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Chapter 55 Part 1 – The secret of the Blue Diamond. The story of how the Witch of Doom was born. In order to get those children back one day ……

【This is a story of the forgotten and distant past of an ethnic group that has perished.】

It is a story that took place about 100 – 1000 years before now.

Outside the temple that was made out of stone was a scorching hell.

The unusually dry weather showed no sign of abating and the scenery of the forest, which was supposed to bring a cool breeze, was distorted like a mirage. The animals huddled in the scarce shades of trees and rocks, eagerly waiting for the rain to fall.

「…… I’m sorry, but this is all the flowers we have right now because of the continuous drought.」

Said Dwayne, the priest of the people of the forest Wiskum.
Bowing his huge bald head, he kneeled in front of the altar table in the inner part of the temple.
He gently offered a few small flowers that he had brought with him.
It was an act befitting a maiden, but strangely, he did not smile due to the sincere sorrow and compassion reflected on his broad back.
After a long moment of silent prayer, he sighed and stood up, causing his long white priest garment to sway.
He looked up at the Blue Diamond enshrined on the high altar.
There was hatred in his eyes.
It was clear that his prayer was not dedicated to the diamond.

The Blue Diamond is the object worshiped by the people of the forest Wiskum.
The Blue Diamond performs miracles through periodic sacrifices.
It can bring about unbelievable crop yields.
That is why the people of the forest are able to survive despite the limited farming area inside the forest.

「…… It’s been ten years since you guys passed away. If all of you were alive, I wonder …… how beautiful or handsome you guys would have been …… All of you were really good children …… and yet ……」

Dwayne choked on his words as he thought of the irreplaceable memories kept inside his heart.
…… He was not speaking to the Blue Diamond.
He was speaking to the souls of the boys and girls who were sacrificed to the Blue Diamond.

There were no other flowers on the altar table.
The reason was because this altar table was not meant for the worshiped object, the Blue Diamond, but rather for those who were sacrificed.
Except for Dwayne, no other priest remembers the faces of the sacrificed people.
Offering the sacrifice is an important ritual and the method has to be handed down to the next generation, but the faces of the sacrifices didn’t matter.

「…… It’s so sad that you guys didn’t receive any other flowers. Everyone is so cold-hearted and cruel. You are the ones who keep us alive. …… So I will not forget you. I will remember your smiles and your names. …… McDonnell, you loved flowers even though you were a boy. Fufu, just like me. Fergus. Contrary to your name, you were timid. But you were the kindest to the little children. And then there’s ……」

Dwayne called out each of their names and spoke slowly.
He stroked the altar table lovingly in place of the children’s heads.
As if to insist that those children were indeed still alive.

Children with no relatives or whose families are too poor to provide for them are chosen to become the sacrifice.
After cleansing themselves for a month, they go up to the altar.
Ten years ago, Dwayne was the one appointed to take care of them.

The children that were going to be sacrificed were given lavish meals and a luxurious life.
This was done in order to make them become a high quality sacrifice that the gods will be pleased with.
Usually, that was all that the caretaker needed to do.

But Dwayne was not convinced.
That would make the children no different from livestock.
He happened to overhear a child sobbing in his bed calling out, 「Father, mother」.

Dwayne was shocked.
Until then, he had never questioned what the children had said, that they were happy to be sacrificed. Priests were indeed educated in such a way. If Dwayne had been in the position of the children, he would have been delighted to be sacrificed.

But not all children are the same.
He wanted to punch himself in the face for being so blind in the past.
Even though the adults around him told him that it was an honor to be sacrificed, and he proudly puffed out his little chest, there was no way that these young children were not frightened. They simply could not resist the adults.
Children with no relatives didn’t even have the choice to run away.
In the first place, there was no way they could judge right from wrong on their own.

Dwayne was ashamed that he had been one of the adults who had pushed the children in that path.
He wanted to give the children a beacon of knowledge that would allow them to properly judge what was wrong.
He ignored the strange looks from those around him. He constantly looked after the children, taught them letters, and showed them the fun of learning. He wanted to give the children the will to live. He wanted to show them that the world was not always cruel.

The children, who at first were frightened by his appearance, became emotionally attached to Dwayne.
They were like a real family.
And Dwayne was determined to save the children.

The night before the sacrificial ritual, Dwayne unlocked all the doors to their rooms. If they wanted to escape, they would be able to do so unnoticed. He also prepared some traveling expenses and told the children.

「…… Just like what I taught to all of you, life is indeed built on the sacrifice of some form of life. Like the relationship between carnivores and herbivores. But you see, even herbivores are not killed in silence. They have the right to desperately fight in order to not be eaten. The same goes for humans. Do you understand?」

He hugged each child as he spoke to them.

「You are children. If you are scared, you don’t have to endure. It’s okay to cry if it’s painful. Go. To live. And learn more. The world is big. It’s so much bigger than this place. …… Go to see and learn more things and find out for yourselves the meaning of your birth. It will be a wonderful journey. There are many paths awaiting you, from the mundane happiness of everyday life to the path of diligent learning. So you must not die until you feel satisfied to the fullest. This is my last lesson. …… I’ve enjoyed every day I’ve spent with you …… Goodbye.」

Dwayne was planning to become the sacrifice in place of the children.
He thought it would be a small price to pay if he could save them all with his own life.
He wanted the children to live.

…… But none of the children escaped.

They solemnly went through the sacrificial ritual and lost their little lives. The dignified manner they showed was rarely seen even in the long history of sacrificial rituals. As expected of the sacrifices priest Dwayne had taken care of, praised the people of the forest. For his merits, Dwayne was made the second-in-command priest.

「Why didn’t they run away …… Why ……」

These children have such a good understanding of his feelings.
How could they not have understood what Dwayne was thinking?
With a ghastly pale complexion, Dwayne staggered back to the hut where he had stayed with the children and learned the truth of the matter.

Written all over the wall in the children’s clumsy handwriting was 「Teacher Dwayne, thank you for everything」. The handwriting was not even close to being good. Some of the letters were not even legible, as if they were written by children who were not yet old enough to write. However, these were certainly the letters that Dwayne had taught to the children who did not know how to write. He could even tell who had written which letters by their writing habits.

Indeed, the children were taught love by Dwayne.
And they returned that love to their teacher without regrets.
In a way he most certainly did not want to see.