The Bard

"Yemen's Ascension to Godhood?"

Everyone looked at one another. Clearly, none of them had heard of it.

Still, they did know the name "Yemen." It was the name of a god worshipped by several countries in the southwest.

Yemen's followers and Mosa's followers regarded each other as Heretics, and many conflicts of varying scale had erupted between them throughout history.

Kalkulo began slowly, "You should all have heard of Yemen. He is a god worshipped by the people of the southwest, but you probably don't know that Yemen was once a mortal. He became the god we know today through Ascension to Godhood. The story I'm going to tell is Yemen's Ascension to Godhood."

Gagnor's interest was piqued as well.

Ever since discovering that gods existed in this world, he had wondered about their origins.

Where did gods come from? Could humans become gods? To him, those were only natural questions.

But on Falaro, or at least within Falaro's church system, such thoughts were taboo. Gagnor would never have been able to obtain information on the subject.

He had to admit, this bard was rather bold to dare make up such a story.

Most of the townspeople were poorly educated and were simply there to hear a story. As they discussed it in low voices, the people in the tavern became increasingly expectant.

More people came in from outside to hear the tale. Anyone who wanted a seat had to order at least a large mug of ale, so the tavern owner began bustling about.

Kalkulo continued, "The story took place roughly ten thousand years ago. At the time, Yemen was merely a lowborn, unremarkable young man on the Falaro Continent. He struggled every day to make a living, sometimes so poor he couldn't even afford a mug of ale. But Yemen was clever and hardworking, and everyone in town liked him..."

After listening for a while, Gagnor felt that most of it had been fabricated. There might not even have been a shred of truth in it.

Other than the protagonist being named "Yemen," everything Kalkulo described was utterly ordinary—and it was clearly a story set in the current era.

Even Duke of Nordanland appeared in the story.

This was supposed to be ten thousand years ago. Forget Duke of Nordanland; it wasn't even certain whether humans had lived on this land back then.

However, the story later took a somewhat different turn.

"Relying on his intelligence and talent, Yemen won the favor of a wealthy widow."

"With the widow's support, Yemen learned many profound spells, became a court mage, and followed the King into battle against the mighty Minotaurs and sea demons..."

"In one battle, the overconfident King suffered a crushing defeat and died. Yemen barely escaped death after sacrificing nearly all of his subordinates, and then..."

Kalkulo suddenly stopped speaking.

"And then what?" someone asked anxiously.

Kalkulo coughed twice. "I'm a little thirsty. Could someone order me a cup of mead?"

A generous patron immediately ordered him a cup of mead.

He thanked them, took several sips, then continued. "Then Yemen encountered an angel. The angel saved Yemen and revealed his destiny, telling him that as long as he replaced the King, then utterly defeated the sea demons and Minotaurs, he could ascend to godhood, and he—"

At that moment, a commotion suddenly arose outside the door.

Then Gerald, dressed in priestly robes, entered the tavern with a grim expression. Pointing at Kalkulo, he said, "Are you spreading Heretic doctrine?"

Kalkulo panicked slightly. "I-I wasn't. I was only telling the story of Yemen's Ascension to Godhood."

Priest Gerald asked, "Is Yemen a god?"

Kalkulo froze. "Uh..."

Priest Gerald's expression became even sterner. "Tell me, is Yemen a god?"

Kalkulo immediately wilted, replying humbly, "Of course not, sir. Yemen is only a false god. I absolutely do not worship Yemen. I am a devout follower of Mosa and a loyal follower of Saint Roden."

Priest Gerald's expression eased slightly. He looked around at everyone in the tavern. "Do not forget the true meaning of the holy scriptures because of fabricated stories. Yemen is a false god, and humans cannot become gods."

Everyone hurriedly agreed. Some of the more devout even realized in alarm that they had committed a grave sin and began reproaching themselves in repentance.

The tavern owner chimed in, "Don't worry, sir. From now on, we'll only tell stories of the saints here!"

Priest Gerald nodded. Before leaving, he pointed at Kalkulo. "You, come with me."

"Yes, sir." Kalkulo answered dejectedly and followed Priest Gerald out of the tavern.

The crowd discussed it for a while, then gradually forgot about the incident.

Kalkulo's fate was easy enough to predict. As the price for treating doctrine lightly, he would first have to sincerely repent, then perform volunteer labor for a time.

He had been fortunate to live in a good era.

The current Pope was a tolerant man. He never killed people over their words. Timely repentance could absolve most verbal offenses and irreverence, with at most a period of volunteer labor added on.

Had this been fifty years ago, Kalkulo could very well have been sent to the stake.

Gagnor finished his food while lost in thought, bought another bottle of mead, and returned to the church.

Sure enough, the moment he returned, he saw Kalkulo sweeping the ground outside the church with a broom, utterly lacking the composure and confidence he had shown while telling his story.

Toward evening, Kalkulo finished his volunteer work for the day and squatted on a stone to rest.

Gagnor walked over, sat down, and said, "To be honest, the story you told in the tavern was pretty good."

Kalkulo glanced at him and replied expressionlessly, "I made it up. Yemen is a false god, and I am a steadfast follower of Mosa and Saint Roden."

Gagnor nodded. "Of course. There's no doubt about that. When I said it was 'good,' I only meant from a storytelling perspective."

Kalkulo neither agreed nor disagreed.

Only when Gagnor took out the mead did his eyes change slightly, his throat bobbing faintly.

"I wanted to buy you a drink back then too, but someone was clearly faster than I was." Gagnor handed him the mead. "Give it a try."

"Thanks." Kalkulo accepted the mead.

The two chatted for a while before Gagnor suddenly said, "If I'm not mistaken, you're not from Libland, are you? You're probably not even from the north, though your imitation of the accent is nearly flawless."

Kalkulo nodded in admission. "I'm from South Sea Town. How did you guess?"

Gagnor said, "People from Libland are far more devout than us. If you really came from the Liebrand Kingdom, you definitely wouldn't dare tell a story like that—it has South Sea Town written all over it. I have a friend from South Sea Town, so I more or less know that you people are, well, fond of freedom."

Kalkulo shrugged helplessly. "Fine, I admit I was too naive. I thought that at least in Nordanlun, everyone's tastes would be more or less the same."

Gagnor pondered for a moment. "Forgive my presumption, but why did you leave South Sea Town?"