Chapter 122

“……”

Silence fell around.

Roo blinked with a shocked face, and Ariel had a thoughtful expression.

The Giant Race disappeared from the continent about a thousand years ago.

The Giant Race had become a vague existence, lost to history.

But according to Gurak, it had only been about ten years since the Giant Race crossed over to Azgrad.

Then…

This meant that the flow of time between the two worlds was different.

“Uh, how can this happen? So, am I now face-to-face with an ancient being…?”

Roo looked at Gurak with disbelief.

“Ho, could you tell me what happened on the continent before you crossed over to Azgrad? Anything.”

“Hmm.”

Gurak narrowed his eyes as if trying to recall.

“Now that I think about it, there was a big commotion because of an evil god. What was his name, Nakshis? I think that’s right. He was a very powerful guy. Eventually, he was sealed by an elf hero.”

“……”

Roo’s face turned pale.

If it was the evil god Nakshis, he was indeed the one sealed by the elf hero.

Although he recently woke up and had a rough time, it was definitely an event that happened in ancient times.

“It happened just before I crossed over to Azgrad.”

Gurak remembered it as something that happened about ten years ago.

Roo looked at Ariel.

“Nu, nuna… what on earth is going on…?”

Meanwhile, Ariel had finished thinking to some extent.

Since they had crossed dimensions, it was understandable that the flow of time was different.

The problem was the time difference when returning to the original world.

If ten years in Azgrad was a thousand years in the original world, then one day in Azgrad would be a hundred days in the original world.

About two hours had already passed since they crossed over to Azgrad, so more than a week must have passed in the original world.

If they stayed here without thinking, by the time they returned to the original world, all the people Ariel knew might have aged.

Rakia, who had grown up prematurely, Revena, who had become a grandmother, and Ash, who was no longer a wolf pup…

Honestly, she was a bit looking forward to Rakia, but she liked Revena’s current appearance.

She also wanted to slowly watch Ash grow from a pup.

Ariel asked Gurak.

“Where is the dimensional gate to return to the original world?”

“It’s inside that fence where you came through the dimensional gate. It’s blocked by a rock now, but if you move that rock…”

At that moment, Ariel teleported with Roo and Teodoras.

There was no time to hesitate.

Time was precious, and now it was a hundred times more precious.

Fwat!

The next moment, Ariel appeared inside the fence.

The dimensional gate was closed.

Because before crossing over to Azgrad, Ariel had hidden the magic circle with a turtle statue.

Ariel first tested if she could teleport to the Evergreen Forest.

“……”

It was impossible.

This meant that teleportation could only be used within the same dimension.

Honestly, this was expected, so Ariel immediately accepted it and decided to open the dimensional gate.

A large rock was visible nearby.

When she moved the rock with telekinesis, the magic circle was revealed.

The magic circle was not active.

Since there was no full moon here, and it had never been activated before, all the mana had dissipated.

Ariel, just like when she arrived here, placed her hand on the magic circle and directly pushed mana into it.

Tzzzzzt!

The magic circle flashed with light, and fwat! The dimensional gate was created.

Ariel crossed the dimensional gate with Roo and Teodoras.

With a strange sensation, the surroundings changed.

Ariel was standing at the ruins of the Giant Race where she had first opened the dimensional gate.

She slowly looked around.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky.

Just before crossing the dimensional gate, there was a full moon in the sky, and only two hours had passed, but it was already afternoon.

Moreover, the ground around was damp.

As if it had rained for several days.

Ariel could be sure.

During the two hours they stayed in Azgrad after crossing the dimensional gate, more than a week had passed in the original world.

*

Under normal circumstances, it would have been better to give up on the adventure in Azgrad at this point.

Even if they explored Azgrad for a few days, time would have flown by here.

But there was something to check before giving up.

“Roo and Teodoras, wait here.”

“Huh…? Nuna, what are you planning to do…?”

Ariel crossed the dimensional gate again and returned to Azgrad.

The surroundings changed back to night.

Ariel stood still and waited for some time to pass.

About three minutes.

And then she returned to the original world through the dimensional gate.

“Nu, nuna…?”

Roo and Teodoras looked at Ariel with puzzled faces.

Ariel asked Roo.

“How much time has passed since I entered the dimensional gate?”

“How much… not much. About three minutes?”

At that moment, a small smile appeared on Ariel’s lips.

As expected.

The change in the flow of time only occurs when the dimensional gate is closed.

As long as the dimensional gate is open, time flows the same.

So, if they kept the dimensional gate open, they could freely explore Azgrad.

When Ariel explained this, Roo was relieved.

“Phew, that’s a relief, nuna. I was worried that we might have to end the adventure in Azgrad here. We’ve only met one Giant Race member so far, it would be too disappointing to end it already.”

Ariel nodded and examined the magic circle closely.

To keep the dimensional gate open, the magic circle needed to be continuously active.

To do that, they needed to overlay another magic circle to maintain the mana.

And they would also need to set up a powerful barrier around it.

In case another being approached the dimensional gate and crossed over to Azgrad.

Ariel overlaid the magic circle and set up a powerful barrier around it.

These two tasks were difficult enough to tire even a dragon, but for Ariel, it wasn’t too hard.

After finishing the work, Ariel returned to Azgrad with Roo and Teodoras.

And she repeated the same work here.

Overlaying the magic circle and setting up a powerful barrier around it.

Only then did Ariel nod with satisfaction.

Now, the dimensional gate would not close.

They could freely explore Azgrad without worrying about the flow of time.

*

Fwat!

When Ariel’s party returned to the cabin, Gurak blinked and asked.

“Where did you guys go?”

Then Roo explained that the flow of time in Azgrad was different from the original world.

Gurak, who had already anticipated this to some extent from the previous conversation, wasn’t too surprised.

Instead, he made a despondent expression.

“Our Giant Race has been in Azgrad for ten years, but a thousand years have passed in that world, it’s kind of scary…”

“The change in the flow of time only happens when the dimensional gate is closed. Now that our nuna has opened the dimensional gate, that won’t happen.”

Roo took out a memo from her pocket and asked Gurak a few more questions.

And Gurak answered them all readily.

After a while, Roo, who had finished asking questions, smiled and said.

“Thank you, Giant Race uncle. I’m planning to write a book about the Giant Race based on the questions I just asked. I’ll definitely include your name in the book.”

“Oh, that’s good for me.”

Gurak laughed heartily and finished his juice, and then Ariel asked Gurak.

“By the way, that last giant who crossed over to Azgrad. Is he still alive?”

At Ariel’s question, Teodoras stretched his neck and stared intently at Gurak.

Gurak immediately nodded.

“If you’re talking about Toruga, he’s still alive. I just met him yesterday.”

*

Ariel headed to the cabin where Toruga lived with Roo and Teodoras.

Most of the other giants lived together in the village, but Toruga, with his strong individualistic tendencies, lived alone in a cabin in the forest like Gurak.

After a while, when they arrived at the location Gurak had mentioned, they saw a cabin ahead.

The cabin’s lights were off, and a giant was sitting on a tree stump in the yard.

That giant must be Toruga.

Toruga was staring at the night sky with a pensive expression.

Ariel was about to ask Teodoras if that giant was his friend.

But there was no need to ask.

Because Teodoras was looking at Toruga with tears streaming down his face.

Teodoras choked up and shed tears, and Ariel and Roo quietly waited.

After a while, Teodoras spoke.

“I, I’m okay now…”

Then Teodoras turned and started crawling away.

Ariel and Roo followed Teodoras.

“Te, Teodoras, aren’t you going to meet your friend?”

At Roo’s question, Teodoras silently nodded.

“Why…? You really wanted to meet him.”

“I, I do, but it’s just…”

It had been a thousand years.

Since Teodoras had last seen Toruga.

How much he had missed and longed to see him.

But now that he was right in front of him, he couldn’t find the courage to meet him.

“Teodoras.”

Ariel grabbed Teodoras’s tail.

“If you don’t meet him now, you might regret it later.”

That’s when it happened.

“Hey…”

Someone approached from behind with a rustling sound.

“Ho, could it be…”

It was Toruga.

Toruga was looking at Teodoras with trembling eyes.