Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~
chapter-257

Habarak, one of only three Master Craftsmen in the world who could process Orichalcum, looked exhausted.

Habarak, Master Craftsman who was lost in despair, and sobbing in front of us, apologized to Freya, the Fire God.

My friends and I were helpless, too stunned to do anything about it and unable to say anything to him.

Several dwarves, who appeared to be his apprentices, came out of the building that served as a workshop and house, and carried Master Craftsman Habarak back.

We were told that Habarak was tired that day and that he would like us to come back the next day, so we decided to stay overnight at a suitable inn and come back another day.

Then, the next day, we all headed to the building where Master Craftsman Habarak was.

"This way, please."

The same dwarf who hadn't even opened the door properly the day before led us in.

We were shown to a guest room and said that he would call Master Craftsman Habarak.

We all decided to wait in silence.

After a short wait, Master Craftsman Habarak, dressed in the same craftsman-like attire as the day before, arrived.

"... This was the Orichalcum you guys found, right?"

Without mentioning the matter that he broke down crying yesterday, Master Craftsman Habarak talked about the pale, shiny golden glow that was placed in front of him.

His expression looked somewhat lonely.

"Yeah."

On the table was the lump of Orichalcum we had found in the dungeon.

Kurena replied in a somewhat more subdued manner than usual.

"I see. I'm sorry, but as I said yesterday, I can't process Orichalcum anymore."

"..."

Kurena's eyes glazed over, but she said nothing more.

Master Craftsman Habarak removed his gaze from the lump of Orichalcum, and silence prevailed in the room.

"This sword that Master Habarak made for me has helped me tremendously."

(An Orichalcum sword forged by a Master Craftsman, huh? I got hurt by that sword myself.)

Helmios talked about his own Orichalcum sword.

Helmios had an Orichalcum sword and armor.

His sword was made by Master Craftsman Habarak.

And according to Helmios, his armor was a national treasure of Giamut Empire. It was apparently on rent.

"Thank you."

"What did you mean when you said that you can't process Oricalcum anymore?"

Helmios decided to ask what Master Craftsman Habarak meant exactly.

No one among us though that Master Craftsman Habarak had gone senile and refused to process Orichalcum.

There had to be a reason.

My friends and I listened in silence to the conversation between Helmios and Master Craftsman Habarak.

Master Craftsman Habarak closed his eyes and mouth.

"The fire is getting weaker. And I can't hear her anymore."

With that, Master Craftsman Habarak began to speak.

According to him, his furnace's fire suddenly became weak a while ago.

And he said he could no longer hear Fire Goddess Freya's voice, who used to whisper to him when he was blacksmithing.

{TLN: It is only clarified here that God of fire is a female. So, I am using Goddess from here on.}

(He sounds more like a priest than a blacksmith. I wonder if legends in their field get close to God.)

I was candid about Habarak, the Master Craftsman who processed Orichalcum while conversing with the Fire Goddess.

"And Digragni caused this?"

"Yes. After the Bakius Kingdom became the Bakius Empire, I don't know if he has become a Dungeon Master or whatever, but he's been making a lot of money, and I've been giving him a good run for his money.

Apparently, it wasn't what Fire Goddess Freya said, but Master Craftsman Habarak's prediction.

(This is what Ur said too. Admiral Galara doesn't think well of the Bakius Emperor either.)

I recalled what Ur had told me about the situation in the Bakius Empire.

The Bakius Empire made its citizens believe and pray to Digragni and made money from wars against the Demon King.

According to Ur, Digragni was making the Imperial citizens pray to him through his subordinates for how much he had contributed to the Bakius Empire.

The Emperor of the Bakius Empire even hoped that the war against the Demon King would continue for a long time.

If the war continued, the demand for magical tools would increase in each country, and they could be sold to other countries at higher prices.

And the S-class dungeon also attracted adventurers from all over the world, and both the activities of the adventurers and the treasures they obtained in the dungeon benefited the Bakius Empire.

(So that's why, they are providing minimal aid to the Central Continent.)

And their information matched the current situation of the Bakius Empire that I knew.

The Bakius Empire only provided the minimum necessary aid to the Central Continent in the form of magical tools and Golem Users.

Naturally, they had never sent an army to the Forgotten Continent, home of the Demon King, that was in the northern part of the Central Continent.

If the aim of the Bakius Empire was to make money, then there was no reason for them to go out and attack the Demon King's army, even with a military force that had fought them all off at sea.

(Even I can understand how difficult it would be for the world to unite, abandoning all interests. Still, it's not good if we don't.)

I had lived 35 years of life experience in my previous life, so I didn't believe that the world was made up of just fantasies and ideals.

I believed that it was difficult for the world to unite as one, as I wondered how many countries had completely disregarded their national interests.

However, ther current situation was very bad against the Demon King's army.

The Bakius Empire, which was driven by making money and postponing war.

The Giamut Empire was using the Five Continents Alliance to its advantage through hegemony.

Rosenheim was exclusive and hated interference from other countries.

Albahar Beast Kingdom had its vision blinded by hatred.

And Latash Kingdom, which was in the midst of a factional struggle for the succession to the throne.

(This makes the Five Continents Alliance nothing more than a name. Because the war wasn't a short war, but a long one that lasted for decades? Maybe, but no, that's not the quintessence.)

I couldn't help but wonder if it was even a ploy by the Demon King.

"So that's why the Fire Goddess, Freya, has stopped lending her power?"

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. How many people, even those who used to be in the Kingdom of Mercia, have now forgotten their faith in Freya, the Fire Goddess!"

"I see."

"That's all I have to say. You can go back now. I can't even process Adamantite properly with this kind of fire."

""...""

Everyone of us became silent, including me.

Master Craftsman Habarak said that he couldn't process Orichalcum because of belief in God.

So what were we going to do about it? I didn't have an answer at that moment.

While my friends' eyes were focused on me, wondering if we were going to leave, only the small animal on Sophie's shoulder was looking at Master Craftsman Habarak.

"Haha. Not at all. No, it can't be. Yes, it is. That's right. I can't keep quiet about this. Hahaha."

"What?"

Master Craftsman Habarak glared at the Spirit God Rosen with a strong gaze for a moment because somebody denied his words.

But he stopped glaring after a moment.

I wondered if he had sensed the presence of a God.

"The Freya I know would never abandon the dwarves. I know she is fierce, but she has always cared for them. She has always loved them, more than any other race."

"What!?"

"There is another reason why Goddess Freya stopped helping."

While Master Craftsman Habarak was astonished, I understood the true meaning of the Spirit God's words.

"Yes, there is, Allen. There is another reason. There's a reason why she stopped helping the dwarves. Haha."

"I just can't figure it out."

Either way, Orichalcum couldn't be processed.

"I'll go to the Divine Realm and ask her. She might just tell me. Haha"

The Spirit God on Sophie's shoulder floated in the air and disappeared.

He seemed to have traveled to the Divine Realm.

Master Craftsman Habarak was upset and left looking at the place where the Spirit God was.

I had heard stories from Helmios about what the Spirit God was.

"I see.You were with a God, I see. I'm sorry about yesterday. Yes, this was a dwarves' problem, but I blamed it on you."

"No,it's alright."

Master Habarak once again apologized to me for grabbing me by the chest the day before.

(That's how desperate he must have been to see anything at all.)

Then an hour passed.

My friends and I decided to sit tight and wait because of the situation.

I lost track of how many cups of tea I had.

After another hour or so, the Spirit God appeared.

"How was it?"

"I'm not sure. Haha."

His expression lacked any energy at all.

He was in his flying squirrel form but I could understand the look on his face that showed despair.

"Spirit God?"

Sophie looked at the Spirit God with great concern.

"Sofiarone."

"Yes."

"Before I tell you what I'm going to do, I promise you one thing."

"Yes. Spirit God."

Looking straight at the Spirit God, Sophie replied that she would accept any words.

"As a Spirit God, I am above all for the elves. Based on the pact I once made with the Prayer Priestess, I promise to use all of this existence for the elves. So I hope you don't worry."

"Yeah, why?"

Sophie wanted to say why he said that, but couldn't.

It was a question of how prepared one must be to say such a thing, even though he or she had become a God.

""...""

Everyone was looking at Spirit God Rosen with baited breath.

"The situation seems to be more serious than I thought. If this continues, the world will be destroyed in less than a few years. Haha."

Spirit God Rosen, uttered that the world would be destroyed in a few years.

The Spirit God's laughter sounded much drier than usual to Allen.