Chapter 36: Chapter 36

I would be lying when I say that being called a goddess did not flatter me. And I would also be lying if I say that a part of me did not wish to run away right now as Custard and I were being escorted by these tribe people.

I was riding on the back of my familiar and looked at the people suspiciously as the two females walked on either side of us. The two men were walking at the back while the one young male was leading us through the forest.

‘Custard? Do you really think that they believe that I am their goddess?’ I poked Custard through our link to get his attention.

‘The statue holds a lot of pure energy, master. So I guess with everything that it has been doing, they really think that you are a goddess. Especially when you were standing on the pedestal like you own the place.’

‘Do you think they will believe me if I say that I am not a goddess?’

‘Do you want to risk it, master? Because things might get messy if you do, but I will still fight beside you.’

My heart fluttered at my familiar’s loyalty and I was tearing up a bit. ‘Thanks buddy. It is two against 5. The odds are bad but we can take them.’

‘1 to 5, master.’ He corrected me.

‘I thought you said you were going to-’ I stopped myself as soon as I realized that Custard meant that he was going to be the one fighting and not me. ‘Heeyy…!’

We continued to walk around the forest while I kept on looking around and hoping to see signs of the princes. Where could they be? Are they safe? Are they even alive? The last thing I remembered was being pushed by that darn white fox!

I swear if I ever see that sneaky bastard again then I will skin it alive!

“Goddess we are here.” The man in front of us announced just as I noticed that the forest was starting to clear up a bit. We finally stopped and I took that opportunity to gaze at the setting in front of me.

Even though I am clearly a city girl, I was still impressed.

It felt like I am in a stone aged world as I gaze at the huts lining each other. Everything here is either made out of stone or made out of woods and leaves. We entered through a fence that surrounded the area. I can only assume that it was there to keep the wild animals away. Flowers adorned each root of the hut along with some green vines that looked as if it was the one keeping it all glued together.

As soon as we entered, I could see people stopping from what they were doing to stare at us. Children stopped playing, women paused while holding some wooden clay pots, and a few men paused from their sparring.

All eyes were on me that it was making me uncomfortable as I lowered myself to hide behind Custard. I guess having a huge white wolf enter their tribe is not a common thing around here.

‘Custard? Do you still think you can take on all of them?’ I gulped.

‘To be honest, I can’t exactly say that I can. But I feel like we won’t need to.’ Custard took a step back as the people in the village started to gather in front of us.

‘What makes you say that?’ I glanced at the crowd nervously and leaned back. I looked behind me to see that the two men were still - but closing the gate. Great. Just freaking great. They even closed our only exit!

Or maybe we can make a new exit…

“Everyone! I have great news!”

‘Custard, are you strong enough to break a wall?”

“Yesterday, with the destruction of the shrine and liberation of one of the evil fox spirit, the heavens have sent us a sign that they have not forsaken us.”

Did he just say evil fox? “Excuse me, exactly how did the evil fox get liberated?” Let’s just say I have my suspicion the moment I recalled the princes going through some rubble. It couldn’t be, right?

“The sky god was angry because we killed more pigs than we could eat.” The man said solemnly. “It rained down boulders yesterday that destroyed the resting area of the fox spirit. And now it is free.”

Well, bloody hell. Add that to the list of faults that we have caused. Oh wait. It is not my fault actually.

“It was this guy.” I pointed towards Custard, who was the sole reason why we fell from the platform in the first place. My familiar wasn’t happy about the truth that he stood up with his back legs and shook me off until I fell on my butt. “Ow! That wasn’t very nice.” I scolded him.

Instead of answering, my familiar simply raised his snout and looked away. He was refusing to talk to me. I swear, having a spirit who is in puberty really is difficult. They have a lot of moods.

“Goddess! Are you okay?” The man asked. His long black hair somehow reminds me of tarzan. Well a tarzan who went to a salon and got his hair straightened. His tanned skin was glittering with sweat that emphasized his abs.

Nah. I have seen better. What with Nate and Ren, who kept going shirtless when we’re training. And also Ace when he became LADY Grace.

I swear I wasn’t looking.

“I’m fine.” I mumbled and got up as I dusted the back of my pants and glared at my familiar. This rude mutt. Seems like Dan’s role is slowly being replaced.

“Is it her? Is she really the Goddess, Fical?” Someone asked from the crowd. Wiat. Did they say Fecal? I slapped a hand over my mouth. That guy is named after a fecal!? I started wheezing that I was not able to deny being a goddess myself.

I really hate myself for being petty sometimes.

“Yes she is. As soon as we found out that the fox spirit escaped, we found our goddess awakening soon after.” Poop guy said, which made me let out a horrified gasp. I have to stop his claims immediately before things escalate.

“Actually, I am not-” I started to say, but I was cut off the moment I saw everyone around me bending on one knee in order to bow.

“Goddess! We are deeply humbled to be in your presence!”

“Just looking at her made breathing a little easier! Her divine powers are real!”

“I can feel her strong spiritual energy!”

“My injuries are healed!”

Numerous praises were being thrown at me and it was then that Custard and I forgot that we were in a fight as he exchanged awkward glances with our eyes going wide and our heads tilting back. God, this is embarrassing. I looked at the man with a sh*t for a name and lowkey glared at him.

Damn it, Fecal! You stupid piece of poop! If I actually have divine powers then I would seriously flush him down the toilet.

“What is your name, beautiful goddess?” Fecal asked.

“Nanya business.” I snapped at him.

“Goddess Nanya Business! Beautiful name!”

“My name is Rose and what I meant to say is it is none of your f*ck-” Custard nudged me at that moment to stop me from further cursing the guy.

‘Master, maybe it is safe to just play along and slowly clear things up when you can talk to one of their leaders.’

‘Yes. Then we will beat them up and tell them where the chalice is.’ I said and threw a punch at my other hand menacingly.

‘I was hoping for a more calmer approach…’

Two young ladies approached me carefully with their heads lowered humbly. “Goddess Rose.” They both said in unison. “Allow us to escort you and give you a bath.”

“A bath?” I gave them an offended look. “I don’t stink!” I raised my arm and sniffed my armpit. Whew! Okay, I do need a bath.

I heard them all gasp. Some were screaming and ducking their heads in fright. I looked at all of them and raised a confused brow. “What?” I questioned them. What’s their problem now?

“Goddess, we are sorry. We do not mean to offend you! Please do not cast your divine magic to punish us.” Someone from the crowd pleaded. And again, Custard and I exchanged glances.

I lowered my arm and thought of something. I raised both hands with my palms up and made a popping sound. “Pew pew!” The people let out a horrified scream while I chuckled silently and glanced arrogantly at my familiar with a huge beam on my face.

‘Stop playing around, master.’

‘Sorry.’

I looked at the two females. “Alright then. Show me where the bath is. But I am taking him with me.” I said and pointed at Custard, whose white fur is now muddy with dirt and grime.

“Yes, goddess. As you wish.” They bowed in unison and started to lead me through the crowd. I could not help but notice how the crowd parted as Custard and I walked through them. It was like they feared and respected us.

The two young ladies stopped at the largest hut that was built near a stoned wall. I did not fully get why they would build a hut closer to the wall, until we went inside. It was a large natural hot spring that was in a cave. There was a man made wall that separated the women from the men’s public bath. But the ladies directed me to a more private one, in which we had to climb a few sets of stairs made of bamboo just to get to it. The private bath was huge with a sort of waterfall that made it run. Plants adorned the area and some sort of petals were littered all over the water.

“Goddess, we are deeply humbled by your presence and we apologize if this pitiful setting is not enough to-'' One of them started to say but I was already stripping my clothes and did a cannonball dive into the water. Custard did the same, splashing me with more warm water just as I surface.

“Sorry. You were saying something?” I looked behind me to one of the ladies.

“N-Nothing, Goddess. I am glad that the place suits your taste.” She glanced warily at all the spilled water on the rocky ground. “Would you like us to help you with cleaning? We can wash your hair. And also your spirit partner.”

Custard and I shared a look, before looking back at the females. “That would be nice.” I said. A bit wary, but since they were offering I might as well accept it.

‘Master, remember why we came here.’ Custard suddenly said as he swam closer to me. His wet fur dripping and slightly covering his red eyes.

‘Of course I know. We are here for the chalice.’ I told him and looked at one of the girls. “After this, may I go and see your leader?” It sounded weird but I do not know what they call their leaders here.

“You may, Goddess. But for now, he is out hunting with a few of his troupes.”

“Then can you inform me when he arrives?”

“Yes, goddess.”

I looked at my familiar right then. ‘See? The leader still isn’t here. We might as well get comfortable while they are not here. Just relax a bit, Custard.’ With that, I was able to calm my familiar down and we both relaxed as the ladies came back to brush our hair.

After taking a bath, the ladies offered me a new set of clothes. A white greek dress with uneven length over my knees. A belt made out of leather was tied to my waist and some leather flat gladiators. My hair was let out loose as I rode on Custard while walking around in their tribe. My wooden hook swords hitting each other as we continued to move.The ladies were apparently my escort as they showed me all around their small and humble tribe.

‘I wanna sleep. How about you?’ I prodded my familiar as I yawned. I never signed up for a tour. All I wanted was to talk to their leader. Find the chalice and then look for the princes.

Where is Thalia could those goons be?

‘Master, it would be rude if we leave while we’re in the middle of their tour.’ Sometimes, I really hate it when my familiar is right.

“Goddess, this is the archery area. This is where we train our sharpshooters.”

“Wow. Impressive.” Was all I said as I forced myself to smile and nod as if I was interested. Apparently, these people cannot read tones of voices because one of the men suddenly offered for me to try archery. I honestly tried to decline, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

So now, I am currently standing in an open area with a bow and arrow on my hands and a crowd gathering behind me. Custard was sitting nervously beside me as he glanced back and forth from me and towards the target.

‘Master, do you even know how to shoot an arrow?’

‘Honestly, I don’t! But don’t worry. I will find an excuse.’

“It’s too sunny. It is blocking my vision.” I turned around and told them.

“WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING? GIVE THE GODDESS SOME SHADE!”

“HURRY FAN HER! SHE IS SWEATING!”

“TAKE THIS CLOTH FOR HER TO WIPE HER SWEAT!”

Soon, a few people were gathering around me. One was holding a huge leaf to protect me from the sun. One was fanning me with a fan made of feathers. Another was offering me a cloth to wipe my sweat with. Right now, my familiar was laying down and crossing his two front paws and giving me a look as if he already expected this.

‘Goodluck, Master.’ He says.

I gulped, realizing that I have no way out of this situation anymore. I tried to picture out how Ace usually shoots with his bow and arrow and tried to mimic it ungracefully. I grunted as I had to use a bit more of arm muscle than I would like to as I pulled the string back. My whole body was shaking as I tried to aim and released the string. The arrow flew, but not in the direction that I wanted it to. It started to fly up and hit a large vulture in between the eyes. It landed on the ground with a loud thud.

There was silence as we watched the lifeless body of the bird on the ground. “Um...I think I just killed a bird.” I commended and jumped a little as soon as the crowd started to cheer loudly.

“The Goddess killed the cannibal vulture!”

“We can finally let our chickens free!”

“All hail the goddess for liberating our livestocks!”

“All hail Goddess Rose!” They started to cheer.

I bit my upper lip and pinched the bridge of my nose as I looked away and urged myself not to laugh at the situation. I am more popular here than I was back in Thalia. But I wasn’t going to let popularity define me - of course. I am not that kind of girl who is easily swayed by a bunch of people simping over her. No way.

***

I was sitting on a very comfy wooden chair with a bunch of animal felt. It was already late in the afternoon and I did a lot of activity. I shot an arrow, swung from vines, and even tried making pottery. It was all amazing that everything I do, whether it be right or wrong, I still get praises from them.

I reached out and started eating the grapes that they were offering me. I have to admit that all their fruits here are fresh and sweet. I guess growing them naturally really helps with the taste.

I had a grape in my throat when one of the girls escorting me came in. “Goddess, our chief is back and he brought prisoners. Would you like me to take you to him?” I had to spit the grape or I might have choked on it.

“Y-yes. Thank you for informing me.” I said and followed her out of the tent. Custard was somewhere in the village playing with some kids. But I did inform him that the chief was here and I can only guess that he was already on his way here. As soon as I parted the curtains of the tent, I gasped.

Three people were there on their knees. Muddied and their clothes were a torn mess barely hanging over their chest. But it was them. Ren, Nate and Ace. They were alive and are not very happy to be taken to this place.