Chapter 109

“Be careful.”

Arti spoke while putting a hat made from split wood.

When I mentioned I was leaving, Arti, who had filled me up with hearty meals both for dinner and breakfast, handed me my belongings, which included a pouch full of honey treats along with some newly woven grass.

“Change your clothes when you need to. And don’t get all excited and ask for bigger clothes just because you’ve grown a little like last time.”

“…Hmm.”

Until the very end, Arti tidied up my outfit and gently stroked my cheek.

“Don’t cause any trouble. Don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t worry too much. I’m strong enough. Plus, I have Gal with me.”

At my words, Arti’s gaze turned towards Gal.

Gal received Arti’s stare with an expressionless face.

It was not surprising; all my brothers found Gal difficult to approach.

After all, while there is no animosity now, he was the one who ambushed me and made me go missing just half a year ago.

It must have been hard for them to figure out how to act.

“…Please take good care of Araya.”

Still, Arti quietly asked Gal for a favor.

Surprised by the request, Gal hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

“I may not know if Araya needs my help right now, but if she does, I will assist her.”

At that reply, Arti also nodded and, after tidying my sleeves one last time, took a step back.

Beside us, Elmony quietly waved his hand.

“I hope nothing unexpected happens, but I will be prepared for any possible situations.”

“…I won’t feel at ease, but please.”

“This is a burden we all have to share. Don’t carry the weight alone.”

Demis said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

Should anything happen, Demis would lead the other elves and rush over without delay.

“I’m leaving.”

With that, I conveyed my farewell, feeling a little heavy with emotions.

“If this ends without any trouble, come back to the forest.”

“Palas said the same thing.”

“I feel the same. If you’re going to cause trouble, do it where I can see it; otherwise, how will I clean it up?”

“…I’m really going now.”

“Right. Stay healthy.”

Demis wore his usual faint smile without furrowing his brow.

As I turned my body and stepped away from the forest, I felt the warm gazes watching me.

I took another step forward. It was time to return to Pohelrn.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Remarkable.”

A voice echoed from afar above Eremai, who was kneeling with his head down.

“Grandidi is dead, and all thirty children who received the sword are dead too? By just one person?”

“Yes.”

“Is it true that it was a small human?”

“To be precise, he referred to himself as an elf. Indeed, unlike the small humans we know, he has long ears and looks quite fair, but it seems he belongs to a breed where the distinction between male and female is a bit unclear.”

“Huh.”

Terato’s voice was filled with astonishment.

He had thought there might be something to it, but this was far too unexpected.

He was angry, not even having anticipated that Beryl would fail to carry out his command.

With Eremai, he was just flabbergasted.

His first two masterworks, and a child who received the sword were thirty in number.

While it might seem strange to say it was a good match, listening to the story, wasn’t it one-sided slaughter?

What was most astonishing was Eremai’s attitude—despite failing his command, he showed no sign of shame.

Eremai, though rough in speech and seemingly casual, was more responsible than anyone among the gigases.

The very reason he entrusted the job to Eremai was this responsibility.

‘That elf named Araya must have been extraordinary.’

For Eremai to consider his failure as “natural.”

‘…Hmmm, an elf. And the mother.’

What was referred to as the natural enemy of the Titan had been only the Gal Dragon for a long time, and any “leftovers” had already come under its control while it slumbered.

It was impossible for a Titan born from him to be annihilated by an ordinary breed that emerged naturally.

If the relationship that the elf called “mother” has with him is the same as his relationship with the Titan…

There was a being that came to mind when he heard Eremai’s words.

A being that Gal Dragon had mentioned once.

The great tree located at the end of the west.

That must be the “mother” that the elf referred to.

‘…This is indeed unexpected.’

Terato stroked his chin in thought.

Removing the Gal Dragon brought forth something new to obstruct his mission.

‘How bothersome.’

To think that a single entity could overwhelm two gigases and thirty Titans.

‘Is that possible?’

He knew because he himself had created Titans.

If one were not a special being like him or the Gal Dragon, there was a predetermined strength of biological species from the very beginning.

Titans were the ruling race and biological weapons of the world he had created, constructed to deal easily with his long-standing nemeses.

To Terato’s own thinking, it represented the limit of how strong an ordinary being could become.

Yet, astonishingly, a being that was just a creature, barely the size of a Titan’s thumb, caused such a miracle.

‘…Gal Dragon, did you play a part in this?’

Terato recalled his proud and arrogant old rival.

The arrogant dragon that he thought would be sealed by his and the Titans’ means, dying from a blade as if pierced by a porcupine, was now met in a new form—casting aside its proud stance of looking down upon all beings that walked upon the earth, including himself, and appearing as a small human.

‘…It seems that, compared to small humans, even that form had longer ears.’

Terato had originally had no interest in the small human form, smaller than his fingernail, but since it belonged to a rival, it was something he had to remember.

And he felt some connection to the fact that the elf named Araya was clad in golden garments.

‘However, the magic of reversing fate still persists.’

If the power derives from the Gal Dragon, then nothing can influence the Titan.

This is the curse filled with his centuries’ worth of fervor.

Even with the sky dragon, which had lived for centuries like him, it would not be possible to unravel it in a short time.

“In the end, it seems I must take matters into my own hands.”

The giant’s resolve echoed across the wide plains.

As the giant, who had been using a small mountain as a seat, rose, the birds and small creatures that had been holding their breath in the mountain began to flee into the forest.

Simply sitting there had caused a minor calamity, but now standing tall with his giant stature, he looked down below and spoke to his daughter.

“Nevertheless, Eremai, rewards and punishments must be clear. Losing Grandidi and the thirty children you were with is your fault as the head. Do you acknowledge this?”

“Yes.”

“I revoke your title as gigas. Join beneath Benito and serve as a footsoldier in future wars.”

“I will abide by your orders.”

Eremai calmly accepted Terato’s command.

“Prepare to move your once frozen bodies. I will step out myself.”

At those words, every Titan that had been bowing their heads began to move busily.

Terato’s gaze shifted from Eremai, who was bowing his head, towards the south.

The instinct of a transcendent being that had lived for hundreds of years warned him that matters would not easily unravel.

◈ ◈ ◈

“…What on earth happened?”

“Uh, Commander Benito. I will be serving you from today. Please take good care of me.”

“Don’t mess around, Eremai.”

Benito stiffened at Eremai’s attitude, which turned playful as he spoke to her.

“Your subordinates, and… Grandidi too…”

“Huh? What? Do you like Grandidi, Commander Benito?”

“I told you not to make jokes.”

As Benito shot back sharply, Eremai eventually surrendered, raising both hands.

“You heard earlier, right? That elf named Araya simply ‘swish swish.’ She couldn’t even put up a proper fight and got sliced up.”

“…I can’t believe it. How could a small human defeat a Titan!”

“Not a small human, but an elf… but I totally understand why you find it hard to believe. Even for me, witnessing it firsthand was an unbelievable sight.”

“…”

“I’m honestly a bit conflicted. Thinking of Grandidi and my subordinates makes me want to chop that fair-faced little brat into pieces… but I can’t seem to figure out how to do it even after thinking about it all the way back.”

“…Is it that serious? Someone of your caliber?”

“Uh-huh. Even someone as formidable as I can’t do it to that brat.”

Benito sighed and looked at Eremai with a complicated expression as she spoke of retaliation against someone she wouldn’t be able to touch.

“Ha-!”

Then, suddenly, as murderous intent emanated from Eremai, Benito flinched.

“D-Damn that bastard.”

Following Eremai’s gaze, he saw Beryl, wearing an iron mask that held together his broken jaw, glancing at them sideways.

“Hey, Benito.”

“…Now call me commander.”

“Can I stick a knife in that bastard’s back later?”

“… No.”

“Why not? Just a little. Can I just poke his back a bit?”

“Since it sounds strange when you say it, could you please refrain from such suggestions?”

After a while, Benito, glancing at Beryl while Eremai vented her frustration, finally spoke slowly.

“Why are you taking it out on Beryl?”

“That bastard should have been seen by you for what he did outside. It’s one thing to massacre, but that bastard killed the banished one.”

“Oh… the one whose jaw was crushed.”

“Apparently, that guy is the elf’s pupil. The reason that elf shredded my subordinates like steak without even talking to them from the start is because of that bastard!”

“…Does that mean that elf taught the exiled one something?”

“Yeah? I guess so?”

“… I wonder if it might be related to the fact that the banished one, who should have starved to death for being incompetent, was able to fight against more than a dozen Titans and injure a gigas.”

“Uh… could it be related?”

“Why didn’t you tell this to Father?”

Seeing Eremai scratching her head, Benito sighed.

“I’ll go tell Father.”

“Hey! Benito! Is it really not possible? Just to poke a little?”

“If you do such a thing under my command, I will behead you for that sin. Keep yourself in check.”

“Ah-!”

Leaving Eremai, who was causing a ruckus from behind, Benito moved to report the recent events to Terato.

---