Chapter 23: Dragon

Part 1

The group headed directly for one of Absilot’s personal manors near the border to the Lotso Mountains as soon as they entered the Kingdom of Toraca. Ianna was exhausted, however, so they decided to make a quick stop to rest before they arrived at their final destination.

Ianna passed out and fell asleep as soon as she lied down in bed after washing up. The sun was slowly sinking by the time that she finally woke up, still half in a daze.

They had arrived here at around noon, so she had slept for at least a good five or six hours. She thought she slept for a decently normal period of time, considering how tired she had been.

The very first thing she thought to do upon waking up was not to wash up, eat, or find Absilot and her friends, but to contact Arhad, who was still in Theodore so far away. It was highly likely that he would be worried if he had tried to contact her while she had been unconscious.

More importantly, her legs were numb. The Bahamut princess had come to the scene because she had felt the imperial family’s magic be dispersed, so it was more than possible that Arhad, who shared their blood, had felt something too.

‘But he would have contacted me first in that case. So maybe I’m wrong, since it doesn’t look like the artefact has been activated in a while. It might have been some magical means that works only within the Bahamut imperial family, but not on Arhad.’

She organized her thoughts before she activated the communication spell, having decided to tell him the truth —though she would still keep a few of her original intentions hidden— because the situation had grown so large. But he didn’t answer even though she had supplied the artefact with mana for a long while.

Was he taking care of something urgent? Or had the artefact’s spell been affected somehow during the mess?

She decided to try contacting him again after she had taken a better grasp of her current circumstances and stood up. But she only left the room after putting her artefact in her pocket so she could answer it anytime should he try to contact her first.

There were in a temporary house that Absilot had prepared before leaving Toraca. It was a two-story house built with fine lumber —there was a sitting room equipped with a table and chairs and a bathroom on the first floor, and two rooms on the second, which was about half the size of the first.

Ianna had been resting in one of the rooms on the second floor. Absilot and Taro, who had been chewing on some jerky at the table in the sitting room, looked up and called out to Ianna when she finally made an appearance.

“Aha!”

“Finally!”

Ianna startled a bit when both father and son, so alike in their appearance, called to her so loudly, and she climbed down the stairs while feeling a tad embarrassed.

“I’ve only been asleep for about five or six hours.”

Taro and Absilot exchanged looks.

“What’cha talkin’ about?”

“I think ya got it a bit mixed up.”

“You’ve been asleep for over a day on top of those five or six hours, ya know, Lil’ Ianna?”

Ianna was dumbfounded.

“I was asleep for an entire day?”

“Yeah!”

She must have truly been exhausted after having been through so much. She felt a little wistful for having wasted an entire day. Absilot passed her a canteen of water as she sighed and took a seat at the table.

“We almost thought we might have to ask a doctor to take a look at you too, Lil’ Ianna, ‘cause ya just wouldn’t wake up.”

“Too?”

Ianna raised her brow. She continued,

“Now that I think about it, where is Herrace?”

“He was admitted to a clinic yesterday ‘cause he had a real high fever. He was blabbin’ nonsense too —it was a right mess. We just came back from visitin’ him, though, and he seems to be doin’ a lot better now. We should be able to leave tomorrow or the day after.”

Ianna recalled how strange Herrace had behaved on the battlefield —how he had been able to wield his sword without even the slightest hesitation.

“Taro, did something happen to Herrace?”

“Mm…”

Taro scratched his head.

“Ya remember that girl?”

“What girl?”

“That girl we met at the back alleys of Lampinion.”

“Ah.”

He was referring to the drug addict girl who had been imprisoned in the underground factory prison. Herrace hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off of her because he had been worried over the fact that she might have been caught because of their actions.

“Herrace brought her with us when the Sidian soldiers were pushin’ us down from above. So she was teleported over to Lady Saki’s hideout too, but she was apparently fatally wounded before we got there. I didn’t know about that ‘cause I went to go find Pops as soon as we teleported, but I hear that she died not too long after. Lady Saki tried to save her, but it was apparently already too late.”

Taro sighed heavily as he recounted the situation. He continued,

“It was prob’ly cause she died on top of everything that was happening with you, Lil’ Ianna, but he was like a walkin’ corpse by the time Pops and I got back. I was plannin’ to leave him behind when we went to rescue ya, but he insisted on comin’ with and was stubborn as hell about it, yeah? And then, as soon as he started fightin’ them Sidian bastards……well, ya know what happened. I don’t really know the details either. Let’s just ask him in person later.”

Ianna was lost in thought. Herrace had not been able to take his opponents’ lives even when she had bullied him harshly and dragged him to the battlefields. The reason why he was suddenly able to wield his sword like a fiend now likely lay in both that girl and herself.

‘Herrace’s words suggested that my being in danger awakened something in him, but that girl’s death probably played a role too.’

She was curious, but she decided to push the matter off for later because Herrace was currently hospitalized, and she turned her attention to the two people here with her now. Ianna looked at the both of them in turns as she opened the canteen, and Absilot gestured to Taro.

“Go buy us something to eat, Son. And get something real tasty.”

“Got it.”

Taro immediately went outside without grumbling back.

Ianna drank her water as she studied the fierce look on Absilot’s face as he sat opposite of her.

To think that he had been a tiger……. He truly looked like one now that she was studying his features after learning that he was a beastman. His orange hair was thick, like the bristles of a tiger’s fur, his eyes were piercing, his muscles were solid, and his build was sturdy.

“There’s prob’ly a lot yer curious about, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there’s a lot that I’m curious about too. And I’m pretty sure that it’s only proper for you to tell yer story first, Lass, yeah? Can I start askin’ my questions first?”

“Please go ahead.”

“I heard the gist of things from the kids…”

Absilot lowered his voice before he continued,

“That woman who appeared at the end —there’s only one human who came to my mind as I heard their story.”

His fierce eyes narrowed dangerously. He continued,

“I’m thinkin’ that was the Bahamut imperial family’s youngest, yeah? What do you think, Lass?”

He was right. How much did Absilot know that he was able to deduce that she was from the Bahamut imperial family without having seen her?

Ianna obediently nodded back.

“I’m fairly certain it was Isabella, the princess of Bahamut. An elderly mage joined her later, and she called him Wiffheimer. Wiffheimer is the Bahamut imperial family’s court mage. And he addressed her as Your Highness.”

“Damn, I was right on my money.”

“But how did you know?”

Absilot crossed his arms and nodded.

“The black fox clan you found in the underground building. Those bastards are traitors who stabbed all beastmen in the back and defected to the North. A whole lot of people from our race lost their lives because of those bastards way back when, and we took huge economic losses too. We beastmen know that the black fox clan is related to the Black Fox organization somehow, and all of our leaders know that the Black Fox works under the Bahamut empire.”

Absilots lips twisted. He continued,

“A secret factory in Sidian, a land controlled by the Black Fox, the people who cast spells so strong that even a high elf from the eastern forests couldn’t dispel them, someone immensely powerful with black hair and eyes……. It all points to the Bahamut imperial family.”

Ianna looked back at him in surprise. He had already known the Black Fox’s true identity.

“Oh, ya mind if I smoke a bit?”

“Not at all.”

Absilot picked up a pack of cigars and an ashtray from the other end of the table. The cigars were rolled up nicely and were sitting smug within their case. He pulled out one of the cigars, put it in his mouth, and lit it by creating a small flame at the end of this thumb.

“So the princess and Wiffheimer, eh? Ya did well to escape from the bitch and bastard safe and sound, Lil’ Ianna. They ain’t anything ordinary.”

Ianna made a face.

“Have you met them before?”

“Hmm, back when I’d been active as a merc, I think? I never met the princess ‘cause she was just a babe back then, but I’ve met Wiffheimer and the rest of the imperial family a few times on the battlefields since they were always busy wagin’ wars like there was no tomorrow.”

Absilot drew in a breath of his cigar and breathed out a cloud of smoke. He was generally relaxed and composed, but he was scowling something fierce at the moment. He continued,

“The older emperor, empress, and the mage were one thing, but the young crown prince was really something else. I really don’t ever wanna have to see that crazy brat again. Who knows how much crazier he’s gotten now……? Ugh, seriously, I can’t help but wanna smoke whenever I think about those bastards.”

Ash dropped from his cigar as he used his rough fingers to tap it against his ashtray. He put the cigar back in his mouth with an unreadable expression on his face.

“It hurts my pride. I’d wanted to overthrow the whole lot of them back then, but the bastards made me compromise and I was only able to keep the West completely safe from their reaches. But, how did you escape their clutches, Lass? I know yer something special, but I’m pretty sure you ain’t strong enough to beat them as ya are now, yeah?”

“Yes. I don’t know about Wiffheimer because I didn’t face him directly, but my skills were too lacking for me to take on the princess. It was more difficult still because they had a pack of monsters with them too —three of them were high-leveled and included the Basilisk in their number.”

“So they had monsters under their control. But they tried to catch ya with that much firepower? And I hear that they put a huge bounty on yer head too. I guess that Life factory was real important to them.”

Ianna thought that there was likely another, bigger reason for it, but she decided to keep silent about it for now because it was difficult to explain. Absilot continued,

“But how did ya manage to escape from that situation?”

“I ran.”

Absilot’s expression grew serious when Ianna answered him honestly.

“Ya ran —from them?”

He took the smoking cigar between his fingers and fell silent for a moment. Then, when about half of the cigar had burnt away, he said,

“Did the black dragon that appeared in the Lotso Mountains help ya out by any chance?”

“Yes. The dragon chased the two away by using its breath on them twice, and it told me to go where I had been intending to go before it left.”

Ianna replied honestly once again. Absilot barked a laugh as he rubbed his cigar out on the ashtray. Once the cigar was out, he pulled out a new cigar and put it in his mouth as if he meant to chew on it.

“Damn! I can’t wrap my head around it no matter how hard I try. How did the dragon leave its territory and start wanderin’ around? Either the Bahamut bastards, who’ve been scuttlin’ around the Lotso Mountains like rats for ages, finally ticked the dragon off, or……”

Absilot looked dumbfounded as he scrutinized Ianna, who was still sitting up properly, up and down. He continued,

“Was it because of you, Lass? Ya even know how to summon the spirit kings. Hey, who are ya, really?”

“I wonder.”

Absilot lit his second cigar. He didn’t say much after that. He was simply lost in thought as he gazed down into the table.

Ianna figured it was her turn to ask the questions she wanted to ask now. There was a reason why she had candidly told Absilot about everything as long as it didn’t pertain to Roberstein.

“What is a dragon’s Guardian, Lord Absilot?”

Not only was Absilot the leader of the beastmen, the mythical race who dominated the West, but he was apparently somehow connected to the dragons too. She continued,

“Is it different from the spartoi?”

“Hmm? Oh.”

Absilot stared at Ianna as if she was a strange lifeform.

“Who told ya about the spartoi? The dwarves?”

“Yes. I asked around a bit when I was escorting a dwarf back to the South because I had wanted to meet a dragon while I was there.”

“Hmmm…to put it simply, spartoi are soldiers that dragons create by breakin’ off pieces of their flesh and soul and grantin’ it divine power. Would ya happen to know about the principles behind the spirits and about Pandemonium?”

“Yes. For the most part, at least. Please speak at ease. I’ll ask if there’s anything I’m not sure about.”

“Oho. Ya really are something special. Hmmm. The spartoi are similar to the spirits. They’re a part of the dragons, and the dragons are their collective whole. The spartoi protect the mythical races, and they also sniff out rifts into Pandemonium to close them back up. Guardians are people who’ve made a contract with a dragon.”

“A contract?”

“A Guardian promises to spend the rest of their lifetime protectin’ the ‘barrier’ that the dragons are maintainin’, and the dragons grant them one wish in return. It’s only offered to those who are incredibly strong.”

Barriers, and wishes.

Ianna took interest in those pregnant terms.

What were the barriers that the dragons were said to be maintaining for? How important must it be for them to offer granting any wish in return for protecting it? Just what kind of beings were the dragons that they could grant wishes in the first place?

And what was it that Absilot, who had once lorded over the continent as the Mercenary King, wish for so badly that he was willing to offer up his life in exchange?

Absilot continued,

“I made a contract with Terranodin, the Flame Dragon. Anyone can meet a dragon as long as they ain’t sleepin’. And Lord Terra ain’t asleep right now.”

Absilot threw his cigar into the ashtray with a flick of his fingers. He twinned his fingers together as his eyes glistened. He continued,

“Wanna meet a dragon, Lil’ Ianna?”

She had been waiting for the offer.

Ianna nodded immediately.

“Yes. And very much so.”

“Great! In that case, we should drop by at the beastmen’s villages in the Girohai Desert and go to where the dragon is.”

The edges of Absilot’s lips curled up into a grin as he continued,

“I’ve been waitin’ my head off ‘cause I’ve been itchin’ to have a bout with ya, Lass, and now I’m more curious about yer identity then I ever was before. Who knows what the dragons might know? And if there’s anything that you’re curious about the dragons, ya should take the chance to ask one yerself!”

Absilot pushed aside his cigars and the ashtray as he finished up their discussion. He told Ianna a lot about Terranodin, the Flame Dragon, and the beastmen, and Ianna listened to his tales with great intrigue. This was fresh knowledge that she could never learn from mere books.

“Ah, my mouth’s startin’ to hurt. I really ain’t suited for explainin’ things.”

Absilot pat his stomach and began grumbling just as they were finished talking. He continued,

“The hell? —did that rascal go all the way across to the other side of the desert just to buy some food? What’s takin’ him so long? I’m about to die of hunger here.”

It wasn’t long until Taro came back carrying a large cloth-covered dish.

“Tada!”

On the dish was a large and red scorpion that had been cooked. The scorpion was partly shelled, and the meat inside had been cooked a golden brown, and it smelled something amazing.

“Damn. Looks mighty good.”

Absilot and Taro were grinning widely as they broke off the rest of the scorpion’s hard shell with just their fingers alone.

Ianna, who had been quietly studying the gigantic scorpion on the dish, quietly asked,

“Is this a monster?”

“Uhh. Yep. It’s called a red scorpion, and they’re kinda hard to catch ‘cause they’re pretty vicious, but there aren’t that many of them out there ‘cause they just taste so damn good. They’re sometimes called land lobsters. Hey, Taro. How’d ya get yer hands on this?”

“They just gave me one when I walked into a restaurant and showed them the Tiger Mercenary Guild badge?”

“Hahaha. So I guess my guild ain’t dead yet.”

As they had guaranteed, the red scorpion was delicious even though it had only been roasted and salted. It’s plump and chewy flesh grew more flavorful with every bite, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a first-rate cooking ingredient. It was also good for restoring one’s health, according to Taro.

Ianna binged on the meal, not only because it was the first proper meal she’d eaten in a while but also because she hadn’t eaten in over a day. Still, Absilot and Taro packed away at least twice as much as Ianna had. She was almost curious as to just how large their stomachs were when they cackled about how they barely considered this a snack.

‘Is it because they’re beastmen?’

She found the stories they told her as they ate extremely intriguing. But the most interesting piece of information she had learned was that Absilot’s wife, Lanka, was human.

“She’s truly human?”

“Yeah. She don’t seem like a normal human ‘cause she went and married Pops here, but she’s still technically human. I heard that Pops chased her around like some kinda stalker before he proposed.”

“Well it’s true, ya rascal. So what? What of it? Do ya even know how cute and lovely yer mum was in her prime? Though she’s gotten even cuter now. Ugh, I miss my wife.”

Taro whispered to Ianna as Absilot grinned himself silly while thinking about Lanka.

“Pops is one real cradle snatcher. It’s actually more accurate to say that he raised her to eat. Mum was only seven when they first met, but Pops was over ninety, yeah?”

“I was a good-looking young man back then too. Haha.”

The age difference between them was so preposterous that it would have been normal to hold the man in contempt had he been human. But Absilot was a beastman who had a longer lifespan, and he barely looked like a middle-aged man now even though he was well over a hundred —so he did not necessarily fall under the realm of common sense as it pertained to humans.

‘But she was a small child when he was a young man…… Wouldn’t that still make him a cradle snatcher?’

Ianna stared at Absilot, who was still grinning himself silly as he thought about Lanka. Just how much did he like her?

“Some people even say that he gave up being a merc and settled down in the desert for Mum. Pops used to be a heavy drug addict and an unstoppable thug back in the day, but apparently his personality changed completely after he met Mum and Uncle Mursi.”

Ianna recalled how Absilot had dealt with the ruffians back in Theodore when he had visited. It was no wonder why he had seemed so accustomed to dealing with them.

Ianna could not help but wonder what kind of person Lanka, someone who had changed another’s violent way of life so completely, was.

Ianna returned to her room once she had finished eating. She decided to rest today and set off first thing tomorrow morning to check in on Herrace and get moving again. Her two month-long summer vacation was already almost half over, so she didn’t have much time to spare.

Ziiiing.

She sat at the edge of her bed and tried injecting mana into her artefact again. But Arhad still wasn’t answering.

“Did this really break?”

She furrowed her brows as she clutched the artefact tight and gave it a little shake. She tried contacting Arhad again after shaking it, but he still didn’t answer.

Ianna decided to wash up first before thinking about it and headed down to the bathroom with a spare set of clothes. But she immediately stopped in her tracks.

Ianna like taking slow showers and leisure baths filled to the brim with water, but she could not do that here. She would have to take a quick wash, but she had another way of getting refreshingly clean without having to go through the trouble.

Ianna decided to call Innis.

[Iannaaaaa! You were okay! Thank goodness! I was so worried about you!]

Ianna thought quietly to herself as she let Innis rub himself against her.

‘It might not be a bad idea to show Lord Absilot the spirit kings later.’

Absilot knew about the spirit kings. She still remembered how he had once told her that summoning the spirit kings required a hundred sacrifices because it had made such an impression on her. She might even be able to learn new information if she heard what Absilot and the spirit kings had to say to each other.

Ianna found herself impressed as she thought about Absilot.

‘He’s truly a remarkable person.’

He was a very special person who knew not only about the spirits and the dragons and about the relationship between Bahamut and the Black Fox, but also something more even beyond that. Ianna even felt as though she wouldn’t mind discussing the Holy Age with him. She felt like she could tell him anything because he had already known about everything she had told him thus far, and he was just as important to her as the spirit kings were.

Innis, who had been rubbing against Ianna’s cheek, plopped around with joy when Ianna asked him to wash her. He turned himself into clean water and poured himself over Ianna’s head as he told her that he had confidence in washing things and that she should call him to be her personal shower whenever she wanted to wash up.

Once again, Ianna felt her fatigue and irritation be completely washed away. It was so addictively refreshing that Ianna seriously considered taking Innis up on his offer.

[The dragons?]

Innis splashed his tail around when Ianna asked him about the dragons. He looked adorable, but the words he was saying was anything but.

[We despise those bastards. Those punks take after the Demon. And they can control mana like they own it too.]

“They take after the Demon?”

Innis replied gleefully when Ianna expressed her interest.

[Yeah. We were hardly ever summoned toward the later half of the Holy Age because the Demon interfered, but we’ve still seen the Demon a few times.]

Innis squashed together his form and created a certain figure with his water. He had taken on the shape of a dragon.

[The Demon was a giant winged lizard! He liked to transition between that form and a form that took after Roberstein’s —um, so a human form, basically— because of her…… But the giant lizard you call a dragon was the true form of that punk’s soul.]

Gingerly, Ianna asked,

“Then, how are the dragons related to the Demon?”

[Actually, they probably aren’t. Dragons are just one of Laos’ creations. We don’t know much else about them either. We can’t communicate with anything when we’re not summoned into the physical plane unless it’s with something with an open soul, so we don’t know much about what happens in the world when we’re not summoned. And Laos wasn’t sociable at all. He refused to tell us about the Holy Age or even about himself no matter how much we begged him, so we eventually gave up.]

“Couldn’t you have asked the dragons?”

[Hmph. We aren’t friendly with those punks! Besides, we only met them at the very beginning of the Age of Magic when Laos still existed. No one has been brazen enough to call us around a dragon ever since, and the dragons don’t call for us either. We’ve only been considering the dragons as Laos’ beloved pets.]

Laos’ beloved pets.

Ianna felt like she had heard that term before.

But where?

Ianna pondered for a while before she finally remembered.

“……The Black Prophet?”

[Hmm?]

“You told me a while ago that only Laos and his beloved pet existed in the world the first time you guys were summoned after the End.”

[Oh, right. That would be Kandemayon, the dragon of the Lotso Mountains. It followed Laos around in human form.]

Ianna rubbed at the goosebumps that had broken out on her arms.

This was a surprise. The Black Prophet, whose writings had become as the basis for the Holy Book, was Kandemayon, the Chaos Dragon?

[We hated his first pet, Kandemayon, a lot because it was black from head to toe just like the Demon, but we were more tolerant about the rest that he created later because they were more colorful. Though we still don’t like them!]

“Did Kandemayon have black eyes too?”

Ianna asked abruptly. Innis didn’t know why Ianna was asking him such a pointless question, but he answered frankly nevertheless because he enjoyed seeing her reactions.

[But of course. That punk was black from head to toe. And its eyes were black too.]

“Its eyes weren’t golden?”

[Blech. That’s just awful, Ianna. You just described the Golden Demon!]

Innis expressed his repulsion by pretending to retch. Ianna forgot what she had been about to say because this information was so shocking, and she opened and closed her mouth in silent repetition.

“……Couldn’t it have been another dragon? I mean, perhaps Laos created more?”

[Hmm? We only know of five dragons —one in the Lotso Mountains and four in the four corners. But it’s possible that Laos created more of them without telling us. More importantly, why do you ask?]

“I saw a black dragon with golden eyes in the Lotso Mountains. And it helped me.”

Ianna explained everything that had happened after she had parted ways with Shweia, and Innis spat out little droplets of water while coughing.

[Maybe he did make more. And one that looks exactly like the Demon too! Damn that Laos —just what on earth was he thinking?]

Ianna watched Innis swim around in agitation as she gingerly asked,

“Is it possible that the dragon I saw was actually the Demon?”

She had only spoken up after thinking things through. The Demon wasn’t dead, so she had wondered if it was somehow possible for it to manifest itself in the world, though she didn’t know how. But Innis fluttered like he had just heard the funniest story in the world and laughed.

[That’s impossible! The Demon is dead!]

Now that Ianna thought about it, the spirits considered the Demon dead.

But Innis, the Demon isn’t dead.

His heart is trapped underground, and his soul was ripped into pieces and scattered across the world.

Ianna was about to correct the spirit king’s misunderstanding, but she swallowed her words upon realizing something.

[Laos said that everyone was dead. The Demon and Roberstein died together. Only the Demon’s energy remained in the world like a poison.]

Laos had lied to the spirit kings.

[Besides, the Demon hated life, but the punk also coveted it endlessly. The bastard would have destroyed this world already if he was still alive, right? So the Demon can’t be alive.]

The spirit kings, who had existed since times immemorial, were completely lacking in their knowledge pertaining to the End and the Demon.

They were mythical beings, but it looked like they didn’t know about the fact that the Demon’s soul had been fragmented and scattered all over the world or that the Demon’s heart was inside Pandemonium. They simply believed that mana, which was spread all throughout the world, was simply something the Demon had left behind upon death.

How was it that they knew so little, even after taking the fact that they couldn’t know what happened in the physical plane unless they were summoned?

Ianna pondered.

Had Laos tricked them on purpose?

Ianna couldn’t figure out why, but was this something that the spirits must not know?

This was why Ianna had swallowed her words. She would have to meet with a dragon first before she could make heads or tails of this bizarre situation.

She didn’t think that Innis would know, but Ianna asked him one last question.

“What do you think the dragons are doing now? I heard that they only stay in one place and never move.”

Innis combed through two to three thousand years of his memories as he tried to find an answer to Ianna’s question, but he ultimately hung down like a dead fish.

[I’m sorry……. I really don’t know. We actually tried to find out once too, since we were curious, but the dragon punks scorn us too…….]

“No, that’s all right. What you’ve told me already is more than enough.”

Innis took a stealthy glance into Ianna’s eyes.

[Was I helpful?]

Innis grew spirited and reanimated when Ianna vigorously nodded back. He made a fuss about kissing her. Innis chatted on for a while after that before he was unsummoned.

Scribble scribble.

Ianna pulled out her notebook from her bag and lied down on her bed. She was organizing everything she had learned today, as well as her personal thought on the matter.

A single letter fell out from her notebook when she had finished writing and closed it shut. It contained the cooperation request and accompanying documents that Arhad had put together for Absilot.

She had left it inside her notebook and had completely forgotten about it until now. She decided to give it to Absilot the next time they were alone together as she looked out the window. It was nighttime now.

She then turned her head and looked to the plush puppy that she had placed next to her pillow as soon as she had entered the room. The plush was remarkably quiet.

“……Why isn’t he picking up?”

Ianna mumbled as she glared down at the plush before snatching it up in her hand. She crammed mana into it and hoped that Arhad would answer.

She tried to contact Arhad until it was late into the night before she finally fell asleep from fatigue.

They day grew brighter.

Ianna tried to contact Arhad again as soon as she woke. But nothing changed.

She was starting to grow a little anxious.

~~*~~

Part 2

“Y-you…you’re that nerd, right……?”

the girl asked as she gasped for air.

The girl had been fatally wounded and was dying. Saki had poured Life over her and had taken other measures to try and save her, but the girl had already lost a lot of blood and her intestines were spilling out of her wound, and death was what fate had dictated for her. Saki gave her anesthetics for the pain and prayed over her before moving on to treat the next patient.

The Life that Saki had poured over the girl’s wound had bought her a little more time. Herrace was pallid and watched with a dull light in his eyes as the girl began interrogating him. He was devastated by the current situation. His head felt empty whenever he thought about how Ianna was all alone facing an enemy whom even Saki Celtz, an archmage, hadn’t been able to handle.

Ianna hadn’t been in her best state when he had last seen her, and that monstrous woman had grabbed hold of her ankle. And yet, she had been left all alone in the midst of over a hundred skilled enemy soldiers and a bunch of beastmen with a taste for human hearts.

‘Is Little Ianna going to die?’

Herrace had never even imagined the death of a friend before. And it was only natural that he had never imagined that Ianna of all people could die.

Ianna was both his mental pillar of support and his hope.

She was always strong. She had mercilessly forced Travis, whom Herrace had never thought would see defeated in his lifetime, to his knees, and she had beaten back all their talented seniors during the swordsmanship tournament and had emerged victorious.

She had overcome the circumstances of her birth, had been recognized and acknowledged by all, and had never lost to anyone. Not to Miss Lalatua, who always had her fun with Herrace, not to the ever-perfect Arhad, not to the nobles who sneered at her, and not even to the loftiest prince in the entire kingdom —Ianna had never been daunted by anybody.

And so, to Herrace, Ianna was the strongest person in the world. She had never not been strong. She was his idol who would never collapse. She was always cool, always beautiful, always dignified, and always trustworthy, and he was always grateful to her……that was the kind of person she was.

But people died.

Anyone could crumble apart so fleetingly and die just like that, just as he had seen countless times as they traveled through Sidian.

The same was true of Ianna as well.

It had been the first time ever that Herrace had seen Ianna having such difficulty that it seemed like she could collapse at any moment. She had been weak back then.

And yet, she had been left behind all alone.

The ground had vanished from beneath Herrace’s feet as the thought that Ianna could die had crossed his mind. The earth had shaken, as if it could all come crumbling down at any second. His legs trembled as they held him up. It was only then that Herrace fully realized just how desperately important she was to him.

‘No…….’

If she vanished from his life, it would mean that the pillar of support holding him up would vanish as well. And yet, here he was, unable to do anything. Herrace felt so pathetic he wanted to die —not only had he been nothing more than a burden to her, he was also standing here powerless when someone so precious to him was in such great danger.

And even the girl whom he had risked danger to save was lying there dying.

“I’m asking if you’re that nerd I met a few days back?! I’m right, aren’t I?”

Herrace felt powerless as he spiritlessly replied,

“Yes…….”

The fatally wounded and dying girl clutched desperately at her stomach so her intestines wouldn’t fall out as she said,

“I knew it —hey, it wasn’t you, wasn’t it, you damn nerd? You’re the one who knocked me out and put gold in my pocket!”

Herrace flinched as he turned to the enraged girl. She continued,

“My pimp nearly beat me to death because of that gold coin that I didn’t even know I had. He dragged me over to the slave market and sold me, and that’s why I’m here, you fucking asshole! Why would you put me through all that trouble if you were gonna help me in the first place? —you should’ve just given me the gold while I was still awake! Fuck you.”

Evidently, it had been entirely his fault that the girl had been captured. The gold coin he had given her out of awkward guilt had led her to her death.

“And if you were gonna save me, then you should’ve started looking after me as soon as you found me in the cell! Huh? I’ve good eyes, you know? I kept my mouth shut ‘cause I thought you might kill me, but I knew who you were as soon as I saw that big man next to you!”

The girl screamed at Herrace as he stood frozen stiff.

“Don’t do stupid shit if you can’t take responsibility for your actions! If you’re going to pity someone, then at least do it properly! If you were trying to save me, then you should’ve done it properly! You only make things worse by being half-assed. You’re just a useless brat who gave me hope but ruined everything because you couldn’t see things through properly to the end. You’re a fool who had your chance but squandered it away! You’re the worst!”

Tears formed in Herrace’s eyes as the girl censured him.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He sobbed. His sense of shame was devouring him whole. Herrace really, truly wanted to die.

The girl stared silently at Herrace for a moment before turning her head, apparently having given up.

“Why are you so weak-willed when you’re a man —are your balls all shriveled up or something? Whatever. I guess this is the end of my shitty life. A war orphan and a drug addict……what a life!”

The girl began snickering.

“I feel like I’m about to go crazy ‘cause I haven’t had my drugs, but it’s also nice to be in my right mind. Hehehe. Argh, I just wanna die already while I’m feeling this way, so why is it taking so long? Fuck, I wanna get high on something expensive since it’ll be my last time anyway. Ugh, now I’m just upset that I can’t take my drugs! Fuck the rulers of Sidian. I’ve no idea what the hell they think they’re doing, but they should all get cursed and drop dead!”

The girl began blabbering nonsense like she had lost her mind.

“So why the hell did you give me that gold coin anyway? Compensation for knocking me out? Or was it just your shitty way of pitying me?”

“I was sorry……”

Herrace said as he quivered. He continued,

“I was sorry for pushing you away……. So I thought I should at least give you some money, since you needed it……. I really didn’t think things would end up like this. I’m so, so sorry.”

The girl’s face twitched when she heard Herrace’s feeble reply.

“……The fuck? I get shoved around all the time ‘cause I’m dirty. What were you so sorry about that you even decided to give me a whole gold coin?”

“It wasn’t because you were dirty that I pushed you. It was because I hate Sidian for getting someone as young as you addicted to drugs, for being a place where it’s so easy to commit crimes and kill people……and I ended up taking it out on you even though you did nothing wrong. No, that’s not it. I’m just so sorry. I’ve been such a fool.”

“…….”

The girl heard Herrace’s sincerity in his sobbing. He was truly apologetic, and he was so genuinely kind that she couldn’t find it in herself to keep railing at him. The girl hesitated for a moment before she shouted,

“Hah! —how are you planning to survive in this cruel world? You must be some kind of young master who has no idea how the world works, right? What are you, a pushover? Hey Sir, why don’t you get your act together?”

“I’m sorry.”

“And quit saying you’re sorry! I was at fault for getting hooked on drugs and running into you all reckless like that too!”

Eventually, the girl even started blaming herself.

“I’m sorry…….”

Herrace apologized one last time before he closed his mouth and let his tears fall in silence. The girl watched quietly as Herrace sobbed his heart out and bit hard at her lip. And then, she suddenly burst out in laughter.

“Wow, Sir, you must really be a pushover! Fine then, I know I’m gonna die anyway. So I’ll give you one last chance to get me to forgive you and make up for being half-assed until now. Come sit closer to me.”

“……?”

Herrace crouched down next to the girl with his tear-stained eyes, and the girl said,

“You seem like you’re pretty well off, so if you ever happen to run across an orphan in the middle of your path, don’t turn away from them. They’re just kids who’ll do anything, even bad things, if it means that someone will give them something to eat. Please help those children.”

Herrace didn’t know the details, but the girl was probably recounting her own life. Herrace nodded back wordlessly.

“I also want you to pray to Laos for me so that I can live a better life next time.”

“…….”

“And, you’ll bury me, right? I’d like some daisies on top of my grave instead of a gravestone. I don’t like gravestones because they’re scary, but daisies are my favorite.”

Herrace kept nodding as the girl then pointed to his sword.

“And lastly, I want you to kill me with your own sword, Sir.”

“……!”

Herrace flinched when he heard her shocking request.

“I don’t want to live any longer with my guts spilling out of me like this. I’m going to die anyway, and it pisses me off that I can’t just get it done and over with ‘cause the white lady put some weird medicine in me.”

The girl cackled as she continued,

“I’m going to die even if you don’t kill me. But you’re going to be sorry for the rest of your life if you ignore this chance even after I’ve gone out of my way to give it to you, Sir. And you’ll be a stupid pushover for as long as you live.”

Then, she suddenly raged,

“Argh, hurry up already! I’m asking you to kill me while the anesthetics are still working! I can feel it getting weaker! I don’t wanna be in pain!”

“…….”

“Hurry up!”

Herrace’s hand drew to his sword, like someone had dragged it there, as the girl spurred him on. His eyes were empty. Meanwhile, the girl’s once-dim eyes grew brighter.

He drew his sword from its sheath. His sword, which had been bloodied before but had never taken a life, pointed toward the girl’s heart. Its blade was trembling.

“You gave me a gold coin for a reason like that……,”

the girl whispered just as his sword was about to fall down upon her.

“You tried to rescue me from danger, and you cried because you were sorry for me —you’re the first person in my life who’s ever done that.”

Pow!

Herrace’s sword instantly penetrated her heart. The girl coughed up a mixture of blood and saliva before she sank back down. She grinned when she looked to Herrace, who was shuddering from shock.

“I like you a lot, you know……even if you do live the rest of your life like a pushover. But when there’s something you wanna do, make sure you do it properly —just like now.”

“…….”

“I’m sure my next life will be better, since someone as kind as you killed me and will pray for me. And I’ve forgiven you now, so stop feeling sorry for yourself. It just pisses me off when you keep apologizing!”

“…….”

“Make sure you keep your head on straight going forward! Don’t ever let something like this happen again. Well, bye then……Mr. Pushover!”

And so, the girl perished. Without any regrets, and with a look of relief washed over her face.

Clatter.

Herrace tried to pull out his sword, but he lost his grip and let it fall to the floor. He buried his face in his hands as he sat next to the girl’s corpse. His chest felt clogged, and he found it difficult to breathe.

Hers had been a vain death.

It had been such a frivolous one.

And yet, it was so, so heavy.

The final act of goodwill that the girl, whose name he didn’t know, had given him created a ripple in Herrace’s heart. In a mess, he sat next to the corpse for a long time as he organized his thoughts and feelings.

He picked the girl’s skinny corpse up when he was done. He found a peculiar-looking tree and buried her beneath it, and he promised himself to come back and plant some daisies for her. He made her one last promise and told her that he would return before he left.

He followed Taro and Absilot into a battle once they had returned. And there, he killed an enemy for the first time.

“Herrace?”

Taro looked to him in alarm, but even Herrace was surprised at how little he felt.

He looked to his enemy’s head rolling on the ground.

Death was so excessively frivolous.

It wasn’t that he was taking it lightly. He still hated killing as much as ever. He hated the heavy act of ending another’s life.

But not everyone’s death weighed equally, and the death of his enemy barely weighed as much as a feather in comparison to Ianna’s or the girl’s deaths.

Herrace recalled the people who were precious to him one after another. And he imagined his enemies aiming for their lives. The world of his imaginations was dyed crimson. And every enemy within it died to his blade.

He felt like he could kill as many enemies as he needed to, if only it meant that he could prevent Ianna’s death by doing so, if only it meant that he could protect his friends by doing so.

He got his priorities in order when he finally found something that he wanted to protect. He found the courage to be cruel, so long as it meant that he could at least protect what was precious to him.

Indeed. The death of an enemy weighed significantly less than he had thought it would.

~~*~~

“……And that’s what happened.”

Ianna, Taro, and Absilot had paid Herrace a visit at the clinic. He had improved greatly, and he was ready to be discharged whenever he wanted to leave. Ianna had asked him about what happened, and he had readily confessed everything that had happened to him.

“I think I couldn’t kill my enemies before because you and Sir Taro were just too strong,”

Herrace said with a clear look on his face. He continued,

“I never even imagined that either of you could ever possibly be in danger, and I trusted that you would save me if I found myself in danger……I think I couldn’t make up my resolve because it felt like I was just preying on them for fun.”

He smiled back when Ianna looked to him solemnly. He continued,

“But I realized that killing my enemies wasn’t difficult at all when I thought about how much danger you were in, Little Ianna. I was even alarmed at myself for thinking something violent like how I just wanted to kill the whole lot of them. And, even now, I don’t feel particularly guilty about killing them. I was only sick because all the fatigue I’d built up hit me at once after we found you again. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”

Absilot grinned as he listened to what Herrace had quietly said.

“So yer a protector, kid.”

“A protector?”

“Why don’t you tell me? Are ya capable of killin’ someone who ain’t putting you in danger?”

Herrace flinched.

“I might find that a bit difficult.”

“Exactly. Every now and again ya find a good person who normally can’t kill a fly but suddenly changes in a heartbeat if one of his own’s in danger. And I’m pretty sure yer one of those types, Herrace.”

Ianna let out a sigh as she quietly listened to Absilot’s explanation.

‘I see. He’s so kind that he can only demonstrate his true strength when someone else is in danger.’

Herrace was weak when his friends weren’t in danger, and there was no way he would be able to take an enemy’s life in that state.

“I see. I didn’t know because I’d never met anyone like that before. I was wrong and thoughtless to try to train you by forcing you to kill. You must have been so stressed. I am sorry.”

“N-no, not at all.”

Herrace startled while he had been chewing over Absilot’s words and waved his hands. Ianna pat him on her shoulder.

“And good work.”

Herrace stared at her and smiled.

“I’m really glad you’re okay, Little Ianna. And… I found it. I know why I want to be a swordsman now.”

“Well?”

“I’m going to grow stronger so I can protect those who are weak and can’t protect themselves and so I can protect the people I care about. And I don’t want to kill if I don’t have to, so I’ll grow strong enough to suppress people without killing them.”

He sounded like a child seeking praise from a parent. The expression on Ianna’s face mellowed because she was happy to see how much he had grown. He was limited in that he would only be able to truly demonstrate his skills when he was ‘protecting someone,’ but there was something cool about that too.

Herrace clenched his hands into fists.

“And, remember how my dream was to have a large and happy family? Well, I have to be the one to protect them, so I’m going to work hard.”

“Damn straight!”

“What a man!”

Absilot and Taro both gave him a thumbs-up. Herrace was embarrassed by their praises for a moment before he turned to Ianna with sparkles in his eyes.

“I’m going to work really hard.”

“I’m glad to see how much you’ve grown. I’m sure you’ll be a great swordsman.”

Herrace’s face flushed red when Ianna praised him too.

“Do you really think so? I want to help you for real the next time you’re in danger, Little Ianna. That’s how strong I’m going to be.”

The experience had pushed aside the guilt and shame he had been feeling as they travelled through Sidian and impressed new goals in his heart in their stead.

“And……actually, never mind.”

The nameless girl’s wish had influenced him greatly. For the first time in his life, there was something that he wanted to do besides training with the sword. It wasn’t anything grand —it was actually rather trivial—, but he decided to start working on it in secret when he returned home because he was too embarrassed to share his newfound resolve.

“I’m not one to be done in so easily. There’s no need for you to worry so much.”

“But you never know!”

“Yes, all right.”

Ianna was delighted by Herrace’s new maturity. Was this how a teacher felt to see their students grow?

In any event, it was time to travel beyond Toraca’s borders and go to Taro’s homeland, the Girohai Desert, now that Herrace had recovered. Herrace picked up his belongings, which he had prepared in advance, and returned to Absilot’s house. There, they began packing their things.

Ianna tried contacting Arhad one last time before she headed off to her next destination, but he still wasn’t answering. Her worries deepened as she began growing accustomed to his lack of response.

‘I hope this is only because there’s something wrong with the artefact.’

There was no reason why Arhad would ignore her calls this many times. Either he was in a situation where he couldn’t answer, or there was something wrong with the artefact, and Ianna sincerely hoped it was the latter. It had to be something big if Arhad was in a situation where he couldn’t answer her.

It was morning now, and it was possible that he was still asleep if he had slept in. Ianna hoped that he would answer after lunch as she put the artefact in her pocket. She did her best to ignore the fact that Arhad was normally late to bed and early to rise.

Everyone was waiting for her on the first floor. Ianna was climbing down the staircase with her bag slung across her back when Absilot excitedly yelled,

“Nice! Let’s get goin’ to the Girohai Desert now!”

Curiously enough, the Kingdom of Toraca, a kingdom located at the westernmost point of the human kingdoms, had much fewer deserts and was more fertile than Sidian, which was located more towards the center. The Tantasha River, said to be the lifeline of the desert, flowed directly through Toraca, and the people of Toraca enjoyed relatively ample water and food. Toraca was the last oasis before the Girohai Desert, the vast land of the four corners, began.

The Faith of Laos was the state religion in Toraca, and most of the buildings in the kingdom were white, perhaps due to the influence she received from Jinzai, her zealous neighbor. There were a few buildings that had a yellowish hue due to sand and age, but most were a uniform white, and, unlike the rounded arches of Roanne’s infrastructure, they boasted a sturdy and angular rectangular shape.

The colorful awnings along the buildings shaded the earth. Shade was a necessity in guarding against the scorching sun.

The people walking the streets were a dark brown in color. White turbans, chadors, and hijabs……most people were dressed in attire that could not commonly be found in Roanne, and any foreigners in the crowd who were not dressed that way stood out like sore thumb.

Camels were the main method of travel here, not horses, and the two-humped camels everywhere added to the exotic atmosphere. Ianna’s group, too, were traveling by camel in order to preserve their stamina.

“Ack!”

From time to time, people startled upon seeing Absilot and bowed their heads to him in greeting. Absilot greeted them back with a nod of his head or a wave of his hand.

Taro whispered to Ianna and Herrace,

“Ya know… There’s a whole lotta beastmen here. Most of the people sayin’ hi to Pops are beastmen.”

“But they all look human?”

“Well, Pops and I look pretty human too. Beastmen are generally pretty good at minglin’ with humans.”

A beastman’s transformation was generally divided into three stages: human form, beastmen form, and beast form. But these stages were only base standards, and it was easy for beastmen to live hidden among human society because they could freely change their appearance to match anywhere along the scale.

Taro held out his hands.

“I’m a half, but…….”

The veins on the back of his hands popped out as his fingers clawed and his nails grew longer. Then, his muscles expanded and hardened like rocks —his hands looked like a tiger’s paws now.

“I can still do this much. I guess this puts me somewhere in between human form and beastmen form?”

“Wow. That’s so cool, Sir. You’re a tiger!”

“Ahem.”

Taro coughed away his embarrassment as sparkles appeared in Herrace’s eyes.

“I’m really glad yer takin’ all this in stride. I’m kinda sorry for hidin’ it from ya all this time. I didn’t know how to bring it up, since most ordinary people don’t know much about the mythical races. I did mean to tell ya earlier —but sorry I didn’t.”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“We understand your reasoning.”

“This is why I like ya guys so much. Ahh, I feel so refreshed! I’ve got no more secrets from ya now!”

Taro looked quite pleased by Ianna and Herrace’s reactions as the latter two looked at him with great intrigue. He looked a cut more cheerful than he usually did as he turned to his friends.

“Mm. But won’t Sir Eiji be a little lonely if Little Ianna and I are the only ones who know? He already looked pretty sad that he couldn’t accompany us on our trip.”

“Actually…….”

Taro scratched his head. He continued,

“Eiji’s already caught onto me. I hear that he works with intel, yeah? He said that he caught on from my accent and the way I generally speak. Damn, that guy knows way too much.”

“Wow, really?”

Herrace, who had been wriggling his fingers, slumped his shoulders. He continued,

“You’re all so amazing. I almost have to wonder if I have any right to be here with you all like this.”

“Hey, what’s this about havin’ the right? We’re all the same here.”

Slap!

“Ack!”

Taro had smacked Herrace across the back of his head in pity, but Herrace ended up clutching at his head from the resulting pain.

“Ya idiot rascal!”

Smaaack!

Then, Absilot punched his son across the back of his head. He began nagging Taro when the latter gasped and clutched at his own head.

“You might kill a human if ya hit them with yer brute strength! The kid’s already flimsy as it is —what’cha hittin’ him for?”

“Ughhh. I made sure to hold back…….”

“You just hit that kid with a tiger’s paws outa nowhere. Ya hear? Make sure ya be careful about how much power yer usin’ all the damn time whenever yer hangin’ out with normal humans!”

“I get it already. Why don’t you hold back your monstrous strength, Pops? Ya think yer some kinda normal beastman? I thought my head was seriously gonna to explode…….”

Taro grumbled as he patted down the round lump that had formed on the back of Herrace’s head. Herrace had frightened a little when he heard that he had been hit with a tiger’s paw.

“Anyway, is there something on yer mind, Lass?”

Absilot had been keeping an eye on Ianna. He continued,

“Ya don’t look too good.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. I’m just a little hot.”

Or so Ianna said, but her head was filled with worries about Arhad.

It had already been a day.

It had already been several hours since they had eaten lunch —a kebab consisting of cut vegetables and thin slices of meat wrapped in a thin flour-based bread with hot sauce.

She had been trying to reach Arhad since dusk yesterday, and she had been activating her artefact once every ten minutes since morning today. But her calls weren’t connecting at all.

‘Did something really happen?’

She was starting to grow parched. She pulled out her canteen and drank from it with an uneasy look on her face. It was hot, yes, but her throat felt dry because of her worry over Arhad.

‘Or perhaps he’s in the middle of something important. In that case, I might actually be bothering him.’

In any event, Ianna did her best to convince herself that she would hear back by evening and forced herself to concentrate on sightseeing.

The sun began sinking to the west, and their camels’ shadows grew longer. The earth was being dyed crimson, and the sky to the east was beginning to grow dark.

The day was almost over.

Buzzz…….

“……!”

Ianna startled when she felt the mana vibrating against her body. Her elation lasted only a moment, however, before a faint disappointment settled on her mien. But this was important too, so she quickly erased her disappointment and rummaged through her bag. The artefact that Saki had given her had been activated.

[I’m so sorry,]

Saki said urgently as soon as Ianna picked up.

[I was somewhere where artefacts don’t work. What is your situation right now, Lady Anna?]

“I was able to escape, and now I am leisurely continuing my travels through Toraca.”

[Oh……. Thank goodness. That’s such a relief!]

Saki let out a sigh of relief.

“Why didn’t you answer earlier, Saki?”

[After I lost contact with you, I went to a room with an anti-magic barrier cast over it with the pope and the other cardinals. I informed them everything that had happened while I was away, and I requested their aid in rescuing you.]

Herrace, Taro, and Absilot were all crowded around Ianna’s artefact and listening to what Saki had to say in interest. Saki continued,

[Everyone was infuriated, and we all agreed that the royal family of Sidian needed to be punished for the horrible things they’ve done. But……the woman who appeared toward the end of our raid was Isabella Bahamut. The princess of the Bahamut Empire.]

“Cough!”

Herrace and Taro blocked their mouths in surprise.

[The Bahamut Empire rejects the Faith of Laos, and they are both the evilest and strongest nation in the world. The Church detests them and believes that they will one day need to be erased through a holy war, but we are not strong enough to take them on yet and decided that we will need to exercise caution if they are connected to the royal family of Sidian.]

Calmly, Saki’s voice continued,

[Thankfully, unlike the temple, the king of Jinzai immediately mobilized his forces and stopped the Sidian army from invading our borders. We at the temple, too, masked our intentions and joined his forces to try and rescue you. Both Jinzai and Sidian saw many casualties as a result……and we received an official complaint from Sidian. They censured us for not only failing to assist but even stopping them from chasing after a rebel. Jinzai hates Sidian to begin with, and it was only natural that our leaders were enraged because it was Sidian that invaded our borders without permission in the first place.]

The rest of her story continued as follows.

Jinzai’s leadership, ever radical and emotionally reactive, was considering using the opportunity to wipe Sidian off the map when Sidian officially threatened to wage war if Jinzai did not open up her borders and assist them in capturing the rebel.

There had been no mention of the Bahamut Empire.

The temple had gauged the situation. Only the temple knew about the cozy relationship between Sidian and Bahamut. And it seemed like Sidian and Bahamut did not wish for the rest of the world to learn about their relationship. Saki said that the temple had calculated that Bahamut would only be able to help Sidian behind the scenes, but wouldn’t act openly so long as the temple didn’t expose their relationship, and so, the temple had decided to support Jinzai as the kingdom prepared for war.

[We will need to hold another conference before I know what our exact plans are, but that is the current situation on our end.]

Saki took a deep breath once she had finished her piece. Then, she continued,

[I could thank you a hundred times and apologize to you a thousand times, Lady Anna, and even then, I could never repay you for the kindness you have shown me. Thank you so, so much for helping us and saving us.]

“Everything worked out well in the end, so I don’t mind. But please keep my identity a secret.”

[Of course. I will do so even at the cost of my life. Vita, too, vowed to keep your identity a secret upon his name as an elf, so please don’t worry about it. And, I would truly like to reward you somehow…….]

Gingerly, Saki continued,

[I would give you everything I have if I could have it my way, but I worry that something might happen that may connect me to your true identity if I do. But I will give you everything I have if that is all right with you, Lady Anna. Will you accept this?]

“Surely, you jest…….”

[Not at all —I am being sincere…….]

Ianna closed her mouth. Was Saki Celtz truly the kind of person to jest about something like this? No, she was not.

But in that case, was the truly offering to give Ianna everything she had?

Just imagining it made Ianna grow embarrassed.

“That’s quite all right. But I have a feeling that I might need your assistance in the future, so I would be grateful if I could depend on your aid should the need arise.”

[But of course. Please seek me anytime should you ever find yourself in trouble. I will help you in any way I can, both physically and spiritually.]

“And I’ll thank you in advance for letting me see the temple’s holy relic.”

[Yes, I remember. I will contact you again once I’ve completed all the necessary procedures. By the way, are your friends with you at the moment?]

“Yes, they’re listening in.”

[Oh, hello. My apologies for greeting you so late, despite the circumstances. And thank you. I, Saki Celtz, will never forget the aid you’ve all lent me. Please let me know through Lady Anna should you ever require my assistance.]

“I didn’t really do anything though…….”

“Me neither…….”

Saki replied calmly when Herrace and Taro grew embarrassed.

[Not at all. This result was only made possible because of the help of everyone involved. Moreover, I do not wish for our ties to be cut quite yet. I have seen the lives of many people though the course of my life, and I have grown to be able to gauge the measure of a person’s capabilities. And my intuition tells me that all of you will one day be involved in a great work.]

Warmly, Saki continued,

[I hope that you will tell me your names the next time we meet. Oh, and please do extend my gratitude to the beastman who also came to assist. I’ve heard that he has been quite active in battle.]

Saki knew that a beastman had joined in the war to rescue Ianna, but she did not know that the beastman in question was Absilot, the Mercenary King.

[I will be waiting eagerly for our next meeting.]

And so, the matter with Saki had come to a close.

“A war between Sidian and Jinzai…….”

Absilot had taken great interest in what Saki had said. He continued,

“Sounds fun. I should send over some of my kids if there’s gonna be a war. And I might sneak in a few times myself.”

Thus, Absilot had tentatively decided to take part in the war. It was quite the unfortunate news for Sidian.

Part 3

An hour later, six hours later, nighttime.

A new morning, afternoon, evening.

The silence continued on repeat.

Toraca was beautiful, the people were kind, and the food was delicious, but Ianna’s anxieties only grew by the day.

It had been three days.

Ianna kept a hand in her pocket at all times now. She had made a habit of clutching her plush tight in her hands and activating it with mana. And every time she did, she thought,

‘Please answer.’

She was even starting to grow delusional now. She began developing migraines as she thought unrealistic things like, ‘What if the Bahamut imperial family found him because of what I did?’ and even nonsensical things, which she had initially forced herself to stop thinking about, like, ‘What if he transformed himself into that dragon and then he hurt himself badly or even died because of the burden?’ as she thought about the similarities between Arhad and the dragon she had seen.

Her frustrations grew as she was helpless to the passage of time, and she had almost arrived at the entrance to the Girohai Desert now.

Ianna stopped her camel in its tracks just as twilight was settling over the land. Her friends looked to her strangely when she suddenly lagged behind.

“What’s wrong?”

Her pupils were shaking.

The artefact in her hand was resonating. It meant that someone was supplying it with mana from the other end of its connection. She grasped the plush even tighter.

Finally.

“Please go on ahead. I’ll catch up later, so could you please take my camel with you?”

“Oh, sure. I know ya were waitin’ for that call, so go on and take it. We’ll be lodging at the “Running Pig” —it’s a famous inn, so make sure ya find it!”

Absilot, who had noticed from the vibrations of mana he had felt from her pocket for nearly four days now that she had been trying to get in contact with someone, was happy for her. He took the reins to Ianna’s camel and vanished into the distance with Taro and Herrace in tow, and Ianna ran behind a secluded building.

“Sigh.”

Ianna sank down as she leaned against the wall. She quickly pulled out the plush and held it tight.

She could breathe again. She had finally gotten in touch with Arhad, whom she hadn’t been able to contact no matter how many times she had tried. She wanted to know if something had happened to him —her body was here but her mind was already with Arhad and was thinking fifty thousand different things, and Ianna felt like she finally understood what it meant to ‘cry for joy’ as she experienced the feeling viscerally all the way down to her very bones. She was so relieved that her eyes were actually starting to sting.

Ianna had been gathering her breath —she had forgotten everything she had meant to say in her worry— when a familiar voice called out to her.

[Ianna.]

Her heart squeezed. Ianna bit down hard at her lip.

Fool!

She had been so worried over him, and yet he was calling her name so calmly as if nothing was wrong —it was quite spiteful of him.

Ianna’s head sank. She had only lost contact with him for a mere three days. But even that had been long enough for her to grow so frustrated it was driving her crazy. Time has seemed to pass so quickly when she hadn’t contacted him because she had felt no need to, but it had been so slow when she couldn’t get in touch with Arhad when she wanted to.

Arhad always responded immediately whenever she called. He had never failed to be at her side when she needed him. He had always made time for her even if he was busy, and he had always been happy to see her. Perhaps she was so frustrated because he hadn’t been able to free up his schedule.

“……!”

Ianna made an abrupt realization.

Arhad was always waiting for her. He was always waiting nearby, as if he had been prepared especially for her. So that he could always answer when she called.

Her heart choked up.

“Oh…….”

Ianna pulled at her hair. She could not calm herself down, so she buried her head in her knees over and over again and breathed raggedly for quite a while, and it was only then that she finally managed to straighten out her voice and call out to him.

“Arhad.”

[Yes?]

“Why haven’t you been answering?”

Ianna asked in protest.

[Hmm? How long have you been trying to get in contact with me?]

“It’s been three days.”

It made no sense that she hadn’t been able to get in touch with Arhad when her artefact was working just fine. He would never intentionally ignore her calls, not when he held such immense goodwill for her.

Arhad fell silent for a moment and sounded truly apologetic when he spoke again.

[……Oh, my bad. I’ve been in the middle of a secret mission for the past few days, and I had to leave most of my things behind. You must have called while I was away.]

“Was it for Camastros?”

[Yeah. I’ll fill you in on the details once you’re back. I’m sorry for not answering your calls.]

She could accept Arhad’s explanation. And she also accepted the fact that Arhad hadn’t been the dragon. Still, Ianna found herself growing childishly disappointed that Arhad hadn’t thought that the artefact he used to communicate with her hadn’t been important enough to him to bring along on his mission.

[Did something happen? Why were you trying to contact me……?]

Ianna didn’t reply. Then, Arhad changed his tone.

[Are you in danger right now?]

Her disappointment was one thing, but she was also growing angry now that she realized she had been so worried over nothing. Couldn’t he have told her beforehand if he was going to be away on a mission and unable to contact her?

Ianna was feeling spiteful. She felt like she’d feel better if she made him worry for her just as she had been worrying for him.

Such childish feelings didn’t suit her. But Arhad was always unearthing new emotions from her, and Ianna didn’t turn away from them and simply allowed herself to experience them naturally.

[Ianna.]

“…….”

To be honest, her spite had only lasted for a moment, and she was actually just happy to hear him worry for her. And she liked hearing his voice again for the first time in a while too. Ianna was kicking at the pebbles by her feet with a relaxed expression on her face when Arhad quietly growled,

[Should I go to you?]

“Pardon?”

Ianna asked back in startled surprise. Now that she thought about it, she should have been explaining to him about what had happened —it wasn’t the time to be lost in her feelings. Ianna snapped back to her senses and said,

“I’m all right. I was in danger before, but…….”

[Be honest with me.]

Arhad cut her off before she could finish and say, I’m safe now. Ianna stiffened up from his sudden interrogation.

“What……about?”

[You were the one who dispelled the Bahamut imperial family’s magic earlier, weren’t you?]

Ianna found herself dumbstruck.

[You’re not getting yourself out of this one. I share all of the imperial family’s fragments, so I feel it too when their spells are undone. It happened somewhere around Sidian……and as far as I know, you’re the only person in the entire region who’s capable of breaking through Bahamut’s spells.]

“…….”

[Just what the hell were you doing that you somehow managed to run into Bahamut’s spells? And what sort of magic did you dispel? ……In any event, I might not have been in a position where I could contact you or go to you while I was stuck here in Roanne, but I’ve been keeping tabs on the situation through the intelligence sources I’ve planted all throughout Sidian. I trusted you to yourself because it sounded like you’d escaped just fine on your own……but you aren’t still being chased, are you? Is there someone from the Bahamut imperial family on your tail?]

Just how much did this man know?

[Don’t you dare try to hide things from me. And I’m really going to get angry with you if you were about to deal with everything on your own in secret because you were worried that the imperial family might notice me because of the resonance between fragments.]

Ianna’s face flushed red in embarrassment.

‘That’s exactly what I did…….’

[Hurry up and tell me. Or else, I’m going to use the connection between our artefacts to find your coordinates and teleport over to you.]

This artefact could be used like that too?

In any event, Arhad would truly teleport over if she didn’t reply soon.

“There’s no need for that. I’m safe now. I’ll tell you everything that’s happened.”

It was only then that Ianna finally told Arhad her report on everything that had happened. All save for her personal intentions.

“I’ve met up with Lord Absilot and am under his protection for now. So please, don’t worry about me.”

[……Is that so? That’s a relief. Are you all right, though?]

“I am physically fine.”

[That’s not what I meant…… Did the Princess act funny when she saw you?]

Ianna closed her mouth. What was it that Arhad knew?

‘…….’

Ianna wanted to pretend she hadn’t noticed.

“Perhaps? Are you referring to the fact that she attacked me? She did chase after me quite frantically, though I assumed it was because I destroyed an important factory. Is something wrong?”

[No, it’s nothing important.]

Arhad, too, pretended that all was well.

[But in any event, does this mean that you helped destroy a random factory just because of your sense of justice?]

Ianna hesitated because Arhad had suddenly changed the topic while sounding dubious.

No. The truth is that I was curious about the medicine you gave me while you were wearing black robes, and I was wanting to strike a blow against a fragment owner. And a part of the reason I helped Saki was because I wanted to see the holy relic so I could try and uncover the secrets of the Holy Age.

But there was nothing that Ianna could tell him.

[It’s all right. You don’t need to tell me.]

“……What do you mean?”

His words were a surprise to her, since she had been certain that he would press for an answer.

[It means that I’ll respect it if there are a few things you want to keep private.]

Privacy. The word didn’t suit Arhad, since he was so utterly obsessed with everything about her. She was glad for it, but why was he allowing this? Did he feel guilty because he was hiding something too?

She had truly become doubtful as of late. Ianna stopped her thoughts in their tracks and shook her head clear.

“Thank you.”

But there was something about their conversation that made her feel a little lonely. Ianna kicked away a pebble.

She tried her best not to let it show. But Ianna was clumsy about her emotions, so she could not help but spit out,

“If you were receiving information on Sidian, that means that you must have an artefact that lets you get in contact with your informants. I thought you said you had to leave most of your things behind? You obviously brought that artefact with you, so why couldn’t you bring the artefact that connects you with me too……?”

She was letting her childish feelings show.

‘Why didn’t you? I was lonely.’

Ianna only just managed to keep herself from saying the rest and retain her pride.

[Sigh.]

Arhad let out an unfathomable sigh before he suddenly cut off his mana.

“……?”

What? Did he just hang up on me? But why?

Ianna was staring down at her puppy plush as she stewed in a mixture of complicated emotions when a sudden noise resounded and ruined the mood.

Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!

“Barking?”

She surveyed her surroundings for a dog. But there was no dog, so she almost wondered for a moment if she was hearing things because she was holding the plush so tightly.

In conclusion, that was not the case. She was only holding the plush gently as it filled with mana, and the wave of mana that let her know that Arhad was trying to contact her was accompanied by the sound of a dog barking.

“What is this?”

[I added this function because I thought you would like it, but I’m going to make sure to never do it again in the future. This made me unable to contact you because I didn’t know if you might be in the middle of fleeing or hiding. I never thought you’d find yourself in such a mess in the middle of your trip…….]

Ianna stared at the plush puppy as she listened to the regret in Arhad’s voice.

[You said that you were making a mess out of fighting bandits in your way through Sidian, so I thought I’d give you a little surprise by calling you just as you entered Toraca.]

Ianna spurted,

“This is adorable.”

[It doesn’t matter anymore even if you like it. I’m never doing this again.]

Ianna smiled a little. She hadn’t been referring only to the puppy, but she decided against correcting him.

[Likewise, my artefact is shaped like a kitty, and it meows. I couldn’t bring something like that with me on a secret mission.]

“A kitty?”

Ianna ultimately ended up laughing out loud. A puppy and a kitty. She had a good idea about what Arhad had been thinking of as he made the artefacts.

[Anyway, I tried to make the artefacts entirely to your tastes, but the sounds are one thing, and the fact that you have to physically hold them is another…….]

Ianna pat the black puppy from where Arhad’s voice was coming from on the head as she listened to what he was saying.

She felt like Arhad had suddenly become an adorable puppy instead of the large and overwhelming man he normally was.

[There are too many demerits to these, so I’m thinking of correcting those mistakes and making new ones. Is there any specific shape that you’d prefer?]

“You needn’t worry about my tastes —I’m good with anything that’s easy to use.”

Arhad hesitated for a moment before he asked,

[……Then what about a ring?]

“That will work.”

Ianna consented without giving it much thought. A ring was convenient in that it didn’t require her to take it in and out of her bag, and it wouldn’t get in her way like any other accessories might either. She could fight without feeling any discomfort when she was wearing the rings for Camastros, so one more should be all right. Besides, Arhad was always careful and particular about even the most minute details, so she was sure that he would make the artefact to her liking even without her concern.

[Good. I won’t let you take back that answer.]

There was a sudden outpour of joy in Arhad’s voice. Ianna found it a little strange, but she assured him that she would do no such thing all the same.

[I’ll give it to you as soon as you get back to Roanne. And I was actually planning to scrap the ones we’re using now…….]

“But they’re adorable,”

Ianna mumbled, prompting Arhad to reply while sounding questionably pleased with himself.

[Well, if you like the puppy that much……I don’t mind if you keep it as a keepsake.]

“May I? Thank you,”

Ianna thanked him obediently as she wrapped her precious puppy plush in her hands. Not only had all her misgivings been resolved, but she also quite liked the artefact’s surprising secret function……or rather, she was in an extraordinarily good mood because she was satisfied by the things that Arhad always did for her sake.

[Oh. If you’ve only been trying to contact me for the past three days, that means that you didn’t try to contact me at all while you were on the run.]

“That’s correct. I didn’t think that there was much you could do about my situation either, and I wanted to keep you from making even the slightest contact with the Bahamut imperial family.”

[Don’t do that.]

There was something gloomy about Arhad’s voice now.

[I’m sure you only did that for my sake, but I hate it when you don’t tell me anything while you’re in danger. I’ll be sure to keep my circumstances in mind, so let me help you in any way I can when you’re in danger. I might lose my mind if something happened to you without my knowing.]

“…….”

Ianna buried her head against her knees as she listened to the words that Arhad was quietly stringing along. She realized that she had a lot to apologize for as she listened.

She tried to think about what would happen if things were the other way around. If Arhad had been in danger without her knowing…….

She would truly hate that. She would be so furious.

And if something happened to him…….

Her heart dropped with a thud when she imagined Arhad suddenly vanishing from her life.

No.

I absolutely won’t allow that.

“I’m sorry.”

She was certain that she had only been thinking about what was best for Arhad. But, upon a better inspection, she had been selfish, and she had completely ignored his feelings and opinions.

Just how self-centered was she……?

Then, Ianna realized yet another truth. That the reason why she had determined that her actions had been selfish was only because he cared for her so dearly. Arhad would have simply praised her for a job well done had he thought of her as expendable or simply as another subordinate.

Indeed. It was because he loved her.

“…….”

That which she had once coveted and envied, that which she had begun hating and being repulsed by at some point, that which she had isolated away from herself completely, that which she could not substitute, and that which she had forgotten how to properly identify —that emotion.

But a mysterious delight and peculiar ecstasy struck her heart as soon as she learned to clearly define that once-unfamiliar emotion and noticed that it was being pointed directly at her.

Ianna truly liked Arhad just the way he was. She wished for him to never change. No —she wanted him to treasure her even more than he did now.

Her thoughts had been running subconsciously, and she grew ashamed when she realized what she had been thinking.

Ianna’s cheeks and ears were bright red.

There was laughter in Arhad’s voice when he failed to understand what state she was in due to the physical distance separating them, and he replied,

[What made you want to apologize so readily?]

“……So please don’t do that to me either.”

[Hmm? Are you worried about me?]

Arhad let out a strange laugh. Ianna rubbed at her feverish face as she stiffly promised,

“In any event, I will make sure to tell you whenever I find myself in danger.”

[If at all possible, I’d prefer that you didn’t put yourself in danger in the first place.]

“And…”

There was something that Ianna had firmly resolved herself for during the three days she had been worrying over Arhad.

“Please be sure to contact me at least once a day.”

[……? Why?]

“You asked me if I was worried about you, no? I was. I thought I’d go insane because I couldn’t get in contact with you. I worried. A lot. I’d only lost contact with you for a mere three days, but I think I finally understand what it means to go insane from frustration and anxiety. So please be sure to contact me at least once a day from now on and tell me how you’ve been. And tell me what you’ve been up to as well.”

[…….]

Arhad didn’t reply. She had thought that he would be overjoyed, but Ianna started to lose confidence because he was keeping silent for so dreadfully long.

“……Would that be too much of a bother? In that case…”

[You…]

For a moment, Ianna felt as though a hand had reached through his voice to physically cover her mouth. His voice had grown lower in tone, and the once-pleasant mood that turned on its head. He continued,

[You’ll be hearing from me if you’re saying this only to ignore me later because I’m being a bother.]

Her hairs were standing on edge. His voice had simply grown lower and murkier, but the mood it carried with it had changed completely. A chill ran down her back. She felt like something muddy was dribbling down from his voice and covering her flesh.

Ianna rethought her request for a moment before shaking her head. She would never find it a bother when Arhad contacted her. Rather, she would always be happy for it.

“I’d never do that.”

Arhad replied languidly when Ianna quietly replied.

[In that case, I’m more than happy to oblige. I’ll be sure to call you at least once a day.]

He sounded immensely satisfied. Ianna smiled before she could stop herself, having been able to see Arhad be visibly and vividly happy even though he wasn’t here with her. He continued,

[Can I call you at a specified time every day?]

“That sound’s good. I won’t be doing anything dangerous anymore, so I don’t mind if you call whenever it’s convenient for you.”

[Who could say? You tend to go and make a mess of things in the most unexpected places…]

“I just said that I wouldn’t.”

She would be meeting a dragon, a creature of legends, but she would be safe because its Guardian, Absilot, would be accompanying her. Besides, she didn’t think that the dragons would be hostile to her, considering that the dragon from the Lotso Mountains had helped her.

[All right. Oh, in that case, what if you call me after you’re done with your day? I think that would be the most convenient.]

“No. I’d like you to call me.”

Ianna tapped her plush puppy on the head as she swiftly cut down Arhad’s proposal. She continued,

“I find the artefact’s barking quite adorable.”

I also just like it when you call me first. And I think it’ll be fun to spend my day waiting for you to call.

[Is that so? I’m quite pleased to hear that as its manufacturer. In that case, I’ll do as you asked. I don’t want to get in the way of your trip, so I’ll call you at night.]

They agreed on a time that worked best for the both of them before Ianna said she would end the call for today. Arhad sounded a little displeased as he scolded,

[That’s quite cold-hearted coming from someone who claims to have been waiting to hear back from me for days. Was that all just a lie?]

“No, it’s true, but I’m sure you’re tired.”

She hadn’t noticed at first because she was so happy just to hear from him. But she heard it clearly now that she wasn’t anxious anymore and her heart had settled down. Arhad had been doing his best not to let it show, but he could not fully hide the fatigue leaking out from his sluggish and hoarse voice. He must be truly exhausted if even Arhad was failing to hide it.

“Did you answer my call as soon as your mission was over?”

Ianna had been trying to contact him through her artefact all day today. In other words, Arhad had probably answered her call as soon as he had returned to wherever it was that he had left his artefact behind.

It was discourteous to hold him up for so long when he had only just come back from a secret mission spanning several days, and besides, Ianna didn’t want to do anything that might harm him either.

[You’re right, but you don’t need to worry about things like that. I don’t mind if you call me whenever you felt like it.]

“I mind.”

[I’m not all that tired right now, you know?]

“Please don’t lie.”

[Mm, you sound so certain. But you’re right. I’m quite tired. Were you able to tell from just my voice?]

“I’ve been close to you for over a year already. I can tell at least this much with certainty.”

[Is that so? I’m happy to hear it.]

There was joy permeating from Arhad’s voice.

[It means that you’ve been paying close attention to my mood. You wouldn’t have cared to take notice no matter what I did if I wasn’t important to you.]

“It’s only natural that you’re important to me, since I’ve vowed to offer my entire life to you. You are the most important person in my life. I would be truly troubled if you were to suddenly vanish from my life, so please don’t worry about me and take better care of yourself if you’re tired.”

[…….]

Love was a strange and ambiguous concept to her, but Ianna was more than honest when it came to the thoughts and feelings that she could confirm beyond all doubt. She wasn’t even embarrassed about sharing them. Her unfiltered words had rendered Arhad speechless once again.

“Shall I hang up?”

[No,]

Arhad replied immediately because Ianna sounded like she was about to cut their connection as if with a blade. He continued,

[I don’t really want to hang up yet. You said you were worried about me, so I’d like to let you hear a lot more of my voice. Listen to my voice to your heart’s content.]

“I’ve heard enough for now. Besides, I know how generous you are to me, but I am your knight first and foremost.”

Their knight-and-liege relationship seemed a tad pointless at the moment, not only because Arhad himself was so strong that he hardly needed her protection but also because he had not begun conquering Bahamut in earnest yet and was more disposed to helping her rather than being helped by her, but it was something that she must never forget. She continued,

“I do not wish to put you, my liege, through additional trouble.”

[……Hmmm. I suppose.]

Arhad’s equivocal reply made Ianna raise an eyebrow. He continued,

[And we’re lovers too, remember?]

His sudden words made Ianna feel like she had taken a knife to the heart out of nowhere. Ianna’s face flushed a furious red. She had completely forgotten about their relationship during her trip, and the reminder had hit her all at once.

Ianna clutched her forehead. Putting the fact that Arhad was in love with her aside, they were not actually lovers. Arhad, too, had been clear about that, and it was obvious to her that he was only teasing her by saying things like this.

Ianna was embarrassed and found herself ridiculous for reacting so clumsily again just because some time had passed when she had already resolved to let things play out as they may with regards to their fake relationship. She was truly glad that Arhad could not see her face.

“……That has nothing to do with anything. We were never really lovers to begin with.”

[I know. I was just wondering whether you’d surprise me by keeping up the pretense.]

Ianna’s brows furrowed deeper as his voice grew quieter. What was he trying to say now? Ianna’s heart began beating anxiously with restlessness and bewilderment.

[To be honest, everything you said to me just now wouldn’t have sounded out of place if someone had said them to their lover.]

Was that so?

Ianna thought about it for a moment as she sobered.

It sounded likely. After all, what she had said had been things that anyone could say to ‘someone important.’

“I……was not thinking about it that way at all.”

[I suppose not. I was only joking, so there’s no need for you to get so serious about it.]

Arhad’s insistence that it had been a joke made Ianna feel like a breeze and blown through the foggy mess of her feelings. He had shown her the obvious similarities, and now she had to put a set of short parallel lines followed by a question mark in between her feelings for Arhad and the emotion called love.

She had already known that her feelings might one day turn into love, but now she also had to grasp with the possibility that her feelings had already changed.

‘Is this love?’

But…it’s just warm?

Perhaps it was because the only form of love she had ever witnessed up close had been Lebony’s mad and insane love for Cherno, but the feelings that she had for Arhad felt too terribly lacking in passion to be called love.

Indeed. But hadn’t she experienced that feverish passion just a little while ago?

“But don’t you want to know? It’s a destructive yet ardent feeling. I do. I want to know just how mad love can drive a person.”

That borderline-mad passion that Arhad had let her glimpse while they were on the ferry. That densely concentrated emotion he failed to keep hidden and let show from time to time.

She did not think that her own emotions were that deep yet.

……

……Or were they?

She had lied because she had hated for another to stand by his side, she had grown distraught and had sobbed at the illusion that he might abandon her, and she had fretted all day long just because she hadn’t been able to get in contact with him —what was she to make of that?

Her feelings for him were unquestionably deep. But they still felt a little too lacking to be called love —though she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

She liked hearing his voice, and she found it enjoyable to chat with him. She was happy that he treasured her, and his overflowing love for her delighted her. It was a fact that she carried a deep goodwill for him. But her feelings felt so light all of a sudden when she tried to call them love. They were warm, but they weren’t hot.

‘In that case, what else do I think I need?’

Goodwill? Did she need to like him more? Could she even like him more than she already did? She felt like she already liked him enough as it was…

The zenith of goodwill —just where was this supposed line between goodwill and love? What else did she need to do to get there……?

Ianna was unable to find an answer, and she wanted to grab the mess that her hair had become and chop it all off with her sword. The relief she had felt upon finally being able to contact Arhad had lasted for only but a moment, and now an even greater concern was pounding at her head.

“Enough of that —please hurry up and go to bed.”

Ianna cut off the mana she had been supplying to her artefact before Arhad could even reply.

Part 4

Ianna’s group entered Absilot’s main base of operations, the Girohai Desert, two days later.

That first call Ianna had made with Arhad had assuaged her apprehensions, and they hadn’t talked about anything of importance on the call they had shared the next day. Arhad had chastised her for cutting him off so suddenly and so seriously the night before and told her that he rested well and that his fatigue had left him by the time he had woken up, and he also informed her that he had been at his desk all day because of the work that had piled up during his absence.

In turn, Ianna told him about what she had eaten, the ruins she had seen, and what she had felt during the day.

It had been an ordinary conversation, but it had been beneficial to the both of them. Arhad enjoyed the conversation and claimed that it had washed away the stress he had built up from work, and Ianna was able to brush away her worries for Arhad —a separate matter from her agonizing over her feelings— and enjoy the views of the Girohai Desert with an unclouded heart.

The Girohai Desert. The furthest edge of the world to the west and a desert of endless ocher sand. The sands grew sparse from time to time and black ash and solid rocks covered the earth instead, and there was always a mountain nearby whenever the geography changed.

Each of those mountains was an active volcano, and you could see the boiling lava inside if you looked down at their peaks from above.

The sun was high and the air was scorching, and beneath them was the dry sands and crimson lava. People sometimes even called these lands the Girohai Fiery Desert. The Girohai Desert was also the holy land of the beastmen, who ventured out into foreign lands often despite being one of the mythical races.

Beastmen could take on human forms, so it was relatively easier for them to live outside the four corners than it was for elves or dwarves. They were half-human and half-beast in their natural forms, however, and they could only maintain their human forms for so long at a time because it required considerable concentration and tended to tire them out physically. This was why beastmen who were active in human lands were still in the minority. Most beastmen outside the Girohai Desert were half-bloods whose natural forms were fully humanoid or exceptionally powerful full-bloods.

In other words, beastmen took on human forms outside the Girohai Desert so they wouldn’t be discriminated against by humans, the majority race of the world. But they had no need to be so cautious in their holy land.

Ianna began seeing strange things more frequently as the group ventured farther into the Desert on their camels.

“Wow…….”

Herrace could not hide his surprise. He had kept his eyes pointed directly ahead when they entered the Desert, but he was so fixated on two certain peculiar beings at the moment that he couldn’t manage to tear his gaze away.

“Lord Absilot!”

There had been a man and a woman sitting on a rock, and the woman, the cuter of the two, had sprang up and begun waving. The colorful patterns on her cheeks, forehead, and back were worthy of Herrace’s staring. But it was the shape of her body that truly drew his attention. The long bunny ears extending up from her head were twitching, and her hands looked like a rabbit’s paws and was covered in white fur. Cheerfully, she said,

“Yer back! It’s been a while, Taro!”

Her dialect was pleasant to the ears.

“What’cha doin’ here, Sena?”

“Oh, I’m out to hunt me some monsters. It’s been forever, Taro —wanna come with?”

“Hey, quit makin’ such a fuss. Three months ain’t that long, ya know?”

said the prudish man sitting beside her. He was a cat beastman, and his pointed cat ears were prickling up from his head and his long tail was standing straight up. The rabbit beastwoman sulked,

“Why’re ya pickin’ a fight in the middle of a conversation? Is it so wrong of me to say hello ‘cause I’m happy to see him again?”

“Hmph.”

Taro yelled at them when they began grumbling at each other.

“Hey, quit bein’ so jealous. I’m already spoken for.”

“Hey! Get yer head on straight! Who the hell said I was jealous of you?”

“Oho? Mhmm.”

“W-what’cha lookin’ at me like that for?”

Ianna’s group put the two beastmen behind them as they continued along their way, but, surprisingly, a great variety of beastmen began pouring into greet Absilot and Taro.

“Hey, Chief! Hello! Can’t believe I’m seein’ ya here!”

The ground in front of their camels began trembling, and a beastman popped up from below the ground. He had the features of a mole. Absilot asked back,

“I know. What’cha doin’ out here?”

“Just scopin’ out the land. Heard there was a vein around these parts.”

Then, it was a deer, a bear, a squirrel, a cow……a wide variety of beastmen whose animalistic features could be identified with just one glance greeted them one after another. The unfamiliar scenery was beginning to make Ianna grow dizzy.

“Who’s that with ya?”

“Humans?”

“The Chief brought back humans with him…….”

The beastmen were both wary and curious about Ianna and Herrace. They may be active in foreign lands, but they were still of the mythical races and not human.

They had been kidnapped and sold as pets or sex slaves or had been used for dirty work that took advantage of their characteristics, and their violent history with humanity had made the mythical race contemptuous toward humans in turn. There were more than a few beastmen who never left the Girohai Desert and had therefore never met a human before.

Furthermore, Girohai was the beastmen’s holy land. Beastmen were rare in the center of the continent, but it was humans who were rare in the four corners.

The uncomfortable staring grew only worse, like the beastmen were looking at some bizarre lifeform, the deeper they went into the Girohai Desert, and Herrace began shrinking into himself until he was practically burying his face into his camel’s neck. Ianna, who had experienced the staring previously at the dwarven village she had visited, simply kept her hands on her camel’s reins and calmly observed the mysterious landscape.

“Honeyyy!”

Just then, a sonorous voice that Ianna was certain she had heard before filled the air. Everyone turned to where the voice had come from, and one of their camels’ passengers vanished instantaneously.

The now-unburdened camel’s master, Absilot, was absolutely beaming as he ran toward her like a gale.

“Honeyy —Lanka!”

Absilot hurried to Lanka’s side and pulled her up into a hug. He picked up her tiny frame with ease, and she wrapped around his neck.

The contrast between Lanka’s small and elegant frame and Absilot’s wild and large one made her look like a young girl being abducted by a monster. Lanka pat Absilot repeatedly on the head.

“Did anything happen while ya were bringin’ the kids back?”

“We ran into a few good-for-nothings, but I beat the whole lotta them up good.”

He hadn’t wanted the fact that he had ripped a small army’s worth of Sidian soldiers to shreds to worry Lanka, so he passed it off as if he had simply beaten up a few thugs.

“Ya didn’t get yerself hurt nowhere?”

“Nuh-uh. I’m completely fine, though there is just one thing that’s been makin’ things difficult for me. I missed my wife so bad I thought I was gonna die.”

“Yeesh, ya haven’t even been gone that long.”

“I feel like thorns start sproutin’ in my mouth if I don’t get to see ya for even just one day, darlin’. But why’d ya come all the way out here for? —it’s dangerous.”

“Well, I wanted to see ya, honey.”

“Kgh. Why are ya so darn cute?”

Ianna felt a little disconcerted as Absilot, a ruler in his own right, was reduced to a gentle purring creature at the hands of his tiny lover.

Herrace cleared his throat, whereas Ianna observed the two lovebirds’ affectionate expressions with interest for a moment before turning her head.

Did that happen to everyone who fell in love? In that case, then she herself most certainly must not be in love. Moreover, she would likely never find herself in a romantic relationship if it required lovers to express their affections that openly.

Lanka waved upon seeing Ianna and Herrace.

“Taro! Welcome back! And Taro’s friends! Come on over already!”

“I’m back, Mum.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Hello.”

They slowly made their way over to where Absilot and Lanka were waiting and dismounted from their camels. Lanka scurried over and grabbed Ianna and Herrace tightly by the hands as soon as Absilot set her back down.

“Yer both such important guests. Who would’ve thought that someone other than Mursi and his people would ever come visit us all the way out here?! It simply means that my husband must trust you two a lot, right, Young Miss and Master?”

Then, she cast a sidelong glance at Taro as she gleefully continued,

“To be blunt, that rascal’s a bit of a twat, so I was always worried whenever I sent him back to school. But it’s good to see that he’s made such good friends!”

Taro grumbled,

“Hey, what’cha callin’ me a twat for?”

Absilot pounded him on the head.

“It’s ‘cause yer more like a bear even though ya came from a tiger! Weren’t you the one who ate poisonous mushrooms last winter ‘cause ya got hungry and ended up with a horrible stomachache? Hmm?”

“…….”

“I ain’t gonna let ya get yerself married unless ya find yerself a shrewd girl who can keep ya under control! Oh yeah, who was that again? What about that pretty purple-haired girl who bought ya at the auction?! She was pretty decent. Ya seemed to like her so much that ya were makin’ a fool outa yerself, yeah? It’s been long enough for it to have happened, no? When are ya gonna introduce her?”

Taro’s face flushed red like heated steel when Absilot began wagging his little finger at him.

“N-no, I……. I’m still kinda just chasin’ her…….”

“Man, what the hell?! Taro. Yer the son of the Great Absilot, so why the heck haven’t ya won her over yet?!”

Absilot beat at his chest as if he was in a fit of rage. Lanka slapped him across the back.

“Enough! Is it that fun to make fun of yer kids? Besides, you were chasin’ me for at least a good ten years!”

“D-Dear, that ain’t something I need ya to be tellin’ them about right now…….”

Ianna and Herrace simply stared on blankly as the three of them bickered amongst themselves. Theirs was an energetic family that was always overflowing with positive feelings.

Neither Ianna nor Herrace had ever experienced such a close and boisterous relationship before, so they simply stood around awkwardly, unable to join in.

“Let’s get on back to the village already! And Dear, it’s dangerous, so don’t come all the way out here next time. Yeah? Ya shocked the crap outa me.”

“Mm. I was just a bit flustered ‘cause I missed ya and because Taro’s friends were comin’ over. Besides, shouldn’t I be fine ‘cause I have all those artefacts ya gave me?”

Lanka fumbled with her chest and pulled out three or four necklaces.

“Even still!”

Taro whispered to his friends from behind as his parents bickered with each other.

“Each of those artefacts are incredible and they’re stupidly expensive. Pops had a bunch of artefacts stored away from all the countries that fell in battle way back when, and he’s given Mum and Uncle Mursi only the best ones he kept.”

They were walking behind Absilot, who kept Lanka smugly in his arms as if he was afraid that she might break or shatter, before they spotted small and large streams here and there that eventually flowed into one big river.

They continued their way along the riverside. And, at the beginning of August, halfway through the Institution’s summer vacation, they arrived at ‘Titanus,’ the beastmen’s stronghold and the largest of the many oases scattered within the Girohai Desert.

‘Beastmen’ was a broad term that ignored each individual subrace’s unique differences. There were many subraces of beastmen, such as dogmen, catmen, and tigermen, and each subrace made their base around one of the many sparse oases scattered within the desert. ‘Beastmen’ was simply the term used to differentiate them from humanity.

And Titanus was the beastmen’s headquarters. Titanus was the city in which the separated subraces came together to exchange their cultures.

It was unique in the fact that there was a lot of water around Titanus even though it was located in the middle of a desert, and its lands were very fertile. It was not any lesser than the capital cities of many of the kingdoms located at the center of the continent.

Moreover, the Flame Dragon, Terranodin, had set up a barrier around the outskirts of the city, making it the safest dragon’s city in the world.

If the beastmen’s livelihoods became at risk because their bases were in danger or their oases were about to dry up, they would stay in Titanus for a while and prepare to establish a new colony elsewhere. The dragon’s spartoi frequented the city often, and it was also where Absilot, the chieftain of all beastmen, lived.

Humans normally required prior approval from the chiefs of every beastmen subrace before they could pass through the dragon’s barrier around Titanus, but any humans entering with Absilot required no such processing.

Absilot was the strongest of the beastman and was also a Guardian who had made a contract with the dragon, so it was but a simple matter for him to bring humans across the barrier.

Besides, he was the leader of all the beastmen, and his decisions reflected upon the entire mythical race. Perhaps there might have been a few beastmen who disliked the overwhelming authority that Absilot held, but no one had the courage to pick a fight with him because Absilot was not only respected as one of the strongest warriors who had ever lived but had also been world-renown in his glory days. More importantly, he had been acknowledged by a dragon and the entire beastmen race placed their trust in him.

The beastmen showered the group with their staring when Absilot brought them through the barrier and entered the city.

“It’s the Chief and Mrs. Lanka!”

“Taro’s here too!”

“I guess the Institution or the Academy or whatever’s on break now?”

Absilot, Lanka, the love of his life, and Taro, their son, were famous and familiar faces, so they quickly lost the beastmen’s attention, but that wasn’t the case for Ianna and Herrace.

“Are they human? Or beastmen?”

“Sniff sniff. They don’t smell like beasts though? And look, they’re still in human form even though everyone’s starin’ at them! They must be human!”

“But they ain’t people from Mursi’s Paella Company.”

“I know it’s the first time in a while since he’s left, but why’s he gone and brought back more humans?”

“It’s been a real long time since the Chief’s brought back humans to Titanus who weren’t with Mursi or his mercenary guild.”

Herrace quivered, unsure of where to look as he was being stared at by so many different beastmen, before flushing bright red and looking down. Ianna was next to him as she calmly took in Titanus’ scenery.

The first thing that caught her attention was the green mountain at the heart of the large city. It was the first bit of green she had seen in the desert, and it was so tall that it seemed to pierce the heavens.

There were five towers of rock standing near the mountain, and streams of water flowed down from the mountain in between the rock towers to form a lake, which continued outside beyond the city entrance.

The greenery immediately surrounding the mountain became sparser toward the outskirts of the city, and the sands —which Ianna was fairly sick and tired of seeing by now— became more prominent again around the city’s central area. On top of the sand was a crowded cluster of rectangular houses, which were characteristic of the desert.

Ianna observed Titanus’ exotic and miraculous sights. The city would have definitely been a must-see tourist attraction had it been opened to the general human public.

But it was still the beastmen who drew her eyes the most. There were many places even within the center of the continent that boasted amazing scenery, but it was not every day that one could see people who were a mix of human and beast.

Ianna cast a sidelong glance. There was a catwoman whose cat-like ears were twitching with curiosity as she approached Herrace and poked at him. She frightened and immediately scurried away when Herrace looked up. She was truly behaving like a cat.

“It’s not only an animal’s looks that beastmen take after.”

Taro explained that beastmen also took after the personalities and lifestyles of the animals they were based on. For example, ratmen tended to burrow underground in live in dark places just like real mice.

It was their intelligence and capacity for higher levels of thought that differentiated beastmen from normal beasts.

The beastmen never took their eyes off of Ianna and Herrace. They were staring at them with great interest —not only were they new humans to the area, but they had also been brought here by Absilot, their leader.

‘Uwaaah…….’

Herrace felt like he would be driven crazy under their stares and promised himself that he would never, ever stare at someone else if he should happen across someone who was at the center of everyone else’s attention like they were some kind of street attraction.

Beastmen were a curious race because each individual was absolutely overflowing with unique characteristics, and it was likely that Herrace, too, would have stared at them if they had come to the center of the continent. And then, the beastmen would be subject to the very same thing that Herrace was experiencing now.

“Now, now. Quit oglin’ and go back to mindin’ yer own business! These young’uns here are human, as ya noticed, they’re Taro’s friends, and I will vouch for them, so there’s no need to be so on edge!”

Absilot shouted, causing the beastmen to scatter.

“Let’s get goin’ to my house now. Where are the other kids, Dear?”

“They don’t know that you and Taro are back yet, Honey, so they’re prob’ly all at their own homes, I think? I only knew ‘cause Nuhu told me. But things have gotten so rowdy, so I’m sure they’ll know to come visit.”

Ianna felt as though something was a little off as she followed Absilot deeper into Titanus. The beastmen were apparently much more open toward humans than she had originally thought, considering the fact that they immediately looked away with just one word from Absilot. After all, the dwarves had been unsociable even though they traded with the Jabellon Company on a regular basis.

Ianna stared at Absilot from behind as he led the group forward on his camel.

‘Is it because the beastmen trust Lord Absilot? Or…….’

Then, she studied Absilot’s figure. He was certainly on the larger side, but he still looked perfectly human.

‘Perhaps it’s because the beastmen can take on human forms?’

Taro came closer to her and whispered wickedly as Ianna continued to scrutinize Absilot up and down as she contemplated.

“Did ya fall for Pops or something? Why’re ya starin’ at him so hard? Ya can’t do stuff like that~ I know Pops is pretty cool and all, but you already have Sir Arhad, who’s much better-lookin’, Lil’ Ianna. Besides, Pops is already head over heels for Mum, so yer just gonna end up brokenhearted…….”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was only wondering why the beastmen weren’t as repulsed by us as I thought they would be.”

“Oh, that?”

According to Taro, Mursi, who had been active in Toraca until just a few years back, had lived at a trading post in Titanus with a few employees from his company. Mursi wasn’t here anymore, but his employees still visited Titanus with human goods periodically to trade with the beastmen. And so, the beastmen who lived in Titanus were not as repulsed by humanity.

The floodgates of Taro’s mouth seem to have opened, as not only did he answer everything that Ianna had been curious about —and knowing was as refreshing as scratching at a persistent itch— but he also began talking at length about Mursi.

“Uncle Mursi’s like a savior to us beastmen. We can live really well ‘cause he sells stuff to us as super low prices. Our opinion of humans got better ‘cause of him too, so they’re a lot more people livin’ outside the Desert now.

“Mm. I hear that Mum and Uncle Mursi’s been friends since even before they met Pops. Pops met them when they were both real young, though I don’t really know the details, but he stayed with them for a bit at the center of the continent and brought them over to live in the tigermen village when they were in their teens. You should ask them about it in person if ya wanna learn more!”

Absilot, who had been listening in on Taro and Ianna’s conversation, slowed his camel and playfully called back,

“Whew, I was about to start freakin’ out a bit. I didn’t know what to say even though ya were starin’ holes into me, and I was breakin’ out a cold sweat ‘cause I thought ya might’ve fallen for me or something.”

“Surely you jest…….”

Taro began nodding in earnest as Ianna was smiling from the absurdity of it all.

“Then again, yer boyfriend’s super good-lookin’, yeah, Lil’ Ianna? He doesn’t lose out to Pops at all on that front. There’s no way anyone would dump someone like him to chase after a middle-aged man like Pops instead…….”

“Shut it.”

“Aw, no need to be so embarrassed about it.”

Lanka, who was sitting smugly in Absilot’s arms, had sparkles in her eyes as she asked,

“Can I call you Lil’ Ianna too, since yer Taro’s friend?”

“Please feel free to address me however you wish.”

“Then, Lil’ Ianna, were ya curious about the relationship between my husband and Mursi?”

“Well, Lord Absilot and Mr. Mursi aren’t only separated by a large age gap but they’re also of different races, no? I was curious because I couldn’t seem to find any commonalities that would have brought them together.”

“Erm, it’s not that I can’t tell ya…….”

Absilot scratched at his head in embarrassment. He continued,

“It’s just a dark and shameful piece of my past. It’s pretty embarrassin’. Ugh, just let it stay buried!”

“Hoho. Ya were a bit of a scum back then, weren’t ya, Honey?”

They eventually arrived at their destination, Absilot’s house, while they were chatting. The residential buildings lining the streets differed greatly in material and size, perhaps because there existed a large income disparity even in Titanus.

Absilot was the leader of the beastmen, but, while it did look sturdy, his house was surprisingly plain.

As he opened the door and walked in, Absilot said,

“I don’t really care much about big houses. I like livin’ all cozy with my Honey and our kids. Besides, I’ve never even needed a big house ‘cause our kids were all eager to move out as soon as their heads got big enough. Are the rooms for Taro’s friends all ready, Dear?”

“Do ya even know how long they’ve been ready now? I’ve been cleanin’ those rooms eagerly while waiting day after day ever since ya left to go fetch them, Honey.”

Herrace, who had followed Absilot, Lanka, and Taro into the house, looked around with great curiosity. It was the house of a tiger beastman. Herrace had expected to see something different because of the fact that Absilot was a tiger.

For example, he had expected to find tanned hides from monsters that Absilot had hunted covering the floors or stuffed monster heads decorating the walls in a scary manner.

Contrary to his expectations, however, it was a plain and ordinary two-story house that was no different from the houses that humans lived in back in Roanne.

“Wait here and explore the house for a bit!”

Ianna and Herrace followed slowly behind Taro on a tour of the house while Lanka and Absilot disappeared into what appeared to be the master bedroom.

There was a vase of gorgeous flowers sitting on a table in front of the window, and many cacti and herbs sat around it while soaking up the sunlight.

There were Western ornaments scattered around the house in a very aesthetically pleasing manner, and there were fine chinaware cups resting on a dining table that had been carved from stone —all in all, Absilot’s house gave off a very homely atmosphere.

In the lieu of monster heads, the walls were decorated by a large shield and spear and multiple framed pictures —one large one with Taro’s entire family and several smaller ones in which each family member was making their own individual poses. Taro’s large family looked crowded and cheerful in the pictures, just as they had been during the school festival.

Taro’s family looked unreserved and happy to be with each other —something unfamiliar to both Ianna and Herrace, who stared at the pictures for a very long time.

Then, Herrace noticed something strange and asked,

“Do none of your brothers live here if they’ve all moved out? Do they each live separately?”

There were so many people in the pictures, but there was hardly anyone in the house.

“Yeah. All my older brothers moved out, so it’s just me and my younger brother left. Ya met my younger brother at the school festival last year, right? He’s the only one who still lives here now. He’s the baby of the family and he’s still just fourteen. He should be here though? Hey, lil’ bro! Kuncha!”

Bam!

One of the doors upstairs slammed open when Taro yelled in its direction.

“Bro, yer back~”

Kuncha wasn’t as big as Taro, perhaps due to their difference in age, but he was still large for his age since he had inherited Absilot’s blood. He was overwhelmingly brawny in comparison to Herrace, who was now eighteen.

He had a white piece of cloth holding up his disheveled orange hair, and he whistled upon seeing Ianna and Herrace.

“I got a bit late ‘cause I was changin’! Hyuup!”

Craaash!

Kuncha jumped down from the very top of the stairs and landed on the first floor with a loud crash. He looked completely fine all things despite as he lowered his head in a bow.

“Hello! I saw ya both at the school festival, right? I’d heard that ya were comin’, but wow —yer really here. Let me introduce myself again ‘cause it’s been a while and ya might’ve forgotten about me. I’m Kuncha, the youngest of this family!”

Smack!

Kuncha was grinning and being sociable when Taro hit him across the back of his head.

“Ack! What gives?”

“Knock the whole house down, why don’t ya? Are stairs just some kinda joke to ya?”

“Well, the stairs are exclusively for Mum, ain’t they? They’re so annoying —why would I take the time to go down them one step at a time?”

“It’s fine for now ‘cause yer still young, but yer really gonna bring the whole house down if ya jump down like that when ya get bigger. Fix that habit of yers before Pops ends up smackin’ the crap outa yer head, yeah?”

“Pops and Mum said the same thing. Fiiine. Anyhoo, Sir, Miss! It’s nice to see ya again! It ain’t often that human friends come visitin’ Titanus, so I’m sure everyone’s super curious about ya. Take yer time and explore the city when yer comfortable.”

Absilot and Lanka came back out while Kuncha was showering Ianna and Herrace with his goodwill and cheer.

“My bad! We were just talkin’ about how we should plan things. On that note, how long are ya lot planin’ on stayin’?”

“I was thinkin’ we should leave about twenty days before school starts again like always, so about ten days, I guess? Oh, but Lil’ Ianna’s headin’ back on her own. She was plannin’ on travelin’ alone before she decided to tag along, so she wants to travel back by herself!”

“Oh yeah? When are ya gonna leave, Lil’ Ianna? You and I have business too, right? I was thinkin’ we should head out tomorrow morning, but we might not have that much time ‘cause ya never know what might happen.”

“Hey, what’s an old fart like you plannin’ to do with Lil’ Ianna, Pops?”

“Ya lil’ rascal —we goin’ on a date, so what, huh?!”

“Blech……. I know ya like to run yer mouth, but sometimes the things ya say get scary,”

Kuncha grumbled. Still, everyone realized that Absilot had been glossing over things on purpose and did not pry any further into the matter. Ianna contemplated for a moment before she replied,

“I’ll stay until the fifteenth. But I’ll head back earlier if we finish up quicker than expected.”

“Sure. Anyhow, we can talk out the details later —why don’t y’all put yer stuff down upstairs and come back? Lass, yer room’s all the way on the left, Herrace’s is the one next to that, and Taro, yer in yer own room!”

The room was clean and tidy. Ianna placed her bag down next to the bed and swept her hand across the yellow-green bedding. The covers smelled of nice bedding that had been dried in the sun, perhaps because it had been laundered recently. It smelled so clean that she might feel guilty if she rolled around in it while still being all dusty.

There was a small table next to the bed with a vase filled with lovely flowers just like the vase Ianna had seen downstairs. Lanka had clearly given them a lot of care.

It wasn’t only this room —the entire house absolutely oozed of Lanka’s influence. The only thing about this house that had reminded Ianna of Absilot were the shield and spear downstairs.

He likely had his things stored elsewhere, but Ianna could feel Absilot’s consideration for the human and slender Lanka from every corner of the house.

The three of them all came down at roughly the same time, and Absilot smacked Taro across the shoulder.

“Taro, I’m gonna help yer mother make dinner, so why don’t ya take yer friends out and come back by six?”

“Okay!”

Absilot gave Ianna and Herrace each a shield with a tiger drawn on it and told them that it was a token from him. He added that they shouldn’t hesitate to put his name forward should anything unsavory happen.

“Hey, can I come with?”

The excited Kuncha joined their number, and the four of them left the house.

The streets of Titanus was the oasis’ trade center, and it was no different from human markets save for the fact that it was filled with beastmen of varied appearances.

Beastmen were a rare sight in the center of the continent, but Ianna and Herrace had seen so many of them now that they were all but immune to them.

“How strange……. This is my first time seeing beastmen. I thought I’d still be curious for a while longer, but I’ve grown used to them rather quickly.”

“Well, they say that people are quick to adapt. Besides, it’d be a bigger problem if ya didn’t get used to us even after seein’ so many of us all at once.”

“The people of the mythical races don’t appear all that different from humans to me. I think it’s only our appearances that really differ?”

“Pretty much. It ain’t like we’re monsters or anything.”

Herrace furrowed his brows a bit and wiped away the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand.

“The history books say that the mythical races live in the four corners to avoid human greed. And that we all used to live together in the past. Which means that the humans from back then must have been familiar with the mythical races……so why did they have to abuse the mythical races so much?”

Taro shrugged upon hearing Herrace’s question.

“It’s what it says on the tin —the mythical races are the mythical races, and we ain’t human no matter how much we look like humans. And humans were only able to abuse the mythical races ‘cause they were the majority. There are a lot fewer people of the mythical races than there are humans. Ya really can’t beat numbers.”

“Oh…….”

“Anyhow, the records that our ancestors left behind all say that we shouldn’t associate with humans. I’m sure there were good humans back then too, of course, but I guess humans treated our people so badly that it was enough for them to look past the good ones. Either that, or they just decided to come all the way out to the four corners just for the heck of it.”

“I wonder why people couldn’t just work together? Everyone would have been able to live in peaceful harmony if we were all just a little more considerate of each other.”

Taro smirked and tapped Herrace on the head.

“Ya always end up with some people bein’ stronger or weaker than others when ya have a bunch of people grouped together. So, Herrace. Let’s say that someone weak has something real valuable that someone strong doesn’t. How would you go about gettin’ yer hands on that valuable thing if ya were the strong guy here?”

“Buy paying an equivalent price for it?”

“That’s just ‘cause yer nice. Why would someone strong go through the trouble of crawlin’ before the weaker guy just to get what he wants? It’s much easier to just take it from him.”

“…….”

“In terms of numbers, the strong guy here is the ‘humans,’ and the weak guy is the ‘mythical races.’ Humans are awful to us mythical races —like treatin’ us as sex slaves or battle slaves.”

Herrace looked around at the beastmen around him.

“I’d never be able to do something like that.”

Taro burst out into laughter. He shook his head when Herrace looked at him funny.

“You already have, ya know?”

“Pardon?”

“The rabbit ya hunted the other day and the pig ya ate yesterday were both members of other races of sorts. The camels ya saddled as we traveled across the desert were of other races too.”

“…….”

Herrace was rendered speechless and closed his mouth. His face was flushing a bright red.

“Ah, I ain’t tryin’ to tell ya off or anything. I’m just tryin’ to say that it was only natural. The strong eat and the weak are meat. All I’m tryin’ to say is that the mythical races are comparatively weaker than humans.”

Taro’s words contained the simple logic of the world within them.

The law of the jungle. The barbaric providence that would govern the world until the day it ended.

“The only reason why ya pity us, unlike the rabbit or the pig, is ‘cause we look like humans and have the same level of intelligence as ya.”

Taro then put Herrace, who had been slowly going limp, in a headlock and snickered. He continued,

“Hey, I’ve been thinkin’ this for a while now, but yer way too nice for a noble —one of the strong guys on yer side. I mean, look at how ya treat me when I’m nothing but a commoner. I’m sure the world would be a much better place if there were more people like you around.”

“T-that’s not true.”

“The hell it’s not. I was bein’ sassy with ya, but you were right too. The truth of the matter is that beasts with low levels of intelligence and people like us are on different levels of the food chain. Humans and beastmen are on the same level, while animals are below us. It’s only natural that we eat animals, and, though we beat each other up pretty often, we can still live together peacefully if we just try to be a bit more considerate to each other —but that sounds hard, yeah?”

It truly did seem difficult. Human greed was bottomless, and that much had been made clear even just by Chendelf’s experiences. But it wasn’t a criticism directed solely to humanity. Everyone was greedy in some manner. What would have happened if the mythical races had outnumbered humans? Who could say that the mythical races wouldn’t have enslaved humanity just as humanity had done to them?

Perhaps this was simply a selfish way of rationalizing human behavior. Ianna, however, was human and could not fully understand the mythical races’ dispositions, so it was only natural that she would think this way.

Greed was rampant in the world and humans and the mythical races were almost completely isolated from each other, so what would be needed for everyone to live together in harmony?

“Look over there, it’s those humans.”

“I guess they’re special humans?”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause I keep thinkin’ they’re special. But I do feel something strange when I look at them. Maybe I’m just imaginin’ things?”

Ianna and Herrace had grown accustomed to the beastmen now, so ultimately, the beastmen paid more attention to them then the other way around. There was a rumor going around that said they must be special since Absilot, who was basically the king of the beastmen, had accompanied them personally.

“They’re just curious —there’s not really much else to it, so don’t pay attention to them and let’s just look around the market.”

Taro helped Herrace, who had just barely managed to grow accustomed to the staring, buy a ton of souvenirs. It was traditionally a traveler’s duty to buy specialties or ornaments that characterized the lands they visited to share them with close and envious acquaintances upon their return. It was only natural to keep up the tradition, especially since Eiji had seemed truly upset about not being able to accompany them.

Beastmen items looked different from their human counterparts and had a mysterious air about them, which made them great souvenirs. Herrace bought a few ornaments, daily necessities, and foodstuffs and stuffed them into the bag he had brought with him.

“Hey, Taro. It’s been a while!”

Ianna, too, had been slowly browsing for souvenirs to gift to Arhad and her acquaintances when someone suddenly called out to Taro. She turned around to find a large man in human form and a beastwoman who looked like a lion.

“Sansa, Konya, it’s been a while! These guys here are my human friends. They’re both good people, so don’t be mean to them.”

“Oh yeah? Lord Absilot’s the one who brought them over, and it’s not like you have a crap eye for these things either, so I guess they must be decent humans.”

Then, Taro pointed toward the big man and said,

“Lil’ Ianna, Herrace. These guys are my childhood friends. This guy here’s a half. A bear half. His name’s Sansa. And this here’s a lion beastwoman by the name Kony…….”

“Move.”

“Ack.”

Konya pushed Taro out of her way because he was blocking her view and stepped forward. She walked up to Herrace and Ianna and studied them up and down before looking to the swords strapped at their waists. Then, her gaze fixed itself on Ianna.

“Look here, human woman.”

Ianna studied Konya back because she didn’t know why the beastwoman was being so hostile to her out of nowhere before finding the lone sword strapped to her back. Konya continued,

“How about a match with me?”

It was Taro who tried to fend her off. He glared at her a little as he said,

“Hey, have ya lost yer mind? Why’re ya pickin’ a fight with my friend all of a sudden?”

“Just shut up and move, ya stupid cat.”

“The hell? Yer a cat too, ya know?”

“Wait.”

Ianna stepped out from behind Taro because he was blocking her view. She continued,

“Why do you wish to fight me?”

Konya’s piercing gaze fell upon Ianna. Ianna realized that Konya was a powerful warrior as she faced off against the latter’s blazing and combative competitive spirit.

Her short brown hair was wild like a lion’s mane. The dense tattoos drawn along her tanned skin was more than enough to overwhelm people.

Her body was built for agility overall, but the sturdy muscles peeking beneath the thin fabric of her clothes were those of a carnivore who had been hunting for a long time.

Swish!

Konya drew the sword on her back vigorously and pointed it at Ianna before anyone could stop her.

“A beastwoman and a human woman —I wanna know who’s stronger.”

“Ya crazy old cat lady! The hell are ya startin’ some kinda competition between humans and beastmen for?”

A vein popped out of Konya’s temple as Taro began jumping up and down as he tried to stop her. She kicked him on the shin.

Taro yelped and hopped on one foot while clutching at his shin as Konya shouted,

“This lil’ brat here’s not only speakin’ to his big sister like we’re on equal terms, but now he’s gone and called me old too!”

“Hey, just be glad I haven’t called ya a granny yet. Ughhh, that hurt. But anyway, quit pickin’ a fight with my friend!”

Ianna studied Konya’s face as she listened in on their conversation.

Konya looked like she was in her late twenties. However, according to Taro, she was a full-blooded beastwoman, and not a half. Absilot had apparently been in his nineties when he looked like a young man, so it was possible for Konya to be just as old too.

“Is that the only reason?”

Konya’s thick lips twitched when Ianna sounded calm and completely unshaken.

“……There’s that, but ya also smell pretty strong, yeah? I hear that human women are suuuper weak, but seein’ you makes me think that ain’t always the case.”

Konya slung her sword over her shoulder. She continued,

“Yer hands, yer sword…”

Ianna looked to her hands and at the sword at her waist before looking back up at Konya.

“Yer hands are covered in callouses, and yer scabbard’s all worn down from use, so it looks ya know how to use yer sword a bit. But more importantly…”

Konya stretched out her neck and made it crack. Her eyes never once left Ianna even as she stretched.

“Every nerve in my body is screamin’ at me that yer strong.”

The edges of Konya’s lips curled up once she had finished stretching. Her fangs protruded like buckteeth between her lips and glistened.

“I dunno about ya humans, but might makes right in us beastmen’s world. Our place on the food chain is determined by how strong we are —actual race don’t matter to us at all. And those who are strong enough to overcome their own race are worthy of respect. ‘Cause it should be impossible by all accounts. Ya know what I’m gettin’ at?”

Konya eventually started sounding like she was growling as she spoke.

“I’m a lion beastwoman, and there ain’t many beastmen who’re stronger than me. But……yer just a human without no sharp teeth or claws or even tough skin, and yet I can’t help but see you as a top predator like I am. So I wanna see which one of us is stronger.”

“Ya know that Pops said he wouldn’t forgive anyone who touches Lil’ Ianna, right, Konya?”

“Who said I was gonna touch her? I’m sayin’ we should fight!”

“Are you stupid? That’s what touchin’ her means. Ya sure you ain’t doin’ this just ‘cause ya always hated humans? Quit messin’ with my human friends unless yer tryin’ to smear shit over my name!”

Konya shouted back at him when Taro kept trying to stop her.

“Hey, who said anything about hatin’ humans?! Just shut up unless she’s yer woman!”

Konya wagged her pinky at Taro as she yelled at him before clicking her tongue when he stared back at her in disbelief. She scowled a little as she turned back to Ianna.

“I haven’t met many humans ‘cause I’ve lived in the Desert my whole life. And I don’t ever plan on leavin’ the Desert either, ‘cause, like he said, I don’t really like ya humans all that much. But it’s funny.”

Then, her expression grew a little strange. She continued,

“You seem more like a new comrade who’s joined my pride instead of an enemy who’s invaded my territory. I feel this weird fondness for ya.”

Was this the same thing the dwarves had felt?

Ianna recalled just how strangely quickly the dwarves had taken to her. She hadn’t really done anything special, but they had said that they were fond instead of wary of her —unlike the way they felt about other humans.

‘Does my body give off some kind of pheromone that makes the mythical races like me or something?’

Ianna was making silly guesses while trying to figure out the riddle she could not answer when Konya balled her hands into fists and took another step forward.

“Anyhow! I just wanna fight ya! I’m just sayin’ that I wanna see yer skills.”

“Very well.”

Ianna accepted before Taro could get another word in. She didn’t let it show, but Ianna, too, regarded Konya with curiosity and competitiveness.

Female warriors were so overwhelmed by their male counterparts in number that it was actually rather surprising to ever meet one. It was said that there had been many female warriors in the past when the entire world had been at war, but their numbers had fallen drastically now that the wars were over, country borders were settled, and times were peaceful.

It was only during times of war, where warriors died in droves and needed to be replaced, that the difference between the sexes hadn’t been very large. During times of peace, however, the physical difference between men and women were all too readily apparent unless one somehow managed to transcend beyond the limits of their physical body.

Moreover, women tended to put their weapons down and bear children in relative safety when times were peaceful enough for the birds to be chirping outside. And giving birth was something that only women could do.

And so, the once uniform culture had slowly grown more gendered. Men worked outdoors, and women stayed indoors —and this was seen as only natural. And the difference was more readily apparent in countries like Roanne.

In conclusion, this was why it was shocking to find a female warrior in the center of the continent.

It wasn’t as though they didn’t exist. It wasn’t impossible to find female warriors who could force most other warriors to their knees if you combed the world. It was simply that they were extremely few in number, especially in comparison to their male counterparts.

But Titanus was a different story.

Those who trained their bodies gave off a different aura than did normal people. Ianna had searched for their aura —an occupational hazard of sorts— without fully realizing what she was doing as she wandered around Titanus, and a certain truth had made a vague impression on her.

Ianna had looked around at the beastmen around her as she wondered what was bothering her.

And she found that the ratio was about fifty-fifty. Warriors were almost evenly split between men and women.

There was just as many female warriors as male ones, and they didn’t appear to be looked down upon just for being women.

“Where shall we fight?”

Women were accepted as warriors as if it was only natural in this city. Ianna was curious to see how strong the female warriors here were, especially since they made up half of the city’s military might. And, in Ianna’s eyes, Konya was not a jot lesser than any man.

She was curious about the first female warrior she had met in a long time, and she was also curious to know how beastmen fought, and so, Ianna decided to see Konya’s skills for herself.

Part 5

“Hey……Lil’ Ianna, we’re supposed to go back and eat after lookin’ around a bit. Besides, fightin’ ain’t allowed here in Titanus.”

“We can just fight after yer done eatin’!”

Taro spoke reluctantly, but Konya simply laughed back in delight.

“Besides Taro, when did ya get so birdbrained? We have ‘that place’ here in Titanus, don’t we? When are ya guys eatin’?”

“Tch, at six.”

“Then I’ll see ya guys again at eight. Ya said yer name’s Ianna, right? I’ll take care of the registration and all, so I’ll see ya then, Ianna! Let’s go, Sansa!”

“Yeah.”

Sansa, the half-bear beastman, was dragged away before he had the chance to greet the group properly because of the confrontation between Konya and Ianna.

Kuncha, who had been standing back with Herrace, stepped up next to Taro with his fingers crossed behind his head as he whistled~ in admiration.

“Are ya gonna be okay, Human Miss? Wasn’t Miss Konya, ya know, one of the candidates lined up to succeed as the next chief of the lion tribe?”

“She is. Gosh, Lil’ Ianna.”

Taro let out a deep sigh. He continued,

“It’s not like I’m worried about ya, and I ain’t gonna stop ya since ya said ya wanted to do it too, but make sure ya take it easy, yeah? Easy. Yer just gonna tire yerself out otherwise.”

“How so?”

“Well, yer a human, Lil’ Ianna, and Konya’s a beastwoman, so things are gonna get a bit tirin’ no matter who loses. And, just like what Kuncha said, Konya’s pretty high up there in the lion tribe……and their pride’s something else…”

The tiger beastmen and the lion beastmen weren’t on the best of terms, according to Taro. Both were carnivorous predator beasts with a lot of pride, and they had nearly wiped each other out in a war once long ago because both sides tended not to back down from a fight until one party was almost dead.

Taro added that this was why the two rarely fought anymore, though they did tend to bicker a lot, before warning Ianna to be careful of Konya.

“I’ll gauge the situation first before I decide anything. But what is this ‘place’ that Konya was referring to? And what is she registering for?”

“Oh, we have an arena called “Passio” here, and she’s gonna go register for a match.”

Beastmen had many subraces, unlike the more unified dwarves, and there was often friction between the subraces. For example, catmen and dogmen tended to start fighting whenever they met, just like how cats and dogs were said not to get along.

Beastmen were a mix between man and beast and revered military might more than even humans did, and they had the penchant of submitting themselves to the strong. Over half the reason the beastmen supported Absilot was because he was so strong. Fighting was simply another part of daily life for aggressive beastmen.

Titanus, however, was a trade city meant to promote harmony and cultural exchange, so fighting was prohibited both within the city and up to a ten-kilometer radius outside of it. The only exception to his rule was the large arena called Passio.

Passio stood in one corner of Titanus, and beastmen fought battles in it day and night. If anyone wanted to duke it out with another, then all they had to do was to register for a fight in the arena.

Those with nothing better to do sat at the arena all day long and gambled as they observed the fights breaking out, and those who could not stop the itch in their bodies often signed themselves up as ‘athletes.’ Then, they could apply to fight a match with any other athlete who had signed up to fight that day.

“What an interesting place.”

Ianna was beginning to look forward to eight o’clock.

They continued to walk around Titanus after that, and she found many other beastmen walking around the city in human form. According to Taro, they were mostly predatory-type beastmen.

“We don’t eat each other or anything, but weaker beastmen are instinctively afraid of stronger beastmen because all beasts believe in the food chain.”

Many other people called out to them while they were out.

“Oh my, I don’t know ya that well, but ya seem like a good human!”

“A swordswoman? Ya seem mighty strong —wanna have a go with me?”

The rumor that Ianna and Herrace were humans whom Absilot had personally invited into the city had already spread around. Several beastmen had asked Ianna for a fight just like Konya had.

“My friend here’s already booked.”

“Whaat? Who’s she fightin’?”

“Ya can drop by Passio at eight if yer curious.”

“Damn! That means I gotta go!”

Taro made sure to turn them down because there were a lot of beastmen who would bug them until the bitter end unless he told them that. The green mountain in the city grew closer as the group made their way to the heart of the city. Taro pointed to it and said,

“That mountain’s called ‘Titanus.’ The ancestors of the races who live here in the West took the mountain’s name and gave it to the rest of the city.”

“It’s so curious to see a mountain like that in the middle of the desert.”

“Not a lot of plants grow out here in the Girohai Desert because the plants here are weak, but Titanus is overflowin’ with life. And, ya see the towers there?”

Taro then pointed to the five rock towers around the mountain.

“They say that those’re structures that keep up a barrier to protect Titanus, our sacred mountain.”

“A barrier?”

“Monsters apparently used to be su~per obsessed about that mountain, yeah? But that was only in the past, and monsters have forgotten about this place ‘cause it’s being protected now.”

Taro brought them along to one last place after that.

“Hey, Taro!”

“It’s been a while!”

It was the place where the human employees of the Paella Company resided. It just so happened that they had been visiting the city when Ianna and her group had arrived.

“How’s life been at the Institution? I’m still surprised that a rascal like you are able to keep up with that ridiculously difficult curriculum of theirs.”

“Hey, just what the hell do ya guys take me for?”

“You’re like a giant teddy bear.”

Unlike the beastmen, who had heavy accents when they spoke, the merchants’ speech only sounded a little affected in terms of pitch fluctuation, perhaps because they only visited Titanus occasionally.

Taro greeted the merchants cordially and introduced Ianna and Herrace to them.

“This over here’s Lil’ Ianna, who’s really close to Uncle Mursi and Finn. She’s an amazin’ swordswoman. And this here’s Herrace, our risin’ star!”

“Um, Sir…….”

Herrace grew embarrassed, like a small lizard being praised in front of dragons, and he lowered his head.

“What? I’m bein’ honest here. Anyhow, both of them are aces from the Swordsmanship Department and are nobles back in Roanne, so be nice to them, yeah?”

The merchants did not hide their surprise.

“I figured they were from the Swordsmanship Department since that’s the department you joined……but they’re Roanne nobles too? The same people who are said to be so stuck up that their noses never leave the sky?”

Taro shrugged.

“Not my friends here. I wouldn’t be friends with them if they were.”

“They must be good people.”

A middle-aged man, who was apparently the leader of the merchants here, stepped forward and greeted them.

“Hello. My name is Nyuren, and I’m the branch manager of Paella’s Toraca branch. Please let me know if there’s anything you need during your stay here at Titanus.”

They browsed through the goods that the beastmen had sold to the company once they had finished exchanging greetings. They consisted mostly of monster products and strange rocks, and there was a pile of papers stacked up in one corner of the building.

“Beastmen have no use for high-class monster products, but they’re quite the rage back at the center of the continent. And this rock here is a flamestone, which can only be found here in the Girohai Desert where people say the ground itself is like fire. It’s the best material for researching fire magic with. And these over here…….”

Nyuren picked up a sheet of paper and waved it around.

“These are contracts. The most valuable things that beastmen have are their military might. We’re quite close to the mercenary guild branch in Toraca, and we often introduce beastmen who want to work to the guild.”

Time passed quickly as they browsed and chatted, and they said their farewells as it was almost six, the time that Absilot had told them to come back by. Nyuren asked after Mursi and Finn, and Ianna told him that they were both doing well.

“That’s wonderful. He was already amazing enough for being so loved by the beastmen, but I can’t help but respect him even more for prying his way into the Roanne market, especially since the distribution network over there had already been all but set in stone.”

“Do the beastmen truly like Mr. Mursi so much even though he’s a human?”

“But of course. They might be a little awkward with us, but everyone regards Mr. Mursi as their savior and feels only gratitude toward him.”

He was truly one amazing man. Ianna grew curious about how Mursi had forged so many ties with the beastmen and how he had polished the foundations of his company, and she resolved herself to buy and read it immediately should he ever publish an autobiography.

Taro greeted many beastmen even as they were on their way back to Absilot’s house.

“Beastmen don’t discriminate against half-bloods, I see.”

“Mm, well, we halves have always been around. Our stance is that we shouldn’t hate children just for bein’ born when they haven’t done nothing wrong, especially since they’ve inherited the clan’s blood and all. And God Laos said not to blame innocent children for sins that they know nothing about.”

It looked like beastmen were good at regulating their emotions. After all, humans often ignored God Laos’ teachings because of their emotions despite how ardently they claimed to believe in him. Ianna briefly recalled the Roberstein manor before shaking her head clear of her thoughts.

“We’re back!”

Absilot and Lanka had prepared such a sumptuous feast that the table was practically trembling on its legs. It wasn’t as if there weren’t any vegetables on the table, but the dishes were filled to the brim with meat, meat, and more meat. All the meat looked different because they were all prepared differently or were different types of meat.

All of Taro’s rambunctious brothers had also gathered together. Lanka’s tiny figure seemed to vanish between them. Of the six brothers, the eldest three had gotten married and had brought their wives with them, and the fourth eldest was accompanied by his fiancé.

“Hey, yer the Young Miss and Master we met back at the school festival!”

“Good job comin’ all the way out here!”

Ianna could not help but wonder if this was truly the same house she had seen earlier during the day. Taro’s brothers instantly filled the building, which had felt slightly desolate earlier, with vigor.

“Anyhow, let’s eat first before talkin’!”

They all followed Absilot’s example and sat themselves down at the table and immediately began inhaling the food. Ianna could finally understand where Taro’s habit of not talking while he ate whenever they dined together at the Institution had come from.

Ianna and Herrace exchanged looks before slowly beginning their meal. They ate slowly, but they were still quite full by the time they were finished because there was so much food.

“C’mere for a sec, Taro ya rascal.”

Once everyone had finished eating, Taro’s brothers began rolling up their sleeves as if they meant to stretch their bodies out by sending a few fists flying. They seemed to be picking a fight. They were about to invite Ianna and Herrace to join the fray before Taro stopped them and explained what had happened earlier with Konya.

“Cough. Konya and Lil’ Ianna’s decided to have a go?”

“Wow, I gotta see this one. I wanna see that arrogant lioness lose a fight.”

“Ain’t it almost time? We should go and save ourselves some seats!”

Absilot decided to step in just then.

“Hey, you guys go ahead first. I’ll bring Lil’ Ianna there myself.”

“Got it!”

Taro’s brothers answered in chorus as they and their partners made themselves scarce. Taro and Kuncha also took Herrace by the arms and whisked him out of the house with the swiftness of a gale. Taro’s family was energetic in everything they did.

The house had emptied out at once, and only Absilot, Lanka, and Ianna remained.

“So ya decided to have a match with a lion’s cub?”

“Yes.”

Absilot stroked his chin.

“Konya’s one awful strong child. Ya won’t find many who are stronger than her among the beastmen even if ya looked. But if it’s you, Lass, that she’d gonna be fightin’……hmmm. I couldn’t say for sure that Konya would beat ya. But take it easy, yeah? Konya’s the pride of her clan, and beatin’ her will be like rippin’ the nose hairs from a lion.”

“Taro said much the same thing.”

“Yeah. Them lions really hate losin’ and all. They might start challengin’ ya outa nowhere if ya win. That’s allowed in Passio, after all. You don’t plan on losin’, do ya, Lass?”

“Of course not.”

“Well, I guess ya can just turn down their challenges and that’s that, but they’ll lose all goodwill for ya if ya do. I’ll do my best to keep the situation under control if that happens, but just make sure to behave yerself, Lil’ Ianna.”

“Is there truly a need for that? If they’re offering a fight, then I will accept. I enjoy fighting strong warriors, so I’m actually quite excited by the situation. Besides, I won’t have many other chances to fight beastmen. I am planning to do my best.”

Absilot’s words had made Ianna more excited for her match with Konya. After all, she had confessed that fighting was her hobby while she was being auctioned during the school festival. She had been able to satiate her desires at the Institution because Arhad was there, but she always welcomed any fights from powerful new contenders.

“A warrior through and through, I see!”

Absilot gave her a thumbs-up before he caught himself and scratched at his head.

“Oh, but I wanted to try fightin’ ya too, Lass! Ugh!”

Lanka smirked as she looked back at him.

“My husband’s been cryin’ about wantin’ to fight ya ever since we got back from Roanne.”

“I’m afraid I still fall short of him for now.”

For now.

Absilot was someone truly powerful whom she would have to give it her everything to face even if Ianna was as strong as she had been during her past life. And she had not quite caught up to herself just yet.

Actually, the things she had learned and the limits she had reached in her past life had been etched into her soul, and it wasn’t technically incorrect to say that she had already polished her swordplay to perfection. It was her body that was still lacking. She could catch up to the level she had been at during her past life in but an instant if only her body would let her, and she was unable to execute her swordplay as perfectly as she could in her memories because her body had yet to fully mature.

The synergetic effect between her desire for victory and meeting Arhad again had caused her to speed up her physical training, and she had even started being able to use the Lines again not too long ago —a feat in and of itself—, but it was still not enough. Ianna understood that she would not be able to reach the level she had been at during her past life until her body had finished maturing. Besides, women generally finished maturing at the age of nineteen. Was that why? After studying her body and the current level of her training, Ianna estimated that she would be able to reach the level she had been at when she had died in her past life and overtake her old self within the next year. This was all because she had done her best to obtain a more perfect body than she had in her past life.

Then, she would be able to reach new horizons depending on how much effort she put into her training.

“For now? Look at you bein’ cheeky with me. Hehe. Boldly stated as befittin’ of the warrior who slipped out of the Bahamut princess’ grasp.”

Absilot laughed in delight before he suddenly cleared his throat.

“Let me say this now ‘cause yer prob’ly gonna be too tired to talk by the time ya get back. I was plannin’ to bring ya to see Lord Terra —the Flame Dragon, that is— first thing tomorrow just like we were sayin’ earlier, that okay with you? I didn’t think that something like this would come up.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t mind even if we went to see the dragon immediately after my fight today is concluded. I’m quite eager to finally meet a dragon.”

“Whoa. That overflowin’ confidence of yers……. But nah. We’ll go tomorrow mornin’. This ain’t something ya should rush, so ya should take the time tonight to think about what ya wanna say when ya meet him. I’m only goin’ ‘cause I wanna show ya off to Lord Terra, Lass, but you have something ya wanna say after meetin’ a dragon, yeah? Organize everything ya wanna say beforehand so ya don’t forget and regret it later.”

His was a convincing argument. Ianna nodded back in consent when she abruptly remembered the cooperation request from Arhad that she was supposed to pass along to Absilot.

She had been putting it off because she wanted to give it to him at a more appropriate time, but things had been so crazy that she figured it was probably better to give it to him now while she was thinking about it.

And so, she quickly ran up to her room and pushed the envelope toward Absilot when she brought it back with her.

“This letter is addressed to you from the leader of the organization I’m affiliated with.”

There was a glint in Absilot’s eyes.

“The leader of Camastros? Oho, give it here.”

Riip.

Absilot ripped open the envelop as soon as he took it, pulled out the letter inside, and read the top portion before he said,

“So basically, he wants me to cooperate with Camastros to rip the Black Fox out from its roots.”

“It’s the reason Camastros exists,”

Ianna replied calmly, and Absilot continued to read down the letter before he suddenly began laughing emptily.

“Wow, would ya take a look at this bastard? How the hell did he learn so much about this stuff in so much detail? This human’s no ordinary guy, yeah? Though I’ve known that ever since rumors about him grapplin’ with the Black Fox started spreadin’ all over the world.”

Ianna didn’t know the contents of the secret missive, but Absilot still sounded astonished and didn’t react all too poorly despite how displeased he looked. She was hopeful to get a positive answer out of him.

He read through to the end of the letter with a grave look on his face before he suddenly barked a laugh and broke out into a fit of laughter.

“Bwahahahahaha!”

He was laughing so crazily that Ianna was afraid his house might break down. Ianna and Lanka simply stared back at him, because they didn’t know what had been in the letter, when Absilot suddenly slapped his hand against his forehead.

“Damn, that was one real piece of work! Dear, could you put this in the safe in my room?”

Absilot handed the letter to Lanka, who received it gingerly because she understood that it was important and took it to his room. Absilot grinned as he said,

“Hey, Lass. Just who the hell is this leader of Camastros?”

“Who could say?”

He was human, but he was an extraordinary human. He was someone who would rise to the imperial throne and conquer the entire continent with his military might one day, and he was so amazingly talented that even Ianna could not begin to see through to the ends of just how amazing he was. What exactly had Arhad written in his letter that Absilot was reacting this way?

“This leader of yers…”

Absilot said as he grinned. He continued,

“He’s yer lover, right?”

“……Pardon?”

Ianna had no idea why the conversation had taken this sudden left turn. Ianna was immediately about to deny it, but she held her tongue when she reminded herself that it was technically true on the surface. Then, she promptly tried to deny it again when she realized that Absilot had not specifically referred to him as Arhad, a student of the Institution, but Absilot’s next words had quite literally caught her tongue.

“Taro says that there’s this stupidly good-lookin’ guy who loves ya to hell and back……. It’s him, right?”

Ianna was flustered by his rather excessive description before she immediately felt like she had been punched in the stomach upon realizing that he had figured out Arhad’s identity.

“No.”

She denied it, but Absilot was grinning like he was having great fun.

“Bullshit. A guy like this bastard ain’t the type to let his woman stand next to someone else. I’ll keep yer lil’ secret, so don’t worry about it. Besides, readin’ the letter made me feel like I had to go and murder him immediately, but I guess there’s nothing I can do if he’s yer lover, Lil’ Ianna. I’ll trust him. Let yer leader know that I said yes.”

……Ianna had thought that the look on Absilot’s face hadn’t been too bad, but he had apparently considered murdering Arhad while reading the letter.

Ianna was suddenly very interested in the letter that Lanka had carried away.

“Just what was written in the letter that prompted you to say that? Did he write something about me?”

“Mm, it’s a bit hard to say ‘cause most of it was stuff that I’d rather not talk about, and there was only one sentence about ya right at the end…… I’d thought that the letter was supposed to ask me to cooperate, but readin’ that one sentence made it sound like he was just tryin’ to threaten me by sayin’ he’d go on a killin’ spree if I so much as touched a hair on yer head……or that’s how it felt, at least.”

Just what exactly had been written on that letter? Absilot cackled as Ianna’s visage was vividly colored by bewilderment. He continued,

“Just how on earth did ya manage to get yerself caught by such a terrible guy?”

Just what exactly had Arhad written that Absilot was calling him a terrible person? It wasn’t as though Ianna could even ask because Absilot was clearly reluctant to talk about it.

“Could you please at least tell me what he wrote at the end?”

“It’s my personal rule to keep things like this secure……. And that leader of yers was pretty forceful about askin’ me to keep it strictly secret.”

Ianna was so curious about what it was that Arhad had said that had even given away his identity that she was beginning to feel frustrated. Just what the hell had he written in that damn letter? Was it not a simple request for cooperation? Just what on earth had Arhad been thinking that he had written Absilot something that had made the Mercenary King react like this?

Had it been by accident, or had it been intentional? Ianna was working the gears in her head when Absilot snickered and said,

“Why don’t ya ask him yerself? Why’re ya tryin’ to ask this poor old man who’s bein’ blackmailed by yer lover when ya have yerself an expensive communication artefact that ya can use to talk to him directly?!”

“But you said it was strictly secret…….”

“What’s this bullshit about secrets now? I hear this guy loves ya a whole lot, so he’ll prob’ly come clean if ya prod him a couple times. Men are creatures that become total pushovers when the girl they love comes into the picture. Haha.”

Ianna gave up on retorting. She did, however, clutch her head when she realized that there was a part of her that agreed with what Absilot had said. She didn’t know if it was actually because of ‘love’ or whatnot, but Arhad generally did whatever she asked him to. In other words, Absilot was likely correct in saying that she needn’t agonize over this.

Yes, I’ll just ask him myself.

“By the way, it’s nearly eight now, so we should get goin’ to Passio.”

Ianna looked to the darkness outside the window and nodded. She pushed her questions aside for later in the night when Arhad was supposed to call her, and she thought only about the match that she was about to fight with Konya as she followed Absilot out of his house.

~~*~~

Passio was a colossal circular arena. It was no different from the arenas back in the center of the continent in that it was ‘circular’ so that the audience could get a good view of the stage. It was different, however, in that the structure wasn’t artificially constructed but was naturally formed by a hollow in a rocky mountain filled with rocks of various sizes.

Beastmen who had heard the rumors were seated all over the rocks. A human invited to Titanus by Absilot himself, and a lion beastwoman who was one of the strongest beastmen in the city. This strange match-up was the reason why the audience was several times larger than normal.

Every lion beastmen in Titanus was sitting together in a corner with haughty looks on their faces.

“Konya’ll win, of course.”

They did not doubt Konya’s victory in the slightest. She was a candidate to succeed the clan chief, after all. She was still considered to be quite young and there were still a few beastmen who were stronger than her, but many people in the lion clan supported her because she was tenacious and never let her prey escape her once marked, she had the ability to make sound decisions, and she had excellent leadership skills and was overwhelmingly powerful whenever she hunted down monster hordes.

Moreover, while she was only considered stronger than average for a lion beastwoman, she was so much stronger than the rest of the beastmen population in general that there were hardly any who could stand up to her. The lions’ pride wasn’t just for show.

“Ya think ya can win, Lass?”

“Ya were pretty good when we saw ya at the school festival. But, aren’t ya pretty inexperienced when it comes to real fights? And yer only seventeen in human years……ack, yer practically a babe. A tiny babe. That kid Konya’s been huntin’ for nearly a century now —the Lass ain’t gonna get eaten up, will she?”

“Yer makin’ it sound like a kitten’s trying to pick a fight with a tiger after only seein’ his paws. I’ve been watchin’ her all this time, and let me tell ya —she ain’t no joke. You’ll see.”

“I dunno know great that human lass is supposed to be, but I’m sure the show’ll be worth it since the Chief brought her over personally!”

In another corner was Absilot, his family, and the other tiger beastmen who lived in Titanus chatting away as they hedged their bets on Ianna’s victory. The lions found them unpleasant and glowered at them, but the tigers were in no way inferior to them and simply glared back as if to ask, “The hell are ya lookin’ at?”

The other beastmen simply ignored them because the lions and the tigers bickered all the time, and they focused their attention on the arena stage instead.

Konya had her arms crossed and was staring conceitedly down at Ianna as if she was merely prey, whereas Ianna was expressionless as she looked back at Konya and listened to the referee’s explanation on how the match would go.

“It’s real strange,”

someone whispered, prompting others to concur.

That human’s real strange —there was something that every beastmen had felt as soon as they had first laid their eyes on Ianna. They hadn’t noticed when Ianna had first stepped inside Titanus because they had only been observing her from afar, but she seemed mysterious now that they were concentrating their attention on her.

They were not repulsed by this human, and they didn’t dislike her either.

Those beastmen who lived outside the Desert and were accustomed to humans simply thought that they were a little fond of her and brushed it off, but those who disliked humans could not help but feel strange about her.

And the strangeness stood out all the more because they had something to compare her against. They hadn’t particularly wanted to approach the human boy who had come with her or the people from Mursi’s company, but there was something about Ianna that made them want to talk to her at least once.

There were even some beastmen who thought that she was a human witch who planned to use her charms to sell them into slavery.

Ianna and Konya were completely ignoring the commotion as they faced each other on the arena stage with a hand atop the hilts of their respective swords.

“Fight seriously. Yer gonna die if ya don’t,”

Konya growled, prompting Ianna to nod back.

“You will be the one who ends up dead if I get serious.”

“I see ya know how to run yer mouth for a babe who ain’t even twenty yet.”

“Age isn’t important in the face of talent.”

Was that supposed to mean that she thought she was that talented? Konya laughed at the arrogant human. Still, she added that she quite liked Ianna’s attitude despite how cheeky she was being as she drew her sword.

“To the west! Konya Lion, a warrior from the lion clan that dominates the Girohai Desert! And to the east! Ianna, a foreign human warrior visiting from the center of the continent!”

The referee, who had been explaining at length about how Konya and Ianna were allowed to hurt each other but were not permitted to kill each other, cried out as soon as the bell tolled eight. The referee was both large in frame and loud in voice, perhaps because he was an elephant beastman. He was said to be one of the strongest beastmen in Titanus, as the referees at Passio needed to be strong enough to step in and arbitrate matches if the need should arise.

Ianna theorized several possibilities during the brief period of time she had before her match begun.

She had been told that matches at Passio lasted for three rounds. The first round was a purely physical duel, the second was a psychological duel using both mana and divine power, and the third was the true match that demonstrated the combatants’ full prowess both physically and psychologically.

Each round would continue until one of the combatants either admitted defeat or fell unconscious. The rule was meant to force combatants into conceding their defeat so that everything was settled by the time the match was over.

Ianna contemplated for a moment.

How much of her skills with the sword was she to demonstrate? Should she take it easy and put more emphasis in seeing how skilled Konya was since Konya wasn’t her enemy? Her rumination was short, however, and she only had one answer.

“Begin!”

Craaash!

Konya kicked off hard against the ground as soon as the referee began the round. Konya had kicked so hard that pebbles shot out in her wake as she leapt up, and she closed the distance to Ianna within the blink of an eye.

Konya laughed with her teeth barred when she saw Ianna standing still without even having drawn her sword yet as if she had not been able to react to Konya’s speed.

‘I’ll beat ya fair and square, human girl!’

Despite her fondness for Ianna and the strength she felt coming off the human girl, Konya still believed that beastmen were superior to humans. She was a lion. Lions were so overwhelmingly strong that they could crush most other animals underfoot, and she viewed humans as simple beings who were lower than her on the food chain.

Konya knew that the beastmen had historically been pushed out into the Girohai Desert by humanity, but she was confident that they could never lose in single combat against a human, and she was determined to trample over the human before her eyes while all the other beastmen were watching.

Shiver.

It was only when the range of Ianna’s sword overlapped with her own that Konya felt a chill running down her back.

“Haah!”

She ignored the goosebumps that had broken out all over her body. The muscles in her arms bulged. She brandished her sword down from above. The wind coiled around the tremendous power behind her sword as she brought it down upon Ianna.

But just then, Ianna’s sword left it’s sheath like a released arrow and pushed against a certain spot on Konya’s sword like an apparition.

Craaack!

Konya’s eyes opened wide. Her eyes had captured the crack forming across her blade.

‘……!’

She saw Ianna take a step forward from the other side of the haplessly falling pieces crumbling down like a breaking mountain. Konya quickly put some distance between them, unable to understand what had just happened, as she began transforming into a beast.

‘My dwarven-made sword…….’

There were several beastmen who traded regularly with the dwarves, and her father was one of them. He had asked the dwarves to forge a good blade for her because Konya had shown great interest in swords ever since she was young. And the sword she was wielding was one of the best among the best, and she had been favoring it for the past few decades.

But she did not have the time to be dumbstruck that her sword had been rendered to just a completely useless hilt.

Swiiish!

Konya’s hand had fully beastified as she tried to stop the rush of Ianna’s sword with her claws. But that had only resulted in her claws being shredded by Ianna’s blade like mere scraps of paper.

“Hwoo……!”

Konya’s eyes transformed into that of a lion’s. She moved like a beast that no human could mimic just before Ianna’s sword reached her throat, slipped away, and immediately moved back in toward Ianna again.

It was a fatal attack that someone who was accustomed to only fighting other humans could never evade. And yet, it was Konya who instantly ended up seeing stars while screaming in pain.

Pooooow!

It was Ianna’s leg, and not her right hand which Konya had been focused on, that had shot out and kicked her hard against the pit of her stomach.

Poow!

Konya lost her breath as it was pushed out of her, and Ianna’s once-relaxed left hand socked her directly in the face. Her sturdy fist had smashed directly into Konya’s nose, and blood began pouring down Konya’s face.

“Ack!”

Ianna followed the arc of Konya’s body as the latter fell backward and stomped on her hard before holding her sword out straight.

Craaaaash!

Ianna thrust her sword down through Konya’s shoulder like she was driving down a stake and pierced all the way through her shoulder joint and into the ground below.

“Arrrgh! You @%@#*%@#@#!”

Konya screamed and cursed viciously from the pain. Her body was tattered and she had been bitten by monsters before, but she was unaccustomed to having sharpened steel digging into her flesh and the sensation was horrid to her.

“Will you admit defeat?”

Konya transformed completely into a beast when she heard what Ianna had said and replied,

“Fuck you!”

Her once-humanoid body structure changed completely as she transformed into a beast. Her muscles grew thicker, and her limbs grew sturdier.

“This is your last chance. Admit your defeat,”

Ianna said again as she felt her blade being pushed out. Konya, who had lost herself in the pain of having her shoulder pierces and her rage at being so thoroughly defeated by a human and had regained her pride upon turning into a beast, simply ignored her.

“Roaaar!”

A giant lioness pushed at Ianna with her claws just as Ianna’s blade was pushed out of the ground. The claws that Ianna had cut off earlier had regrown and were swiping at her, and the lioness’ beastly strength shoved her back.

Ianna redirected that strength by stepping back a little. Then, she grabbed her sword, which was still stuck in Konya’s shoulder, and wrenched it.

“Snarl!”

Konya flinched and screamed from the pain, and Ianna did not let the resulting opening escape her. The muscles in her legs and arms bulged.

Ianna’s sword, still stuck in the lioness’ steel-like shoulder, creaked as it refused to dislodge, and Konya’s body spun like a skewered chicken when Ianna swung her sword as hard as she could. Then, as soon as Konya’s body separated from her sword and was sent flying in an arc, Ianna readily jumped up and jumped back down on Konya with her fully body weight.

Baaam!

“Cough!”

Konya fell crashing down, and it was only an instant later before Ianna’s sword had pierced through her other shoulder as well. Ianna climbed on top of Konya’s stomach before the latter could regain her senses and gripped her sword tighter.

Crunch, cruuuch.

She shoved her sword farther down, tearing through muscle, until only the hilt of her blade was visible before she began punching Konya, who was struggling to break free from beneath her, in the face.

Pow! Pow!

[W-wait! Cough!]

Ianna avoided Konya’s sharp teeth and punched her only in her haughty nose. It was truly a relentless beating.

Ianna had been going all out from the get-go. She had long since resolved herself to fight at her best no matter where she was or who her opponent was, and this time was of no exception. This was why she had destroyed Konya’s sword, since the beastwoman had claimed to be confident with it, and also why she had pierced through Konya’s shoulders when the beastwoman began using her beastly strength.

Ianna had given Konya the chance to give up because this was still just a spar, but Konya had not taken it. It only meant that she was prideful and would not break until Ianna truly overdid herself.

Ianna rather liked Konya’s tenacity. Though this was only because they weren’t enemies, of course.

If this had been a battle in which she had been permitted to kill her opponent, then Ianna would have simply slain Konya with her sword —it was truly a bothersome task to break an arrogant warrior’s pride during a spar with only her swordplay alone. Ianna could have aimed for Konya’s vitals and knocked the latter unconscious to score a win that way, but she didn’t want to give Konya the opportunity to act arrogant and complain about not being able to demonstrate the full extent of her skills.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

[Kyaah!]

Which was why Ianna had ultimately chosen violence.

Ianna had judged, by what she had seen of Konya’s self-confidence, that she had to break Konya’s spirit by defeating her when she was in her beast form and at her full power. She had given Konya the chance to back down while the latter had still been in her beastman form, but Konya had refused.

Ianna stood up only when Konya’s face had been reduced to a crumbled mess and her fists were beginning to hurt. Then, she took her scabbard and began hitting Konya all over.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

[Kyaah!]

Konya’s screams and the one-sided beating were the only noises that resounded throughout the otherwise silent Passio.

At first, Konya had struggled and had tried to escape her beating. It was her sense of pain and rationality, and not her rage against Ianna for beating her up, that told her to escape the pain as quickly as she could and figure out how to turn the tables.

‘Shit, at this rate……ack!’

She wriggled and writhed as she tried to break free, but she could not —it was almost as if she had been covered in sticky glue. Not only was she irritated because of the pathetic situation she was in, but she was in pain too, and Konya forgot that she was in the middle of a match and even began emitting bloodlust.

‘Just you wait, you bitch. I’ll kill you when I get the chance!’

But she never found her chance, and the bone-shattering beating only continued on and on…….

Konya was half-dead by the time she had returned to her beastman form, unable to keep maintaining her beastly one.

‘Please just stop…….’

Her raging fury subsided before the never-ending beating, and only her terror and resignation remained. What did she need to do to make this pain stop? Should she beg? Konya was wracking her brains when she suddenly remembered why she was being beaten up in the first place and she immediately shouted,

“S-surrender. I surrender! Cough!”

Ianna stopped beating her as soon as she heard Konya speak. The blade holding Konya in place like a pinned butterfly slid out from her shoulder. The beastmen in the audience shivered as they watched the calm expression on Ianna’s face as she slid her bloodied sword back into the sheath at her waist.

“How vile…….”

“Guess she’s still human after all…….”

“She could’ve just stopped after the first punch…….”

Ianna’s beating had been so vicious that even Taro’s family, who were stanchly on her side, was speaking out against her. Absilot was observing Ianna attentively, as she had beaten Konya up so recklessly despite his earlier counsel.

And it needn’t even be said that the looks on the lion tribe’s faces weren’t exactly great.

“It’s been a while since Konya’s been beaten up so badly.”

“We should acknowledge what we must. That’s one strong warrior.”

“That human ain’t gonna kill Konya, is she?”

“The Chief vouched for that human personally. She ain’t gonna be stupid enough to murder a beastman right in the middle of Titanus.”

“But, ain’t it odd? I know that the Chief brought her over personally and all, but ain’t it weird that a human was able to beat a beastman that badly? Is she countin’ on the Chief to bail her out if things get bad?”

“No need to be courteous, seein’ how badly she messed up Konya’s nose. Should we gang up on her once things are over?”

“Shut yer mouths, all of you,”

said a large beastman who had been watching the first round from the very forefront of the lion beastmen. Everyone’s mouths instantly snapped shut once he had spoken. He glared down to the stage at the center of Passio and continued,

“This is Passio, and we’ve seen worse fights than this. Perhaps that human’s goin’ all out ‘cause she’s countin’ on the Chief to back her up, but I praise her for having the nerves to beat Konya up in the middle of Titanus, a city filled to the brim with beastmen. Still, the lion tribe will chase her down to the ends of the earth if Konya dies.”

Ianna ignored the audience’s rambling as she looked to Konya, who was panting on the ground, with a strange light in her eyes.

The beastwoman deserved praise for not passing out. She truly had amazing willpower.

Konya inadvertently flinched when Ianna drew closer, afraid that she would get beaten again, but Ianna did not beat her. Instead, Ianna helped her back up —since Konya could not move her arms— and said,

“Will you continue?”

Konya sounded like she had lost her nerve, but she still eked out,

“O-of course I will! I won’t lose the second round!”

There was a short break between each round. Konya staggered her way over to the west gate, where a few members of the lion tribe immediately swarmed her and poured medicine over and bandaged her shoulders, giving her first aid.

Ianna, too, made her way over to the east gate. Then, she fell into thought as she stood in place. The second round was a psychological match. The referee had said that it didn’t matter whether she decided to use mana or divine power.

Ianna had found something strange about that.

Most humans didn’t even know that divine power existed. They simply regarded it as a religious term used to define life. But it looked like divine power wasn’t all that much of a secret among the beastmen.

‘And now only do they know about it, but they also use it freely?’

It wasn’t only the beastmen. The elves and dwarves also used divine power as easily as if they were simply breathing. Even Finn, who was only half elf, could call upon the spirits with ease.

She hadn’t taken much notice of it before, but now she was curious.

‘What’s the difference?’

She recalled how Giselle had told her that humans not only had only a little divine power but that it was also difficult for humans to use it because their hearts had too strong a grasp over it.

‘Does it really only boil down to our difference in lifespan?’

Ianna came back to her senses when she heard the referee announce the second round. She looked forward only to find Konya, who was still in a bad shape, glaring back at her.

Ianna pondered. Would it be all right to show the beastmen her crimson mana or divine power……?

She would have to pretend to be Camastros’ leader again once her trip was over and she was back in Roanne. The fight between Camastros and the Black Fox……no, the fight between Arhad and Bahamut had begun in earnest earlier this year when Grundewalz and Margarita had stepped foot inside Roanne. And this trip was simply her last vacation before she joined Arhad completely as he walked the path of emperor.

‘Ianna’ was simply an ordinary student who trained at the Institution like she always did unless special circumstances called for otherwise, and there was no reason for her to use divine power in a fight if she was keeping her head down low.

But things were different when she was acting as ‘Ann.’ Her enemies would grow stronger the more she defeated them, and ultimately, she would one day have to face monsters like Isabella and Wiffheimer again.

She didn’t know how Arhad had killed them in the past, but she was sure that it hadn’t been an easy feat. Ianna planned to help him fight them this time around, and so she had to keep quiet until she could take off her mask as a member of Camastros.

In conclusion, she needed to refrain from using crimson mana or divine power to prevent herself from being outed as ‘Ianna’…….

And it wasn’t as if she was in danger at the moment either.

Ianna looked squarely back at Konya’s sharp glare. She could see Konya gritting her teeth.

Konya had been thoroughly crushed. Ianna saw a familiar terror in Konya’s eyes after the later had been beaten psychologically black and blue at the hands of Ianna’s merciless violence. Ianna could already tell how the round would end even if she didn’t use divine power.

“Second round, begin!”

Konya’s fighting spirit flared.

The yellowy light of her divine power burst out from her body. Her yellowy divine power felt ominous, like the rustling of dried grasses. The feeling of being watched by a predator lying in wait inside a grassy field assaulted not only Ianna, the target of Konya’s attack, but also the beastmen in the audience.

Everyone’s heart was racing. Konya was a master huntress. Her aura had ripped countless monsters to pieces.

Not everyone could handle divine power. Divine power flowed out automatically when someone was calling upon a spirit, but not many people could bend their divine power to their will. But Konya was one of the few who could. Konya had been beaten so badly during the first round that it had been difficult to watch, but she was still a beast among beasts.

Still, the beastmen looked to Ianna nervously as they recalled how brutal she had been during the first round. They wondered if the human would do something astonishing again.

Calmly, Ianna said,

“I withdraw.”

Part 6

“Huh?”

“Wha?”

The audience, who had been eager to see Ianna’s skills, looked dumbfounded as they failed to comprehend what she had said. Konya and the referee were of no exception as they stood flabbergasted atop the arena stage.

Ianna repeated herself with a clear voice.

“I withdraw from the second round.”

“What kinda bullshit is that?”

Konya snarled as she put away her divine power. Ianna responded flatly to her backlash.

“Be it mana or divine power, I don’t use my powers on a whim. I’m not here to kill my enemies today, which would mean that I’d only be using my powers to satisfy a ‘whim.’”

“Hey, are ya lookin’ down on me just ‘cause ya got me good on the first round? Or are ya pullin’ out early ‘cause ya don’t think ya can win? Ya sure ya ain’t just talkin’ big just to save face? Just be honest and admit yer loss if yer just sayin’ shit ‘cause ya ain’t strong enough —what sorta bullshit is this? Ugh, ya ain’t no warrior —yer just an empty ricecracker! Damn, it’s shameful that I got my ass handed to me by someone like you…….”

Konya stomped the ground as she fumed as if she had never cowed from Ianna in the first place. Most of the audience shared Konya’s opinion and criticized Ianna. But there were still a few who understood where Ianna was coming from.

“Oh, is it ‘cause she’s human?”

“Then again, humans don’t live that long, so they don’t have much divine power either. Comparin’ her divine power to Konya’s would be like comparin’ a firefly to the sun, yeah?”

“Wait, can she even use divine power to begin with? There ain’t that many beastmen who can use divine power either, but I hear that lookin’ for a human who knows how to use divine power’s like finding a specific grain of sand in the desert.”

“But the way that human spoke makes it seem like she knows how to use it, but she doesn’t wanna? I mean, the Chief brought her here himself, so she prob’ly knows how to use it, right?”

“She has a point, though. Divine power’s not something yer supposed to use on a whim.”

The beastmen observed the stage as they whispered amongst themselves. The elephant beastman had gathered the wheezing Konya and the comparatively composed Ianna together to arbitrate. Ianna cut off Konya’s continuous grumbling and said,

“Whether you choose to believe me or not is your problem —but shut up and keep your grumblings to yourself because it’s starting to grate on my ears.”

Konya immediately shut her mouth without another word. Once Konya had quieted down, Ianna turned to the referee and said,

“I am withdrawing from the second round, Referee.”

The elephant beastman referee nodded and asked,

“Are ya gonna withdraw from the third round too?”

Ianna turned to Konya and asked,

“Will you continue onto the third round?”

“You asking me? I can heal my shoulders just fine with divine power, ya know? Besides, the ref’s askin’ you.”

Konya, who had regained her spirits after complaining for some time, crossed her arms and looked like she had been asked something preposterous.

Ianna glanced at Konya’s shoulders. Was it because of divine power? Her shoulders had already healed for the most part. Ianna nodded.

“Don’t regret it later.”

“Whaat? You don’t regret it later!”

“We’ll continue.”

The elephant beastman flapped his large ears around in bewilderment. Just what on earth was this human thinking? Wasn’t it only natural that she withdrew from the third round also if she withdrew from the second round? Everyone else shared the referee’s sentiment, but Ianna unfastened the bloodied scabbard she was wearing at her waist.

“All I need for the third round are my body and a sword.”

Ianna disliked both losing and withdrawing. But that only held true regarding the pride she held for her sword.

Her desperate pride that had whispered, ‘I must never lose,’ and swallowed her life whole had been completely broken by Arhad. But the fact that she had been born again and had tied against Arhad in this life, as well as the fact that she had found emotional support in not only her sword but in Arhad as well, had transfigured her pride into a self-confidence that told her, ‘I will not lose.’

It was more than enough to win with her swordplay alone when she was acting only as Ianna. It would have been difficult had this been a year ago, but she had grown skilled enough to use Lines again now, which meant that she could handle most opponents with only her sword. Besides, she now also had the ability to dispel magic and fortification…….

Divine power, however, was impossible to dispel because it obeyed only its user’s wishes. Also, Ianna had yet to try cutting through divine power.

‘Then I suppose you’ll simply serve as my training partner.’

A power that she had yet to try cutting through. But it was also something that she absolutely must learn how to cut.

She had realized this when she fought the bastards from Bahamut earlier. Her sword had to grow much stronger than it was now. She must grow strong enough to cut through anything and everything.

Moreover, she had learned after witnessing Konya’s divine power just now. She could cut that. So long as it had Lines, divine power was no different than any other object.

Ianna tapped her scabbard against her shoulder as she said,

“Bring it on.”

She had simply given Konya the chance to back down during the first and second rounds. Before she cut completely though the strength that Konya trusted so fervently.

“Why ya little!”

Konya raged and covered her entire body in divine power as she shot forth. Her body was reinforced with divine power, and she was so fast that the speed she had displayed during the first round could not possibly compare.

But Ianna’s dynamic vision never lost sight of everything that Konya was even for a single instant. And just as Konya entered into Ianna’s range and tried to swipe at her from torso to waist with her fully beastified paw and claws……Ianna brandished her scabbard from top to bottom.

Swiiiish!

Konya’s divine power tore apart and left her bare body exposed.

And, although Ianna’s scabbard never touched Konya, her divine power was sucked into the space that had been rent through and generated an insane wind pressure as its flow was warped.

Swooosh— booom!

Konya was sent flying outside of the arena and to the rocky mountains in the distance and tumbled to the earth.

“Cough! Hack!”

Admirably, she didn’t pass out, though she did end up vomiting blood.

“Konya!”

“Hey, don’t die!”

The lion clan, who had been sitting blankly as they watched, immediately jumped up and ran to her in alarm.

“…….”

“…….”

Silence resounded throughout Passio just as it had when Ianna was beating Konya up during the first round, and people stared at Ianna, the culprit who had brought about the situation, as the clouds of dust around her settled down.

The beastmen only broke their silence and began whispering again a few minutes later after the lion beastmen had helped Konya back into the arena.

“What was that just now?”

“All she did was swing her sword, but Konya went flyin’.”

“Did she have mana wrapped around her sword or something?”

“Hey, do ya really think that mana can stand up against divine power? How would that even work?”

Mana normally lost its focus and could not be controlled if there was divine power at work nearby. The beastmen knew that only colored mana, which had taken on the color of someone’s soul, or divine power could be used against divine power.

“That’s one amazin’ warrior.”

“How can a human who hasn’t even lived for that long be so powerful……?”

“Is talent enough to explain this?”

“She’s like a warrior who’s been workin’ at her sword for centuries.”

A few skilled beastmen understood just how powerful Ianna was and grew flush with excitement. It had only been one strike, but they were moved by just how incredibly powerful that single strike had been in comparison to the showy beat down Ianna had displayed during the first round. There were also a few who had realized something upon seeing that one strike and had fallen into silence.

“…….”

Hutan, a large man and one of the lion clan elders who was serving as their leader, could not tear his eyes off of Ianna.

“It’s my complete defeat.”

That was the first thing that Konya had said as she staggered to the stage on her own two feet. She was injured from head to toe, and she no longer displayed either her rage at her one-sided beating or her blazing desire to win. She fully conceded her defeat, and she was honestly impressed by the fact that the difference in power between herself and Ianna was so large that she hadn’t even been able to touch Ianna.

Konya quivered as she gave a thumbs-up.

“Ya even managed to put me in this state……yer one heck of a warrior.”

She immediately passed out after saying that, and the lion beastmen who had grown infuriated after witnessing Konya be beaten up so badly found themselves unable to do anything but stand around and stew in their frustrations now that the actual victim in question had put the entire ordeal behind her and had left the stage. They acknowledged Ianna’s strength, but most of them could not hide the defiance from their faces.

Just then, Ianna, who had been watching over them quietly, hit her scabbard against the floor. Everyone in the audience, and not only the lion beastmen, turned their eyes to her. Even the beastmen who had felt nothing but wonder toward Ianna and had been about to leave had stopped to look at her. They wondered if she was about to say something cool before she wrapped up match in Passio now that she had won.

As if she couldn’t have cared any less, Ianna said,

“If there’s anyone who wishes to fight me, please step forward.”

Her simple sentence had left a huge impact. The beastmen asked each other, “What?” in a daze for a moment before a commotion broke out in Passio as they finally comprehended what she had said. The few who had visibly flinched as soon as they had heard what Ianna had said waited for her to finish.

“The victor is allowed to entertain challengers in Passio, no? I believe that there are many among you who either wish to fight me or simply think ill of me for a myriad of other reasons.”

Ianna continued,

“I was told that beastmen revere strength and respect the strong. I’ve also been told that you resolve emotional issues though battle. I quite like your way of life, and I will respect your customs.”

The beastmen made strange faces as they heard her words, and her next ones hit the nail directly on the head.

“I may be human, but I am still a warrior, just like the rest of you. I will resolve the curiosity and hostility you feel toward me as a human with my might. If there is anything about me that displeases you, then we can work that out through battle. Today will be your only opportunity to do so.”

This battle was something that Ianna had planned ever since she had heard from Taro and Absilot that the lion clan was prideful and might pick a fight later.

If she had no choice but to fight, then she would fight hard until she emerged victorious against everyone.

“And so, to put it simply…”

Ianna looked to the man who was glaring at her the sharpest. He was the largest man among the lion clan. Ianna pointed her scabbard at him.

“Bring it on.”

She had picked the first victim of the festivities that were about to ensue. The beastmen expressed their marvel and applauded when they saw whom Ianna had singled out.

“That’s one gutsy human!”

“She’s got a lot of grit!”

The audience was getting riled. Ianna had involved everyone in the fight when she had made all of them her challengers, even if only temporarily. Embers had fallen onto the beastmen’s instinctive lust for victory and set their hearts ablaze.

“Fight! Fight!”

“Please be an example for all of us, Lord Hutan!”

“Or just hurry up and lose! Bwahaha!”

Hutan barred his teeth and growled.

“How admirable!”

Fighting spirit exploded from his body and showered down upon Ianna. His dark brown divine power boiled as it wrapped around him.

“I am Hutan of the lion clan!”

His hair, as wild as a lion’s mane, waved vigorously in the air and added to his image. He continued,

“I have already acknowledged yer worth, human, but I will not back down from this fight!”

Hutan’s figure expanded. His already-large frame grew even larger as his solid muscles bulged, and he was at least three or four times Ianna’s size by the time he was finished.

Craash!

Hutan raised his arms and ran directly at Ianna. Ianna never let Hutan escape her gaze during that short interval of time. She had intuitively understood that Hutan was a much stronger opponent than Konya.

It was more difficult to find the Lines in a warrior the stronger they were. It was difficult to pinpoint the Lines on someone strong because they tended to move this way and that, appearing and disappearing as if on a whim. There were even times where Lines covered the warrior’s entire being, and also times when they showed no Lines at all.

Overwhelmingly powerful opponents purposefully exposed their Lines at will so they could control the flow of the battle however they pleased, and Arhad was one such opponent.

His wasn’t as ridiculous as Arhad’s, but Hutan’s Lines were moving quite erratically.

“Hwooo…….”

Ianna let out a deep breath. The recoil she had felt to her sword when she had cut through Konya had been immense.

She had thought that she had made a clean cut, but her arm had gone numb. It was true that divine power was unquestionably strong, but it was mostly because she had not managed to cut cleanly along the Line.

Which only meant that she had to train harder.

Stronger and stronger, until she could see the very peak of the sword…….

“Haah!”

Hutan guarded himself with his arms as he ran at Ianna like he meant to ram into her. He was confident, and he had even made himself a shield from his divine power. Ianna’s cut did not reach him.

She had thrust at him.

Ianna did not avoid Hutan’s attack but had boldly met it head-on instead. The wind coiled around Ianna’s scabbard as it shot out toward a point on Hutan’s arms like an arrow, and the thrust, which Hutan had thought he would be able to ignore, scattered Hutan’s divine power everywhere.

Hutan was bewildered, and he felt an excruciating pain run through his arms and into his body.

“Kgh!”

He felt like an apple that had been split in two. He nearly fell unconscious as he felt like his body was splitting apart, but Hutan’s indomitable will kept his mind intact as he forced himself to brandish his fists. His fists only hit empty air, however, because Ianna was no longer in front of him.

The collision between Hutan’s arms and Ianna’s scabbard had already taken its course, and Ianna had allowed herself to be flung back as she let momentum ebb away the impact.

Clatter!

Ianna’s figure spun in an arc and she stabbed her scabbard against the ground as soon as she landed, and she lowered her body, avoiding Hutan’s fists as they tore through the air, and shot forward with incredible speed.

Pooow!

A small opening appeared in Hutan’s divine power between his outstretched arms, and Ianna’s scabbard tore through it and thrust into his solar plexus. Hutan’s divine power was thoroughly disturbed, and he vomited bile as he fell to his knees. He had been bested head-on.

Pow! Poow!

The rest of the match followed as Konya’s had. Ianna beat him black and blue with her scabbard.

Hutan was stronger and more stubborn than Konya had been. He slipped out of Ianna’s grasp and attempted to turn the tables several times over. But his efforts could not withstand the test of time. Hutan surrendered completely once he had grown exhausted.

“Next!”

“I’m Matos of the lion clan! I’ll take revenge for Konya and our elder!”

Ianna won.

“Next!”

“I’m Kanzas of the leopard clan! I’ll have yer head, human girl!”

Ianna won again.

“Next!”

“I’m Urno of the rhinoceros clan!”

Ianna continued to win.

“Next!”

Next! Next! Next……!

Countless renowned warriors from Titanus challenged her, and Ianna overpowered them all and brought every single warrior to their knees. And the lukewarm and uncertain feelings that the audience in Passio had toward her grew hotter and more vibrant with each victory.

“Next!”

Ianna called, her voice growing hoarse from continuous use as she stood atop the bloodied arena stage.

She was drenched in sweat. It required incredible concentration to be able to see the Lines and cut cleanly through them, and it also consumed considerable willpower. Moreover, she had fought so many opponents now that she had lost count —it was only natural that she was growing tired.

But the light in her eyes never faded and glistened terrifyingly —her fighting spirit blazed again and again like madness with each fight.

“Next!”

The seemingly endless stream of opponents had suddenly stopped coming no matter how many times she called. Ianna looked around at her surroundings. There were so many beastmen in the audience that she could not compare them to the number that had been watching earlier. And she could also clearly feel the change in the way the beastmen were looking at her.

“Next.”

Ianna returned her sword to her waist when no one stepped forward.

“Is that all?”

The beastmen in the audience cheered and applauded.

“We’ve no choice but to acknowledge ya! Who would’ve thought we’d ever see a human like you in our lifetime?!”

Their eyes were filled with their fondness and awe for the warrior who had forced them to acknowledge her despite the difference in their respective races.

She was no witch —she was a born and bred warrior who acknowledged the beastmen’s way of life and knew her way around a fight. It was obvious to them that the warriors’ blood running through their veins had reacted to her. Wasn’t it only natural that they had grown fond of her?

The beastmen revered strength, and they understood just how awesome the abilities that Ianna had demonstrated were. Their goodwill showered upon her like a deluge.

“Hey Human, fight us again when ya have the time!”

“It was really fun!”

“Yer an awesome woman!”

“Damn, let’s get married!”

She heard something strange slip into the mix as she turned to where the tiger clan beastmen were. They had been openly fond of Ianna since the very beginning, and their fondness for her had gone through the roof.

“Sniff, sniff…… Little Ianna, sob, you’re just so cool……. I’ll follow you forever…….”

And Herrace was saying something strange as he cried.

“Bwahahahaha!”

Absilot burst out in sonorous laughter as he stood up from his seat.

“Hey, you lot! Let’s throw ourselves a party! Or are ya gonna mistreat this amazin’ human warrior who’s given us this awesome show? Bring out all the alcohol ya had stored away! And all the meat ya had preserved! I’ll treat ya all, ya rascals!”

The beastmen cheered before they voiced their suspicions.

“Why’s he being so quiet?”

“You should ask for a fight too, Chief!”

Absilot smirked and said,

“I’m gonna have my match with this warrior once she grows up a bit, so make sure y’all come to watch! Besides, there’s no glory in beating a human who’s already exhausted, yeah?”

“What does that make the rest of us who fought her and lost if you say that, Chief?”

A few beastmen expressed their misgivings, but Absilot ignored the lot of them.

“Hey, Human Warrior! Did ya say yer name was Ianna? Go break our Chief’s high and mighty nose next time!”

“Ugh, enough of that. I’m hungry, so hurry up and bring out the food!”

The beastmen all scattered in different directions. Many of them came back with their families and friends. The rest of the beastmen ran to the communal warehouse near Passio and brought back a mountain of food and alcohol.

Then, a few beastmen summoned fire spirits.

Swooosh!

[Hi, hello!]

[Wow, there’s so much food to roast! Is there a festival going on?]

A few of the spirits even had enough intelligence to talk. The fire spirits initially expressed their interest at the raw meat that needed cooking before they all turned toward one direction at the same time. They had turned toward Ianna. Ianna flinched.

[Aww…….]

Was it because Ianna had asked Innis to let the spirits know not to summon themselves unless she called for them? The fire spirits did not approach her.

Something about them made Ianna feel pity, but she did her best to ignore them. She had gone through so much effort to keep her divine power hidden, and it would all go to waste if she accidentally summoned a spirit king.

“Hey, doesn’t it seem like the spirits like that human too?”

The beastmen were shocked by how the spirits were reacting. And they only grew fonder of Ianna because they knew that the spirits only liked good people.

“Let’s eat!”

The beastmen raised their hands up when Absilot shouted as they finished preparing wood for a barbeque.

“Damn, this is awesome.”

“I couldn’t even think about challengin’ her ‘cause she sent a bunch of guys way stronger than me flyin’ off the stage.”

Ianna was obviously the topic of every conversation, and the beastmen even came up to Ianna and Herrace for a chat because they had grown less wary about humans. There were a lot of beastman who wanted to hold serious debates about battle with Ianna.

The attention was centered on Ianna at first, but they gradually began paying more attention to Herrace too. They had realized how kind and friendly Herrace was as they chatted, and Taro had told them that Herrace was quite stilled with the sword himself.

“Ianna! Let’s have another match after I’ve grown a bit stronger! Come back in about fifty years or so!”

the tipsy and heavily bandaged Konya shouted as she raised up her glass. Ianna quite liked Konya’s battle-oriented personality and the way she didn’t hold grudges. She was a good conversation partner too, as both of them were interested in swordplay.

The beastmen kept pouring Ianna wine, and Ianna never turned them down. Which made them like her all the more.

“This human knows how to drink too!”

Ianna, who had been drinking like a fish for a while, looked to see where the moon was in the sky before she stood up to leave.

“Huh? How can the star of the show just up and leave?”

“Ya gotta drink ‘til ya drop dead! Where’re ya goin’?”

Drunken voices tried to hold her back, but Ianna brushed them off and said that she was heading in because she was tired and had things to do in the morning.

“Goodness, my husband and kids really don’t have an eye for these things. Ya worked hard today. Hurry up and go to sleep.”

“Why’re ya sendin’ her away, Ma’am? We still have so much to talk about!”

Lanka gave Ianna her keys so the latter could head home, but it was Absilot who spoiled the fun.

“Hey, take a hint, will ya?! She needs to go and call her boyfriend, so let her leave!”

“Whaat? She has a boyfriend?!”

“I was gonna ask her to marry me!”

Ianna put the drunken frenzy behind her and made her way to Absilot’s house, washed up, and plopped down on her bed.

He was supposed to call her at midnight, but Ianna was late because the way back to Absilot’s house was longer than she had expected and because she had taken the time to wash up.

The plush puppy next to her pillow was already barking. Ianna looked to it with drooping eyes.

[I was worried!]

A slightly angered voice yelled back at her as soon as Ianna connected. She had taken the call in a slight daze, and she blinked before messily replying,

“I’m sorry.”

[……What’s wrong with your voice? Are you drunk?]

It was scary how Arhad could guess what state she was in from just her voice. Ianna had a good tolerance for alcohol, but the beastmen had given her so much to drink that even she could not keep herself from growing tipsy. Their awe hadn’t been just for show when she kept herself upright despite drinking every glass they poured her.

She had kept herself together with her superhuman mental fortitude when she had been with the others, but she was relaxed now that she was home alone, lying down in bed, and listening to Arhad’s comforting voice.

“Yesss…”

Arhad was rendered speechless by how slurred Ianna’s voice was —something that Ianna normally never allowed. Ianna brought her plush puppy closer to her ear, wondering if she simply wasn’t hearing him properly.

[Where are you right now?]

Arhad’s quiet voice seemed to penetrate through her ears when she did.

Ianna’s eyes twitched. It almost felt like he had whispered something in her ear. A mysterious feeling she couldn’t quite identify began eating away at her heart.

“……I’m in Lord Absilot’s house.”

She felt a strange tension that she would have normally been repulsed by had she been sober, but it felt strangely nice now that she was drunk and her face was flushed a feverish red. Even the strange chills running down her spine as she felt her strength leave her felt oddly pleasant.

[Are you still drinking? Who’s with you right now? And how drunk are you?]

And Arhad’s worried voice rang in her ears —where had his initial anger gone? Ianna liked how his questions had been asked as he tried to take care of her. His feelings flowed through her ears and rammed their way into her heart. Ianna’s lips moved ever so slightly as she mumbled,

“I like this…….”

Arhad sounded a bit sullen when Ianna mumbled drunkenly instead of answering his questions.

[The wine? Or are you referring to the people with you?]

Wine? Of course she liked wine. And the only person with her right now was Arhad, though it was only his voice.

“I like both.”

[…….]

“I like everything. And that’s why I feel so pleasant right now.”

[I’m going to teleport over to you if you don’t answer me properly.]

Ianna simply giggled at the anger in Arhad’s voice. It wasn’t as if Arhad was watching her, and it was only his voice that she could hear, so Ianna continued to keep the plush puppy right by her ear.

[Ianna.]

“Yes, Arhad?”

Arhad lost his voice for a moment when he heard the laughter in her voice.

[You really…… Don’t call me like that at time like this. But anyway, who’s with you right now?]

“Only you.”

[What?]

“Everyone else is still drinking, and I came back home alone. So I could speak with you. I’m drunk, and you’re the only person here with me……which is why I said I liked it…… Did that displease you? I was just trying to say that I liked you…….”

Ianna forgot to filter her words because her rationality had been melted away by her intoxication. She had initially meant to tease Arhad because she knew that he had misunderstood, but the alcohol had made her playful feelings fly away and she grew immediately depressed upon imagining that Arhad was displeased with her. She continued,

“But why? Please keep liking me no matter what I do. Don’t hate me.”

Ianna spoke like she had inside Margarita’s illusions before she could stop herself.

[……Why would I ever hate you?]

Something about his voice sounded extremely suppressed when he responded. Ianna knew that this familiar phenomenon played out whenever Arhad was doing his best to keep down a certain ‘emotion,’ and she also relaxed and smiled a bit because she now understood that this emotion was the epitome of ‘goodwill.’

“Right? You like me a lot, after all.”

[It’s a good thing you aren’t here with me right now.]

“Why is that?”

[Who could say?]

That was all Arhad said before he fell silent for a moment, and he seemed to have straightened his emotions out when he spoke up again.

[Anyway, you should have let me know beforehand if you were going to be out drinking late.]

“I didn’t think that I would miss your calls because I was drinking. I was the one who asked you to call me periodically first, and I was waiting for you to call. I will answer your calls no matter how busy I am.”

Every word that came out of her mouth today was about as effective as a bomb. Arhad’s voice sounded strained as he suffered explosion after explosion through their connected artefacts.

[You must really be drunk today.]

“I suppose? I drank everything they gave me.”

[……Should we call it a night?]

“No. I’m perfectly fine, so please stay on.”

Arhad let out a sigh from the other end of the call.

[Is that so? I was planning to hang up for your sake…….]

Then, his voice suddenly took a lower tone.

[Very well then. Who were you drinking with?]

“Taro’s family, and oh, you’ll be surprised to hear this. Taro’s a half tiger beastman. And Lord Absilot is a tiger beastman. I, I’m in the beastmen’s city right now. I’ve met so many beastmen.”

[I see. So, who did you drink with? Who gave you so much alcohol? Taro? Absilot? Some other bastard? And whom else did you act like this with?]

He did not react to the fact that Absilot and Taro were beastmen at all. He likewise seemed completely uninterested in the beastmen’s city and simply continued interrogating Ianna about who she had drank with.

He hadn’t shown much interest in the dwarves either, so Ianna didn’t find it surprising that he didn’t care much about the beastmen. But she was still a little puzzled by how he seemed to care only about the people she had drank with instead of showing any interest whatsoever in the mysterious mythical races.

Ianna fumbled around with her words as she said,

“I was just drinking with the people from the city. Lord Absilot threw a party.”

[Why would he throw a party out of nowhere?]

Ultimately, Ianna told Arhad everything —about how she and Konya had decided to fight, about how she had let the other beastmen challenge her, and about how she had won their acknowledgement.

Arhad nagged her and told her to take better care of herself, but Ianna was too satisfied as she recounted her tales to him to care, and she added,

“I won’t lose to anyone but you.”

[Hmmm…….]

There was a bit of contentment leaking out from Arhad’s voice, perhaps because he was pleased by what she had said. He continued,

[Of course. You mustn’t be defeated by anyone. What would I do if you lost to another and decided to chase them around instead of me?]

“I’m not so young a child that I would do something like that. But in any event, it looks like it’s true that the beastmen revere battle and respect strength. There are many female warriors here, and not just male ones, and they’re all very competitive…… There were even a few beastmen who asked for my hand in marriage after the fighting was over.”

[……What?]

Arhad’s voice suddenly fell in pitch, and Ianna was pleased as she replied,

“They were simply joking and playing along with the mood, but that’s just how important strength is to them.”

[Do you truly believe they were only joking?]

“What else would it be, if not a joke?”

[Most beastmen tend to be rather simple. So over half of their proposals were likely serious. Do I need to come over and murder the whole lot of them?]

It was only after she had heard the grave tone of his voice that Ianna recalled a conversation they had shared previously. She wondered if the radical logic he had used when he had said that he would murder her husband-to-be before they could even get married also applied here.

Is this……because of ‘love’?

Ianna accepted Arhad abnormal reaction and simply nodded. Her hypothesis that Arhad loved her had been cemented as an established fact by now, and Ianna was growing more accustomed to it by the day.

“The beastmen tried to stop me from leaving, but Lord Absilot yelled at them and said that I was leaving to go call my boyfriend, so there won’t be any need for that.”

Arhad, who had been on edge at the other end of the line, suddenly burst out into laughter. Ianna continued,

“I’m done now. Please figure out the rest on your own.”

[All right, all right.]

“Anyway, what was in the letter you wrote to Lord Absilot?”

It was only now that Ianna was beginning to come back to her full senses.

[Did he say something after reading it?]

“He asked me to tell you that he accepts. But that’s not the issue here —what did you write? Lord Absilot said that he was considering murdering you at once while he was reading it, but then he read through to the end of the letter and asked me if you were my lover before he laughed and accepted.”

[Hmmm.]

“Don’t “Hmmm” me. Do you even understand what I’m saying? Lord Absilot realized that the leader of Camastros is my lover. And he knows that my lover is you, from the Institution, so he’s uncovered your real identity.”

Arhad was pleased by how Ianna threw around the word ‘lover’ like it was only natural as he replied,

[As expected of the Mercenary King. He’s quick on the uptake. Well, not that it matters. There are the things that I wrote about in the first half of my letter, and he’s also not the kind of person to expose the truth to begin with.]

It was only then that Ianna realized that Arhad did not seem to care all that much about the situation. She felt the anxiety subside from her heart now that she had heard how Arhad was reacting.

“Please tell me what was in the letter.”

[Are you curious?]

“I don’t need to know about Lord Absilot’s secrets because I know he didn’t wish to talk about them, but I am curious about the last bit. Just what on earth did you write that made him react like that?”

[I just asked him to take good care of you.]

“I’m fairly certain that wasn’t all you wrote.”

[But it’s true. I said that you were my cherished subordinate……and I asked him to watch over you while you were there. And…]

Ianna leaned her ear in closer when Arhad paused.

[I simply stated that I would target and destroy all of the weaknesses I’d written about in the rest of the letter should anything happen to you.]

~~*~~

Part 7

“Ugh.”

Ianna felt like her hangover would split her head open when she woke up, but she sobered up as soon as she drank a bottle of the medicine that Lanka had given her. She meditated away her bad feelings and felt much better after doing some light exercise while breathing in the clean air.

Ianna and Absilot left early in the morning. Titanus, which was as noisy as a marketplace all day long, was quiet, perhaps because the sun wasn’t up yet.

Ianna’s heart was palpitating as she went to meet the dragon. She had organized everything she wanted to ask while she had been meditating. Though she didn’t know if the dragon would answer all her questions…….

“Mmm.”

Absilot turned back toward Ianna as he stretched.

“Lass, would it make ya uncomfortable if I reverted back to beastman form?”

“Not at all.”

She had been awkward around beastmen in their beastmen form before, but she had grown completely accustomed to it after yesterday. Perhaps she might be surprised and a little awkward around Absilot at first, because she had never seen him outside of human form before, but that was all.

Crunch, cruuunch.

Absilot’s body began transforming as soon as Ianna had given her consent. His frame grew larger, and his limbs grew thicker. His head, a mix between human and beast form, gave off a bestial aura, and his hands and feet transformed into a tiger’s paws.

Swish!

Absilot’s tail grew out and wrapped itself around his waist. He grinned once he had finished transforming.

“Ah~ this is the best. I don’t really mind bein’ in human form, but nothing beats this in terms of comfort.”

Absilot and Ianna exited Titanus. They ran into five monsters not too long after they had left the city. They were giant wolf monsters that lived in the deserts, and blue fires were blazing in their eyes. The wolves lowered themselves ever so slightly and growled like beasts preparing to pounce.

“Grrrrrr.”

Their eyes were fixated solely on Ianna. Ianna quietly placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“Oh boy. Did these chumps forget my face just ‘cause I was away for a few days?”

Absilot barked out a laugh of disbelief. He continued,

“Ya must look mighty tasty to them, Lil’ Ianna. They can’t even see that there’s a tiger standin’ right next to ya.”

“If they’re targeting me, then I will take care of them myself.”

“No can do. Yer my guest. Besides, that leader of yers asked me to look after ya, so just stay put. To be honest, I wasn’t really all that happy with the fact that ya had to fight so many beastmen yesterday.”

Ianna recalled the conversation she had shared with Arhad last night. They had been talking about trivial matters after discussing the letter and had ended the call because Ianna had fallen asleep, but she still remembered everything they had discussed.

‘The reason why Lord Absilot refused to fight me yesterday might be because Arhad was blackmailing him. Oof…….’

Ianna grew disconcerted and blushed a little as she recalled her shameful conduct alongside her discussion with Arhad last night when Absilot made a fist and shot forward like an apparition.

Baaaaaam!

“Screeeech!”

Absilot’s strength was as explosive as a cannon being fired now that he had returned to his beastman form. The monster that had taken Absilot’s fist to its face went flying backward and came back crashing down onto the sand.

“Hack.”

It was only then that the monsters seemed to take notice of Absilot, and they all took fright. The monster that Absilot had sent flying staggered back up from afar. Its entire face had been caved in, but it surprisingly hadn’t died yet. Absilot cracked his knuckles as he roared,

“I made sure ya wouldn’t explode. Now get lost!”

The monsters yelped and ran away. It was quite disgraceful for the monsters from one of the four corners, which were supposed to be notorious for their brutality.

“We don’t got the time to be dealin’ with the likes of them, so let’s just get on goin’.”

They had stopped because of the monsters, and Absilot urged Ianna onward.

“We ain’t gonna get there ‘til nighttime at this rate —wanna run?”

Ianna agreed —she wanted to meet the dragon as quickly as possible—, so they began running. Absilot stuck close to her and started looking like he was stifling.

‘He’s almost like a monster.’

Absilot was making his presence known because he didn’t want to have to stop because of monsters again, and the feeling he was giving off reminded Ianna of the high-class monsters she had run into in the Lotso Mountains.

And the monsters in the area felt the same thing. Absilot had been the reigning champion of the deserts for the past few decades, and the monsters registered him as a type of gigantic monster. He had even started smelling like a dragon after becoming its Guardian, so there was no monster around that dared approach him. And so, Absilot and Ianna were able to traverse the desert without anything getting in their way. Ianna only felt things change after the sun had climbed high in the sky at noon.

‘It’s hot.’

She wasn’t simply hot because she had been running though the desert for hours. Ianna was strong enough now that she could accurately read the state of her own body and was also very sensitive to any changes in her surroundings, so she understood that the heat had come from environmental factors. And she understood that those factors not only included the sunlight, the main culprit, but also the heat rising up from the very earth itself.

She had known that the temperature had been climbing as they traveled, but it had suddenly peaked out of nowhere.

‘This is astounding.’

Ianna had been regulating her body temperature as soon as the temperature outside had risen above normal values, but there was a limit to what she could do. She looked forward as she wiped away the sweat that had rolled down her face. A heat haze was rising up from the sand and boiling the very air itself, and she almost felt as if she was caught in a powerful mage’s hallucination spell.

“Hot, ain’t it?”

“Yes, very.”

“Just hold on for a bit longer. It’s ‘cause we’re near the entrance to Lord Terra’s lair. He’ll block off the heat for us when we get inside.”

Ianna had pulled out the water creation artefact that Arhad had given her multiple times throughout the journey. She had been saving it because she had not had any real use for it until now and had only brought it with her just in case, but it had truly risen to the occasion.

The water would have simply boiled if she had brought it in any normal container, but the artefact filled with Innis’ power created fresh cold water for Ianna whenever she wanted it. Ianna beat back the heat by drinking from it whenever she was thirsty and washing her face in cold water when she was hot.

And, at long last, they had arrived.

“This is a dragon’s lair. An ‘apex’ of the world where Terranodin, the Flame Dragon, resides.”

The earth at their feet was smoking, and there was scarlet lava flowing right beside them.

Everything was covered in flames save for the single path that stretched before them, as if someone had poured oil upon the very earth itself and had set it aflame.

Ianna coughed as she asked,

“What makes this an apex of the world?”

“Hmm.”

Absilot pulled out an ordinary marble from his pocket. He continued,

“The earth we’re standin’ on is round, yeah?”

“Yes.”

They couldn’t pioneer the entire world because of the four corners, but developments in astronomy had taught people that their world was round.

“Let’s say this marble is the earth.”

He pointed at the top of the marble.

“This here’s the Lotso Mountains, where Lord Kandemayon lives.”

Then, he pointed to four places around the marble about half its circumference from the first point.

“And these are where the dragons in each of the four corners live. And lastly…”

He pointed to the opposite end of the marble from the place he had designated as the Lotso Mountains.

“Here. The dragons call these six points the apexes of the world.”

Ianna kept her eyes on the last point that Absilot had pointed to. Mankind barely knew half of what the world had to offer. But then, what existed in the unknown lands on the other side of the world?

“What’s down here?”

“I dunno. I’ve asked too, ‘cause I was curious, but he wouldn’t tell me.”

Lands that even the mythical races knew nothing of. Ianna grew curious.

“I see. But where is the dragon?”

[Right here.]

Ianna startled when she suddenly heard the dragon’s voice. It hadn’t sounded by creating vibrations in the air like normal sounds did. It had come to her in the form of thoughtwaves, just like the spirits’ voices.

She had heard the dragon from the Lotso Mountains speak, but the situation had been so crazy back then that she hadn’t had the leeway to notice that something felt off. But now that she was listening to the dragon speak with her full attention, she found something very unfamiliar and strange about it.

It felt similar to the spirits’ voices, but the spirits’ voices felt like they resounded with her soul and not her body, whereas the dragon’s voice felt like it was resounding through both her body and her soul and seemed to sweep her away with its presence.

Ianna looked around and turned back when she saw that Absilot was looking at somewhere behind her. Then, she was met with two gigantic eyes that were burning bright with flames.

Terranodin, the Flame Dragon.

“…….”

Ianna gulped before she could stop herself.

Shaaaaa…….

The burning figure before her was like the sun itself.

Ianna felt pressured for a moment and almost stepped back when a being the size of a mountain and entirely shrouded in flames, just like Kagomyne, the Spirit King of Fire, stared into her. But she held her ground by tensing up her legs. She met the dragon’s gaze directly without looking away.

She had come here to speak with the dragon. The fact that dragons were beings from the myths made her nervous, but she knew she must not be seen as a useless human who was not worth a dragon’s time.

Shaaaa!

Just then, some of the flames that had been burning around them twisted up into the air. The spectacle stole away Ianna’s gaze, and she startled again upon realizing what those flames were. She had thought that they were simply flames, but they had actually been Terranodin’s tail.

Shaaaaaaa!

The other flames around them immediately extinguished with a flick of his tail. And the steaming heat subsided at once. Ianna felt a chill and shivered when the temperature changed so rapidly, but she still took the time to carefully study the dragon’s body, which was fully exposed to her now that the flames had been extinguished.

It was overwhelming —just as she had seen in the books and just as she had seen when Chendelf had carved a dragon from wood. His wings were folded, but he seemed large enough to eclipse the sky itself.

Rumble…….

The dragon had been lying down, and he sat up to look down at Ianna. His bright and burning eyes slowly took in Ianna’s similarly-colored pair as he said,

[I welcome you.]

His unexpected greeting threw Ianna for a loop, but Ianna bowed her head and returned the greeting. She had only been taken aback by the dragon’s reaction for a moment, and she grew intrigued as she was about to introduce herself to him. But the dragon continued,

[Leave this place, Absilot.]

“Whaaat?”

The dragon turned Absilot away. Absilot looked back at Terranodin with discontent written plainly on his face. He continued,

“Why? This lass here’s my honored guest, and I’ll be in a lot of trouble if yer sendin’ me away ‘cause ya plan to kill her or something.”

[That will not happen, so get out of my lair.]

The heavens and the earth rumbled when the dragon flicked his tail in annoyance. Absilot bowed his head while still looking discontent. He cast one last awkward look at Ianna, who was starting to grow anxious, before he left.

Only Terranodin and Ianna remained in the lair.

Ianna’s lips had frozen stiff when Absilot, whom she trusted, exited the lair and she was left alone with the dragon. While Ianna was taking deep breaths to keep herself together, the dragon said,

[Has the day already come? To think that I would be the first you visited.]

He had said something strange. His unfathomable words had blown Ianna’s anxieties away, and she replied,

“The day……?”

[You are ‘Ann’ of the Roberstein Clan, are you not?]

Ianna grew hesitant.

Dragons were mythological beings, so she had surmised that they too, like the spirits, would be able to guess that she was related to Roberstein. And her guesses had proven correct now that the dragon had spoken about the Roberstein Clan.

But what did he mean by ‘Ann’?

‘Ann’ was her codename within Camastros. It did in fact refer to her……but this wasn’t something that a dragon would have known and had taken her by surprise.

Ianna corrected what he had said.

“My name is Ianna. Ann is the codename I use within the organization I am affiliated with.”

[Ahh. So that’s how it is.]

Ianna made a face because she couldn’t comprehend Terranodin’s marvel.

[But regardless, is it still a name that refers to you?]

“Yes……. May I ask how you know it?”

[It is a name from the Last Prophecy.]

The Last Prophecy? The gears in Ianna’s head were spinning at top speed because the dragon’s words were growing more ambiguous with each sentence when Terranodin spoke again.

[Let us begin with why you have sought me out. Is there something you wished to ask of me?]

The list of questions she had pondered and pondered over since morning poured into Ianna’s head when Terranodin asked.

What was the relationship between Roberstein and the Demon during the Holy Age?

What happened at the End of the Holy Age?

How had Laos survived the End, and what state was he in now?

What state was the Demon in, and how was he able to exist with his soul scattered around the world as fragments while his heart was in Pandemonium?

How had Roberstein been able to reincarnate as Ianna?

And the most important question…

How had she been reborn, and why……?

Ianna listed out her questions one by one, and Terranodin listened quietly before he growled and laughed.

[You are very curious. But I am only able to answer two of your many questions.]

Ianna wasn’t disappointed. She considered it a huge success even if he only answered two of her questions. She was excited as she eagerly awaited the dragon’s next words. The dragon took a moment to organize his thoughts before he slowly began his tale. He continued,

[I cannot answer your first or second question because I was not alive during the Holy Age. While the same is true of your third question, there is also the fact that I have not the authority to speak about Laos. I cannot answer your last question because I do not understand it. Rather, it has made me curious. How did you surpass the providence called time and be reborn as yourself……?]

Swish!

Terranodin spread open his wings. His colossal wings covered the sun and created a shade over Ianna.

[Go find Kandemayon if you seek and answer to those questions. The other three dragons and I were born in the Age of Magic, but Kandemayon has been alive since the End of the Holy Age and may know the answers you seek.]

Ianna was satisfied just to learn how to answer her questions. She nodded, and Terranodin lowered one of his wings down in front of her.

[Your fourth and fifth questions pertain to something that I must show you. And it is possible that you may learn the answers to your first three questions on your own.]

Ianna had been growing dizzy ever since the dragon had mentioned a prophecy, but she listened attentively nevertheless as she worked hard to cram the dragon’s knowledge in her brain.

[What do you think lies at the end of the world beyond the four corners?]

It was something that Ianna had never thought about until she had come here. Adventurers could not travel past the four corners. They couldn’t even make it to the depths of the four corners. The lands beyond the four corners were unknown lands in every sense of the term and no man could ever step foot in them.

The sixth apex that Absilot had taught her about. The opposite end of the world from the Lotso Mountains, which was said to be the center of the world. What existed there?

[I will show you in person.]

The dragon flapped the wing he had lowered in front of Ianna.

[Get on.]

Ianna froze in place.

What?

[I said, get on.]

Does he seriously mean for me to get on?

To think that there would ever come a day that I would ride a dragon…….

Ianna was bewildered as she cautiously placed her foot on Terranodin’s wing. The wing beneath her feet felt closer to cold metal than warm and soft living flesh.

When Ianna had awkwardly climbed on top of him, the dragon added,

[Climb up to my neck and hold tight.]

Ianna carefully placed her foot forward. She climbed gingerly at first, one step at a time, because she was climbing on a living being, but the dragon’s body was sturdy and felt more like an inanimate object. He was also bigger than a mountain, so it would have taken forever if she kept up that slow pace.

Ianna ran a little quicker once she had grown a bit more accustomed to what she was doing and climbed up to the dragon’s neck. Then, she settled in and grabbed a few of his scales —and that was all there was to it.

[Then, shall we be off?]

The dragon spread open his wings. They flapped from high to low. His colossal wings stirred up the wind as they pulled his body upward.

[There is something I must give you before we go.]

A small cut appeared in the space in front of Ianna and a piece of cloth fell out from thin air.

[It is an artefact made from divine arts that will help you breathe. Use it after we pass the barrier, but not before.]

Ianna didn’t know why the dragon was giving her this cloth, but she gingerly wrapped it around her hand for now and nodded.

[Hold tight.]

Ianna felt an immense wind pressure push down on her just as she tightened her grip on the scales she was holding.

Swoooooosh!

Ianna squeezed her eyes shut as they then proceeded to surge up toward the sky with incredible speed. They were going so fast that she felt like she had only taken to the skies with her body while her soul remained on the ground.

Terranodin stopped climbing higher when the earth below was so small that it looked like a scale model, and Ianna was left with a moment of dizziness.

This was her second time being suspended in the air like this. She had been able to breathe just fine and had felt no resistance on her body last time during her debut because Arhad had cast a spell on her to that effect. This time, however, her head hurt and she found it difficult to breathe, perhaps because she had suffered the wind pressure directly on her body.

[I would have cast a spell on you if we were only going to fly through the skies, but it will be impossible to use magic once we pass the barrier, so get used to this. It will be a long flight before we get there.]

She had climbed on in the heat of the moment, but now that she thought about it, they would have to fly roughly the same distance as it had taken her to get to the Girohai Desert from the heart of the Lotso Mountains. It had taken her a little over a month to get to Titanus from Roanne, and it would probably take just as long to get to wherever they were going now.

“How long will the journey take?”

[About four days if we fly without rest. There is nothing that you will be able to do once we pass through the barrier, so be sure to keep your grip on my neck.]

“…….”

It was apparent that the dragon had forgotten that she was a ‘human’ who needed to eat thrice a day, visit the bathroom several times in between, and sleep for eight hours. And to think that they would cover a month’s journey in just three days……though she supposed it wasn’t impossible……. But she hadn’t been able to say anything to Arhad yet…….

Ianna was uneasy because things had ended up like this before she had any chance to prepare. But she exercised rigid control over her emotions. All she had to do was to think of this as some extreme form of training. She was about to uncover two entire secrets of the Holy Age, so how could she refuse?

“Could you please give me a moment?”

[Right here?]

Ianna pulled out her plush puppy from the bag she was wearing. She poured mana into the artefact, and Arhad answered immediately.

[What is it? What happened?]

“I…might be out of contact for about a week.”

[……Why?]

Ianna bit down at her lip as Arhad’s voice grew lower in pitch.

“I realized something important……and I need some time alone.”

She hated making up excuses like this.

Should she just come clean?

But no. After all, this was something she had already decided.

Arhad had wanted to keep her from learning more about the Holy Age because he was afraid of the possibility that her knowing might negatively affect her opinions regarding their current relationship. But Ianna believed that simply knowing would never change her feelings, and she wanted to prove to Arhad without any room for doubt that her heart would never change.

She heard him let out a deep sigh. Then, he was silent. Ianna grew a little nervous, having thought that Arhad might be angry. Then, in a voice that suggested that he had brushed everything off, Arhad replied,

[And here I thought you were just being embarrassed about what you said last night.]

He was teasing her impishly, but he still sounded a bit dispirited. It was obvious that he was trying to hide his disappointment. Ianna felt a little guilty.

“I promise you that isn’t the case.”

[But in any event, this mean that you broke your promise.]

“Yes…….”

[So in exchange, we’ll talk twice a day for as many days you’re out of contact. This is your penalty.]

Ianna opened her eyes wide and laughed before she could stop herself.

“All right.”

[Well, I hope you’ll gain a lot from this experience. You call me first when you’re done.]

“Thank you.”

And so, she ended her communication with Arhad.

[Was that ‘Ro’?]

Ianna had been putting her plush puppy back in her bag, and she nearly dropped it when Terranodin asked.

“How do you know that name……?”

Terrnodin growled and replied,

[That too is a name from the Prophecy. But in any event, we shall be off if you’re ready.]

“I am.”

Ianna finished getting her bag back in order with a disturbed heart and she stared with a stiff look on her face. She would absolutely have to ask about the Prophecy later.

Boooom!

The dragon’s figure vanished.

‘Ugh…….’

Ianna already felt like she was going to die. She had known that the dragon’s speed would be terrifying because she had seen the dragon from the Lotso Mountains turn into a tiny dot in but a moment, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter entirely.

The dragon’s head blocked some of the wind, but the cold air still hurt as it beat her face. She felt like she would be decapitated by the wind pressure and her head would go flying if she dared to look up.

‘I can’t last three days like this.’

She had to devise some sort of measure. There was nothing she could do about the speed, but she had to figure out a way to do something about the wind beating at her body. She worked her brain for dear life before she thought about her sword like she always did.

‘I’ll cut it.’

The wind was a force of nature created by the flow of multiple pockets of air, and there were countless Lines woven into it. It was easy for her to cut them.

Ianna took one hand off the scales she was holding onto and reached down as soon as she had made her decision. It took everything she had to draw her sword from her waist. She cracked her eyes open and looked forward once she had brought her sword up to her face.

Then, Ianna’s eyes flashed as she held her sword up diagonally.

Shaaaa!

The wind in front of her was rent and broke apart. The initial cut was difficult to make, but it became significantly easier after that because the wind had already been split.

Ianna made minute adjustments to the angle of her sword as she kept that split open. The wind could no longer reach her and blew past her harmlessly.

[Oh?]

Terranodin noticed what was happening on his neck and expressed his admiration. He continued,

[As expected of the one whom we have so long awaited.]

Ianna, who had been using her utmost concentration to cut away at the wind, grew uneasy upon hearing what Terranodin had said.

Ann of the Roberstein Clan. The Last Prophecy. The dragons, who claimed to have been waiting for her all this time……. Just what on earth was happening to her?

[We will pass through the barrier soon.]

Ianna had only just grown accustomed to cutting the wind and had gained a measure of leisure, and she carefully observed what she saw in front of her.

She could not see this so-called barrier with her naked eyes. All she saw before her was the endless desert, no different from what she had been seeing up until now.

Shiiiing…….

But then, Ianna suddenly felt like the entire world had come to a standstill as soon as they had passed a certain point. The flow of all life seemed to have stilled, and even the dragon, which had been flying so quickly, felt like it had stopped.

Even her furiously beating heart had stopped inside her chest, and she felt her hair stand on edge because it felt as if the concept of time had vanished in its entirety. Only her soul maintained its consciousness, and it made her nauseated. And the world changed completely as soon as they had passed that point.

“What in the world……?”

Ianna dropped her jaw as she saw the scenery before her.

There existed no earth to set foot upon. There was only an endless sea of flames.

The flames she had seen in Terranodin’s lair were nothing compared to this. It didn’t matter where she looked because all she saw was fire —Ianna couldn’t help but wonder if she was dreaming.

Ianna suddenly found it impossible to breathe, so she unwrapped the cloth from her hand and immediately brought it up to her nose and mouth. She was able to breathe comfortably after that.

[Beyond the Girohai Desert lies the territory of fire. Similarly, the territory of water lies beyond the Himalapè Ice Fields, the territory of wind beyond the Great Forest of Shaob, and the territory of earth beyond the Karankell Rocky Mountains.]

“What……is this? How can something like this exist?”

[You will know once we reach the end of the world. Observe the flames below us carefully as we get there.]

Terranodin continued his flight after he had said his piece. Ianna immediately understood what he had meant when he had said that she wouldn’t be able to do anything once they had passed the barrier. There was nowhere to land.

She studied the red and blue flames just as Terranodin had told her to. There was surely a reason why he had said what he said.

She couldn’t tell anything at first. But she noticed the strange flow of the flames once she had been observing them for several hours. The flames were moving at a similar speed to which Terranodin was flying —no, faster. And the flames were moving in the same direction that they were flying.

“The flames are moving.”

[Have you noticed? It is not only the fire. Water, wind, and earth, too, moves toward the apex of the world from each of the four directions. And if you watch carefully, you will see that a hole is made whenever a flame extinguishes.]

It was just as he had said. If a bunch of flames went out at once, it would create a black space that would quickly be filled in by the flames from behind.

“What is happening?”

[It will be better to explain it to you after you have seen it for yourself. I will not talk for now. It is difficult enough to fly around here while maintaining the barrier as it is.]

The dragon stopped talking after that. Ianna began observing the scenery once again as the dragon fell into silence.

Beneath them was an endless sea of flames.

And the skies…….

Ianna looked up without much thought and immediately broke out in goosebumps and shivered even though it was so hot she thought her entire being might melt away.

There was nothing there.

No clouds, no stars, no moon, no sun —it was simply black.

Part 8

[We are almost there.]

She could not tell the time, and all she could do in the dreary silence was to keep her hold on the dragon’s neck, so Ianna could not hide her delight when she heard the dragon speak again for the first time in quite a while.

She had been completely removed from the rest of the world and had been clinging to the dragon without sleeping as they flew for three or four days straight, and she could barely distinguish the line between dreams and reality anymore. She was even beginning to wonder if she was truly still alive. But her sense of reality returned as soon as the dragon spoke again. And she could finally start seeing something other than fire shortly after the dragon had spoken. The territory of fire grew narrow, and she could see water and earth to her sides.

Ianna narrowed her eyes as she observed the scenery before her. The territory of fire grew narrower as they flew, and the water and earth grew closer.

It wouldn’t be long until they reached the apex.

[The other dragons and I generate and maintain the barrier that encompasses half of the globe,]

Terranodin said. Ianna did not let the chance escape her and hoarsely asked back,

“Why do you need to maintain the barrier?”

[To preserve the world.]

The underlying meaning behind his words sent a chill down Ianna’s back.

“What will happen if the barrier goes away?”

[All will return to the Beginning. We’ve arrived. You will understand what I mean when you see.]

Ianna tightened her grip on the dragon’s scales as she looked to the place he had designated. They had arrived at the opposite end of the world from the Lotso Mountains.

But something inexplicably bizarre was happening there.

The apex of the world was one giant hole.

Swoooooosh…….

And the fire, water, earth, and wind were being sucked into that vast and empty hole.

[This is the entrance to Pandemonium. That which devours all.]

Terranodin circled the hole from afar and climbed higher into the sky. Ianna felt violently repelled by the thought of flying into the sky —no, the hollow in which nothing existed—, but she endured the feeling and forced herself to only look down. From above, it was easy to see that the four elements of nature were being sucked into the hole.

She could feel a strange pull from it.

Ianna grasped Terranodin’s scales tighter, having felt like she too would be sucked in just by looking at it.

[Pandemonium is the birthplace of the gods. But to be more exact, it is also the origin of the world. The world began at the heart of Pandemonium, at the ‘Point of Stillness,’ and expanded from there due to its ‘will’ to exist.]

Slowly, Terranodin continued,

[But in the world exists an absolute providence known as the ‘Balance.’ The world maintains its equilibrium in accordance to the providence of Balance, and when one thing comes into existence, then so, too, does an opposite existence of equal worth. If there is a cause, then there also exists an effect, and if something is born, then so, too, will something die. If there is a soul, then there is a physical body, and when the world expands, so, too, will it contract. And there…]

Terranodin pointed to the apex of the world, to the entrance of Pandemonium, with his foreleg.

[A powerful force is at work at the ‘Point of Stillness’ at the heart of Pandemonium. It is a contractive force that bids all of space-time to return to just one point.]

It was difficult to comprehend, but Ianna was listening carefully, and she asked,

“Then……how does the world maintain itself? Though the barrier?”

[As I mentioned earlier, all things in this world have the ‘will’ to maintain their existence, and originally, this ‘will’ was supposed to expand the world and counteract the contractive force by maintaining equilibrium with it. Such was the equilibrium that was acknowledged by the Balance of the World. But…….]

Terranodin slowly began to descend.

[A ‘certain cause’ broke that equilibrium, and the force drawing everything into Pandemonium grew too strong. And the world will continue collapsing so long as that cause continues to exist. Our barrier’s purpose is to keep the world from collapsing.]

Something strange began happening to Ianna’s body as they descended.

Thump……. Thump…….

Her heart began thumping furiously. It grew worse as time passed, and it eventually felt like her heart would explode with every beat. Ianna panted for breath as she clutched at her clothes.

‘What is this……? Ugh.’

Her heart was resonating, just as it had when she had seen the sword fragment back in the dwarven cemetery. No —it was worse now. Ianna was sweating buckets as she stared deep into the dark depths of Pandemonium.

And the dragon spoke.

[That cause is the ‘Demon’s heart,’ which was pierced by Roberstein, the Goddess of Judgment, and affixed to the ‘Place of Stillness.’]

Pandemonium.

The Demon’s heart.

It had been pierced through by Roberstein’s sword.

The ‘memory’ that Ianna had once glimpsed at the Karankell Rocky Mountains flashed through her mind as soon as she had heard the dragon’s words.

“I love you.”

“……But I’m so exhausted.”

“I’m sorry for breaking my promise.”

Those words, which were hers but were also not hers.

And the heart she had thrust her sword into as she had muttered them.

Her tears fell and dropped onto someone who was lying beneath her, and they were in shock as they said,

“Why……?”

Clink.

Something began to crack.

Clink, clink!

Their existences began to break apart like a glass marble being bashed against the hard floor and shattering. The wind wailed as the crimson and golden light mixed into each other.

Snap.

Ianna clutched at her head because both her head and her heart hurt so much. But she did not look away. She never let her eyes leave the abyss that was Pandemonium, and she continued to stare into it.

A faint mist began to form before her eyes and immediately thickened. The scene came back to her like an illusion and played out before Ianna’s very eyes. And this time, the illusion presented her with new feelings and strange information.

She was clutching to ‘Roberstein’s’ sword.

As she died.

Pachink—

And now, as the same scene repeated itself, she understood.

That which was ripping apart into tiny pieces as the Demon’s soul, and that which she was holding in her hands was a sword.

Baaaang!

The Demon was powerful enough to devour an entire age whole, and his forced destruction was explosive enough that it could destroy the world. Pieces broke off from the sword with a thunderous roar and scattered everywhere, just like the fragmented pieces of the Demon’s soul.

Creak, creak.

The sword pierced through the Demon’s heart only just managed to keep its shape.

Clunk.

And simultaneously, a large crack ran down Roberstein’s heart. The wind raging around her was the last of the divine power remaining in her heart. Tears fell from Roberstein’s eyes as she died.

‘I never wanted to kill you. I never wanted to end things like this. I wanted to keep living together with you…….’

She exercised rigid control over her heart as she thought,

‘But the End will bring about a new future.’

Her gaze landed on the Demon’s remains. His body had scattered as his soul did, and his heart —the only thing that remained— was palpitating desperately. But his heart would quiet soon, and she, too, would leave her immortality behind and close her eyes alongside him. She wrapped her arms around the precious heart skewered by her sword and closed her eyes.

‘This was also for your sake, because you’ve been so battered and bruised.’

My beloved boy. My man. My Demon…….

Her heart was filled to the brim with her love.

‘I was so exhausted at myself for being able to do nothing as you Fell.’

The man she loved had Fallen. Life had no future in a world where he, who hated all life and loved only her, existed.

‘And so, I’ve decided to kill you and bring about a new morning.’

The bonds that tie us together will never be cut even if our current lives should end. Our souls will fall asleep in this dimension where time is still and enter the ‘cycle of reincarnation,’ and one day, we will be born anew in a world overflowing with life…….

“Sigh.”

She held the Demon’s heart, pierced by her sword, as she leaned against the withered tree behind her. She looked forward with bleary eyes and simply waited for everything to end.

The ground was collapsing. She admired the crumbling world as she spoke to her friend at her back.

‘I have faith in your Prophecy that a new world will be born, Phaemdra.’

And then, she closed her eyes.

‘Lebony, my faithful follower. I entrust that child to you…’

But just then.

“No……!”

A white light came running toward her from afar. The small boy was crying something as he held a small black lizard in his arms. The boy stumbled several times as the earth trembled, but he picked himself up and reached out to her again every time. His face was a tear-stained mess.

“I want to die too! Please don’t leave me behind alone!”

The reason why she was able to End the Holy Age.

‘You should have just stayed in the seal —why did you come here?’

Had the seal broken early because her ego had weakened as she died? She began crying again as soon as she saw the boy because of the lingering regrets that she had been trying to ignore even though she was the one trying to end everything as she lay dying.

‘This is why I didn’t want to think about you.’

Tears poured from her eyes as she looked to the boy, and the boy tried to say something to her.

“……Cough!”

Ianna awoke from her illusion with a fright because her head hurt so much she thought it might split open.

“Gasp, gasp.”

She mindlessly wiped away at her sweaty face. But it wasn’t only sweat that was on her face. The tears she had shed had been mixed into her sweat.

It felt horrible.

She had seen things play out completely as Roberstein part-way through the illusion. She had forgotten the fact that she was Ianna, and she had been buried in Roberstein’s memories, thoughts, and feelings.

She had gained so much good information thanks to this that it would be difficult to organize it all, but the traces of Roberstein’s emotions that still remained in a corner of her heart made her uncomfortable.

“…….”

Ianna vigorously shook her head to pull herself together and tightened her grip on the dragon’s rough scales. Sensing the change in her, the dragon asked,

[Did you see something?]

It looked like the dragon knew what had just happened to her. Ianna glared down at the natural elements pouring down into the bottomless darkness.

“I saw Roberstein’s memories of the End.”

[Oh?]

Ianna told Terranodin about everything she had seen, as she felt no need to hide it from him.

“Why was I able to see the god’s memories?”

Ianna recalled the first time she had hallucinated in Karankell.

The sword fragment.

Ianna now fully understood what it was. It was the largest piece of the sword that had broken off when Roberstein had pierced the Demon’s heart, and it had flown all the way to the South and burrowed there.

She didn’t know why or how, but she had hallucinated after seeing the sword fragment last time, and she figured that this illusion, too, had something to do with the sword that was said to be pierced through the Demon’s heart somewhere deep within the abyss before her.

“Is it because of the sword?”

[It has nothing to do with the sword. The memories you saw were superficial ones that you just so happened to see by chance.]

The dragon’s reply took her by surprise. He continued,

[It was not a complete memory —you simply recalled a hazy recollection after seeing something related to it. You simply caught a glimpse as a tightly shut door cracked open.]

Ianna had heard something similar to this before.

[You are the reincarnation of Roberstein’s soul, but you do not possess her heart. You will only remember Roberstein’s memories, piled up in your soul, to their completion when you are near her heart.]

Ianna frowned and thought hard before she realized that the dragon’s explanation closely matched the concept of reincarnation that Arhad and Heinrich had explained to her a while back.

“Then, what kind of state is Roberstein in right now?”

[Hmmm. The white boy at the end of your story should be Laos, but…….]

Ianna had expected that. The snow-white boy looked exactly like the depictions that were emphasized so heavily in the temples. She bit down at her lip because recalling how the boy had wailed in despair brought her on the verge of tears again for reasons she couldn’t fathom.

[Laos separated Roberstein’s soul from her heart during the End, and he sealed away her heart as it broke down. He did not wish for her to die.]

“He sealed it?”

[Yes. Do you know of the fragments of the Demon’s soul, perchance?]

Terranodin continued when Ianna confirmed that she did.

[When Laos sealed away her heart, Roberstein’s soul lost its ego and merely existed. This made it impossible to give her soul a new heart and body. To the contrary, however, the Demon’s soul is capable of living on in another’s body. Which was why Laos created a new body with a very weak ego and put Roberstein’s soul in that body’s blood. He had hoped that the dim light of her feeble soul would shine through.]

According to the dragon, however, the result had been comical.

[But her feeble soul had completely lost its ego, and Roberstein was overcome. Her crimson soul was a foreign substance to the body, and it took on a blue light as it resisted Roberstein’s soul and became a man as it took on characteristics that were completely opposite of hers. The same result repeated itself no matter how many times Laos tried, and that is how the Roberstein Clan came to be.]

“…….”

Ianna had taken little interest in House Roberstein in her past life. She had simply skimmed past her progenitor’s name when she had come across his story, but now his story intrigued her. She would have to dig deeper into this.

[A long time passed, and, twenty-two years ago in accordance to human time, Laos’ seal somehow came undone and you were born with Roberstein’s soul. The heart you have now is your soul’s second. Roberstein’s heart was its first.]

And now she was certain. Terranodin had confirmed that, just as she had originally theorized, she had been reincarnated.

“In that case, where is Roberstein’s heart now, and what’s happened to it? You said that the seal was undone.”

[Originally, it was supposed to have been thoroughly destroyed and gone extinct. After all, Laos had sealed her heart just as it was breaking apart.]

Terranodin folded his wings and flew toward the entrance to Pandemonium as he continued,

[But Roberstein’s soul broke free of the seal and recovered its ego, and it seems to have subconsciously sealed her heart again to protect it and to prevent her divine power from escaping. And this is related to the reason why I have brought you here.]

Terranodin descended right down to the entrance to Pandemonium and said,

[Go inside.]

“Is that possible?”

[Our barrier is maintaining equilibrium, so you will be all right. But do be careful that you don’t freefall when you enter. Now, go.]

Terranodin stopped flapping his wings once he had spoken and began dropping rapidly down toward the entrance to Pandemonium. He lost altitude at a speed faster than what they had been traveling at earlier as the great force pulling everything into the hole tugged at him. Ianna felt like they had become as light.

Rumble rumble.

Ianna focused only on her hold on Terranodin’s neck as they were sucked into the hole alongside the forces of nature.

She didn’t know how long they had been falling, but quite some time seemed to have passed by the time Terranodin finally slowed down.

“Ngh…….”

The core of the world that they had arrived at was a vast hollow with no gravitational pull. The core was empty —the forces of nature that were being sucked in had vanished without a trace. Ianna grabbed the dragon’s scales tight so she wouldn’t fall off.

She understood what the dragon had meant when he had warned her about freefalling. Her emotions were a mess. She grew depressed, angry, frustrated, annoyed, and bloodthirsty without any real reason. There was a dense layer of black aura circling the space that changed her emotions upon contact.

[Look to the center.]

Ianna was regulating her emotions when she heard what the dragon had said and turned her gaze to the thing at the center of the hollow. And what she saw there captivated her entire being.

Thump……. Thump…….

The entire space around her was resounding as a gigantic heart beat rhythmically.

The Demon’s heart, and the sword that had been driven through it. It looked exactly like it had in the memory Ianna had seen.

[Our ultimate goal as dragons is to eliminate that heart, which sucks in life from all over the world and makes the contractive force here stronger, from this place.]

Thus, the dragon spoke. The ‘Point of Stillness’ where the Demon’s heart was located was a place where time was still, and it would take exorbitant amounts of divine power to force the Point of Stillness into matching its time with the rest of the world.

And the Demon’s heart itself craved for divine power to begin with. The Demon’s heart absorbed divine power from the entire world and weighed on the world’s Balance, tilting it toward the world’s demise.

And that wasn’t all —the massive heart’s beating created ‘rifts into Pandemonium.’ The dragon told Ianna that the Demon’s heart drew in more divine power from the world through those rifts and affected the world negatively by spreading its evil aura.

“But why is it here?”

[It is said that it was drawn here and locked in place at the End after the world was destroyed. There was nothing anyone could do about it.]

Ianna studied the heart. Couldn’t they have moved it elsewhere or used the sword to stab it out of existence?

“Is there a reason why you haven’t been able to eliminate it all this time?”

[We simply could not. Roberstein’s sword created a seal around the heart when it was pierced into it.]

Everything that was related to Roberstein’s powers had been frozen when Laos had sealed away her heart. The same was true of Roberstein’s sword, which was filled to the brim with her power.

But the Demon’s heart, which had been sealed away indirectly because Roberstein’s divine power had penetrated through it, had only half-frozen. The Demon had been forced to suffer underground for ages, unable to either live or die.

Everything could have been solved if Laos had simply removed his seal. Then, both Roberstein and the Demon could have found repose, and the world would have been stabilized.

But Laos had refused.

He had told the dragons that they must wait until the prophesized day had come.

[And now, you have appeared before me. But it is Roberstein’s seal now, and not Laos’, that exists here. Only you can undo the seal now, and only you can pull free that sword.]

Terranodin flapped his wings and began rising again. Ianna looked down as the heart grew distant and mumbled,

“Didn’t you bring me here to draw that sword?”

[Yes, but that will not be possible quite yet because you are not yet complete.]

“What do you mean?”

[Your heart is not Roberstein’s.]

“No, it’s not.”

[And that is why I said you are not yet complete. Not only are you incomplete because you are not ‘Roberstein,’ but from what I’ve judged, you cannot surpass Roberstein quite just yet.]

Terranodin was blunt. Her strength was one thing, but he added that Ianna’s willpower could not measure up to Roberstein’s yet either.

Ianna readily acknowledged this fact. After all, she had been swallowed up by Roberstein’s memories just earlier.

[But one day, you must come back and draw that sword for the sake of this world.]

Terranodin’s voice was calm as he finished his piece. He continued,

[So grow stronger and stronger. Grow strong enough to surpass your previous incarnation.]

As they climbed higher, Ianna asked,

“Then, what about the membrane around my heart?”

[I would assume that too is Roberstein’s seal.]

It was only then that Ianna’s question had been resolved. She had felt an invisible membrane around her heart because Roberstein had sealed it. Ianna grew curious about it.

“Twenty-two years ago was before I was born. I was born only five years later, so what does my heart have to do with the fact that Roberstein’s soul subconsciously sealed her heart away? Are our hearts connected through my soul?”

Ianna pointed to her heart. She continued,

“And also, I was told that I have an infinite amount of divine power inside my heart. Why is that? If the membrane is a seal, then why is there a tiny opening in it? And why does that opening grow bigger as I use my divine power?”

[I can answer all your questions at once,]

The dragon replied leisurely in response to Ianna’s breathless barrage of questions.

[You have two hearts. It is a rare phenomenon, but it does happen from time to time. Each heart is fundamentally its own separate entity, but they begin to exist as one and become shared with each other upon coming into contact. Which means that they become able to share the powers they carry as well.]

Ianna memorized the dragon’s answer like she was cramming his words directly into her brain. He continued,

[I believe that your hearts began sharing with each other because you came into contact with Roberstein’s heart. A crack formed in the seal because it was destabilized upon contact, and Roberstein’s heart likely began producing divine power once again as its flow of time resumed. You are able to draw that divine power to you and use it for yourself. And the seal slowly becomes undone and the opening widens as you grow more skilled in your control over divine power.]

So this was why she had so much divine power in her heart. She had had her doubts about her seemingly infinite production of divine power, and Ianna felt refreshed now that her questions regarding it had been answered. However…

“I’ve never come into contact with anything that resembles a heart……. Where is Roberstein’s heart sealed?”

[In Laos’ relics.]

Ianna flinched when she heard the dragon’s completely unexpected response. Was he referring to the relics in the Great Temple of Roanne and the Great Temple of Jinzai?

Ianna asked, and the dragon confirmed, stating that the relics were being venerated by Laos’ believers and had been soaked in divine power for centuries.

“But I’ve never seen any of the relics in person.”

[Roberstein’s heart was sealed inside of ‘Phaemdra,’ the withered tree.]

Phaemdra.

The tree that she had called her ‘friend’ inside the illusion.

[The tree’s trunk was cut into four pieces, and each piece was made into one of Laos’ relics.]

A tree…….

Ianna could not help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu ever since she had seen the illusion, as if she had seen the place within the memory before. And there was one place that came vividly into her mind as the dragon continued his tale.

[But there exists a fifth relic, unknown to the rest of the world, in the lands guarded by the Roberstein Clan.]

Ianna knew what it was even before the dragon told her.

She recalled her place of refuge, the place behind the annex whom none other than her could find. That which stood in the middle of the forest where the breeze blew gently and always remained the same —it had never rotted no matter how many decades had passed.

[Phaemdra’s stump.]

I knew it.

Phaemdra, the being from the Holy Book, had been right under her nose all this time.

[Do you wish to learn more about Roberstein and the End? If so, then you must grow stronger than she. Grow stronger, and gather the pieces of Phaemdra that have been scattered across the world. Undo Roberstein’s seal and devour both her strength and her memories. And then, all that was Roberstein will be yours.]

Afterward, Ianna looked around at her surroundings as they left Pandemonium and began their return to the Girohai Desert. The sight of the earth, water, fire, and wind being sucked into Pandemonium looked phenomenal even though she had been looking at it for days.

“What is the barrier, and what is all that?”

[The barrier prevents living beings from approaching it, and it uses our will to exist to keep the world from collapsing. This is why we dragons have not been able to leave the barrier’s vicinity for millennia. But our will alone is not enough, so we create nature with mana and cram it into the hole. This vast quantity of nature makes its presence known by keeping the world in a globular shape, and it also fills in for the will that we lack. The reason why it is sucked inside the hole is because it cannot withstand the pull.]

“But nothing really existed inside of Pandemonium. Where does everything that was sucked into the hole go?”

[It is drawn to the Point of Stillness, and it returns to being mana when it falls under the Demon’s dominion.]

I see.

Ianna had wondered how the amount of mana in the world never exhausted if all that nature had been created from mana, but it made sense if the nature being pulled in was turned back into mana again.

[We have kept this a secret from the spirits because they hate the Demon and because they despise it when mana is used to mimic their powers. If you know how to call upon the spirits, then I would ask that you told them nothing of this.]

So this was why the spirits knew so little about the Demon.

“Then, how do Guardians affect the barrier? I heard that Lord Absilot made a contract with you to become one.”

[We grant them an equivalent price in accordance to the Balance in exchange for adding their will to exist to the barrier for the rest of their lives alongside us. We can grant them almost anything in return.]

Ianna decided to take the opportunity to ask Terranodin something that she had been wondering about for a while.

“May I ask you about the Prophecy?”

[I have not the authority to tell you.]

“Who made the Prophecy?”

[Likewise, I have not the authority to tell you.]

The dragon did not answer her questions about the Prophecy, and Ianna could not know what its contents were about —but she did know who had made it. She had simply wanted to confirm her suspicions.

Then, Ianna abruptly recalled the dragon she had met in the Lotso Mountains.

“What color are Lord Kandemayon’s eyes?”

[They are black.]

“They’re not gold?”

[That is the Demon’s color.]

“……The Demon.”

He had given her the same answer that the spirits had.

[It is said that the Demon’s soul was originally black, like dust. But the only thing he knew in the darkness of the underground was a golden light, the only thing that could enter that space, and his soul took on the vibrant golden color that would come to define his existence the very moment he first saw the sun.]

“Then, does there exist a dragon who also shares that color?”

[Not that I know of. The color belonging to any being is a dim reflection of the color of their soul. Just as both my scales and your eyes are crimson……. It is possible to cover one’s color with mana, but this is but a simple parlor trick. And there is no reason for us dragons to do this.]

“…….”

[I have been holed up in my corner of the world for millennia without any communication with the other dragons, and I know little of the happenings of the outside world. If such a dragon exists, then perhaps Laos had created another dragon that takes exactly after the Demon for a reason I do not know.]

Ianna buried her face into Terranodin’s rough scales as she listened to him speak. Noticing how quiet she had become, Terranodin asked,

[Is there nothing else you are curious about?]

“Not for now, no.”

She had an endless stream of questions she could ask him, but Ianna was not in the state of mind to do so at the moment. This was also partially the reason why she had been changing the subject of their conversation so frequently.

[If so, then I will focus on our flight.]

Terranodin sped up, and their conversation ended. With her head stilled buried, Ianna thought,

‘……That’s enough for now —I just want to sleep.’

She had continued her conversation with Terranodin because she wanted information, of course, but it had also been to stave off her sleepiness.

She wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been since she had met the dragon, but she was certain that it had been at least four days. Her initial surprise regarding Pandemonium had subsided now and she wasn’t nervous anymore since they were heading back, and she felt like she would fall asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

Terranodin and Ianna passed through the barrier and returned to the dragon’s lair a few days later. Absilot ran inside the lair while looking furious when Terranodin descended and folded up his wings.

“Lord Terra! Argh, yer too much! How could ya tell me to just get out if ya were plannin’ to be away for over a week?!”

[Quiet. Why such a fuss when it’s only been a week?]

“I’m gonna lose my mind. Why the hell are all ya dragons like this? I guess yer so old that ya lost all sense of time!”

Ianna struggled to climb down from Terranodin’s neck while Absilot beat against his chest in his rage.

He then startled upon seeing the state she was in and rushed forward to help her stand.

“What happened, Lass? Why’re ya like this?”

“Sleep…….”

Ianna passed out as soon as the word had left her mouth.

Two days had passed by the time she next woke.

“Ugh.”

Ianna groaned as she sat up and took a look around her surroundings. She was inside an unfamiliar room. The room was quite glamorous despite its small size, and Ianna startled when she saw the artistry of the ornaments dangling on the bedframe of the bed she had been sleeping in, and she started yet again when she noticed how luxurious the blankets she had been using were.

She figured she must still be in the Desert, since her memories cut off completely after she had returned to Terranodin’s lair, but there was a refreshing chill in the air —she could feel none of the dreadful heat from before.

Ianna was disconcerted as she opened the door and stepped outside.

“Oh, yer finally awake? I thought I was gonna die of boredom waitin’.”

Absilot had been on his way to check on her, and he greeted Ianna cheerfully from the hallway. As soon as she saw him, Ianna asked,

“Where are we?”

“Here? We’re in a house near the lair that Lord Terranodin uses when he polymorphs into a human.”

“She’s awake?”

Ianna turned to where the third voice had come from, and she promptly stepped back in surprise when she found a crimson-haired man standing nearby.

He looked human, but Ianna knew better.

His overwhelming yet familiar aura —he was Terranodin.

The beautiful man’s long crimson hair was tied back, and he was dressed in comfortable clothing. He gave off an aloof air about him —a contrast to his overpowering presence while in dragon form.

“So dragons……could turn into humans too.”

Ianna had guessed as much when she had learned that the Black Prophet’s, who was known as a human, true identity was Kandemayon, but it was still shocking to confirm it in person.

“We can transform our bodies freely, so we can turn into things other than humans as well. It seems that your body has recovered.”

Ianna did not look away when Terranodin, who had been scrutinizing her body up and down, stared openly into her eyes. He continued,

“To think you would get so sick just because you haven’t slept for a mere week. You humans truly are far too weak.”

Then, Terranodin said,

“Still, you humans are the dominant intelligent species of this world, and you are also the key that will redeem it.”

“…….”

“The greed and emotions that you always keep on display ail the world and lead it to its demise, but that, too, is within the reason of the world. How ironic.”

Terranodin closed his mouth only after he had finished mumbling to himself.

Then, Absilot, who had kept his silence as he looked between the other two in turns, clapped his hands to change the mood.

“Damn, I dunno if it’s ‘cause yer both so red, but ya look just like siblings.”

Ianna snapped back to her senses when Absilot cleared the silence away.

“Lord Absilot, what day is it today?”

“Mm. It’s been well over ten days. Yer gonna have to cut it pretty close if ya wanna get back to the Institution in time.”

Ianna panicked a little. She would have to get packed and leave immediately. Terranodin asked,

“Do you have a place you need to go?”

“Well, she’s a busy lass. Ya kept her for way too long, Lord Terra.”

“You call mere moments a long while, and I find it difficult to comprehend your sense of time.”

Terranodin furrowed his brows a little for a moment before opening up a space out from empty air. A bracelet appeared before Ianna just like the cloth that had helped her breathe had earlier. Terranodin continued,

“You may use this to contact me. I will not slumber while you yet live, so feel free to contact me anytime should you grow curious again or require my assistance.”

Ianna carefully tucked away the bracelet that had fallen into her hands inside her pocket.

“Whoa, that’s an artefact that can get ya directly in touch with Lord Terra.”

Absilot’s mouth split into a wide grin. He continued,

“What a devilish lass. To think that even a dragon would fall for ya —I never knew you were this amazin’!”

“Quiet, you.”

Pow!

Terranodin kicked Absilot, and his kick was so outrageously powerful that even Absilot was uncharacteristically sent flying. The dragon continued,

“You always make my head hurt when you’re here.”

Terranodin was generally apathetic, but there was something that looked like pity in his eyes when he spoke to Absilot. Absilot climbed back to his feet while clutching at his waist and shouted,

“Oh, so ya don’t even wanna see me when the lass is here, is that it?”

“Stop acting like this is the first time I’ve had to kick you out from my sight.”

Ianna realized that they must be quite close, considering how they were squabbling. The very idea felt quite foreign to her.

Terranodin turned back to Ianna and said,

“If you like, I can teleport you over to where you need to go.”

“Bullshit, you’ve been locked up here for millennia —why are ya so confident about bein’ able to teleport her when ya prob’ly don’t even know where anything is anymore? Let’s hurry up and go, Lil’ Ianna.”

Ianna found it curious that the dragon wasn’t reacting despite how overtly comfortable Absilot was being with him. She had always imagined the dragons as living natural disasters. After all, the legends stated that Kandemayon killed any who dared approach with a breath attack. Contrary to Ianna’s expectations, however, the dragons were apparently rather cordial, though they were a bit emotionally dull.

Was it that even the dragons, who had lived since times immemorial, crumbled before the might of friendship, or was it simply that they were no different from any other living creature despite their tremendously long lifespan……?

The sweltering heat started up again as soon as Ianna left the gates of Terranodin’s human residence.

“Be on your way.”

Crackle, crackle.

Terranodin, who had taken a human form, was transforming again. His body grew larger, and crimson scales covered over his flesh. He grew wings and a tail, and sharp fangs descended from his mouth. He had returned to his draconic glory in but an instant, and he flapped his wings as he took to the skies.

[I eagerly await how strong you will have grown by the next time we meet.]

Ianna asked, as if simply in passing, before he completely vanished away,

“Lord Terranodin, is God Laos still alive?”

[I have not the authority to tell you.]

Terranodin parroted the same words he had said previously before he flew away. Ianna lowered her gaze after she had seen off his retreating figure and turned to Absilot, who looked puzzled as he stared back at her.

“Let’s go.”

“What were ya talkin’ about when ya asked if the God Laos is still alive? It’s been millennia since he disappeared…….”

“I only asked because I thought it’d be nice to know if he was still alive.”

“Ya must be a pretty serious believer, huh.”

Ianna simply smiled back in response.

The dragon hadn’t answered her, but she was almost certain that Laos was still alive.

After all, Laos’ seal had allegedly been maintained until just twenty-two years ago. Seals became undone if the caster died. Which meant that Laos had been alive until at least twenty-two years ago.

So it was entirely possible that he was still alive today and simply in hiding.

“Please don’t leave me behind alone!”

The image of Laos sobbing his eyes out while screaming no and begging her not to leave flickered before Ianna’s eyes.

Absilot had been unable to hold back his curiosity on their way back to Titanus, and he asked,

“What happened with Lord Terra? That something I’m allowed to ask? I’ve never seen him react so strongly to any one person like that before.”

It was no wonder he was curious.

“Hmm, well…… He took me across the barrier and showed me the secret of the world.”

That secret had been so great and complicated that even Ianna hadn’t been able to organize everything she had learned quite yet. She had about two weeks until she had to be back at the Institution. She was determined to organize everything she had learned by then and make that knowledge fully her own.

“That’s kinda hard to ask about. Lord Terra’s always refused to tell me about that.”

“He also told me a little about what a dragon’s Guardian is.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’m curious about what you asked for in exchange for supplying the barrier with your strength for the rest of your life.”

Ianna was curious about the limits of what the dragons could grant, and she was also curious about what Absilot had wished for so strongly that he had been willing to forego his future success as the Mercenary King. Ianna continued,

“But I realize that this is a personal question, so I won’t mind if you choose not to answer.”

“…….”

Absilot scratched his face as he opened his mouth.

“It ain’t nothing that I’m unwillin’ to talk about. But for starters, the reason I became a mercenary in the first place was ‘cause I had a lot of grievances with the world and ‘cause I hated humans.”

Ianna looked up at him. His expression was serene, as if he was simply recounting an old story. He continued,

“How come humans get to live on fertile soil while we beastmen have to live in a desert with nothing but monsters except for the few oases we have? I hated it so much and lived like a gangster for a while, and I brought a few of the more hot-headed beastmen around with me as mercs whenever there was a war so we could slaughter as many humans as we pleased. It was fun to rip them apart with my claws, and all the goods that began pilin’ up and up as I won was so, so sweet.”

Absilot smiled as if he found himself pathetic.

“I guess it was ‘cause I was seein’ everything though tinted glasses? All humans just looked greedy and hideous to me back then. But then I met Lanka and Mursi, and they rid me of my prejudice.”

Ianna leaned her ear in closer, curious, when Absilot began talking about Lanka and Mursi.

“There was this one time when I nearly died ‘cause a human got me good with my guard down. Oh, so this is how I finally die……I thought, but then Lanka and Mursi, who were nothing but beggar kids, came to save me. Did ya know that I really hated them at first just ‘cause they were human, even if they were technically my saviors? But they took care of me when I couldn’t even move my own body, and the purity of their actions taught me that there were all sorts of humans in the world and that human kids were just as pure as beastmen kids are.”

Then, Absilot laughed as if he was having great fun. Ianna didn’t know what had happened in the memories that Absilot, Lanka, and Mursi shared, but just one look at Absilot’s face told her that Absilot regarded those memories fondly.

“Lanka was aspirin’ to be a nurse, so she tended to me for just about everything, and Mursi, that lil’ rascal, did all the heavy liftin’ and the dirty work even though he was just a skinny lil’ stick ‘cause he barely had enough to eat. Something about how he was a man too. I mean, it’s not like I was gonna ask Lanka to help me take care of my business while I was bedridden, yeah? It was pretty admirable of Mursi to step up, though I’ll admit I did feel pretty bad about it.”

Absilot cackled before a shadow was cast over his mien.

“I’d made myself too many enemies, and a lotta bastards came tryin’ to kill me off before I got better. I was stayin’ at the orphanage where the kids were while I was gettin’ myself back in shape, but there was this one time when they got kidnapped ‘cause of me. I went mad with fury and I ripped the bastards who did it to pieces, but the kids took fright while they were watchin’ and they trembled something crazy while cryin’ their lil’ eyes out. That was the first time in my life that I realized I’d done something bad after killin’ someone.”

Absilot had apologized to the two as many times as he had needed to, and he had been able to let go of his prejudice and live alongside humanity afterward.

He had lived with Lanka and Mursi even after he had recovered, and he had stopped killing people because he hadn’t wanted them to smell the stench of blood. He had even earned the title, “Mercenary King,” after taking on countless difficult but relatively well-paying requests.

He used the money he earned to sponsor children in difficult conditions like Lanka and Mursi had been, and he stopped being a notorious murderer along the way.

Mursi had started selling the monster goods that Absilot brought back, and he had quickly used his amazing knack for business to multiply their wealth dozens and later hundreds of times. And Absilot’s beloved Lanka had begun working at a hospital that he had recommended her to and had grown into a wonderful girl who was loved by all.

“And then, hmmm, she once brought me to a field of flowers so we could enjoy the view, and she made a crown of flowers for me with her tiny hands and placed it on my head while beamin’ happily…… And that’s when I fell headfirst in love.”

“……With a child?”

“Age don’t matter when it comes to love! A-and I never touched her until she was of age! Well, actually, I just thought that she was cute when she was younger. I only realized that I was in love with the woman once she had grown up and I started gettin’ jealous of all the men around her.”

Jealousy. Ianna mumbled the word to herself.

Was jealousy one of the requirements for realizing that you were in love?

“And then I chased her around while tellin’ her how much I loved her, and I eventually succeeded in gettin’ married to her! Since Lanka’s always had a heart for me too. Ahaha.”

Ianna smiled along as Absilot continued to regale her with the fond memories he had about his time with Lanka and Mursi. It was only after listening to his tales that Ianna realized that love also had a warm and gentle aspect to it —it wasn’t only fiery and passionate. Even the small happiness that came from the most trivial things could count as a form of love.

Absilot grew red in the face as he prattled on before he finally cleared his throat.

“I think I got carried away. But anyhow, the reason why I told ya all of this is ‘cause my past has to do with my contract with Lord Terra.”

Ianna was eagerly awaiting his next words, but Absilot sounded rather nonchalant as he continued,

“I’m a beastman who’ll live for well over a hundred years, and my wife’s a normal and frail human who prob’ly won’t even make it to a hundred. And ya know, I don’t really wanna live if my wife’s not around anymore. So, in exchange for bein’ a dragon’s Guardian ‘til the day I die, I asked Lord Terra to make it so that I can live a long and healthy life with her, and to make it so that we can die on the same day, same hour.”

Ianna opened her eyes wide and stared back at Absilot when she heard his astonishing wish. Calmly, Absilot added,

“I did consider givin’ her some of my divine power, but that wasn’t possible. Lanka’s too weak to withstand my divine power, and more importantly, her human heart just wasn’t designed to live very long to begin with.”

Absilot waved his hands around when he spied the strange look that had crossed Ianna’s face.

“Now I ain’t no pushover, mind ya! I obviously wanna live a long, long life, so I asked him to match Lanka’s lifespan to mine. I mean, why else would I have to ask a dragon for help?!”

“……How can you do something like that?”

“Hmm?”

“How can you throw away your entire life like that just for love? Just how much did you need to love your wife to be able to do that……?”

Absilot scratched his chin.

“Hmmm, enough that I could burn up everything I am for her in a heartbeat, I suppose? Wealth, glory, power —I’ve had a taste of everything, but in the end, the only things that could really make me happy were the people I love and my family.”

Absilot smiled as he pat Ianna on the shoulder. He continued,

“Well, I only did it ‘cause I love Lanka so damn much, but I guess some people might think I’m pathetic —everyone thinks differently, after all!”

Ianna fell silent for a moment before replying,

“I don’t believe you’re pathetic.”

“That’s good to hear! But keep this a secret from Lanka, yeah? She only knows that I did something so that she could live a long life, but she doesn’t know nothing about anything else. And she only thinks I’ve settled down ‘cause I like it here, so shh.”

Ianna stared quietly up at Absilot in his joy before she slowly nodded back.

Part 9

“Honey!”

They arrived at Titanus shortly thereafter. Lanka was waiting for Absilot near the entrance to the city once again. She was beaming sunnily as she waved. She continued,

“Yer back!”

“Hey, I told ya not to come outside like this!”

Absilot ran over to her in a hurry, but Ianna walked at a slow pace and observed the both of them. Absilot’s every action was overflowing in his affections for Lanka as he lifted her up in his arms while grinning ear to ear.

And Lanka did not appear awkward or repulsed by his affections at all. She had been loved by Absilot for a long time, and she met his affection with her own as she kissed him on the cheek.

Ianna stopped and stared at them. And she fell into thought again. Just what on earth was love, really?

And she finally felt as if she was beginning to vaguely get an image of what that overflowing emotion, which had evaded her understanding for so long, truly looked like.

After all……not only had she pondered over the idea all throughout her trip, but she had also gotten a taste for it in the illusion she had seen.

“Lass, hurry back and pack yer things!”

Ianna began moving her feet again as she recalled the things she had seen in Pandemonium.

Roberstein loved the Demon.

She had thought that Roberstein hated the Demon, but, contrary to her expectations, Roberstein harbored a deep and heavy love for the Demon in her heart.

Her love had been so unmeasurably ardent, and there was nothing that Roberstein couldn’t have done if it was for her love. Ianna could observe Roberstein’s emotions objectively now that the aftereffects of the illusion had subsided, but, in the moment, Roberstein’s memories had taught Ianna what the ‘passion’ that she had thought was a prerequisite for love felt like.

Love was warm, but it was also hotter than fire.

Ianna understood where Absilot had been coming from.

“Won’t ya be in big trouble if ya don’t make it back to the Institution in time? Gosh, how could Lord Terra hold ya up for so long……?”

Taro and Herrace had already packed their things and left several days ago. Absilot called to Ianna in worry as she left his house after packing her belongings.

“I can make it. I’ll call on the spirit of wind for help.”

Ianna had been thinking of Shweia from the very start.

She had originally been planning to call the spirits and ask them to tell her their stories on her way back to the Institution, and Shweia was a spirit king who could tell her about the Holy Age while also carrying her swiftly.

“Hmm. The wind spirit —sounds good. But this is the opposite end of the world from where the territory of wind is, so it’ll be hard for the wind spirit to use his powers. And it’s too hot to just walk out of the desert, not to mention the monsters.”

Absilot laid out his concerns before he suggested,

“Instead, why don’t I ask someone I know to help ya just until ya leave the Desert?”

“I’m not sure about how I feel about asking a stranger…”

“Hmmm. But he’s technically related to yer work, lass.”

That was all Absilot said before he pulled out a whistle and blew it. A black shadow appeared on the ground not too long after.

Ianna’s eyes opened wide when she looked up to the sky. There was an eagle beastman with wings instead of arms covering up the sun.

“A birdman…….”

Birdmen were a mythical race closely related to the beastmen. They were no different to beastmen in that they could control the extent of their transformations and had long lifespans.

But they had nearly been wiped out because they had been hunted by humans in the past.

“What’s up, Chief? Oh hey, it’s that lass Ianna from Passio the other day.”

Absilot whispered in Ianna’s ear,

“There’s a birdman among the executives in yer organization, lass.”

Ianna immediately thought of ‘Caesar.’ He had a bird drawn on his mask, and he knew how to call the spirits.

‘I see. So he was a birdman.’

“I know that guy too. He was the last chief of the birdmen, and he was pretty popular for bein’ honest to a fault. The bastards at Bahamut murdered his entire family and ripped his tongue out, and he’s been treated as a missin’ person ever since he ran off to get revenge, but he still sends me news from time to time. That’s how I knew about Camastros.”

Then, Absilot stepped back from Ianna and called out to the birdman.

“Hey! This lass here’s an acquaintance of yer previous chief, and she’s let me know that he’s doin’ well, so help her out and escort her out of the Desert!”

The vaguely friendly light in the birdman’s eyes took on the color of goodwill.

“Wait, for real?”

“But don’t start thinkin’ this means ya can just start questionin’ her about him. But ya can ask her to give him something for ya if ya like. You don’t mind, right, Lil’ Ianna?”

“I can do that.”

“Seriously?! —wait here for a bit!”

The eagle birdman immediately flew off to somewhere and quickly came flying back.

“Get on, human lass!”

The birdman transformed into a giant eagle and showed his back to Ianna. Ianna awkwardly climbed up on him. A tiger, an eagle, a dragon……. She had ridden all sorts of bizarre things during her trip.

“Come visit us again, Ianna!”

“Take care!”

“Come back soon!”

Absilot, Lanka, and the beastmen who had heard that Ianna was leaving enthusiastically bid her farewell as Ianna departed from Titanus. In a good cheer, the eagle birdman said,

[I don’t know what yer relationship to our previous chief is, lass, but I’ll leave him in yer care. He’s rather tender-hearted.]

“He’s very strong, and a lot of people rely on him.”

The eagle birdman smiled happily. He flew quickly without any hindrance, and he placed her back down on the ground in just a few hours.

“You’ll have to walk from here on. There’s a lot of humans ahead…….”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, and…”

The birdman rummaged around his pockets before he pulled out a single letter. He continued,

“I would be grateful if you could deliver this to the chief.”

Ianna carefully took the letter from the birdman and placed it inside her bag. The birdman thanked her one last time before taking to the sky.

“We’ll meet again if the opportunity arises!”

Ianna kept her eyes to the sky until he disappeared completely before rummaging through her bag again. She felt a little guilty as she pulled out her plush puppy and groaned to herself.

‘It wasn’t just a week —I was gone for over ten days. He must be angry…’

She initiated a call, and he picked up before she could even blink.

[Are you done?]

His voice was drenched in joy and cheer. Ianna could not hear any hint of fury from him. It was so strange that Ianna thought he must be truly furious.

“I’m sorry.”

[What about?]

“I said I needed about a week, but I haven’t contacted you in so long……. You must be angry, right?”

[No? I assumed that you would take about two weeks from the beginning because I didn’t want to get my hopes up, and I’m overjoyed to hear from you earlier than I’d expected.]

Ianna broke free of her delusions. Arhad was being sincere.

“…….”

It pricked at her conscience so much to hear him say that. The reason why he had automatically assumed that she would take two weeks when she had only asked for one was because she had broken her promises and had disappointed him before.

“Things were truly out of my hands this time,”

Ianna said as if she was making excuses. But it was true. She had only thought that she would be talking to the dragon —she had never dreamed that he would bring her all the way down to Pandemonium. And she had truly not wanted to miss her calls with Arhad after she had lost contact with him last time.

[It’s all right. So, did you learn a lot?]

“Yes. Very.”

She had gained extremely valuable information —so valuable in fact that she could not swallow it all at once and needed to digest it slowly.

Ianna pondered for a moment over whether she could tell Arhad about the things she had learned. But she quickly shook her head no. There were still so many riddles that she hadn’t yet solved.

The fact remained that Roberstein had pierced her sword through the Demon’s heart regardless of her feelings, and Ianna did not know how the Demon felt about her yet.

Keigus, Wiffheimer, Isabella.

Every last beneficiary of the Demon’s fragments she had met had been obsessively fixated on her. In other words, it could be said that their feelings arose from the Demon’s fixation on Roberstein.

But Ianna could not know if that obsession stemmed from the Demon’s hatred over his murderer or if he, too, loved Roberstein back. Ianna had no way of knowing, and so she had no choice but to do everything in her power to remember all of Roberstein’s memories and unveil the truth behind her relationship with the Demon.

And Ianna would bury the knowledge inside herself forever if, by chance, the Demon hated Roberstein.

But Ianna would still hate it even if the Demon was still fond of Roberstein too.

‘What about Arhad……?’

She had tried to ignore it, but the thought kept popping up in her mind.

Was Arhad’s love pointed only to her, or had it existed in him from the very beginning because of his Demon’s fragment?

Arhad was always looking directly only at her, and the times they had spent together screamed that his love was pointed only to her. And yet, the one thing that still left her dubious…

“……The you in my arms right now —are you not an illusion……?”

…Were the words he had said to her when he had embraced her from behind at the temple of Laos.

Had those words truly been directed to her?

She wanted to know, but she also didn’t. She bit down at her lip as her heart ached.

[Good. Especially since you were so absorbed in it that you didn’t even have the time to contact me.]

“I’m glad you see it that way.”

[Why do you sound so listless? I said I don’t mind.]

“Arhad.”

He took in a nervous breath when Ianna so suddenly and earnestly called his name.

[……Yes?]

“Have you ever loved or dated another woman before you met me?”

[…….]

“No, right?”

Arhad had been rendered speechless for a moment before Ianna had said something so random. But he quickly regained himself and calmly answered,

[No, never. I told you before during the king’s birthday. I’m not very interested in women.]

“But that was only after you met me. What about before?”

[I haven’t. I’m being honest. I really haven’t.]

Arhad had no idea why Ianna was asking him this, but he denied it assertively for the time being. The chaos in Ianna’s heart settled down somewhat when she heard his answer.

If she assumed that Arhad was telling the truth, then there were too many inconsistencies to say that he had been addressing Roberstein when he had asked if she was an illusion.

‘But if it wasn’t Roberstein, then who was he talking to?’

Ianna pondered carefully for a moment before she asked,

“Then what about a man?”

[A man —what about a man?]

Arhad was utterly baffled. Even Ianna acknowledged that her question had been ridiculous, though she had only been trying to cover for every possible variable.

“…….”

But in any event, this meant that it was highly unlikely that his words had been directed to Roberstein. And yet, Ianna could not shake off the misgiving that Arhad’s abnormal obsession over her did not stem from the Demon.

She did her best to cram her doubts deep inside her heart.

[Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?]

“Only because you’re so skilled at dating.”

Ianna had replied half-heartedly, but it was true that she thought that he was as sly as someone who had a lot of dating experience would be.

[I suppose I’m simply talented. And besides, I’ve told you before. Dating is nothing more than spending time with someone you like.]

“You have.”

Ianna finally understood what he had meant. She had learned after watching Absilot and Lanka.

[I’ve been acting like how I’ve always been acting around you. You’re simply interpreting my behavior differently.]

But was he? Had he always acted like this?

But he was the one who had always been hiding his feelings before unveiling his love under the guise of pretense while they were pretending to be dating.

“……!”

Ianna was alarmed as she realized that she had started to accept his feelings without any reserve, and she began feeling mysteriously pleased, perhaps because she had shaken off her repulsion and prejudice against the concept of love. Going on this trip had been a great decision.

[So where are you right now?]

“I’ve just left the Girohai Desert.”

[Aren’t you running a bit late? Shall I teleport you back?]

“No. What will you do if there’s a fragment beneficiary like Isabella nearby?”

[I suppose.]

“I’ll be sure to be back before the semester starts. So please stay low and wait for me. I’ll come find you as soon as I’ve returned.”

Pleasant laughter resounded from the other side of the artefact.

[All right. But you do remember, right? You have to call me twice a day.]

Ianna smiled when she heard the obsession in his voice.

“Of course.”

[I want you to call me at least once a day. I’d like to experience how adorable you find the artefacts too.]

They hung up only after talking at length about all sorts of matters. Then, Ianna called Shweia. Shweia pushed away the western heat as he was summoned and fluttered over to perch himself on Ianna’s shoulder.

[Hmph. I just knew it.]

“Knew what?”

[You realized how awesome I am after the first time you called me, right? Hmph, you should’ve called me sooner.]

Ianna could not help but laugh because she found it adorable when Shweia coyly primed his feathers. She raised her hand and pat his head with her finger.

[Hmph.]

Shweia quietly let Ianna pat him even as he huffed. Ianna assumed that the chirping was how he expressed his joy. He bent his neck and followed her finger down with his head when Ianna moved her hand away, and he quickly snapped his head back up when he realized what he had done.

[Moody got all depressed because you didn’t call for him even though he was right next to you, but you don’t need to worry about him. You’ve called me after all.]

Moody referred to Kagomyne. It looked like he had been sad that she hadn’t summoned him during the party at Passio.

Ianna had learned that she had an infinite supply of divine power in her heart and she planned to practice her control over her divine power until it came to her as readily as breathing, so Ianna decided to call Kagomyne once she had returned to the Institution.

[So? What do you need me to do?]

Ianna pulled out a compass.

“I need you to take me to where I want to go.”

[That’s my specialty.]

Ianna’s body was lifted into the air as Shweia flapped his wings. They ascended slowly until they were extremely high up in the air, but Ianna found it as easy to breathe as she did on land, perhaps because Shweia was moderating things for her. It was so comfortable that she couldn’t even begin comparing the experience to the time when she had been riding on Terranodin’s neck.

Ianna studied her compass and pointed in her intended direction.

“Can you take me that way in a straight line? And as quickly as you can.”

[Okay!]

Shweia replied jubilantly. Then, Ianna shot forward with the force of a hurricane.

Perhaps it was because her flight on the dragon had been such an arduous experience, but her flight with Shweia made her feel like she was riding leisurely inside a comfortable carriage.

Ianna was completely at ease as she called to Shweia and said,

“Would you be able to tell me more about the Holy Age?”

[That’s something you asked Slowpoke about a long time ago, right?]

“I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to ask you guys for more. But I wanted to know if you could tell me this time.”

[All right. Ask me anything you’re curious about. I’ll tell you everything I know.]

“What kind of tree is ‘Phaemdra’?”

It couldn’t be any ordinary tree if it was capable of making prophecies.

[It’s the world tree. It was the first tree in existence, and it’s the parent of every plant in the world. It also played a major role in the birth of the gods.]

The spirits and the world tree had worked together to create the globular world around Pandemonium. And the world tree had used its roots down inside Pandemonium to pull the souls trapped by Pandemonium’s contractive force out into the beautiful world where only nature had existed. The spirits had used the divine power carried by each individual soul to create bodies for them, and that was how the gods had been born.

“But Phaemdra’s dead now, right?”

That should only have been natural. After all, it had withered up during the End and had been cut down, leaving only it’s stump behind.

[No, it’s alive.]

“……?”

Ianna blinked.

[The reason why such a dense forest was formed in the East, which used to be a desolate land filled only with the winds, is because that’s where Phaemdra is. Laos brought its withered twigs to the East and replanted them, and now Phaemdra’s slowly growing again under the elves’ care.]

Ianna now had yet another reason why she had to go east. She needed to respond to the high elf Vita’s, request, and she also needed to see Phaemdra with her own eyes.

“Can the tree talk?”

[It can think, but it can only talk to us spirits. Like us, Phaemdra is also a being from the spiritual plane without its own fragment of chaos. But why do you ask? Are you interested in it? Roberstein was very close to Phaemdra, so you should meet up with it if you want to learn more about her. I’m sure it’ll make that child happy too.]

Ianna nodded.

‘I’ll have to make the time. The Kingdom of Woodruff, where Arhad’s made his base, is close to the Great Forest of Shaob, so I should ask him if I can visit while he’s planning.’

[Let me know if there’s anything else you’re curious about.]

“Can you tell me about Roberstein? I want to learn more about her.]

Shweia was excited to reply.

[She was just, pure, strong, kind, pretty, beautiful…….]

Shweia went off about Roberstein like a parent bragging about their child, and Ianna waved her hand because she didn’t think she needed to hear any more.

Basically, unless the spirits had scales over their eyes, she had been the perfect woman.

“That’s not what I meant —could you tell me about the things you did with her?”

[We never did anything special. The other gods only called on us when they were attacking each other or when they needed to use the powers of nature, but the Crimson God never really asked us to do anything and she just chatted with us or watched over us as we played.]

“Was she not close with any of the other gods?”

[No —she was a lonely god who was shunned by the others because she was too powerful.]

Just how powerful had she been that even other gods had shunned her?

“How powerful was she?”

[I’m sure I don’t even need to tell you about her swordplay, and also her power was a total cheat —maybe because she was the first god to be born in the world and because she had a very strong sense of responsibility. She was even called the Arbiter because of her power over Judgment.]

Ianna clenched her hands into fists.

“That power……do you know how it worked?”

[Yeah. Roberstein’s told me about it before. It’s an amazing power called ‘Judgment’ that uses the Balance of the World to weigh and compare the worth of everything that exists.]

The Balance. Roberstein’s power utilized the providence of the world itself?

[Roberstein used her power to punish powerful evil gods. Evil gods who made a mess of the world had their souls weighed on one end of the Balance, which exists somewhere in the world. And they were weighed against the ‘worth of their life’.]

Shweia shivered.

[The scales of the Balance maintain absolute equilibrium. And when the worth of the things that Roberstein weighs on them tilts to one side, then the excess worth on the heavier side just vanishes.]

If the karma piled up in a being’s soul was exorbitantly heavy but their worth of their life was feather-light because they had negatively affected the equilibrium of the world, then that being would suffer agonizing pain and be cast into extinction alongside their sins —or so Shweia added.

[No one could reject Roberstein’s power because she was the strongest god. And that’s why everyone was both awed by her and terrified of her. She was fear incarnate to the evil gods who were terrified about having their sins measured fairly against the absolute power of the Balance. And even the good gods were afraid of her unstoppable power even if they didn’t commit any sins. After all, nobody could stop her if she ever Fell and began to ravage the world. The fact that she could use the Balance for her own desires scared everyone.]

It was a curious yet terrifying power. Then, Ianna remembered that Roberstein was her previous incarnation.

[Whom will you Judge?]

The peculiar desires that whispered to her every time she used her divine power. She had thought her heart might explode the first time she had tried and she had nearly been devoured by that whisper.

“Could I use that power too?”

[Who could say……? Being able to use the providence of the world is practically a miracle in and of itself. Even Roberstein only used her power sparingly, and she normally resolved things with her sword in accordance to her personal values. I don’t know how much divine power it would consume, but it’s probably not something you can use on a whim. But only Roberstein would know for sure.]

Ianna organized what she had learned about the power of Judgment in her head before she next asked,

“Would you know anything about the relationship between Roberstein and the Demon?”

[Oh, hmmm. The Crimson God really cared a lot about that lizard. He used to be trapped inside Pandemonium because he couldn’t produce divine power, but then Phaemdra introduced him to Roberstein one day, and she probably started raising him out of pity.]

Shweia fell silent for a moment as he primed his feathers. Then, he continued,

[But I can’t tell you how their relationship was really like, since she knew that we really didn’t get along with the Demon and she didn’t call for us when she was with him. We hated him because of the evil stench he always gave off, and he hated us too. He always lingered around Roberstein like a cat taking to catnip, though, and it looked like Roberstein also liked him a lot. She taught him swordplay, gave him her divine power, and she even showed him around her world…… She practically raised him like her own child, you know?]

Once she had heard what Shweia had said, Ianna asked him about the name that she had never wanted to think about, much less actually utter.

“Then what about Lebony?”

[She was a suuuuuper devoted follower of Roberstein’s. That goddess only had eyes for Roberstein. She was the kind of child who would actually shove a sword through her heart without any hesitation whatsoever if Roberstein told her to kill herself. I think Roberstein trusted her too, since Lebony was always so blindly affectionate of her.]

“…….”

Ianna pursed her lips and recalled the half-crazed things that Lebony had shrieked at her on the day Ianna had killed her.

“Ahh! I missed you so much, my dearest!”

“My great master! My God……!”

“Why did you leave after sealing only me away? What did you mean when you said that you were entrusting everything to me? Lady Ro, I was happy just to stand beside you, happy just to die at your side, so why did you keep me alive?”

“I was lonely —so lonely that I thought I was going to die. The fact that I was the only survivor made me so lonely I wanted to die! But I forced myself to keep living because I had your aura inside of me!”

What was the request that Roberstein had entrusted to Lebony after giving Lebony all of her divine power and sealing her away?

Ianna thought back on one of Robersteins thoughts, which she had experienced as if it were her own, from the illusion that she had seen.

‘Lebony, my faithful follower. I entrust that child to you…’

That child.

Naturally, Ianna recalled the white boy who had been begging Roberstein not to leave him behind in tears.

The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place.

The reason why Roberstein had given Lebony all of her power and sealed her away was because she had wanted Lebony to look after that boy —Laos— after she had died.

But everything that Roberstein was had been frozen when Laos sealed her, and Roberstein’s seal on Lebony had also been frozen in place at that time. That was why Lebony had only awoken thousands of years later in the Age of Magic, and it was also why things had ended up the way they had. Roberstein’s plans had been ruined.

“Shweia.”

[Hmm?]

“What was the relationship between Roberstein and Laos?”

[We think that Roberstein raised poor Laos just like how she raised the Demon. She just brought him to us one day and introduced us.]

Then, had she raised Laos as if she was his parent?

Ianna started pitying Lebony now that she had learned the truth. She almost felt guilty that things hadn’t gone as planned.

But Lebony was already dead. There was nothing more that Ianna could do for her now. Besides, it was illogical for Ianna to feel guilty over the matter when she hadn’t been the one to set things in motion.

She brushed away her thoughts about Lebony and asked Shweia to tell her more about how the Holy Age had begun. Shweia grew excited and taught her all about how the world had been created in elaborate detail on their way back to the Institution.

The creation of the world, Phaemdra, the war between the gods, and the gods who had abandoned their duty for birth in favor of eternal life. The gods who had thrown their evil into Pandemonium so they could remain good, and the Demon who had swallowed and digested it all out of loneliness in his isolation…….

Ianna was intrigued by everything that Shweia told her. And so, she had learned so much more even on top of the knowledge she had gained from the dragon.

Ianna slowly organized everything she had learned and made that knowledge her own.

Ianna stopped to eat at the famous restaurants Eiji had listed for her in his pamphlet when she grew hungry from flying with Shweia, and she also stopped to slowly tour any famous ruins she happened across along her way. She got the chance to experience foreign cultures, and she also had the chance to glimpse the various lives that people lived as they laughed so cheerfully.

And all the complicated feelings she had been bottling up inside came undone as she leisurely enjoyed the clouds and the sun as she rode along the refreshing wind.

If she looked down, she could see the things that she had once thought were huge huddled together in teeny tiny clumps. It made her realize that the world was both large and small, and it also showed her that her worries, somewhere inside those tiny clumps, weren’t really as big as she had thought they were.

She did not forget to contact Arhad. She grew more comfortable about chatting with him with each passing day, and talking to him twice a day simply felt natural to her now.

She had been talking to the puppy for so long now that she sometimes even felt like she had forgotten what Arhad looked like and that the puppy was Arhad. And each time that happened, Ianna thought to herself that she really needed to see him again soon before she really forgot what he looked like. Moreover, while she didn’t dislike only being able to hear his voice, she still found it somewhat uncomfortable because his voice alone wasn’t enough to convey all of his feelings to her.

And finally, she had arrived near Theodore.

She had enjoyed a fruitful trip, and she had still made it back three days before the semester started. Ianna found a secluded place before she turned to Shweia and said,

“Let me down here. I’ll walk the rest of the way back.”

[Is your trip over now?]

“Yeah. I had an easy journey back thanks to you. Thank you, Shweia.”

[I’m grateful too! It was so much fun!]

Shweia forgot to keep up the coy act as he chimed with excitement.

[Call me again next time!]

Shweia went back to the spiritual plane, and Ianna began walking toward Theodore. She had learned a lot during her trip. The knowledge she had gained would be immensely helpful when she needed to learn more about herself in the future. Ianna was fully confident that she had done well to go on this trip.

But she was left with a certain worry now that so much time had passed.

Did Arhad truly love her?

Was he not simply deluded?

She would have to correct him soon if he was.

His emotions, which she had been so certain of when she was with him in person, felt so vague to her now that two months had passed.

How had his eyes looked when he looked to her? She couldn’t quite remember.

‘In any case, I should see him soon.’

Ianna walked briskly toward Theodore’s gates as she told herself that she would find Arhad as soon as she returned to the Institution grounds.

“Eek. Look that that hunk.”

“Goodness. Since when was there such a handsome man here in Theodore?”

Ianna’s feet faltered. The people had their eyes fixed in one direction as they whispered amongst themselves about a truly ordinary topic, but she, too, had caught sight of what they were making such a fuss about.

He saw her too and stepped away from the rampart wall that he had been leaning against. He walked up to Ianna, who was still frozen in place, and looked down at her. There was a flushed smile alighting his countenance.

“I came out to see you.”

Ianna’s heart skipped a beat when she heard his —Arhad’s— voice not through an artefact but directly in her ears.

And, as soon as the kindness in his face was imprinted in her eyes, she realized.

Oh, it wasn’t because I thought I might forget what he looked like that I wanted to see him soon —it was just that I missed him dearly.

Ianna grinned as she slowly studied Arhad’s face and figure. What puppy? He was such a tall and attractive man.

“It wasn’t bad talking to you through an artefact, but I prefer being able to see your face when we talk.”

Arhad picked up her left hand as his unconcealable fondness for Ianna shone through. He continued,

“By the way, you’re in big trouble now.”

“……And why is that?”

Ianna asked, and Arhad slipped a ring on her ring finger before she could say anything to stop him.

“Because I won’t give you any more vacations ever again. But I’ll still make sure you’re paid a hefty wage, so don’t be too disgruntled.”

Ianna looked to the ring on her finger. Arhad continued,

“It’s the artefact we discussed before. It’ll prove pretty useful since I crammed all sorts of functions into it. I’ll give you a list of what it can do later, so be sure to give it a read.”

The ring was simple yet still beautiful. Even Ianna, who didn’t really care for accessories, could tell that it was wonderfully made. It never got in her way even as she tried making a fist a few times. And yet…

“But why the ring finger on my left hand?”

“You favor your right hand over your left, for one, and I put it on your ring finger to remain faithful to our current relationship status. See?”

Arhad raised his own left hand. And he was wearing a similar ring on his own ring finger.

Ianna smiled —there was just no stopping him. And Arhad beamed right along with her in joy when Ianna made no move to refuse him. But then, Ianna suddenly turned serious and asked,

“Are you looking at me?”

“……?”

The smile lingering at the edge of Arhad’s lips disappeared. He could not comprehend her sudden question. Ianna pierced holes into his eyes as she stared back at him.

“Are you truly looking at me?”

And not Roberstein?

Ianna felt a black ember, which she had never felt before, ignite inside her. Her doubts, which she had only just voiced in the form of a question, became as a poison that choked at her as soon as they had left her lips.

She wanted him to look at her and like her simply because she was Ianna, and not for some other reason like Roberstein.

You have to look at me, and no one else.

You have to like me —my sword.

Am I being jealous?

“…….”

The light in his eyes grew heavy, as if he had not been jesting so playfully just moments ago as he slipped the ring on her finger.

“……Always.”

His emotions were so saturated and dense that Ianna thought they could even fill the deepest depths of Pandemonium to the brim. He continued,

“I am always looking at you, Ianna.”

And in the foundation of his emotions existed a brightly blazing heat that Ianna had never noticed properly until now.

And Ianna was hit by a sudden certain impulse.

Arhad closed his eyes. He kept them closed for a moment, and he had returned to his normal state by the time he opened them again.

“But why do you ask?”

Ianna beckoned to him with her hand.

“Could you lend me your ear?”

Arhad was growing anxious because he could not fathom why Ianna was acting this way. There was a slightly stiff expression on his face as he stooped down and leaned his ear in toward her. Ianna stared at him for a moment before she suddenly pulled at his head.

Mwah.

Arhad froze stiff when he felt the unfamiliar sensation on his cheek.

“…….”

A moment of silence passed between them. Arhad’s eyes immediately turned to Ianna as he utterly failed to comprehend the situation.

But Ianna was looking as calm and composed as she always did. She slowly let go of his head, and Arhad asked,

“……What was that?”

“You pressed your lips against my forehead when you were sending me off. But I hate losing. And I hate being swayed by others too. If I’m being honest, I still can’t make heads or tails of anything quite yet. But from now on, I plan on going along with whatever my heart wants instead of ignoring what I feel.”

Arhad’s shaken gaze spotted the unfamiliar blush on Ianna’s face and fixated on it.

He had thought that she looked no different than normal, but there was a faint splash of crimson on her cheeks.

“I’m back.”

Ianna smiled. She continued,

“I missed you.”

—“Dragon” End

—To be continued in Volume 7