Book 5 Chapter 14
Chapter 116
“You’ll help us?”
“A human child?”
“Us?”
Seeing the beastkin warriors whisper suspiciously, I instinctively knew it was finally my turn.
“I haven’t come to fight. Nor have I come to insult Griffion. I’ve simply come to tell you that the barrier gate can be opened peacefully.”
The barrier, peacefully…?
Just as the beastkin’s eyes were about to widen, someone burst into laughter. It was the one-eyed polar bear, Opus.
“I wondered what it was, Barzen. You’ve been completely fooled by these children. It must be because you spend so much time in the Deep Layers that you don’t encounter wolves as often.”
“What?”
“Don’t you get it? They just used you! Because they want protection to the barrier! Do you really think children who aren’t even adults yet would genuinely think that way?!”
“I, I genuinely—!”
“—Don’t play innocent! Do you think we don’t know your evil nature? Every warrior here knows it!”
“It’s true!”
“My three sons, who believed such words, were all killed by humans. All of them were excellent warriors who fought against the Abyss.”
“Huh?”
“The youngest of them saved a dying wolf and sent it back to the barrier, only for that wolf to stab him in the neck from behind and kill him! To make my son his own war trophy!”
As soon as he finished speaking, murmurs agreeing with Opus could be heard from all directions.
“My husband also died, at the hands of humans…”
“My daughter wasn’t even a warrior…”
“I was born without a father. They said he was deceived by wolves and died…”
The complex and overwhelming reality, tightening from all sides without any resolution, made me feel breathless.
How? What should I say in a situation like this? To this hatred that has taken root deep in their hearts, no, in their very souls…
Tell me, Lysta. In a situation like this, what on earth am I supposed to do?
“…Rein! Rein! Why are you silent! Say something…!”
Kasena, sensing the situation was going awry, grabbed me and shouted something, but my ears felt muffled as if submerged in water, and I couldn't hear clearly.
“…Just tell the truth. That you lied because you wanted to live…”
“…”
“…Then, considering the honor of the Durankus tribe and Lord Alakish’s devotion, we’ll let you go this one time…”
Is there really no way? Does a solution not exist for this enmity that has accumulated over hundreds of years?
No, perhaps it could be resolved, but it was beyond the capabilities of someone like me.
Then, perhaps it would be better to just cross the barrier here and look for a solution below the barrier… It was at that very moment.
“Why?”
A strangely dignified voice flowed from among the throng of beastkin warriors.
Receiving respectful deference from all the warriors, the warrior who strode through the ranks was the tallest beastkin warrior Rein had ever seen, with sharp movements.
He had the head of a pure white eagle, and the sharp eyes of a bird of prey conveyed the imposing aura of a warrior who had survived harsh times.
“Griffion?!”
Opus turned to him and cried out in surprise, and my mind suddenly sharpened.
This person is Griffion?
The warrior among warriors, chief among chiefs, the great chief Griffion, who gathered all the tribes in this city?
Griffion didn’t even respond to Opus’s shout; he simply walked straight out and faced Rein.
“Answer. You said you came all this way to help us. What is your reason?”
“Isn’t it obvious? No need to ask. He’s probably just mixing lies to survive.”
“I am asking this human boy.”
Griffion cut him off briefly and firmly, and the taunting Opus immediately fell silent. Not just Opus, but all the warriors.
At the same time, I felt all eyes turn to me and Griffion. Heavy and disorienting.
“And Barzen, the same goes for you. And not ‘Lord Alakish’ either. Now, answer.”
Calm down, and be composed.
Though I didn’t know his true intentions, it was clear that Griffion had given me an opportunity to speak. There was no guarantee that his favor would last forever, so what I said next was paramount.
But how on earth should I tell the story? There were no clear-cut solutions in life like in mathematics.
“So, I heard Lord Enuel’s story from Chief Beduel…”
I could have listed the realistic problems.
That the Spider Lord’s seal was breaking, and the power to control the ancient things had reawakened. Therefore, humanity and beastkin must unite again.
That if they were to wage a siege to forcefully break down the barrier, they would all be devoured and die by that power.
“I learned what kind of hearts you beastkin have fought with on this land all along…”
But, but why?
I must have been recalling countless rational judgments in my mind and reassessing the possibilities, yet my mouth was babbling on its own like this.
Expressing one’s true feelings, the genuine thoughts in one’s heart, was the most difficult thing of all, so how on earth…
“You’ve lived that way, but if the end of it is breaking down the barrier… becoming enemies of the world… and being remembered by everyone in that way…”
As I said before, this might have been an impudent interference stemming from a sense of kinship with Enuel and the beastkin.
No one expected me to return like this. But how would I have felt if my hero party comrades had been recorded as enemies of the world?
My comrades lived their best for the day they would someday return, and were recorded as the greatest before returning to dust. Beastkin surely deserve to enjoy such joy too.
“That would be too sad…”
Was it shame for speaking my true feelings, or sadness stemming from thinking about the poignant, waiting lives of my hero party comrades?
Unable to meet anyone’s gaze through my blurring vision, I lowered my head.
But I had to finish speaking even with a trembling voice. Such an opportunity would not come again.
“So, I just, really just, felt like I wanted to help you all. You might think I’m overstepping, but… that’s why I did it…”
A deafening silence, like a dance in the Arctic sea wind, overwhelmed the area.
All the beastkin warriors doubted their ears at the human boy’s words and doubted their eyes when they saw the glistening tears in his eyes.
The boy’s sincere feelings, explained briefly yet profoundly, softly and clearly melted and resonated with the chords of their hearts that had been frozen.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Kasena nodded, her arms crossed with a satisfied look, along with Pipi, and a soft smile formed on Alakish’s lips as she looked at Rein with surprised eyes.
‘As expected, it wasn’t because of Lord Karenden’s fragment.’
It’s not because of the Black Scales. That child has a faint scent of gods. Just like Lord Thersia or Lord Karenden, whom I met briefly in my childhood.
—Wow, Bell! Are these really your children? How can they be so cute?
Just then, Barzen approached Rein, pulled him into a tight embrace on the shoulder, and exclaimed with a tearful voice.
“You heard him, didn’t you? This fellow is a friend of our Durankus, no, a friend of me, Barzen! If anyone insults this fellow again, I, Barzen, won’t stand for it!”
There had been quite a few humans who had pretended to listen to the beastkin’s stories and then exploited them.
Countless humans had pretended to acknowledge the beastkin only to stab them in the back.
But there had been no human who had listened to the beastkin’s stories, shed tears for them, and truly cared for their honor, until now.
“Ha, don’t make me laugh! Do you think we’d believe your human words just because of that! Those guys just want to get to the barrier and that’s it! They’ll stab us in the back and go inside!”
Opus shouted that, but his own voice wasn’t as sharp as before, and there were no voices agreeing with him either.
“Human boy, I wish to know the name your father gave you.”
Griffion raised his hand, silencing Opus, and then asked. When I stated my name, Griffion placed his hand on Rein’s head.
“Rein Ludwig, son of Kayven, I, Griffion, son of Ralquen, will believe you.”
All the warriors looked at Griffion with surprised eyes.
Rein was also surprised; he had never imagined it would be this easy.
He had thought he needed to present rational and realistic blueprints to persuade them, and he believed he had made a mistake.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? Having been deceived by humans so much, I can now tell whether a human is telling the truth or lying.”
He suddenly said this with a faint, bitter smile, didn't he?
“Alright, so what are you planning to do? What do you want me to do?”
“Please, just wait a little. I will go to the barrier and talk to the White Wolf Guard. I will make sure the barrier is opened peacefully.”
“Is that really possible?”
“It might be impossible for me, but it’s possible for Miss Kasena here! She is a direct descendant of Emitsa Page, so her influence is immense!”
As I eagerly pointed to Kasena, as if holding her up with both hands, the beastkin looked at her and began to whisper blankly.
“A direct descendant of Emitsa?”
“That girl?”
“No, I think I get it. That hair color… it’s exactly as it appears in the old stories.”
Kasena seemed slightly flustered by this focus of attention, but she soon cleared her throat with an air of dignity and nodded vigorously.
“Alright, wait until I return from the barrier! Rein and I will take care of everything and come back!”
At that suggestion, the warriors split into two and began to murmur.
Wait, how on earth in this increasingly cold land? Can these children really open the gate?
Griffion’s close associates also engaged in a divided debate over the feasibility of this matter, and it was truly a moment where one's mouth went dry.
How long passed like that? Finally, Griffion raised his hand high, silenced the warriors, and drew all attention to himself.
“Brothers, should we not also sincerely reciprocate the sincerity these children have shown us? I believe that would also be an honorable thing for our warrior corps.”
“…!”
“Rein Ludwig, and Kasena Page. Taking a generous four days for the journey to the barrier, I will wait for you here for ten days. Until then, I will not advance to the barrier.”
Kasena and Barzen looked at each other, smiling broadly with expressions of utmost delight. An inexpressible, profound thrill warmed my eyes.
Had it truly been conveyed?
Had they truly understood?
My words, the sincerity I had harbored in my heart after hearing Enuel’s story… Perhaps that was why I was bowing deeply to Griffion.
“Thank you, thank you. I will not disappoint you.”
* * *
If the qualities of an educator included the skillful use of carrots and sticks, Lin would probably have been a failure as an educator.
Her magic training for Tureina consisted only of scolding and reprimands, without a single word of praise. She only knew how to use the stick.
Lin was aware of her own problem and was agonizing over it.
How could she, she just couldn’t say that something well done was well done. Even when she tried to praise, she felt so awkward, like thorns were growing on her tongue.
—You call this finished after just doing this much?
—I did this in a month after learning magic.
—You can’t do this? Even if I taught a passing grandmother for a week, she’d be more than capable.
Because of this, Lin’s special brand of sarcasm, even harsher than usual, would often emerge. Tureina would study even harder, on the verge of tears.
“I wondered why you were sulking these days, was it just because of that?”
So (though I really didn’t want to), I ended up asking Lysta for a solution to this problem. I genuinely didn’t know what to do.
“Just? I haven’t found any problem harder than this.”
When I retorted curtly, Frieda, who was sitting next to me with her legs crossed, puffing smoke from her pipe, chuckled.
“What’s so hard about it? You’re already doing well.”
“No, I came here because I wasn’t doing well, what are you talking about?”
Then, Lysta, who had her hair tied up, revealing her long, pure white neck, and was sharpening the blade of the Holy Sword Shurpen with a whetstone, smiled brightly.
“That’s right, Frieda is right.”
“Don’t joke around.”
“It’s not a joke. The fact that Lin came to us with this problem alone shows that she’s sincerely treating someone.”
What on earth was that about, I tilted my head, and Frieda tapped the top of Lin’s head with her pipe.
“Just do it as usual! If you suddenly start praising her a lot, she’ll think you’re possessed by an evil spirit and probably be scared! Ugh, just thinking about it is awful. That child would run away.”
That’s certainly true, Lin nodded as if convinced, and Frieda laughed, “Ahaha.”
“You can’t do everything perfectly from the start. Just try a little, and slowly, over time.”
Frieda was always like a psycho, but sometimes she would speak like this, seriously and kindly.
“Someday, you’ll be good at it. At conveying your true feelings.”
As if to agree, Kyese, who had arrived unnoticed and was standing behind, placed a hand on Lin’s head and grinned.
“What are these guys talking about? I never said I wanted to express my true feelings! It’s just that teaching that child is difficult…”
“Oh, look at her getting shy and backing out, how cute. Kyese, hold her tight. I need to tickle her a bit after a long time.”
“Ah, no! Kyese, let go!”
The most beautifully shining moments of my memories, more than any other time in life.
And at the end of these memories, there was always the echo of Lysta, smiling brightly as if a flower had bloomed.
“It’s okay, Lin. Rather, because you don’t usually show your true feelings, if you try to convey them sincerely, they’ll know immediately.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, just like we came to know that Lin is actually the kindest child of all.”