Chapter 110

A long line of Titans stretched out.

As the Titans walked, the ground trembled, causing nearby small creatures and even the large beasts that had settled in the area to hurriedly abandon their homes.

One of the Titans deviated from the line and approached another Titan in a different formation.

“Eremai—ugh!”

“Ugh, what the hell? A damn bug is here.”

Beryl stepped out of line and approached Eremai, but recoiled in shock. Just as a fist that seemed to contain murderous intent swung toward him, he barely dodged it, but lost his balance and fell to the ground.

“Ah—sorry, sorry. Even though I look like this, I’m a delicate woman. Bugs scare me.”

While Eremai muttered an apology, he looked down with a contemptuous expression at Beryl, who was sitting on the ground.

Beryl clenched his teeth, and Eremai smirked.

“With your jaw in such bad shape, if you keep clenching your teeth like that, you’re going to have a hard time later, you know?”

“What are you doing?”

“I told you, there was a bug, right?”

“There were no bugs!”

“The bugs here are smaller than those near our village. Maybe it’s because you weren’t looking properly?”

“…Don’t lie.”

“Lying? Your useless eyes are to blame.”

“Grandidi and your subordinate—”

“Don’t say another word.”

Eremai warned with a chilling voice.

“Don’t open your rotten mouth to mention those guys. I’m holding back out of respect for Benito, but if you keep flapping that mouth, I won’t be able to hold myself back any longer.”

“…Then I’ll ask something else. The other exiles that were there. Did you see them?”

“Hah!”

Eremai snickered.

“Why? Are you embarrassed because you got your ass kicked and want to take revenge on the last one left?”

“…You wouldn’t understand.”

“Shut up.”

After spitting the words disdainfully, Eremai turned away, as if there was no more value in continuing the conversation, and resumed walking in line with the Titans.

“Eremai.”

“You persistent brat.”

“Tell me. Did you see them?”

“Look who’s being pathetic now. What a hassle.”

“……”

“I didn’t see anyone. Thanks to some idiot who didn’t do what he was supposed to and stirred up a hornet’s nest, I couldn’t meet anyone properly and everyone got chopped up. The only thing I saw was a crazy girl the size of rat droppings.”

“Is that so.”

Eremai stopped walking and said in an emotionless voice.

“Honestly, you should be more concerned about your life than thinking of venting your anger at the remaining exiles, right now.”

“What?”

“That girl, the size of rat droppings, with no chest or hips. When she came out of nowhere swinging her sword, the first thing she said was whether she knew you or not. I can guarantee that if humans and elves fight, you’ll want to avoid that rat-droppings girl. If she sees you, you’ll end up in a terrible situation.”

“Are you saying I should be scared of a mere little human?”

“That little human… Hah, never mind. What the hell am I even doing giving advice to this idiot?”

As Beryl shut his mouth, Eremai clicked his tongue.

“Don’t forget, there’s an important task before us concerning your father and all of us, and out of respect for Benito, I’m letting it slide, but I want to stab you with a knife just for the sake of decoration.”

With that declaration, Eremai pressed down on Beryl’s chest.

“When all this is over and we return to the village, I will challenge you to a duel. A duel that won’t end until one of us is dead.”

“…Gigasi doesn’t participate in selection battles, let alone duels.”

“That’s an unspoken rule. It’s not explicitly stated, is it? Normally, we wouldn’t need to shed blood and fight among ourselves.”

“You think you’ll win?”

“Of course. To put it bluntly, it’s a sure victory. You’ve only got your mouth to use, and even that’s been smashed, what’s there to fear?”

“…Don’t expect too much.”

“Eremai! What are you doing? Beryl! Return to where you’re leading!”

“Ah—damn it. I just heard a sound because of you.”

With rough words, Eremai shoved Beryl and returned to the line.

Beryl watched in a daze and then grimaced before returning to the line himself.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Uaaaaaaah! This world should just perish!”

“Why are you causing a scene again, Saras?”

“I can’t think of a way…! I just can’t come up with anything!”

Saraswati dramatically threw her arms up toward the sky in lament.

“…Honestly, I don’t think I could handle that. Is it really necessary?”

Anart tilted her head and said.

Anart had the most excellent communion power with spirits.

For Anart, even if it wasn’t a spirit, the bizarre device made up of the thoughts of once-great beings was something she couldn’t help but feel unsettled by every time she saw it.

“I really don’t know. But theoretically, it’s possible. Honestly, isn’t it exciting?”

“I’m not excited at all…”

“How boring.”

Saraswati, lying on bedding stuffed with soft cotton and feathers, looked at Anart and asked.

“So, how is our brother’s love life going?”

“…Huh!?”

“Why are you so surprised? Every time you see that girl named Alia, you seem to be growling.”

“Growling…?”

“Is that Priegoss fellow really that great? Honestly, I don’t understand. Humans can be creatively unique at times, which can sometimes inspire me, but as a partner… I’m not so sure.”

“Don’t speak ill of Lord Priegoss.”

“Oh my. Now you’re even adding honorifics to humans?”

“…He may be a little peculiar in appearance, but he is responsible and a good person. And I think your racial superiority complex is not a good thing.”

At Anart’s words, Saraswati scratched her head and replied.

“Still, I’m saying this out of concern as your sister. You need to think carefully. I don’t know how you feel right now, but unlike you, Priegoss is a human. His time flow is different from ours. Elves, especially us High Elves, might live for an eternity, but think about what happens when Priegoss dies.”

“…”

“Me, I wouldn’t mind living my whole life alone, but you’re a bit different, aren’t you? Considering our limitations, your choice is likely to lead to unhappiness.”

“…Even if I choose an elf, they won’t share the same lifespan as us.”

“That’s true too. But isn’t it better than spending a very short time together? Or do you not consider Palas or Elmony?”

“Those two are a bit…”

“It sounds like my name came up. What are you talking about?”

Palas entered the room where they were talking.

“Yeah. Just wondering who Anya’s partner would be.”

“…Did my name come up there?”

Palas looked down at Anart, looking troubled.

Then he scratched his cheek and said.

“Anya. You are indeed my precious little sister, but as a partner, I’m not so sure…”

“Huh! I wasn’t even thinking of giving you honey snacks. Wake up!”

“…So it seems.”

“Well, it is what it is. Honestly, I don’t really see you as a man.”

“Same here.”

Palas said nonchalantly.

“…Don’t you think the men in our family treat me a bit carelessly?”

“Think about what you’ve done. Honestly, Araya causes trouble often, but if Araya weren’t here, you would be the suspicious one among us.”

“If men fuss over trivial things, women get annoyed.”

“We have goals we want to achieve that are still far off, and we can’t afford to look elsewhere.”

“Araya is really single-minded. You were so eager to kill her back in the day.”

“More than anything, Araya seems to have changed again. Do you think it’s possible? Even if Mother comes, it won’t be easy.”

“…Even so, I can’t give up.”

Saraswati sighed.

Thinking about Palas’s role and the past with Araya, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible…

‘Of all the comparisons, it had to be Araya.’

Even Saraswati, who considered herself a genius, found Araya to be out of the norm.

As the youngest, she felt pity for her younger sibling who was walking a thorny path aiming for such a child.

‘…But we live long.’

The future was uncertain.

Though it seemed unimaginable now, someday Palas might truly become stronger than Araya.

“So, how are the humans doing? Those humans said to be Araya’s students. Do you think they could become a force?”

Rather than delve into a dark conversation with no answers, Saraswati chose to change the subject.

Palas made a vague expression.

“…Well, maybe. Having seen ordinary humans roaming around the city, I do think these humans have learned Araya’s martial arts…”

“Learned it…”

“Even so, they seem too weak. Even if five of those who call themselves soldiers come together, they would struggle to beat a single woman who was doing household chores in the village.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It might be a little different in the future, but…”

“Wasn’t Araya the one who taught martial arts?”

“It seems Araya taught martial arts directly to those calling themselves knights. That is somewhat better. If a few of those who have learned for a while gather twenty, they might be able to take on a single forest keeper.”

“…If there aren’t that many, we should consider them completely out of it.”

Saraswati sighed.

“…In the end, if we’re to face the chopped-off heads of giants that Araya is dealing with out there, it means we will have to step up… Ah! Deus Ex Machina! If only I could use that properly, even useless humans could be of some help!”

“Were you talking about that girl named Alia you were observing? It’s certainly strange, but does it really help that much?”

“If it’s completed. But since we can’t fall back due to their weakness, we will have to spill blood.”

Saraswati, abruptly standing up from the soft and warm bedding, grabbed a lump of honey snacks from the center of the table and began to chew it.

Without really tasting the honey snacks, she swallowed and said.

“As a coordinator, we would help from a macro perspective, but for humans to demand their own rights, won’t they need to shed blood?”