in a way that’ll allow the people to use them in all kinds of ways.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Renier grew a little puzzled and looked to the small stones that were wrapped around Gishzida’s arm.

“And you need an en, an incantation, in order to use a ngak. Now then, shall I invoke a hot breeze for you? Shahan, mir.”

A sudden heated breeze whisked past Renier.

“Ganzer.”

A small spark burst out from Gishzida’s finger from the same hand with the bracelet of divine stones and began burning in front of Renier. Gishzida snapped his fingers and sent the small flame flying into the wall of water when Renier startled, and the flame sizzled as it extinguished. Then, Gishzida said,

“Overwhelming pressure can be used in many different ways. It allows you to take air, water, and all kinds of different objects and move them, twist them, or shape them in any manner you wish.”

“Right. The water seemed to transform into a long snake when you dowsed……I mean, washed me when we first met.”

“……That was a dragon.”

“O-oh, no wonder it was such a thick snake. A d-dragon —I didn’t think of that,”

Renier hastily corrected herself. Gishzida’s smile turned impish.

“I worked hard to give the dragon four legs and a set of wings back then —you didn’t notice, Renier?”

How was I supposed to look and see whether a lump of water had legs or wings or whatever when I was so shocked that I thought I might pass out on the spot? Besides, Lord Gishzida, why would you go through the trouble of giving the water so much detail for no good reason when you were just gonna dump it over me anyway? Renier broke out into a cold sweat as she responded,

“Oh, u-um, I know I shouldn’t lie, but I think I might’ve seen something that could’ve resembled legs or wings. I think.”

The impish priest hid his mouth behind his sleeve and began chuckling. Clearly, he was having great fun teasing the pea-sized slave girl.

Renier averted her gaze ever so slightly as she grew awkward. Lord Gishzida was dressed in rather unscrupulous clothing, just like he had been last time, and it made her feel a bit —or rather, very— embarrassed.

Perhaps it was because he was wearing informal clothing, but although his linen habit was long, it was also so thin that it was partially see-through and very flowy. He was wearing nothing else on top except for a long pair of dangling earrings and a necklace with three layers that reached all the way down to his chest —he wasn’t even wearing an overgarment or a shawl— and his habit didn’t have any noteworthy decorations except on the hems of his sleeves and skirt, so the cloth outlined the contours of his body all too clearly every time he made even the slightest movements.

Moreover, he was reclined against his lounge chair, like a cat lying coyly beneath the spring sun, with his hand dangling and swaying slowly as he laughed, and goodness, seeing him like that made something feel like it was bubbling up in her stomach and chest, made her hands and feet tickle and squirm, made her face flush hot, and made her keep having to swallow down her saliva —she had no idea where to look.

And, naturally, she didn’t feel from him any of the dangerous or scary aura that she’d always felt coming from other men. Undoubtedly, the only thing she felt from Lord Gishzida was his gentle friendliness. Renier didn’t feel uncomfortable or like she wanted to flee at all. So she had no idea why she was feeling so awkward right now.

Hesitantly, she changed the topic.

“Then was the invisible bed you made for me before also made from ‘overwhelming pressure,’ Lord Gishzida? And the blades of wind you used to pick the fruits too? Oh, but I remember the incantation for the blades of wind being much longer.”

“That’s right. The blades of wind are made by compressing the air much more than is needed to make the bed and then sharpening the edges.”

“In that case, can you make other things sturdier too besides water?”

“Exactly. You really are a quick learner. If you cast a fortifying ngak stone knives, stone arrows, clay hoes, stone axes, or other similar farming tools, then they’ll become as sturdy as if they’d been forged from bronze.”

“Oh, I see.”

“And, while it’s a bit awkward to tout myself, but I was the one who invented that technique.”

“Wow! That’s amazing! You’re incredible, Lord Gishzida! You invented a technique that’s necessary and helpful to everyone! Everyone should be bowing before your feet for that, you know?”

Gishzida burst out in a refreshing peal of laughter when Renier suddenly began clapping her hands.

“I can even make people float in midair, draw up water from a river and make it rain if I really exert myself, and stir heat and wind around together like a spinning top and create tiny storms. Hmm. Keep this a secret, will you? I don’t think the lord galtir will like it if he hears of this.”

Gishzida bragged a little more because he took great delight in Renier’s reactions.

But Renier no longer felt like smiling or clapping her hands. Gods, he can create rain and storms even though he’s just a Celestial? —he’s not Enlil, the god of the atmosphere, or Ishkur, the god of storms. A chill ran down her spine.

“And finally, I can even do something like this.”

Renier saw a divine stone that was transparent and yellowish, like honey, appear right before her eyes.

“It’s like clear gold.”

“What a lovely way to put it. They call this ‘amber’ in the outside world, but I guess you haven’t come across any yet. You can extract a certain special ngak from this. Girikur kusig dilib.”

Renier felt her scalp growing hot no sooner than the en had left Gishzida’s lips. Gishzida laughed a little louder when she opened her eyes round and tilted her head to the side in confusion. Then, he said,

“Wait just a moment. You’ll be so surprised when you see. Sur mir, kichura baj, dilib, pesh.”

A gentle breeze blew past immediately after Gishzida had finished his long incantation. Wasn’t that similar to the en I heard him recite when he picked the fruits for me before? Then Renier suddenly heard a quiet rustle just as she was thinking this. A wave of cold fell over her head and shoulders.

“W-what just……?”

She moved as quickly as lightning as she lowered her center of gravity and practically rolled backward. She had reacted purely upon instinct —even she didn’t know whey she had done this. Renier saw Gishzida grinning when she looked up, and she flung herself over to the door and stuck to it. She continued,

“Um, w-what is that?”

Something from her head fell to the floor as she looked around. It looked like a bunch of fur from a yellow cat or dog. Renier trembled like a leaf as she looked down at the yellowy fur.

What’s with the fur, and why am I trembling so much right now? Was I attacked without realizing it? Then, she suddenly heard Gishzida’s resonant laughter.

“……Lord Gishzida?”

“You jumped like a startled rabbit. It’s your own hair. I transferred the color from the divine stone to your hair. You’d look magnificent with amber-colored hair once it grows out. What are your thoughts on becoming a blonde?”

“T-then, all the stuff that looks like a bunch of dog fur down there…….”

“Dog fur……. It’s your own hair, not dog fur. I cut off a bit of your bangs to show you that you became blonde. But you reacted so quickly even though I wasn’t letting off any bloodlust at all. That’s good, though. You’ll never have to be worried about being stabbed in the back no matter where you go.”

“You cut my hair with a blade of wind?”

Renier shouted back in fright. No wonder she’d suddenly broken out in goosebumps all over for no discernable reason. Renier was suddenly overcome with terror and began quivering from head to toe with her back flat against the door.

Lord Gishzida probably hadn’t meant anything when he’d cut her hair, but she could have lost her head if she had accidentally moved even just a little.

Gishzida grew flustered when he saw Renier falling into a panic.

“Why are you so shocked, Renier? It’s just blonde hair. It’s pretty, Renier. It really looks good on you. You’ll really be as pretty as Goddess Inanna one day if you keep growing…oh, do you not like having blonde hair? A-all right. I’m sorry. I guess I did change your hair color without asking you first. I’ll return it to your original color. Ack! Girikur su dilib. Wait, no no no! Barr! Barr! Barr!”

“……Huh?”

A chilly breeze blew over Renier’s head. Renier quickly flung her body to the side before another blade of wind came flying at her and ripped out her hair with a shaking hand. Her hair was brown, just as it had been before.

“I won’t cut it. I won’t cut it, so don’t worry.”

“O-oh. Ahhh…….”

Renier let out a shaky breath as her legs gave out from beneath her. Her legs were wobbling too much now that the tension had suddenly left them, and they could not bear her weight. Looking at the yellowish pieces of hair scattered on the floor made her so scared she thought she was going to cry.

It wouldn’t even be difficult for Lord Gishzida to murder someone standing in front of him if he feels like it.

Renier looked up find that Lord Gishzida was scowling heavily while tightly grasping his fingers. He must have injured his fingers badly, considering that his white sleeves had been dyed bright red. He must’ve pricked himself with the needle on his bracelet too hard in his bewilderment. Renier’s vision grew dark.

“P-please, please forgive me. I’ve committed a great crime.”

I didn’t need to react so rashly. He was only showing me his rare and precious ngak because he saw how much fun I was having. Renier was so bewildered and sorry that her tears dribbled to the floor. Then, she heard his bitter voice as he said,

“And what exactly is this crime that you claim to have committed? You should tell me what it was that you allege to have done first before you beg for forgiveness.”

“I-I ran away before I could stop myself, and you got hurt because of me, Lord Gishzida…….”

“I got hurt because of you? When I was the one who failed to control my strength?”

Gishzida spat out in displeasure. He continued,

“It’s only natural to flee on instinct if you feel like your life is in danger. This only happened because your abilities are exceptional —you didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t start begging for no reason like the other brainless slaves when you’re with me.”

“Y-yes, sooob, I won’t! I won’t.”

“And don’t cry, either.”

“Yes, I absolutely won’t c…I, sniff, sob, sniff, ahhh! Sniff sniff.”

Renier remembered that Lord Gishzida disliked noisy children who cried loudly and clasped her hands over her mouth. The terrible thing about crying, however, was the fact that it wasn’t possible to stop crying at will once you started.

Gishzida’s frown only deepened when Reneir lowered her head with her hands still clasped over her mouth as she struggled to stop crying.

“……Enough. It’s fine to cry, but I’ll ask you to bandage my finger with this cloth for me. It’s hard to tie knots with only one hand.”

Renier bandaged his bloody finger tightly even as she continued crying. It felt so strange to her that a Celestial’s finger was no less warm than a mudperson’s. His wound wasn’t serious, but it was bleeding at lot, and her tears continued to pour out from her eyes.

Hwoo. A long sigh passed over her head. Hwoo, hwoo. His breaths were long and hot, and Renier did not dare raise her head. She could not bear to keep her eyes open because of the extraordinarily thin habit that made her imagine his pale flesh underneath right before her eyes. And so, Renier squeezed her moist eyes shut and endured his heated breathing for a very long time.

Renier’s face was bright red and swollen when Gishzida carried her to her lodgings on his back later that evening. The other slave girls, Minnè, and Jada were so shocked they nearly passed out, but no one dared to say a word because the look on Gishzida’s face was so intimidating.