Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

Just as Celestina was about to offer a few quiet words of thanks to her First Disciple for his efforts, her jovial expression suddenly turned serious as she caught a glimpse of a small group of figures out of the corner of her eye.

There were only 5 people in this group, 2 older women accompanied by 3 middle-aged adults. Each of them was carrying either a small dish of food or a cup of wine as they walked towards the side of the banquet hall, their faces filled with sadness and their steps heavy with solemnity.

"Lucas."

Swallowing what was in his mouth, the young boy turned and tilted his head, "Yes, Master?"

"You asked me to let you know when Hubert’s family..." Celestina began quietly, but before she even finished, all three of her Disciples quickly got to their feet.

Bowing once to their Master, the trio of children asked to be excused temporarily, a request Celestina granted with a simple wave of her hand.

Having secured permission, Lucas, Eris, and Christina swiftly but respectfully began walking towards the grand hall’s memorial altar.

It was a Balfour Family tradition to ring in the new years not only by celebrating among the living, but also by honouring those who had passed.

As such, every year at the final banquet, a kind of large shrine was set up inside the hall where friends, comrades, and family members of the fallen could pay their respects and leave offerings from the feast as a way of sharing a final meal with their departed loved ones.

Under their Senior Brother’s lead, the group of children promptly arrived at the memorial altar to find some 30 or 40 people already there in silent prayer.

Not wanting to disturb the mourners, Lucas, Eris, and Tina remained at a respectful distance and waited.

About a minute later, when a specific group of 5 stood up from their knees and left the shrine, the young boy stepped forward and hesitantly asked, "Lady Levins?"

"Hm? Oh my," the two old ladies, hearing this young voice call out to them, turned their heads and were surprised to discover 3 of tonight’s stars standing there, seemingly addressing them.

Immediately, they, along with their adult children tried to bow, only for Lucas, Eris, and Christina to rush forward and physically hold them up, the princess herself taking the initiative to say, "There is no need for that, please."

Now somewhat confused, the representatives of the Levins Family wondered what all this was about, only to be shocked when the Marquess’ three Disciples all gave them a formal salute and then deeply lowered their own heads to them.

"Tss!!" The eldest woman, the apparent matriarch of the group, gasped and practically shouted, clear hints of panic in her voice, "Young Lord Lucas, Young Lady Newton, Your Highness, you mustn’t!"

Her concerns were echoed by the others as well, each of them frantically trying to get Lucas, Eris, and Tina to stop.

The three children naturally refused, only straightening their backs after a full 30 seconds had passed.

Eris then spoke for them all, her voice filled with a rare gravity, "Please don’t say that. If it weren’t for Grandpa Hubert, none of us would be here today."

"It’s true," Christina followed up, "Commander Levins was the very model of honour and service. We three, and many others, own him our lives. Compared to his sacrifice, offering our respects to his family is the least we can do."

Commander Hubert Levins’ family were at a loss for words, uncertain what they were supposed to do now.

Eventually, however, the old man’s wives simply smiled warmly and patted the young girls’ shoulders, "If that silly husband of ours could hear those words, I’m sure he would be very happy."

Pursing his lips, Lucas did his best to remain composed as he met eyes with the family of the fallen hero, "Grandpa Levins... Before he... He asked me to tell you that, he loved you all very much... and that, he was sorry he was so stubborn, right up until the end."

.....

While trying, and failing, to hold back their tears, Hubert Levins’ widows and children thanked Lucas for convoying his final words before turning to leave the hall, too emotional to remain at the banquet any longer.

Lucas wanted to offer something more than just words to this grieving family, but he felt that doing so in this moment would only cheapen the old Commander’s sacrifice.

"We need to find a way repay them in the future," Christina muttered as she watched their departing backs. Her voice was quiet enough that only her fellow Disciples could hear her, but that didn’t mean the strength and determination in her tone wasn’t apparent.

"En," Eris nodded, also having some difficulty keeping her eyes dry, "Grandpa Hubert was good to us. We can’t be ungrateful."

Lucas agreed, but added, "Not just them. From now on, it will be our responsibility to support the loved ones of all those who sacrificed for us, and to lift up those who depend on us."

This was a sentiment that both Christina and Eris shared, a fact they illustrated by solemnly nodding.

It might seem absurd for such a young boy, with barely any personal power at all, and who had only risen to an actual position of ’some’ influence moments ago, to be making such a grandiose statement, but coming from Lucas, somehow it just seemed right.

.....

As some of the most visible figures at tonight’s banquet, the actions of Celestina’s new Disciples were not missed by anyone in the hall.

Some were confused, some were shocked, but most simply nodded in approval.

It seemed that despite being so young, Lucas, Eris, and Christina were both sensible and respectful, rare qualities among children their age, especially ones with such lofty statuses.

When the trio returned to the head table, the adults around them didn’t offer praise or criticism, they simply welcomed them back and resumed their meal in a kind of silent affirmation that what they had done was only to be expected.

The atmosphere turned a bit somber for a time, but with all the good food and cheer filling the hall, the general festive mood soon returned. Tonight was a celebration, especially for those who had passed, so remaining gloomy wasn’t appropriate.

With the main course now finished, however, the evening was slowly coming to a close.

All that was left was dessert.

Unsurprisingly, Lucas’ sponge cake took centre stage once more, this time served with a rich buttercream frosting made with plenty of Maple Sugar.

Again, the sweet, light, moist cake was an instant hit, with many people overtly probing the servers and members of the Balfour Family for clues to its origin.

This time, unfortunately, they were bound to be disappointed as Lucas hadn’t yet decided on a way to mass-produce and sell sponge cake.

He thought about handing the rights to this dessert over to his Junior Sister’s new bakery, but considering how busy Tina’s was about to become thanks to the explosion of popularity Redwood-Style Bread had tonight, Lucas thought he might need to hold back for now.

After each enjoying a large piece of sponge-cake, topped with a sweet fruit puree, Lucas, Eris, and Christina excused themselves for the night, hoping to get a bit of rest before facing all the challenges of the new year.