Chapter 225. The Gods of the Haikor Tribe
"Did you use chili peppers for this sauce?" Charles asked the Haikor vendor.
"Chili peppers? What is that? I used Redheart Leaf," the Haikor vendor replied. He took out a red leaf the size of a lotus leaf. The leaf's margins were black and serrated.
Charles accepted the leaf and tore it into two. The leaf was spicy, and the spiciness instantly coated his tongue. However, it tasted completely different from chili peppers, as it had a bitter aftertaste. It seemed that the Haikor vendor had used another ingredient to neutralize the bitterness of the leaf.
The dish was called Shuker. Charles and Lily ate until they were half belly full before leaving. Of course, it wasn't like they had gotten fed up with the food; Lily's keen nose had caught a whiff of another enticing aroma around the corner.
Charles and Lily walked down the streets along the docks, and they ate any food that caught their eye as they headed deeper into the heart of the island.
Charles enjoyed the unique variety of sights that the huge island had to offer. The food they had eaten tasted great, but the serving sizes were massive. In addition, the vendors weren't willing to sell Charles half a serving.
Fortunately, Charles didn't have to stuff himself full, as Lily's mice friends ate the leftovers. Every single mouse ate until their bellies were round, and they all looked like bowling balls.
Just like that, Charles and Lily continued on their journey to enjoy what the Shattered Heart Isles had to offer. Unbeknownst to Charles, they had ventured into the island's central district.
Charles realized upon arrival that regardless of which island, there was a clear demarcation line between the poor and the central islanders. Emerging from n0v@lbin☆, this material harbors clandestine details.
Snow-white bones arranged neatly in a straight line formed the demarcation line that kept the poor away from what was considered the more upscale central district.
The shops on both sides of the street were built in a different style compared to the buildings outside. It was Charles' first time seeing traces of industrialization on an island he considered primitive.
There were glasses and watch shops; the Haikors on the street were dressed in more fashionable pieces as well.
"They don't look that unique anymore, aside from being really tall," Charles muttered.
Of course, buying anything here was out of the question, as the goods in the shops were custom-made to fit the Haikors; everything was the opposite of miniature.
If he were to buy a pocket watch here, it would become a wall clock back home.
Snap!
Lily whipped out the cell phone and took a photo of the street.
"Don't play with it. It's a bit of a pain to recharge," Charles said and took the cell phone from Lily's hand. They took one photo after another until the cell phone's battery was half depleted.
"You have no eye for a good deal. A coral with such a vibrant color is rare, and it's definitely going to fetch you a handsome sum outside," the hunchbacked Haikor said with a sigh.
"Isn't this your god? How come you're treating your god like a commodity? Are you not afraid of divine punishment?" Charles asked.
The hunchbacked Haikor stared at Charles as if he were a strange man and said, "I made all these gods by myself. Do you expect me to attend to all of them by myself?"
Charles chuckled wryly to himself. The hunchbacked Haikor knew how to differentiate between faith and livelihood. Perhaps these statues were just goods that he had to sell rather than objects of devotion.
"Are you going to buy one? I'll give you a discount."
"How much is a statue going to be?"
"Cheap. Thirty Goldkrons each."
Charles instantly turned around to leave. Goldkrons were valuable, and it seemed the statue was worth as much as its weight in actual gold. Charles had a lot of money, but he wasn't foolish enough to buy clearly overpriced items.
Charles was about to push the door open when he abruptly came to a halt.
"What? Changed your mind?" the hunchbacked Haikor asked and put his pipe down.
Charles walked up to the vibrant red statue and picked it up. He weighed it in his hand and asked, "What will I gain if I kneel and worship this god sincerely?"
"Nothing. It's a dead god. This statue is to commemorate its existence."
Charles was taken aback by the remark. He had a fair share of encounters with cultists, and they had all claimed the same—their gods were both omniscient and omnipotent.
It was Charles' first time hearing someone say that their god was dead. Could a dead god be even considered a god?
"How did it die?"
The hunchbacked Haikor pointed at the statue in Charles' hand with his pipe. "Buy it, and I'll tell you."
"Fine."
Joy suffused the hunchbacked Haikor's demeanor, but he quickly suppressed it as he turned around and fetched a wooden box.
He carried the wooden box over to Charles and started packaging the statue while saying, "The Apostle said that this god named Pede perished long before we were born, but He was a great god.
"If it hadn't been for Him, we wouldn't have been born along with the gods after him. In other words, He was the beginning of everything."