180: God Of War

God Of War

"Orian, come here," Seren called for her.  2

Oriana immediately went towards the counter and found the Queen showing her a jade hairpin. The craftsmanship was beautiful.  Though acting as a man, she was still a woman inside—she still felt affectionate towards womanly things. 

"This is a gift for you."

"F-For me?"

"I gifted one to Xena as well."

"Thank you, my lady." She gulped. "B-But I am a man. What would I do with it?"

Again, that pair of purple eyes appeared to be smiling. 

"You can give it to a woman important to you," she said. "Take it."

Seeing the young lad's hesitation, Rafal spoke up, "It is rude to refuse Her Ladyship's goodwill."

Oriana accepted the gift. "Thank you, my lady."

'The Queen of Megaris is truly kind. How can I not admire her?'

In their group, only Yorian was not surprised by Seren's behavior. The elf had discussed Oriana's situation with Drayce and Seren. Drayce also told his wife that it was Oriana who had seen her face last night. 

Because of this, Seren was well-aware that Arlan's attendant was a woman, not to mention a young witch who had no idea of what she is. 

Towards Oriana's situation, Seren sympathized with her. After all, she herself had been mostly kept ignorant of her own circumstances. She could only imagine what kind of hardships Oriana faced that forced her to live as a man. 

Yorian, who was standing on the side, approved of Queen Seren's treatment of the young woman. The kind Queen of Megaris pitied Oriana for needing to hide herself instead of feeling wary of her upon learning that she was a Black Witch. 

In the middle of their shopping, Seren and Xena soon got tired, and their group decided to rest in a fancy restaurant while trying out local cuisine. The meal conversation was mostly dominated by Yorian, an elf whose mind was a treasure vault of interesting anecdotes and archaic knowledge, as well as Xena, who turned out to be a rich merchant's daughter well-versed in geography. 

It appeared that everyone in their group had never been to Nefer prior to this trip. All they knew of the capital of Othinia had been from stories of acquaintances, hearsays and books.

Oriana was quite happy to listen to them chat. She was satisfied with her haul. In addition to the jade hairpin, she was able to collect seeds of plants that she could try growing in Wimark. The knowledgeable elf gave her advice on alternative ways to grow the plants, and she could not help but be excited to try them.

After resting their feet, Seren asked Yorian if there were any interesting scenic spots they could visit next. 

"...there should be the largest floating market here in the capital, but the river is at the outskirts of the city."

"We might not enjoy it since they open in the afternoon, right?"

"It is a market for commoners and ought to be very smelly and crowded. I don't think it is safe for Her Ladyship to go there."

Oriana spoke, "Damien mentioned there is an ancient temple inside the city, famous for its architecture. It should be worth visiting."

"You want to go there?" Yorian asked her. 

"Yes, uhh, I mean if you all want to," she controlled herself. "If Her Ladyship wishes to…"

"I would love to go there!" This time, it was Seren's turn to act like an excited little girl. "You are talking about the Ancient Citadel of Nefer? I read about it and it plays a huge part in Othinia's literature and mythology. Is it open to visitors? I read it is treated as a holy land by the natives and they won't accept outsiders…otherwise, I would have loved to visit it first."

Xena reminded her, "My lady, your father's wife is a Nefertiti princess. By extension, both you and your elder brother are related to the Royal Family of Othinia. They will not be able to refuse you if you decide to visit."

"I will bring the carriages, my lady," Slayer dutifully commented. "Rafal keep watch."

Slayer brought the carriages to the entrance of the restaurant, and they went towards the ancient temple in the capital. 

The Ancient Citadel of Nefer was massive, the stone structure imposing and formidable, standing atop a rocky outcrop, commanding a strategic position overlooking the surrounding lands. Massive stone columns flanked the entrance, each intricately carved with depictions of heroic battles and warriors in fierce combat. 

The architecture of the temple complex was straight out of a myth. It made people feel like they were puny ants looking up at the vast sky.

"It's so huge!" Oriana spoke out in awe, needing to crane her neck to see the top of the temple.  "It's even taller than the main palace in the Royal Palace of Othinia!"

Seren was also gasping in admiration, but hearing Oriana's words, she began to explain, "In fact, the reason the city of Nefer was built in this location was mainly due to this temple. This citadel is the oldest-standing structure in the kingdom. From what I read, according to Othinian mythology, back when the world was young and immortals could freely walk among the mortals, this was were gods first stepped on." 

Not even a minute after they alighted their carriage, several priests came towards them. Slayer took care of asking the head priest for permission, and not long after, their group were granted passage inside the ancient citadel. 

Because the temple was strict with allowing entry, there were barely anyone inside. The priests also gave their group privacy, providing them a chance to explore the temple at their own pace.

As they walked inside the spacious halls, Seren continued to tell about what she read from books, "It's said that this temple is built in the honor of a particular god who came to the mortal world to deal with the demons who were harming humans."

From the vivid carvings on the stone columns and the walls, it depicted an earth-shattering battle, where horned demons escaped from their realm and caused havoc on the human world.

Inside the main body of the temple, there was a tall statue of a godly looking warrior, so large that one could not take in its entire appearance in a single glance. It was as if an entire rock mountain had been used to sculpt the warrior's image. At the very least, they could see him riding a flaming chariot, a broadsword in hand, and he was wearing plated armor. 

"Whoa, is this the god you speak of, my lady?" Oriana gasped. At the bottom of the chariot were the fallen bodies of the demons, and there were hundreds of them. "He looks like he protected this world well. What is his name?"

"Nobody knows but they say he is a god of war."

Others were observing each detail on the stone statue, while listening to what Seren was saying about this god.

But Yorian was staring absentmindedly at that statue. 'This is the first time I am seeing this, but why do I feel like this statue is familiar? Looks like someone I know.' 

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