347 The Story of Nine Continents (2/2)
”Are there really only nine races?” the doctor asked. The party decided to stop near a stream to refill water and rest for a while. Zero took this chance to compare notes of the story he heard with the books he read before.
Camie smiled. ”Of course not. If we ignore mixed races, there are plenty of other minority races that exist within the borders of these territories. They live in constant fear because there isn't a place for them wherever they go. An easy example would be demons. Where would demons belong in the nine continents?”
Zero raised a brow. ”Don't they come from the abyss? Are there demons born on Earth?”
The giantess sighed. ”The demons that exist on Earth are a little different from the ones in the abyss. Demons here are born from any race. They absorb hate and practise in forbidden magic that will change them into demons. Once someone changes into a demon, they can never change back. Demons on Earth can only wander around till the day they die because they carry with them curses of all kinds. Missionaries have the duty of hunting these demons and ending their misery.”
”Why don't these missionaries remove the curses? Why do they have to end them?” Zero asked.
Camie sighed. ”It's not possible to break a self-inflicted curse that is tied to a soul. It might be possible for you but the missionaries are just ordinary folks who cannot compare with gods.”
Zero was silent for a while as he mulled over what he learnt today. He didn't want to end up as an adventurer or register with magician guilds simply because most of those magicians don't sound like they're up to any good. He briefly considered starting a guild or doctors but eventually gave up on the idea simply because it would turn messy soon enough with the increase of medical prices instead of spreading medical care to those who really needed it.
On the other hand, the thing that Camie said about missionaries sounded very much like what Zero was doing. If only there was a way for Zero to become a missionary without the worship of any god. What if he was a missionary who worked for himself instead? Was it even possible? Starting a church or something would require a lot of money. Zero didn't think that he had a lot of money to spare to start something like that. Even as the village leader, it wasn't right for him to spend money like that for his personal satisfaction. The money that Schaf and everyone else worked hard to earn should go to improving the village's defences and the lifestyle of his village members. If they had money after all that, Zero intended to expand the village and use that money to take in orphans or people who need a second chance at life just like what Grandma Moppo had been doing all along.
Zero sighed, looking troubled but this time, Truen didn't know what his friend was thinking about. Whatever that was bothering Zero certainly wasn't the story about how the nine continents came to be. If the archer had to make a guess, it was more about finding a place for those minority races to belong and caring for those who needed help that bothered Zero. Watching Zero try to solve his problems made Truen finally accept that Zero had grown up. He no longer looked at the wood elf and asked for help at the first signs of trouble. Instead, the doctor was trying his hardest to not cause inconvenience to others and work out a solution.
Camie didn't say much for the rest of the journey. They still had two more days before they would be out of the forest and one more day till they reached the first town. Truen talked to Camie a little bit while Zero went to take his bath yesterday. He didn't want to go to a human town so they will be visiting one that's in the middle of Endow Hill and Rocket Mountain.
Endow Hill's location was rather unique. It was an untouchable zone in the middle of a few territories. The Rocket Mountain territory went around Endow Hill, isolating that particular mountain which overlapped the Mystic Meadows just below it. On the other side of Endow Hill was the Smargdas Kingdom that was sandwiched in between it and the Great Altear Forest. Truen knew why the Smargdas Kingdom was allowed to exist for so long even though the humans should have been a race wiped out a long time ago during the war between races. The elves didn't want to deal with any losses fighting the beasts from Endow Hill that often attacked nearby towns hence they allowed the humans to be that territory buffer.
Nobody claimed Endow Hill as their territory for a few reasons. The most obvious reason was due to the dragon guarding Sleepy Cave on Endow Hill. Mystic Meadows didn't want anything to do with Endow Hill either because the Dragon wasn't the only threat on that mountain.
Even since Hua Tuo settled down on Endow Hill, the Sage God had made his presence known that any kingdom who tried to invade Endow Hill and steal its resources would be punished accordingly. There had never been a case of a coordinated attack from magic beasts of different types and forest spirits working together to repel intruders. Endow Hill was that only exception and ever since then, no Kingdom dared to attack it until the idiot Count Carrabas tried to destroy Half Moon Village.
Now that Camie thought about it. Zero's introduction to the village was a really lucky thing for them. Before Zero came along, the Sage God was never as friendly. In fact, the villagers were often cautious about the strange old man who exuded a powerful aura. Many suspected he was Endow Hill's god but only a few knew of his identity. Only after the incident with Douglas and Zero's interference, things started to change for the better in Half Moon village. Hua Tuo was no longer as unapproachable and many of them were given opportunities that they never had before.
The giantess looked at Zero and smiled. ”Zero, thank you.”
”Huh?”
”Nothing,” she laughed when Zero gave a confused look. The doctor nodded and continued to walk ahead and tried to spot for any squirrels they could catch for lunch.
Watching the doctor, Camie smiled. She was thankful to Zero for giving her the chance to go back home and for giving her a second home she could return to.